A Reliance Power General Manager Manoj Kumar Ojha was killed on Wednesday when two armed men suspected to be members of a splinter Maoist group fired at his vehicle in a village in this district, the police said.
In the wake of repeated attacks by Maoists on the Central Reserve Police Force, the government is working out a plan for the redeployment of paramilitary forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in states.
Fishplates were found and removed at the spot where the Mumbai-bound Gyaneswari Express derailed early on Friday morning leaving several dead, a senior police official said.
Gearing up for a strong offensive against left wing extremism, Chhattisgarh police have claimed to have intensified the process of setting-up 'fortified police stations' in Bastar region in order to strengthen security apparatus in the Naxal-hit area.
The worst-ever attack on a police force by Maoists, the blast in Pune at the beginning and the Varanasi explosion at the end of the year blotted the copybook of the security forces, which otherwise kept 2010 free from terror.
After the government came under opposition attack on the handling of Naxal violence, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the state governments have the primary responsibility to fight the Maoist menace and the Centre was ready to assist them.
Three names including that of Ramana and Papa Rao, Maoist leaders hailing from Andhra Pradesh, are doing the rounds as the alleged masterminds of the brutal massacre of 76 policemen in the Dantewada region of Chhattisgarh.
A recent study on Naxalism in India has concluded that Naxal fighters spend roughly Rs 140 crore annually to wage war against the Indian State.
The Intelligence Bureau has issued an alert about a possible attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi using a human bomb either during his visit to Patna or at the public rally he is scheduled to attend in Muzaffarpur on July 25.
The Trinamool Congress will file a defamation suit against the Communist Party of India-Marxist and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for equating the party with the Maoists.
The Trinamool Congress' rally in Maoist-affected Lalgarh had its echo in Parliament on Monday with members of the Left seeking to know the Centre's stand on the alleged hobnobbing of the United Progressive Alliance ally with the extremists, dubbing the meeting as an "anti-national activity".
The Lok Sabha witnessed uproar for the third straight day on Thursday with a determined opposition seeking a statement from the prime minister on the controversial remarks of minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti besdies her resignation.
Concerned over spurt in Naxal violence, Union Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai will arrive in Raipur on Monday on a two-day visit to Chhattisgarh during which he will take stock of the security situation, redeployment of paramilitary forces and visit some worst Maoist-hit areas.
A reshuffle of the All India Congress Committee office bearers and the Union Cabinet is on the cards and is likely to take place "soon" say highly placed sources in the Congress. Renu Mittal reports.
Nursing "serious suspicions" on India's role in Nepal's political process, Maoist leader Prachanda has said the Indian establishment had failed to "grasp the verdict" of the historic 2008 election and he is keen to discuss his concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
With the Maoists striking once again, Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday accused the government of lacking "will power" to fight Naxals in a firm manner and suggested that all parties should be consulted on dealing with the challenge, which is assuming enormous proportions.
The United Progressive Alliance will celebrate the first anniversary of its second consecutive term in office on Saturday after a sweet and sour year marked by misses and hits in governance and its deft management of uncertainties of coalition politics.
'There are no jobs, the economy is slowing down, but the BJP is more concerned with issues like triple talaq, anti-Romeo squads and the beef ban.'
While security personnel and equipment are important, it is the mindset that is the pivotal tipping factor in the battle against the Maoists, writes Vivek Gumaste.
Charges and counter-charges over links with Maoists flew thick and fast between the Opposition and the government on Thursday as the Lok Sabha began discussion on the Dantewada Naxal attack.
A group of armed Naxalites allegedly killed a middle-aged former Sarpanch from Gadchiroli district, for being a police informer, police said on Monday.
Expressing shock over the 'very high' casualty of Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Chhattisgarh, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said something must have gone 'drastically' wrong in the joint operation with the state police. "The casualty is very high and I am deeply shocked at the loss of lives. This shows the savage nature of the Communist Party of India - Maoist and their brutality and the savagery they are capable of," he said.
Home ministry officials, who visited Chhattisgarh after the massacre of 25 CRPF men by Naxals, have found that the majority of 45,000 paramilitary personnel undertaking the high-risk anti-Naxal operations in Bastar region have been posted there for over three years.
The Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday is expected to be a tumultuous affair with opposition stacking up all ammunition ranging from price rise, fuel hike, Bhopal gas tragedy and the Indo-Pak talks to attack the government.
The Congress attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party's post-poll alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Saturday dubbing it as "the high point of unprincipled and unethical politics".
An SIT officer probing the murder case said the investigation is in final stage and a chargesheet will be filed in two months.
Home Minister P Chidambaram should work more and speak less and control his "tone and tenor", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday.
The Right needs an apparently potent and dangerous foe to keep its own followers in line. If they lower their guard, the insidious enemy may creep in, argues Amulya Ganguli.
With the trains becoming soft targets of Maoists, the Railways has asked drivers to observe certain speed restrictions while moving through Naxal-affected areas to minimise damage.
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
Passengers of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express had a harrowing time on Tuesday, when armed tribal agitators halted their train, smashed glass panes of the AC compartments and forcibly opened the doors, before taking away the drivers, at Banstala in Maoist-infested West Midnapore district. "The train had just crossed Jhargram Station and was passing through a densely forested patch when a large mob attacked it with stones," recalled a passenger.
In a pre-dawn attack, heavily armed Maoists blew up a railway station and abducted three railway employees in Orissa's Sundargarh district, about 80 km from Rourkela on Tuesday.
The resurfacing of a strong Maoist urban network in the cities of Chhattisgarh has enabled the rebels to gain considerable ground in the past three months, intelligence sources have revealed.
In the absence of the promised central paramilitary forces, the Orissa government is struggling hard to protect precious wildlife from poachers backed by Maoists in naxal-hit Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district.
After suffering a major blow at the hands of Maoists in Chhattisgarh, the Central Reserve Police Force on Friday said it will not let the blood of its men go waste and take the battle against the Left-wing extremists forward with a hardened resolve. "We will not let this blood go waste. I pledge to carry forward the battle," CRPF Special Director General (North) N K Tripathi said at the force's Valour Day event in New Delhi.
In the wake of the worst-ever Naxal attack, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said all options in fight against Maoists, like using air power are 'reviewed' from time to time, but no decision has been taken yet on it.
More than 24 hours after Maoist rebels mowed down 17 policemen in one of the deadliest attacks in Gadchiroli district, combing operations by the Border Security Force and the state police continued even as people on Friday bade farewell to the martyrs.Hundreds of civilians gathered at the Parade ground in Gadchiroli, in a spontaneous outpouring of grief and respect for the policemen, who laid down their lives in the line of duty combating home-bred Maoist terror.
Bustling with activity 24 hours ago, the camp is now a pile of charred tents, cots and personal articles with blood spattered all over.
Tribal rights activist Soni Sori, who was attacked with an acid-like chemical in Chhattisgarh last month, has said that the condition of her face is reflective of the fight in Naxal-hit Bastar area.
Despite being in the crosshairs of the police, politicians and vigilantes, Malini Subramaniam continues to report from a hotbed of Maoist insurgency.
