The government has alerted Naxal-affected states against possible Maoist attacks on railway networks, in the wake of Left-wing extremists targeting a Rajdhani Express train in Bihar, by blasting the rail tracks. The home ministry has issued the alert to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, apprehending attacks by Naxals on trains and railway infrastructure, as any sabotage on the network can result in large-scale damages, official sources said.
He said in most of the Naxal attacks, it has been noticed that villagers were used as human shields by the insurgents during the gun battle.
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.
The accident site in West Midnapore, West Bengal, has been strewn with mutilated bodies and belongings of passengers of the ill-fated Gyaneshwari Express.
In the wake of the Maoist attack on a Mumbai-bound train in West Midnapore district, the South Eastern Railway cancelled the Howrah-Barbil Janshatabdi Express and Howrah-Jamshedpur Ispat Express on Friday.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's year-long charmed existence as the home minister has apparently ended, with the tough talking minister suddenly sounding a little vulnerable and looking a little helpless.The lull after the terror attack in Mumbai on November 2008 was broken by the blast in Pune's German Bakery, which claimed nine lives, and the Maoist attack in West Bengal that killed 24 jawans.
This is one of the biggest casualties suffered by the elite COBRA unit that undertakes special jungle warfare ops.
Area manager, Bondamunda Railway Yard, H K Padhee, who escorted the injured passengers, said that of the 55 injured, 32 were discharged after first aid, while the rest were admitted to the Ispat General Hospital and Government Hospital in Rourkela. He said two engines of the train had derailed while two bogies completely toppled over and three had tilted.
The bus ferrying the BSF personnel from Ladhup to Arah was blown by the landmine blast triggered by the Maoists at around 7.30 am killing five BSF personnel, one helper and the civilian driver, the DC said.
Over 100 Naxals on Wednesday ambushed a team of security forces in Chhattisgarh's tribal belt of Bastar on the eve of Lok Sabha polls, killing three commandos of CRPF's CoBRA battalion and injuring five others including two officers in twin attacks.
Terrorists and insurgents are getting "public support" in some parts of the country and unless this is stopped, India will continue to get hit by acts of terrorism.
The naxals were enforcing a 24-hour bandh to protest the arrest of their leaders, including its chief of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and north Bihar, Tushar Kant Bhattacharya.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday assured Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan of enhanced security, a day after a landmine blasted his security vehicle in the Maoist-infested West Midnapore in West Bengal.
The paramilitary had cut down the use of these vehicles for anti-Naxal operations drastically to a 'bare minimum' after they were targeted in improvised explosive device blasts in the Left Wing Extremism-hit areas.
At least 13 security personnel were killed on Friday when Naxals triggered a blast and then opened fire on a patrol party near Tongada village, bordering Andhra Pradesh, in the Maoist-affected district of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. The patrol party, comprising 21 police personnel, was returning from Terla village when the rebels unleashed the attack.
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.
Police have also recovered a GPS device of Naxals from the site in which the rebels had set the location of the improvised explosive device used in the incident.
'Not afraid to look Muslim, not shy of flaunting her nationalism.' 'With a willingness to fight carrying the Constitution, the Flag, the Anthem, Ambedkar, Gandhi and the chant of 'Hindustan Zindabad',' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Two officials of the Central Reserve Police Force, including a deputy commandant, were killed and 12 security personnel were injured in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
A first-of-its kind 'battle field hospital' is being set up deep inside the Naxal hotbed of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh which will provide immediate first aid to injured Central Reserve Police Force and other security forces officials undertaking anti-Maoist operations.
"It is certain that the information about their movement was leaked. Somewhere or at some stage this has happened. The boys were doing a surprise non-operational movement and hence were in mufti. We are looking into it," CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad said.
Three important trains - Howrah-New Delhi express, Jammu Tawi express and Dehradun express were diverted due to the blast.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying he was being "arrogant" by refusing to order a probe to ascertain if negligence had led to blasts in his party's rally in Patna.
At least three Border Security Force personnel were killed and two injured when Naxals blew up their vehicle in an improvised explosive device blast in Odisha's Koraput district on Tuesday.
Apparently targeting the BJP for the recent panic buying of salt in the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed that those who offered milk to Lord Ganesha were testing the effectiveness of their rumour mills.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the state governments have been asked to identify Rohingya refugees in their regions and collect their biometric details.
Nearly 70 per cent of Nepal's electorate voted on Tuesday to choose an assembly that will draft a new constitution to end years of turmoil and political uncertainty though balloting was hit by sporadic violence, including vandalism and explosions that injured a dozen.
Militancy connected with jihad and north-east insurgency will be the focus of discussions when top ranking officials from state police and central police forces will meet in Guwahati on November 29 and 30.
Assam's new Director General of Police, Khagen Sarma on Friday said that Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services intelligence and other external forces are behind United Liberation Front of Asom (anti-talks) faction leader Paresh Baruah's efforts to form a common force comprising all northeastern insurgent groups to fight Indian security forces
A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each.
The encounter broke out early on Saturday between a BSF patrol and armed Naxal cadres near the Chhotebethiya-Pakhanjore jungle axis of the Maoist violence-hit district, officials said.
At present, there is no scheme to compensate victims of cross border firing.
A dramatic video footage of a Central Reserve Police Force trooper pleading for help after being wounded in a landmine blast in Bihar's Aurangabad district turned out to be a case of mistaken identity with the force saying on Tuesday that he is not the person who suffered injuries and died later.
'They (the government) want to tame everything.' 'The entire systems they are trying to change.'
Blaming state actors in Pakistan for making attempts to destabilise India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the neighbouring country has not abandoned its efforts to harm the country through "various tactics".
'What is surprising is that the police press conference was based on letters (allegedly written by the activists).' 'Now those letters, according to the police, are yet to be verified by their (forensic) laboratory.' 'So, even the police is not sure that those letters are genuine.'
The four leg canine 'soldiers' play a crucial role in saving lives of troops and civilians, reports Mayank Singh.
Kashmir was with India, Kashmir is with India and Kashmir will remain with India forever, said Singh.
Narendra Modi on Thursday tore into the Congress manifesto, calling it a "bundle of lies" and unkept promises, and also accused the Nitish Kumar government of "nurturing and abetting" terrorism for "vote-bank" politics.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances