If the government does not take the precaution of verifying the facts and circumstances of operations resulting in large fatalities and if these prove to be wrong, the resulting embarrassment will damage the future effectiveness of counter-insurgency operations, writes B Raman against the backdrop of the June 29 anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh
There are two possible scenarios -- these fears turn out to be baseless and Prachanda turns out to be a genuine democrat and a genuine friend of India or Prachanda after the elections turns out to be different from Prachanda before the elections and takes Nepal on a road, which would be detrimental to our national interests. While hoping for the first scenario, we must be prepared for the second.
The Congress has demanded immediate removal of the nodal officer appointed by Chhattisgarh government to assist National Investigation Agency probing the Darbha valley Maoist attack in which senior Congress leaders were killed on May 25.
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitoula and Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara signed the 'Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies' in the presence of UN officials.
The report said the outfit might have linkages with other ethnic insurgent groups active in neighbouring states, and receives aid from "unknown external sources".
The next year is likely to pose a bigger challenge to the counter-insurgency operation in Chhattisgarh where the Communist Party of India-Maoist is planning to observe its 10th year of foundation and is being feared to unite all Naxal groups in the country to carry out major 'events'.
In a separate incident, a commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites went off in the district, police said.
An AK-47 rifle, one SLR, three Insas rifles and a .303 rifle were also recovered from the encounter spot.
A menace to development and a constant threat to the country's security, terror incidents by Maoists have reduced in the recent past, says Intelligence Bureau chief Syed Asif Ibrahim.
Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and another was injured in an encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district on Sunday, the police said.
Out of the 73 results declared so far, CPN-Maoists bagged 43 seats, CPN-UML - 12, Nepali Congress of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala - 10, Madhesi People's Rights Forum - 5, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party - 2 and Terai Madhesh Democratic Party - 1. Determined to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy, Maoists in Nepal on Sunday emerged as the surprise single biggest gainers in the early results for the key Constituent Assembly polls,while several political heavyweights lost
Maoist activities in Assam are likely to receive the support of the so-called anti-talks faction of the ULFA and if not nipped in the bud will spread to other states of the Northeast with support from other insurgent groups and international powers, warns Col Anil Bhat (Retd).
A cache of weapons was recovered from the encounter site
A CAF constable was killed, while another was injured when a pressure bomb went off allegedly set by Maoists.
Signalling stepped up operations in junglemahal after withdrawal of the offer of ceasefire by the Maoists and the killing of two Trinamool Congressmen, the West Bengal government has recalled senior Indian Police Service officer Manoj Verma as superintendent of police, counter insurgency force.
Elusive Maoist top gun Kishenji was on Thursday killed in an encounter with joint forces at Burisole forest in West Midnapore district, a day after he narrowly escaped from there.The body of 58-year-old Molajula Koteswar Rao, better known as Kishenji, was found and identified after the Jungle Mahal encounter, a top counter-insurgency force official said.
The Centreal Reserve Police Force operations, will have to acquire an intelligence-based strategy to combat Maoists who have organised themselves as a "regular fighting army", Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday.
Indian intelligence agencies have often claimed that left-wing extremists are trying to make inroads in the militancy-hit regions of north-east to foment further unrest. But Jaideep Saikia, noted terrorism and conflict analyst, claims, "People who speak of Maoism taking roots in the north-east have not read history".
Bhattarai said his party 'Naya Shakti Nepal' would bear the "historic responsibility" of making Nepal prosperous and developed.
In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, had launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
The PMG was announced by the Union home ministry on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, being celebrated on January 26 (Thursday).
The Naxals fury is taking India by the storm. S G Inamdar says it is high time India crushed them by deploying Air Force into the anti-Maoist operations.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Maoists violence, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency in the Northeast continued to be the top areas of concern for the country's internal security in 2011 with Left wing extremism claiming the most lives.
This new government has been tasked with steering the nation into the June 20 constituent assembly polls.
'When there was no crime committed, everything had to be fabricated. They see it as a war, and everything is fair in love and war.'
Acting Director General of the CRPF, Sudeep Lakhtakia said the ambush has "naturally called for the revision of standard operating procedures" in these areas.
With an aim of countering the 'anti-developmental' propaganda of Maoists, the Central Reserve Police Force has devised a new strategy of putting up hoardings in local dialect to seek tribals' support in construction of a National Highway in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.
A year after the Narendra Modi government took charge India still finds itself among nations that face a high risk of terror and political violence.
'This is for the first time that a strong, solid evidence-based investigation has happened.' 'It can meet international standards and put the onus on the Pakistanis.'
'Now that an extremist organisation like the PFI has been banned, it is time for the leaders to reach out to the minority community.' 'You need to have co-ordination between the State and the social fabric to send out the message that it is not directed at the community, and they should not feel vulnerable.'
'It is an ambush, and no IEDs were used, which means it is more tactical, more technical and more intelligent.'
In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building in which she touched on varied issues ranging from insurgency to inflation, Murmu said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats the challenges of the past and puts maximum energy into building the future.
Despite being in the crosshairs of the police, politicians and vigilantes, Malini Subramaniam continues to report from a hotbed of Maoist insurgency.
The State must stand as a solid tower of confidence to provide a guarantee of safety to its citizens and instill fear in the hearts of offenders. But where is that State, asks Tarun Vijay
Prachanda took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari at an official ceremony at Shital Niwas.
In a dramatic turn of events, Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was appointed as the new prime minister of Nepal by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday.
While there is no change in the strength of the Modi-led CCPA over its two tenures, what has changed is its profile.
The members of the insurgent groups -- United Liberation Front of Assam, National Democratic Front of Boroland, Rabha National Liberation Front, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, Communist Party of India-Maoist, National Santhal Liberation Army, Adivasi Dragon Fighters and National Liberation Front of Bengali -- joined the mainstream in front of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a programme.
