Despite major setbacks, the Maoists' ability to inflict damage on the State and maintain its position as the saviour of the tribals will keep them relevant, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
The West Bengal government said on Friday that the police and intelligence agencies had got information about Maoist leader Kishenji hiding in the state and that he was likely to be arrested soon.
With all the evasions, one assertion made by the Pune (Rural) police stood out: They had found no connection of the Elgar Parishad with the violent incidents of January 1, 2018. Yet, the case against the 'Bhima Koregaon 16', which is based on exactly this alleged connection, continues, and seven of the accused continue to be behind bars under the UAPA, explains Jyoti Punwani.
The policemen left two separate letters from the Ministry of Information and Communications at the radio station, one asking the station to stop operation until further notice and the other asking to handover transmission equipment, the report said.
A professor of Delhi University was arrested by the Maharashtra police on Friday for his alleged links with Maoists, after questioning him more than four times in the last six months.
In two separate attacks, suspected Maoists triggered a blast on the railway tracks in Jharkhand's Giridih district, damaging its fish plates, and also blew up a mobile tower in Hazaribag, the police said.
Tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who went underground after the anti-Maoist operation began in Lalgarh, on Wednesday dared the government to arrest him and said the administration was scared to do it. "I have not fled anywhere. I am at Lalgarh only and if the administration wants to arrest me, let them come and arrest me," Mahato, the chief of People's Committee against Police Atrocities, which is widely believed to have links with the Maoists, said over phone.
Eight persons, including a Maoist leader, were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment on Thursday by a court in Kandhamal district for the murder of senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in 2008 that triggered communal violence leaving 37 dead.
'After exiting jail, I thought some of my IIM-A classmates would contact me. None did.' 'The case indeed scared people, which perhaps was the objective of the State.'
The case pertains to the organisation of Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017 which promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence, resulting in the loss of life and property and statewide agitation in Maharashtra, an NIA spokesperson said.
The anti-terror agency, while referring to the evidence on record, claimed Navlakha was working in urban areas and assigned the job to unite intellectuals against government forces to defeat them.
'When there is a spontaneous movement against the State, it is easily crushed. But it is difficult to crush a guided movement because it has the support of activists and social workers'
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the NIA's application and ordered social activist Gautam Navlakha to be put under house arrest within 24-hours after shifting him from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.
A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal, which extended the protection from arrest to Gogoi till March 3, said it would hear the matter on Friday.
A rail track between Sonua and Lotapahar stations in West Singhbhum, under Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway (SER), was damaged past Friday night in a blast that was allegedly triggered by the Maoists.
A top Maoist leader, wanted in at least 20 cases in Kerala, his wife and three others, were arrested on Monday night near Coimbatore in a "big breakthrough" for the police of four southern states.
In a major breakthrough, the joint forces killed top-ranking Maoist leader Sasadhar Mahato and arrested a person at Kapgari in the Jamboni police station area in West Midnapore district.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's carping ally said the police assertion about security threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Maoists was just a 'conspiracy theory'.
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
'The Maoists realise it is impossible to keep themselves away from the gaze of the intelligence agencies. Any sincere intelligence agency can pick up their trail and can succeed.'
Though Andhra Pradesh police has not confirmed the arrest of Sattanna so far, Revolutionary Writer Association founder Varavara Rao alleged that the Maoist leader was taken into custody by a special police party from Angamaly in Ernakulam district in Kerala on a specific tip-off.
With the arrest of key leader of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, Andhra Pradesh police have busted a big conspiracy to carry out attack on a senior political figure or police official in Mehbubnagar district bordering Karnataka.
The Bombay high court on Friday granted bail to scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
He also said the government is sensitive towards farmers and is in discussion with them and their representatives to resolve their concerns.
Maoists are ready for talks if the Centre stops operations against them, their leader Kishenji said on Friday.
The court, however, extended the interim protection from arrest granted to them for a period of four weeks so that they can approach the Supreme Court in appeal.
In a major breakthrough, Odisha Police have arrested two suspected Maoists who were accused of being involved in the May 25 deadly attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh.
Referring to the arrest of military operations leader Venkatshewar Reddy alias Telugu Dipak on March two from Howrah, Maoist leader Kishenji said: "The arrest will strengthen our resolve to fight state sponsored terrorism. We will make our movement in the country stronger and sharper."
Hardcore Maoist Sriramula Srinivas alias Sudarshan, wanted in connection with several cases including the killing of former Andhra Home Minister A Madhava Reddy and carrying a reward of Rs 20 lakh on him, was arrested in Khammam district, police said on Sunday.
The Andhra Pradesh police claimed to have foiled an attempt of a Maoist team from Karnataka to target political leaders and senior police officers in the state, by arresting one of its members on Sunday.
A National Investigation Agency team arrived in Malkangiri on Thursday to record the statements of two Maoists who have admitted to the Odisha police that they were involved in the May 25 attack in Chhattisgarh in which several Congress leaders were killed.
Maoists have started losing their sway over the people of Lalgarh and its surrounding areas in the wake of a sustained operation by the joint forces and the arrest of tribal leaders Chhatradhar Mahato and Sukhshanti Baske.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday expressed apprehension about Maoists' design behind the agitation launched by the landless or illegal settlers on government land under the banner of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity, whose leader Akhil Gogoi has already been arrested and in judicial custody now.
Top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy on Friday moved a Delhi court, expressing his willingness to withdraw the 'forcible confession' made before the police, following his arrest in New Delhi in September.Ghandy, a central committee member of the Communist Party of India - Maoist, was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, who sent him to judicial custody till December 25.Ghandy, 63, was brought to New Delhi from Andhra Pradesh.
After a meeting with Buddhadeb, Indrani -- the wife of officer-in-charge of Sankrail police station, Atindranath Dutta -- said they had conveyed to the chief minister Maoist leader Kishenji's demand that the women arrested by joint forces in West Midnapore district be released immediately.
A controversy erupted on Tuesday after the opposition parties tagged a video of DMK leader A Raja purportedly showing him making remarks that India has never been a nation, but a subcontinent with diverse practices and cultures, prompting strong response from the BJP which described the comments as a call for 'balkanisation' of the the country and demanded for his arrest.
Top Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao had suffered a bullet injury in his left leg but is now out of danger, a person claiming to be have treated him said.
Some of the letters exchanged between the arrested activists spoke of planning 'some big action' which would attract attention, Singh said.
Tamang Swayatta Krantikari Janaparishad, a Maoist-affiliated organisation, has also banned plying vehicles with Indian number plates in several districts in central Nepal.
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