Naxals looted six automatic weapons -- two AK-47s and as many INSAS and self loading rifles -- of the deceased personnel.
Sheikh Salim Gafur has been selected for the honour as he displayed some rare grit and bravery and continued to drive the bus of the Amarnath pilgrims, which came under attack by the terrorists on July 10, 2017, in Jammu and Kashmir, a home ministry official said.
This is the fourth IED blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh in the last 15 days.
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.
The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter.
The CRPF gave this response while refusing to share its inquiry report into the incident with an RTI applicant.
Fifty people were feared killed as Naxalites triggered a powerful blast, targeting two trucks, in which about 100 villagers were returning after attending an anti-Naxal meeting at Darbaguda.
In a brazen daytime attack, Naxals on Tuesday ambushed a security team killing 15 personnel including 11 of the Central Reserve Police Force and also a civilian in a chilling reminder of the 2010 massacre of 76 securitymen in the same area in the worst-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
Around 150 cases involving that of murder, landmine blasts, abduction and attack on the police were pending against the couple in different police stations, police said.
He also declared that 34,000 posts of paramilitary constables were upgraded as head constables.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday began his 10-kilometre 'padyatra' (foot march) in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district to reach out to farmers and tribals affected by land acquisition for various projects.
The DD scribe, Dhiraj Kumar said the horrific incident would never fade from his memory.
Re-polling at two booths in Antagarh assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Kanker district will be held on Saturday, an official said on Wednesday.
In 2014-15 civic elections, excluding urban bodies and Bhilai Municipal Corporation, the Congress had won four out of 10 municipal corporations while the BJP was reduced to four, two less than from the last time.
Baghel led from the front to take on the BJP, led by Raman Singh, after being entrusted the task to revive the Congress' fortunes in Chhattisgarh following the third consecutive defeat in the 2013 assembly polls.
An assortment of sophisticated weaponry belonging to security personnel, including 10 AK-series rifles, were carried off by the Naxals from the site of the encounter on Monday in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh which left 14 Central Reserve Police Force jawans dead and over a dozen others injured.
This is suspected to be a Naxal ambush for security forces. Maoists fired multiple rounds while attacking the vehicle-mounted team, the official said.
The skirmish took place in the wee hours in the restive Dabba-Kunna hills when the joint team of the CRPF and STF was out on an anti-Maoist operation.
Three Naxals, including two women, were on Saturday gunned down by security forces at two different places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division, taking the total number of ultras killed in separate gun-battles in the region this month to 21.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended Holi greetings to the people, saying the festival symbolises the spirit of harmony and prosperity.
While the Chhattisgarh police charged the well-known academic with a tribal man's murder, those who know her say it is vendetta at play.
'Naxals, when they encountered our commandos on Sunday morning, fired first.' 'We gave them warnings to surrender, but they continued firing.' 'Ultimately, our commandos responded in self-defence and that resulted in the death of 37 Naxals.'
Post K Durga Prasad's retirement as the last full-time chief of the Central Reserved Police Force on February 28, the Union home ministry had appointed Additional DG Sudeep Lakhtakia to hold the charge in "additional" capacity.
Kannada actor and former MP Ramya has been selected to lead the party's social media outreach.
CRPF troopers confront loneliness, poor network connectivity, poor work conditions, dismal work-life balance, and immense psychological stress.
Bad weather and hostile terrain have hampered the evacuation operation in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district where armed rebels had on Saturday ambushed a team of Special Task Force killing seven personnel.
With heavy security deployment in hyper-sensitive areas of Bastar region ahead of polls, Naxalites are apparently trying to change their course of action and mobilising cadres to town areas to attack "soft targets" outside their core hold, intelligence sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.
Altogether 13 Maoist ultras including a woman were killed in an encounter with security forces inside a forest in Malkangiri district early on Saturday while another rebel was captured. The Maoist group that camped there was suspected to have been involved in the May 25 attack on a Congress convoy in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh that killed senior party leaders V C Shukla, Mahendra Karma and about 19 others.
The process of decision-making and making large policy moves in the force has slowed down owing to the absence of the designated chief.
The BJP chief had lunch at the house of a tribal family before interacting with party workers.
The Congress hit back at Modi and accused him of indulging in his 'trademark petty politics' and seeking to hide his 'abject failure and weak-kneed' approach to fighting Naxalism.
Reaching out to youths in Naxal-hit areas, the Centre on Friday launched a placement linked skill development scheme targeting 50,000 rural men and women, mostly tribals, in 24 worst affected districts.
The commander, identified only as Podia, was on Tuesday gunned down by police in Dantewada district, 450km from Raipur, Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI.
The Central Reserve Police Force top boss on Thursday said he has asked his troops deployed in anti-Naxal operations to even go to the extent of "violating" the Standard Operating Procedures if such a diversion in rules is required for operational efficiency and safety of the men.
Encouraged by their initiatives which resulted in high voter turnout in Naxal-hit areas, officers in Chhattisgarh's Chief Electoral Office are hopeful of a similar trend in 72 constituencies going to polls on Tuesday.
The results, while bringing the Congress back to power in this state, also end the rule of the 66-year-old BJP stalwart, who has earned several monikers during his 15-year-long tenure -- Doctor saheb being a trained Ayurvedic medical practitioner, chaur wale baba for his popular rice scheme and the 'Mobile Wale Baba' for giving free smartphones to 50 lakh women and students.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre and Chhattisgarh government to find a peaceful solution to the Naxal problem in the state and adopt a "pragmatic" approach towards life.
Heavy rainfall coupled with strong winds continued to lash several parts of Chhattisgarh on Monday due to cyclone Hudhud, which hit coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on Sunday.
Four personnel were also injured in the Naxal attack and two of them were stated to be critical.
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