"The villagers came first, and then the Naxalites, dressed in black. They were some 300 Naxalites, all wearing black," a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force said.
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.
70 per cent voting was recorded across 18 constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon till 3 pm in the first phase of assembly election in Chhattisgarh, where violence by Naxals who have called for a poll boycott left a Central Reserve Police Force jawan dead.
Ruling out the possibility of Naxals shooting down the helicopter of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Union Minister M M Pallam Raju on Thursday said the mishap that claimed Reddy's life took place due to bad weather."The possibility of a Naxal strike on the chief minister's helicopter is ruled out completely. It was an accident due to bad weather. There is no hand of Naxalites," Minister of State for Defence Raju said.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has called a meeting of the chief ministers of seven states affected by Naxal violence on Wednesday, where he is likely highlight the importance of approaching the naxal issue as a national problem. He will also dispel the impression about various voices being heard on Naxal issue.
A Central Reserve Police Force officer was killed on Friday during an anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand's Giridih district.
With the Centre showing readiness to spend on development to counter Left-wing insurgency, getting more of their districts declared Naxal-affected seemed to be a common idea across state chief ministers at today's National Development Council meet.
SHO among 2 cops killed in Naxal ambush, 6 hurt in Chhattisgarh
Emphasising that Naxalism is not the concern of a single state, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Wednesday said a concerted national strategy needs to be drawn up to combat the menace. "The country must now rise above the constriction that this (Naxal problem) is the concern of any single state. We have been advocating a concerted national strategy to combat it," he said while addressing the meeting of chief ministers of Naxal-affected states.
Four Naxal-affected states will raise specialised forces trained in guerilla warfare on the lines of the much-acclaimed 'Greyhounds', a special police unit in Andhra Pradesh.
Chhattisgarh had little respite from naxal violence in 2008 which claimed over 200 lives and forced about 50,000 people to take shelter in relief camps in the state, where elections were held under unprecedented security in two phases.
70 per cent voting was recorded across 18 constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon till 3 pm in the first phase of assembly election in Chhattisgarh, where violence by Naxals who have called for a poll boycott left a Central Reserve Police Force jawan dead.
The police party was on their way to Kanker district in Bastar region for a combing operation when they were attacked by the rebels, Bastar IG A N Upadhyaya said, adding that the injured security personnel were rushed to Raipur hospital by helicopter.
The surrendered Naxal said such arguments and counter-arguments led to internal dispute. "I felt suffocated and a sense of remorse started setting in."
Kanker district Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhagat told PTI on phone that a joint patrolling team of the BSF and the district police from Koylibeda was ambushed near Sulangi village by around 150 naxals in which two BSF jawans -- a head constable and a constable--were killed on the spot while three others, including a special police officer, were injured.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and discussed the internal security situation. First the two had a one-on-one meeting after which Home Minister P Chidambaram joined in the discussion, in what was seen as a rare occasion.
The roots of the problem lies in the alienation of the tribals. Extreme sensitivity is required to tackle the issues involved. Rough and ready methods of using force may prove counterproductive in the long run, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
A constable was shot dead today and a special police officer was allegedly abducted by the Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, an official said. A Maoist was also killed in retaliatory fire at a Salwa Judum camp in Cherpal village in the wee hours, he said.
Noted social activist Swami Agnivesh on Saturday appealed to the Chhattisgarh government to initiate talks to solve the problem of Naxalism. The tribal-dominated state is home to a large number of Naxals and is considered their bastion. The chief minister should come forward to solve this decades-old problem through dialogue, he said at a press conference in Raipur in the presence of Chief Minister Raman Singh.
The revelations were allegedly made by Arun Pereira, who the police accuse of being a Naxal ideologue, during a narco analysis test in Bangalore. Pereira says the information released after the test is fabricated.
The deadly Maoist ambush, claiming the lives of 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, was planned and supervised by local Naxal leaders who were reportedly camping in south Bastar for past few days, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that 129 people's representatives and 411 government officials have been killed in Naxal violence between 2004 and 2006.
The Centre on Tuesday said the governments of Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have failed to contain Naxalism despite all possible support extended to them to fight the menace.
Amid the controversy over the anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in which tribals were suspected to be among the 19 victims, the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry on Tuesday called the offensive "completely unacceptable" and targeted the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government.
In an unusual way, Governor of Chhatisgarh ESL Narasimhan wrote to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to resist the temptation of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to visit Naxal affected areas in Raipur and Dandewada on January 7, 2010. During this visit P Chidambaram shall undertake a padayatra on Jan 7, 2009.
The recent Central Reserve Police Force encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district is part of the latest plan of the force to conduct "big sweep" operations in uncharted Naxal hotbeds of the country in order to liberate them from the clutches of 'red' ultras.
The brutal face of Naxals who killed 27 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh came out when they slit open throats and smashed the heads of some of the security men.
Naxals on Tuesday night extended by 24 hours the deadline set for the release of four policemen held captive by them even as the Chhattisgarh government said there were positive talks with the Maoists on the safe return of the hostages.
The Maoists have constituted 'Baal Action Teams' to deploy school children in different capacities in their attempt to regroup the child cadres and boost their perceived military strength.
Jehanabad: Of Love And War authentically captures Bihar's political skullduggery and caste violence, observes Deepa Gahlot.
In a stern warning to Naxals, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Sunday that security forces will not hesitate from launching a "battle on ground" to help "re-establish" civil administration's control in the areas occupied by the ultra Left groups.
In an ominous development, Pakistan's ISI is making attempts to establish contacts with Naxals with the help of underworld don Chota Shakeel for carrying out subversive activities in the country and six people have been arrested so far in this connection.
Stressing that Naxals shunning the path of violence is just a matter of time, a top Central Reserve Police Force official on Tuesday appealed to the people from insurgency-hit areas to stand up against militancy. K P Singh, who recently took charge as the deputy inspector general of police of CRPF in the Naxal-infested district of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, told PTI that his optimism stems from effective policing techniques being adopted by agencies.
Major changes in the Central Reserve Police Force's operational strategies are underway following the recent setback against Naxals, especially in Dantewada where it lost over 75 personnel. The post of CRPF Inspector General of Police (Operations) is likely to be created in every state where the force is deployed for anti-Naxal operations, official sources said.
The ruling Congress, voted to office in 2018 after 15 years in opposition, and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the main contenders for power in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and some regional outfits are also in the fray.
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.
Six policemen were on Tuesday injured when Naxals blew up an anti-landmine vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire on them in Perimili area of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed confidence on Sunday that that the situation in Naxal-hit West Midnapore district in West Bengal would be brought under control in three to four days. Described Naxals as 'cowards', he said they were retreating into the thick forests even as security forces wrested control of areas dominated by them.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances