News from the Indian Revolution (3)

[TheGodlessUtopian]

The old thread reached 500+ posts so in accordance with RevLeft's rules I have started this new thread to exclusively chronicle news, reports and updates from the Indian Revolution (no "op eds"/opinion pieces). For the previous thread look here (http://www.revleft.com/vb/spring-thunder-indias-t132890/index.html?p=2608901#post2608901).
- - - - - - - - - - -


BSF helicopter fired at by Naxals, second incident this year
A BSF helicopter, involved in lifting commandos conducting anti-Naxal operations, was today fired at by Naxalites in the jungles of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, officials said. The Mi-17 helicopter suffered bullet shots in the cockpit area but landed safely with the last passenger load of ‘Greyhound’ commandos in Andhra Pradesh’s Bhadrachalam in Khammam district, senior officials involved in the operation said. The helicopter was pressed for troop evacuation after the commando squad conducted an anti-Maoist operation in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh yesterday where ten Naxals were killed.
The incident of opening fire at the chopper took place in Puwarti village under Jagargunda police station area of the district in south Bastar during the evening hours. During the firing, ten commandos of Andhra Pradesh police force were evacuated, they said. Security forces had also thrown a ring around the helipad but still the Maoists attempt to hit the chopper succeeded, they said, adding that a squad of CRPF personnel fanned in the nearby areas to look for Naxal cadres.
Two IAF Mi-17 choppers were also part of the same operation today but they were safe during their entire sortie where they transported 30 Greyhounds personnel from Chhattisgarh to Andhra Pradesh. This is the second incident of Naxalites firing on security forces’ helicopters after an IAF chopper was hit in January in the same district. A joint squad of Andhra Pradesh’s Greyhounds, CRPF and state police had conducted an operation in the area yesterday.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/BSF-helicopter-fired-at-by-Naxals-second-incident-this-year/2013/04/17/article1549540.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/BSF-helicopter-fired-at-by-Naxals-second-incident-this-year/2013/04/17/article1549540.ece)
Five women among nine Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh gunbattle
In one of the biggest operations in Dandakaranya region in recent years, security forces claimed to have killed nine Maoists, including five women, in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday morning. “The incident took place at Puvarti under Jagargunda police station area at around 8 am, when a joint team of Andhra Greyhounds, 217 Battalion of CRPF and Chhattisgarh police had an encounter with the Maoists,” said Bastar IG Himanshu Gupta.
Among those killed was North Telangana special zonal committee member Marri Ravi alias Sudhakar, who carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh. “Nine bodies have been recovered, out of which seven have been identified. Besides Sudhakar, his gunmen Ajay was also killed,” said the IG.
The other Maoists who have been identifed are divisional committee member Pushpaka (Karimnagar), Sabitha (Warangal), Arelli Venkat alias Kiran (Karimnagar), Maddi Seetha alias Navatha (Mangapait), Jagan Raju alias Durgam Raju (Warangal). All of them operated in Andhra Pradesh. Security forces also claimed to have recovered 11 weapons, including 2 INSAS and 4 SLRs.
Sources said the entire operation was led by the anti-Naxal force Greyhounds, based on intelligence input that senior Maoist leader Ramanna and other cadres were in Sukma’s Puwarti area, over 600 km south of capital Raipur, for a “tactical counter offensive campaign” meeting. Ramanna is believed to be behind the 2010 Dantewada attack that left 76 CRPF personnel dead. It was his “military company” that came under attack today.
“This is one of the most important wings of the Maoists as they are well-armed and trained in jungle warfare. Their prime job is to provide security to the top ten leaders,” said an official. Officials alleged that the Maoists used children from the nearby villages as “human shields”. “They sat on tractors and surrounded themselves with children before fleeing the site,” said an official. Sources said there was an increasing trend among the Maoists to recruit more women. Senior Home ministry officials said women constituted at least 40-50 per cent of the new cadres inducted by the Maoists recently.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/five-women-among-nine-maoists-killed-in-chhattisgarh-gunbattle/1103683/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/five-women-among-nine-maoists-killed-in-chhattisgarh-gunbattle/1103683/0)
Encounter in Chhattisgarh: State borders sealed
KORAPUT: Fearing a possible influx of Maoists into Odisha following an encounter between Red rebels and a joint team of CRPF personnel and Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh in bordering Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, security has been beefed up in Maoist-hit Malkangiri district. “Though the place of encounter is over 100 km from our border, but we can’t take chances and have strengthened our anti-Maoist operation along the border areas. Security personnel have been kept on high alert to avert a possible sneaking of ultras into the district,” said SP (Malkangiri) Akhileswar Singh.
While borders have been sealed, extra forces have been deployed at possible waterways, which could be used by the Left-wing extremists to enter the district. “Vehicles entering into the district are being frisked. Extra forces have also been deployed at strategic locations,” the SP said.
At least nine extremists were killed in the encounter between security personnel and the Red rebels belonging to south Bastar division committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) at Puvarthi village inside Kanchala forest in Chhattisgarh. Police said the exchange of fire lasted for one hour.
Two INSAS guns, two .303 guns, a carbine, an SBML gun, a pistol, an SLR, an AK 20 rifle and huge quantities of bullets, three cellphones, and Rs 19,000 cash among other Maoist belongings were recovered from the Maoist camp. While an exchange of fire had occurred between Maoists and security men at Tekguda forest under Kalimela police limits in the district recently, the rebels had murdered sarpanch of Kurmanur panchayat Bhagaban Kirsani earlier this month suspecting him to be a police informer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Encounter-in-Chhattisgarh-State-borders-sealed/articleshow/19588966.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Encounter-in-Chhattisgarh-State-borders-sealed/articleshow/19588966.cms)
CRPF to purchase high-end defence gear to take on Naxals
The CRPF is purchasing more than a dozen defence manufactured UAVs and a number of mine protected troop carriers to aid and guide ground patrols of the force conducting anti-Naxal operations. The country’s largest paramilitary, thick in action against the Maoists, has decided to make these big ticket purchases from indigenous defence establishments like the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
The decision to purchase from indigenous defence establishments has been made with a view to fast-track the purchases and get an early delivery of these sophisticated machines as compared to the timeline of foreign vendors and global purchases. Sources said the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will get almost 15 ‘Nishant’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and more than three dozen OFB Kolkata made counter-landmine vehicles which protect troops from hidden mines.
“Both the machines coming from the defence stable are aimed to get the troops a better operational preparedness in the Naxal terrain and also save our men from the deadly landmines planted clandestinely beneath the tracks in Naxal-hit areas,” a senior official said.
The CRPF, which has deployed close to 85,000 personnel for anti-Naxal operations, at present is flying UAVs in Maoist zones in order to give its foot soldiers an advanced view of the jungle terrain and indicate possible movement of armed Maoist cadres with the help of the ‘Netra’ mini-UAVs. The force now will use the bigger UAV ‘Nishant’ developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO and used by the Indian Army.
The ‘Nishant’ can undertake day and night missions using advance payloads and has a command link and digital downlink. It is compact and easily deployable system and can undertake day and night battlefield reconnaissance, surveillance and target tracking.
The machine has an endurance capacity of four-and-a-half hours and it achieves maximum speed of 185km per hour. The OFB manufactured mine-protected troop carrier, the CRPF thinks, will give an enhanced security to its troops who have been killed in earlier variants after explosives as high as 80kgs was blasted beneath these mammoth armoured machines tossing the vehicle in air, killing and maiming many personnel out in the jungles.
The force is aiming to purchase close to 40 such landmine protected vehicles for its battalions in Naxal areas and the Kolkata based OFB has agreed to supply these machines which promise better ergonomics and enhanced resistance to IED and explosives blast under the hull or tyres of the machine. “The manufacturers wanted the CRPF to give a substantial order so that they can activate their production lines for these machines quickly.
This assurance has been already conveyed,” the official added. The latest UAVs, once inducted into the CRPF stable, will be based in a squadron formation in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra and they will undertake sorties from multiple locations on a requirement basis, sources said.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/CRPF-to-purchase-high-end-defence-gear-to-take-on-Naxals/2013/04/17/article1549284.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/CRPF-to-purchase-high-end-defence-gear-to-take-on-Naxals/2013/04/17/article1549284.ece)
The CPI(Maoist), on the backfoot after prolonged operations in Saranda forest in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, is planning to strengthen itself with tie-ups with insurgent groups in the Northeast.
A letter sent to 13 states, including Jharkhand, by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Maoist efforts to expand to new areas said that they planned to strengthen their Eastern Regional Bureau which was guiding the movement in all the states of the eastern region. “… The North-East is another region where the CPI (Maoist) is trying to spread its wings … with the objectives include strengthening the outfit’s Eastern Regional Bureau, procurement of arms/ammunition/communication equipment,” the six-page letter said.
It noted that the CPI-Maoist had developed close relationship with the Manipur-based People’s Liberation Army, which was not only in a position to procure weapons from foreign sources, but had also provided training to Maoist cadres. The NSCN (I/M) also appeared to have been used for training to the rebels, it said.
The letter, however, said it would not be easy for the Maoists to establish themselves in the the Northeast abounding in ethnicity based militias, but they could use their ‘theoretical support’ to ‘nationalities’ and to gain a foothold in the region and forge relationships with ethnic militant groups.
The Maoists presence was first noticed in Assam in 2006 with the ultras targeting the ‘existing political movements’, the letter said. It estimated that the banned Maoist outfit had around one hundred cadres, including 25 to 30 armed, in Assam and with Mahesh, a Central Committee member from the Rabha community appearing to be in charge. Quoting the Assam Police, the letter said 23 of the 79 police stations in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Dhemaji and Lakhmipur districts in Assam were affected by Left-wing extremism with cadres extorting small tea gardens, cattle-rearing farms and individuals to sustain itself.
“… the Maoists have done some ground-work in the tea garden areas where a local Maoist leader, Aditya Borah, is at the forefront of efforts to recruit Adivasis in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts,” the letter said. Some recently arrested Adivasi Tiger Force militants revealed that they had close links with Borah and that Maoists from West Bengal were providing ideological training to Adivasi youth, the letter said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1823503/report-maoists-plan-to-strengthen-base-in-northeast

(http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1823503/report-maoists-plan-to-strengthen-base-in-northeast)
West Bengal,Odisha, Jharkhand to launch joint operation against Maoists
Jhargram, West Bengal: Security forces of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand today decided to launch a joint operation against Maoists in their common border areas. Jhargram Superintendent of Police Bharati Ghosh said officers of various levels of the police, CRPF and CISF of the three states attended a meeting held in the SP’s office in Jahrgram.
It was decided at the meeting that a joint operation would be launched against the Maoists in the border areas, Ghosh said. However, she did not divulge the exact date of commencing of the operation. Jungle Mahal region in southern West Bengal comprising the forested areas of Purulia, West Midnapore (which included Jhargram police district) and Bankura district has borders with Odisha and Jharkhand and was a Maoist stronghold a couple of years ago.
Their activities slowed down after the Mamata Banerjee-led government came to power in May 2011 and CPI (Maoist) politburo member Kishanji was killed six months later. However, in recent months, there were indications that the red rebels were trying to regroup in Jungle Mahal.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/west-bengal-odisha-jharkhand-to-launch-joint-operation-against-maoists-707632.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=23998

[TheGodlessUtopian]

BSF ‘deserts’ commandos after Naxal operation
At least five of Andhra Pradesh’s Greyhounds commando team, which killed nine Maoists, were on Wednesday reportedly abandoned by a BSF helicopter in the rebel-infested Batiguda village in Khammam district. After the IAF sent two Mi-17 helicopters to Batiguda on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border and successfully airlifted 30 of the Greyhounds personnel, the BSF’s lone Mi-17 chopper was tasked to pick up the remaining 10 personnel. “But soon after the BSF helicopter landed and the commandos began to board it, heavily armed Maoists zeroed in on the location and opened fire,” officials from the security agencies said here.
Soon, the Mi-17 was hit by the Maoists’ bullets, two of which reportedly hit the cargo hold area too, prompting the pilots to take off midway through the evacuation process. “The BSF helicopter left behind at least five men and flew out. This happened in the afternoon hours of Wednesday. We have no further information on the fate of the five men,” the officials added. The five men were part of the 40-member commando team that killed nine Maoists, including five women, in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Tuesday.
On January 18, an IAF Mi-17 helicopter had come under a heavy Maoists ambush in a forest area in Chhattisgarh, where they had flown to evacuate CRPF personnel. The IAF crew, along with two Garud Commando Force personnel, left behind the injured policemen and the chopper in the forest and walked to a police station a few kilometres away. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had sought a report from the Ministry of Defence on the incident. Incidentally, the BSF is directly under the MHA’s administrative control.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/BSF-%E2%80%98deserts%E2%80%99-commandos-after-Naxal-operation/2013/04/18/article1549940.ece

Chhattisgarh’s policy problems
It is not often that human rights activists and government observers appear on the same analytical platform. But when they do, it is worth pausing in the churlish dismissal of any criticism of rampant industrialization as anti-national sentiment. I have increasingly encountered such analyses from officials charged with internal security, administrators and police alike, in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.
These states are well known for their heavy-handed application of both industrial and security policies. Such orientation enables business and politics to walk hand-in-glove. For the purpose of brevity, in this week’s column let’s pick Chhattisgarh, arguably the state with the most roiled political economy and security environment. Security analysts point to the rash of proposed and work-in-progress thermal power, iron and steel and coal-mining projects in this state, in particular such concentration in the three north-central districts of Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa and Korba.
Security concerns extend beyond the usual footprint of twisted land acquisition and shabby resettlement and rehabilitation issues. Indeed, such concerns project Korba and Raigarh as agriculturally among the most productive districts of Chhattisgarh. Security analyses also correctly highlight Janjgir-Champa and Raigarh as geographies for the Mahanadi river system which eventually drains into neighbouring Orissa. They speak of prime agricultural land being acquired for industry, leading to loss of livelihoods, and in other cases pollution affecting output in farms near industrial concentrations. Appropriation of water resources for industry to the detriment of agriculture is red-flagged.
As one report mentions: “Most of the available water from tributaries as well as from the Mahanadi river has been diverted to existing power/iron and steel plants. The under-construction plants are also dependent on water from this river basin.” Several security analysts speak of the fallout of diverting forest and agricultural land in the area for coal blocks, a matter of particular focus especially on account of the central government taking a decision to adopt such proposals for fast-track clearance. Then there is the downstream effect.
As one security analysis read, “Displacement from land and forest, decline in agricultural productivity and a polluted environment will lead to distress amongst the majority of the local population which till now has been unorganized. After the compensation amounts given to the local landowners have finished they will also become part of the discontented masses.” Besides the increasing volume of protests by social activists who generally step in to provide organization to such discontent, there is the additional factor of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The Maoists have what can be termed a foothold in Raigarh district, which shares an eastern border with Orissa, and in Jashpur, the adjacent district to its north that shares a border with Orissa and Jharkhand. Some insiders expect Maoists to begin leveraging local discontent for propaganda and recruitment. This is not idle talk. The CPI (Maoist) has for at least the past year worked diligently to secure a corridor that links its stronghold in southern Chhattisgarh with Jharkhand using a funnel that runs through western Orissa.
A part of this funnel, a personnel and material route, is also believed to contain an alternate sanctuary in Orissa for Maoist leadership—I have discussed these in detail in earlier columns. Under pressure in all theatres of their operation, Maoists are naturally looking for fresh grounds to sow and reap. The new industrial hubs of Chhattisgarh can provide that with their proximity to this Maoist pipeline.
Were that to happen, it is not impossible to imagine that businesses, both big and small, would be as inextricably linked to the Maoist political economy as they are in southern Chhattisgarh. Another report has this damning indictment: “Growing agrarian and social unrest is bound to provide an audience as well as a plank for the Maoist ideology… The state government is not prepared to meet the possible challenges.
Neither does it have the foresight or depth to see the future trends.” Some reports specifically name government officials thought to have benefited from the state’s industrial overdrive. It is not difficult to see where this is headed. Instead of fixing the ills of its own policies—industrial, land, and resettlement and rehabilitation, to name a few—the government of Chhattisgarh could well request the deployment of vast numbers of paramilitary forces in central Chhattisgarh.
As has happened in southern Chhattisgarh and elsewhere, a situation of resentment and violence will lead to security forces being deployed. This will be described as a necessary step to reclaim space for governance and peace—governance and peace that was deliberately weakened.
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/1xgY4AZZz1bcpVj6pIdNMM/The-ills-of-rapid-industrialization.html

Varavara Rao questions Maoist ‘encounter story’
Were the nine Maoists really slain in an exchange of fire with a joint force of Greyhounds, Police and CRPF at Puvarthi forest area in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh? Revolutionary Writers’ Association leader Varavara Rao on Wednesday alleged that the police were lying. He felt it was more than likely that the deaths were the result of a covert police operation and suspected that Maoist Khammam, Karimnagar and Warangal region secretary V Sudhakar was in police custody, notwithstanding the police claim that he was among the dead.
Family members of Sudhakar too made it clear his body was not among the dead. Varavara Rao suspected the police were making false claims to torture Sudhakar. He demanded that besides Sudhakar, Maoists Rajireddy, Hari Bhushan and Malla Reddy, who were in the custody of Pamedu police, be produced in court. Varavara Rao visited Bhadrachalam and paid tributes to the slain Maoists and was furious with the Khammam police for not allowing family members to see the mortal remains of the dead Maoists.
The Khammam police had disregarded the direction of the AP High Court and the Human Rights Commission to preserve and hand over the bodies to the family members, he alleged. Varavara Rao said all the nine Maoists were SCs and STs who had spent their lives in the struggle to protect valuable minerals of their forest areas.
He said the Maoists had opposed the handing over of forest wealth to multi-national companies and demanded that the government conduct post-mortem of all the bodies in Bhadrachalam and hand them over to the family members. He said home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, DGP V Dinesh Reddy and Intelligence DG K Mahender Reddy had turned down his appeal to conduct post-mortem in Bhadrachalam and handover bodies to the families.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Varavara-Rao-questions-Maoist-%E2%80%98encounter-story%E2%80%99/2013/04/18/article1549984.ece

Slain Maoists’ bodies shifted to Chhattisgarh amid protests
Tension prevailed at the Government area hospital in Bhadrachalam on Wednesday when relatives of the nine Maoists, who were killed in an encounter with police in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, staged a demonstration opposing shifting of the bodies to Chhattisgarh.
Civil liberties activists protest
Amid protests by civil liberties activists, who charged the police with killing the nine Maoists in a “covert operation”, the bodies were shifted to Sukma district by road under the supervision of the Chhattisgarh police in the afternoon.
The situation turned tense when family members of some of the slain Maoists insisted that they be allowed to see the bodies and take them home. They wanted post-mortem performed at the local area hospital itself in line with High Court guidelines. Citing jurisdictional limits, the local police maintained that the post-mortem would be conducted in Chhattisgarh and the bodies would be handed over to them thereafter.
In an unexpected development, the father and other family members of the Khammam-Karimnagar-Warangal divisional secretary, Sudhakar, did not identify the bullet-riddled body claimed by the police as that of the senior Maoist leader. However, police officials reiterated that Sudhakar was among those killed in the encounter. Covert operation alleged Talking to media persons, revolutionary writer Varavara Rao accused the police of gunning down the Maoists in a covert operation when the latter fell unconscious after consuming food laced with “poison.”
However, the Officer on Special Duty, Kothagudem, T. Srinivasa Rao, refuted the charges. “Sudhakar was among those killed in the encounter. This has been corroborated by some former naxaltes of the region,” he asserted. Meanwhile, Mulugu MLA Seetakka expressed anguish over the manner in which the bodies were dumped in the mortuary. “All the slain Maoists hailed from weaker sections, mostly from my constituency in Warangal district. It is distressing that the family members are not being allowed to see the bodies,” she added.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/slain-maoists-bodies-shifted-to-chhattisgarh-amid-protests/article4627866.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24013

[Sentinel]

Stickied.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxals ask voters to boycott polls
Several naxal pamphlets urging voters to boycott the May 5 polls were found in Kigga on Thursday morning. Whether this is a Naxal activity or handwork of a few miscreants is yet to be ascertained. Anti-naxal personnel are present at Kigga and security is already tightened due to the car festival of rain god Rishyasringa . Police officials also visited the spot and took stock of the situation.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Naxals-ask-voters-to-boycott-polls/2013/04/19/article1551814.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Naxals-ask-voters-to-boycott-polls/2013/04/19/article1551814.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Naxals-ask-voters-to-boycott-polls/2013/04/19/article1551814.ece) ‘Greyhounds’ jawan killed in gunfight with Naxals
Raipur: A jawan of Andhra Pradesh’s anti- Naxal force ‘Greyhounds’ was killed in an encounter with Maoists in the jungles of Chhattisgarh’s Bjiapur district on Thursday, a senior police official said. The jawan, whose identity was not disclosed, was part of the commando squad which on Tuesday conducted an anti- Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, where ten Naxals were gunned down.
“We have got information about the death of a Greyhounds force jawan in forests under Pamed police station area of Bjiapur district in an exchange of gun fire with ultras,” Director General of Police (DGP) Ramniwas told PTI. Security forces were rushed to the spot to recover the body, he said.
According to a senior official of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), around five jawans of the squad were left behind in the jungles after the operation. When they were coming out of the forest, ultras opened fire on the jawans, who retaliated. In the ensuing gunbattle, one of the personnel was killed, while the others came out safely, the DGP said. Personnel of Greyhounds, CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police launched a joint offensive against rebels on April 16 in Puarti village of Sukma district and killed 10 ultras. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/greyhounds-jawan-killed-in-gunfight-with-naxals_843102.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/greyhounds-jawan-killed-in-gunfight-with-naxals_843102.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/greyhounds-jawan-killed-in-gunfight-with-naxals_843102.html) Two Maoists arrested in Kolkata
Two Maoists were arrested from the city and arms, ammunition and some documents recovered from them police said Friday. Sabyasachi Goswami, and Zakir Hussain, both members of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist were arrested Thursday evening from the city’s Jadavpur area by the special task force of the state police.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Two-Maoists-arrested-in-Kolkata/2013/04/19/article1552485.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Two-Maoists-arrested-in-Kolkata/2013/04/19/article1552485.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Two-Maoists-arrested-in-Kolkata/2013/04/19/article1552485.ece) HC denies bail to alleged naxal
Bombay High Court has rejected the bail application of Angela Sontakke, an alleged naxal. Sontakke (42) was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad in April 2011 along with six others for their alleged association with the banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The sessions court in May last year had rejected the bail applications of all the seven accused, following which they approached the High Court. “The other six accused were granted bail by High Court earlier, but Sontakke’s bail was rejected last week,” her lawyer Sharmila Kaushik said. Justice S C Dharmadhikari, while rejecting the bail plea, observed that prima facie a case was made out against Sontakke.
Others who were arrested with her are Sushma Ramteke, Jyoti Chorge, Nandini Bhagat (22), Auradha Sonule (23), Siddharth Bhosale (24) and Dhavala Dhengale (36). According to the chargesheet filed by ATS, all the accused, booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had “organised several camps for imparting training in terrorism”. They are also accused of `acquiring and holding property’ obtained with funds given by terrorist organisation.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/326861/hc-denies-bail-alleged-naxal.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24029

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Plea in Chhattisgarh HC alleges nexus between Naxals, cops
Alleging strong nexus between top Maoists and senior police officers, an “undercover policeman” filed a petition in Bilaspur High Court on Thursday, seeking protection as the state police wanted to eliminate him. The tribal youth, who has been working in Surguja region of north Chhattisgarh since 2002, said he was employed to infiltrate the Maoist camp and he successfully helped the police in several operations.
But as he learnt about the links of top policemen with the Maoists, he informed the state home ministry.When he did not receive any reply, he wrote to then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on July 28, 2010, detailing the nexus. Soon after, the state police approached him and asked him to keep quiet, the youth said in his petition.
Considering the sensitivity of the case, the High Court accepted his counsel Satish Verma’s plea and held the proceedings in-camera — press and outsiders were not allowed. The court asked the state government to provide him immediate security and file a reply within three weeks by an officer not less than IG rank.
The petitioner, requesting anonymity, said that as he approached the Central government, state police officers began threatening him and even the Maoists attacked him on a few occasions. “The case is in honourable court. It is not appropriate for me to respond, we will submit our response before the court,” DGP Ramniwas said, when approached for his reaction.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Plea-in-Chhattisgarh-HC-alleges-nexus-between-Naxals–cops/1105022/ (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Plea-in-Chhattisgarh-HC-alleges-nexus-between-Naxals--cops/1105022/)

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Plea-in-Chhattisgarh-HC-alleges-nexus-between-Naxals--cops/1105022/)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Plea-in-Chhattisgarh-HC-alleges-nexus-between-Naxals--cops/1105022/) Support pours in for arrested ‘Naxal’ duo
MUMBAI: Letters of support have been pouring in from all over the world, including countries like France, Canada, UK, Thailand, Portugal and Germany, for the jailed couple who allegedly have Naxal links. The letters, written in English and French, request the Arthur Road and the Byculla women’s prison authorities to not torture the two inmates and provide medical aid to the woman, who is six months pregnant.
Till date, authorities have received over 30 letters via fax and over 50 from across the world. Home minister R R Patil too has received similar letters. One of the letters, addressed to Vinod Lokhande, inspector general (prisons), stated, “I am writing to you out of concern for theatre activists Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali, who were arrested on April 2 on various charges, including criminal conspiracy and being part of a banned outfit.
Their lives are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.” Fed up with the continuous letters, jail officials have switched off the fax machine. “We don’t have so much stationery. All letters are almost same, only the senders are different. The fax letters do not show the location or country code, from where they are being sent,” said a source.
After Sathe and Mali’s surrender under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), activists Prakash Ambedkar, Prakash Reddy, Anand Patwardhan and others said the two are members of Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural outfit.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Support-pours-in-for-arrested-Naxal-duo/articleshow/19656215.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Support-pours-in-for-arrested-Naxal-duo/articleshow/19656215.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Support-pours-in-for-arrested-Naxal-duo/articleshow/19656215.cms) With police help, banned Naxal group takes on Maoists in Jharkhand
As coming-of-age rituals go, the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) couldn’t have planned it better. Acting on intelligence by its cadre, it moved in on a group of Maoists in Chatra district’s Lawalong Tola on the intervening night of March 27-28, killing 10. Among the dead was Lalesh Yadav, secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee, and his closest subordinates, thus leaving a vacuum at the heart of an organisation that has long challenged the police forces of Jharkhand and Bihar.
In the wake of that episode, the Jharkhand Police has denied allegations that the TSPC works with their tacit support. That’s contrary to the evidence on the ground, which indicates that not only does the TSPC, or TPC as it is commonly known, work alongside government forces but that the special branch of the Jharkhand Police was instrumental in its creation back in 2002.
This support has enabled the Jharkhand-government banned organisation to remain overground in Chatra’s Lawalong block, where it is headquartered. It has won panchayat elections unopposed, established itself as a parallel power centre, and driven the Maoists out.
In Lawalong, only one man’s writ counts. Officially, he is called Gopal Singh Bhokta. He is the up-pramukh (deputy president) of the Lawalong panchayat and owns the only institution in the block that teaches up to Class XII: the GSB Inter College, named after him. Villagers such as Baijnath Sahu, the vice-chairperson of the block, say he is much more to them: “Something like a Lok Sabha member or above.”
Only no one knows Bhokta as Bhokta. To both the state police and Lawalong, he is Brajesh Ganjhu or “Sardarji”, the supreme commander of the TSPC. The non-CPI (Maoist) groups, including the TSPC, accounted for 56 per cent of Jharkhand’s left-wing extremist violence in 2012—the same year that the state topped the country in Maoist incidents (479) as well as deaths (162). Brajesh is not the only elected representative with a TSPC background.
Mamta Devi, the president of the zila parishad (district council) who was elected unopposed from Lawalong, is the wife of TSPC ‘zonal commander’ Laxman Ganjhu alias Kohram. Neelam Devi, the chairperson of the block, is the wife of sub-zonal commander Ravinder Ganjhu alias Aakraman. Aakraman is believed to have led the latter half of the March 27-28 encounter, during which senior Maoist leaders were killed. All eight of the panchayat presidents, their deputies and panchayat samiti members in the Lawalong block were elected unopposed in the November-December 2010 panchayat elections.
Same was the case with the lone block representative to the zila parishad and almost all the 80 ward members for the block’s 103 villages. It’s a nearly 100-strong community of the “nirvirodhi (unopposed)”. The TSPC has long been accused of being close to the administration and the state police. At Lawalong, the TSPC is the administration. *** The seeds of the TSPC’s birth were sown in early 2002 in an act of “tactical” kindness. The police were at the time hot on the heels of Brajesh, then a ‘platoon commander’ with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).
“He was a terror. Along with Mukesh, another ‘platoon commander’, he seized the most police weapons,” says a source. The police got a breakthrough when they came to know that Brajesh’s father was severely ill. “We took the father to hospital and made sure he got treatment,” says a policeman, aware of the developments. According to him, that proved the turning point. “Brajesh phoned us, crying. He kept repeating that he did not know that policemen could be humane. We used the opportunity to get closer to him. Eventually, we convinced him to leave the organisation,” the police official says.
One of the clinching arguments was that the people of the area were not benefitting from the levy being collected by the MCC, and that the money was all being transferred to West Bengal, where the outfit had its origins. Brajesh left, provoking the MCC into a backlash. “The Maoists held a jan adalat and decided that Brajesh had to die. The villagers came to his help, and the MCC started attacking the people of his community—the Scheduled Caste Ganjhus.”
Around the end of 2002, Brajesh came to the police for help. “We told him we would help him if he does something in return,” says the policeman. According to the official, “We also arranged for Brajesh to meet a senior officer. He already had guns; we gave him another Rs 80,000. Some officers arranged for rifles. Thus the TSPC was born, with 140 of his boys switching over from the MCC to Brajesh’s side.”
Another version says the TSPC was formed in 2004-2005, but it is likely they became active in early 2005. They now have an estimated cadre strength of 450-750. Jharkhand’s Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar denies any TSPC-police links, saying they treat them “like any other extremist group”. “They are a splinter group of the CPI (Maoist), which has been involved in internecine clashes.
Without them, the Maoists just accounted for 44 per cent of Naxal violence last year,” he says. Police sources believe the outfit derived its name from the third (“tritiya”) preparatory meeting for the merger of the MCC and People’s War, which was marred by differences between the Yadav and Ganjhu factions of the MCC. Brajesh, described as being close to 40 years, is now the TSPC’s supreme leader in charge of military affairs, while Mukesh takes care of finances.
Starting from Chatra, the TSPC soon spread to neighbouring Palamu and Latehar districts almost as the frontline of government forces, evicting the Maoists or forcing them to defect. In the words of a policeman, if the TSPC cadres encounter a Maoist team and are outnumbered, they call the police for help; the same works the other way round, with the TSPC helping CRPF-police parties in trouble. TSPC commanders also pick up Maoists and hand them over to the police. “We constantly keep each other aware of our positions to avoid cross-firing,” says a policeman, among the many in touch with the TSPC’s top leadership. “For us, the choice is quite straightforward.
The Maoists are anti-national; they plan to overthrow the Indian state,” adds a policeman. “The TSPC then is the lesser evil.” The TSPC also gains from this arrangement. Take the encounter in Lakramanda that killed the 10 senior Maoist leaders. The police claim to have recovered only an AK-56, two .303s and three .315 rifles. A police source admitted that the TPSC has very sophisticated weapons already, and may have been allowed to retain the weapons seized from the Maoists. Along with killing Maoist leaders, the TSPC had also kidnapped 25 People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army cadre, though it released them later. Some of the 25 have been arrested by the forces of Bihar and Jharkhand since then on pending cases. A police source says they are likely to prepare FIRs without any names in the case.
A look at police arrests is also revealing. In 2012, the Chatra police made nine major CPI (Maoist) arrests and three TSPC ones. The Palamu police made six major CPI (Maoist) and three People’s Liberation Front of India arrests in 2012, but no TSPC ones. Latehar has seen six major CPI (Maoist) and two PLFI arrests in 2013 but no TSPC ones. In 2012, the Latehar police made 41 major CPI (Maoist) arrests, but picked up only two TSPC members and three members of a splinter group, the TSPC-1. At the same time, policemen who deal with the TSPC have no doubt about the reasons for its efficacy.
“At the end of the day, they are an extremist organisation—no different from the Maoists. If anything, they are more survivalist, and hence more efficient, as they are smaller,” says a policeman. Most policemen who communicate with Brajesh have an uncomfortable handler-asset relationship with him. “Never let them think they are in control. Never let them decide the venue and timing of meetings.
Always let them know that they need you more than you would ever need them,” says a source, showing a call from Brajesh early that morning Lawalong, 30,000 of whose 36,000 acres are forest land, is the pond in which the TSPC swims. Block vice-chairperson Sahu would have you believe the vote by consensus for it had full support. “The people of the block sat down and decided that actually fighting elections would involve a lot of money. So the people held meetings and decided whom they would want for each available post,” he says. If the scale of the TSPC’s unopposed victory makes this consensus suspect, there are some who tell you it was.
“They threatened my father into withdrawing his nomination papers,” says 24-year-old Nirbhay Singh. There is also talk of people being roughed up. Lamta panchayat’s president Amit Kumar (37) admits they had to talk some people out of their nominations. “There was someone against me too. People made him understand the importance of maintaining a good atmosphere,” he claims.
Amit insists the TSPC has done a lot for development of the area. “We never voted in elections… At some point, some of our youngsters understood that the Maoists were fooling them,” he says. Though the going rate is 3 to 5 per cent per project, Amit insists the TSPC does not collect any levy from his panchayat. “They mean well for us. The TSPC is violent because the Maoists are.
When the Maoists are gone, the TSPC will come out and work for the development of this place,” he says. If and when the TPSC does decide to come into the mainstream officially, president of the district council Mamta Devi (24) will be central to the scheme of things. Mamta is the wife of Laxman Ganjhu, better known as TSPC zonal commander ‘Kohram’. She has been in politics long enough to identify her husband as a “contractor”.
Mamta, who stays in a large house surrounded by a seven-foot concrete boundary wall under construction, joined former state chief minister Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha in September 2012 and harbours hopes of getting a ticket for the Assembly elections. Claiming that she has nothing to do with the TSPC, she says: “The common people of this block elected me, and I remain responsible only to them.”
What could bring the TSPC down is that it may be getting too big for its own good. India’s Marxist-Leninist organisations have an amoebic way of surviving—they split as they go forward. The TSPC, born of one such division, already has a TSPC-1 faction. The police also realise that the relationship with the TSPC can only be temporary, and that their control is not absolute. The special branch has already withdrawn its support to the arrangement.
“There is no directive from the police headquarters on how to deal with the TSPC. It all depends on the superintendent of police of the day,” confesses a policeman. Among those not keen on remaining cosy with the TSPC reportedly is K Vijay Kumar, one of the advisors to the state Governor under the ongoing President’s Rule, who retired as director general of the CRPF.
One course forward eventually may be the TSPC fighting elections, after bargaining for a surrender. Given how they have successfully managed the panchayat seats, that route has been tested by them. Brajesh’s brother Ganesh Ganjhu incidentally contested the 2009 Assembly elections on a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ticket, coming second.
He has since moved to the BJP. ‘There is no future. Either the Maoists will die, or I’ In his first media interaction ever, TSPC ‘supreme commander’ Gopal Singh Bhokta alias Brajesh Ganjhu denies his outfit was formed by Ganjhus (an SC community) against the Yadav-dominated CPI (Maoists). He claims their differences were ideological, that Maoists forced them to take up arms. Excerpts from an interview with Ashutosh Bhardwaj somewhere on the Jharkhand-Bihar border: On charges of links with the police:
“Not a single policeman was present there (at the March 27-28 encounter)… In fact, the first casualty was ours. If anyone has a doubt, check the satellite cameras—I am sure people have it at every place these days.” On the reason for parting of ways with Maoists: “People say Ganjhus defected on caste grounds against Yadavs. Nonsense! Many front soldiers of the CPI (Maoist) are Ganjhus and the TSPC has many leaders of other castes.
It was purely an ideological divide as the Maoists had deviated from their path and come to indulge in plain violence without mass movement… Yes, the system is bad. So let’s change it, but why violence?” On differences with Maoists: “Maoists apne hi bhai hain, bhatak gaye hain (The Maoists are our own brothers, they have just lost the way). If a brother kills a brother, does he become an enemy? He still remains a brother.”
On Maoists’ offer of a ‘ceasefire’: “What will happen with a ceasefire? They will continue to kill innocent people and spread terror. Ceasefire will be meaningful only when they completely denounce violence.” On giving up the gun: “We do not want violence, but the moment we lay down arms, they (Maoists) will kill us. If they get satisfied by killing me, I am ready to sacrifice myself. But they will not, so I am forced to fight, even teach my son to fight… Who with a family would like to indulge in violence?”
On the way forward: “The CPI (Maoist) is a huge organisation, having many highly qualified and educated members. We are nothing before them. Still they do not realise the futility of violence. We now hear they are sending thousands of Maoists from Nepal and Chhattisgarh to eliminate us. What will they get? Is it revolution? Do you think the TSPC will be intimidated?… Future? There is none. Sab mare jayenge (Everyone will die). Ya to Maobadi mara jayega, ya main (Either the Maoists will die, or I). Future will be secure only when there is no killing, everyone has food and work.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-police-help-banned-naxal-group-takes-on-maoists-in-jharkhand/1105385/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-police-help-banned-naxal-group-takes-on-maoists-in-jharkhand/1105385/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-police-help-banned-naxal-group-takes-on-maoists-in-jharkhand/1105385/0) Forces taking battle to Maoists’ own turf
Every year from mid-March to mid-June, when the trees shed their leaves and forests in central India wear a depleted look, it is time for the Maoists to step up their activities. Going by their track record, it is during this period of declared offensives – what in their parlance is called Tactical Counter Offensive Campaigns (TCOC) -Maoists get most casualties. In the past, the security forces’ strategy was to defend while naxals – much more vulnerable to detection during this period-went on the offensive across the Red Corridor and surrounding areas.
Now, security forces are on the offensive and are taking the battle to the Maoist camps – a strategy that seems to be paying dividends as about 33 Maoists have been killed in less than three weeks. “During this March-June period, Maoists are at their most vulnerable. Security forces are now venturing out to remote areas after long marches and conducting operations,” a top official involved in the anti-naxal operations told HT.
“This year the TCOC started a little late on March 22 possibly because the Maoists are already reeling under serious military reverses and a proactive approach by the security forces.” These months are also when top Maoist leaders meet and devise future strategies while keeping the security forces engaged elsewhere. “We have increased the quality and quantity of our counter offensives which are producing rich results.
This time we are taking the fight right to their camps,” said Zulfiquar Hasan, IGP, CRPF, Chhattisgarh, one of the worst-affected states. From June to October, Maoist activity is usually minimal because of heavy monsoon rains when rivers swell and vast swathes of forest areas get inundated. Their activity picks up again in December-January.
The Maoists’ activity peaked in 2008-09 followed by deep military reverses in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and large parts of Orissa. About half of the 35-40 members who comprise the central committee, the supreme Maoist political body, are behind bars or have been killed.
“Because of the reverses, a deliberation is on within the top Maoist leadership to decide what strategy to take for the future. They have also been unable to hold their five-yearly Congress which was due last year,” the official added. The Ninth Congress was held in 2007 in the Saranda jungles of West Singhbhum in Jharkhand. Intelligence sources said while the Maoists are trying strengthen their Eastern Regional Bureau to expand base in the insurgency-prone Northeast, their success may be limited by the presence of strong local insurgent groups there.
The main stronghold of the Maoists still continue to be the Dandakaranya forests in the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh belt, which is run under the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee of the naxals. With its headquarters at Abujhmaad, this zone is also called the Central Guerrilla Base.
In 2011, according to the home ministry, 182 districts in the country had been affected in relative degrees by the Maoist movement, indicating a sharp drop from the 223 districts across 20 states in 2008.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Forces-taking-battle-to-Maoists-own-turf/Article1-1047856.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Forces-taking-battle-to-Maoists-own-turf/Article1-1047856.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Forces-taking-battle-to-Maoists-own-turf/Article1-1047856.aspx) Maoist camp busted
Maoists managed to give security forces a slip during a raid by the latter in the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, 32 km from here, on Friday. The security personnel, however, seized huge cache of explosives and other materials from the Maoist camp near Bhaosil village under Soseng gram panchayat within Komna police limits. Nuapada SP Umashankar Dash said the seized items included a revolver, bullets, Maoist literature, medicines, uniforms, bags and food items.
Dash added that more than 15 to 20 Maoists were in the camp during the raid. “Combing operation has been intensified and efforts are on to nab the Maoists,” he added.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-camp-busted/2013/04/21/article1554793.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-camp-busted/2013/04/21/article1554793.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-camp-busted/2013/04/21/article1554793.ece) Wanted Maoist leader arrested in Odisha
Malkangiri: A Maoist leader, wanted for several incidents of murder, was on Sunday arrested from Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district. Trinath Golori alias Chandra (35) was picked up from a market near Chitrakonda police station during a special operation, Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said.
Regarded as the right hand man of senior Maoist leader Madhab in the region, Trinth was involved in the Maoist activities for the last four years, he said. He was wanted for the murder of two policemen, two village guards and one panchayat samiti member in different areas of the state in the recent past, he said. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/wanted-maoist-leader-arrested-in-odisha_843617.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/wanted-maoist-leader-arrested-in-odisha_843617.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/wanted-maoist-leader-arrested-in-odisha_843617.html) Security forces in West Bengal unearth cache of arms and ammunition
Jhargram (West Bengal), April 21 (ANI): In a joint operation, personnel of state police and para-military forces unearthed and seized considerable amount of arms and ammunition including mines and country made pistols from the jungles of Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. This was disclosed to the mediapersons yesterday. A police official, Dilip Manik said,” All the arms recovered are not old; some seems to be new. However, some were buried under the soil for quite a considerable time.”
This region of Jhargram in the district from where the arms were seized was Binpur Block that was a hotbed for Maoist activities over the past couple of years. Among the recovered arms and other lethal items were two landmines, four kilograms of tiffin mines, three challenger mines and 15 bore rifles, one pistol and some bullets.
No sooner than the landmines were detected, the bomb disposal squad (BDS) of the state police was summoned and it nipped the bud, whatever the Maoists had intended, by diffusing the lethal materials.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/21/237-Security-forces-in-West-Bengal-unearth-cache-of-arms-and-ammunition.html

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/21/237-Security-forces-in-West-Bengal-unearth-cache-of-arms-and-ammunition.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/21/237-Security-forces-in-West-Bengal-unearth-cache-of-arms-and-ammunition.html) Trader abducted by Reds in Malkangiri
KORAPUT: Maoists abducted a trader accusing him of being a police informer in Malkangiri district on Friday night. The kidnapped trader, R Gopi, is from Udaigiri village. Around 11 pm, a group of armed Maoists, including women, reached Gopi’s home and forcibly took him with them.
Till Saturday evening, there was no news of the whereabouts of the kidnapped trader and due to remoteness of the area, which is about 70 km from Malkangiri, police were also facing problem in tracking down the rebels. SP (Malkangiri) Akhileswar Singh said, “We have information that Maoists have kidnapped the trader. Though an investigation has been initiated, we are yet to trace him.”
However, brushing the Maoist charges that the kidnapped trader was a police informer, the SP said, “He was not our informer. Gopi was running a small shop in the village and was also working as a private driver. The Maoists might have kidnapped him for some other reason which will be known during investigation.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Trader-abducted-by-Reds-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19655455.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Trader-abducted-by-Reds-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19655455.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Trader-abducted-by-Reds-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19655455.cms) Bombs at RIMS
Imphal, April 20 2013 : Two powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were found planted inside the compound of Manipur’s premier medical institute Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here Saturday. The unexploded bombs were found in a garden of RIMS campus closed to the office building of the institute’s Director around 8 am when the sweepers go there for their morning work.
Personnel of 6 India Reserved Battalion (IRB) retrieved the bombs weighing 1 kg each. Later, a team of Manipur Police bomb disposal squad defused them. The armed outfit Maoist Communist Party (MCP) has claimed responsibility for the bombs found in the RIMS campus, an Imphal local evening daily has reported. Meanwhile, in a statement, media advisor of RIMS has observed that it would have been a tragedy had the bombs exploded.
The RIMS authority once again appealed to one and all not to vitiate the hospital and academic atmosphere with such violent activities. Apart from the employees there are students from all States in general and the NE region in particular.
Hundreds of patients and relatives visit the institute everyday and Medical, Dental and Nursing colleges are located inside the same campus. So, violence of any sort will send a wrong signal, the statement observed. The RIMS authority also sought cooperation from all sections of the people in the smooth and peaceful conduct of these institutes.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=27..210413.apr13

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24037

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Plan to declare Ballia as Naxal-affected district
VARANASI: Contrary to claims of ending the Maoist problem in affected districts of Sonebhadra, Chandauli and Mirzapur, the police are gearing up to declare Ballia as Maoist affected district. “A proposal is being prepared by Ballia police in this regard,” said IG GL Meena while talking to TOI. It has yet to be submitted to the IG for forwarding it to the DGP office and the state government.
Despite these efforts of police, it is a million dollar question that on what ground this district can be declared as Maoist affected area. When the state government declared Sonebhadra, Chandauli and Mirzapur as Maoist affected districts, 53 villages of Ballia, which are linked with bordering areas of Bihar, had also been kept in the list of Maoist affected areas.
However, the left wing extremists never showed presence in Ballia. As per the records available in IG office, in 2001, Vijay Chauhan, who had links with Bihar-based Maoist ultras, had tried to kill Musafir Chauhan and his wife but the villagers had foiled his bid and he was also killed in the incident. In reaction to the incident, the wife of Musafir was murdered on November 18, 2012. It was suspected that Vijay’s kin had sought help of Maoist ultras to avenge his killing. After the incident, a demand for providing additional paramilitary forces came from Ballia police.
During recent meetings of zone police, some officials said that instead of demanding additional force, the demand for including Ballia in the list of Maoist affected districts should be made as it would help in getting all the benefits like the funds of security related expenditure (SRE) and special infrastructure scheme (SIS), apart from permanent deployment of Central forces. Hence, a plan to prepare a proposal was finalised. Some officials are not convinced with the demand to declare Ballia as Maoist affected district.
The officials revealed that any demand of this nature can be made only after the attack on government establishments, government officials and employees, police or paramilitary forces and bid to loot weaponry of forces by the Maoist groups. The IG admitted that no such incident had been reported from Ballia so far. But, as the officials are preparing a proposal and IG said that it would be forwarded to the DGP office and the state government, it becomes clear that officials are in no mood to ‘discourage’ their subordinates.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Plan-to-declare-Ballia-as-Naxal-affected-district/articleshow/19669589.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Plan-to-declare-Ballia-as-Naxal-affected-district/articleshow/19669589.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Plan-to-declare-Ballia-as-Naxal-affected-district/articleshow/19669589.cms) Maoists abduct, kill panchayat official in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR: Maoists abducted a village panchayat secretary and beat him to death in the forests of Karramal in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. Police and the villagers found the body of Karramal village panchayat secretary Lakpati Dansena in the forests on Sunday after he was abducted by a group of armed Maoists late on Saturday night.
Maoist cadres, including women, first reached the house of village panchayat secretary’s brother Gajpati Dansena and inquired about Lakpati’s house. They asked Gajpati to follow them to the house from where Lakpati was dragged out and taken to the Karramal forests
. The rebels left Gajpati after beating him. They tied Lakpati’s hands, beating him to death with lathis and later left the body in the forests, police said. The rebels dropped pamphlets warning the villagers against giving any information to the police and demanding increase in wages of labourers engaged in plucking of tendu (beedi) leaves.
The pamphlets described that the action against village panchayat secretary was taken by Bargarh Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist). This is perhaps the first Naxalite related murder in Raigarh district, which shares a border with Odisha where the Bargarh Zonal Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is active.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Maoists-abduct-kill-panchayat-official-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/19670900.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Maoists-abduct-kill-panchayat-official-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/19670900.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Maoists-abduct-kill-panchayat-official-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/19670900.cms) First FIR against Maoists in 2000
VARANASI: The Maoist problem had started in Naugarh region of Chandauli and some parts of Sonebhadra in mid-nineties. However, the first FIR against MCC ultras in this region was lodged with the Naugarh police in October 2000. Since then, over 100 people, including government officials and employees, were killed by the Maoist ultras. Initially the cadres formally branched out with the emergence of Dakshin Purvanchal Sangathanik Sub-zonal Committee (DPSSZC).
They expanded their network by forming area committees and local area committees. In 2001, they looted 14 SLRs from the PAC camp in Mirzapur district. In spite of the obvious presence of the MCC in Naugarh and in the forests of Mirzapur and Sonebhadra districts, it was only the mass killing of PAC and police personnel in November 2004 which compelled the government to realize the gravity of the matter.
It was not so that the government was unaware about the truth. In 2002, late Prime Minister Chandrashekhar had drawn the attention of the then Union home minister Lal Krishna Advani to the influx of outlaws from violence-ridden Bihar. In a letter dated July 31, 2002, the former PM had expressed concern over the spread of violence from Bihar to UP and requested to take note of it and initiate appropriate measures. After these developments, the three districts were declared as Maoist affected.
But, till then the Maoists had formed Sone Ganga Vindhyachal Zonal Committee to replace DPSSZC to control their operations in Chandauli, Sonebhadra, Mirzapur in UP and Buxar, Rohtas, Bhojpur and Bhabhua districts of Bihar. The Naugarh Chandraprabha Sub-zonal Committee, Robertsganj Machi SZC and Duddhi Chopan Bhojpur SZC work under this zonal committee. The Maoists had their networks in 293 villages of Sonebhadra, 241 of Chandauli and 107 villages in Mirzapur district.
The Mulayam Singh Yadav government decided to a adopt two-prong strategy. As part of it, the police adopted aggression anti-Maoist operations while emphasis was also laid on ensuring overall development of the Maoist affected districts, which proved ideal harbour for Maoist groups due to difficult terrains and geographical condition. These districts are connected with the borders of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/First-FIR-against-Maoists-in-2000/articleshow/19669584.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/First-FIR-against-Maoists-in-2000/articleshow/19669584.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/First-FIR-against-Maoists-in-2000/articleshow/19669584.cms) Cameras for tiger census record ultra movements
GUWAHATI, April 21 – Use of modern technology can help a great deal in dealing with militants and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have already been used to track Maoist rebels in some states of the country. Meanwhile, in an interesting development, movement of militants inside a National Park of the State has come to light after such movements were tracked in cameras installed for tiger census.
Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that movements of some militants with weapons were recorded in the cameras installed in the Nameri National Park for tiger census. Sources said that the cameras were installed in different interior places of the National Park for tiger census and any movement in front of the cameras is recorded.
But when the concerned officials checked the recordings in the cameras, to their surprise, they found that movements of militants with weapons were also recorded in the same along with the photos of the animals including tigers. Sources said that according to information available with the police and security agencies, there were movements of the members of the Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) in the Nameri area and the militants, whose movements were recorded in the cameras, must be of them only.
But the incident proved beyond doubt that there have been movements of armed militants within the National Park. Meanwhile, on the demand of the Chief Minister for use of UAVs in the interior places of the State for tracking the movement of militants, sources said that the proposal would have to get clearance from the Defence Ministry first for use of air space.
The UAVs were used in some of the Maoist affected areas of the country including Chhattisgarh to photograph the movement of the Maoist rebels. Sources said that the UAVs used in India so far are only for taking photographs and those are not equipped with weapons like the ones used mostly by the United States army in the operations against Talibans in Afghanistan. On the other hand, full fledged use of the UAVs in the Kaziranga National Park for tracking the movement of the poachers is yet to start.
The Government has taken a decision to use UAVS in the National Park in view of the spurt of poaching of rhinos and the test flight was carried out in presence of Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain recently. But as the necessary air space use clearance from the Defence Ministry is yet to be received, the test flight of one UAV was carried out in a limited area only and flights into the interior areas can be done only after receiving the permission.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has already sought clearance from the Defence Ministry for the use of UAVs in the Kaziranga and if the permission is granted, the Park would become the first in the country to use such technology for dealing with poachers. The Government has also started the process of using “Electronic eye” for dealing with poachers as was done in the Corbett National Park.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr2213/at07

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24063

[TheGodlessUtopian]

CRPF contingent escapes Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh
Raipur, April 24 (IANS) Troopers of the para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had a narrow escape Wednesday in a jungle pocket of Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-riddled Bijapur district as Maoists ambushed a search party, police said. Bullets were fired, but no casualty was reported in the hour-long gunbattle, officials at the police headquarters here said. Police said the troopers sent the insurgents rushing for cover by opening fire in retaliation.
A powerful 10-kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was later recovered from the spot. A team of troopers of CRPF 199th battalion reportedly left the district headquarters – Bijapur – for search operations in nearby areas. While returning, as the team was between Naimed and Peddakodepal, Maoist insurgents who were hiding in the bushes exploded a mine and also started intense firing.
The para-military troopers also took position immediately, and returned fire. The gun-battle lasted about an hour, and insurgents withdrew into the cover of the dense forests. Police later searched the spot where the gun-battle occurred, to find a 10-kg mine, 200 metre wire, and two detonators. The bomb disposal squad later defused the IED recovered from the spot, averting what might have been a tragic explosion.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/332–CRPF-contingent-escapes-Maoist-ambush-in-Chhattisgarh-.html (http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/332--CRPF-contingent-escapes-Maoist-ambush-in-Chhattisgarh-.html)

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/332--CRPF-contingent-escapes-Maoist-ambush-in-Chhattisgarh-.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/332--CRPF-contingent-escapes-Maoist-ambush-in-Chhattisgarh-.html) Police arrest two Maoists in W.Bengal
April 24 (ANI): Police in West Bengal’s Jhargram District arrested two Maoists and recovered the skeletal remains of three persons on Wednesday. Superintendent of Police of Jhargram, Bharati Ghosh said: “Belpahari Police and Additional Superintendent of Police (head quarters) recovered those dead bodies. China alias Subodh Hansda who is a well known Maoist leader of Binpur has been taken into police remand and we located a dead body of Sukhomoy Hembram.
Through another Maoist leader Bhagabat Hansda, we located two dead bodies of Ganesh Soren and Jiten Murmu. The three dead bodies had been identified by family members. Two cases are running in Belpahari police station and the investigation continues.” Recently police arrested rebels from Jhargram in eastern West Bengal state, a Maoist hot-bed. The arrested Maoists helped security forces trace the skeletal remains of three persons, out of which one was identified as a retired sub-inspector.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/191-Police-arrest-two-Maoists-in-W-Bengal.html

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/191-Police-arrest-two-Maoists-in-W-Bengal.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/04/24/191-Police-arrest-two-Maoists-in-W-Bengal.html) Three Naxals held in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Three Naxalites were arrested in separate search operations in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, police said Wednesday. “Two wanted ultras were nabbed by joint contingent of district force and Border Security Force (BSF) from Amagaon village under Tadoki police station limits of Kanker district yesterday,” a senior police official said. Those arrested were identified as Leelaram Usendi (30) and Sawan Singh Dhruv (52), the official said.
The police party was on a combing operation in the region when they got tip off about the presence of ultras there, following which it rounded them up, he said. In another search operation, Ganga Ram Korram (45) was arrested from forests of restive Benur police station area of Narayanpur district today during combing operations. Korram admitted to being involved in Maoist movement during interrogation, he said. The arrested cadres were involved in several incidents of loot, arson and murder, he said. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/three-naxals-held-in-chhattisgarh_844469.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24108

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Two engines derail in C’garh; Naxal hand suspected
Raipur: Two engines of a goods train derailed in Maoist-hit Bastar district of Chhattisgarh after suspected Naxalites removed the fishplates from tracks on Jagdalpur -Vishakhapattam route Thursday, a top police officer said. According to preliminary information, two engines of a goods train going towards Visakhapatnam jumped off the track in the area, over 250km from here, which is a Naxal belt, Bastar Additional Superintendent of Police S R Salaam said over phone.
A police team has been dispatched to Chhotekaklur area, where the incident took place, he said, adding “reports were received that ultras had removed the fishplates from the railway track early this morning.” Freight trains to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh usually pass through this route and Naxals often target them, Salaam added. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-engines-derail-in-c-garh-naxal-hand-suspected_844717.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-engines-derail-in-c-garh-naxal-hand-suspected_844717.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-engines-derail-in-c-garh-naxal-hand-suspected_844717.html) CRPF seeks IAF help to evacuate 500 men stuck in Naxal hotbed
A week after nine alleged Maoists, including five women, were gunned down by security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, around 500 men of the the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have remained stuck in the dense jungles for want of evacuation.
The CRPF approached the Indian Air Force (IAF) and requested them to extend their flying hours and evacuate the men on an emergency basis. The IAF, which provides 80 flying hours every month to various security forces in Chhattisgarh for different purposes, has already exhausted its quota for this month. The CRPF sent letters to the IAF top brass requesting them to grant 35 additional flying hours so that their men stuck in the Maoist hotbed could be evacuated.
By Tuesday evening all the men were airlifted. Officials said they planned the airlifting of the jawans as the Maoists planted IEDs on the route, which they had used to reach the encounter site. Around 1,200 CRPF personnel had gone for the Sukma operation along with the Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds and the Chhattisgarh Police on April 16. They were dispersed in different directions and around 500 men were holed up in the area.
“They are camping in an area which is a Maoist hotbed. We requested the IAF to deploy their Mi-17 helicopters for evacuating our men,” said a senior official.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/crpf-seeks-iaf-help-to-evacuate-500-men-stuck-in-naxal-hotbed/1107388/

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/crpf-seeks-iaf-help-to-evacuate-500-men-stuck-in-naxal-hotbed/1107388/)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/crpf-seeks-iaf-help-to-evacuate-500-men-stuck-in-naxal-hotbed/1107388/) Maoist held with aide
RANCHI: The district police on Tuesday arrested a zonal commander of CPI ( Maoist) Nirmal Horo alias Nirdesh Horo alias Ignesh Horo from Bariyatu locality in the city along with one of his aides Sanjay Hooter. The rebel was arrested while police were conducting raids to nab bike thieves in the area. SSPRanchiSaket Kumar Singh confirmed the arrests.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-held-with-aide/articleshow/19719238.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-held-with-aide/articleshow/19719238.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-held-with-aide/articleshow/19719238.cms) Maoists kill two villagers in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, Apr 25: Maoists killed two people in Odisha a day after kidnapping them from a village, police said Thursday. The rebels also set afire a mobile phone tower in the same village. Superintendent of Police Akhileshwar Singh said the Maoist guerrillas on Tuesday kidnapped at gun point three people from Kyang village in Malkangiri district, about 650 km from here, accusing them of being police informers.
The rebels killed two people Wednesday night and released one person. They also set on fire a mobile phone tower in Kyang village, Singh told IANS. Kyong village is located near the state’s border with Chhattisgarh. Security personals were sent to the village Thursday, the officer added.
This is the third such incident reported from Malkangiri district this year. Earlier on April 4, Maoists killed a village council chief in Kurmanur area of the district. Another man was killed by the rebels in a village close to Odisha’s border with Andhra Pradesh Jan 16, according to the police officer. Maoists are active in more than half of state’s 30 districts. The district of Malkangiri is considered one of the strongholds of the rebels.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-kill-two-villagers-in-odisha-22231.html

(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-kill-two-villagers-in-odisha-22231.html)
(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-kill-two-villagers-in-odisha-22231.html) Maoists abduct construction workers in Bihar
Patna, Apr 25: Maoist guerrillas abducted five labourers engaged in road construction in Bihar late Wednesday, but released three of them early Thursday, police said. Nearly 40 armed rebels abducted the labourers from Basaia area of Jamui district, some 200 km from here, a police official said, adding that an operation has been launched to rescue the kidnapped labourers from Maoists.
Police suspect that the Maoists chose to abduct the workers after the construction company they were working with refused to pay extortion money to the rebels. Earlier, the rebels had abducted some labourers of the same construction company in Jamui but later released them unharmed. Jamui is considered a rebel stronghold.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-abduct-construction-workers-in-bihar-22230.html

(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-abduct-construction-workers-in-bihar-22230.html)
(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-abduct-construction-workers-in-bihar-22230.html) Jharkhand set to ban four more rebel outfits
RANCHI: The state home department has decided to ban four more rebel organizations active in Jharkhand. With this the number of banned outfits in Jharkhand, including CPI (Maoist) and People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), reached 10. State principal home secretary J B Tubid said based on reports of intelligence agencies the state government has decided to ban four more organizations which were involved in activities against the interest of the state and the law of the land.
The banned organizations are Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad, Swatantra Jharkhand Prastuti Committee, Sashastra People Morcha and Sangharsh Jan Mukti Morcha. Sources said till now six organizations were listed as banned outfits which includes CPI (Maoist), PWG, PLFI, Tritiya Prastuti Committee, Kranti Kisan Committee and Mahila Mukti Morcha. A senior IPS officer of the state said based on the activities of the organizations collected by the intelligence agencies a report has been submitted to the home department.
“After a thorough review of the report submitted by the police headquarters the home department took a final decision. This time, we have included the name of such organizations which are not quite active on the ground but have been making efforts to reorganize their cadre at grassroots level. The four organizations were active through publication of literature and circulation of those among the masses in remote areas,” said the IPS officer.
Supporting the ban of an organization which is not even active the officer said past experiences show that once an outfit gains foothold it becomes difficult for police to control its activities. “We have faced difficulties in case of PLFI and Tritiya Prastuti Committee. So, we have decided not to take any chance and nip it in the bud before it gets out of control. If the department had taken this type of an initiative in case of PLFI and Tritiya Prastuti Committee, no other outfit other than the CPI (Maoist) would have survived,” said the IPS officer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Jharkhand-set-to-ban-four-more-rebel-outfits/articleshow/19719173.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Jharkhand-set-to-ban-four-more-rebel-outfits/articleshow/19719173.cms)
Red leaders’ presence heightens fear in Gumla
Gumla: Two Maoist commanders from Chhattisgarh and Bihar have arrived at Gumla forests with their cadres to strengthen security cover of top Red leader Arvindji, police sources said. The sources said Nishantji from Chhattisgarh and Pawanji from Bihar recently reached the Chainpur forest with at least 60 fighters to provide extra security cover to Arvindji, who had crossed over to the district with a big contingent, soon after the encounter at Katiya on January 7. “The duo’s arrival has led to apprehension that there may be heightened rebel strike,” a source in police said.
It is for the first time that such a large number of rebels has come at Sivil, Luru-Saksari and Roret areas in Chainpur area in the district. Police had specific information about a large number of Maoists presence in the forest and on March 13-14 an encounter took place in the forest in which a JAP jawan was killed while two others were injured. DGP Rajiv Kumar and other top police officers had rushed to the forest to encourage the personnel engaged in the encounter and Kumar claimed a number of casualties on part the Maoists.
On March 28, the Chatra incident took place when TPC men killed 10 Maoists, which had prompted the Reds to strike hard at the district’s Chainpur block headquarters killing five policemen and Chainpur police station and blew up block office three days later. Maoists had used cylinder bombs in blowing up the block office as one such was recovered from the debris.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Red-leaders-presence-heightens-fear-in-Gumla/articleshow/19719177.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24117

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxal bandh gets lukewarm response
NAGPUR: The call for Gadchiroli district bandh given by the western regional committee (WRC) of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Saturday fizzled out. WRC had joined the bandh call of central regional bureau (CRB) which had declared a nationwide strike in protest of fake encounters and killings of innocent villagers in the name of Naxal by security forces.
Most parts of the district remained unaffected with state transport buses and private vehicles plying without any obstructions. Sources said while most of the roads were free, reports of tree felling came from places beyond Pendri on a stretch between Kasansoor and Pakhanjur.
Highly sensitive places like interiors of Dhanora, Etapalli, Bhamragarh and Aheri talukas were peaceful. According to a district sources, there was not much propaganda from rebels too as the reds’ regular banners and pamphlets were missing. Government officials were, however, urged not to visit interior villages or stay back in sensitive areas on the bandh day. Police sources said there were no incidents of violence reported from any corner of the district.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/nagpur/38878010_1_bandh-call-bandh-day-tree-felling

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/nagpur/38878010_1_bandh-call-bandh-day-tree-felling)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/nagpur/38878010_1_bandh-call-bandh-day-tree-felling) Maoists gun down two policemen
Two police personnel were killed in a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on a day when a bandh called by the CPI (Maoist) partially-affected life in the State’s southern fringes. The incident took place when Border Security Force (BSF) and the district police force were on a joint combing operation in the jungles at the Tadoti Police Station area on Saturday.
“Early in the morning, when a group of about 100 security personnel were patrolling the area, a group of about 50 rebels started firing on the forces in the Shakti Ghat area,” Kanker SP R.N. Das told The Hindu. Sub-inspector Santosh Ekka and head constable Aliram Usendi were killed and two injured. Their bodies have been recovered and injured sub-inspectors Ravindra Mandavi and Somaru Usendi were shifted to Raipur for treatment.
The Madh division of the rebels’ Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee led the attack, Mr. Das said. Deployment of six battalions of the BSF had largely restricted Maoists to the Paralkote Reserve Forest area on Maharashtra border. As the rebels are not as organised in Kanker as they are further south, the fact that they mobilised two of their platoons to counter-attack the joint ops of the 123rd Battalion area of the BSF has surprised senior officers.
On April 16, in an encounter between the Greyhounds and Maoists at Sukma district’s Puwarthy village, nine rebels were killed. Within 24 hours, Maoists killed one inspector of the elite anti-Naxal force in Kaorgutta village, close to the Andhra Pradesh border. In a press release issued earlier this week, rebels warned the security forces that the “administration is forgetting how in April 2010, 76 security personnel were killed.”
Maoists have asked police and paramilitary forces to stop “Operation Green Hunt,” which they claim is displacing millions in Chhattisgarh. Saturday’s bandh was called to mark the killing of Karimnagara-Khammam-Warangal (KKW) Divisional Committee members of the North Telangana Zonal Committee.
Bamboo depot torched
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Kanker district, around 100 Naxals torched a bamboo depot of the forest department in the Bande police station area on Friday night. Security forces have been dispatched to Bande, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) C.D. Tondon told PTI. A security alert has been sounded and additional police forces deployed in parts of south Chhattisgarh.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoists-gun-down-two-policemen/article4660197.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoists-gun-down-two-policemen/article4660197.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoists-gun-down-two-policemen/article4660197.ece) Bharat bandh call by Naxals today
NAGPUR: The Gadchiroli-based Western Regional Committee (WRC) of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has announced that it would participate in the nationwide bandh call given by the Central Regional Bureau on Saturday. The rebels have declared ‘bandh’ protesting the so-called fake encounters and killings of the villagers.
A press release released by the WRC’s spokesperson Shriniwas has claimed that security forces have been ruthlessly gunning down villagers in Gadchiroli district labelling such encounters as gun-battle between security forces and Naxals. The rebels have also underlined the fact that senior woman Naxal cadre Sangeeta Atram was gang raped before being killed from point blank range by the C-60 jawans in the encounter of Sindesur in Dhanora on April 12 where four Naxals and a commando were killed.
Two villagers, including a hearing and speech impaired one, were also killed. The rebels have also launched an attack on the senior officials of Gadchiroli, especially superintendent of police Mohammed Suwez Haque, for killing and labelling three villagers as Naxals when they had nothing to do with the movement in the encounter of Bhatpar on the banks of river Indravati in Bhamragarh tehsil on April 4.
The Naxals have also highlighted the wrong identifications of the slain cadres. The rebels have claimed that police had projected Bhatpar village resident Sunita Tado as platoon 7 deputy commander Rita alias Reena. They had also claimed that Pengunda village resident Shardu Pusal was projected as a dalam member when he was not one.
The other ‘so-called Naxal’ killed was none but an innocent villager by the name Prakash Pallo, claimed the press communication of the Maoist front. Apart from labelling SP Haque’s ‘Nau jeevan’ drive for encouraging surrenders as a mere eyewash, the rebels claimed that the police and central paramilitary forces are victimizing the innocent tribal rather than safeguarding their interest.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/nagpur/38860994_1_four-naxals-bhamragarh-tehsil-dhanora

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/nagpur/38860994_1_four-naxals-bhamragarh-tehsil-dhanora)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/nagpur/38860994_1_four-naxals-bhamragarh-tehsil-dhanora) Naxals destroy Gram Panchayat Building in Gadchiroli
Some suspected Naxals burnt down a Gram Panchayat building in Godalwahi village in Dhanora division of Gadchiroli district on Sunday evening. According to Gadchiroli police, the Naxals first burnt down some official documents of the Godalwahi Gram Panchayat and then set ablaze the Gram Panchayat building. Condemning the destruction of the Gram Panchayat building, a press statement issued by the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) Gadchiroli said, “The destruction of Godalwahi Gram Panchayat building by the Naxals was with an intention to stop the development of tribal people of the district and to create terror in their minds.
Even the villagers have condemned it strongly”. Police have registered a case in Dhonora police station and are carrying our search operations in the area. Meanwhile Naxals fired on the teams of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District police near Jarawandi forest under Etapalli division of the district on Sunday.
According to police, the police and the CRPF teams were moving on an operation after secret information about a Naxal hideout. The Naxals fired on team of the CRPF but managed to escape when the CRPF and Police retaliate the fire.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-destroy-gram-panchayat-building-in-gadchiroli/article4666822.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-destroy-gram-panchayat-building-in-gadchiroli/article4666822.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-destroy-gram-panchayat-building-in-gadchiroli/article4666822.ece) Cops fear Red surge in urban jungle now
MUMBAI: After successfully taking on Naxalites in Gondia and Gadchiroli districts, law enforcment agencies are now worried about the emergence of the left-wing rebels and their sympathizers in a big way in the Mumbai-Thane and the Pune-Nashik-Surat belts. A senior IPS officer said on Friday that a month ago a hardcore Naxalite was arrested in Gadchiroli and he made sensational disclosures about the increasing Naxal activity in these urban parts of the state and Gujarat.
“It appears that the Naxalites have set up several front organizations in these areas to lure college students into Naxalism,” the officer said. “We have successfully tackled them in Gondia and Gadchiroli, and now it appears that Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Surat districts are on the Naxals’ radar. We have stepped up our vigil in these areas and are in constant touch with neighbouring states.”
The officer said Naxals had stalled development in Gadchiroli and Gondia for over two decades. “Well over 250 villages are without power, BSNL towers have been damaged, and most schools in the districts are either shut or have no students,” the officer said. “We are making all possible efforts to bring the villagers into the mainstream.”
The officer said a comprehensive plan had been drafted to take 40 students from a village on a statewide tour to brief them about developmental activities. “Students in Gondia and Gadchiroli think that across the state there is no power or roads, as none of them has stepped outside the village,” the officer said. “All students in the two districts will be covered under the scheme.”
The officer said in six special operations in the two districts in the last eight months, 15 hardcore Naxalites were killed, 16 were arrested and a large quantity of arms and ammunition was seized. “We are well equipped to tackle the Naxal threat. We have the full cooperation of the villagers,” the officer said. “There is also free flow of information from neighbouring states, so we were able to check their activities.”
A month ago, the entire machinery was galvanized to take on Naxalites, said the officer. “There is uniform chain of command; all officers now report to the additional director general of police,” the officer said. “A special intelligence cell has been set up. A non-conventional operation and training centre has also been set up and special training is being imparted to police personnel.”
A former DGP said that compared to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the preparedness of the state police was not up to the mark. “The level of threat to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh is similar, but budgetary allocation for Maharashtra is very meagre,” the former DGP said. “Maharashtra has only one helicopter, and that too is not in order on several occasions, whereas the Chhattisgarh and the AP police have more than half a dozen helicopters.”
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/mumbai/38861120_1_gadchiroli-senior-ips-officer-gondia

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/mumbai/38861120_1_gadchiroli-senior-ips-officer-gondia)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/mumbai/38861120_1_gadchiroli-senior-ips-officer-gondia) Three Naxalites killed in encounter with CRPF in Jharkhand
At least three suspected Naxalites were killed in an encounter with men of the 209 CoBRA Batallion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jharkhand Jaguars near Piri village in Latehar district of Jharkhand today. A spokesman for the CRPF said that the joint police team began the operation around 0800 hours today after getting information about the presence of 60-70 Naxalites in that area.
“Three bodies of Naxalites have been recovered. There are reports that seven Naxalites have been killed in the encounter. Search operation is going on,” the spokesman added. The spokesman said the three men whose bodies were recovered were wearing uniform of the Maoists. He said the intelligence inputs ha dpointed to the presence of Maoist leaders Mritunjay, Indrajeet, Narayan and Vikash along with large number of cadres in the area.
He said that, about 0900 hours, when the joint troops were advancing into the forest area, about 1.5 km north-east of Piri village, they came under heavy firing by the Maoists from the nearby hills. He said the troops took positions and retaliated to the fire effectively.
The firing lasted for about two hours. Apart from the bodies, the security forces also recovered one Insas rifle with two magazines and 38 rounds, two .315 rifles with eleven rounds, one wireless set, fifty ,22 rounds, five detonators, a grenade, a country-made bomb, three ammunition pouches, electric testers, torches, SIM cards, medicines and Naxal docuents. “The troops are still out and thorough search is going on in the area to nab the fleeing and injured Maoists,” the spokesman added. NNN
http://netindian.in/news/2013/04/29/00024143/three-naxalites-killed-encounter-crpf-jharkhand

(http://netindian.in/news/2013/04/29/00024143/three-naxalites-killed-encounter-crpf-jharkhand)
(http://netindian.in/news/2013/04/29/00024143/three-naxalites-killed-encounter-crpf-jharkhand) Top Maoist leader held in Assam
NEW DELHI: A CPI (Maoist) central committee member and chief of the outfit’s north-east operations, Aklanta Rabha alias Mahesh, was arrested by the Assam Police near Guwahati on Friday, in what the Central security agencies later described as a significant crackdown on the Reds’ plan to expand their arc of influence to the north-eastern states. Mahesh was the main facilitator for Maoists’ gun-running and served as a conduit for procuring sophisticated arms from across the border, sources in the Union home ministry told TOI.
A close associate of CPI (Maoist) “No. 2 leader” Prashant Bose alias Kishenda, he was the only Assamese represented on the outfit’s central committee. The agencies have been on his trail since 2006, when he was last apprehended only to be given bail. Mahesh is said to be part of the elite group of five top Maoist leaders in charge of operations in the tri-junction of Jharkhand-West Bengal-Northeast.
Other members include Kishenda, Deo Kumar Singh, Chandraprasad Yadav and Misir Besra. He is said to have been an enigma for the agencies, as neither his real name was known till his arrest nor his photograph available for proper identification. The Central agencies described the arrest of Mahesh, who hails from Assam’s Goalpara district, and his aide Suraj Rabha alias Bijoy, a top-ranking arms trainer of Maoists in Jharkhand, as a blow to Maoist’s recent efforts to make inroads into the north-eastern states through tactical tie-ups with local insurgent outfits like Manipur’s PLA.
The arrest marks the end of dry spell, as the last central committee member was arrested one-and-a-half year ago. According to Union home ministry estimates, CPI(Maoist) has around 100 cadres, including 25 to 30 armed ones, in Assam. As many as 23 of the 79 police stations in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Dhemaji and North Lakhmipur districts in Assam were listed as Naxal-hit, with cadres allegedly extorting money from small tea gardens, cattle-rearing farms and individuals to sustain themselves.
According to the Assam Police, Mahesh and Bijoy admitted to having formed a core group in Assam and gradually spreading Maoists’ ideology in states like Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/india/38861144_1_assam-police-sibsagar-home-ministry

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/india/38861144_1_assam-police-sibsagar-home-ministry)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/india/38861144_1_assam-police-sibsagar-home-ministry) Over 180 Maoist cadres in Assam: Police
Guwahati: At least 180 Maoist cadres, including 23 females, have built up a number of front organisations to spread its tentacles and form ties with ULFA, police said Friday. “A task force on Maoist activities in the state was formed and they have submitted details of 181 Maoist cadre in the state,” Assam Police IGP (Central Western Region) L R Bishnoi said here. He said, “Among the cadre, 23 are women and many of them are political workers.”
The Left-wing extremists are mainly active in upper Assam districts, parts of Kamrup Rural and Goalpara districts of lower Assam. “Since 1996, Maoists have been trying to form their base and built up Upper Assam Leading Committee and Lower Assam Leading Committee,” Bishnoi said. The IGP said that today’s arrest of CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Aklanta Rabha in Guwahati has been a major success in the anti-Maoist effort. Bishnoi said as per interrogation reports of Rabha, Maoists have a five-pronged strategy in Assam and North Eastern region and have closer relations with ULFA.
Maoists are also exploring ways to buy arms from ULFA, play a mediocre role among militant outfits of North East and unite them, form a People’s Guerilla Army unit, and setp up camps in Arunachal Pradesh, he said. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/assam/over-180-maoist-cadres-in-assam-police_844931.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/assam/over-180-maoist-cadres-in-assam-police_844931.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/assam/over-180-maoist-cadres-in-assam-police_844931.html) Maoist big guns arrested in Guwahati
GUWAHATI: Guwahati Police, in a joint operation with army and CRPF, arrested two top leaders of CPI (Maoist) from the Jorabat area, on the outskirts of the city, on Friday. Security forces found one .22 pistol made in Spain, ammunition, PAN cards, driving license and seven SIM cards in their possession. Police said Aklanta Rabha (41) alias Maheshji is the lone member from the state in the CPI (Maoist) central committee.
He hails from the Dudhnoi area in Goalpara district. The other one, Siraj Rabha (35) alias Bijoy Rabha alias Suraj, is from the Boko area of Kamrup (rural) district. He is the central training instructor of the outfit in Jharkhand’s Giridih area. The duo has revealed the plans of the outfit, its area of operations and its ongoing activities in the state. A couple of weeks back, chief minister Tarun Gogoi had asked Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to raise a battalion in the state dedicated to tackle the growing Maoist activities in the state.
Assam Police IGP (central western range) L R Bishnoi said the Maoists here are spreading their tentacles and have set up several frontal organizations like Biplabi Yuva League, Biplabi Sanskriti league, Biplabi Kabi Gosthi and have also been printing magazines like ‘Janagan’ from the Chaygaon area in Kamrup (rural) district. “We recovered a letter written by Maoist leader Aditya Bora from his possession where he was instructed to strengthen the outfit’s base in both upper and lower Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Maoists selected Arunachal Pradesh to set up base because of its geographical location and to grow nexus with the Paresh Baruah-led Ulfa hardliners hiding in the neighbouring state. Apart from holding the top post, Aklanta is also in charge of the eastern bureau of the outfit,” Bishnoi said. The eastern bureau of the outfit includes Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura and Jharkhand. The outfit believes to have five such bureaus in the country. Aditya Bora, a former Ulfa cadre, is the founder of Maoist base in the state and he was arrested three years back in Jharkhand. Bora has, however, jumped bail and is absconding.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/guwahati/38861041_1_outfit-paresh-baruah-led-ulfa-hardliners-aditya-bora

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/guwahati/38861041_1_outfit-paresh-baruah-led-ulfa-hardliners-aditya-bora)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/guwahati/38861041_1_outfit-paresh-baruah-led-ulfa-hardliners-aditya-bora) Maoist woman’s presence in Nilambur forest confirmed
MALAPPURAM: A team of Special Task Force of Tamilnadu police has confirmed the moist link of the gang which sighted near a primary health centre at Munda near Vazhikadavu in Nilambur on Saturday morning. The hospital staff Shantha Kumari has identified a photo of the woman Maoist activist from Karnataka, Komalam, that was shown by the STF members. A suspected gang of Maoists had approached the Primary Health Centre, early morning on Saturday seeking the help for treatment.
It was around 1.30am, a Purdhah clad woman and three men arrived the health centre and sought the help of hospital staff to consult the doctor. A s the front door of the PHC was locked, the woman approached the nursing assistant of the hospital Shantha Kumari through the back door of the hospital. The woman told the Shanthakumari that a person of their gang need an emergency medical care and she demanded to open the front door.
When Shanthaklumari informed the woman that doctor had gone on leave, the other members of the gang started to continuously knock on the main door. Following this one of the hospital staff Sulekha contacted police. Before police arrived the gang fled the scene. The photo of the same woman was also identified by the Sulekha. Following the confirmation of the presence of Maoists in the region, the 26 member Thunderbolts wing of Kerala police searched the colonies in the region in the evening. On last day police had informed that, there is no evidence to prove that the gang members were Maoist activists.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/kochi/38877783_1_hospital-staff-gang-members-suspected-gang

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/kochi/38877783_1_hospital-staff-gang-members-suspected-gang)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/kochi/38877783_1_hospital-staff-gang-members-suspected-gang) Maoist carrying a reward of Rs two lakh arrested in Dumka
A top Maoist carrying a reward of Rs two lakh on his head was Saturday arrested in Dumka district. “Jiten, alias Jiten Kishku alias Chunni, was arrested by jawans of Ranchi-based Assault Group and Dumka police near Talpahadi,” Superintendent of Police Hemant Toppo told reporters.
He said Jiten was allegedly involved in the Chilkari Massacre that had occurred on October 26, 2007 in which 20 people were killed during a function in Giridih district. The police officer also said the Maoist was allegedly involved in Bhelwaghati massacre, looting of 176 rifles from Home Guard Camp in Giridih district, killing a person in Dumka and in some other cases. “Jiten, who joined the Maoist ranks in 1999, was made the zonal commander of the Santhal Pargana in 2010,” the SP said. A country-made pistol, bullets and Rs 12,900 were seized from the spot, he said.
http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/jharkhand-news/676528628/maoist-carrying-a-reward-of-rs-two-lakh-arrested-in-dumka.html

(http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/jharkhand-news/676528628/maoist-carrying-a-reward-of-rs-two-lakh-arrested-in-dumka.html)
(http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/jharkhand-news/676528628/maoist-carrying-a-reward-of-rs-two-lakh-arrested-in-dumka.html) Maoists trying to set up bases in Meghalaya
GUWAHATI, April 27 – The arrest of hardcore Maoist rebel leader Aklanta Rabha alias Maheshji revealed that after establishing roots in almost all the districts of Assam, the rebels started making serious efforts to make strong bases in Meghalaya and the arrested rebel already established contacts with a number of Khasi boys in an attempt to win them over to the Maoist fold.
Highly placed police sources told The Assam Tribune that Aklanta joined the Maoist rebel group in 1996 and after his initial training in Jharkhand, he became the youngest member of the central committee of the Maoist rebels. However, after joining the Maoist fold, he spent most of his time outside Assam and Jharkhand Police was also looking for him. Sources said that Rabha married Rekharani, who was also a cadre of the Maoist rebels in Jharkhand.
But later his wife dissociated herself from the activities of the rebel outfit and was running a shop in Goalpara. The events which led to the arrest of Rabha were quite interesting as the city police, which was trying to trace out the trouble mongers along the Assam-Meghalaya border areas, received an input that a Maoist leader was holding meetings with Khasi boys in the bordering areas.
At the initial stages, no one was quite ready to believe that any senior leader of the Maoist rebels would be moving around in these areas but later the inputs were cross checked and a trap was laid. Rabha was arrested along with another Maoist cadre when they were waiting for the arrival of a few Khasi boys for their periodical meetings in the Jorabat area near the Assam-Meghalaya border.
However, the boys the Maoist leaders were waiting to meet could not be arrested as they did not turn up at the stipulated time. During initial questioning, Rabha admitted that with the militancy on the wane in Assam with a number of militant groups coming forward for political dialogue with the Government, the Maoists started making serious efforts to fill up the void and establish strong roots in Assam.
He admitted that the Maoists managed to penetrate into almost all the districts of the state and the recent focus was on the districts of Kamrup and Goalpara. The Maoists also tried to establish strong roots in Meghalaya and that is why Rabha was regularly meeting Khasi boys to try and win them over to the fold of the Maoists. The security agencies also believe that the Maoists are also in touch with Meghalaya, based militant group HNLC for some time.
Interestingly, the security agencies were aware of the fact that one person from Assam was in the central committee of the Maoists for some time, but as Rabha was well known as Maheshji in the organization, it took quite some time to the agencies to ascertain that he was the man who was one of the most wanted Maoist rebels. Both the arrested persons were remanded to police custody for 14 days today.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr2813/at092

(http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr2813/at092)
(http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr2813/at092) Manipur Maoist expands its operative strategy
Maoists in Manipur have expanded their operative system by adding another special region in addition to the existing four regions. A statement of the Maoist Communist Party Manipur signed by its publicity and propaganda secretary Comrade Nonglen Meitei said that the newly added Region 5 (special) would be led by Comrade N. Nganba Meitei as the regional bureau-in-charge.
“This newly added special region will take responsibility for only in the party building process,” the statement added. The statement further said that the Maoist understood the changing face of the “Indian colonial system” from time to time and the Maoist has been operating with maximum flexibility to counter any move to demoralize the proletarian revolutionary movement.
Saying that, it would be wrong to guest that people were against the revolutionary movement, the statement categorically stated that people were still supporting the freedom movement, citing the public response to the agitations for introduction of Inner Line Permit System, uprising against the killing of Thangjam Monorama and June 18 uprising as instances.
It further observed that people might get bored due to the facet of “yesterday’s” movement but it would not take long from reviving up if the movement was leading toward the right direction.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/Regional/RegionalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDAzNjUwNA%3d%3d-cboVCl4%2ferQ%3d

(http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/Regional/RegionalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDAzNjUwNA%3d%3d-cboVCl4%2ferQ%3d)
(http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/Regional/RegionalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDAzNjUwNA%3d%3d-cboVCl4%2ferQ%3d) Maoists kill police informers
Unleashing fresh violence, Maoists killed two persons suspecting them to be police informers at Kiang village under Mathili police limits on Thursday. They also torched a cell-phone transmission tower in the village. Armed Maoists had abducted three villagers from Kiang village recently and killed two of them while releasing another Padmanav Pujari, Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh said.
The bodies of Gopi Pujari, a shop-keeper, and Hatiram Pujari were found on a forest road on Thursday morning with their throats slit. The bodies also bore gun-shot marks. While Gopi had been kidnapped from a village festival venue on April 19, the other two were abducted on April 22. The victims were suspected to have been killed on Wednesday night when over 50 armed Maoists had stormed into the area and set afire the tower of a private mobile phone service provider. Maoists from neighbouring Chhattisgarh are suspected to be behind the killing.
Following the incident, the borders with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have been sealed. Kiang village which shares its border with Chhattisgarh has turned into a safe hideout for the rebels who after committing crime in Odisha easily escape into the neighbouring district and vice-versa.
This is the third such incident in Malkangiri this year. On April 4, Maoists killed a village council chief in Kurmanur area of the district. Another man was killed by the rebels in a village close to Andhra Pradesh border on January 16.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-kill-police-informers/2013/04/26/article1562351.ece (http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-kill-police-informers/2013/04/26/article1562351.ece%20Seven%20Maoists%20killed%20in %20Jharkhand)

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-kill-police-informers/2013/04/26/article1562351.ece%20Seven%20Maoists%20killed%20in %20Jharkhand)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-kill-police-informers/2013/04/26/article1562351.ece%20Seven%20Maoists%20killed%20in %20Jharkhand) Seven alleged Maoists were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Jharkhand Monday, police said.
The shootout between the Maoists and the security forces, which included state police force and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), took place in the Piri forest area of Latehar district, which is around 130 km from here. Three bodies of the Maoist rebels were recovered, but the rebels managed to escape with the bodies of four of their cadres, police claimed.
The shootout lasted for about five hours. Police also recovered an Insas rifle, two country-made rifles, mobile phones, medicines and other materials from the site of the gun battle.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/seven-maoists-killed-in-jharkhand-113042900885_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/seven-maoists-killed-in-jharkhand-113042900885_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/seven-maoists-killed-in-jharkhand-113042900885_1.html) Nine Maoists held with arms in Motihari
MOTIHARI: The police arrested nine hardcore Maoists late Friday evening at Barhki Pakahi village under Lakhaura police station and recovered five rifles, three pistols and 43 rounds of ammunition, improvised explosive device (IED) and cylinder besides six police uniforms. East Champaran SP Vinay Kumar, while addressing a press conference at his office, said a police team led by ASP (operations) Sanjay Kumar Singh laid a trap in the area and arrested all nine Maoists, who were planning to unleash violence at the village to avenge the killing of Allah Paswan, who was recently killed by another Maoist faction.
“We had reports that they might take revenge and finally, they reached the village for the purpose,” the SP said. Two groups of CPI (Maoist) are reported to be at loggerheads over a plot in the area and six persons have been killed from both the sides during the last one year, he said. The ASP (operations) led a team of police officials including Pakaridayal DSP Harimohan Shukla and Sadar DSP Manoj Kumar who surrounded the area where the Maoists had assembled. The arrested Maoists included Harendra Paswan, Hari Paswan, Nanhak Mia, Jagat Paswan, Prem Paswan, Rudal Paswan and Vijendra Paswan. They are being interrogated.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/patna/38878094_1_maoists-police-team-motihari

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/patna/38878094_1_maoists-police-team-motihari)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-28/patna/38878094_1_maoists-police-team-motihari) BJP leader gunned down by Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Raipur, April 29 — Maoist militants gunned down a leader of Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in insurgency-hit Dantewada district Monday, police said. “Armed Maoists shot dead Shivdayal Tomar, 50, the vice-president of Dantewada district unit of BJP, at Kawad village when he was visiting an under-construction bridge,” said officials at the police headquarters here.
The killing has created terror in the district and the BJP as well as the opposition Congress condemned the incident and termed it a cowardly act. Police have launched a manhunt to track down the killers.
http://india.nydailynews.com/politicsarticle/35bb3d3c1a95347b0e9386ce6c21a24c/bjp-leader-gunned-down-by-maoists-in-chhattisgarh

(http://india.nydailynews.com/politicsarticle/35bb3d3c1a95347b0e9386ce6c21a24c/bjp-leader-gunned-down-by-maoists-in-chhattisgarh)
(http://india.nydailynews.com/politicsarticle/35bb3d3c1a95347b0e9386ce6c21a24c/bjp-leader-gunned-down-by-maoists-in-chhattisgarh) People’s representatives resign en-mass in Malkangiri
Malkangiri: About 50 people’s representatives from the Maoist hotbed Kalimela block in Odisha’s Malkangiri district resigned en-mass on Monday in protest against lack of development in the tribal-dominated areas. “We have submitted our resignation at the office of the Kalimela block development officer as the district administration has failed to keep its promises,” said Deba Madhi, the chairperson of Kalimela block.
Besides Madhi, block vice-chairman Chaitanya Choudhury, many panchayat samiti members, gram panchayat sarpanchs and ward members also resigned. The local peoples represntatives had earlier demanded immediate construction of an irrigation canal between Manyakanda and Karkatapalli, drinking water, health service, education facilities, BPL cards for all poor and proper distribution of free houses under Indira Awas Yojana. Madhi said a delegation of peoples represntatives were earlier assured by the district administration that the government would soon take up construction of the canal.
“Though two months have passed no work has started for the canal,” Madhi said. Malkangiri district collector M Muthukar said he had heard of the incident but had not received any resignation letter. “The government will certainly take steps and discourage them from resigning,” he said. While the peoples representatives have denied any pressure from Maoists to resign, police said some of the local leaders irrespective of their party affiliations were asked to quit as they failed to implement the canal project.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/peoples-representatives-resign-en-mass-in-malkangiri_845484.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/peoples-representatives-resign-en-mass-in-malkangiri_845484.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/peoples-representatives-resign-en-mass-in-malkangiri_845484.html) Explosives seized from Mundigaon forest
Berhampur/ROURKELA: Explosives, a firearm and other Maoist belongings were recovered from Mundigaon forest, near Katingia in Kandhamal district, police said on Sunday. “Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a country-made pistol were seized during a joint combing operation,” said SP (Kandhamal) JN Pankaj. In another haul, at least 30 kgs of explosives were seized from Saranda forest range under K Balang police limits in Sundargarh district on Saturday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Explosives-seized-from-Mundigaon-forest/articleshow/19779982.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Explosives-seized-from-Mundigaon-forest/articleshow/19779982.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Explosives-seized-from-Mundigaon-forest/articleshow/19779982.cms) Maoists kill private firm clerk
MUNGER: Close on the heels of the Maoist attack on the site of a construction company at Mahadev Sumaria village under Sikandra police station in Jamui district on Wednesday midnight, the extremists struck again late Thursday night at a village construction site under Barhat PS in the district and killed Priyachand Singh, clerk-cum-accountant of the construction company. Jamui SP Deepak Baranwal, confirming the incident, said the police team, in a joint operation with CRPF and SAP jawans, is conducting raids on the suspected hideouts of the extremists.
Barhat police said that over 20 Maoists attacked the site and killed the agency’s employee. The construction agency had started work for construction of a canal at Paithraha village under Barhat PS and work was on in full swing. The police said four vehicles including a tractor, a trekker and part of a roller-cum-lifting machine were burnt to ashes by the Maoists while departing from the site Thursday midnight.
The burnt trekker belonged to the slain employee of the construction agency, Barhat SHO Kaushal Kumar said. On the direction of the Jamui SP, SDPO Birendra Kumar and Inspector Kishori Mahto were leading the raiding teams to arrest the Maoists responsible for the employee’s murder and setting the vehicles afire.
Sources said the construction company’s refusal to pay the levy amount demanded by the Maoists led to the killing of its employee. Meanwhile, Maoists are yet to release two kidnapped employees of another construction company at Mahadev Sumaria village under Sikandra PS in Jamui district, Bhagwan Ram, an accountant, and night guard Amit Kumar, police said adding raids were on to secure their release. Sources said Maoists had asked the construction company to pay the balance amount of levy amounting to Rs 2 crore.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/patna/38861180_1_construction-company-20-maoists-jamui-district

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/patna/38861180_1_construction-company-20-maoists-jamui-district)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/patna/38861180_1_construction-company-20-maoists-jamui-district) Maoists kill two abducted tribals, torch cell tower
SEELERU (VISAKHAPATNAM): Maoists killed two of the three tribals who they abducted and torched a mobile phone tower at Kyang village under Mattili police station limits in Malkangiri district of Odisha, 70 km from here, late on Wednesday night. The extremists had abducted the three persons on Tuesday night from the village suspecting them to be police moles. Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh said, the Maoist outlaws set the third person, Podamal Pujari, a member of an NGO operating in the area, free.
But there is no official word from the Maoists yet on it. The deceased persons have been identified as Gopi Pujari alias Jyothy Pujari, a wine shop owner and Hatiram Pujari, a farmer. According to police sources, the three people were abducted by the Darba divisional committee squad, one of the committees operating on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border. The Naxalites left the bodies of Gopi Pujari and Hatiram Pujari on a forest road after gunning them down. While there were rumours that the Maoists also slit the throats of their captives, sources said the bodies bore only gunshot wounds.
Maoists killed the two tribals as they suspected them of passing information to the police on their activities. They also left hand-written posters beside the dead bodies. The posters, released in the name of Darba divisional committee, claimed that it had given repeated warnings to the duo before “punishing” them. The poster also alleged that the slain tribals had not changed their attitude and continued to act as a “police agents.”
In another poster, the Maoists gave a call to the people to observe bandh in four states – Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra – to protest the alleged encounter at Pamedu (Kanchala) forest where nine Naxalites were killed recently. Sources said that Gopi Pujari was kidnapped during a village festival on April 19. The other two were abducted on April 23. But the kidnapping came to light only on Wednesday.
The people of villages surrounding Kyang believe that the duo were killed by the armed Naxalites numbering over 50 after setting a cell tower in the same area on fire. Maoists stormed Kyang village late on Wednesday night and torched a mobile phone tower of a private service provider, SP Akhileswar Singh told mediapersons.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-26/hyderabad/38842288_1_mobile-phone-tower-maoists-pamedu

(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-26/hyderabad/38842288_1_mobile-phone-tower-maoists-pamedu)
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-26/hyderabad/38842288_1_mobile-phone-tower-maoists-pamedu) Police conduct searches
Police today conducted intense search operations in the forest area near Vazhikkadav in Malappuram district following reports of sighting of three unidentified persons, including an woman, in the early hours. According to police, three persons approached a Preliminary health Centre at Munda and sought medicines. When told that there was no doctor, they just left and the health centre staff immediately informed forest and police officials.
Police personnel including specially trained commando force of Kerala police,’Thunderbolt’, combed the area, they said. Earlier, last month, the specially trained commando force had conducted search operations in the Aralam and Kannavam forest areas in Kannur district, in the wake of reports of suspected Maoist presence in the forest areas bordering Kerala and Karnataka. Though the 30-member commando force along with forest department officials conducted search operations, they could not sight anyone.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/police-conduct-searches-113042700462_1.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24132

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Two Naxalites killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh
Two suspected Naxalites were killed in an encounter with troops of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the State Police near Kachora vilalge in Chhote Donger police station area in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh today. A spokesman for the CRPF said that, based on a specific intelligence input, a joint special operation was carried out in the area from 0030 hours today by troops of 39 Battalion of the CRPF, 201 CoBRA and State Police. At about 0530 hours, when the troops reached near Kachora village, a fierece encounter took place between the Naxalites and the security forces, he said.
According to him, the encounter lasted for nearly 20 minutes. When the firing stopped and the area was searched, two bodies of suspected Naxalites, in unform, were recovered from the site of the encounter. The security forces also seized four guns, three hand grenades, four country-made hand grenades, four improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one Ak 47 magazine, one SLR magazine, 19 rounds of AK 47 ammunition and seven rounds of SLR ammunition, he said.
“The presence of more Naxal groups in the area in large number has been reported. Troops are searching the area,” the spokesman added.
http://netindian.in/news/2013/05/01/00024171/two-naxalites-killed-encounter-security-forces-chhattisgarh

(http://netindian.in/news/2013/05/01/00024171/two-naxalites-killed-encounter-security-forces-chhattisgarh)
(http://netindian.in/news/2013/05/01/00024171/two-naxalites-killed-encounter-security-forces-chhattisgarh) Maoist arrested in Odisha
Phulbani (Odisha): A Maoist, allegedly involved in several offences including bomb blasts, was arrested by the security forces in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Wednesday, police said. Mathews Bedbaka was picked from his hideout in Meragudi village at Kotagarh area during a joint combing by CRPF, district voluntary force and local police, Baliguda sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Arjun Barik said.
Mathew, who hails from Rayagada district, had been active in Maoist activities and was suspected to be involved in an ambulance blast in Kandhamal in November 2010 in which five people were killed, police said. His involvement is also suspected in an explosion near Srirampur on January 5, 2012 in which three police personnel died, they said.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/maoist-arrested-in-odisha_845864.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/maoist-arrested-in-odisha_845864.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/maoist-arrested-in-odisha_845864.html) Maoist Communist Party, Manipur on May Day
IMPHAL, April 30: The proscribed outfit Maoist Communist Party, Manipur Central Head Quarter has conveyed its message on the occasion of the May Day in a press release. The release has wished for the growth of the “Manipur Proletarian Revolution”, the foundation of which was laid by Lamyanba Hijam Irabot in Manipur.
The statement said according to several intellectuals, the first rally of the workers and farmers in Manipur was led by Lamyanba Hijam Irabot on the May Day of 1939 from Moirangkhom which had also passed through the residence of Political agent Jimson. Counting since the first rally, the day has been observed 74 times the statement said and added there is still no development or improvement in the condition of the farmers and workers.
http://kanglaonline.com/2013/04/maoist-communist-party-manipur-on-may-day/

(http://kanglaonline.com/2013/04/maoist-communist-party-manipur-on-may-day/)
(http://kanglaonline.com/2013/04/maoist-communist-party-manipur-on-may-day/) The red sign over Assam
Assam may not be among states fighting a stiff battle against left-wing extremism yet, but Maoists definitely have a strong footing in the state now. The latest evidence is the arrest of two important functionaries of the CPI (Maoist) party from state capital Guwahati, both from a tribal community. For over a year now, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has been telling the Centre that at least seven districts of the state have figured on the Maoist map.
Gogoi had also pleaded with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to include these seven districts in the Integrated Action Plan so that the growth of left-wing extremists could be contained before it became a menace. In December, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh too asked the Centre to declare at least two districts of Assam – Dibrugarh and Tinsukia – as Maoist-dominated. Central committee member Aklanta Rabha and Jharkhand “state trainer” Siraj Rabha — both from the Rabha community which had figured in the clashes in Goalpara — arrested last Friday, in fact are the latest among important Maoist functionaries held in the state over the past two years.
Others include Indranil Chanda, Ana-nd Kharwar, Pijush Kanti Acharjee and Aditya Bora, top names in the CPI (Maoist) hierarchy. Already fighting numerous insurgent and armed groups, Assam has been on the Maoist radar for a long time, with Kishenji having called for a cordial relationship with the Northeast outfits at least four years ago. Aklanta Rabha was once part of a now defunct group called the Rabha Protection Force that he had himself founded in 1991, and a sizeable section of the 180-odd Maoist cadres in Assam are said to have been with the ULFA or some other group before switching over to the CPI(Maoist). Most of these cadres, who also include several women, come from the backward districts of the state including those that share inter-state boundary with neighbouring states, with the common factor between the regions being disparities in development.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-red-sign-over-assam/1109960/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-red-sign-over-assam/1109960/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-red-sign-over-assam/1109960/0) Soni Sori, Kodopi acquitted of murder charges
Soni Sori, the tribal school teacher accused of acting as a courier between Essar Steel and the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), and Lingaram Kodopi, the activist-journalist trained in Delhi, have been acquitted in one more crucial case by Dantewada court. The case filed in 2010 by Dantewada police alleged that Ms Sori and Lingaram Kodopi are among several others involved in planning and executing an attack on local Congress leader, Avdesh Singh Gautam, in which two persons were killed.
15 others, including activists of various mainstream political parties, who were booked with Ms Sori were also acquitted. Congress leader Vijay Sodi, CPI leader Lala Ram Kunjam and a Panchayat member of Dantewada, Sannuram Mandawi are among the accused who got acquitted on Wednesday.
Soni Sori has now been acquitted in six out of eight cases filed against her. A FIR filed in Kuakonda police station in Dantewada court said that on 7 July, 2010 midnight, more than 150 Maoist soldiers attacked local Congress leader and contractor Avdesh Singh Gautam’s house. Mr Gautam’s brother in law, Sanjay Singh and house attendant Dharmendra were killed, while his son and a guard were injured. 17 accused, including Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi, were present at the scene of crime, said Mr Gautam, according to the FIR.
On basis of available evidences and witness’ statements several charges were brought against the accused under Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and Explosive Substance Act which includes criminal conspiracy, rioting, arson causing death, and attempt to murder, besides a host of other allegations. “Due to lack of enough and proper evidence additional sessions Judge Anita Dehariya acquitted Soni Sori, Lingaram Kodopi and others,” said Ms Sori’s lawyer in Dantewada K K Dubey on phone.
In February, this year, Ms. Sori was acquitted in two other cases. One in which, she was accused to have opened fire and used explosives to blow up vehicles of Essar Steel. In another, she was accused of firing on police near Essar Beneficiation Plant in Kirandul. “Witnesses could not confirm her involvement,” Mr. Dubey told The Hindu earlier. Last year, Ms. Sori was acquitted in two more cases. Two more cases against Ms Sori are still in court.
One of the allegations, pending in Bacheli court, accused Ms Sori of torching several vehicles. In the other case – the most crucial one – pending in Dantewada court, it is alleged that Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi were planning to hand over “protection money” from Essar Steel to the Maoists. D.V.C.S. Verma, the general manager at an Essar steel plant, and B.K. Lala, one of Essar’s contractors, were arrested in the same case, allegedly for disbursing money.
According to police, Mr. Kodopi and Ms. Sori were carrying the money to the rebels. While Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi are languishing in jail, like thousands of tribal under trials (UTs) of south Chhattisgarh, two of their co-accused, Mr Verma and Mr Lala, got bail soon within months after the arrest.
90 per cent cases against tribals are concocted
Ashok Jain, a senior lawyer of Dantewada, representing some of the accused, who got acquitted with Ms Sori, said Wednesday’s judgement proves how tribals are detained under “false charges.” “These tribals are detained under completely concocted charges, at least most of them. Their families get ruined as they spend several years as undertrials. Whenever the cases are followed well, like the case of Soni Sori, the accused gets acquitted,” Mr Jain said.
A battery of lawyers representing the high profile case of Ms Sori and other accused feel, while the case of Soni Sori or Dr Binayak Sen got enough “attention from all quarters,” cases of thousands of undertrial tribals are getting “absolutely no attention from media or civil society.” “Most of these cases are so flimsy that higher courts may not even admit those or the accused will get bail within hours of admission. But lack of financial and people’s support, keep these tribals behind bars for years,” said one of the lawyers.
“How can a poor tribal be arrested for just being a resident of an area controlled by the Maoists or sharing a lunch with the rebels, possibly under duress,” said another lawyer. Ms Sori’s lawyers, however, sounded optimistic and said they have moved a bail petition in Chhattisgarh High Court. “I hope, Ms Sori and others will get bail soon after this acquittal in a crucial case,” said Mr Dubey.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/soni-sori-kodopi-and-15-others-acquitted-of-murder-charges/article4673791.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24143

[Brutus]

How much support do the Maoists have?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

How much support do the Maoists have?

They have a presence in about 1/3 of India so all one needs to do is some simple math to understand that the network required to upkeep, defend, and expand this network is large and numbers in the (estimated) millions (including supporters, sympathizers, militia, Party members, etc).

Also, please keep in mind this thread is for news only; if you have a question pertaining to the Naxalites feel free to PM me or ask around in the MLM group.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Chhattisgarh HC reserves verdict on Naxal’s bail
Bilaspur: The Chhattisgarh High Court has reserved its judgement on the bail application of Malti alias K S Priya, who was convicted for her alleged involvement in Naxal activities. Earlier a lower court had awarded her 10 years imprisonment. “The single bench of Justice R S Sharma on Thursday reserved its judgement on the bail plea of Malti, who was arrested in 2008 for her alleged involvement in naxal activities,” her counsel Satish Verma said.
In 2006, Naxal literature and CDs were distributed at the MLA rest house in Raipur through courier. Around two years after the incident, police had busted an urban Naxal network and had arrested Malti along with three others – Surendra Kosaria, Siddharth Sharma and Pratik Jha – on February 22, 2008 in this connection. After hearing the case, a district court had convicted Malti and Surendra and sentenced them to 10 year in jail while two others were acquitted.
Challenging the decision of the district court, Malti later filed an appeal in the High Court along with an application for the suspension of the sentence and grant of bail. After hearing the arguments of Malti’s counsel, the court reserved its verdict. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/chhattisgarh-hc-reserves-verdict-on-naxal-s-bail_846234.html

Jailed Naxal leader Kobad Gandhy moves Delhi HC for bail
Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested and jailed for allegedly setting up a base for the banned CPI(Maoist), has moved a an application at Delhi High Court seeking bail on the grounds that he has already been granted the same relief by Andhra Pradesh High Court in a case. Sixty five-year-old Ghandy, who was arrested on September 20, 2009 by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, filed a copy of the bail order delivered by the AP High Court before Justice Sunil Gaur.
The court, which had earlier issued a notice to Delhi Police on the bail application of Ghandy, on Thursday, however, deferred the hearing to May 16 after the counsel for the police said he was not prepared to argue. Ghandy’s advocate Rebecca John placed on record the order of the AP High Court, which granted him bail in a case of killing of nine persons, including senior Congress leader Chittem Narsi Reddy, in the southern state.
Reddy and eight others were allegedly killed by the Maoists in Narayanapet in Mahbubnagar on August 15, 2005. Ghandy has been booked by Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and IPC for a series of offences, which includes impersonation, cheating and forgery.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Jailed-Naxal-leader-Kobad-Gandhy-moves-Delhi-HC-for-bail/Article1-1053944.aspx

Beleaguered Maoists step up expansion programme
Maoists have stepped up their expansion drive in western Odisha and the trijunction of Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Kerala, a latest assessment by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has revealed. “The sustained campaign against Naxals in their strongholds of Sukma, Bijapur and Narayanpur in Chhaittisgarh, Gadchiroli of Maharashtra and Saranada forest of Jharkhand has forced the Maoists to expand in new areas,” said a senior security officer.
According to the assessment, Maoists are pushing in the western Odisha districts of Bolangir, Bargarh, Naupada and Nabarangpur. They also held a large meeting in Pardarha village of Naupada, which was attended by their four central committee members. Besides Odisha, Maoists have been trying to new front in area around tri-junction of Karanataka-Kerala-Tamil Nadu for the last many years. The security forces have seen renewed Maoist activities in this region this year.
The MHA assessment also shows that in the first three months of the current year more Maoists have been killed in comparison to the security personnel than in the same period in last year. In the first three months of last year, 53 security personnel had been killed, while the figure for Naxals killed in clashes with the security forces and their own breakaway factions stood at 20.
But in 2013, in the first three months ending March 31, only 25 securitymen lost their lives in anti-Naxal operations whereas 30 Maoist were killed clashes with the security forces and breakaway factions like Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Beleaguered-Maoists-step-up-expansion-programme/Article1-1053984.aspx

Suspected Maoist Sontakke is denied bail
Observing that even the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, specifically freedom of speech and expression and right to life and liberty, are subject to reasonable restrictions, the Bombay High Court recently rejected suspected Maoist Angela Sontakke’s bail application. Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari also observed that Sontakke’s case cannot be held at par with her six co-accused, who have been granted bail by a different judge.
The case pertains to seven arrests made by Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad from Thane and Pune last April. It was alleged that the accused were part of Golden Corridor Committee, a group set up by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), to spread its message in urban areas. Sontakke is suspected to be the secretary of this committee and her husband Milind Teltumbde, who is absconding, is said to be a top state CPI (Maoist) operative. ATS had allegedly recovered cash, CDs, pen drives and printed material supposedly used to spread the committee’s message.
Making prima facie observations against Sontakke, Justice Dharmadhikari noted in his order that she seemed to be an active member of the banned organisation. “She seems to be a member of the Regional Committee and also Golden Corridor Committee, both of which are part of the banned organisation. She is not just a nominal member,” observed the court.
Further, accepting Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian’s arguments, the court also observed, “She does not merely subscribe to the ideology but actively promotes and propounds it. Her acts would fall within the provisions relied upon by the prosecution and to be found in the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.” Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, representing Sontakke, had argued that her case would not fall beyond mere passive membership of the banned organistation.
He submitted that even if the prosecution’s case is found to be true, Sontakke could be sentenced only under sections providing imprisonment of five to seven years. Pasbola also cited two bail orders of Sontakke’s six co-accused, both given by Justice Abhay Thipsay. Two of them were granted bail in October last year, when Justice Thipsay had observed that every person influenced by Maoist ideology cannot be treated as member of a terrorist organisation.
Four others were granted bail in January this year. Justice Thipsay had then observed that raising issues like “social inequality” was not banned and hence was not punishable. Justice Dharmadhikari overruled all these submissions. The court relied on confessional statement of one of the accused and yet another witness – a freelance journalist, cited by the prosecution. The freelance journalist had narrated his story about how he was taken to a forest area for three weeks and was shown around the activities of banned organisation in detail and was almost persuaded to join the organistation, but he chose not to.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/Suspected-Maoist-Sontakke-is-denied-bail/articleshow/19827351.cms

Red terror camps in 7 Maoist-infested states worry government
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has raised concern over naxal terror training camps organised to impart military training for new recruits and planning of special operations against security forces in at least seven Maoist infested States. The banned outfit bastion in Dandakaranya forest region extending over an area of 92,300 sq.km had held maximum number of camps in the last one year.
The camps were organised in Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Kanker district in Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. “In 2012, 26 training camps were reportedly organised in these districts. During the current year, till April 15, six such training camps have been reportedly organised in these districts,” Minister of State for Home Affairs RPN Singh told Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Singh said these training camps were an important component of the overall military tactics of the CPI (Maoist).
Similar camps are organised in other left wing extremists affected states, including Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Maoists refer to the area as Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ) in their military literature. In the last one year, 14 training camps for ultras were organised in Jharkhand followed by 8 camps in Odisha. In order to dismantle Maoist military camps, State and paramilitary forces have launched intensified intelligence-based naxal operations.
Recently, on March 23, a special task force had busted a training camp in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. A total of 589 arms were recovered by security forces from various training camps in 2012. Maoists have established various temporary arms production units in the States of Andhra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra. These mobile units are entrusted to manufacture artillery, rifle parts and booby traps. “The Central government, wherever required, assists States by providing Central Armed Police Forces and by sharing intelligence inputs in such matters,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, two Naxals were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in Maoist-hit Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. The cadres of Daula Dalam of Maoists were gunned down by a joint team of COBRA battalion, CRPF and district force in the jungle of Kachora village in the wee hours, Narayanpur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) NK Sahu said. In Raipur, two Naxals were killed in an encounter with security forces in Maoist-hit Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. The cadres of Daula Dalam of Maoists were gunned down by a joint team of COBRA battalion, CRPF and district force in the jungle of Kachora village in the wee hours, Narayanpur DSP NK Sahu said.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Red-terror-camps-in-7-Maoist-infested-states-worry-government/2013/05/02/article1570871.ece

Maoists make Assam inroads
The CPI (Maoist) has succeeded in making strong inroads in Assam with security agencies confirming the presence of nearly 40 armed cadres who were trained in two separate training camps — first in Jharkhand and second in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Disclosing that CPI (Maoist) has also roped in at least 150 overground hardcore workers, propagating Maoist ideology among the youths in Assam, authoritative security sources told this newspaper that Akalanta Rabha alias Maheshji who was arrested recently had also succeeded in establishing link with some Khasi youths in Meghalaya with the help of a woman activists. Asserting that security agencies have got concrete evidence on training camps of CPI (Maoist) cadres in Arunachal Pradesh, security sources said that Prakant Bose, heading the eastern bureau of CPI (Maoist) was looking after the activities of the outfit in the northeast from Jharkhand.
Pointing out that Maheshiji who hails from Goalpara in Assam was not active for quite some time and wanted his release from the organisation, security sources said that Prakant Bose motivated him to start recruitment of new cadres and assigned task of strengthening the organisation in Assam and Meghalaya.
Before joining the CPI (Maoist) in 1996-97, Maheshji was also the secretary of All Rabha Students Union in the state. Maheshji who was also getting salary from its central committee for himself and his supporting staff cadres, was also doing a business of direct trading of consumer products.
In the process he met a Khasi woman who not only got influenced by his ideology but also invited for a meeting with local youths in villages bordering Assam in Meghalaya. However, before his meeting, police arrested him. Security sources referring the investigation of the security agencies said that CPI (Maoist) had signed an agreement with Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur for arms supply but off late they had started targeting the sophisticated weapons in possession of other militant outfits in Assam.
http://www.asianage.com/india/maoists-make-assam-inroads-783

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24158

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Maoists abduct 3 more in Malkangiri district
KORAPUT: Continuing their well-calibrated offensive against suspected police informers, Maoists abducted at least three persons, including an elected panchayat representative, in Malkangiri district. Though the incident occurred on Wednesday night, police confirmed it on Friday, coinciding with the visit of director general of police (DGP) Prakash Mishra to the Maoist-hit district. Earlier on April 24, Maoists killed two of the three persons they had abducted on April 22 from Kiang panchayat under Mathili police limits in the district.
In the latest incident, sources said a group of armed Maoists swooped down on Mahupadar village, situated at a distance of about 100 km from Malkangiri town, under Mathili police limits, and abducted the naib sarpanch of Mahupadar Budu Durua, a trader identified as Budu Naik and another villager Malsa Kalra, accusing them of helping police. Brushing aside the Maoist charges against the victims, Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh said, “The abducted persons were never our informers. The Maoists might have abducted them to settle some personal scores.
Due to the remoteness of the village in the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, we are facing difficulty in getting the details of the incident. However, investigation is on.” Police suspect the involvement of Daharba division of the CPI (Maoist) in the abduction, which operates in the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border areas. At least six persons have been abducted by Maoists in the past 15 days, leaving the villagers panic-stricken.
“Local people are spending sleepless nights as Maoists are constantly on the prowl. No one knows what will be the fate of the abducted trio. Also, the remoteness of the villages helps the Maoists to have a free run in the area,” said a source at Mathili. Meanwhile, the DGP visited Red-hit Chitrakonda and assessed the ongoing anti-Naxalite operations in Malkangiri district with top district police and BSF officials.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Maoists-abduct-3-more-in-Malkangiri-district/articleshow/19875269.cms

Two Naxals held in Chhattisgarh
Raipur, May 4 (PTI) Two Naxals were arrested during a joint search operation in a jungle in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said today. “The cadres were nabbed from the jungles of Batumpali village under Basaguda police station area of the district by the joint contingent of CRPF and district force last night,” a senior official told PTI over phone.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/3607184_Two-Naxals-held-in-Chhattisgarh

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24175

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Reds kill one of three abductees in Malkangiri
KORAPUT: A day after DGP Prakash Mishra assessed the ongoing anti-Naxalite operations in Malkangiri district, Maoists murdered one of the three kidnapped persons and freed the other two in the district on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as naib sarpanch of Mahupadar panchayat Budu Durua. The rebels freed the other two abductees, Budu Naik and Malsa Kalra, with threats of dire consequences if they dared to help police in the area.
According to sources, villagers spotted the body of Durua lying in a pool of blood near the school at Mahupadar on Saturday morning. “A group of Maoists went to the village around 2 am and held a praja court prior to murdering the naib sarpanch,” said a source at Mathili. Police said security personnel are facing problems in reaching the village as the Naxals have dug roads at various points and dug at least three trenches between Mathili and Mahupadar. Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh said the deceased was not a police informer.
“The Maoists have murdered him for some other reason which is under investigation. These are desperate attempts by the Maoists to instill fear among the local villagers,” the SP said. “The two villagers freed by the Maoists are in a state of shock and are not willing to say anything at the moment,” he added. Police suspects the involvement of Dharaba division of the CPI (Maoist) in the incident, which operates in Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Bhubaneswar/Reds-kill-one-of-three-abductees-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19890990.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Bhubaneswar/Reds-kill-one-of-three-abductees-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19890990.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Bhubaneswar/Reds-kill-one-of-three-abductees-in-Malkangiri/articleshow/19890990.cms) Democracy has collapsed in Naxal-hit Malkangiri: Cong
Bhubaneswar: Congress on Sunday alleged that democracy has collapsed at the grassroot level in Maoist-hit Malkangiri following the en-mass resignation of over 60 Panchayati Raj representatives and asked the BJD government to expedite developmental work in the district. “Over 60 PRI representatives in Kalimela block had resigned en-mass last month over government’s inaction in completing an irrigation canal and providing basic amenities like drinking water,” Odisha PCC President Niranjan Patnaik, who visited the district yesterday, told reporters here.
“We are shocked at the callousness of Naveen Patnaik government towards the collapse of this vital grassroots institution. We are shocked to note that the government has not even responded to this crisis and treating it as a casual event. PRIs are an important part of our constitutional edifice,” the PCC chief said.
He said not even a minister or a secretary-level officer had visited the district to talk to the PRI representatives. “Nothing can be more insensitive.” He said children in the district are dying of diseases, while its youth are unemployed, women vulnerable and farmers lack access to irrigation. “We feel there is an atmosphere of acute bedlam and unprecedented institutional decay.”
“The Malkangiri misery is being perpetuated by the insensitivity, inaction and neglect of the BJD government in the state,” he said and asked the government to create infrastructure, provide jobs to the people and integrate them to the mainstream. Rs 1100 crore meant for schemes like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) were lying unutilised in Malkangiri, Patnaik said, adding the district fares poorly on all development indicators, besides reporting poor utilisation of central funds under different schemes. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/democracy-has-collapsed-in-naxal-hit-malkangiri-cong_846650.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/democracy-has-collapsed-in-naxal-hit-malkangiri-cong_846650.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/democracy-has-collapsed-in-naxal-hit-malkangiri-cong_846650.html) Elected representatives under Naxal threat
RAIPUR: Police have stepped up security of elected representatives in Sarguja division, in north Chhattisgarh bordering Jharkhand, following intelligence inputs about the possibility of Maoists targeting them.
“We are on alert and adequate security cover is being provided to them”, said inspector general of police (Sarguja range) T J Longkumer in Jashpur on Friday after a joint meeting of senior officials of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police to review the strategy for anti-Naxalite operation on Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border. CRPF’s IG M N Rao said the meeting of police officials of both the states was convened at Jashpur to formulate joint strategy to deal with the Naxalite activities in the region.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Elected-representatives-under-Naxal-threat/articleshow/19890799.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Elected-representatives-under-Naxal-threat/articleshow/19890799.cms)
Insurgencies In India’s Northeast Demonstrating Signs And Intent Of Staging Comeback – Analysis
The premature claims by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its Annual Report for the year 2006-07 that the overall violence in the northeast “has been contained” notwithstanding, the region’s rendezvous with insurgency and instability continued much longer.
Till the newly installed Awami League (AL) Government in Dhaka decided in 2009 to put a halt to the country’s tolerance of the activities of Indian insurgents on its soil, insurgency continued full steam, thwarting New Delhi’s twin efforts of pushing foreign governments in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar to cooperate with its own counter-insurgency operations at home.
However, three years since this momentous and landmark cooperation from Bangladesh that should have reduced the insurgents to tatters, insurgency movements in the northeast live on, albeit weak and a poor caricature of their former selves, yet demonstrating signs and intent of making a comeback.
Ineffectual policies that make central forces the backbone of counter-insurgency operations are at the core of such failures. The MHA, in its year-end report for the year 2011, asserted, “There has been significant decline in the incidents of violent killings of the civilians and the security forces in the North Eastern States due to the consistent efforts by Ministry of Home Affairs.” While the MHA’s actual contribution to the decline in violence levels can be a contentious issue, insurgency-induced violence has indeed hit the bottom.
Compared to 2007, the year which witnessed killing of 498 civilians and 79 security force personnel in the northeast, security situation in the region has improved significantly to record 97 civilian and 14 security force fatalities in 2012. Lest this be construed as a tactical retreat by the insurgent outfits, almost all the major outfits in the region had been reduced to a state of weakness.
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)’s anti-talk faction, reduced to cadre strength of less than 150, had to find sanctuary in Myanmar. From being one of the most potent outfits in Manipur, much of United National Liberation Front (UNLF)’s action plan, following its chairman R K Meghen’s arrest in Bangladesh, veered around preserving its cadres. By the end of 2011, the Northeast appeared on a road to complete recovery and the days of insurgency, once seen as everlasting, appeared numbered.
The then Home Minister P Chidambaram predicted a “final settlement of the issues” in December 2010 and a more circumspect “ebbing of insurgency” a year later. Insurgencies, by no means, were dead in this frontier, but certainly were on deathbeds, creating thereby significant opportunities for the police forces in the region to consolidate their hold over the hitherto no-go areas.
On the contrary what continued were the old tactics — combination of alarmist assessments of the state of insurgencies by the governments of the day and a lackadaisical approach at enabling the police to take charge of the overall situation. For the region’s political class, to give up on the central forces, notwithstanding the latter’s negligible contribution to the transformed state of affairs, remained an impossible dream.
The prospect of the return of peace appeared to be bad news for the political class, for it could bring in new responsibilities. Carrying on with the narrative of instability, on the other hand, has been far more convenient. Several questions relating the counter-insurgency strategies remain unasked and unanswered in the northeast.
Why a situation of declining violence, when the cadre strength and consequent nuisance potential of the insurgents have declined to record low levels, cannot be handled by the police forces? Why have the MHA’s police modernisation programme with allocations running into Rupees 1690 crores between 2000 and March 2013, consistently failed to augment policing capabilities in the northeast?
If indeed there is a method to the fascination of the Chief Ministers of northeastern states to continue projecting a “conflict-affected” rather than a “conflict- free” status for their states, why can’t the Army, with all its reservations against involvement in the Maoist theatres and opposition to the dilution of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, has not made any unilateral effort to extricate itself from the northeast’s conflict theatres?
Not surprisingly, riding on such persistent disinclination to launch police-led initiatives, the ULFA has been able to cast both its violence profile and extortion abilities far beyond the upper Assam districts in the proximity of Myanmar into districts abutting state capital Dispur. Dismissed previously as a miniscule faction reduced to irrelevance, it has managed to revive itself into what the Assam governor described in February 2013 as a “force to reckon with”.
In 2012, 357 ULFA cadres were arrested and 16 were killed in encounters. Yet the cadre strength of this faction led by Paresh Baruah has increased to over 250, underlining the irrelevance of the continuing peace talks with the pro-talks factions. A similar story has unfolded in Manipur. Major insurgent outfits have managed to thwart the prophecies of doom by forming an umbrella organisation, the CorCom (Coordination Committee) and continuing sporadic violence. The Garo Hills of Meghalaya, the erstwhile transit route for the insurgents between Bangladesh and Assam, has again become active.
With no end to the Naga conflict in sight, not only the Nagaland state continues to be a theatre of internecine warfare, abduction and extortion but problems routinely spill over into neighbouring Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. More importantly, beyond these narratives on the big and influential among the armed factions, smaller outfits have mushroomed in the region, filling up the vacuum left open by the larger outfits.
The localised and yet all pervasive activities of the Santhal Tiger Force, Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers, Bodoland Royal Tigers Force, United Tribal Liberation Army et al, combining extortion, arms smuggling and abductions, is not captured by these profusely comforting figures of 111 civilian and security force deaths in 2012. In the last week of April 2013, Assam Police arrested a central committee member of the Communist Party of India-Maoist in Assam.
Each incident of this nature on earlier occasions has been used by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to demand additional battalions of central forces for the state. Such pathological dependence on central forces could find a potential facilitator in this year’s parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. Victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) may very well put north-eastern insurgency on a path to recovery. New Delhi then can be left ruing the undoing of a job half done.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/05052013-insurgencies-in-indias-northeast-demonstrating-signs-and-intent-of-staging-comeback-analysis/

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24184

[TheGodlessUtopian]

“Ensure speedy trial of tribals accused of being Naxals”
Eminent personalities and activists, including Justice V R Krishna Iyer and historian Ramachandra Guha, today appealed to the government to ensure a speedy trial of tribals, who are accused of being Naxals or helping them. In an open letter, they said the failure to ensure justice for adivasis is a grave blot on India’s human rights record.
“Not only are we as a nation committed to democracy and human rights but our Constitution provides extensive safeguards and rights to the adivasis that are being violated by not ensuring fair and speedy trials for these thousands of adivasi undertrials. “On every count – whether humanitarian or strategic – it is imperative that this prolonged failure to assure our country’s adivasis of speedy, impartial justice be set right immediately,” they said. Releasing the letter here, activist Swami Agnivesh told reporters that urgent and dedicated measures under noted jurists were now needed to hear all these cases.
“Sentence those who are guilty and release the innocents, while compensating them for the damage they have undergone,” he said. Agnivesh said as per the replies he has received after filing Right To Information on the imprisonment of adivasis, 1,266 tribals were arrested after being accused of involving in Maoist activities in Naxal-hit states of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Bihar. The district of Dantewara in Chhattisgarh alone has 377 cases where arrests are made solely on Maoists charge, he claimed.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ensure-speedy-trial-of-tribals-accused-of-being-naxals-113050600819_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ensure-speedy-trial-of-tribals-accused-of-being-naxals-113050600819_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ensure-speedy-trial-of-tribals-accused-of-being-naxals-113050600819_1.html) Maoist held in Bihar
A hardcore Maoist was arrested today from a village in Rafiganj area in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, a senior police official said. Acting on a tip off, the police raided a house in Kauwakhat village and arrested Chhotu Rajak, who claimed himself to be the “area commander” of the naxal outfit outfit, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ajay Narayan Yadav said. A rifle looted from the policemen, a cane bomb and naxal literature were recovered from the ultra, he said. Rajak was wanted in several incidents of naxal violence in the district, Yadav said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-held-in-bihar-113050600722_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-held-in-bihar-113050600722_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-held-in-bihar-113050600722_1.html) Red bid to strike cops foiled, 5 IEDs recovered
RANCHI: Maoists’ bid to blow up a police patrolling party in Red-hit Chatra district was foiled on Sunday with security men recovering five powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted beneath a road. The explosives were planted apparently to take revenge of the killing of 10 Maoist cadres on March 28. The rebels claim that the Maoists were killed by Tritiya Prastuti Committee members under the police patronage. The IEDs, each containing 10 kg explosives, were recovered from underneath a pitch road at Lenjua village in Hunterganj police station at 9am.
The rebels had dug out the road and stashed the explosives. “The detonator wires connected to the five devices with a circuit which was kept 30 metres away into the jungles,” said Chatra SP Anoop Birtharay. One IED, weighing 20 kg, can easily blow up an anti-landmine vehicle. Together the explosives were enough to blow up one company of security forces.
“The explosives were planted so tactfully that the bomb disposal squad of the CRPF took around eight hours to diffuse them. The wire connection of the explosives was destroyed first. It was dug out then and the explosive were defused safely in the fields,” said the SP. The village from where the explosives were recovered is the last village under the jurisdiction of Jharkhand police. The rebels are active in the area and they get support from their carders from Bihar.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/Red-bid-to-strike-cops-foiled-5-IEDs-recovered/articleshow/19906457.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/Red-bid-to-strike-cops-foiled-5-IEDs-recovered/articleshow/19906457.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/Red-bid-to-strike-cops-foiled-5-IEDs-recovered/articleshow/19906457.cms) Maoist kills one of three abductees in Malkangiri
Malkangiri, May 05 (ANI): Acting with brazen impunity Maoists have murdered one of the three persons they had kidnapped and released the other two in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The deceased has been identified as Naib Sarpanch of Mahupadar panchayat Buduram Dharua. Body of Dharua was found with his throat slit on a forest road on the outskirts of the village.
http://www.indiablooms.com/VideoDetails/2013/videoDetails060513w.php

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24203

[TheGodlessUtopian]

CRPF deployed in Naxal-affected states: R.P.N. Singh
New Delhi, May 7(ANI): Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh has informed that the Union Government has deployed Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the LWE-affected states to assist the state police in conducting anti-naxal operations.
“The deployment of CAPFs (including CRPF) is a dynamic process and is based on requirements projected by the State Governments, availability of Force and the security situation in a particular location. The deployment of CAPFs (including CRPF) keeps changing from time to time.
However, at present a total number of 532 coys of CAPFs have been deployed in the LWE affected States,” said Singh in written reply to a question by R. Thamaraiselvan in the Lok Sabha today. Singh further said some of the LWE affected States including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have demanded additional battalions of CAPFs, including CRPF.
“As stated above, the decision on deployment of additional battalion in the LWE affected States is taken on the basis of requirement of the State Governments, availability of Force and other ground realities. Recently, taking into consideration the requests of the State Governments, a decision has been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide 10 additional battalions of CAPFs including 05 battalions of CRPF to Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh,” he added. (ANI)
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/308-CRPF-deployed-in-Naxal-affected-states-R-P-N-Singh.html

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/308-CRPF-deployed-in-Naxal-affected-states-R-P-N-Singh.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/308-CRPF-deployed-in-Naxal-affected-states-R-P-N-Singh.html) Naxals manufacturing improvised grenades, RPGs: Government
NEW DELHI: Naxals are manufacturing improvised hand grenades and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) in their arms manufacturing units, Lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said as per reports available, the improvised grenades are manufactured by CPI (Maoist) in their stronghold areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
He said some of the steps taken to bust these manufacturing units include ban on CPI(Maoist), deployment of forces at strategic locations, firm police action against such unlawful activities and intensified intelligence-based anti-Naxal operations. “Besides, the central government closely monitors the situation and issues advisories to the Left Wing Extremism- affected state governments to keep a check on such activities,” he said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/naxals-manufacturing-improvised-grenades-rpgs-government/articleshow/19929290.cms

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/naxals-manufacturing-improvised-grenades-rpgs-government/articleshow/19929290.cms)
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/naxals-manufacturing-improvised-grenades-rpgs-government/articleshow/19929290.cms) Maoists blow up Panchayat building in Odisha
Malkangiri (Odisha): Maoists blew up a Panchayat building in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, in an apparent bid to scuttle an anti-Naxal operation. The police on Tuesday said about 60 armed Maoists and their supporters stormed into Kiang around midnight last night and broke open the doors of the two-storeyed building before triggering the blast using powerful explosives.
However, no one was injured in the incident though office documents were damaged even as fear-stricken people preferred to remain indoors. Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said that an investigation was being conducted into the incident and the extent of the damage was being assessed.
No complaint has been filed by the panchayat authorities in this connection, he said. Ultras from neighbouring Chhattisgarh rule the roost in the district often terrorising people besides creating hurdles before the security forces in carrying out anti-Naxal operations. As different buildings, including those belonging to panchayats are generally used for accommodating security forces during anti-Maoist operations, the red rebels often target these structures, sources said. In the last one month they had kidnapped at least six persons from Kiang and adjoining Mahupadar panchayat areas suspecting them to be police informers and killed three of them. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/maoists-blow-up-panchayat-building-in-odisha_847021.html
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/maoists-blow-up-panchayat-building-in-odisha_847021.html) Maoist leader arrested in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, May 7 (IANS) An area commander of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was arrested in Odisha’s Rayagada district Tuesday, police said. Gameli China Mohan Rao, 25, is an area committee member of Koraput-Srikakulam Joint Division of the CPI-Maoist. He was involved in 13 murder cases, a district police official told IANS. Rao had joined the Maoists in 2007. He was arrested during an anti-Maoist operation.
He was also involved in the kidnapping of ruling Biju Janata Dal legislator Jhina Hikaka in March last year, the official said. Several arms and ammunition, including a Belgium-made pistol, 16 bullets and three kg of ammonium nitrate were seized from him, he added. The district headquarters of Rayagada is about 390 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/377–Maoist-leader-arrested-in-Odisha-.html (http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/377--Maoist-leader-arrested-in-Odisha-.html)

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/377--Maoist-leader-arrested-in-Odisha-.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/07/377--Maoist-leader-arrested-in-Odisha-.html) Maoists plan to form women’s group foiled
GUWAHATI: The plan of Maoists to form a women’s group in Assam has been hit after police succeeded to arrest top Maoist leader Aklanta Rabha’s wife Rekha Rani Raha alias Sonpahi in Goalpara recently. Assam Police had arrested Aklanta, the sole central committee member from the state and Siraj Rabha, an arms trainer of the Reds, on April 26. Subsequently, the operations wing of the state police arrested Rekha and two other women Maoist cadres from Goalpara district.
“Rekha revealed that she was acting as an overground member of CPI (Maoist). She had formed an organization called Nari Mukti Sangha to fight against social discrepancy towards backward classes and was propagating the Maoist ideology among women in particular. She confessed that she had managed to recruit at least seven to eight women Maoist cadres in Goalpara and Kamrup districts,” said a policeman.
The state police’s Special Operation Wing (SOW), which has booked the rebels in an extortion case, is currently quizzing them. Police said Rekha went to West Bengal in 2005 and then to Jharkhand for training. During the same time, she got married to Aklanta Rabha. Later, coming back to Assam, she started her organizational activities at Krishnapur and Boko areas of Goalpara district. Settled in Goalpara in 2012, she started a tea stall near the Bhalukdubi area from where she started to form the women’s group via the Nari Mukti Sangha. Police recovered several letters from her possession that contain information about Maoist activities.
Assam Police’s task force, which was formed to deal with the growing Maoist activities, said at least 181 Maoists cadres are active in the state. “Out of them, 23 are women. However, most of them are political workers and not armed cadres,” said Assam police IGP L R Bishnoi, a member of the task force. Investigation revealed that Aklanta was the main facilitator for Maoists and served as a conduit for procuring sophisticated arms from across the border.
He was arrested with a .22 pistol and huge cache of ammunition. “Security forces had encounters with Red rebels on five occasions in Assam. We found sophisticated arms like AK rifles and carbines from them. The Maoists are getting latest arms through ultras in Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland,” added Bishnoi. A close associate of CPI (Maoist) top leader Prashant Bose alias Kishenda, Aklanta is part of the elite group of five top Maoist leaders in charge of operations in Jharkhand, West Bengal and the northeast. Other members include Kishenda, Deo Kumar Singh, Chandraprasad Yadav and Misir Besra.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Guwahati/Maoists-plan-to-form-womens-group-foiled/articleshow/19927340.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Guwahati/Maoists-plan-to-form-womens-group-foiled/articleshow/19927340.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Guwahati/Maoists-plan-to-form-womens-group-foiled/articleshow/19927340.cms) Withdraw forces from Bengal’s Maoist areas: Mahasweta
Kolkata, May 7: Alleging that many people, including Maoists, have been jailed without trial in West Bengal, Magsaysay award winning writer Mahasweta Devi Monday said human rights groups would ask Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to withdraw forces from Maoist areas. “We have been demanding for many years that joint forces should be withdrawn from (West Bengal) and tribal areas should not be described as Maoist-affected.
We will submit a memorandum to the chief minister on these issues,” the octogenarian writer-social activist told mediapersons. “Without a trial, so many people, some branded as Maoists, others tagged as Naxalites, have been locked up in prison by the government,” she said. Dhiraj Sengupta, general secretary of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), said that “200 tribals in the state’s Maoist affected areas are still in prison”.
Criticising Banerjee, he said: “What she could have done for the tribals, she has not done.” Sengupta added: “Banerjee had promised to get the joint security forces withdrawn from Jangalmahal, political prisoners released and boost development in the tribal-dominated areas. On the contrary, false charges were being slapped on tribals in Jungalmahal.” Jangalmahal is a forested area comprising West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts, known as the hub of Maoists.
“They are being told, if you join (Banerjee led) ruling Trinamool Congress, the cases will be withdrawn,” Sengupta said. She said that development projects announced by the Trinamool Congress government in the state were ineffective while tribals still faced police torture, rape and pillage.
Joint forces comprising central paramilitary troopers and state police personnel were deployed in the Junglamahal in July 2009 to combat Maoists, who had made the area a virtual “free zone” by torching police camps and offices of the then ruling CPI-M and driving out the civil administration.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/withdraw-forces-from-bengal-maoist-areas-mahasweta-22665.html

(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/withdraw-forces-from-bengal-maoist-areas-mahasweta-22665.html)
(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/withdraw-forces-from-bengal-maoist-areas-mahasweta-22665.html) Indian Maoists give green light to local land restoration in conflict zones
KANKER DISTRICT, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Four years after Kalavati Salam was elected to lead the Nangarbeda village council in Central India’s Chhattisgarh state, she has finally got her first development plan rolling. The plan, focused on reversing land degradation and boosting crop yields, benefits from a generous budget and a dedicated work force.
Equally important, it has the support of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a banned political organisation that has blocked many previous development efforts. “In the last four years, I tried building a road and a mobile phone tower and laying a water pipeline. Each time, we had to abandon work halfway because they (Maoist activists) opposed them,” says Salam.
“But now we are taking up works like restoring village land. We are trying to change the definition of development,” she adds, visibly relieved. The process includes levelling the land, clearing it of stones, and then covering it with manure. “Most of the farm plots here are uneven, lifeless. We remove layers of soil from those plots that are higher, until the entire farm is at the same level,” says villager Sonkumari Bai, 42. “We also remove big and small stones. Sometimes we winnow the top soil before putting it back into the land. Finally, we till the land and cover it with dried cow dung and gypsum.”
The inhabitants of Nangarbeda, which has a population of 2,700, hope this will help improve their harvests. “The temperature here is increasing day by day. Earlier in the summer, we would grow vegetables like cucumbers and cow beans. But now the land is so dry, we can grow nothing,” says Bhagobai Pradhan, who has a three-acre farm. “This treatment should make some difference. When the rain comes, the once-tilled land will get soaked easily and the manure will mix with it well.” Kanker district, where Nangarbeda is located, is one of 82 districts that have been severely affected by Maoist activities, according to the Indian government.
ATTACKS ON GOVERNMENT PROJECTS
In 2010, the government launched an 820 crore rupee ($150 million) initiative that includes building roads, supplying electricity and drinking water, building schools and community health centres and implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), a programme designed to end rural poverty by giving 100 days’ employment a year to the rural poor. The plan has faced stiff opposition from Maoist activists, who say it will only lead to displacement of local tribal people and give security forces easy access to their forest hideouts.
Salam recalls how Maoists disrupted a government project in 2010. “We brought in trucks full of stone chips, cement and sand to build a tar road. But when the bulldozers came, they set fire to them. We had to stop the work and couldn’t spend the budget allocated for the project,” she says. A half-built archway at the village entrance, together with heaps of stone and concrete on the roadsides, back up her testimony. Maya Kavde, head of Makdi Khuna, another village in the same district, says suspected Maoist activists recently vandalised a mobile phone tower in her village by cutting wires and pulling apart the antennas.
But in January, Kavde began carrying out a land restoration project through MNREGA, and so far has encountered no opposition. “We have a budget of 32 lakh rupees ($64,000) to spend on land levelling and deepening the two community lakes. We also have plans to plant 1,000 Neem trees during the monsoon,” says Kavde. Nanak Baghel, a senior Maoist leader in Kanker, says his party fully supports the land restoration project.
“We are against the government-backed development projects that are just tools to systematically destroy the tribal people. But we never oppose people’s right to better land, water or forest,” says Baghel, an area commander. Sukhanti Bai, head of Handitola village in another conflict-affected district, Rajnandgaon, describes how soil degradation and falling yields have pushed villagers to restore their land here too.
“There are many companies here mining for iron ore and limestone. They have caused a lot of deforestation. Also security forces cut many trees to build their camps inside forests. Now, we have less rain and a lot of dust coming from the mines and damaging our fields,” she explains. “Everyone in my village is experiencing a 10 to 20 percent drop in rice yield. Last year, we held a meeting to discuss what work we must make a priority, and everyone said it should be land restoration,” she adds.
The majority of the local people are landless, marginal farmers who own less than 2.5 acres of land. At 146 rupees ($3) a day, the 100 days’ employment under MNREGA is important to these people who have no work in the summer, from March to May, as agriculture is dependent on rain.
FOOD SECURITY
Another example is Peda Bandirevu, a village in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh state which shares not only a border but also the Maoist conflict with Chhattisgarh. It too has seen many violent protests against development projects like road building. In 2011, Maoists set fire to generators, hydraulic excavators and trucks carrying construction materials.
They also allegedly planted landmines to stop security forces from investigating. This year, however, Peda Bandirevu is implementing MNREGA to restore degraded land, and so far the work has not been disrupted. The village has suffered from drought since 2002, and has juliflora, a thorny shrub, growing everywhere.
The result is severely degraded land with a very high level of salinity. Srinivasa Rao, a local programme officer for MNREGA, says land restoration begins with uprooting juliflora and covering the land with red or black mud collected from village tanks and ponds. “These two works – land treatment and de-silting of tanks – go hand in hand,” says Rao. “The moisture of the silt slowly enters the land, making it softer. By the time the monsoon comes, the top soil will be alive, ready for sowing.”
According to Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), including land in development plans will help nations fight food insecurity. “Avoiding land degradation and restoring degraded land should be a centrepiece to every state’s development plans,” Gnacadja said in a recent interview.
For local people, the land restoration projects in Nangarbeda and Peda Bandirevu are not only a step towards ensuring food supplies. They also create a more secure working environment. Ramulu Amma, a 32-year-old villager in Peda Bandirevu, says she feels safer now. “For nearly five years we were working on road projects and every day we would anticipate trouble.
Though the Maoist activists would never hurt us, they would stop the work and send us home. And every time that happened, we did not get our wages,” she says. “But now, we are working to improve our own fields and there is no fear of a loss of pay or a threat.”
http://www.trust.org/item/20130507141436-lmpwv/

(http://www.trust.org/item/20130507141436-lmpwv/)
(http://www.trust.org/item/20130507141436-lmpwv/) Maoist claims RIMS blast
IMPHAL, May 6: The proscribed Maoist Communist Party Manipur has in a press release claimed its hand in the bomb explosion at the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) campus. A press release of the banned outfit signed by its Publicity and Propaganda secretary comrade Nonglen Meitei said that the bomb explosion at the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) campus was carried out by Maoist Communist Party Manipur as a part of its “class struggle.”
It alleged that the doctors at RIMS are not performing their duty properly as a result of which, many poor people like farmers and labourers had to suffer a lot. While demanding resignation from the Director accusing him of not performing his duty well, the outfit has also also announced a general strike on May 17 from 5 am to 5 pm. The general strike will be suspended immediately if the doctors start performing their duty well and the Director resigns, the release added.
http://kanglaonline.com/2013/05/maoist-claims-rims-blast/

(http://kanglaonline.com/2013/05/maoist-claims-rims-blast/)
(http://kanglaonline.com/2013/05/maoist-claims-rims-blast/) Divided, killed and ruled
A militia allegedly backed by the Jharkhand administration appears to be giving sleepless nights to what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as India’s biggest internal security threat – the CPI (Maoists) – in this eastern state. Armed with sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 assault rifles and SLRs (self-loading rifles) used by the state police and the Maoists alike, the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), meaning Third Action Committee, is wreaking havoc on the parent organisation, whose influence covers 18 of Jharkhand’s 24 districts.
Though the outfit is one of at least six rebel splinter groups in Jharkhand, it’s the most potent because it’s the only one which has the tacit support of the state and its security forces. The TPC is inflicting irreparable damage to its parent organsation by providing vital leads to the security forces, guiding them into Maoist hideouts, engaging its fighters in gun battles and then killing them with the help of the state forces.
Though the TPC – which claims to propagate Stalinism – was formed in 2002, it is only recently that it’s being used by the Jharkhand administration to battle the Maoists. It has also brought to light the state’s tactics of allegedly sponsoring an enemy to wipe out the bigger enemy, something first witnessed in Kashmir in the form of the state-backed Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen and then in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district where the state supported armed vigilante groups – named the Salwa Judum – against the Maoists.
The grisly killing of 10 Maoist guerrillas, including four senior leaders, by lesser known TPC cadres at Chatra in March-end this year signaled a new chapter in the 46-year-old Maoist or Naxal movement in the country. Both the TPC and the Jharkhand police, however, deny reports of their collusion.
“It’s true that the police are not our biggest enemies, but we do not enjoy any patronage from them,” senior TPC leader Alokji told HT from his hideout. Jharkhand director general of police Rajiv Kumar and his predecessor GS Rath vehemently denied reports of the police alliance with the TPC. “Any group which is into wanton killings cannot be our friend,” Kumar said, adding, “We have booked and killed TPC men in encounters whenever confronted.”
Said a former Maoist zonal commander now leading a civilian life in Palamu: “The TPC comprises a bunch of renegades, most of whom were thrown out for misappropriation of party funds or for indulging in adultery, womanising, and alcohol addiction.” He alleged that acting on police directives, TPC men had burnt the houses of all his relatives when he was in the organisation fighting an ideological battle with the state.
“They didn’t even spare the house of my newly-wed niece and looted all her belongings before rendering the family homeless,” he said. “Organisations like the TPC that thrive merely on state support don’t last long,” said former Jharkhand Maoist organisation secretary Yugal Pal, pointing to the Salwa Judum, which is non-existent these days. “The TPC has no commitment to the masses, neither has it had any ideology. Without the people’s support, no left-wing extremist group can flourish,” he said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/jharkhand/Divided-killed-and-ruled/Article1-1055959.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/jharkhand/Divided-killed-and-ruled/Article1-1055959.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/jharkhand/Divided-killed-and-ruled/Article1-1055959.aspx) Maharashtra ATS arrests two alleged Kabir Kala Manch members
Two members of the Pune-based cultural group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), alleged to be Maoists, were arrested today after they surrendered to the police, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said. KKM members Ramesh Gaychor and Sagar Gorkhe were apprehended after they surrendered, an ATS official said. The two have been booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the official said.
A month ago, two KKM members, identified as Sheetal Sathe (27) and Sachin Mali (30), had surrendered outside the state assembly premises. In a crackdown conducted in April 2011, the ATS had arrested Angela Sontakke (42), an alleged Maoist and wife of Milind Teltumbde, allegedly the secretary of the Communist Party of India-Maoist’s Maharashtra committee, and also recovered Rs 1.54 lakh in her possession from the neighbouring Thane district, while her alleged aide Sushma Ramteke (27) was caught in Pune.
Days later, four more alleged Maoists, Mayur Bhagat alias Jenny (23), Jyoti Chorghe (19) and Anuradha Sonule (23) were nabbed from Pune, while Sonule’s alleged aide Siddharth Bhosale (24) was arrested at Nashik. Allegedly, Sontakke also worked as secretary of the so-called ‘Golden Corridor Committee’ formed in February 2008 to spread Maoist ideology among students and labourers.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maharashtra-ats-arrests-two-alleged-kabir-kala-manch-members-113050700686_1.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24209

[TheGodlessUtopian]

One jawan killed, 3 injured in Chhattisgarh naxal encounter
Raipur: A security personnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was today killed and three others were injured in an encounter with naxalites in the state’s Maoist-hit Sukma district, police said. “The incident took place in the jungles of Kistaram police station area of the district when the CAF jawans were on a combing operation in the region early this morning,” a senior police official told PTI over phone. When the patrolling party reached near the forest of Kistaram village, the naxals opened indiscriminate fire on them, killing one jawan and injuring three others, the official said.
The victim was identified as – constable Parshu Markam. The injured – platoon commander Bhagwat Baghel, head constables Ramnarayan Singh and Rajbahor Patel – were referred to Jagdalpur town for treatment, the official said, adding that additional forces have been rushed to the spot. Naxals also looted three rifles of jawans, he said.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/one-jawan-killed-3-injured-in-chhattisgarh-naxal-encounter-364173

(http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/one-jawan-killed-3-injured-in-chhattisgarh-naxal-encounter-364173)
(http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/one-jawan-killed-3-injured-in-chhattisgarh-naxal-encounter-364173) Government to deploy 10,000 more personnel in four states to fight Maoists
NEW DELHI: With the government moving towards a fight to finish war against Maoists in Red Zone, the Union home ministry has decided to deploy additional 10 bBattalions (10,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces in four highly naxal-affected states — Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar.
Five (5,000 personnel) out of the 10 battalions will be drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) while the remaining five will be spared by SSB, BSF and ITBP for anti-naxal operations. Disclosing the decision in response to a Parliament question, the ministry said that the additional 10 battalions had been sanctioned on the basis of requests made by the respective state for stepping up operations against the Red Ultras.
At present, a total number of 532 companies (53,200 personnel) of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the seven Maoist-affected states — Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Officials in the ministry said that Jharkhand — which is currently under the President’s rule — would see the maximum deployment where the security forces had already been engaged in intensive operations against the Red Ultras under the leadership of ex-CRPF chief K Vijay Kumar who is posted there as one of the advisors of the state governor.
“Idea is to continue the intensive operations against Maoists before the onset of Monsoon in these states”, said an official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Government-to-deploy-10000-more-personnel-in-four-states-to-fight-Maoists/articleshow/19945889.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Government-to-deploy-10000-more-personnel-in-four-states-to-fight-Maoists/articleshow/19945889.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Government-to-deploy-10000-more-personnel-in-four-states-to-fight-Maoists/articleshow/19945889.cms) Maoist Involved in BJD MLA’s Abduction Arrested
A hardcore Maoist allegedly involved in the abduction of ruling BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka and wanted in several murder cases, was arrested in Odisha’s Rayagada district, police said today. Acting on a tip-off, a police team arrested the ultra Gameli China Mohan Rao alias Santu of Goudaput village in Andhra Pradesh from a forest area yesterday, they said.
A 9 mm pistol, live ammunition, five geletine sticks and some detonators were also recovered from the Maoist, Rayagada Superintendent of Police Rajesh Pandit said. Two pen drives, two cellphones, a fake voter identity card and over Rs 60,000 were also seized from the naxal, an area committee member (ACM) in Koraput-Srikakulam division of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), Pandit said.
The arrested Maoist confessed to his involvement in the abduction of Hikaka, the tribal legislator from Laxmipur in March, 2012. The ultra told police that Maoists, who had given a bandh call on March 24, were engaged in blocking the road near Toyaput when they had spotted Hikaka in a vehicle, police said. The naxal further stated before police that on his direction, that the MLA was abducted and produced before Srikakulam-Koraput divisional committee secretary Daya.
http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=797604

(http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=797604)
(http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=797604) Maoists manufacturing grenades in their units, govt tells LS
NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday informed Lok Sabha that Maoists were manufacturing improvised hand grenades and rocket propelled grenades in their arms manufacturing units in Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand. In response to a Parliament question, minister of state for home RPN Singh said steps taken to bust these manufacturing units included deployment of forces at strategic locations, firm police action against such unlawful activities and intensified intelligence-based anti-Naxal operations.
“Besides, the central government closely monitors the situation and issues advisories to the Left Wing Extremism-affected state governments to keep a check on such activities,” he said. In response to another question, the minister informed the House that 532 companies (53,200 personnel) of paramilitary forces were deployed in Maoist-affected states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.
The government, however, decided to provide 10 additional battalions of paramilitary forces (10,000 personnel) including five battalions (5,000 personnel) of CRPF to four Naxal-affected states including Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-manufacturing-grenades-in-their-units-govt-tells-LS/articleshow/19941341.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-manufacturing-grenades-in-their-units-govt-tells-LS/articleshow/19941341.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-manufacturing-grenades-in-their-units-govt-tells-LS/articleshow/19941341.cms) Maoists plan 10th Congress this monsoon
VISAKHAPATNAM: Already smarting from the recent defeat at the Kanchala forest shootout, where nine Reds were gunned down, the beleaguered Naxalites are quietly gearing up to hold the crucial 10th Congress of the CPI Maoist Party during the monsoon this year. The mega meet of the banned outfit, which is usually held once in five years, is aimed at reviving the flagging fortunes of the Reds and is expected to see the participation of at least 1000-1500 key Maoists from the central, regional, zonal and state levels.
Nearly 2,000 guerrillas are expected to provide a massive security cover to the big-ticket meet. The 9th Congress was held in 2007 somewhere on the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border. The 10th Congress is crucial for the future of the banned party as it would help chalk out the future course of action and also give it a definite sense of direction.
The meeting, to be chaired by Maoist party general secretary Muppalla Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathy, is expected to draw the entire top brass including Maoist party’s all India military chief Namballa Kesava Rao alias Basava Raju, guerilla warfare strategist Malla Rajireddy alias Sattenna among others.
Sources say the meeting would also debate over the next generation leadership of the party as most of the top brass of the banned outfit are over 60 years. Senior officials involved in anti-Naxalite operations claim there are indications that the meeting will be held soon, probably as early as the monsoon, which would be ideal as the combing operations by security forces are expected to come to a virtual halt from July.
Moreover, the canopy cover during the monsoon period would also protect the Red rebels from surveillance by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that were deployed to great success in the Kanchala forest encounter recently. The intelligence officials first got wind of the upcoming Congress thanks to the arrest of key Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee leader Sriramula Srinivas alias Sri Sri in late March at Wyra in Khammam district because soon after his arrest AOB-SZC official spokesperson (political) Jagabandhu clarified that Sri Sri had resigned in January from the CPI Maoist Party and his resignation was accepted in February during the third conference of the AOB SZC and second plenum.
“Before this, whenever the Congress was held, the various committees at the regional, zonal, state, division and district levels too held their respective meetings to analyse their performances of the past five years and pass on their resolutions to the higher committees, which in turn presented them before the Congress.
The Congress then decides the future course of action. The fact that the AOB-SZC, one of the strongest committees, held its third conference recently is a clear indicator that the big meeting is on the anvil,” the official said. The 10th Congress could not be held in 2012 as scheduled because of the weakening position of the Maoists, who have suffered grave losses over the past five years.
Since the 9th Congress was held in 2007, the Maoists saw their strongest Nallamalla division in Andhra Pradesh being completely wiped out by security forces after the 2005 peace talks with the YSR government, even as the Maoists stronghold of West Midnapore in West Bengal was declared liberated by the security forces.
The last five years has also seen 25 central committee or politburo leaders either being captured or killed in encounters. While key leaders like Kishenji, official central committee spokesman Rajkumar alias Azad, military wing chief Patel Sudhakar Reddy were killed, key think tank like Kobad Gandhi were captured.
However, the security forces are still clueless about the possible venue for the crucial meet or its duration though it is usually a 5-10 day affair. Having got wind of the upcoming mega meet, the AP State Intelligence Bureau (APSIB) and the central intelligence forces are busy gathering inputs from conflict zones in Odisha, AOB, Odisha-Chhattisgarh border and Chhattisgarh-AP border.
“Usually before the meeting is held, the region witnesses a spike in the transportation of commodities, which indicates that the meet is being held somewhere in that zone. This is the reason why all the traders in the Maoist infested areas have put under surveillance,” an intelligence source said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-plan-10th-Congress-this-monsoon/articleshow/19942442.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-plan-10th-Congress-this-monsoon/articleshow/19942442.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-plan-10th-Congress-this-monsoon/articleshow/19942442.cms) Maoists allege atrocities on women by forces
BHUBANESWAR, May 7, 2013, DHNS: Maoists operating in Odisha’s Malkangiri district have alleged that women have become victims of atrocities committed by security forces during anti-Maoist operations in the interior’s of tribal-dominated areas. The ultras have also called for a two-day bandh in the district for May 10 and 11 to protest against the alleged atrocities.
The Odisha Police and para-military forces like the Border Security Force have been conducting anti-Maoist operations in Malkangiri district, considered one of the worst Maoist-hit districts in the country. According to a report, Biplabi Mahila Sangathan, a newly floated women’s organisation reportedly backed by the Maoists, held a rally and public meeting at Bhejangaiwada on Monday to protest the repeated torture of women by the security personnel.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/331067/maoists-allege-atrocities-women-forces.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24221

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Two naxal sympathisers held in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Two young suspected Naxal sympathisers, including a school girl, were on Thursday arrested in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. “The Maoist sympathisers were nabbed from Kaika village of the district during an anti-Naxal operation by district force,” a senior official told PTI.
Those arrested duo were identified as Manju Avlam (18) and Aytu Avlam (21), the official added. According to police, both have admitted that they were helping Dinesh, a member of Gangalur LOS (local operating squad) of Maoists for supplying commodities of regular use to Naxals, besides acting as messengers for him.
“A few letters of communication with Maoists, Naxal literature and a couple of sharp-edged weapons have been recovered from their possession,” the official said. Both were booked under Chhattisgarh Jan Suraksha Adhiniyam 2005 (Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act) and the Arms Act. Manju is a ninth grade student in a government school of Bahairmagdh village in the region and recently appeared in her final exams.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-naxal-sympathisers-held-in-chhattisgarh_847529.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-naxal-sympathisers-held-in-chhattisgarh_847529.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-naxal-sympathisers-held-in-chhattisgarh_847529.html) BSNL installs 363 towers in naxal affected areas
MUMBAI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has installed a total of 363 mobile towers in the naxal affected areas, after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) identified 2199 locations to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for installation of mobile towers in nine states which are affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and do not currently have any coverage by any service provider. BSNL has covered 363 out of the 2199 locations including 351 in Chattisgarh, six in Madhya Pradesh, three in Andhra Pradesh and three in Maharashtra.
The scheme of installation of mobile towers is funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The total number of locations identified by the MHA comprised of 227 in Andhra Pradesh, 184 in Bihar, 497 in Chattisgarh, 782 in Jharkhand, 22 in Madhya Pradesh, 60 in Maharashtra, 253 in Odisha, 78 in Uttar Pradesh and 96 in West Bengal.
In May 2007, the USOF launched a scheme called the Shared Mobile Infrastructure Scheme (SMIS) to provide subsidy support for setting up and managing 7353 infrastructure sites/towers in 500 districts. These included the LWE affected districts spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in the specified rural and remote areas, where there was no existing fixed, wireless or mobile coverage.
Villages which have a population of 2000 or more and having no mobile coverage, were taken into consideration for installation of towers under the scheme. 673 mobile towers were targeted in the 11th Five Year Plan under the scheme in LWE affected districts and all these towers have been installed.
The details of subsidy disbursed by USOF under shared mobile infrastructure scheme upto February 2013 include 42.33 crore for Andhra Pradesh, 11.21cr in Bihar, 30.57 for Chattisgarh, 8.34 for Jharkhand, 17.76 in Madhya Pradesh, 30.01 in Maharashtra, 12.35 in Odisha, 35.28 in Uttar Pradesh and 4.12 in West Bengal. The Ministry also stated that in the 12th Plan period, all villages which presently do not have mobile coverage will be provided with connectivity under a scheme funded by USOF.
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/bsnl-installs-363-towers-naxal-affected-areas

(http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/bsnl-installs-363-towers-naxal-affected-areas)
(http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/bsnl-installs-363-towers-naxal-affected-areas) Bastar tribals demand CBI probe
RAIPUR: Enraged tribals of Maoist hotbed Narayanpur district in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh are demanding a CBI probe into the alleged police encounter of two villagers in Maronaar village near ChoteDongar on April 30. A joint team of COBRA battalion, CRPF and district force claimed to have gunned down Maoist cadres of Duala Dalam Phool Singh and Jai Singh.
Since then police have been facing severe protest from 84 villages in the vicinity against the killing. Talking to TOI, Panniram Wadde, president of tribal Gond community in Bastar said, “On the night of April 30, town inspector Vijay Chelak and sun-divisional officer of police B N Baghel dragged three brothers of the family to the police station and after brief interrogation, police relieved Ram Singh, keeping Jai Singh and Phool Singh in the custody. Next morning their mutilated body was found in the jungles of Maronaar, few kilometre from the police station. Aged between 30 and 35 years, both the villagers were involved in farming.” Wadde said, the police had also claimed to have found four muzzle loading guns, one USA made pistol, one country-made pistol, couple of grenades and tiffin bombs, detonators and Naxal literature in their camps, but the fact was that they were dragged empty-handed from their homes. Panniram alleged that the police had fabricated the encounter by beating them and made them wear Maoists uniforms, killing them in the forests.
More than 10,000 agitated villagers from 84 nearby villages gheraod the police station in protest demanding CBI probe in the case. “Not only did the police kill them, they also buried both the bodies in the same ditch after conducting post mortem,” Panniram said adding that the body was not handed over to the family. Comrade Niti, commander south Bastar CPI (Maoist) called up newsmen at midnight, to point out that it was not the first time that police victimized innocent villagers.
“When they fail to trace Maoists they assault villagers and kill them fabricating the incident as an encounter. This time too the police have killed two innocents. CPI (Maoist) strongly condemns the incident,” she said. In another incident, a member of Gond community, Pramod Potai, said that more than 30 villagers of Kukrajor region, 10 km from Narayanpur, were admitted to a hospital after being brutally beaten up by the police.
“The CRPF base camp was attacked by Maoists on the intervening night of Tuesday opening firing at policemen. Though there were no casualties, soon after the incident police came to the village thrashing them for not passing them information about planned firing,” said Potai. Condition of five villagers is said to be critical.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Bastar-tribals-demand-CBI-probe/articleshow/19962690.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Bastar-tribals-demand-CBI-probe/articleshow/19962690.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Bastar-tribals-demand-CBI-probe/articleshow/19962690.cms) Key leader of north-east chapter of CPI(Maoist) arrested by Assam police from Guwahati
NEW DELHI: CPI(Maoist) central committee member and a key leader of the north-east chapter of the outfit, Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Paresh Da, was arrested by the Assam police on Thursday from Guwahati. Naskar wa picked up almost two weeks after the arrest of another central committee member, Mahesh ji, who was heading the north-east operations of CPI(Maoist).
With the arrest of Maheshji and his key aide, Naskar, MHA sources are already claiming near decimation of the north-east wing of the CPI(Maoist). This wing has been serving as a crucial link with other north-eastern insurgent outfits for sourcing illegal arms from syndicates across the border.
The police are now on the lookout of another CPI(Maoist) leader active in the northeast, Aditya Borah. With Naskar’s arrest, the membership of the CPI(Maoist) central committee has shrunk from the original 31 to just 19. Even the politburo is now down from 14 members to 7 on account of arrest or neutralisation of 7 members in the recent years.
Anukul Chandra Naskar, aged 65 years, was a native of Balia village in West Bengal’s 24 South Paraganas district. He joined MCC in 1967 and became a central committee member in 1985. After the CPI(Maoist)-MCC merger, Naskar was made a member of both the Politburo and central committee in 2004. Later, he stepped down from the politbureau but continued as a central committee member.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Key-leader-of-north-east-chapter-of-CPIMaoist-arrested-by-Assam-police-from-Guwahati/articleshow/19970290.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Key-leader-of-north-east-chapter-of-CPIMaoist-arrested-by-Assam-police-from-Guwahati/articleshow/19970290.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Key-leader-of-north-east-chapter-of-CPIMaoist-arrested-by-Assam-police-from-Guwahati/articleshow/19970290.cms) Injured Red nabbed from Pandra hideout
DALTONGANJ: A 21-year-old CPI (Maoist), undergoing treatment at an abandoned house near Pandra in Ranchi, was arrested by Palamu police on Tuesday. He got injured on May 3 while laying landmines on a metallic road near Abun village. The Maoist, Goodar Bhuiyan alias Mahender, was under the medical care of a doctor D C Bharti. He had a bandaged leg and a catheter for urination at the time of his arrest.
Three or more persons were engaged in laying landmines in that village under Panki police station area. They exploded before it could be laid, injuring Bhuiyan and the other rebels. The Maoist was presented before media persons in Daltonganj on Wednesday by SP Palamu Anoop T Mathew. The injured rebel received treatment in Daltonganj too before he was shifted to doctor Bharti’s clinic at Pandra in Ranchi.
The doctor was providing treatment to the Maoist in Ranchi without informing the police. However, realizing that it would invite trouble for him Bharti did not admit the rebel to his clinic. “Before a surgery could be done on the Maoist for a sum of Rs 40,000, the Palamu police arrested him,” said the SP. Maoists have a good network in Ranchi and the entire medical expense was borne by the outfit.
“I have not spent anything from my pocket for the treatment there in Ranchi,” said Bhuiyan. Mathew said police was on the lookout ever since they were tipped-off that one Maoist was injured on May 3 and was undergoing treatment at Pandra in Ranchi. Bhuiyan has confessed his involvement in laying landmines. Palamu police have arranged for his treatment.
Along with Bhuiyan Palamu police have arrested another person, Satrangi Bhuiyan (20), who helped the injured Maoist to receive treatment first in Daltonganj and then in Ranchi. The injured Bhuiyan said, “I joined the Maoists to free my land from dispute. But the Maoists wanted me to first serve the outfit.” He was an active member of the CPI Maoists’ platoon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Injured-Red-nabbed-from-Pandra-hideout/articleshow/19962562.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Injured-Red-nabbed-from-Pandra-hideout/articleshow/19962562.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Injured-Red-nabbed-from-Pandra-hideout/articleshow/19962562.cms) Top security brass meet after Red threat to Malkangiri bridge
BHUBANESWAR: The state government is worried over the sudden rise in Maoist violence in the interior areas of Malkangiri district, particularly in Mathilli block, which in the last few weeks has witnessed a number of kidnappings, murders and destruction of public property. The Unified Command, headed by the chief secretary, met here on Wednesday to take stock of the situation and chalk out strategies for containing the extremists.
The meeting took place amid intelligence reports that the extremists are planning to blow up the nearly 110-meter-long Kiang bridge, the only connection to the rather inaccessible hilly and heavily forested Mathili area, bordering Chhattisgarh. “There is a security camp at Mathilil, but forces hardly move into the interior areas crossing the bridge out of fear of being ambushed by the extremists. If the bridge is destroyed the area will be totally cut off,” official sources pointed out.
Malkangiri district has seen at least six killings by Maoists in the last six months. This includes the murder of three persons, including the naib sarpanch of Kiang panchayat, of the six persons kidnapped by the Reds in two phases. The extremists on Monday blew up the Kiang panchayat building and prior to that on May 3 destroyed the only mobile tower, rendering the area completely out of touch even by police and the district administration.
“For all practical purposes the Maoists have taken over Mathili area,” said a senior Malkangiri district official. “The Maoists two days back summoned four sarpanchs of the area and kept them in their captivity. As yet we don’t have any confirmed report about their whereabouts,” the official said. He ruled out air operation saying the area being too hilly helicopters may not be able to land there. Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh conceded the situation is ‘very bad’.
“Communication access to the area has been totally cut off after the destruction of the mobile tower,” the SP said. The SP attributed the rise in violence in Mathili area to the exodus of Maoists belonging to the Dharaba division of the CPI (Maoist). “Due to heavy pressure from the adjoining Chhattisgarh side, where CRPF was deployed recently, the extremists have entered into Odisha area and are continuing violence,” he said. He estimated their number to be around 170.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Top-security-brass-meet-after-Red-threat-to-Malkangiri-bridge/articleshow/19960872.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Top-security-brass-meet-after-Red-threat-to-Malkangiri-bridge/articleshow/19960872.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Top-security-brass-meet-after-Red-threat-to-Malkangiri-bridge/articleshow/19960872.cms) Coal Industry Stung as Terror Cuts Explosives: Corporate India
By Rajesh Kumar Singh - Coal India Ltd. (COAL), the nation’s biggest producer of the commodity, cut output across its operations after a federal order to keep explosives from terrorists halted shipments of the material that’s also central to mining.
No explosives have been dispatched to Coal India’s mines for the past three days because suppliers are grappling with the new rules imposed to ensure safety of the consignments, Chairman S. Narsing Rao said in an interview. The state-owned company uses about 400,000 metric tons of explosives in a year and produces about 1.2 million tons daily from its 466 mines.
Coal Industry Stung as Terror Cuts Explosives
“Explosives are bread and butter for us,” Rao said. “Operations at all mines have been affected and we are assessing the impact.” Faced with a Maoist rebellion in resource-rich states of India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government is increasing security measures to prevent the chemicals from falling into the hands of extremists fighting a war against the state.
The disruption may hurt the Kolkata-based company, which supplies 80 percent of the fuel the nation needs, and starve power producers struggling to eliminate blackouts in a country where peak demand for electricity exceeds generation by 9 percent.
‘Not Practical’
Vehicles transporting derivatives of ammonium nitrate, the main raw material in mining explosives, need to be escorted by armed guards of the local police of every district they pass through, according to an order by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization that came into force on April 30. Suppliers risk losing their permits should they flout the new rules, according to the notification. “This is just not practical,” said Subhas Pramanik, Managing Director at Gulf Oil Corp. Ltd., which makes and supplies explosives to mines.
“This will increase our cost because the number of shipments will get reduced substantially.” Ammonium nitrate, also used to make fertilizers, was found to have been used in a number of blasts in the country, including in the southern city of Hyderabad in February that killed 16 people.
To check such misuse, the government last year introduced rules for storage, shipment and stockpiling. The stoppage is set to squeeze Coal India, which missed its output target in the year ended March 31 as it battled law and order problems, worker unrest and delays in acquiring land and mining approvals.
Power Outages
Coal India, which is 90 percent owned by the state and fires more than half of the nation’s electricity generation capacity, is under pressure to ensure uninterrupted shipments of the fuel. Power outages shave off about 1.2 percentage points off the growth of the $1.8 trillion economy that expanded at the slowest pace in a decade, according to government estimates.
India’s coal demand is expected to rise 41 percent by 2017 to 981 million tons, while supplies from local mines may gain 28 percent to 715 million tons, the Planning Commission said last year. The nation, which generates 57 percent of its electricity from coal, plans to add 118 gigawatts of capacity in the five years ending March 2017, said I.A. Khan, energy adviser at the commission. Coal India shares fell 1.1 percent to 308.85 rupees in Mumbai.
The stock has declined 13 percent this year, compared with a 2.6 percent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. (SENSEX) Solar Industries Ltd. (SOIL), India’s biggest supplier of industrial explosives, declined 2.9 percent to 989.15 rupees, the most in more than two months. Rival Gulf Oil, the second-biggest, declined 2.6 percent to 62.85 rupees.
Maoist Rebels
“The situation poses serious implications and can potentially bring the mining industry to a standstill,” said Abhisar Jain, an analyst with Centrum Broking Pvt. in Mumbai, who has a neutral rating on Coal India stock. “If not resolved soon, it can aggravate power shortages and lead to a crunch in supplies of end materials such as steel and aluminum on account of shortage of minerals due to a halt in mining.”
Maoist guerillas, who regularly clash with police mostly in India’s mining regions in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, say they are fighting on behalf of poor villagers and tribal communities whose resources are exploited for development with little benefit for the local people.
In 2009, Maoists attacked National Aluminium Co.’s Odisha bauxite mine in a bid to seize the explosives stored at a warehouse. The gun battle between guards and the guerillas, which killed at least 14 people, slowed output at the mine for several weeks as workers refused to work at night.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-09/coal-industry-stung-as-terror-cuts-explosives-corporate-india.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24240

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxal’s arrest a breakthrough for cops
ISAKHAPATNAM: Police have come across a mine of information on the CPI (Maoist) party’s top brass and its sympathizers following the arrest of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee top leader Marpu Venkataramana alias Lenju alias Jagadeesh a few days ago at Berhampur in Odisha.
According to sources, the laptop and pen drives recovered from the Maoist leader have revealed valuable information about top rung rebel leaders, cadres and sympathizers, apart from giving crucial leads on intellectuals supporting the Maoist ideology. The cops are also learnt to have recovered Rs 1.70 lakh in cash from him. It is learnt that the pen drives contained details of the recent AOBSZC conference and plenum, future strategy and plans that may give some insight into the upcoming 10th Congress which the cops suspect is likely to be held in the coming monsoon.
This has given the security forces the confidence that they may be able to make further inroads into the Maoist network and glean more information about the whereabouts of other Maoist leaders and cadres. “Before the summer, Maoist committees prepare circulars about precautionary measure to be taken to avoid the massive combing operations that are usually taken up by the security forces during these months. At the same time, they take up tactical counter offensive campaigns (TCOC) to divert the attention of the cops.
Lot of literature pertaining to such moves has been recovered from the arrested Maoist,” said a source. Jagadeesh’s arrest is being considered as a major victory for the security forces as, being one of the key members in the AOBSZC, he was familiar with the AOB terrain and played a key role in evolving strategies to inflict heavy casualties on the security forces over the past two decades.
The former East Division secretary, who has an experience of 27 years in the field as he joined the Maoist rank at the age of 17 while he was pursuing his ITI in Visakhapatnam, is an important catch as he has been looking after the technical and political aspects of the Koraput-Srikakulam division committee for the past three years and is familiar with the ins and outs of the Maoist outfit in the region, a senior police official involved in anti-Naxalite operations said.
According to sources, the arrest of Jagadeesh, coming as it does on the back of the nabbing of Koraput Area Committee member Santosh alias Gemmeli Chinna at Rayagarh in Odisha, had helped the cops crack a vital link in the Maoist network because it was the arrest of Santosh that tipped the cops off about Jagadeesh’s whereabouts.
The captured Maoist leader, who hails from Binnala Madhanapuram in Mandasa mandal of Srikakulam district, was produced before the magistrate at Anakapalle on Thursday night and sentenced to 14 days remand. The Vizag rural police are likely to seek custody of the arrested Naxalite in a couple of days.
Incidentally, Jagadeesh was allegedly captured while he was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Behrampur after he suffered bullet wounds in the right leg during the encounter at Gunukurai in GK Veedhi Mandal in 2008, much before the Balimela ambush in which 37 security cops met a watery grave. However, Andhra Pradesh cops claimed that Jagadeesh was actually arrested at Anakapalle railway station while he was on his way to a Maoist safe zone in Odisha.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Naxals-arrest-a-breakthrough-for-cops/articleshow/19997693.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Naxals-arrest-a-breakthrough-for-cops/articleshow/19997693.cms)
Chhattisgarh Govt extends ban on CPI-Maoist, affiliates
Raipur, May 10 : Chhattisgarh Government has extended by one more year the ban on top Naxal outfit CPI-Maoist and half a dozen organisations affiliated with it. “The ban on CPI-Maoist and its six front organisations has been extended for another year,” a Home Department official said here today. The dreaded outfit, along with its affiliates, was first outlawed in the state in April 2006 under Section 3 of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005.
Since then the State Government has been extending the ban every year. CPI-Maoist was formed nearly a decade ago after the merger of two groups—CPI (ML) People’s War and MCC. It is since then spearheading the Naxal movement. The front organisations to face ban are Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Balak Sangh, Krantikari Kisan Committee, Mahila Mukti Manch and Jantana Sarkar, the official added.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/chhattisgarh-govt-extends-ban-on-cpi-maoist-affiliates-22801.html

(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/chhattisgarh-govt-extends-ban-on-cpi-maoist-affiliates-22801.html)
(http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/chhattisgarh-govt-extends-ban-on-cpi-maoist-affiliates-22801.html) Naxalites flee police custody
BHOPAL: Two alleged Naxalites gave a slip to the police while being taken to a district court in Chhattisgarh for a hearing. The accused were travelling from Singrauli district in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday morning. While one was arrested, a massive search operation is on to arrest his associate. Both belonged to the Renga Yadav dalam, claimed police. The special task force and hawk force of the state police have been mobilised to arrest the accused along with the district force.
According to official sources, Naxalite Kamaruddin alias Kamalahasan and a Naxal sympathizer Sanjay Kherwar – both lodged in Rewa central jail were being taken to Korea district in Chhattisgarh. When they reached Bhargawan, district Singrauli at around 4.30pm, they gave a slip to the police and escaped from custody while drinking tea. The police, however, arrested Kherwar. Superintendent of police (SP) Singrauli, Jaidevan told media that efforts were on to arrest him. The ASI who was taking them to Chhattisgarh was suspended for dereliction of duty immediately after the incident.
A department enquiry has been initiated against the head constables and constables who arrested them. The accused were arrested by the Singrauli police in August 2011. One of them had killed Renga Yadav and was trying to regroup the dalam. They were mainly running extortion rackets in Singrauli and bordering Chhattisgarh, the police said.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-10/bhopal/39168558_1_district-force-singrauli-naxalites
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-10/bhopal/39168558_1_district-force-singrauli-naxalites)
Top Maoist leader held in Assam
The 65-year-old Naskar hails from Balia in 24 South Parganas district A joint team of the Assam police and the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) from Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday arrested top CPI (Maoist) leader Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Goer Chandra Naskar alias Pareshji in southern Assam’s Cachar district. Senior Superintendent of Police A.P. Tiwari told The Hindu that Naskar was a “very senior leader and a policymaker of the CPI (Maoist).”
He is member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI (Maoist). The 65-year-old Naskar, who hails from Balia under the Sonapur police station in 24 South Parganas district of West Bengal, joined the Maoist Coordination Committee (MCC) in 1967. He became a member of the central committee of the MCC in 1985. When the MCC and the People’s War Group (PWG) merged to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004, Naskar was made a member of the central committee and the Polit Bureau. Naskar was remanded in police custody for five days by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup, on Thursday, the SSP said.
Mr. Tiwari said that the SIB team arrived in the city on May 7 and left for Cachar district with a team of the police and arrested Naskar. He was brought to the city later. “While the SIB team from Andhra Pradesh is already here, in the next couple of days top officials of the Intelligence Bureau, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), top police officials of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other Maoist affected areas are expected to arrive in the city to interrogate him to get some more leads,” Mr, Tiwari added.
The joint team got lead on Naskar’s presence in Cachar during the interrogation of two other top Maoist leaders — Aklanta Rabha and Siraj Rabha — who were arrested on April 26 on the outskirts of the city, police sources said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/top-maoist-leader-held-in-assam/article4699828.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/top-maoist-leader-held-in-assam/article4699828.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/top-maoist-leader-held-in-assam/article4699828.ece) Maoist bandh peaceful
In the wake of the two-day bandh called by the Maoists, road communication to Malkangiri district from other parts of the state was paralysed on Friday. The response to the bandh was total as over 100 government and private buses and other vehicles went off the road. Banners and posters of Maoists were found in remote parts of Anakadeli, Machkund, Ramagiri, Gavindapali of Koraput district where the Maoists protested police movement.
Elaborate security arrangements were made for the bandh. Police and para-military forces were deployed in the sensitive pockets. However, life was normal in the Maoist hotbed of Naryanpatana in Koraput district. “We are on high alert and no untoward incident has been reported from any part during the bandh,” said a senior police officer.
According to reports, the Maoists had called the bandh demanding immediate withdrawal of armed forces from the tribal areas of the district, benefits for poor people, proper pricing of the forest products being sold by tribals and stopping police atrocity.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-bandh-peaceful/2013/05/11/article1584711.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-bandh-peaceful/2013/05/11/article1584711.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoist-bandh-peaceful/2013/05/11/article1584711.ece) Rockets in Maoist Arsenal
P. V. Ramana May 10, 2013 Naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) [CPI (Maoist)], or Maoists in short, have been using rockets in their assaults on the security forces since the past, at least, eight years. Confirming this, Minister of State for Home Affairs RSN Singh informed the Lok Sabha, in reply to a question, on May 6, 2013, that the Maoists were “manufacturing improvised hand grenades and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) in units that have come up in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh”.
More than a year earlier, on March 4, 2012, the West Bengal police arrested Sadanala Rama Krishna, the head of the Maoists’ Central Technical Team, in 24 North Parganas district, and seized rocket launcher manufacturing equipment, Rs 36 lakh in cash and documents from his flat. Two days later, on March 6, in a joint-effort between the police forces of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, police in the Chhattisgarh State capital Raipur recovered 80 boxes containing material/equipment for manufacturing rockets and mortars.
At that time, Senior Superintendent of Police of Raipur, Mr Dipanshu Kabra, said: “There is no doubt that the seized material was meant for the Maoists. It is surprising that such hardware equipment for rocket launchers and mortars was stored in a busy area of (the State capital).” The story of rockets being present in the Maoist arsenal is ten year’s old. Speaking to the media on May 26, 2003, the then Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, Mr P Ramulu, said that for the first time the police recovered the designs of an RPG during a raid on a dump of the then Communist Party of India [Marxist-Leninist (People’s War)], PW in short –– the earlier avatar of the Maoists –– in the Kalimela forests, along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border.
In fact, a few years later, on January 10, 2007, police in Bhopal busted an arms making-cum-R&D unit of the Maoists, on a tip-off provided by the Andhra Pradesh police. During the raid, Madhya Pradesh Police recovered designs of cross-sections of RPGs and rocket launchers. A year earlier, on September 7 and 8, 2006, in raids in Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts, Andhra Pradesh, the police unearthed and recovered 875 empty rocket shells and 30 rocket launchers. Investigations led the police to the Ambattur industrial estate, a suburb of Chennai, where these were manufactured in seven separate industrial units/workshops.
The complex trail of manufacturing and transshipment of the empty shells and rocket launchers involved five States, viz. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The complete story of the effort to design and manufacture rocket launchers and rockets is quite interesting.
The Maoists, in their earlier avatar as the PW, constituted a technical team comprising Sande Rajamouli Krishna, a member of the Central Military Commission, who was later killed in an encounter, Akkiraju Hara Gopal Rama Krishna, Central Committee member and the then secretary of Andhra Pradesh State Committee, Sakhamuri Appa Rao Ravi, who later became the chief of the Maoist’s Military Intelligence Wing and was also killed in an encounter with the police, Matta Ravi Kumar Sreedhar, who, too, was killed in an encounter with the police.
The technical team nominated Thota Kumara Swamy Tech Madhu, a native of Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh, to carry forward the effort to design and manufacture rocket launchers and rockets. The first such piece was tested in the Malkangiri forests, Odisha, in 2003. After this, Tech Madhu was asked to proceed to Chennai and get the rocket launchers and rocket shells manufactured. The Maoists envisaged executing “Project Rocket Launchers” in two phases –– “Rocket Launchers – I” and “Rocket Launchers – II”. “Rocket Launchers – I” was a pilot project undertaken ahead of elections to the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly in 2004.
The plan was to manufacture 25 Rockets with launch pad (rocket launcher) at a cost of Rs 950 per rocket. In the process, five rockets each were distributed to Anantapur, Guntur and Nallamala. Five others were tested at Burugundala, Yerragondapalem mandal, Prakasam district, and five more were set aside for further trials in order to develop the next version. “Rocket Launcher – II” was a project for the development of shoulder-fired rockets and launcher.
These were tested in September/October 2004, again at Burugundala, by fastening the rocket to a tree in order to gauge its effective range, accuracy and impact. As one senior IPS officer told this researcher, in an interview in Hyderabad, in February 2007, “the Maoists, following the trials, were of the opinion that the rockets were neither effective enough nor accurate, but had nuisance value”. After the second set of trials, Tech Madhu was instructed to have 1,600 rockets and 40 rocket launchers manufactured.
Accordingly, he headed to Chennai and got 1,550 rockets and 40 rocket launchers manufactured. Tech Madhu was given Rs 35 lakh to execute the plan. These rockets (RPGs) might, presently, be having mere nuisance value. However, when the Maoists acquire the versatility to manufacture rockets which could be fired with accuracy, then their lethal impact would be enormous and mind boggling. Many strategic and static locations would come under threat with disastrous consequences.
http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/RocketsinMaoistArsenal_pvramana_100513

(http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/RocketsinMaoistArsenal_pvramana_100513)
(http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/RocketsinMaoistArsenal_pvramana_100513) CRPF sets up camps to combat Maoist activities in Gaya
Gaya, May 11 (ANI): Troopers from the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) set up camps along a crucial supply line of Maoists to combat their activities in the Gaya. The CRPF troopers have set up camp in the Sevara locality which lies along the border of the provinces of eastern Bihar and Jharkhand and is a haven for Maoist activities in the region. The troopers would use special equipments and weapons to counter the Maoists.
The locality is also strategic as it is directly connected to the Chakarbandha hilly region which is a major hideout for the Maoists and also paves way for them to travel neighbouring states like Jharkhand. “There is a lot of Maoist movement on this side. The road which runs from Meghara is their supply line. Setting up a camp along this line will affect their supply to a large extent. We can also get help in going into the Maoist hideouts in the hilly areas of Chakarbandha,” said P. K. Bharti, the CRPF deputy commandant and incharge of the camp.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/11/121-CRPF-sets-up-camps-to-combat-Maoist-activities-in-Gaya.html

(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/11/121-CRPF-sets-up-camps-to-combat-Maoist-activities-in-Gaya.html)
(http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/05/11/121-CRPF-sets-up-camps-to-combat-Maoist-activities-in-Gaya.html) Suguna released, but whereabouts unknown
Beecha Suguna alias Sangeetha, wife of Malla Raji Reddy, CPI (Maoist) central committee member, was released from Kakkanad prison on Wednesday. She was given bail by the Additional Sessions Court in a case for allegedly propagating Maoist ideology and harbouring Reddy in December 2008. According sources in the Kakkanad jail, she was released by 3 pm. “An advocate came here and took her to some place. We have no information where she went after being released. The bail was granted a few weeks ago but we received the bail order only on Monday. Within hours, we released her,” the sources said.
However the intelligence wing is on her trail on the suspicion that she could be engaged in some Maoist activities after leaving the jail. In the wake of Maoist activists being spotted in various parts of the state, intelligence officials have received an order to closely monitor her activities. Reddy, 63, also known as Sattenna, along with Suguna, was arrested from a house near Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly, in December 2007.
They were later handed over to the Special Task Force for Maoist operations from Andhra Pradesh. Muralidharan is the sole witness in the case. According to the police, leaflets propagating Maoism were recovered from the house. Suguna was handed over to the Kerala Police by the Maharashtra Police in January this year. She had been acquitted in nine cases registered in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh on the suspicion that she was a Maoist activist.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Suguna-released-but-whereabouts-unknown/2013/05/09/article1581330.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Suguna-released-but-whereabouts-unknown/2013/05/09/article1581330.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Suguna-released-but-whereabouts-unknown/2013/05/09/article1581330.ece) Three landmines unearthed
During a combing operation, three landmines of low intensity were unearthed and defused on a village road between Tora and Jhirpani villages under Koida police limits of the Maoist-hit Bonai sub-division in Sundargarh district on Friday. Police said each of the landmines weighed around six kilograms. They were packed in tiffin boxes and fitted with detonators. Police claimed the mines were placed to specifically target security personnel engaged in combing operation on foot as vehicle do not ply on the interior road.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Three-landmines-unearthed/2013/05/11/article1584709.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24246

[TheGodlessUtopian]

India to battle Maoists with more mobiles
The Indian government is looking to build nearly 3,000 mobile towers in areas across the country without coverage, in a Rs. 30 billion (£358m) bid to tackle left wing extremism. The mobile infrastructure project will cover 2,199 locations in nine states where militant Maoists known as Naxals are prevalent.
Naxals are seen by the government as significant destabilising force in the country. In a written reply to a question in parliament, IT minister Killi Kruparani said: “In the 12th Plan period, all villages which presently do not have mobile coverage will be provided with connectivity under a scheme funded by the USOF [Universal Service Obligation Fund].” The USOF has already enabled the building of hundreds of mobile towers in Naxal strongholds around the country, thanks to its Shared Mobile Infrastructure Scheme (SMIS) – an initiative begun in 2007 to subsidise construction and management costs.
However, the current plans are being pushed through by the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Home Affairs with one eye on India’s general elections next year, according to The Hindu. A senior MHA official told the paper that the project would not only help development of the impoverished tribal areas in which Left Wing Extremists have historically based been strongest, but also aid state paramilitary and police in their long running battle against militant Naxals.
It’s unclear exactly what kind of strategic advantage mobile coverage would give the government security forces, given that switching on a signal would surely also benefit the Maoists. One potential angle is the authorities would be able to monitor communications, using its newly installed Central Monitoring System (CMS).
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/14/india_battles_lefties_with_mobile_coverage/

(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/14/india_battles_lefties_with_mobile_coverage/)
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/14/india_battles_lefties_with_mobile_coverage/) Encounter with Maoists on in Jharkhand
An encounter was on between security personnel and Maoists in a forest in Seraikela-Kharswan district of Jharkhand. Superintendent of Police Upendra Kumar said the encounter was continuing at a place between Kalerango and Chatnibeda villages under naxal-affected Kuchai police station.
Acting on an information that Maoists were assembling in the forest, security personnel comprising personnel of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), CRPF and district police went to the spot to, Kumar told PTI. The Maoists fired on seeing the securitymen and they retaliated triggering the gunfight, he said. Kumar has reached the spot.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Jharkhand/Encounter-with-Maoists-on-in-Jharkhand/Article1-1059544.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Jharkhand/Encounter-with-Maoists-on-in-Jharkhand/Article1-1059544.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Jharkhand/Encounter-with-Maoists-on-in-Jharkhand/Article1-1059544.aspx) Former Salwa Judum leader’s brother killed by Naxals
Raipur: Brother of a former Salwa Judum leader was killed by suspected Naxalites in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Monday. Banshilal Gota (40), elder brother of Chinnaram Gota, who was a leader of the erstwhile anti-Naxalite movement Salwa Judum, was killed by suspected ultras in Somanpali village under Farsegarh police station, around 350 km away from the state capital, a senior official told a news agency over phone.
Security forces were immediately dispatched to the spot, the official said, adding, Bashilal’s body was brought to Farsegarh police station. “Prima facie it appears that the victim was strangled to death, but the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the autopsy,” the official added.
According to villagers, a group of naxalities stormed into the victim’s house last night and dragged him out of his home. He was then thrashed with lathis and was taken away. However, he was found dead in the morning, the official said, adding, Banshilal was not associated with the movement.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/former-salwa-judum-leader-s-brother-killed-by-naxa_848330.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/former-salwa-judum-leader-s-brother-killed-by-naxa_848330.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/former-salwa-judum-leader-s-brother-killed-by-naxa_848330.html) Maoist leader held in Ranchi
RANCHI: A CPI(Maoist) leader, suspected of having played an important role in the Latehar encounter in January that killed 11 security personnel, and a female friend were arrested in Ranchi on Monday. Yogendra Ganjhu alias Pawan Ganjhu alias Ashimanand is the secretary of the outfit’s North Latehar sub-zone.
His 20-year-old friend Sanjida alias Khusboo Khatoon alias Shaira Kumari is an active member of the CPI(Maoist). Police recovered a laptop, a gun and three bullets during their joint raid with state intelligence department. Police suspect Ganjhu’s role in the January 7 encounter in Latehar where 14 people including civilians were killed.
The Latehar encounter is important as the rebels planted IEDs in the bodies of two jawans. “Being a commander, Ganjhu might have played an influential role in the encounter. I have not been able to interrogate him enough so far,” said Ranchi SSP Saket Kumar Singh. From Latehar, Ganjhu left his cattle-grazing business in 2005 to join the outfit.
“Within four years, he became a zonal commander, which is a rare feat,” said a police officer. The Latehar success made him an even important member and the Bihar Regional Committee of the CPI(Maoist) decided to elevate Ganjhu, in his thirties, to the central committee. “A couple of months ago, he asked his girlfriend to learn computers and sent her to Ranchi. He also arranged a rented accommodation for her in a posh area. Ganjhu himself is not a literate person,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity. SSP Singh said police were watching her for a long time and were recently informed about Ganjhu’s visit.
A team surrounded her house on Sunday night and arrested them on Monday. “Ganjhu is wanted in more than 24 cases,” said SSP Singh, adding that he carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-leader-held-in-Ranchi/articleshow/20040164.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-leader-held-in-Ranchi/articleshow/20040164.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoist-leader-held-in-Ranchi/articleshow/20040164.cms) Maoist expansion plan targets poor NE villages
Adhering to Mao Tse-Tung’s guerrilla warfare style of surrounding urban centres from the countryside, Communist Party of India (Maoist) has unleashed a long-term grand plan of expansion. Their target is the restive northeast where they plan to build their presence steadily in villages.
“The plan is five-pronged and is centred on building up support networks in the villages of Assam and Tripura as of now. Then it will move up to the block level, district level and then the urban centres,” Dr L Bishnoi, IGP, (Central Western Region), Assam Police told HT. Based on the interrogation of several CPI (Maoist) central committee members including Aklanta Rabha, the police officer said: “Rabha, who was arrested on April 25, has confessed that one of their initial efforts comprises setting up a training camp in the Arunachal jungles to train and raise a peoples’ guerrilla army.”
On Thursday, police nabbed Anukul Naskar alias Paresh Da, a central committee member from Guwahati. His arrest came two weeks after the arrest of another central committee member, Maheshji, who was a key operative in Maoist operations in NE. In a meeting in Jharkhand held in 2012-end, the top Maoist leadership had asked Rabha to develop close relationships with other insurgent groups in the NE and coordinate with them to form an umbrella outfit comprising Maoists and the region’s leading insurgent groups.
An Assam Police task force report on the growing Maoist problem in the state has named 181 full-time cadres in the state backed by hundreds of sympathisers and supporters. The Maoists are also anxious to ramp up a strong presence in the NE to ensure a route for regular weapons’ supply.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Maoist-expansion-plan-targets-poor-NE-villages/Article1-1059249.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Maoist-expansion-plan-targets-poor-NE-villages/Article1-1059249.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Maoist-expansion-plan-targets-poor-NE-villages/Article1-1059249.aspx) Maoists blast coffee godown
A group of about 15 armed members of CPI (Maoist)’s Galikonda area committee blasted a coffee godown of the AP Forest Development Corporation at Pedavalasa in GK Veedhi mandal on Saturday night. The roof of one room of the godown was blown off and walls were damaged due to the blast. Some implements for coffee collection and furniture were also damaged. Coffee seeds were not stored in the godown as picking up of seeds was stopped some time ago following a warning from the Maoist party.
The target set for 156 hectares of coffee plantation at Pedavalasa was 100 tons of seeds but collection was stopped after 15 tons were picked up from the plants. The attack on the coffee godown took place several hours after Superintendent of Police G. Srinivas and other officials conducted the Satbhavana Yatra at Rallagedda, a Maoist stronghold, which is about 16 km from Pedavalasa.
Two pamphlets left by the Galikonda area committee and the Adivasi Rytu Coolie Sangham and Viplava Mahila Sangham at Bodidemullu temple, one km away from the coffee godown urged the people to boycott the “fake” Panchayat elections (expected to be conducted in a few months) and demanded the government to stop the Operation Green Hunt; attacks against the Girijans by the “hired” forces of the government; harassment of the Girijans after branding them as Maoist sympathisers; illegal arrests and fake encounters after raiding the villages at midnight.
The organisations said the Congress leaders were responsible for the arrests and fake encounters and demanded that they should protect the Girijans, their natural wealth and properties. According to information received here, Krishna, an important member of the Galikonda area committee, was among those who blasted the coffee godown.
The group first tried breaking into a bigger room of the godown but as they could not break the iron doors, they entered an adjacent room by breaking open its doors. They set off a mine in that room, which blew away the roof, damaged the walls, farm implements, furniture, etc. in the room.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/maoists-blast-coffee-godown/article4711145.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/maoists-blast-coffee-godown/article4711145.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/maoists-blast-coffee-godown/article4711145.ece) Thunderbolt team begins hunt for Maoists in Western Ghats
A 30-member Thunderbolt commando team of the state police, which reached Thrissur on Sunday, took out massive combing operations at Vellikulangara and Pariyaram forest ranges in search of suspected Maoists on Monday. The operations were carried out with the assistance of the local police and Forest officials following the intelligence reports about possible Maoist presence in the Western Ghats.
Though the team could not find anything amiss in the forest during the operation, the Forest officials and police personnel have asked the Tribals in the forest to inform them if they find any unfamiliar people in their locality. “The forest guards, along with a 30-member team of the Kerala Thunderbolts, an elite group of commandos specially trained for tackling possible terror strikes in the state, carried out search operations at Choolakadavu, Mullapana, Koramala, Karikkadavu and Anapandam forest areas,” said K Abdul Rasaqu, Deputy Range Officer, Pariyram Forest Range.
“No evidence could be traced about the suspected militant movement in the area. But, we used the occasion to sensitise the Tribals living in the fringe areas about the looming threat,” K Abdul Rasaqu said. “The search operations concluded around 2.30 pm. However, the team will continue the search operation in Varanadarapilly and Athirappilly forest ranges on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively,” said A Sumesh, Kodakara Circle Inspector, who took part in the operation.
A week ago, some media houses had received a letter undersigned by suspected Maoist leader Jogi, spoke person of the Western Ghats special zonal committee of CPI (Maoist), declaring that the Maoists have formed guerrilla squads in the Western Ghat areas in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states and have started training camps and operations.
In the letter, they also urged the oppressed people to join guerrilla squads with them in order to create a new democratic India after waging war against the semi-feudal structures and invasive forces in society.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Thunderbolt-team-begins-hunt-for-Maoists-in-Western-Ghats/2013/05/14/article1589196.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Thunderbolt-team-begins-hunt-for-Maoists-in-Western-Ghats/2013/05/14/article1589196.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Thunderbolt-team-begins-hunt-for-Maoists-in-Western-Ghats/2013/05/14/article1589196.ece) 2 jawans injured in Red encounter
RANCHI: CPI (Maoist) rebels engaged security forces in a fierce gun battle in Kuchai jungles in Saraikela Kharsawa district, 130km from here, and injured two CoBRA jawans on Monday. The development comes on the eve of the visit of Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde to Jharkhand who is scheduled to review security scenario in worst Red-hit state.
Two Maoists were also killed in the encounter, police claimed. The injured jawans were rushed to the Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur. The gun battle continued till late in the evening in which police claimed to have killed two rebels. Saraikela SP Upendra Kumar said the forces recovered the body of one rebel with one SLR and huge haul of ammunition.
“A search operation has been launched in the area for more arms and the body of the second rebel,” the SP said. The Maoist whose body was recovered has not been identified as yet, said the SP. tnn Sources said that the search operation was slightly halted due to darkness. The district police launched a massive operation involving several companies of CoBRA, CRPF and Jharkhand police jawans on Monday afternoon after they received an intelligence tip.
Police refused to disclose the number of rebels or the name of the group. The rebels opened indiscriminate firing on the forces when they (security forces) were combing in the jungled between Kalerango and Chatnibeda villages under Kuchai police station. Sources said the gun battle continued for over five hours.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/2-jawans-injured-in-Red-encounter/articleshow/20040037.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/2-jawans-injured-in-Red-encounter/articleshow/20040037.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ranchi/2-jawans-injured-in-Red-encounter/articleshow/20040037.cms) Security personnel seize pistol, cartridges
Security personnel today seized a pistol, some cartridges and explosive materials during a joint operation at Pakari village under Kotgarh police station area in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. The raid was conducted by personnel of CRPF, DVF and local police, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Balliguda Arjun Barik told reporter.
The police seized one pair of Maoist uniform, one 9 MM Pistol with 25 live cartridges, one steel tiffin with 1.5 IED explosive, one BP jacket, one Dragger, one nylon Belt, Gun powder 150 grams, iron splinter 200 grams, sources said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/security-personnel-seize-pistol-cartridges-113051100527_1.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24266

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Armed force jawan killed in Naxal attack
In yet another Naxal attack in the state, a Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawan was killed when the ultras opened fire at his camp in Maoist-infested Sukma district today, police said. “Samaylal Kanwar, a native of Janjgir-Champa district, killed after rebels attacked at the camp of 9th and 13th battalion of CAF at Temelwada village under Dornapal region of the district,” Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) SR Bhagat told PTI over phone.
When the jawans were at the camp, ultras opened indiscriminate firing at them and left one jawan dead. However, when the security forces opened retaliatory firing, the Naxals disappeared into the jungles, he added. Security forces have initiated a combing operation in the region to nab the attackers, he added.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/armed-force-jawan-killed-in-naxal-attack-113051200420_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/armed-force-jawan-killed-in-naxal-attack-113051200420_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/armed-force-jawan-killed-in-naxal-attack-113051200420_1.html) Three policemen killed, one injured in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Three police personnel were killed and another one was injured in an attack by suspected Naxalites at a Doordarshan relay centre in Maoist-hit Bastar district of Chhattisgarh in the wee hours on Sunday. “The incident took place at the Doordarshan transmission centre at Marenga village under Parpa police station in the district at around 3 AM, leaving three policemen killed and one injured,” Director General of Police (DGP) Ramniwas said.
He, however, said that they were yet to verify whether the attack was carried out by Naxals. Marenga village is around 15 km from Jagdalpur, the district headquarters. The deceased were identified as head constable Silbhanush Ekka and constables Alexander Lakra and Vasudev Sahu of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF). “The injured constable Majhar Khan has been referred to Raipur for treatment and was under observation,” the DGP said. According to police sources, security forces have launched a search operation in the region to nab the attackers and further probe is on.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/three-policemen-killed-one-injured-in-naxal-attack_848042.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/three-policemen-killed-one-injured-in-naxal-attack_848042.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/three-policemen-killed-one-injured-in-naxal-attack_848042.html) Maoists trying to establish foothold in northeast: Mooshahary
Shillong: Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary Sunday cautioned that Maoists were trying to establish their foothold in India’s northeastern region. “The Assam government has received a few indications that Maoists are trying to establish a foothold in the state. The plain areas along the Meghalaya-Assam border could be vulnerable to Maoists,” Mooshahary told a news agency.
The Assam government had earlier formed a task force to combat the Maoists, and it had found that there were 181 Maoist cadres, including women, active in the state. Intelligence officials said Maoist leaders in Assam were trying to establish links with the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and other militant outfits in the northeast region to procure arms and ammunition.
However, Mooshahary said no indications have been found yet of the presence of Maoists in other states of the northeastern region. “In the northeast, tribals have been involved in one fight or another. They have been fighting over historical and ethnic issues, which are completely different from the issues faced by tribals in central India,” Mooshahary said.
“Tribals in the northeast have realised that there are remedial measures within the constitution to resolve their grievances. This realisation is leading underground elements to come up and lead a normal life,” he said. Stating that the situation in the northeast has largely improved, Mooshahary, who was also the former chief of the Border Security Force (BSF), said, “The law and order situation has improved a lot in the region except in Manipur. The current trend is towards peace.”
The Meghalaya governor, however, urged the state governments in the region to improve governance and step up the fight against corruption, eradicate poverty and provide employment. “I don’t think Maoists are instigated by anyone. They are not satisfied with the Indian State due to lack of basic necessities,” Mooshahary said. “Factors like poverty, exploitation, lack of good governance, unemployment and corruption are giving sufficient incentives to Maoists to spread their message of establishing an egalitarian society. These are the factors that breed discontentment,” he added. IANS
http://zeenews.india.com/news/north-east/maoists-trying-to-establish-foothold-in-northeast-mooshahary_848128.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24257

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Government’s war against Maoists faces a blow as CRPF suffers high attrition
Morale of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), tasked with carrying out anti-Maoist operations, seems to have hit an all-time low. The paramilitary force has witnessed shockingly high levels of attrition in last few years in a major blow to the government’s war against the rebels.
Extended working hours, scant vacation days and long periods spent in the jungles hunting down the ultras have taken their toll on the force. Alarm bells have started ringing in North Block with as many as 13,658 CRPF personnel leaving the job between 2009 and 2012. While the number of personnel seeking alternative avenues has come down in other central paramilitary forces (CPMF) like the Border Security Force and the Indo Tibetan Border Police, the upward trend of premature retirement in the CRPF has left the home ministry worried.
In 2012 alone, 4,876 CRPF personnel gave up their jobs – a huge increase from the previous two years, when the numbers remained below 3,000. The ‘exodus’ has become a major source of concern as it can have a direct bearing on anti- Maoist operations. Sources said a major reason for the high attrition rate in the CRPF is the ongoing fight against Maoists. ”
In the last four years, we have been more aggressive against the Naxals. Continuous operations have been launched. We have got success but also suffered losses in the process. Perhaps this could be one reason for people opting out,” a CRPF officer said. Over the last few years, there have been major encounters with Maoists where the CRPF lost its men in big numbers. The attacks in Dantewada (Chhattisgarh), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) and, more recently, Latehar ( Jharkhand) where the force suffered heavy losses have left deep scars on the psyche of its personnel.
Former officers who have been part of the paramilitary forces feel CRPF’s expansion over the years has not kept pace with infrastructural demands. ” No proper accommodation, no mobile connectivity even access to basic supplies can be tough. There are no peace postings, all this can take a toll on the rank and file,” said former BSF director general Prakash Singh. Singh said the lack of good leadership and ability to inspire jawans had also been a dampener for the force.
“Whether North- East, Jammu and Kashmir or Naxal-hit states, the jawans are moved around frequently to hazardous surroundings,” a CRPF officer said. Dr Sameer Malhotra, head of psychiatry at Max Healtcare, said: ” In any organisation, attrition rate depends on the quality of life. Whether the actual conditions one is facing are able to match the aspirations. If one does not get rewards for the effort and risk, the attrition rate is likely to be high.”
In an attempt to ensure that CRPF jawans don’t leave the force, the home ministry has decided a strategy of recruiting men mainly from Naxal affected states. The home ministry had commissioned a study last year to look into the reasons for premature retirements in paramilitary forces. The findings of the study revealed that lack of sleep, manpower crunch, no leaves and lack of motivation were among some of the reasons responsible for personnel quitting their jobs.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crpf-attrition-rate-govt-war-against-maoists/1/271300.html

(http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crpf-attrition-rate-govt-war-against-maoists/1/271300.html)
(http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crpf-attrition-rate-govt-war-against-maoists/1/271300.html) Chikmagalur: ANF exchanges fire with naxals – constable injured
Chikmagalur, May 16: A gang of naxals was sighted on Wednesday May 15 morning in Kere gram panchayat limits near Sringeri in the district. A member of the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) was engaged in an exchange of fire with the naxal unit.
An ANF constable suffered injury in the gun battle. He has been identified as Girish. Girish was provided first aid at the government hospital in Sringeri before being moved to Manipal Hospital. Reportedly, the gang of four naxals visited the house of a farmer in Muduba village at around 8 pm on Tuesday, collected some cereals from the family, and left at about 1 am on Wednesday.
The ANF personnel, who gathered information about the naxal movement, began search operation within Kere gram panchayat limits on Wednesday morning. A gang of eight naxals confronted the jeep-borne ANF contingent near Heggane Estate and began firing at them. The ANF personnel retaliated.
The exchange of fire continued for about half an hour, after which the naxals disappeared into the thick forests, sources said. Alerted by the incident, the local policemen along with ANF members have begun a combing operation in the area, which falls on the border of the district with Dakshina Kannada. Vehicles moving about in the area also being checked, as the naxals have given an indication that they have again been active in the district after a protracted lull.
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=173857

(http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=173857)
(http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=173857) Three BSF camps set up in Odisha
Malkangiri (Odisha): In a bid to intensify anti-Maoist operation in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, three new BSF camps were set up in Kalimela area, police said today. With the establishment of three new camps yesterday at Bhenjagwada, Gumphakonda and Chintalwada of Kalimela area, the total number of BSF camps in the district increased to 23, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said.
Describing Kalimela area as one of the core areas of Maoists, he said the new BSF camps would play a significant role in strengthening the battle against the ultras. The opening of the new BSF camps came close on the heels of the visit of Director General of Police (DGP), Prakash Mishra to Malkangiri earlier this month during which he had assessed the ongoing anti-naxal operation.
It was extremely necessary to strengthen security and enhance presence of jawans in the area as the naxals have been trying to bring the entire region under their complete control, a senior police official said. Since the entire area is covered with dense forest and full of hilly terrains, more number of security personnel would be of immense help in stepping up the fight against the red rebels, he said. About 100 jawans would be stationed at each of the newly established BSF camps for conducting anti-Maoist operation, the SP said.
Options before the security forces were limited earlier and the BSF personnel based in Kalimela camp had to be engaged for anti-naxal operation, police said, adding now there would be considerable flexibility in their job. Kalimela area witnessed a spurt in the activities of Maoists since March this year marked by gunbattles between the ultras and security personnel. Besides, women sympathisers of the naxals had organised a rally in the area earlier this month, sources said. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/three-bsf-camps-set-up-in-odisha_848956.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/three-bsf-camps-set-up-in-odisha_848956.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/three-bsf-camps-set-up-in-odisha_848956.html) Additional force deployed in border areas Udhagamandalam,
May 16 (PTI) Security has been beefed up in checkposts and six police station limits in the areas of the district bordering Kerala and Karnataka following rumours about naxalite movement in Kerala.
Armed men from Rapid Action Force were deployed in areas under Nelakottai, Devala, Ambalamula, Cherampadi, Erumadi and New Hope police stations limits, coming under Masanagudi and extra alert sounded in Cherampadi and Kakkanalla checkposts, to prevent the possible infiltration of Naxals, police said today.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/3641293_Additional-force-deployed-in-border-areas

(http://www.ptinews.com/news/3641293_Additional-force-deployed-in-border-areas)
(http://www.ptinews.com/news/3641293_Additional-force-deployed-in-border-areas) Hardcore Maoist nabbed in Odisha
Baripada: A hardcore Maoist was arrested from Bhatachhatar forest in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. “The maoist identified as Gobardhan Sing alias Muna (28) was arrested on charges of extortion in Bhatachhatar forest area under Moroda police limit last evening,” Mayurbhanj SP Nikhil kumar Kanodia told reporters here.
Kanodia said Gobardhan who hailed from Bramhanamora village joined the outfit as cadre and undertook arms training for one month at Ghatkalimaskisha in Jharkhand state along with six Bengali maoists. Gobardhan was also involved in an act of extortion at Bhendidihi in Gopiballavpur police station in West Bengal during 2012. Following a raid by Morada OIC Rashmi Ranjan Das he was caught while two other escaped under Bhatchhatar forest cover, the SP said.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/hardcore-maoist-nabbed-in-odisha_848981.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/hardcore-maoist-nabbed-in-odisha_848981.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/hardcore-maoist-nabbed-in-odisha_848981.html) Maoist leader Paresh Da’s wife in police net
GUWAHATI: Police in Assam arrested two Maoist leaders Kavita Rabha and her brother Pradip Rabha. Kavita is wife of CPI (Maoist) central committee member and prime leader in charge of north-east India, Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Paresh Da. Paresh Da was arrested last week.
Inspector General of Police (Central Western Region) L.R. Bishnoi said that Kavita 31 years had earlier gone to Kolkata with Paresh Da. “She was basically looking after the publicity of the outfit and was associated in preparation of literature of the outfit.” Naskar, aged 65 years, hails from Balia village in West Bengal’s 24 South Paraganas district. He became the central committee member in 1985.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-leader-paresh-das-wife-in-police-net/articleshow/20089748.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24281

[TheGodlessUtopian]

One Cobra jawan killed, 3 hurt in Naxal encounter
A security personnel of elite Cobra battalion was killed and three others were seriously injured in an encounter with Maoists at Gangalur in Bijapur district about 350 km south of Raipur late on Friday night. According to the CRPF inspector general Zulfiquar Hasan, the incident occurred when the joint party of the CRPF and the state police was on combing operation in the remote interior of Gangalur.
“The encounter took place at around midnight. One Cobra personnel was killed. Further information is awaited”, Hasan told Hindustan Times. The Cobra (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) is a specialized unit of CRPF. According to the Bijapur police the rebels opened fire on the party near Ekalmeta village close to the Cobra battalion base camp. The three seriously injured troopers are to be shifted to Maharani Hospital in Jagdalpur, said the police.
The forces recovered the body of a Maoist from the encounter site. On Friday, the guerillas killed a head constable of special task force (STF) in an encounter in Sukma, south Bastar. The seven districts of Bastar zone, south Chhattisgarh, have a strong presence of left-wing extremists.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Raipur/One-Cobra-jawan-killed-3-hurt-in-Naxal-encounter/Article1-1062114.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Raipur/One-Cobra-jawan-killed-3-hurt-in-Naxal-encounter/Article1-1062114.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Raipur/One-Cobra-jawan-killed-3-hurt-in-Naxal-encounter/Article1-1062114.aspx) Naxal attack: One killed, another injured
RAIPUR: One security personnel was killed and another injured in an encounter with Naxalites in the Maoist-hotbed of Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh on Friday. The incident took place when the joint party of district force, Chhattisgarh Armed Force and Special Task Force (STF) was on a combing operation in the forests of Chintagufa police station jurisdiction, police said.
According to sources, Naxals opened indiscriminate firing when the patrolling party reached near Minpa village, following which security forces retaliated. In the exchange of fire that lasted for around two-and-a-half hours, two jawans were injured out of whom one succumbed later, police said.
“One of the injured jawan of STF died while on way to the hospital in Jagdalpur,” said Bastar range inspector general of police (IG) Himanshu Gupta. The deceased has been identified as head constable Yogendra Singh. “The injured assistant platoon commander (APC) of STF, Narendra Yadav, has been air-lifted to Raipur for treatment,” added Gupta.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Naxal-attack-One-killed-another-injured/articleshow/20116178.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Naxal-attack-One-killed-another-injured/articleshow/20116178.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Naxal-attack-One-killed-another-injured/articleshow/20116178.cms) C’garh DGP meets his Andhra counterpart, discusses naxal ops
Chattisgarah DGP Ramnivas Mirdha, along with senior officials, called on his Andhra Pradesh counterpart V Dinesh Reddy here today and discussed various issues pertaining to naxal operations. Mirdha, accompanied by Chattisgarh Additional Director General (Intelligence) Mukesh Gupta and Director General (naxal operations) R K Jid, held discussions on issues related to the Maoist insurgency in his state, with Reddy at Police Headquarters here, sources said.
The Chattisgarah top cop also met IG (CRPF) N R K Reddy and Additional Director General of the Greyhounds J V Ramudu. The Greyhounds are an elite commando force of Andhra Pradesh instrumental in curbing naxal operations in the southern state.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/c-garh-dgp-meets-his-andhra-counterpart-discusses-naxal-ops-113051800598_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/c-garh-dgp-meets-his-andhra-counterpart-discusses-naxal-ops-113051800598_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/c-garh-dgp-meets-his-andhra-counterpart-discusses-naxal-ops-113051800598_1.html) ‘Naxals gear up for pan-India presence’
Naxals have launched major initiatives to achieve their mission of having a pan India presence, intelligence sources said here on Friday. The initiatives included preparation of an email data bank of Naxal sympathisers and supporters across India besides compilation of data on its cadres in various states in the country.
“We have received information that Naxals are preparing a databank of their supporters and sympathisers across India through their local networks with an objective to tapping them when needed. This apart, the CPI (Maoist) has also begun a move to prepare a data bank of their cadres in various states for strategic reason,” a senior intelligence officer told this newspaper.
Maoists have also gone hi-tech to upgrade their weaponry. Intelligence inputs received at the state police headquarters said the Naxals have acquired technology to trigger blasts with voice or wireless sets. They have also developed paper bombs. “A huge bundle of paper bombs have recently been recovered in a jungle in Magadh range in Bihar. Following this, we have alerted our security forces not to touch Maoist posters without screening them,” the police officer said.
It has also been revealed that the Maoists have started using high frequency communication system. Security forces were yet to acquire technology to intercept signals of the system. What worried the police the most was the latest tactic adopted by Maoists in which they have been sending threat mails to senior police officers deployed in anti-Naxal operations through their proxy servers, being operated from secret places. Several such incidents have been reported in conflict zone of Bastar in recent time, the police officer said.
http://www.asianage.com/india/naxals-gear-pan-india-presence-921

(http://www.asianage.com/india/naxals-gear-pan-india-presence-921)
(http://www.asianage.com/india/naxals-gear-pan-india-presence-921) Protest brewing in Red zone as another project proposed in the tribal land
Suklal Baldir Topo, a Tribal of Jhajawandi village in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli district, is a concerned man these days. Suklal is concerned about the proposed JSW ISPAT Iron Ore Mining project in Damkodvadavi hills, hardly a few kilometers from his village. “I have seen my son grow up here and then his sons and daughters. Where would we go if this project comes here” asks Suklal. Almost all the villagers of 17 villages in Gatta and Gardewada Gram Panchayats in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli district share Suklal’s concern.
The JSW ISPAT Steel Limited has proposed an iron ore mining unit over 751.04 hectares of land on Damkodvadavi hills to produce 5.5 MTPA (Maximum Rated Capacity) of Iron Ore for which crushing and screening plant (3 x 250 TPH) will be installed in the mine lease area. The JSW has been given mining lease for a period of 20 years. The produce of this unit will be used to meet the iron ore requirements of JSW Steel plant in Dolvi, Maharashtra.
A public hearing related to the environment impact of this iron ore mine project was held in Allapalli town on May 8 in the absence of the villagers from all 17 villages. The Public hearing took place despite the Gatta Gram Sabha passing a resolution against the proposed project on May 1. “The company or the government officials did not make available any information about the effects of this project directly or indirectly to all 17 villages in Madia language. The company carried out study of the area from the census document of 2001.
But the proposed project requires approval of the concerned villages Gram Sabhas which was never taken. Forest is the mainstay of Adivasis living near the proposed project site and mining will badly damage water, soil, forest and air resulting in danger to our lives. Which measures will the company take to prevent this damage? The project will endanger the lives of birds and animals in this area and destruction of forest will result in the imbalance of environment.
This area does not have skilled people to be given employment in this project. We don’t trust the company and the government to keep their promises. This Gram Sabha passes a resolution that we oppose the proposed public hearing of the project and the government should not give permission for this project and if it has given the permission, then it should be cancelled ” reads the resolution passed by Gatta Gram Sabha, a copy of which is available with The Hindu.
Etapalli and Gatta are known to be Naxal zone and the Naxal’s writ runs large in the area after Gatta village. The public hearing of the project was conducted 70 km away in Allapalli town for “security reasons”, according to Gadchiroli District Collector Abhishek Krishna. But Mr. Krishna refused to comment when asked how the project will be put up if even a public hearing has to be conducted 70 km away.
“The District administration’s job was to help the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in conducting the public hearing and to send the proceedings to the government. The government will decide on the next course of action” said the Collector. Hardly anyone in these villages knew about the proposed project until May 1, says Ravi Atram of Gatta village. “There is something that this government is trying to hide. The advertisement of the public hearing was published in one English and one Marathi newspaper which hardly come to these interior areas” says activist Anand Dahagavkar.
“But the district authorities ignored the pleas of activists to postpone the public hearing in the absence of project affected people” said Amol Marakwar, the Zilla Parishad member of Gadchiroli who was present in the public hearing. “The tribals depend on forest for their livelihood and this project, if granted permission, will destroy the tribal culture and life here. Everyone knows how much pollution an iron ore mine project causes” added Mr. Marakwar.
The Naxals have also jumped into the bandwagon and have made their opposition to the project clear. According to some reliable sources, three days before the public hearing in Allapalli, the Naxals called a meeting of all the project affected villages and assured them the “CPI(Maoist)’s complete support against the Jindal project”. Almost all the affected villages visited by this reporter in this area, do not want this project to come.
“We are happy with our life now. We will not leave this place even if they offer us Rs. 10 lakhs” says Madi Danu Hido of Kowanvarsi village. According to activists, the JSW and the government have not said anything about the number villagers to be rehabilitated due to this project. Rajan Malani of the JSW Ispat said “No village will be relocated. Everything is at an initial stage now. Just a public hearing has happened. And the public hearing was the administration’s lookout. They could have taken it in Nagpur. Our company is very strict about its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and we will do everything that can be done to help all these villages”.
“Mining does not cause much pollution. Our company and the government is very strict regarding this and all the environmental regulations will be followed strictly. And as far as security is concerned, again it’s administration’s responsibility. The government’s help will be taken for security” added Mr. Malani. But Mr. Malani refused to comment on the resolution passed by Gatta Gram Sabha against the project. The local MLA Deepak Atram who staged a token protest in Etapalli in protest of public hearing taking place in Allapalli says, “Whether we want it or not this project will come because the Jindal group is a strong group and they have government with them.
They will put up CRPF camps if they decide to go ahead with the project”. Mr. Atram does not have objection to the project but he expressed his displeasure over the way it is being brought. “It will provide job opportunities to the educated youth of our region” says the MLA but has no answer when asked about the possible destruction of Tribal livelihood dependent on forest in this area.
But Mr. Atram as well as activists working in this area, are concerned about the possibility of an intensified conflict between the Naxals and security forces if the government remains adamant on bringing the project here “because the project’s proposed location is almost a Liberated Zone”.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/protest-brewing-in-red-zone-as-another-project-proposed-in-the-tribal-land/article4727711.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/protest-brewing-in-red-zone-as-another-project-proposed-in-the-tribal-land/article4727711.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/protest-brewing-in-red-zone-as-another-project-proposed-in-the-tribal-land/article4727711.ece) Don’t pose as Maoists rebels: CPI-Maoist warns criminals
CPI-Maoists through posters have warned criminal groups and splinter outfits not to lift levy claiming to be Naxals in Ramgarh district. The poster read, “Criminals are warned not to pose as Maoists rebels. If the party comes to know about any incident of loot, murder or levy demands being made by criminal groups they will be punished according to party laws.”
The posters were recovered by the Ramgarh police on Friday from Gola police station area. The Maoists on Friday early hours had to torch nine heavy vehicles and destroyed several engaged in road construction at Jogia village. The posters were recovered from the incident site.
The poster read, “CPI-Maoist is an organization that is fighting against the government to save people from becoming victims of the corporate houses. We are not involved in killing and looting innocents. Many criminals are using name of the party for their self beneficiaries. We have identified many criminals who have defamed the party, they will be punished if they do not mend their ways.”
The banned outfit has lost its dominance areas in the district where splinter outfits like Jharkhand Jan Sangarsh Muktimorcha (JJSM) and Tritya Prastuti Committee (TPC) have managed to make their holds. According to police files many criminal groups posing to be Maoists have performed many loot, road dacoity and several other crimes. The posters also warned the business fraternity not to give levy demanded anyone other than the Maoist outfits.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Jharkhand/Don-t-pose-as-Maoists-rebels-CPI-Maoist-warns-criminals/Article1-1062135.aspx

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24303

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Chhattisgarh ‘encounter’ leaves 8 villagers dead, no Maoist link yet
At least eight villagers were killed and several are missing after an “encounter” between a joint team of the CRPF and district police and alleged Maoists in Ehadsameta village of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh late Friday night. Three of the dead were minors, villagers said. A member of the CoBRA unit of the CRPF, Deva Prakash, was also killed in the firing. While security forces admitted that the dead were villagers, police are not claiming any of them was a Maoist.
The forces, however, said they had destroyed a Naxal hideout. The dead have been identified as Guddu Karam, Pandu Karam, Joga Karam, Chomu Karam, Punem Sonu, Punem Lakham and Karam Masa. Villagers claimed that Guddu and Punem and another deceased who was not immediately identified were minors, aged between 10 and 15 years.
Incidentally, it was in the same district that 17 villagers had been killed in an encounter a year ago. While the forces had called it the “biggest Maoist encounter”, almost all the dead later turned out to be innocent villagers. Friday’s night operation involved 1,000 men from the CRPF and state police, who fanned out in five groups reportedly to bust a training hub of the Maoists. Police sources said that one of these groups came under fire at Ehadsameta village.
Some villagers were killed in retaliatory fire, police said. “There was an encounter, and an exchange of fire from both sides. Some villagers have died. A probe is on,” R K Vij, Additional Director General (Naxal Operations), Chhattisgarh Police, said. “We have also received information that some villagers died,” Bijapur DSP Ashok Singh said. “We have begun a probe and are going to the spot again.” A CRPF officer confirmed the presence of minors among the dead, adding: “I cannot say whether they were killed by our bullets or those of the Maoists, or whether they were being used by Maoists as human shields.”
CRPF sources in Delhi said the operation had led to the discovery of a training barrack. They claimed the men had come under fire several times. “The CoBRA personnel who died took a bullet in his forehead,” an officer said. Villagers, however, denied any links with Maoists and claimed that the forces started firing while they had gathered to celebrate the local Beej Pondum festival. This is the same festival which the villagers had been celebrating last year as well when they were fired upon.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chhattisgarh-encounter-leaves-8-villagers-dead-no-maoist-link-yet/1117765/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chhattisgarh-encounter-leaves-8-villagers-dead-no-maoist-link-yet/1117765/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chhattisgarh-encounter-leaves-8-villagers-dead-no-maoist-link-yet/1117765/0) Maoist cadre nabbed in Guwahati
Following a tip-off, Guwahati city police had launched an operation in the Kahilipara Krishnanagar area of the city and nabbed the left wing extremist. The apprehended militant was identified as Prasanna Rabha alias Dibakar Rabha alias Pranab Rabha alias Lambu. The Assam Police IGP of Central-Western Range Dr LR Bisnoi said that, the nabbed CPI-Maoist cadre was the political wing member and a district committee member.
Meanwhile, the left wing extremist revealed that a new militant group have recently formed under the Maoists in Meghalaya. The new militant group, All Meghalaya Liberation Tiger Force (AMLTF) was recently formed in Garo hills of Meghalaya under CPI-M and the outfit continued its recruitment drive in Meghalaya and some parts of Assam. Assam Police arrested six left wing extremists including a woman cadre in the past three weeks.
On May 7, police had arrested a central committee member of CPI-M Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Pareshji from a hotel in Silchar. The Assam Police IGP said that, on April 26, Guwahati city police arrested two hardcore cadres of CPI-M at Jorabat area of Guwahati and apprehended a woman cadre at an Udalbakra area in the city on May 16. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said that, Maoists had spread up its organizational activities in the state and continuing recruitment drive.
http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/2013/newsDetails180513u.php

(http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/2013/newsDetails180513u.php)
(http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/2013/newsDetails180513u.php) Maoist ambush injures two paramilitary troopers in Raipur
Raipur, May 19 (ANI): Two paramilitary troopers belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured after being ambushed by Maoists in a jungle area of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. The injured troopers were later shifted to a local hospital in the capital Raipur for treatment.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) of Raipur district, Mukesh Khare said that both the troopers along with their party were on their way to Bijapur district of Karnataka for an anti-Maoist operation. The police and the CRPF are conducting a joint investigation and are planning further operations in the jungle areas of Dantewada to flush out Maoists.
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery10/11843-maoist-ambush-injures-two-paramilitary-troopers-in-raipur.html
(http://www.aninews.in/videogallery10/11843-maoist-ambush-injures-two-paramilitary-troopers-in-raipur.html)
http://www.signalfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TH18_CHEQUE_1461466f.jpg (http://www.signalfire.org/?attachment_id=24319)
Jharkhand Special Police Officers in a spiral of violence of retribution
On the night of April 30, worshippers in the Raja Rani temple in Naurhi village in Adki block near Ranchi were singing, chanting and celebrating the new temple in their village when a group of CPI (Maoists) entered the temple and shot Dilip Acharya, the oldest of the three brothers who built the temple, dead as he lay asleep on the floor. The men then addressed the now panic-stricken crowd on the prayer-microphone.
Even as people tried to flee, a few of the Maoists chased and shot Laxmikant Manjhi, Naurhi’s postmaster and Dilip Acharya’s childhood friend. “It will be the rest of us who will be targeted next,” said Dilip’s younger brother Randeep Acharya, a tall man in his early 40s, anxiously pacing the room in his two-storey house on the outskirts of Khunti. “For years, we helped the police fight the Maoists but now things seem difficult because the police have abandoned us,” said Randeep who, like Dilip, worked as a Special Police Officer (SPO) for the Jharkhand Police till 2012.
Besides helping the police gather intelligence in operations against Maoists, Randeep says the three brothers helped the police recruit SPOs from Tamar, Bundu in Ranchi and Torpa and Murhu in Khunti — both districts with the highest levels of Maoist-related violence in Jharkhand. Randeep, who now keeps two Rottweiler dogs and a band of 40 men from his village around for protection, got out from jail on bail this March after having served eight months over murder charges.
His brother Dilip too spent eight months in jail since September 2012 on charges of carrying arms illegally. He had got out of jail a week before he was shot dead by the Maoists. Randeep claimed he and his two brothers enjoyed police support and patronage in exchange for help in recruiting SPOs.
“Four years back, when we started work as SPOs, the police gave us guns and bullets. They took 80-85 youth from here to Hazaribagh to the police training camp. We killed Maoists. Once, at the police’s behest, we even killed a Home Guard because the police suspected him to be a Maoist informer. We would accompany Deputy SP-rank officers on operations carrying sattu [gram-flour] rations for the officers, carrying Maoists bodies back,” recounted Randeep.
He shared with The Hindu a copy of a State Bank of India cheque dated March 22, 2012, for Rs. 9,000, in his brother Dilip’s name signed by Khunti Superintendent of Police M. Tamilvanan. Since 2010, Maoists have killed at least 15 persons in Adki and Tamar in Khunti and Bundu, an adjoining area in Ranchi, for acting as SPOs for the police.
In November 2010, two Maoists entered SPO Pradeep Singh Munda’s house in Baruhatu in Bundu and opened fire, killing Pradeep Munda, SPOs Sanjay Mahto and Sonaram Munda, and Pradeep Munda’s six-year-old daughter, Manisha. Pradeep Munda’s wife Lakhimuni Devi said her husband had been given a country-made gun by the police, which he sometimes brought home. During the protests, SPOs publicly demanded that they be given better arms for their protection.
As in the response to the villagers’ protests after the Baruhatu killings in 2010, Khunti and Ranchi police officials deny arming SPOs. “We will pay money to anyone who provides us information under Home Ministry’s allocation to us for security-related expenditure. SPOs’ role is limited to being informants,” said Khunti SP Tamilvanan. In its December 2012 affidavit filed in the Jharkhand High Court in response to a public interest litigation petition by Ranchi activist Gopinath Ghosh,Deputy Secretary Home Department said the State was appointing SPOs as per the Home Ministry’s directions for “intelligence purpose”, paying them Rs.3,000 per month.
In response to the PIL petition, in July 2011, the Supreme Court, while asking the State to disband the Salwa Judum, ordered the Chhattisgarh government not to deploy SPOs for countering Maoist activities. Following the July order, the recruitment of SPOs in Jharkhand too was briefly paused but resumed after a Bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and S.S. Nijjar in November said the July order applied only to Chhattisgarh and not to other States.
Jharkhand has a sanctioned strength of 6,400 SPOs, though senior police officials put the current number employed at 3,000. While one senior police official said that out of Jharkhand’s 24 districts Ranchi and Khunti witnessed the highest levels of retribution killings owing to the presence of breakaway Maoist factions such as the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and the Village Republican Guard of India in the area.
“There are more problems in these areas because some SPOs begin to play one group against the other,” said the official. Another police official admitted that recruiting village youth as SPOs was linked to other law and order problems in districts. “How SPOs are handled varies a lot based on the District SP. There are instances where SPs turn a blind eye to SPOs being used by the thana police as conduits for their extortion from local mafia. In some instances, the SPOs have starting acting like a law unto themselves to settle personal rivalries,” said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.
While Randeep Acharya says he and his brothers started working for the police after the Maoists killed one of their relatives in Bundu over a dispute over levy, in most cases the police encourages former Maoists to become police informers, pushing the youth to stay entrenched in a cycle of retribution and violence. “My younger brother Maliya was 16. He was in jail [for] a year on charges of being a Maoist. When he got out, the police made him a SPO. I used to see him with Dhananjay Munda’s [an SPO in Khunti] men. One day, Maoists came home and took him with them. We found his body four days later in Parsi Bazar. The Maoists had beheaded him and two other boys his age. They left a parcha [pamphlet] saying they were punished for helping the police,” says Luhan Pahan* (name changed on request) in Uparpalong village in Adki, Khunti.
While SPOs are clearly at greater risk of being attacked for siding with the police, according to the norms, Jharkhand’s SPOs are eligible for the same compensation as any other civilian killed in Maoist violence — Rs.3 lakh from the Central government as per a 2009 norm, and Rs.1 lakh and a class-IV government job from Jharkhand government.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/jharkhand-special-police-officers-in-a-spiral-of-violence-of-retribution/article4728568.ece?homepage=true

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/jharkhand-special-police-officers-in-a-spiral-of-violence-of-retribution/article4728568.ece?homepage=true)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/jharkhand-special-police-officers-in-a-spiral-of-violence-of-retribution/article4728568.ece?homepage=true) Maoists yet to win adivasis’ trust in Assam
GUWAHATI: Relatively better off than their brethren in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, the adivasis of Assam, who constitute the tea labourer community, have so far remained out of the influence of Maoists. The Maoists, instead, have recruited youths, who have been either members of some militant outfits in the past or belong to indigenous tribal communities of the state.
Assam Police additional director general of police (special branch) Khagen Sarmah said although there are a few adivasi Maoist cadres in the state, the situation here is quite different from other states where adivasis form the backbone of the Maoists. “The adivasis here are definitely on their (Maoist) radar but the tea labourers here are much better off and not exploited. The conditions are very different here,” Sarmah told TOI.
The recent arrests of several Maoist cadres have shown that those from the state are mainly from the Rabha community or an Ahom, Moran or Motok. All these communities have been fighting for the identities and the Maoists possibly could be cashing in on this. Sarmah, however, does not agree with this theory saying that the growth of Maoists in the state is mainly due to the vacuum created by the weakening of several militant outfits, including Ulfa.
“If members of a community fighting for its identity join the Maoists, then they stand to lose their identity and hence this theory does not hold good. When a militant group becomes extinct, another comes in to fill up the vacuum and those who refuse to give up arms despite their outfit becoming defunct or in peace talks, they join the new group. We have found that most Maoist cadres arrested so far were either members of a militant outfit in the past or had some links,” said Sarmah.
On April 26, police arrested two top Maoist leaders – Aklanta Rabha alias Maheshji and Siraj Rabha alias Bijoy Rabha and later Aklanta’s wife Rekah Rani. All of them belong to the Rabha community and had links with Rabha Security Force, a militant group. Similarly, some others arrested in the past from upper Assam areas have also been found to be ex-Ulfa men. The Maoists have not just built base in the state, but also expanded it as well and that too right under the nose of the security forces.
The Rabhas concentrated in Goalpara district are demanding functioning of the Rabha-Hasong Autonomous Council and an armed group called Rabha Vipers and Rabha Security Force are aiding the Ulfa. “The Maoists so far have youths from the state and a few Khamti boys from Arunachal Pradesh. However, unlike Jharkhand, there is just a sprinkling of Adivasi youths.
There are a couple of youths from Goalpara and Kamrup district but the majority is from Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Golaghat districts and many from Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts,” a security source said. The Maoists, at present, have about 180 listed cadres but they have just handful of weapons, which include three carbines, a couple of .315 rifles and pistols, grenades and one M16 rifle.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-yet-to-win-adivasis-trust-in-Assam/articleshow/20128209.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-yet-to-win-adivasis-trust-in-Assam/articleshow/20128209.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-yet-to-win-adivasis-trust-in-Assam/articleshow/20128209.cms) Dreaded Naxal gets zonal charge
Ramanna, alias Ravulu Srinivas, who had allegedly led the deadliest ever attack on security forces by rebels killing 76 CRPF personnel in Tadmetla forest of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on April 6, 2010, has taken over charge of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC), a strategically crucial unit of outlawed CPI (Maoist), intelligence sources said on Saturday. “The CPI (Maoist) has brought some radical changes in the organisation, particularly in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, recently. Leaderships of several zonal and regional committees have also been changed.
Accordingly, Ramanna has replaced Kosa alias Katkam Sudarshan alias Satyarayan Rao as secretary of all powerful DSZC, that controls Red movements in Bastar and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra,” a senior intelligence officer told this newspaper. Earlier, Ramanna headed South Bastar Regional Committee (SBRC). Spokesman of DSZC Ganes Uiki alias Pakkala Hanumath has been made secretary of SBRC.
“The Central Committee of CPI (Maoist) has recently given its stamp of approval to the changes,” sources revealed. In the latest reconstitution of several committees, North Bastar Divisional Committee has been disbanded and merged with the recently constituted Abujhmad Divisional Committee (ADC). Rajman has replaced Sujata Nureti as chief of ADC.
Sujata has been given charge of military operation. Similarly, Jyoti alias Madhavi has been given charge of West Bastar Divisional Committee, while Vinod headed Darbha Divisional Committee. Sources said the Central Maoist leadership was mulling the proposal to give leadership of several of its units in Bastar to local tribals ultras to end the current cold war between local Naxal leaders and Andhra Pradesh rebels.
http://www.asianage.com/india/dreaded-naxal-gets-zonal-charge-055

(http://www.asianage.com/india/dreaded-naxal-gets-zonal-charge-055)
(http://www.asianage.com/india/dreaded-naxal-gets-zonal-charge-055) BSF boost for Narayanpatna
KORAPUT: After increasing BSF presence in Malkangiri, the state government has now turned to Maoist-hit Narayanpatna block in Koraput district. On Saturday, two additional companies of BSF were deployed in the block and one more company will reach Narayanpatna soon. These men will be stationed at Tentulipadar, Bijaghart and Mankidi, the three new BSF camps. Such camps already exist in Palur and Podapadar.
“The new camps will start functioning in the next few days. A company of BSF consisting of around 100 jawans will be deployed at each camp,” said a senior police officer of Koraput. Earlier this month, DGP Prakash Mishra had attended a community policing programme at Narayanpatna and assessed the ongoing anti-Maoist operations.
There is a need to set up three new BSF camps as the ultras are trying to convert Narayanpatna into their hub and the Red corridor stretches from Narayanpatna to Andhra Pradesh, said the police officer. With intensified combing operations, security personnel have succeeded in containing Maoist menace to a great extent in Narayanpatna.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/BSF-boost-for-Narayanpatna/articleshow/20128616.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24317

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Gadchiroli cops now cautious with identification
NAGPUR: The recovered body of a Naxal is yet to be identified even after 24 hours of the encounter at Hetalkasa jungle in north Gadchiroli on Sunday. Gadchiroli police seems to be careful enough to ensure identification bereft of any controversy unlike in previous couple of occasions.
Gadchiroli police have faced serious allegations for goofing up identifications in the past. Following the encounters at Bhatpar jungle in Bhamragarh, police faced embarrassment after two families claimed the body of a slain woman killed during exchange of fires. Police had to resort to DNA fingerprinting for indentifying the woman.
Similar confusion regarding the identities of the slain Naxalites came to fore after the encounter at Sindesur forest. The police authorities, which depend on surrendered Naxalites and records of their Naxal cell for identifications, had to face another round of embarrassment after the rebels came out with the names of their martyred guerillas.
The names claimed by the cops were different. A senior officer of Gadhchiroli police said that the name of the slain Naxalite would not be disclosed until the security forces get concrete evidence of his identity.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Gadchiroli-cops-now-cautious-with-identification/articleshow/20155125.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Gadchiroli-cops-now-cautious-with-identification/articleshow/20155125.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Gadchiroli-cops-now-cautious-with-identification/articleshow/20155125.cms) Cops turn tables on Reds, kill 1 rebel
CHANDRAPUR: Aided with advance intelligence, Gadchiroli police successfully carried out a first-of-its-kind counter-ambush against Naxalites in Hetalkasa jungle under Gadchiroli on Sunday evening, killing a rebel. C-60 commandos gunned down the Naxalite under Malewada police station in Kurkheda sub-division.
Two commandos sustained minor injuries. A small cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered. “The Naxalites had planned to ambush police search parties in Hetalkasa jungle. However, thanks to strong intelligence network, we had advance information about their operation, which helped us to carry out the counter ambush successfully,” SP Suvez Haque said.
DIG, anti-Naxal operations, Ravindra Kadam claimed that this is fourth successful operation against Naxalites in Gadchiroli during last few months. “Our jawans have killed 17 Naxalites in four encounters this year,” he said. Kadam informed that police had a tip-off about the strong ambush laid by 60 Naxal guerrillas belonging to Platoon dalam-55 and 56, aided by Naxals of Devri, Kurkheda, Korchi and Khobrameda dalam. Parties of C-60 commandos were dispatched with counter battle strategy in the ambush area on Sunday evening.
Encounter began at 5.30pm, lasted till late in the evening. Alert commandos turned the tables against the lurking Naxalites and gunned down a young Naxalite during the gun-battle. Rebels even carried out four bomb explosions during the encounter, but police commandos held their front and forced the Naxalites to retreat. C-60 commandos Nagesh and Vijay Tatle sustained minor injuries during the encounter.
Dead body of a male Naxalite was recovered from the place during post encounter search operation. Cops also recovered a 12-bore rifle, its 19 bullets, 5 bullets of 9 mm pistol, a spent pipe-bomb, 10 bamboo pieces rolled with wire to help carrying out explosions, a magazine pouch and other Naxal material from the spot.
While police search parties were heading back to their base camp in Malewada later in the same night, some Naxalites fired at them in jungle between Malewada and Karwafa, and fled into the jungle. Cops recovered two land mines from this area after the firing. Anti Naxal operation has been intensified in the area following the encounter, Kadam told.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Cops-turn-tables-on-Reds-kill-1-rebel/articleshow/20162148.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Cops-turn-tables-on-Reds-kill-1-rebel/articleshow/20162148.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Cops-turn-tables-on-Reds-kill-1-rebel/articleshow/20162148.cms) Chhattisgarh: Naxal killed in encounter with CRPF
Raipur: A Naxal, allegedly involved in several murder cases, was killed in an encounter with CRPF jawans in Dantewada district, police said on Monday. The incident occurred yesterday when the CRPF jawans guarding a helipad at Purangel village came under fire from the insurgents. A helicopter was to land at the spot to evacuate two injured jawans of CoBRA 199 battalion.
The jawans — Lakshman Singh (22) and Chhabilal (24) — were injured in the Naxal attack in Bijapur district that had taken place yesterday. “22-year-old Masu, the deputy commander of Jan Militia Group of Maoists, was killed in an encounter with CRPF jawans in Purangel village under Aranpur police station area on Sunday,” Dantewada SP Narendra Khare said. Masu was involved in several cases of loot, arson and murder in the region, he said. Khare said the naxals fled to jungle when CRPF jawans retaliated.
“While cordoning off the encounter spot this morning, jawans found the body of Masu,” the SP said, adding that police found blood stains at the spot indicating that some more ultras might either have been killed or injured in the gun battle. “Later, the injured jawans were air-lifted to a private hospital at Raipur for treatment,” Khare said. An air-gun, a bag and a knife were recovered from the site.
PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/chhattisgarh-naxal-killed-in-encounter-with-crpf_849794.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/chhattisgarh-naxal-killed-in-encounter-with-crpf_849794.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/chhattisgarh-naxal-killed-in-encounter-with-crpf_849794.html) Collateral damage incurred in anti-naxal ops: MHA
About seven people killed during an encounter between securitymen and Maoists in Chhattisgarh on Friday were innocents, union home ministry and police sources confirmed on Monday.
The state government has ordered a judicial probe. But the home ministry appears to have come around to the view that the forces may not have done a good job of implementing plans taken last year to minimise “collateral” loss of lives. Besides the state’s Rs. 5 lakh compensation, the home ministry has decided to give an extra Rs. 3 lakh to each victim. After 17 tribals were killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur in June last year, the home ministry had advised against engaging Maoists in gunfights if rebels use villagers as shields.
Less than a year later, a team of CRPF men and police targeted what intelligence inputs described as a meeting of rebels about 1.5 km from a village on Friday night. The Maoists who fired at the security forces were on an elevated piece of land. The villagers — who were in between — got killed in cross-firing.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Collateral-damage-incurred-in-anti-naxal-ops-MHA/Article1-1063214.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Collateral-damage-incurred-in-anti-naxal-ops-MHA/Article1-1063214.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Collateral-damage-incurred-in-anti-naxal-ops-MHA/Article1-1063214.aspx) In South Bastar, grim battles on to retake Maoist bases
With semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders, these soldiers are more than just patrolling arterial village roads. They are in the midst of full-scale battles in which several people, mostly non-combatants, are getting killed. Forces have been mobilised in their thousands; dehydrated soldiers are getting evacuated by the Indian Air Force; corpses are removed in huge tractors meant for transporting farm produce; and Maoists are intensifying coordination at villages. South Bastar villagers believe that the current spell of violence, which has caused several deaths, cannot be sporadic action conducted by either the police or stray Maoist squads of 20-year-olds. Perhaps they are right.
There are two battles going on in two patches. One is the battle to take control of Pidiya, a rugged terrain spread over 15 km on the south-eastern border of Bijapur district. The other is in Minappa, further south. The battle for Pidiya has been intermittent since January. And it is going to continue. “We are targeting Pidiya as it is a strong base of the Maoists,” Additional Director-General of Police (Naxal Operations) R.K. Vij told The Hindu earlier.
Explaining the importance of Pidiya, senior officials said two out of 10 military companies of the CPI (Maoist) are based upland of Pidiya, which is ringed by mountains on three sides. “[The companies] 02 and 08 coordinated the 2010 ambush that killed 76 soldiers,” said a Home Ministry official. The militants also have a “signalling centre, printing press, arms dump and training schools” in Pidiya. In January, the joint forces raided the area and claimed to have seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
However, after visiting the area, social scientist Bela Bhatia wrote to the Chhattisgarh police, saying that “17 houses and 14 huts were burnt,” and “belongings destroyed” in several hamlets. In January, however, no one was killed. This time though, at least seven villagers were killed in Edesmeta village, eight km from Pidiya. While officials are unsure how the villagers were killed, they admit all of them were “innocent civilians.” “[The] force bypassed Edesmeta and followed the standard operating procedure of avoiding villages at night.
But the route they had chosen was where the villagers were cooking. Someone fired, and the force retaliated. Unfortunately, innocent civilians got shot,” said a senior officer. Perhaps, that is why Chief Minister Raman Singh was quick in extending condolence to the families of the victims, a gesture not extended to the Naxalites.
What is important is the size of the force deployed to win the battle for Pidiya. Six teams of the joint forces, with 150-200 men, were converging on the area. The distance each team covered were 20-25 km from their stations at Cherpal, Basaguda, Sarkeguda, Jagargunda, Kirandul and Ganglur.
More significantly, seven gunfights took place between the Maoists and the forces in the last four days at and around Pidiya. Police sources said Team V, coming from Kirandul, killed a rebel. “Two members of the armed forces were injured at a place near Parangal,” said an officer. Team III from Sarkeguda waged three small fights.
Another big operation was reportedly conducted on Sunday further down, at Bhejji, near the Andhra Pradesh border. Pidiya villagers called The Hindu up to inform that the Maoists conducted a condolence meeting soon after the forces left Peddapara, one of the villages within Pidiya, and offered compensation to the families of the deceased. The State police have set up a makeshift camp at Minappa, south of Pidiya. Minappa is sited between Dornapal and Jagargunda, a 50-km stretch that already has 8-10 paramilitary camps and an equal number of police camps.
Each camp houses 200-300 personnel. This means roughly 5,000 personnel are guarding the stretch from the eastern border of Chhattisgarh to Jagargunda. Experts reckon the number of personnel deployed to be very high for an internal conflict. In addition, over 1,000 personnel have been stationed at Minappa to “sanitise” the area. A senior police officer was a bit cynical. “If not full scale, a half-scale battle is on at and around Pidiya.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-south-bastar-grim-battles-on-to-retake-maoist-bases/article4733678.ece
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-south-bastar-grim-battles-on-to-retake-maoist-bases/article4733678.ece)
India: Assam Troubled Again? – Analysis
On April 19, 2013, an Inspector of a commando unit of the Assam Police, identified as Lohit Sonowal, two militants of the ‘Independent’ faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I), and one civilian, were killed in an encounter at Kordoiguri village in Tinsukia District. The militants killed in the encounter were identified as Raktajeet Hazarika and Ananta Moran. An official disclosed that residents of the village where the incident occurred identified the civilian as Pona Moran, who reportedly died in the crossfire. This is the first major incident (involving three or more killing) in the State in the current year.
Earlier, on May 9, 2012, four Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed and a Police constable was injured, in an encounter with the Police in Bangaon village near Deopan under the Sadiya Subdivision of Tinsukia District. The slain Maoists were identified as Siddhartha Buragohain, Rajeev Gogoi alias Medang, Arup Chetia alias Iyan and Kamala Gogoi. Siddhartha Buragohain was the ‘second-in-command’ of the armed wing of the CPI-Maoist in the State. Tinsukia District has already registered five fatalities in two incidents in 2013.
The earlier incident occurred on January 20, 2013, when Security Forces (SFs) killed a militant, identified as Lalit Moran, belonging to the ULFA-I, in an encounter in the Kakojan Reserve Forest under Digboi Police Station. There were nine fatalities in the District in 2012, and seven in 2011. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the District has witnessed 16 major incidents since 2000, resulting in 139 fatalities.
Of these, 14 incidents involved ULFA. The highest fatalities were recorded in 2007, when 45 persons were killed in four major incidents, mostly involving settlers from other Indian States. In the worst such incident, ULFA militants massacred 34 ‘outsiders’ on January 5, 2007. Fatalities had registered declining trends over recent years, as the major outfit operating in the District, ULFA, had witnessed several reverses.
On June 24, 2008, two companies [Alpha and Charlie] of ULFA’s ‘28th battalion’, the most potent strike group of the outfit, announced a unilateral ceasefire with the Government. The ‘battalion’ operated in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sivasagar Districts of Assam, and also in the neighbouring State of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, as well as the Sagaing region of Myanmar.
The split within the ‘battalion’ drastically reduced ULFA’s strike capacities in the Tinsukia. This was followed by the action taken by the Bangladesh against ULFA in 2009-2010, when most of the top leadership of the outfit, who had long received safe haven in that country, was handed over to India, with the exception ‘commander in chief’ Paresh Baruah. The outfit then split into a Pro-talk and Anti-talks faction in 2011, and the latter is now ULFA-I.
Despite declining fatalities, the surviving capacities of ULFA-I and the increasing penetration of the Maoists in the District had raised continuous concerns. The District recorded as many as seven explosions in 2012 – six of them by ULFA-I – though these resulted in just one fatality. 2011 and 2010 had recorded no such incidents, while one explosion was recorded in 2009.
According to partial data compiled by SATP, six extortion cases were reported in Tinsukia in 2012 rising from two incidents in 2011 & one in 2010 [a majority of extortion cases are believed to go unreported]. In one such incident in December 2012, ULFA-I sent extortion notes to legislators Bolin Chetia, from the Sadiya Assembly constituency, and Dilip Moran, from the Doom Dooma Assembly constituency, both in the District, asking them to pay INR 2 million each. Extortion by the militant groups remains a major cause of concern.
A “very conservative estimate” by security sources reported in the media on January 24, 2013, indicated that the militants collected ‘at least’ INR 270 million from the State in 2012. ULFA-I topped the extortion assessment chart. Tinsukia occupies an area of 3,790 square kilometres, with a population of 1,316,948, and is bounded by Arunachal Pradesh on three sides. The District is inhibited by Assamese, Bengali, Nepali and Hindi speaking people, besides backward communities including Adivasis, Morans and Muttocks.
The District also boasts the oldest oil refinery in India, at Digboi, besides places like Margherita and Ledo, well known for coal mining. Illegal mining in Margherita Subdivision is believed to be among the main sources of funds for ULFA-I, the National Socialist Council for Nagalim (NSCN) factions, and CPI-Maoist. A report by District authorities cited intelligence inputs to note, “creation of huge amount of slush funds because of the illegal diversion and exploitation of coal” by the militant groups in league with local anti-socials had led to criminalisation of many institutions and triggered tension in the area.
In one incident targeting the mining sector, suspected militants of the Khaplang faction of NSCN (NSCN-K) abducted four employees of Brahmaputra Infrastructure Private Ltd. from their camp at Tikak Colliery at Ledo on January 11, 2013. They were rescued by SFs the day after. A September 12, 2012, news report claimed that ULFA-I had set-up two camps in the Manabhum and Kharsang areas of Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang District, bordering Tinsukia, along with NSCN-K. ULFA-I and NSCN-K have also helped the Arunachal Pradesh-based United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), operating from Lohit and Changlang Districts.
The SFs have continued operations against militants in 2013, and have already arrested six, including five of ULFA-I and one of NSCN-IM], in Tinsukia. SFs had arrested 30 ULFA-I militants in 2012, up from 23 in 2011. One suspected CPI-Maoist cadre was also arrested in the District. In addition, 15 militants belonging to ULFA-I have already surrendered in 2013, while seven ULFA-I militant surrendered in 2012.
The most prominent surrender was of the ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ and ‘eastern zone commander’ of ULFA-I, Bijoy Das alias Bijoy Chinese, in February 2013. Further, the Moran and Muttock communities inhabiting Tinsukia and neighbouring Districts of Sivasagar and Dibrugarh, have been demanding Scheduled Tribes (ST) status and have threatened ‘armed rebellion’ in case their demand is not met.
Significantly, most of the ULFA cadres in the upper Assam region, which includes Tinsukia, come from these two communities. Adivasi militants groups have also raised a similar demand, though most of these groups are currently under a ceasefire. Worryingly, the Sadiya Subdivision of Tinsukia, accessible only by boat, has been substantially penetrated by the CPI-Maoist. The Subdivision sits next to the Lohit and Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, an area marked by the CPI-Maoist as their ‘resting post’, and has recorded fatalities as well as extortion incidents.
State Inspector-General of Police, Central Western Range (IGP-CWR), L.R. Bishnoi, noted, on April 26, 2013, “Our investigation has revealed that the group [CPI-Maoist] is trying to strengthen its base in the Northeast so that the region, particularly Arunachal Pradesh, can be used as a safe refuge for their senior members when anti-Maoist operations intensify in the rest of the country.” A response to the emerging CPI-Maoist threat came in the last week of March 2013, when State Governor, J.B. Patnaik accorded a special category status to Tinsukia District, to tackle the growing Maoist influence.
The State Government constituted a 13-member High-powered Committee headed by State Power and Industry Minister, Pradyut Bordoloi [one of the MLAs from the District], with senior officers from various Departments, to prepare a special developmental plan [Integrated District Action Plan (IDAP)] for the Tinsukia. IDAP will focus on infrastructure development and avenues of employment generation. The District Deputy Commissioner (DC) S.S Meenakshi Sundaram, on April 8, 2013, announced that a baseline survey would be conducted in all 1,126 villages of the District, with special focus on about 200 villages identified as CPI-Maoist and ULFA-affected, to prepare the IDAP.
Earlier, in 2011, State Police, taking a cue from their Andhra Pradesh counterparts, had sent a proposal to develop a strong intelligence-led security structure to help the Police respond to the Maoist threat. Proposals from the Police included changing the post of zonal Superintendent of Police – Special Branch (SP-SB) based at Jorhat, to SP – Operations (SP-O) or SP – Left Wing Extremism (SP-LWE), to bring all operations and intelligence-gathering mechanisms against the Maoists under a single officer.
It also called for improving road connectivity [seven roads were proposed in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia], and augmenting manpower and Infrastructure, to aid policing in remote areas. In March 2012, Assam & Arunachal Pradesh decided to carry out operations by Joint Police teams, based on latest information about militant movements in “specific areas” on both sides of the State borders. The plan was initially implemented in the border areas along Tinsukia District of Assam and three Districts of Arunachal Pradesh – Lohit, Changlang and Lower Dibang Valley – and was later extended to include Tirap and East Siang.
An October 2, 2012, report later indicated that the SFs had intensified operations against the ULFA militants hiding along the Arunachal-Assam borders along Dibrugarh-Tinsukia-Sivasagar Districts of Assam and Changlang and Lohit Districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Although the overall fatalities in Assam have come down from 758 in 2000 to just 91 in 2012, constant vigilance is particularly required in vulnerable Districts such as Goalpara and Tinsukia, which share borders with other susceptible Northeastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
At the ‘Chief Ministers Conference on Public Order’ held at New Delhi on April 15, 2013, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi conceded that the the downward trend in violence was reversible, and rightly emphasized the need for coordinated action with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and some parts of Meghalaya, if training, arms supply, transit routes and shelters for militants operating in Assam were to be choked off. Gogoi noted,
“In the past few years, there has been a declining trend of militant violence and talks are on with several militant outfits. However, it would be over-optimistic to declare that the nightmare of militant violence is over.” Extremist efforts for a revival in Tinsukia underline enduring vulnerabilities and the necessity of extreme vigilance on the part of state agencies if the gains of the past years are to be consolidated into a permanent peace in Assam.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/20052013-india-assam-troubled-again-analysis/

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24337

[TheGodlessUtopian]

SSB to be deployed in anti-Maoist operation
PATNA: Apart from the CRPF, SAP and STF, the Bihar police would soon be using Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for the first time in action against Maoists. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has told the state government that it can use SSB for operations against Maoists.
The MHA has spared one battalion of SSB to be exclusively used against Maoists. Sources in the police headquarters said that one such battalion of SSB is already undergoing training in Assam about the operational tactics while dealing with Maoists as the force is otherwise created entirely to tackle illegal activities on Indo-Nepal border.
They further said that that the MHA had recently allocated 10 battalions of SSB for anti-Maoists operations to different states. Of these, five battalions were sent to Chhattisgarh, two each to Jharkhand and Orissa and one to Bihar. Sources further said that the two battalions of CRPF, which were earlier closed by the MHA and sent to Chhattisgarh, have again been returned to Bihar.
With availability of almost adequate central armed forces, the state police headquarters are now ready to take on Maoists at any war theatre in Bihar. The police headquarters have decided to deploy the one battalion of SSB in the north Bihar districts including East Champaran, Sheohar and Sitamarhi and Bagaha police district once the force returns to the state after training.
As far the CRPF goes, the police headquarters, sources mentioned, would deploy additional five companies in Jamui district where already four companies are on the job. That apart two companies would be sent to Munger and one to Lakhisarai. In the central Bihar, three companies of CRPF would be deployed in Gaya, two in Aurangabad and one in Jehanabad besides two in Rohtas and one in Kaimur. “The anti-maoists operations would now be undertaken with new vigour with the availability of more forces to the state,” sources said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/SSB-to-be-deployed-in-anti-Maoist-operation/articleshow/20164406.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/SSB-to-be-deployed-in-anti-Maoist-operation/articleshow/20164406.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/SSB-to-be-deployed-in-anti-Maoist-operation/articleshow/20164406.cms) Maoists making rapid inroads in Assam, say police
GUWAHATI: The recent arrests of several CPI (Maoist) cadres in the state have not only put the security forces on alert, but has also revealed that the Red rebels managed to create a base in six districts of the state with at least 150 people willing to follow them.
The revelation came to the fore after veteran CPI (Maoist) leader Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Pareshda and his wife, Kabita, were arrested earlier this month. They revealed that the Maoists are expanding their base in the char areas too. “The char areas of Dhubri district bordering West Bengal and forest areas are the new targets of Red rebels. The Maoists are also spreading tentacles in Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Silchar, Karimganj and Kamrup rural districts too.
They have created a fresh support base of at least 150 cadres in these districts,” said IGP central western range of Assam Police L R Bishnoi. Besides the new members, a special task force of state police formed to combat the Maoists, in its earlier report, had said there were some 81 CPI (Maoist) cadres active in the state out of which 23 were reportedly women.
“Naskar and Kabita have already succeeded in forming district committees in these districts. Once the support base is created, they were planning to send some of them to Jharkhand for further training under the guidance of Chandrashekhar Das, a veteran Maoist leader,” added an official of Assam Police. At least 11 cadres have been sent to Jharkhand from Assam over the last two years for a ‘capsule’ or short- term arms training. “The couple also had a rented house at Tollygunje in Kolkata. We have already searched the house and sealed it.
We have found several incriminating documents from there,” added the policeman. Police said Naskar and Kabita were staying in West Bengal with fake names and professions. “Since 1998, Naskar was responsible for creating a strong support base in Assam,” police said. According to official figures, some 60 CPI (Maoist) cadres were arrested in the state so far.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-making-rapid-inroads-in-Assam-say-police/articleshow/20169405.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-making-rapid-inroads-in-Assam-say-police/articleshow/20169405.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Maoists-making-rapid-inroads-in-Assam-say-police/articleshow/20169405.cms) Lawyer detained for giving Reds protection cover
RANCHI: A member of the Network of Advocates for Rights and Action (NARA), which was formed to extend judicial help to innocent tribals held up in jails on false charges of Maoist activities, was harassed by Ranchi police, who accused him of being a Maoist sympathizer.
The incident took place at Kotwali police station late on Sunday when advocate Shambhu Mahato was illegally detained by police for over two hours and was released only after some senior members of the bar association threatened to take legal action. Mahato told TOI that he will be filing an information petition with the court of chief judicial magistrate to avoid being further harassed by police.
“It is true that I take up cases of innocent tribals and people from weaker sections of society, most of whom languish in the jail on false charges of involvement in Maoist activities,” he said. Contesting that his profession cannot allow anyone to brand him as a Maoist, he said, “If a lawyer can be threatened in this manner and Maoist charges slapped against him, one can imagine the condition of illiterates, tribals and innocent villagers, who are often pushed behind the bars to showcase police success in Maoist cases,” he said.
The incident took place when Mahato approached the local police station after some traffic constables seized the mobile phone and vehicle of one of his clients, coming from Khelari to civil court. “Though my client was ready to pay the fine, but the traffic constable in question refused to hand over the vehicle and mobile phone, which compelled me to approach the Kotwali police station,” Mahato said.
The convener of NARA advocate, Anup Kumar, intervened into the matter after he was apprised that Mahato was detained in the police station following arguments with the sub-inspector. “We were shocked at the way the policemen were treating Mahato and threatening him of dire consequences,” Kumar said. He added that the NARA members decided to file information petition to avoid further harassment.
“We are taking up cases in which poor and tribals have been implicated and are also extending them judicial help, but that doesn’t qualify the police to target the lawyers and harass them,” he said. Surya Bhushan Sharma, the officer in charge of Kotwali PS, denied detaining the lawyer in custody and said no policeman would invite trouble by detaining a lawyer. “There must have been some heated arguments but no one was detained,” he said.
Information petiton is a category of petition that brings to the notice of court a particular matter and thus puts that on record. It’s aim is to give a legal bearing to some sort of apprehension as in this case the lawyer has been threatened of being slapped with Maoist charges by the police – he desires to bring it to the notice of court so that in the future, if any such case is lodged he would have legal protection.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Lawyer-detained-for-giving-Reds-protection-cover/articleshow/20168002.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24345

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Woman Maoist held in AP, brought to Malkangiri
A hardcore woman Maoist, allegedly involved in several offences including an attack on Nalco’s bauxite mines, was arrested in Andhra Pradesh and brought to Odisha’s Malkangiri district today, police said. Potluri Kanti alias Bhabani alias Kavita (35), was arrested in Guntur district by a special police team from here with the assistance of Andhra Pradesh police yesterday and brought here today, they said.
The woman rebel, active in Maoist cadre since 2005, was involved in the attack on security force camp at R Udaygiri in 2008, said a senior police official associated with anti-naxal operation. She was also involved in the attack on aluminium major Nalco’s bauxite mines at Damanjodi in Koraput district in 2009 in which about 10 CISF jawans were killed, he said, adding the woman ultra had played a role in the killing of two persons in a Kalimela tribal village in 2011.
Involved in several other offences including abduction, the woman naxal was earlier arrested by Andhra police in 2011 and lodged in Vishakhapatnam jail. She was released on May 18, 2013. After getting information from Andhra police, a special squad of Malkangiri police went to Guntur and arrested her from her house.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-maoist-held-in-ap-brought-to-malkangiri-113052200406_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-maoist-held-in-ap-brought-to-malkangiri-113052200406_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-maoist-held-in-ap-brought-to-malkangiri-113052200406_1.html) Activists angry as Indian government targets foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations
NEW DELHI – An Indian activist group said Wednesday the government has frozen its bank account as part of a broader crackdown on rights groups that receive foreign funding and have criticized India’s policies. The New Delhi-based Indian Social Action Forum received a letter from the Home Ministry three weeks ago freezing the 6 million rupees ($109,000) in its bank account and describing its activities as “prejudicial and against (the) public interest,” said Ramesh Sharma, an official with the group. The forum is required to ask the ministry’s permission if it wants to spend its money, the letter said.
A home ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of repercussions, denied targeting activists based on the opinions they express. The government was just acting against organizations that did not have the proper approvals for receiving foreign funding, the official said. Under two-year-old rules, Indian organizations are barred from getting donations from abroad without government permission. But many rights groups say the government has refused or ignored their requests to register to accept foreign funding. “We have fears that the government is creating a climate of intimidation to silence critics,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch. Some activists believe they were targeted after visiting the controversial Koodankulam nuclear plant, even though they were not involved with protests there, Ganguly said.
The Indian Social Action Forum campaigns for indigenous peoples’ land rights and against nuclear energy, human rights violations and religious fundamentalism. Sharma said the group received nearly 10 million rupees ($180,000) a year from abroad, and that nearly 90 per cent of its funding comes from German nongovernmental organizations. Sharma said his organization has not violated any laws, though it has challenged the new foreign contribution rules in the Supreme Court. He said the group had no immediate financial trouble and will raise funds within India to offset the loss. Indian organizations have long received donations from both government and private institutions abroad, mainly from the United States, Britain and Germany.
Problems started mounting last year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused foreign groups of supporting anti-nuclear protests that delayed the commissioning of the Koodankulam plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The government had been hoping to use nuclear energy to help solve the country’s power crisis. Last year, the government shut down three aid groups, accusing U.S. and Scandinavian groups of supporting the anti-nuclear protesters and delaying implementation of government plans to commercialize genetically modified crops.
The government said it was cancelling the licenses of the organizations because they illegally diverted funds meant for helping disabled people and eradicating leprosy to anti-nuclear protests. The groups denied the claims. In April 2012, India ordered the deportation of 10 French citizens who police said illegally worked with an Indian advocacy group accused of supporting Maoist rebels in the eastern state of Bihar. The group, Ekta Parishad or Unity Forum, said it was working to protect the land and water rights of the poor and denied having rebel ties.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Activists+angry+Indian+government+targets+foreign+ funding/8418307/story.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24353

[Roach]

Comrades have talked about this as a something very surprising, some even say that it was nothing but an assasination by some rival political group that has just been blamed on the Maoists.


RAIPUR: Senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma has been killed when a group of Naxalites ambushed a convoy of senior Congress leaders at Darbha Ghat section on Jagdalpur-Sukma highway in tribal Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. Preliminary reports said a local Congress leader Gopi Madwani was also killed.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister VC Shukla, Sukma's Congress legislator Kawasai Lakma were among the critically injured. Reports from the spot said Shukla was taken to a hospital at Jagdalpur, the divisional headquarters of Bastar, by road. His condition is stated to be critical.

State Congress president Nandkumar Patel and his newly-married son Dinesh Patel went missing after the incident and it is suspected that they were abducted.

While the state government neither confirmed nor denied reports about heavy causalities of senior Congress leaders in the attack, close family members of Karma confirmed his death but said "we don't have any more details".

"Karmaji is no more. We don't have any more details", Karma's close family members told TOI over telephone. However, police and other officials neither confirmed nor denied reports about heavy causalities in the Maoist ambush.

Naresh Mishra, a correspondent of state private television channel IBC 24, reported from the spot that he saw bullet ridden bodies of Mahendra Karma and former legislator Uday Mudaliyar and about 10 others at the spot of ambush.

The Congress leaders were on their way to Keshloor from Sukma after attending a Parivartan Yatra meeting at Sukma when a group of about 150 heavily-armed Maoists started indiscriminate firing and triggered a powerful blast targeting their convoy.

"We are waiting for confirmation about these reports. I don't have any details", state Congress media cell in charge Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.

An official spokesman said chief minister Raman Singh has cancelled his Vikas Yatra and is returning to the state capital where he is expected to hold a high level meeting to take stock of the situation.

Unconfirmed reports said Karma, who was prominently known as Bastar tiger, was initially kidnapped for identification and then they pumped 20 bullets after beating him on his head with the gun's butt. There was a cross firing between Karma's guards and Naxalites but when the guards ran out of bullets, Karma surrendered along with few other Congress leaders.

Former MLA Konta, Kawasi Lakhma is said to be safe and admitted to the hospital. He got injured during the firing when the glass of his vehicle's windowpane broke down.

Karma, who had spearheaded the controversial anti-Naxalite movement Salwa Judum which began in June 2005, was already on the Maoist hit list and he had survived several attempts on his life. It is said that more than 150 Naxalites were there firing indiscriminately.

Maoists are expected to issue a formal statement late in the night as they normally do after every such major attack or abductions.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-kill-senior-Congress-leaders-VC-Shukla-critically-injured/articleshow/20264983.cms

[TheGodlessUtopian]

BSF to curb movement of Maoists in Andhra-Odisha border region
VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh and Odisha police have come up with a joint strategy to increase surveillance on the borders to check the movement of Maoists. As part of the strategy, the Border Security Force (BSF) would support the police of the two states by setting up base camps in the Naxalite stronghold areas.
The BSF, which was asked to eliminate the Maoists in Koraput and Malkangiri in Odisha, the two districts which share a common border with Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh, has been in the forefront of combing activities in Odisha.
BSF jawans have discovered more than 20 Maoist dumps in both Malkangiri and Koraput districts in the past one-and-half years. The BSF would now focus entirely on nipping the Maoist squads to restrict their movement. It has already established camps, with at least 100 jawans (an entire company) in each camp, in the region. There are a total of 30 such camps in some of the sensitive areas in Malkangiri alone with 20 more in Koraput. Now, the Sarukubanda and Nakkamamidi camps in Malkangiri have joined the list.
The Odisha authorities set up the Nakkamamidi camp three weeks ago while Sarukubanda camp was set up a week ago. In a move to restrict the Reds’ movement into AP and wipe out the movement in Odisha, the AP authorities have asked their counterparts to close all possible passing routes of the Maoists, sources said. “With the BSF camp at Sarukubanda, the movement of Naxals from Balapam and Korukonda in Visakha to Janbai ghat in Malkangiri will be blocked.
This is the main passage for the Maoists, where their word is the rule. They will not move freely at the other end of the Janbai launch ghat in Malkangiri because of the Nakkamamidi camp,” sources said. A senior police official involved in Naxal operations told TOI that there are proposals to set up camps at Kurmanuuru and Pappuluru in Malkangiri, which will be useful in restricting the Maoists from crossing the river at Bacchuluru-Valasagedda, Naguluru-Pappuluru at Taekguda near Kalimela.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/BSF-to-curb-movement-of-Maoists-in-Andhra-Odisha-border-region/articleshow/20547368.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/BSF-to-curb-movement-of-Maoists-in-Andhra-Odisha-border-region/articleshow/20547368.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/BSF-to-curb-movement-of-Maoists-in-Andhra-Odisha-border-region/articleshow/20547368.cms) Cop who killed Veerappan to lead Naxal hunt
Determined to get back at the Maoists, the Centre has decided to recall the Jharkhand governor’s adviser K Vijay Kumar to the home ministry to give anti-Maoist operations by central police forces a hard push. A retired IPS officer, Kumar — who led the operation to kill forest brigand Veerappan in 2004 — is being designated as the senior adviser in the home ministry to oversee the centrally-coordinated anti-Maoist operations.
The decision follows the last month’s Chhattisgarh attack that killed 27 people, most of them Congress leaders. The decision to recall Kumar to Delhi was taken at the highest level in the Congress and the UPA after the first comprehensive analysis of the three-year-old anti-Maoist operations. The analysis indicated “a leadership vacuum” in the central forces deployed to fight the Maoists, a top government source told HT, hoping that the former Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief’s presence at the home ministry would bridge the leadership deficit. The move, however, is also seen as a knee-jerk reaction of the government that wants to be seen doing the right things. Incidentally, P Chidambaram had sensed the impending leadership crisis when he was at the home ministry and pushed for an extension to Kumar as the CRPF chief.
The government, however, rejected this proposal in September, appointed Kumar as the home ministry adviser in December and in January, sent him packing to Jharkhand as an adviser to the governor. Less than six months later, the government wants him back in the home ministry. Executive director of the Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, Ajai Sahni, has his doubts if Kumar can make a world of a difference. Sahni wondered if chiefs of the central forces would take orders from Kumar. “Once an officer has retired, the structure does not usually pay much heed to them,” Sahni said. In any case, there is a need for a stronger evaluation of Kumar’s stint as CRPF D-G, he said, pointing that one should not fall for “a lot of myth-making that happens”.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Cop-who-killed-Veerappan-to-lead-Naxal-hunt/Article1-1074900.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Cop-who-killed-Veerappan-to-lead-Naxal-hunt/Article1-1074900.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Cop-who-killed-Veerappan-to-lead-Naxal-hunt/Article1-1074900.aspx) Four Naxals arrested in Rajnandgaon district
Rajnandgaon: Four Naxals have been arrested in Maoist-hit Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.”The cadres of jan-militia group of Maoists were nabbed from the forests of Bukmarka village under Manpur police station area (over 100 kms from Rajnandgaon town) during an anti-Naxal operation by joint contingent of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and district force late last evening,” a senior official said. Those arrested were identified as Mahendra Rai (35), Siyaram Nureti (25), Maniksai Kupmadi (30) and Shankar Korcha (29), the officials said. Naxal-related literature, banners, posters and utensils of daily use recovered from their possession.
http://post.jagran.com/four-naxals-arrested-in-1371001388

(http://post.jagran.com/four-naxals-arrested-in-1371001388)
(http://post.jagran.com/four-naxals-arrested-in-1371001388) Maoists threaten BBC reporter
KOLKATA: The Maoists have threatened BBC reporter and author Subhranghsu Chowdhury for his writings which they consider to be objectionable. The Maoists have cautioned Chowdhury for his article in BBC’s hindi version – ‘Master ki hat Naxalon ki Kaman (Headmaster to Military Mastermind)’ – where he has said the change of guard in the CPI(Maoist) in Dandhkaranya is one of the main reasons for the brutal attack in South Bastar in Chhattishgarh on May 25.
At least 31 people, including former Union minister V C Shukla, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma and PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel, were killed in the attack. Chowdhury writes “Ramanna has been appointed the new secretary for the state replacing Kosa alias K Suryanarayan Reddy in Dandakaranya. He says the change of leadership led to the attack because the Maoists had earlier released Malkangiri collector Vineel Krishna and Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon even though the government turned down their demands. Chowdhury hints that the latest attack exposed the rift between the modernists and the extremists within the CPI(Maoists).
In a press release by the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, the Maoists have alleged that “knowingly or unknowingly Chowdhury has become a part of the conspiracy which the ruling class has been doing against the party and the poor people of the country”. The Maoists have alleged that Chowdhury has written half truths and has maligned the party’s image. Chowdhury said, “I wrote what I have seen and experienced and they have said what they were supposed to say. They have every right to say what they feel correct but I have the equal right to write what I feel true.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-threaten-BBC-reporter/articleshow/20547889.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-threaten-BBC-reporter/articleshow/20547889.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-threaten-BBC-reporter/articleshow/20547889.cms) Maoists want TJAC to go ahead with march
The CPI-Maoist North Telangana special zonal committee has asked agitators to launch a militant movement to achieve statehood. A statement written in Telugu by committee spokesperson Jagan has warned political leaders not to back down in the light of police denying permission for the march. The Telangana Joint Action Committee has planned a march to the Assembly on June 14. This is not the first time that the Maoists vent their anger on political parties particularly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for using the movement for personal gain.
The Maoists alleged that political leaders deliberately deferred the Sakala Janula Samme and weakened the spirit of the people of the region. Meanwhile, bedlam over the issue of resolution favouring formation of Telangana state continued as the TRS stalled the proceedings in the Assembly on Tuesday. TRS legislators have been stalling the proceedings since the beginning of the budget session except for Tuesday when it allowed the Assembly pass a condolence motion. The Assembly was adjourned for the day without any business as the TRS members did not allow Speaker N Manohar to take up listed business. The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also disrupted the proceedings, demanding that the government set up a steel factory near Bayyaram iron ore mines in the Khammam district of Telangana.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338169/maoists-want-tjac-go-ahead.html
(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338169/maoists-want-tjac-go-ahead.html)
http://www.signalfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/mottobig.jpg (http://www.signalfire.org/?attachment_id=24567)
Maoists in PLA footsteps – Red rebels follow Manipur outfit’s ‘militarisation’ pattern: Cops
Guwahati, June 11: Police studying Maoist activities in Assam said the “militarisation process” of the red rebels here resembled the pattern followed by the People’s Liberation Army, Manipur rather than their style followed in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. A police report submitted to the Assam government recently said the CPI (Maoist) here was initially going slow in its armed struggle like the PLA and was not arming the masses to expand its base.
“There is no indication like elsewhere in the country that Assam Maoists during their initial period have tried to launch massive attacks against the state forces by using common people as human shields. Nor is there any indication of their attempt to arm the common masses to expand their bases. In short, the militarisation process of Assam Maoists follows the pattern of PLA rather than that of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha,” the report said.
Formed in 1978, the PLA in Manipur has been waging a guerrilla-based warfare against the army, paramilitary forces and state police, though it later declared its decision not to target Manipur police. Trained by the PLA of China and the NSCN (Isak-Muivah), it has been selective in recruiting people and arming them. The PLA has been fighting for establishing a separate socialist state of Manipur, a policy that matches the CPI (Maoist) ideology of a socialist country.
The report said the Maoists were following the PLA style, as they were aware that it was not easy to get a stronghold in Assam and in the bordering Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, where the Paresh Barua-led Ulfa (Independent) has years of dominance. “Maoists in Assam are buying time to strengthen themselves politically by motivating more and more people in their fold and ideology.
Once they set up a strong base politically, it will be easier for them to launch an armed struggle systematically. Although they are slow, building a strong guerrilla force of their own in the Northeast is one of the motives of the CPI (Maoist),” a senior police official told The Telegraph. “Although Ulfa is losing its public support base, if the Maoist gains ascendancy by way of public mobilisation programmes, they will take the upper hand and fill the void created by Ulfa’s decadence,” the report said.
The link between PLA and CPI (Maoist) became “clearer” when the National Investigation Agency, in a chargesheet submitted last year, stated that in 2008 top Maoist leaders had met PLA members in a foreign country and signed a joint declaration for waging a “unified” war against India. The alliance was formed for procuring arms, ammunition and communication devices for CPI (Maoist) for carrying out terrorist activities in the country, the chargesheet said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130612/jsp/northeast/story_16998306.jsp

(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130612/jsp/northeast/story_16998306.jsp)
(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130612/jsp/northeast/story_16998306.jsp) Arrested ex-student confesses to meeting Maoists in University of Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Prithviraj, a former student of University of Hyderabad (UoH), who was arrested recently, reportedly confessed that some Maoists had visited him during his stay at the varsity. He even gave out names of students who subscribed to Maoist ideology, on the campus.
However, police said they do not completely believe his confession and are planning to take him into custody to learn more about the left-wing group’s influence on the varsity students. In his confession to the Palvancha police, A Prithviraj said he was influenced by the speeches of another student who is currently pursuing PhD at the varsity and is a member of ‘Virasam’, short for Viplava Rachayitala Sangham. Both Prithviraj and his ‘motivator’ are members of the Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika of the UoH.
Since he quit the integrated MA course and joined the CPI (Maoist) party full-time in March 2013, Prithviraj had been working with the Sukhdev group (part of the Venkatapuram military dalam), which is active in Venkatapuram, Cherla of Khammam district and the bordering areas of Chhattisgarh. Tirupati alias Sukhdev is a senior Maoist against whom several criminal cases were registered in the state. Prithviraj also told police that one Ravi, who is part of the Sukhdev dalam, had met him before he joined the dalam. Police suspect that some Maoists might have met Prithviraj on the campus and he might be withholding names of some of his associates in the university and city. “We have filed a petition before a local court seeking police custody of Prithviraj and Mothibai.
We have some information about Prithviraj’s contacts and associates. Hopefully, we will get some more vital information from him during the custodial interrogation,” a police officer from Khammam said. In the remand report submitted to court, Palvancha police had stated that Mothibai was involved in 38 criminal cases, while there were no charges against Prithviraj except that of conspiring to transport a Maoist from Chhattisgarh to Vijayawada.
Police claimed that Prithviraj had joined the Sukhdev dalam in March 2013 and on June 3, he was assigned the job of taking Mothibai from Khammam to Vijayawada, by none other than the banned outfit’s central committee member Chandranna. Meanwhile, the police also checked if Prithiviraj had any connection with the recent appearance of Maoist posters near the Osmania University campus.
However, they have not found any such link. OU police had arrested three persons for putting up provocative posters asking students to take up arms in the name of the Telangana Peoples’ Liberation Army (TPLA). Police had arrested S Venkatesh Goud from Medak, K Srinivas Goud, an MA student of OU, and Saidulu alias Chinna, designer and publisher of the posters. A manhunt has been launched to nab three others, including Rajanarasimha from Medak. Police claimed that the arrested accused does not belong to any extremist outfit.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Arrested-ex-student-confesses-to-meeting-Maoists-in-University-of-Hyderabad/articleshow/20557178.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Arrested-ex-student-confesses-to-meeting-Maoists-in-University-of-Hyderabad/articleshow/20557178.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Arrested-ex-student-confesses-to-meeting-Maoists-in-University-of-Hyderabad/articleshow/20557178.cms) Maoist Arms Dump found in Kandhamal
BERHAMPUR: Security forces on Tuesday unearthed a Maoist arms dump at Srirampur forest in Kandhamal district. “Around 43 rounds of live ammunition of 9 mm pistol and 70 cartridges of .315 rifle and a steel container with around 10 kg materials for making IED were recovered from the dump during a joint combing operation, said SP (Kandhamal) J N Pankaj.
The recovery came a day ahead of the 24-hour bandh call by CPI (Maoist) in Kandhamal, Gajapati and Rayagada districts. The Bansadhara division of the outlawed outfit has called for a bandh on Wednesday, protesting against alleged police excesses against tribals and demanding withdrawal of central forces. An alert has been sounded in Kandhamal and Gajapati districts. “Patrolling has been intensified ,” said DIG (southern range) Amitav Thakur. There is no deployment of extra forces for the bandh, he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Maoist-arms-dump-found-in-Kandhamal/articleshow/20546784.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Maoist-arms-dump-found-in-Kandhamal/articleshow/20546784.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Maoist-arms-dump-found-in-Kandhamal/articleshow/20546784.cms) Two Maoists arrested in joint operation by CRPF and police
Two Maoists were arrested during a joint search operation in insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh today. “Maoist cadres were nabbed from Marudbaka village under Awapalli police station area by a joint contingent of the district force and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),” a senior police official told PTI. Those arrested were identified as Gatpalli Narraiya (40) and Kunjam Lachhu (28), members of the Awapalli Jan Militia Group.
During a combing operation in the Awapalli region, the police patrol rounded them up on suspicion, the official said, adding they admitted involvement in the Maoist movement. Both were involved in several crimes, including arson and attempt to murder, the official added.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-maoists-arrested-in-joint-operation-by-crpf-and-police-113061100962_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-maoists-arrested-in-joint-operation-by-crpf-and-police-113061100962_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-maoists-arrested-in-joint-operation-by-crpf-and-police-113061100962_1.html) Red hurt in encounter nabbed
KORAPUT: An injured Maoist was arrested following an exchange of fire between special operations group (SOG) jawans and Red rebels in a forest in Rayagada district in the wee hours of Tuesday, a day before the Maoist bandh call. An operation was launched by the SOG following intelligence inputs that an extremist camp was functioning in Panchkudi forests. The securitymen spotted a group of rebels around 2 am. “There were around 20 Maoists. They flashed torchlight on our men and took positions to attack them. Though our men asked the Maoists to surrender, the rebels opened fire and security personnel retaliated. The exchange of fire continued for the next few minutes,” said SP (Rayagada) Rajesh Pandit.
He said Maoist leaders like Bunty and Indu of Kasipur-Niyamgiri division of the outlawed outfit were present during the gunfight. Unable to face the heavy firing, the rebels retreated, he added. After waiting for nearly two hours, the securitymen started searching the area around 4.30 am and arrested one rebel identified as Paraya Kutruka (34). He was lying at the spot with gunshot injuries on his leg and a loaded SBML gun in his hand.
Kutruka was admitted to district headquarters hospital of Rayagada and his condition is stated to be stable, said police. “We are yet to interrogate the injured Maoist,” the SP said. While the SOG team returned, a team of district voluntary force, operating in the area, busted an abandoned Maoist camp in the forest and recovered a 9 mm pistol, a landmine and a detonator, Maoist uniforms, medicines, two torches, polythene sheets and banners.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Red-hurt-in-encounter-nabbed/articleshow/20546913.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24566

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxals attack patrolling force, one jawan injured
Khallari (Dhamtari District, Chhattisgarh), June 5 (ANI): Naxals continue to target security forces. Recently, they attacked a patrolling team in the forests of Khallari in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. A jawan identified as Jeetendra Yadav was injured in the incident. Vijay Katre, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dhamtari, said: “At around 1.30 p.m., while the joint forces were patrolling in the Khallari forest, Naxals opened fire and a gunman was injured.
His condition is said to stable now.” The recent attack on security forces comes just few days after the gruesome Naxal attack on May 25 in Bastar district in which 28 people were killed, including state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, and a senior Congress leader and founder of Salwa Judum, Mahendra Karma. The Naxals are an internal security threat to the country and are responsible for human rights violations. At a recent summit on internal security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that Naxal violence has no place in a democracy. He also said that the government is ready to talk with the extremist group to find an amicable solution the problem. (ANI)
http://truthdive.com/2013/06/05/Naxals-attack-patrolling-force-one-jawan-injured.html

(http://truthdive.com/2013/06/05/Naxals-attack-patrolling-force-one-jawan-injured.html)
(http://truthdive.com/2013/06/05/Naxals-attack-patrolling-force-one-jawan-injured.html) Madhya Pradesh wants more money to fight Naxals
The State plans to include nine more districts for reimbursements of SRE At the conference of Chief Ministers on internal security, in New Delhi on Wednesday, Madhya Pradesh will reiterate its demand to include nine more of its districts for reimbursements of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) for Left Wing Extremist (LWE) districts. The scheme includes 103 districts in the country of which one district— Balaghat, bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra — is in Madhya Pradesh.
It was in this district that Likhiram Kawre, the then Transport Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, was assassinated by the erstwhile Communist Party of India (Marxist- Leninist)- People’s War in 1999. A 17-year-old alleged Maoist cadre, Garjan Singh, was arrested on Tuesday in Balaghat with two country-made firearms. Police sources claimed that Mr. Singh, a resident of Kauwa Behra in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon, was a member of a small action team of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army of the CPI (Maoist). Shivraj Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, accompanied by Chief Secretary R. Parasuram and DGP Nandan Dube, would be demanding that nine other districts — currently under the Integrated Action Plan for backward districts — also be included under the SRE scheme.
This includes six districts bordering Chhattisgarh and two bordering Maharashtra. In the eastern part of the State, these districts have large tribal population and forests. “We can prevent any Naxal activity from developing if we get funds now to modernise our police stations and equipment. We have intelligence that Maoists have surveyed the area. We have reports of Dalam [armed squad] movements in Singrauli, Sidhi, Mandla and Dindori districts. Rather than try and chase them later on, it is better we modernise now and take action,” Mr. Dube told The Hindu. He said so far the Maoists have not been able to recruit local tribal youth.
“They (the Maoists) offered them Rs. 3,000 a month, but there were no takers… They are more successful in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra because the forests are thicker there. Here they risk getting killed, which is a big setback,” he added. Last year, a woman Maoist was killed in a gun battle with the police in Balaghat’s Bamni forests. During the previous fiscal, more than Rs. 170 crore were released to the 103 LWE- affected districts. Balaghat got approximately Rs. 65 lakh. Madhya Pradesh is yet to frame a comprehensive rehabilitation policy for surrendered Naxals like Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Surendra Pandey, Additional DG (Anti Naxal Operations) said levels of violence were not the sole criteria to ask for these funds.
“This is preventive in nature. The government has sanctioned many additional posts, including those in the intelligence system to combat this menace. These funds will be used for special training and psychological operations (State propaganda),” he explained.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-wants-more-money-to-fight-naxals/article4782335.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-wants-more-money-to-fight-naxals/article4782335.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-wants-more-money-to-fight-naxals/article4782335.ece) Green panel gives nod to mine in the Naxal affected Saranda
Economic Times reported that the government’s efforts to counter Maoists not withstanding, a key environment ministry panel has been proactive in recommending that mining be allowed in the Naxal affected Saranda forests of Jharkhand. West Singbhum district, home to the Saranda forests, is among 26 districts identified by the central government as most highly Left wing extremism affected districts with 80% violence in the last 3 years. Tribal Affairs Minister Mr V Kishore Chandra Deo and Rural Development Minister Mr Jairam Ramesh have consistently argued that renewed mining activity in tribal lands would make it difficult to counter Naxal influence in the region.
For the fourth time this year, the statutory forest clearance panel, Forest Advisory Committee, has green signaled a mining project in the area, this time it is an iron ore for Rungta Mines. The forest panel has suggested that 99 hectares, of which 90 hectares is virgin forest, be diverted for iron ore mining. In January, the Forest Advisory Committee recommended the diversion of 1,500 hectares to allow JSW Steel and Jindal Power and Steel mine iron ore and manganese. A month later, the statutory panel advised the ministry to permit Sail to mine iron ore in 242 hectare of Saranda forests in the Jhillingburu division.
The panel’s recommendation to allow mining in some 1,800 hectares of forests presents a serious challenge to the government’s efforts to counter Maoist influence through basic developmental activity. The Saranda Development Plan, which is being spearheaded by Ramesh, attempts to dovetail para military action and development activities. The 855 square kilometer area of dense sal forest had been under Maoist control for more than a decade. Between 2000 and August 2011, the area was under the administrative control of the Maoists’ Kishan Karntikari Samiti and the Nari Mukti Sangh. During this period, the official Indian administrative machinery has been non existent. The core area of Saranda Forests is home to 56 villages with a tribal population of about 36,500.
http://www.steelguru.com/indian_news/Green_panel_gives_nod_to_mine_in_the_Naxal_affecte d_Saranda/314264.html

(http://www.steelguru.com/indian_news/Green_panel_gives_nod_to_mine_in_the_Naxal_affecte d_Saranda/314264.html)
(http://www.steelguru.com/indian_news/Green_panel_gives_nod_to_mine_in_the_Naxal_affecte d_Saranda/314264.html) Cops smell Red in scholars’ meet on Law College Road
Against the backdrop of recent Naxal attack in Sukma district, a meeting of around 70 scholars from Naxal-affected areas of the state on the premises of Lokayat Building on Law College Road in the last two days has raised the eyebrows of Maharashtra police and the central agencies. Acting on intelligence inputs, a team from Deccan Gymkhana police station, and officers of the State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the special branch visited the venue and attempted to ascertain what was being discussing in the meeting. However, a group of attendees objected to the cops’ presence and asked them to leave the premises claiming it to be a private meeting being held to discuss “wedding ceremonies”.
When Mirror spoke to Alka Joshi, a member of the Lokayat, she said the hall has been rented to All India Forum to Right to Education and that the participants had come from across the state to discuss privatisation of the schools and universities in the state. “It is not fair on the part of the police to term them as a meeting of Naxal sympathisers. We have submitted our objection to the Deccan Gymkhana police station. The police have unnecessarily conducted a video shooting of the gathering,” Joshi said. She added, “Initially, the police had come to enquire. On seeing a closed door meeting, they grew suspicious.
Things were further complicated as we refused to give the names of the participants.” Joshi denied that it was a Naxal related movement. “I have made it very clear to the police and other officers that it was not a meeting of Naxal sympathisers,” she added. While the cops termed the participants as Naxal sympathisers, the latter claimed that the police illegally attempted to barge into their meeting and threatened to shoot them. A special branch officer told Mirror that a detailed report has been prepared and sent it to the State government. Police claimed the meeting was attended by scholars from Naxal-affected areas like Nagpur, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Nanded and parts of Marathwada. According to the report, around 50 to 70 people, including women, attended the meeting and discussed the recent Naxal activities in the country, including the Chhattisgarh incident in which senior Congress leaders and 23 others were killed.
http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013060520130605004613418c1f71f18/Cops-smell-Red-in-scholars%E2%80%99-meet-on-Law-College-Road.html

(http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013060520130605004613418c1f71f18/Cops-smell-Red-in-scholars%E2%80%99-meet-on-Law-College-Road.html)
(http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013060520130605004613418c1f71f18/Cops-smell-Red-in-scholars%E2%80%99-meet-on-Law-College-Road.html) A hardcore Maoist was arrested on Tuesday night in naxal-hit Bihar’s Sheohar district, police said.
Acting on a tip off, a team of Pariyari police station raided a house in Auramalikana village of the district and nabbed Bharat Thakur, Superintendent of Police Himanshu Shankar Trivedi said. Thakur, self-styled commander of the banned outfit, has been active in the district and has participated in various incidents in Sheohar, the SP said.
http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/bihar-news/676530974/maoist-naxal-arrest-bihar-regional-news.html

(http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/bihar-news/676530974/maoist-naxal-arrest-bihar-regional-news.html)
(http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/bihar-news/676530974/maoist-naxal-arrest-bihar-regional-news.html) Universities in Hyderabad come under scanner
Hyderabad: Universities are again under the scanner for extremist links and for spreading radical ideology among students, especially those hailing from economically weak backgrounds. After the incidents of a former Hyderabad Central University student being arrested at Khammam for escorting a top Maoist’s wife and the recent plastering of posters at Osmania University urging Naxal- like war, authorities are alert. The OU campus is suspected to be a home for 8 to 10 Maoist sympathisers. Sources revealed that a few research scholars living in the OU hostels have been engaging in spreading extreme Leftist ideas on the campus.
However, no radical activities have been reported on the campus. Though they officially belong to a recognised student union, they operate unnamed, small secret unions. They are generally against any social cause taken up in the University, and stay away from developments. Going by history, in the year 1970, the Radical Students’ Union (which is banned now) used to have a very strong hold over the OU campus. In 1984, a few weapons were also found near Arts College. However, later the union was banned and other unions took over. In 2008, near Amrabad, Achampet mandal of Mahbubnagar district, five OU students, who were alleged to be Maoist sympathisers, were arrested, among them were one Jagan and Ramulu.
It is suspected that they are from the Radical Students’ Union. When contacted, P. Ashok, inspector, Osmania police station said, “In the light of the arrest of the ex-HCU student and the poster issue, a team of officials will keep a constant vigil on student activities on the campus and on students who are suspected to be sympathisers. So far, we have noticed activities linked to the Maoists in the OU area, and the pasting of posters by pseudo naxalites, who have already been arrested.”
14-day remand for former HCU student
Khammam: A court in Kothagudem on Tuesday sent a top woman Maoist leader and another extremist who were nabbed on Monday after a dramatic chase, to 14-day judicial custody. Kursu Mothibai, 40, alias Radha or Madhavi, who carried a Rs 5 lakh reward on her head, and Ankala Prithviraj alias Rambabu, 22, a fresh recruit of the Sukhdev dalam (team), were taken into custody near Paloncha in Khammam district on Monday.
Mothibai, who hails from Adilabad district, worked in several capacities of the Maoist ranks. In 1985, she joined Sirpur dalam and was elevated to Chennur commander before shifting to Indravelli dalam. In 1993, she married to Chandranna, zonal committee secretary of North Telangana. Later, she became the member of District Committee Cadre. She was also the divisional secretary for Dand-akaranyam forest area in South and West Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
Mothibai, whose education was minimal, was allegedly involved in 10 murders, 20 arsons and 15 encounters, according to police. Prithviraj, said to be dropout of Hyderabad Central University and a native of Vijayawada, has been allegedly working with Sukhdev dalam in Dandakaranyam forest. It is learnt that Prithviraj, who befriended a Ph.D. student Udayabhanu in Hyderabad Central University a couple of years ago, had been active earlier with Telangana Students Association and Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika. Inspired by Udaybhanu, he, along with More Ravi, joined the Sukhdev dalam in 2011
After meeting Chandranna early this year, they met Sukhdev in Cherla forest region. The police didn’t register a case against Dharmaraju, a railway employee, as they found that he had no Maoist links. However, he has been put under a bond for appearance in future by the police. Dharmaraju and Prithviraj had picked up Mothibai, who is said to be unwell, from Bhadrachalam and were going to Vijayawada for treatment, when the police intercepted them near Paloncha. The police also seized Rs 75,000 in cash from Pridhvi on Monday.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130605/news-current-affairs/article/universities-hyderabad-come-under-scanner

(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130605/news-current-affairs/article/universities-hyderabad-come-under-scanner)
(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130605/news-current-affairs/article/universities-hyderabad-come-under-scanner) Pregnant ‘Maoist sympathiser’ denied bail
A SEWREE fast track court Tuesday rejected radical musical group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activist Sheetal Sathe’s bail application. After being underground for over two years, Sathe (27), who is eight months pregnant, surfaced outside Mantralaya in April along with her husband Sachin Mali (27) and had courted arrest. They were declared absconding accused in a case registered in 2011 against 15 persons for their alleged role in supporting and funding Naxal activities in the state. Sathe and Mali are facing charges under several sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged involvement with the banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist).
While seven persons were arrested in 2010, Sathe, Mali and six others were declared absconding accused. Her lawyer Vijay Hiremath had moved the bail application on humanitarian grounds soon after her arrest. Sathe and Mali had gone underground in the wake of arrests of other KKM members in 2010. However, following their release on bail, the couple courted arrest. They were arrested on April 2 by Maharashtra ATS. A month later, two more KKM members courted arrest. “Sympathy for Maoist philosophy with a likelihood to indulge in various violent activities is not sufficient ground to conclude that the accused are presently active members of the terrorist organization,” the Bombay High Court had held while granting bail to four KKM members last year.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pregnant–maoist-sympathiser–denied-bail/1125083/ (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pregnant--maoist-sympathiser--denied-bail/1125083/)

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pregnant--maoist-sympathiser--denied-bail/1125083/)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pregnant--maoist-sympathiser--denied-bail/1125083/) Cops to trail Maoists in forests
The state police have launched a combing operation in the forest areas of Bejjur, Kotapally, Vemanpally and Sirpur and the banks of river Pranahita in this district in a bid to nab or kill Maoists, following intelligence reports that several of them are hiding there after their recent killing of several Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh. According to sources, the police are also conducting grama sabhas in the villages in the naxal-affected areas to persuade villagers not to support the desperadoes and also to gather information from them.
At the behest of the state home department, the district police recently submitted a report to the government stating that 26 top Maoist leaders were based in the district. Of them, 21 were presently operating in Chhattisgarh, one in Maharashtra and four in Andhra Pradesh.Different state governments have announced rewards totalling Rs. 2.3 cr for the capture or killing of these Maoist leaders. These include the Rs. 40-lakh reward announced by the Chhattisgarh government for the arrest or killing of Maoists’ Central committee regional secretary Katakam Sudershan, presently operating in that state, and the AP government’s reward of Rs 20 lakh for the arrest or killing of the state committee member of the outfit Shetwaji alias Sudhakar.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Cops-to-trail-Maoists-in-forests/2013/06/05/article1620564.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Cops-to-trail-Maoists-in-forests/2013/06/05/article1620564.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Cops-to-trail-Maoists-in-forests/2013/06/05/article1620564.ece) Balaghat: 17-year-old boy suspected to be a Naxalite arrested
A 17-year-old youth, suspected to be a naxalite, was on Wednesday detained here, police said. The youth was taken into custody from Sulsuli police station limit which falls on the border adjoining Chhattisgarh, police said. A gun was recovered from him, they added. The youth is a resident of Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district, police said, adding that preliminary investigation revealed that he had worked for the Korchi Dalam of naxalites.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/balaghat-17yearold-boy-suspected-to-be-a-naxalite-arrested/396440-3-235.html

(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/balaghat-17yearold-boy-suspected-to-be-a-naxalite-arrested/396440-3-235.html)
(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/balaghat-17yearold-boy-suspected-to-be-a-naxalite-arrested/396440-3-235.html) Maoist backers in Bengal poll fray
KOLKATA: Maoists who denounce politics are planning to field ‘sympathisers’ in the July panchayat elections in West Bengal’s Jangalmahal district, according to an intelligence source. The sympathisers will be fielded as independent candidates in certain pockets of Jangalmahal. If some of them win, they may try to work as per directives of the Maoists while carrying out ‘development work’. By getting well-wishers to contest the rural polls, Maoists plan to strengthen their base in pockets of Jangalmahal.
Recently, some key Maoist leaders from Jharkhand held a meeting at Kharagpur, in West Midnapore district, attended by sympathisers from the area. The source said that the meeting was to identify close supporters who may be ready to contest the local elections. Maoist sympathisers may contest in Baghmundi, Bandwan, Jhalda, Begunkodor and Ayodhaya Hills in Purulia district and Lalgarh, Salboni and Belpahari in West Midnapore district. In Bankura,
Maoists plan to field candidates at Barikul and other pockets. Based on intelligence inputs, the police of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura have urged the state to seal the borders with Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha to block Maoists entry before the local elections. Filing nominations for the first two rounds of rural polls, on July 2 and 6, have started. “We will know the details about independent candidates after the last dates for scrutiny and withdrawal of papers”, said a senior official of the state election commission.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-backers-in-bengal-poll-fray/articleshow/20435274.cms

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-backers-in-bengal-poll-fray/articleshow/20435274.cms)
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-backers-in-bengal-poll-fray/articleshow/20435274.cms) Push for crack anti-Maoist force
Guwahati, June 4: An Assam police task force, formed to study Maoist activities in the state, has recommended converting the commando battalion of the police into “a well-knit offensive unit” to counter the growing presence of Maoists in the state. It has also suggested setting up of border outposts on the lines of Andhra Pradesh. The state government had constituted the task force, headed by additional director-general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, last year. It had submitted its report — a copy of its summary is now available with The Telegraph — to the government earlier this year.
The task force, which has identified at least 170 Maoists in Assam, has recommended that the Assam police commando battalion be converted into an offensive unit called the Assam Police Commando Organisation which will control and use three of its specialised forces — Black Panthers, Assam Police Rangers and Veerangana, the all-women commando force. “All the three units will require specialised training which will have to be conducted in the commando organisation location itself. The Black Panthers will have to be groomed strictly on the lines of the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh,” the report says.
The Assam Police commando battalion was raised in 1996. Of its three units, the Black Panthers are a specialised force for jungle warfare and VIP security, the Assam Police Rangers are used in small team operations while the Veerangana, comprising about 100 women commandos, was raised last year to tackle crimes against women. Stressing the need to improve security arrangements to counter Maoists, the task force suggested that police stations and border outposts in the state should be constructed as in Andhra Pradesh.
“It includes an 8ft-high boundary wall that encloses a double-storey building with sentry posts (structures where security personnel stand) in the front and on top of the building. In the first phase, all the border outposts in the district borders of Assam and all the police outposts in Sadiya, Majuli and Jonai sub-divisions of Tinsukia, Jorhat and Dhemaji districts should be constructed on this model,” the report says. It also recommends review of government assistance schemes for police personnel facing life-threatening situations while on duty, including cash on extremist-induced deaths and motivational allowance for special operations units.
Assam offers Rs 5 lakh while Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan offer Rs 45 lakh in case of deaths. The state gives 15 per cent of the salary as motivational allowance to members of special operations units compared to 60 per cent by Andhra Pradesh and 50 per cent by both Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The task force has also recommended steps to ensure that Assam police have cross-border operational rights at least 10km inside neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, where Maoists have a presence.
The task force had identified eight districts — Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Kamrup and Goalpara — as Maoist-infested. The police later found growing Maoist activities in Cachar district in Barak Valley too. A parliamentary committee constituted by the Centre recently expressed concern over Maoist activities in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130605/jsp/frontpage/story_16972877.jsp

(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130605/jsp/frontpage/story_16972877.jsp)
(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130605/jsp/frontpage/story_16972877.jsp) Change in Maoist strategy makes life difficult for cops
KOLKATA: Tracking cellphone towers has been one of the most effective means to zero in on the Maoists so far. The use of phones has spelled doom for top-notch Maoist leaders like Kishenji and Azad. Realising that cellphones are turning out to be their Achilles’ heel, the rebels have now resorted to the ancient mode of communication – letters written in code words. The move has posed a major hurdle for the police since the cops are now finding it difficult to access the movement of the red brigade.
Though the security forces are not ready to divulge details of the words they have been successful in decoding, a top-level CIF ( Counter Insurgency Force) officer said the Maoist use words like ‘ilish maach’ (hisha fish) for human target and ‘trainer awaz’ (sound of the train) to indicate firing by the security forces. “The use ‘tiffin baksha’ (tiffin box) is used to hint at landmines and ‘dhulo’ (dust) to identify gunpowder.
After the death of Kishenji, the Maoists have become very cautious. They are not only lying low – avoiding any kind of interaction with the media – they are frequently changing their codes and strategy. ‘Ilish maach’ three months back meant ‘human target’. But now the same word might stand for something else. These frequent changes are not letting the security forces gather enough information on the rebels,” the officer said. “Initially, the letters seemed very irrelevant but gradually we came to understand that all the letters are written in code languages. We could decode some of them,” an officer involved in anti-Maoist operation said.
Speaking on the strategies adopted by the Maoists in recent times, he added: “They are evolving their tactics and every time they are coming out with surprise moves. It is really difficult to understand their tactics and by the time we get hold of any clue, they develop a new method.” When asked about recent position of the rebels in Bengal after the Chhattisgarh massacre, a senior officer said: “Undoubtedly, there are some movements in Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore but the movements are not that strong. In fact, they are more into building organisation than countering the state force now. They are trying to avoid any kind of confrontation unless they are forced to do so.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Change-in-Maoist-strategy-makes-life-difficult-for-cops/articleshow/20433517.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Change-in-Maoist-strategy-makes-life-difficult-for-cops/articleshow/20433517.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Change-in-Maoist-strategy-makes-life-difficult-for-cops/articleshow/20433517.cms) Naveen seeks additional forces to tackle Maoists
Noting that heavy deployment of security forces in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was driving Maoists to his state, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday demanded two additional CRPF battalions and a military chopper to “effectively” tackle the extremists. Referring to the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Mr. Patnaik said no direct or indirect interference in the state’s autonomy will be “tolerated” and federal rights should be “respected and protected.” Participating in a conference of chief ministers on internal security, Mr. Patnaik said heavy deployment of security forces across the border in Chhatisgarh was pushing Maoists into the state and two additional battalions should be provided to match the deployment in Nuapada, Baragarh and Balangir districts.
The Chief Minister also sought a dedicated M-17 helicopter to “add more precision to the ongoing anti-Maoist activities” in the state especially in southern and Western Odisha. Besides, he demanded a one-time assistance from the Centre for strengthening the security infrastructure in the western districts in view of the present level of Maoist build up in these places. “I would like to reiterate that Left Wing extremism poses a serious threat to the national security. The menace has to be crushed firmly to uphold the dignity of democracy and rule of law. My government is seriously working to deal with the problem and I hope that a combined effort will help in this endeavour,” he said.
The Odisha CM asked the Centre for early reimbursement under the security related expenditure scheme under which Rs. 135.41 crore has been spent between 2005-06 and 2011-12 in 19 earmarked districts. He also sought the Centre’s nod for fortification of police stations and outpost in the troubled areas along with the creation of a few new police stations as per requirement. While the Centre has sanctioned 70 new fortified police stations in the affected areas, the state government has created 76 new stations in 2009 covering all the extremist areas. Mr. Patnaik, who had earlier opposed the proposed NCTC, said though the Central government made “some changes suggested by us in the proposed NCTC, all the issues have still not been addressed.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naveen-seeks-additional-forces-to-tackle-maoists/article4784406.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24493

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Weak database on Maoists hampers NIA investigation
JAGDALPUR: A weak database of Chhattisgarh police on Maoist commanders in the area have stalled investigations of National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the May 25 ambush in which 30 persons, including three senior Congress leaders, were killed at JiramGhati. Sources said that NIA has sought fresh photos of key suspects, including Ramana alias Ramalu Srinivas, chief of CPI (Maoist) Dandakaranya special zonal committee, and Vinod, Ganpati, Jaganna and Savitri, but to no avail. They have got pictures of a few, but they are too old to be of any use, an official said. Ramana is known for his cruelty against paramilitary forces.
His predecessor Kosa, alias Katkam, alias Satyanarayan Rao, did not use violent methods. The trend of beheading and mutilating bodies of security personnel and suspected police informers by Maoists started after Ramana took charge. However, surrendered Maoists claim that he was not so cruel when he moved to Chhattisgarh from Andhra Pradesh in 80s. “Two of his brothers were shot dead by paramilitary forces some years ago and since then he became cruel,” an ex-rebel told TOI pleading anonymity. It was Ramana, who had led the April 2010 Tadmetla attack in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed.
When contacted, NIA officials admitted that they were facing problems because of a weak database. Other Maoists whom the federal agency is in search of are Gajarla Ravi (Ganesh), commander, who was made chief of Bastar in December 2012, and his brother Gajarla Ashok, alias Eiatu, the Maoist military commander of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli division and an expert in explosives. The officials also want the photo of Pankaj, alias Gaganna, and a female commander Savitri, who was in the forefront at Jiram Ghati ambush. Vinod, who carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh and is a close associate of Ramana, is also being tracked.
According to NIA sources, Ashok was given the responsibility of leading the ambush team. The only information that the local police have about Eiatu is that he had lost his three fingers while making a bomb a couple of years ago. His photo is not available. The NIA officials are now counting on local villagers – who allegedly witnessed the May 25 incident – to collect more and more information and explore the alleged sabotage theory. The officials are also looking for two government school teachers, who were allegedly held by the Maoists on May 25 for identification of the Congressmen in the convoy.
The officials have questioned more than 40 persons, including some of the survivors of the incident, besides putting hundreds of phone numbers under scanner. They are analysing the call details records (CDR) of those who were part of the Congress rally, sources said. Meanwhile, the agency has also released a press note stating that they have not submitted any report to the MHA on this attack so far countering some media reports.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Weak-database-on-Maoists-hampers-NIA-investigation/articleshow/20450572.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Weak-database-on-Maoists-hampers-NIA-investigation/articleshow/20450572.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Weak-database-on-Maoists-hampers-NIA-investigation/articleshow/20450572.cms) States agree to adopt Andhra-style anti Naxal policy; national policy soon
NEW DELHI: All nine states affected by Left-wing extremism have agreed to form a unified national policy to tackle the Maoist menace and follow the Andhra Pradesh model to counter them. The decision after a two-hour special session on Left-wing extremism at the chief ministers’ conference comes ahead of the all-party meeting called by the government next Monday to discuss the strategy to tackle Maoists, following the Darbha attack in Chhattisgarh that wiped out the state Congress leadership.
During the meeting, chief ministers of Chhattisgarh and Bihar, badly affected by Maosits, advocated diverse strategies to tackle the militants, exemplifying the challenges for the Centre to organise a coordinated offensive. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, speaking at the chief ministers’ conference in the capital, on Wednesday called for some hard decisions and a united national policy to treat Maoists as terrorists and fight a decisive battle. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, said the police alone could not fight the problem and said this was a superficial solution to a problem that had political dimensions.
At a special two-hour-long session with the chief ministers of all nine Maoist-affected states in the evening, the Centre decided to progressively enhance the deployment level of central forces in the worst-affected states and stressed on surgical operations to take out the top leadership of the CPI (Maoist). Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa agreed to be on board for a coordinated offensive with the central forces in the tri-junction of the Bastar jungles from where the senior Maoist leadership operates, an official told ET. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Reddy, whose police officers gave a presentation on how the state had successfully driven out the Maoists, cautioned that they anticipated the militants to stage a comeback in the state in case of any let-up in preparedness of the security forces.
“The possibility of Naxal armed action teams striking at individual targets cannot be ruled out,” Reddy said. The Bihar chief minister, however, maintained that a multi-dimensional strategy based on the theme of governance with justice was required. “We must work together to launch serious developmental schemes so that misdirected people can be brought back into the socio-economic mainstream,” Kumar said. His counterpart from Chhattisgarh, however, said it was a battle of democratic forces against the perpetrators of violence. “To call Naxals as defenders of rights of anyone in society would only be a cruel joke. The battles being fought in Sukma, Dantewada, Bastar and Narayanpur are not Chhattisgarh’s alone. We are fighting those whose ultimate aim is to capture Delhi and the Red Fort through power of the gun,” Singh said . Finance Minister P Chidambaram also told journalists later that the Centre’s policy remained two pronged – development and police action to handle Naxalism. “In Bastar, what development can you attempt if people can’t enter?” Chidambaram asked.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/states-agree-to-adopt-andhra-style-anti-naxal-policy-national-policy-soon/articleshow/20452672.cms

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/states-agree-to-adopt-andhra-style-anti-naxal-policy-national-policy-soon/articleshow/20452672.cms)
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/states-agree-to-adopt-andhra-style-anti-naxal-policy-national-policy-soon/articleshow/20452672.cms) States to adopt uniform approach to counter Maoist menace
NEW DELHI: With the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Centre and states to work together to deal with the “very grave threat” posed by Maoists, the CMs during the conference on internal security here on Wednesday vowed to use “all their might” to counter the Maoist insurgents through a “uniform approach” under a national policy. Consensus to adopt a national policy to deal with Naxalism is considered a major shift from the existing system, where every Maoist-affected state has its own way to deal with the problem. The states also agreed to adopt Andhra Pradesh-model of policing to deal with the Red Ultras.
Besides having a strong special force (Greyhounds), the state had over the years worked diligently to strengthen police stations in Naxal-affected districts. The Centre agreed to provide adequate fund to the states for improving the basic police infrastructure and fill the critical security gaps of over one lakh square kilometers in the affected states through recruitment, training and deployment. Setting the tone for the June 10 all-party meeting over the Maoist issue which is being convened in the backdrop of the last month’s Chhattisgarh killings to build a broader national consensus on the strategy to tackle the Naxalite challenge, the leaders also adopted a resolution during the conference showing complete unity in dealing with the Maoist menace.
Deliberations on strategy to deal with the problem also saw CMs of seven Naxal-affected states agreed to have a policy where the states can directly procure forest resources like tendu leaf through a minimum support price (MSP) mechanism so that such economic activity does not fall into the Maoists’ hands. “At present, these lucrative forest produce are being procured by private contractors who have to part their earnings with Maoists out of fear. Once states start procuring these products, it will help in blocking the ‘finance’ of Red Ultras,” said an official.
Addressing the CMs, the PM also showed urgency to develop a mechanism where both the Centre and states can work together. Admitting that the Chhattisgarh Naxal attack was a “setback” to the success story achieved by the government in tackling the Maoists, he said the time has come to view the challenges of terrorism, communal violence and left wing extremism in a holistic manner, rising above narrow, political and ideological divides.
“I think each one of us needs to be completely objective in our approach to these issues, acting in national interest rising above narrow political and ideological divides. I would appeal to all political parties and all sections of society to work together to find effective ways and means of meeting these grave challenges,” Singh said. Most of the chief ministers and lieutenant governors of Union Territories attended the Conference. West Bengal CM Mamata Bannerjee and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa were among the notable absentees.
There was a separate session for seven Naxal-affected states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra — to discuss the Maoists issue in the conference. Interestingly, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi too earlier during his speech pitched for including his state in all deliberations concerning Naxalism taking in view the urban plan of the CPI (Maoists) which include Golden Corridor of the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad industrial belt as one of its main targets.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/States-to-adopt-uniform-approach-to-counter-Maoist-menace/articleshow/20448512.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/States-to-adopt-uniform-approach-to-counter-Maoist-menace/articleshow/20448512.cms)

No stringent Act invoked against Maoist posters
The arrest of several Naxal suspects from the city in 2011 and appearance of posters carrying demands of CPI (Maoist) in the next two years, both times in March, have led investigators to believe the presence of a sleeper cell of the banned outfit in the city. Although investigators suspect that Maoists are focusing on Pune, no arrest has been made for putting up the posters. While no case was registered for putting up posters in 2012, in the 2013 case, police registered an offence under the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. CCTV footage from Patrakar Bhavan shows three young men arriving on a motorcycle and putting up posters on March 23, 2013.
Similar posters were found outside the district collectorate, some colleges, Shivajinagar court, Balgandharva auditorium and bus-stops. The posters carrying a picture of Bhagat Singh declared that Naxals had set apart “this saptah” (week) between March 23 and March 29 to remember ‘Comrade Bhagat Singh’. The posters also sought the rights of fellow “revolutionaries” lodged in jail. Last year, the CPI (Maoist) allegedly put up posters outside Patrakar Bhavan and other spots, calling for a bandh on March 23, 2012 and demanding unconditional release of “comrades Kobad Ghandy, Vijay, Vikram, Madanlal, Mahesh, Bhanu and Angela Sontakke”. Deputy Commissioner (special branch) M B Tambade said, “Last year, no offence was registered in the Maoist poster case. This year we got the offence registered.
And we can always invoke more stringent laws during the course of investigation.” Sources from intelligence agencies said Naxalism is a serious concern and so the case of Maoist posters in Pune cannot be taken lightly. Pune Police Commissioner Gulabrao Pol refused to comment on the matter.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-stringent-act-invoked-against-maoist-posters/1125724/

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-stringent-act-invoked-against-maoist-posters/1125724/)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-stringent-act-invoked-against-maoist-posters/1125724/) Maoists find Pune an important, opinion-making city: ATS
Last week, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde specifically mentioned Pune, while making a statement on how Maoists have turned their focus on urban centers. Investigators say Pune has been on their radar for quite a long time now. According to Amarnath Chandaliya, the founder of Pune-based Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), an alleged Naxal front for urban areas, Anuradha Ghandy, a senior CPI (Maoist) leader, told him that “Pune is an opinion-making city…Opinions formed in Pune are accepted all over Maharashtra…The views of intellectuals in Pune stand out…” Anuradha is top CPI (Maoist) leader Kobad Ghandy’s wife. She was mostly involved in Maoist propaganda in urban areas. She is also believed to be one of the founders of CPI(Maoist) in Maharashtra. She died on April 12, 2008. Her views on Pune, which Chandaliya claimed she discussed with him in 2007, describe how the Maoists came to recognise the importance of the city.
After the arrest of Angela Sontakke, the self-proclaimed general secretary of the Golden Corridor Committee of CPI(Maoist), and six others including KKM members in 2011, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) interrogated Chandaliya as a witness and recorded his statement. As per the statement, Chandaliya was introduced to Anuradha in 2007 by a Mumbai-based writer, Sudhir Dhawale, who was arrested by the Gondia police in 2010 on charges of sedition. At their meeting in Mumbai’s Ruia College, Anuradha had asked Chandaliya several questions regarding Pune. ‘Urban perspective’ of the Maoists
A document, “Urban perspective”, believed to have been released by the CPI(Maoist) a few years ago, describes urban areas as “centres of the enemy” and states that work in urban areas has special importance in revolutionary work. The document broadly describes three tasks while working in towns and cities. The first and the main task is to organise the working class, students and intellectuals among others to deal with the problems of women, Dalits, minorities and labourers, and mobilise them for their ‘revolutionary movement’. The second task is to form ‘united fronts’, which includes unifying the working class, building fronts against globalisation, religious fascism and repression. The third is military tasks or urban militia, which will initially complement rural armed struggle, like arranging logistic support, infiltrating enemy organisations and recruiting the urban youth for jungle warfare.
Pune-Ahmedabad corridor on target
The document suggests Maoist plans of “urban work” in the Pune-Ahmedabad corridor that covers other big cities and towns like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Surat and Vadodara. Maoists consider these areas to be more industrialised and urbanised, with a diversified working class who have migrated from different parts of the country. According to a senior intelligence officer, Maoists are losing their support-base in their usual domains and are looking towards the cities. They look at Pune in a special way because it is an educational and cultural hub, having a healthy ever-growing population of students and youngsters belonging to varied financial backgrounds.
Besides, there is also a considerable number of labourers in the city, along with big slum areas. Maoists target these sections of people and try to penetrate the intellectual groups, particularly those coming from poor and backward classes. They see them as “potential recruits” for spreading their movement in urban belts, the intelligence officer had said, adding that as per their intelligence inputs, Maoists were targeting the newly created urban areas like Sangli and Kolhapur. Investigation had revealed that CPI(Maoist) formed the golden corridor committee especially to work in the urban areas of western Maharashtra. Angela, who was arrested in April 2011, was operating from Pune.
As per the document, other urban centres on the Maoist radar are Delhi, being the national capital, Bangalore, the IT capital of country, Chennai, a major industrial hub in the south, the Coimbatore-Erode belt, Kolkata, a major urban centre in northeastern India, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and cities in central India and the Gangetic plain. On May 30, Sushilkumar Shinde said, “We are aware that Naxals have been using urban centres, and Pune has been one of their targets. They are trying to spread their presence in other cities. There have been reports regarding their strong presence in parts of Rajasthan.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-find-pune-an-important-opinionmaking-city-ats/1125723/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-find-pune-an-important-opinionmaking-city-ats/1125723/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-find-pune-an-important-opinionmaking-city-ats/1125723/0) Notes from the Bastar battlefield
The Maoists’ military formations can be effectively fought only by the deployment of special forces The attack in May on the convoy of a political party by the Maoists in Jeeram Ghaati, Bastar in Chhattisgarh should not be seen in isolation. It was an act of frustration on the part of the Maoists, aimed at reasserting their ideology against the democratic values of the country. The killing of 76 CRPF men in 2010 near Chintagufa, the hub of Naxal activities in Sukma district, was an indication of the Maoist strategy of entering a phase of mobile warfare.
Mostly, they are still fighting a guerilla war — a war that is sometimes won by the Maoists and at other times, by the security forces. In general, the government writ prevails in such areas and the security forces showcase their authority effectively. In most of the less and moderately affected areas, the Maoists have been pushed back and the police has been able to check their expansion into newer areas with the help of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).
Chhattisgarh’s special task force (STF) has played a prominent role, aided by its growing special intelligence branch (SIB). New police stations and security camps in affected areas have restored the people’s confidence in the state. But the situation in the so-called liberated zone of the Maoists is drastically different. Most of the Maad area and large swathes of Bijapur and Sukma fall into this category. They not only take advantage of the hilly and forested terrain in these areas, but also of the poor connectivity in terms of both roads and communication. The unemployed youth is mostly with them as jan militia, strategically positioned to warn them by providing information on the movement of security forces and engaging them in fire-fighting as the first and front layer, that is, the base force of the “People’s Liberation Guerilla Army” (PLGA), constituted by the then Maoist outfit, CPI (ML-PW) in December 2000, renamed to CPI (Maoist) in September 2004.
Those that don’t support them face their wrath in jan adalats. In such a hostile environment, intelligence outflow has a time lag. The guerilla dalams of smaller strength have now swelled to platoons and companies. Whereas the first military Maoist company was formed in the Maad area of Dandakaranya in 2004, after an attack on the armoury of the Koraput district in Orissa, the total number of military companies has increased to more than 10, including two in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, which is also part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. Though the Maoists’ janatana sarkars (people’s government) in “liberated zones” pay only lip-service to villagers to retain their support, their military formations unleash waves of terror at will.
They have now formed two military battalions, each with a strength of not less than 250 armed cadres. During the three month period of their tactical counter offensive campaign from March 15 to June 15, they converge at fewer locations to regroup in larger numbers, conspire and organise attacks on security forces and identified targets. These are the military formations fought by the police and the CAPF on a regular basis. The Centre and state governments have done reasonably well to strengthen the police. Whereas the state has increased the strength of each affected police station, raised the STF and SIB, and carved out new districts to improve administration, the Centre has liberally sanctioned new India Reserve Battalions and sent the CAPF to assist state forces.
Similarly, whereas the state government took the initiative to establish a counter-terrorism and jungle warfare school in Kanker district, the Centre provided financial assistance to set up counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism centres in Maoist-affected states, including four in Chhattisgarh, to strengthen training capabilities and infrastructure. Helicopters have been pressed into service for the evacuation of casualties. But the so-called liberated zones, where security forces are hardly present, are yet to be made motorable and penetrable for mobile connectivity. Perhaps a recently cleared proposal by the department of telecommunication to set up 2,199 mobile towers in Maoist-affected states will bring some relief to such areas.
However, special agencies are required to make roads with the help of committed security, as local contractors mostly run away with advance payment under the perceived threat to their lives. Other government departments also need to fill in the administrative vacuum in the state. Recently, a temporary camp was established by the security forces in the “liberated zone” of the Maoists near Chintagufa to counter their military battalion. Since the camp penetrated the Maoists’ stronghold in order to reassert the government’s writ and demystify the “liberated zone”, Maoists attacked it using high explosive “finned shells” and automatic weapons.
The security forces not only retaliated successfully, but also comforted the villagers by organising a medical camp and distributing daily necessities. While the state has made arrangements for PDS, villagers in interior areas have to travel long distances to access it. Medical facilities are a still distant dream. Drill machines hardly visit these areas to explore water. When the state government tries to reach out to these villagers, we learn that they have seen only Maoists and the security forces in their lives.
When they speak their mind, they aspire for development and not janatana sarkar. In response to a query on extortion by the Maoists, the local representative said that he could give them their share only when they allowed him to get some development work done in the village. The Maoists’ military formations can be effectively fought only through the deployment of special forces. The jan-militia needs to be de-engaged to destabilise the PLGA. Connectivity must be improved to increase the operational efficiency and mobility of the forces. It is a war-like situation now, and needs to be similarly dealt with.
The writer is an additional director general of police in Chhattisgarh
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/notes-from-the-bastar-battlefield/1125622/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/notes-from-the-bastar-battlefield/1125622/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/notes-from-the-bastar-battlefield/1125622/0) Maoist commander held
PATNA: Acting on a tip-off, Patna Police on Tuesday night arrested a CPI (Maoist) area commander, GopalPaswan, from village Daulatpur under Bhagwanganj police station area in Patna district. SSP Patna Manu Maharaj said, “Paswan was active in levy collection in the area. He had reached the area to hold a meeting with his associates regarding levy collection.” Paswan used to operate from Masaurhi area and was a major fund raiser for the Maoists. He told the cops that he was involved in blowing up the Morhar bridge in 2004 under Dhanarua police station area and also the Bada bridge under Bhagwanganj police station area. “He was accused in several cases of levy collection with Masaurhi and Dhanarua police stations in Patna district,” the SSP said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Maoist-commander-held/articleshow/20451426.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Maoist-commander-held/articleshow/20451426.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Maoist-commander-held/articleshow/20451426.cms) Arrested Maoist handed over to Bihar cops
DALTONGANJ: The district police handed over a Maoist leader Bhola Yadav (35) to the Nabinagar police in Bihar late on Tuesday. SP Narendra Kumar Singh said, “He was caught in Palamu’s Manukhaap near Kala Pahar on June 3. He had come to attend a marriage ceremony of a relative Mundrika Singh.” The SP added that Palamu police had been on the lookout for this Maoist and waited for the right time to nab him.
Dressed in plain clothes, the police acted with precision as any hurried activity on the occasion could have alerted the Maoist, who would have tried to escape. tnn SP Narendra said, “Our boys showed patience as no one wanted to create any hindrance in the marriage. They waited for the rituals to be over and for guests to have dinner before pouncing upon him.” The Maoist had been operative in Bihar’s Nabinagar, Khira and in Jharkhand Palamu’s Hussainabad sub division. He has several cases against him in Bihar and Jharkhand.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Arrested-Maoist-handed-over-to-Bihar-cops/articleshow/20450420.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Arrested-Maoist-handed-over-to-Bihar-cops/articleshow/20450420.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Arrested-Maoist-handed-over-to-Bihar-cops/articleshow/20450420.cms) Maoists latest threat to State: Gogoi
NEW DELHI, June 5 – The rising activities of Maoists in Assam has come as a latest threat for Assam Government, with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday warning that emerging Maoist movement, concentrated mainly in Upper Assam, might spread to Lower Assam and Barak Valley taking into its fold local militants. He sought clearance to convert Indian Reserve Battalions into a specialised strike force (Rapid Action Force) to take on the Maoists. Addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security, the Chief Minister indulged in some plain talking earning kudos from those in attendance.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram later told newsmen that the Chief Minister of Assam made a very useful speech. The Chief Minister lamented that when ULFA had targeted Congress-men in Assam there was no major hue and cry over political killings, as being witnessed now. The ULFA continues to profess a pan-Assam identity; other militant groups are ethnic-based and hence with only a local footprint. The emerging Maoist movement with strength mainly in Upper Assam, but presence in Lower Assam and Barak Valley could overshadow and even absorb all the localised militancy and attract those who were earlier drawn to ULFA, the Chief Minister cautioned.
“The Government of India has initiated consultation to include some of our districts in the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) that forms a major component of the joint counter-Maoist strategy. We reiterate the urgency needed in implementing the scheme in districts of Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Golaghat,” Gogoi appealed. “Also, effective anti-Maoist operations need specialist capabilities and we propose that one of the existing IR Battalions is upgraded to a Special IR battalion with an Engineer Company, as approved for other Maoist-affected states. It is only by proactive efforts that we can prevent the Maoists from spreading roots in this state.
Therefore, we propose that two existing IR Battalions are converted into RAF-type units organized, trained and equipped to be rapidly deployed.” Tarun Gogoi, significantly brought up the issue of sealing Indo-Bangladesh border. An important area of concern for Assam is the sealing of Indo-Bangladesh border. While the fencing and border road works in Assam have progressed significantly, there has been slow progress in other border States. Further intervention is necessary through infrastructure development and technological support to provide fool proof surveillance on the 45 km stretch of riverine areas in Assam on Indo-Bangladesh border, he said, seeking Centre’s assistance.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0613/at06

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24504

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Karnataka to Centre: Give more funds, arms to fight Naxals
Bengaluru: Karnataka wants the Centre to consider it Naxal-affected as it will help the state get more funds, arms and equipment to fight the Left wing ultras. Home minister, K.J. George who along with Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, participated in the National internal security meeting at New Delhi, had urged the Centre to admit that the Naxal problem existed in the state. On his return to Bengaluru, George said the state pitched for ‘Naxal-affected status’ as it would help Karnataka obtain more funds and facilities which could be allotted to the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF). Meanwhile, the state is planning moves to make the Naxalites join the mainstream.
The government has decided to provide special training to people in Naxal affected areas including imparting skills like tailoring and motor winding. This would prevent them from joining the Naxal movement, said George. Compared to Chhattisgarh and Orissa, Karnataka has not witnessed any major Naxal attack barring minor incidents in which the Maoists targeted informants and tortured them.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130607/news-current-affairs/article/karnataka-centre-give-more-funds-arms-fight-naxals
(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130607/news-current-affairs/article/karnataka-centre-give-more-funds-arms-fight-naxals) Forces to target top Naxal leaders
Alarmed over unabated Naxal violence, the Centre and the state governments have decided to go after the top leadership of CPI(Maoist) through intelligence based operations. The decision was taken at a special session of Chief Ministers of Naxal affected states held here yesterday in the wake of the May 25 bloodbath in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar that left 27 people, including Congress leaders, dead. Official sources said the meeting resolved that there was a need for continuous targeting of top leadership of the CPI(Maoist) through intelligence based operations by special forces along with inter-state coordination and uniformity in approach by all the Left Wing Extremism affected states.
It was suggested that the special forces also need to target the “military companies and platoons” of the CPI (Maoist) by developing specific intelligence regarding their location. Currently five top leaders of the CPI(Maoist) are at large. They are: Mupalla Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathy, Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj, Thippiri Tirupati alias Deoji, Balmuri Narayan Rao alias Prabhakar and Somji alias Sahdev. While Ganapathy is carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, Basavraj, Deoji and Prabhakar carry a reward of Rs 10 lakh each. Sahdev carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde presided the meeting in which chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar, Governor of Jharkhand and representatives of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal participated.
The meeting came to the conclusion that any state which fails to make a dent in the military capability of CPI(Maoist) will not be able to sustain developmental efforts and political mobilisation of the people in affected areas, the sources said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/forces-to-target-top-naxal-leaders-113060600998_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/forces-to-target-top-naxal-leaders-113060600998_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/forces-to-target-top-naxal-leaders-113060600998_1.html) Ex-CoBRAs, Greyhounds to train police
In order to combat against the ultras in the jungle warfare, the Naxal-affected states have agreed to use skills of former CoBRA and Greyhounds officials to train special state forces. A senior official on Thursday said that the proposal was discussed during the internal security meeting of the chief ministers held on Wednesday and the states concerned conveyed the agreement on the issue to the Centre.
“These officials will be re-employed and will get salary as per norms. The states agreed to meet the expenses of the trainer,” he said. However, the states raised concerns over Maoists’ firepower and the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to target roads and other public infrastructure. Chhattisgarh has demanded advance land mine detection units. The meeting also decided to neutralise top Naxal leaderships through a sustained and intelligence-backed joint-security operations. The states have agreed to share intelligence with each other to ensure that Maoist movement in the respective border areas could be tackled by the forces.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Ex-CoBRAs-Greyhounds-to-train-police/2013/06/07/article1623398.ece

(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Ex-CoBRAs-Greyhounds-to-train-police/2013/06/07/article1623398.ece)
(http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Ex-CoBRAs-Greyhounds-to-train-police/2013/06/07/article1623398.ece) States agree to take lead role in tackling Maoist menace
NEW DELHI: States seem to have agreed that the Maoist threat can be combated only with their police forces taking the lead in going after the top ultra leaders and choking the flow of money. The message was amplified with states on Wednesday agreeing to lead the fight against Naxals with the Centre in a supplementary role like ramping up forces’ strength along with other logistical support. So far, the Maoist central leadership – Mupalla Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathy, Nambala Keshav Rao, Thippiri Tirupati, Balmuri Narayan Rao and Somji — remain untraced, making it impossible for state agencies to track the ultras’ control structure.
The capacity of the Maoists to repeatedly stage outrages like the one in Chhattisgarh on May 25 has brought home the realization that militancy can be taken on only if the state police’s morale is high and its leadership able and willing. The lesson was enforced in Punjab during the Khalistan movement and more recently in Jammu & Kashmir where the state police has developed impressive intelligence-gathering capacity.
Though state forces in Naxalite-affected states have been successful in eliminating some top Maoist leaders, including Koteswar Rao alias Kishanji and Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, and arresting couple of others like Kobad Gandhy, Narayan Sanyal and Amitabh Bagchi, the rest operate with impunity. Neither the state police nor the central agencies have any clue of their whereabouts. The matter was discussed in a separate session during the conference on internal security on Wednesday when states resolved to jointly fight against Red ultras with the Centre filling a critical gap in terms of manpower, materials and fund.
States’ consent to “take control of operations” marked a major shift from the existing practice where the state police largely depend on central forces for such actions. Besides, the state police, at present, go after top Maoists only if they are suspected to be in that particular state. There is hardly any coordination for inter-state operations. Realizing the impact of the absence of a national policy, the states felt the need for a uniform approach that aims at eliminating the Maoist top leadership through sustained operations and disrupting the ultras’ financial base by accessing tendu leaf directly through a minimum support price (MSP) mechanism.
At present, the lucrative forest produce is procured by contractors who share it with Maoists. Under the national policy, the states will strengthen police stations and intelligence gathering mechanism in Naxalite-affected districts with the help of central fund. “The Centre will continue to provide paramilitary forces, but states will have to set up police stations, recruit police personnel from Maoists’ zones and develop basic intelligence network like what Andhra Pradesh has successfully done over the past few years. The police station will become the hub of counter-insurgency efforts”, said an official, adding it will take two to three years to complete the task.
During discussion over the issue, CMs agreed that this is a battle that can only be won if the state police provides leadership and takes control of operations under a “national policy”. The central forces, because of their very nature, can only play a supporting role. This lesson is evident from the success of state police forces in Punjab, J&K, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh. Sources said that the government will try to get political approval of the policy in June 10 all-party meeting which is being convened in the backdrop of last month’s Chhattisgarh incident that left 27 people, including Congress leaders, dead.
The special session on Wednesday, presided over by the home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and attended by CMs of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar, also resolved that political mobilization by mainstream political parties is necessary to wean local populations away from the Maoists’ influence and such political activity has to be encouraged by all the state governments.
It was noted during discussion that there is a need for uniformity in approach by all the Maoist-affected states if success has to be achieved in eradicating the Naxalite problem. “The strategy and tactics required for this is by and large based on the lessons we learn from each other. Hence, any state with a completely different strategy is bound to face serious problems in the long-term,” the meeting resolved, while pitching for a national policy.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/States-agree-to-take-lead-role-in-tackling-Maoist-menace/articleshow/20466309.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/States-agree-to-take-lead-role-in-tackling-Maoist-menace/articleshow/20466309.cms)
‘Maoists May Attack Political Leaders in Jangalmahal’
There is a “high probability” of political leaders coming under a Chhatisgarh-type attack during their panchayat poll campaign in Maoist-hit Jangalmahal in West Bengal, intelligence sources here have indicated. The Maoists have been trying hard to regroup in the area, once the hotbed of their activity, ever since their leader Kishenji died in an encounter with joint forces in 2011 and arrest of several top leaders. The intelligence sources said the extremists would probably try to strike big in the area, which comprises three districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, to make their presence felt.
“The Maoists are trying to regroup in Jangalmahal for the last few months but till now they haven’t tasted success. There is a high probability that Maoists might try to attack political leaders campaigning in Jangalmahal. But we are keeping a close watch,” a senior official of the State Intelligence bureau (SIB) told PTI wishing to remain anonymous. The SIB official’s warning came days after the Union Home Ministry instructed the state government to beef up security in areas with Maoist presence and review of security of political leaders following the massacre of Congress leaders in Chattisgarh last month.
The state government had also appointed Virendra, Director of the Chief Minister’s security, as a nodal officer in this regard. According to sources, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Trinamool Congress leaders Mukul Roy, Suvendu Adhikary and other leaders of TMC and CPI(M) are on the hit-list of Maoists. The ultras had in 2008 unsuccessfully made an attempt on the life of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Jangalmahal, which had witnessed killings, kidnappings, encounters and sabotage of trains since 2008, passed a relatively peaceful year in 2012 after the death of Kishenji and surrender of leaders like dreaded Jagori Baske.
A senior official of the SIB had told PTI earlier that the squads of Maoist leaders Bikash at Lalgarh in West Midnapore district, Ranjit in Ayodha hills of Purulia district, and others like Madan Mahato, Akash, and Jayanto were trying to regroup. According to SIB sources, although the Maoists in Jangalmahal are not in an organisational position to strike on their own, they might import cadres from Jharkhand and Orissa to carry out such attacks. The views of the SIB official was endorsed by IG western range S N Gupta, who said, “There is a perception of threat to top political leaders in West Bengal visiting the area. We are coordinating with the joint forces and are on high alert,” Gupta told PTI.
Former Naxalite Vervara Rao also harbours the same opinion, saying the ultras in Jangalmahal still have the will to strike in a big way to make their presence felt. The political parties, however, left it to the state government to provide adequate security to avert any attack similar to the ambush in Chhatisgarh. Refusing to desist from campaigning in the area, political parties underlined the importance of political activity as well as development activity to stem the Maoists from recovering ground. “I have been on the Maoist radar for a long time. But that doesn’t mean that I will leave political activity or stop visiting the area. I visit there regularly. Increased political activity by mainstream parties is the best way to alienate them,”
Trinamoool Congress MP Suvendu Adhikari said. Suvendu was provided the ‘Z’ category security cover following Maoist threat. Opposition parties like the Congress and CPI(M) felt that it was the duty of the state government to provide proper security to the political leaders irrespective of political colours. “We will demand a proper security cover from the government when we visit Jangalmahal for Panchayat poll campaign. It is its duty to provide it. But even if they don’t provide it, we will visit the areas for campaigning,” State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharjee said. CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim spoke in a similar vein, saying, “It is the state’s prerogative and duty to provide proper security to political leaders when they visit such troubled areas. However, laxity on the part of the state won’t stop us from campaigning.
http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=800144

(http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=800144)
(http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=800144) Maoist who stitched belly bomb held in Bihar
A member of the Bihar Jharkhand North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee of the CPI (Maoists), arrested in a joint operation by the Jharkhand and Bihar police on May 29 from a hotel in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, has confessed to his role in stitching a bomb inside the body of a Central Reserve Police Force jawan, who was killed in an encounter with Maoists at Katiya village in Jharkhand’s Latehar district on January 7, police said. Anup Thakur alias Subhash Thakur alias Tarun, a member of the Military Commission of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) admitted to have undergone training for this job with the Maoist cadre from Andhra Pradesh, said police sources.
The Military Commission, which was led by Arvind ji at the time of the encounter, aimed to target helicopters used for lifting injured CRPF jawans’ bodies. Thakur is alleged to have made the confession to a team of the Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh police that interrogated him in Jharkhand. Eleven security personnel were killed in the two day-encounter between the PLGA and the CRPF. The bodies of four policemen were retrieved two days later.
Four villagers, including a minor, were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off when they lifted the body of Baijnath Kisku of the CRPF’s 112 Battalion on January 9 on the police’s instructions. Two days later, an IED, consisting of gelatin sticks, a detonator and a battery in a container, was found inside the body of the other jawan, Babulal Patel, and defused. While doing autopsy in Ranchi, doctors noticed fresh stitches on Patel’s abdomen and alerted the police.
Thakur was brought back to Latehar from Muzaffarpur. “Based on information extracted from Thakur, we recovered two .303 rifles, two locally made rifles,two Under Barrel Grenade Launcher and 110 bullets from the Pathki forest in Manika,” said Latehar Superintendent of Police Michael S. Raj. Thakur also confessed to his role in 24 incidents of Maoist violence.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoist-who-stitched-belly-bomb-held-in-bihar/article4788749.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoist-who-stitched-belly-bomb-held-in-bihar/article4788749.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoist-who-stitched-belly-bomb-held-in-bihar/article4788749.ece) With Maoist support, villagers not ready to vacate STR
Relocation of villages and settlements from the core area of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) has proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the administration as Maoists are believed to have instigated the villagers against the move. As many as 146 families living in three villages and two settlements are yet to be relocated from STR’s critical area in view of opposition from the inhabitants. One of the villages, Jamuna, has proved to be a tough case as Maoists have penetrated the village and provoked the locals against relocation. The matter came up for discussion at a meeting chaired by Forest and Environment Minister Bijoyshree Routray.
The meeting was attended by Chief Wildlife Warden JD Sharma. Director, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) of Baripada apart from local DFOs were also present. Although the Minister said all attempts are being made for relocation of the villages and settlements, moving the residents of Jamuna has posed a challenge for the STR management and Mayurbhanj district administration. While some of the inhabitants are ready to shift, the rest are in the clutches of the Red rebels. The Minister asked the park management to try and shift the willing villagers first.
The situation in Bakua village is equally tough for the administration as the villagers have resisted even survey teams from entering their area. Since the village is located on the periphery, it is second on the priority list. The case of Kabatghai is much simpler though. All the villagers have agreed to shift to Arjunvilla, the meeting was told. Besides the three villages, relocation of two settlements at Upper Barahkamuda and Bahaghar also came up during the discussion. These settlements are in the inviolate areas of the tiger park.
newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/With-Maoist-support-villagers-not-ready-to-vacate-STR/2013/06/07/article1623838.ece (http://www.signalfire.org/newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/With-Maoist-support-villagers-not-ready-to-vacate-STR/2013/06/07/article1623838.ece)

(http://www.signalfire.org/newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/With-Maoist-support-villagers-not-ready-to-vacate-STR/2013/06/07/article1623838.ece)
(http://www.signalfire.org/newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/With-Maoist-support-villagers-not-ready-to-vacate-STR/2013/06/07/article1623838.ece) Forces beat up panchayat secretary
RAIPUR: Security forces allegedly beat up a panchayat secretary, leaving him seriously injured on Thursday near Darbha in tribal Bastar district, where the Maoists had ambushed a motorcade of opposition Congress killing more than two dozen people on May 25. Sonuram Kashyap, the secretary of village panchayat Sirmur, and two others were on their way to panchayat office on Thursday morning when a group of security personnel stopped them to find out why they were roaming around the area.
Kashyap, who is now admitted in the MPN hospital at Jagdalpur, told reporters that the security personnel had beaten him up without any provocation, despite explaining that he was on his way to Sirmur panchayat office. He said he would lodge a formal complaint with the police against the security personnel for assaulting him. After the Maoist ambush near Darbha, in which senior Congress leaders were killed, security forces have stepped up patrolling and combing operations in the entire region.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Forces-beat-up-panchayat-secretary/articleshow/20469590.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24525

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxal commander killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh
A naxal commander, who was carrying a reward of Rs 2.10 lakh on his head, was killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security personnel in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh this afternoon, police said. “The face-off between the naxals and joint contingent of district police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) took place in the forests of Bukmarka Pahadi area under Manpur police station limits (over 100 kms from Rajnandgaon town) today afternoon,” Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Shukla told PTI.
“The killed naxalite has been identified as Udham Singh, Commander of Mohla LOS (Local Operating Squad) and secretary of Mohla Manpur area committee of Maoists,” the SP said, adding, he was carrying a reward of Rs 2.10 lakh on his head. According to the officer, the patrol party was on a combing operation from the last few days in the border region of Chhattisagarh and Maharashtra. In the afternoon, on seeing the patrol party in Bukmarka Pahadi, ultras started firing indiscriminately at them.
The search party retaliated and in the ensuing gunfight that lasted for nearly two hours the naxal commander was killed, the SP said. “Two more naxals had received bullet injuries, but owing to the heavy rains, the ultras managed to take them to the core forest region. However, the commander’s body was recovered,” the SP said. Police also recovered one SLR, one Insas rifle, two 12 bore guns, one 315 bore katta (country-made pistol), live cartridges of SLR and other rifles and a couple of detonators, the SP said.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/337462/naxal-commander-killed-encounter-chhattisgarh.html

(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/337462/naxal-commander-killed-encounter-chhattisgarh.html)
(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/337462/naxal-commander-killed-encounter-chhattisgarh.html) Two Naxals held in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh
Two Naxals have been arrested in the Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said today. ‘Militia commander’ Chaitu Ghawde and Sonu Lohar, the arrested ultras, were members of ‘Jan militia’ of Maoists, according to the police. A contingent of district police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) nabbed the two in the jungle within limits of Madanwada police station, a restive area, late last evening, a senior police official told PTI over phone.
Both were active in the Naxal movement since 2007 and involved in cases of loot, arson and murder in the area, the official said. Two muzzle-loading guns were also seized from their possession.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-naxals-held-in-rajnandgaon-district-of-chhattisgarh-113060800498_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-naxals-held-in-rajnandgaon-district-of-chhattisgarh-113060800498_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/two-naxals-held-in-rajnandgaon-district-of-chhattisgarh-113060800498_1.html) CRPF troops busted Maoists camp, seize literature in Odisha
Nuapada (Odisha): CRPF troops on Saturday busted a Maoist camp and seized tiffin box bomb, literature, posters, books and some detonators in Odisha’s Nuapada district, official sources said. The temporary Maoist camp was spotted during intensive combing operation by CRPF personnel at Komna area during the week, CRPF Commandant Ram Singh said. The camp was destroyed during the combing operation at Patpani village on Nuapada-Bolangir border during the week and was later extended to Kushapali area, he said.
Besides some detonators and a tiffin bomb, Maoist uniforms, food, literature, posters, books and leaflets were seized from the site, he said. However, no ultra was nabbed as they are suspected to have fled on getting information about the movement of the security forces, the sources added.
http://www.odishatoday.com/viewnews.php?news_id=4569
(http://www.odishatoday.com/viewnews.php?news_id=4569)

Maoist wanted in attack on BSF personnel arrested
MEDININAGAR: Two Maoists, including the rebel who allegedly attacked a BSF team in 2005, were arrested at separate places in Palamau and Ranchi districts of the state, police said today. “Area commander Boleshwar sub-zone committee Dukhi Sao alias Jagirji was arrested last night at Panki Bazar in Palamau,” Superintendent of Police N K Singh said here. He said Sao was wanted in the attack on a team of personnel of Border Security Force.
A BSF jawan had been killed and two others were injured in Palamau district eight years ago in an encounter. Sao was also wanted in 12 other cases of murder, abduction and landmine blasts, the police officer said. In a separate raid by Palamau district police last night, Lalan Singh was arrested from Khalari in Ranchi district, the SP said, adding, he was wanted in at least four cases.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-wanted-in-attack-on-bsf-personnel-arrested/articleshow/20492733.cms

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-wanted-in-attack-on-bsf-personnel-arrested/articleshow/20492733.cms)
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoist-wanted-in-attack-on-bsf-personnel-arrested/articleshow/20492733.cms) MHA denies Maoist-hit tag to state, Gogoi upset
GUWAHATI: The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has refused to tag the state as Maoist-hit despite the repeated pleas of the state government for assistance to check the spread of Maoists here. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has warned the Centre that state has a history of armed struggle and, so, it is vulnerable to the Maoists. The menace should be dealt with right now, added Gogoi. “The Centre thinks Maoists are not yet a problem in the state but my argument is that why can’t we nip it in the bud so that we don’t have to toil hard later to curb the menace,” the CM told TOI.
The negative response from the MHA has come as a huge setback to the state government. The state has been making several formal requests to the Centre to implement its Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Maoist-hit districts in the state as well. According to the state government, four districts – Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Golaghat – have Maoist presence and qualify for implementation of the IAP.
Several Maoist cadres, including some central committee members, have been killed in police encounters and some have been arrested. According the state police there are about 150 enrolled Maoists cadres in the state and they have also started building their weaponry. In the Prime Minister and home minister’s conference with all chief ministers of the country on internal security held in New Delhi on Wednesday, Gogoi reiterated the urgency of implementing the Integrated Action Plan, which forms a major component of the joint counter-Maoist strategy, in Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Golaghat districts.
“We have a history of several armed struggles, right from the days of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI). We are sitting on a tinderbox and at this juncture we cannot allow the Maoists to grow,” Gogoi said. He feels the numerous riverine islands that dot the Brahmaputra right till Bangladesh, where the river flows into from Dhubri district, are vulnerable to the Reds. “If they (Maoists) make inroads into these riverine islands, then it will be a difficult task to flush them out. Governing and policing the dispersed and innumerable river islands called chars and chaporis will be as difficult as the dense forests of Abujhmad region in Chattisgarh and Saranda in Jharkhand if the Maoists succeed in establishing a foothold there,” Gogoi said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/MHA-denies-Maoist-hit-tag-to-state-Gogoi-upset/articleshow/20487074.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/MHA-denies-Maoist-hit-tag-to-state-Gogoi-upset/articleshow/20487074.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/MHA-denies-Maoist-hit-tag-to-state-Gogoi-upset/articleshow/20487074.cms) Home Ministry rejects DoT plans to track maoists through satellite
KOLKATA: The home ministry has dismissed a telecom department (DoT) proposal to provide satellite-based communications to beef up surveillance in India’s Maoist hotbeds, calling it an unviable “high-cost option” . Instead, it has asked the USOF administrator to expeditiously modify the Indian Telegraph Act (Amendment Rules) to award the contract to BSNL on a”nomination basis” to roll out GSM networks in these troubled regions, waiving the requirement of an open bidding process”.
The USOF, which subsidises telecom infrastructure in rural India and also supports the development of new products and services to improve broadband connectivity, is made up of funds from all telecom operators . “The home ministry is averse to deploying satellite communications technology in regions identified as Maoist hotbeds as it sees it as a short-term , expensive solution. It has advised the USOF to take the necessary legal steps to amend the Indian Telegraph Act to mandate BSNL to roll out GSM networks in these regions, bypassing the open bidding process,” said a senior DoT official.
Post-amendment of the Indian Telegraph Act, BSNL will be eligible to receive USOF subsidy “on an actual basis for opex and capex costs incurred” since the project involves providing mobile connectivity in regions facing security challenges and low revenues. Since the Union Cabinet has approved the mobile rollout in these maoist pockets, the USOF will shortly approach the law ministry to amend the Act.
The amendment is needed since under current the rules any contract for a USOF-subsidised telecom venture can be only awarded to telcos that participate in a bidding process since all mobile phone companies contribute 5% of their annual revenue to the USOF corpus. But the home ministry is averse to involving private telecom operators in this high-security mobile venture. In fact, it has rejected a recent Planning Commission proposal of initially inviting bids from private mobile phone companies, stressing that “this project must be awarded to a state-run telco on national security grounds” . The ministry wants BSNL to extend mobile coverage in 2,199 locations across Andhra Pradesh , Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand , Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra , MP, West Bengal, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh that have been identified “as prone to left wing extremism”. According to a detailed feasibility report submitted by BSNL to DoT, the project cost is estimated at Rs 5,806.7 crore.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/home-ministry-rejects-dot-plans-to-track-maoists-through-satellite/articleshow/20489847.cms
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/home-ministry-rejects-dot-plans-to-track-maoists-through-satellite/articleshow/20489847.cms)

Maoists in poll strategy shift, field candidates
KOLKATA: The Maoists have decided to field sympathizers as independent candidates in the forthcoming panchayat polls, in a significant shift from their earlier stance of not taking part in electoral politics. Sources said that the Maoists’ strategy shift was necessitated by their effort to penetrate the local-level administrative bodies so that they could become a part of policy-making. According to intelligence reports, some individuals once considered “close” to the Maoists but who never got directly involved with the movement might contest the panchayat polls. According to the reports, there are at least seven blocks in West Midnapore — including Nayagram, Gopiballavpur, Sankrail, Jhargram, Jamboni and Binpur — where there is a strong possibility of Maoist sympathizers contesting as independent candidates.
Police have also identified four blocks in Purulia — Jhalda I and II, Joypur and Raghunathpur-I — and six blocks in Bankura — Sarenga, Ranibandh, Simlipal, Bandwan, Balarampur and Bagmundi — where the ultras might field sympathizers. Significantly, the number of independent candidates in these three districts is considerably high. There are 843 independent candidates in 3,846 gram panchayats and 152 independent candidates in 798 panchayat samitis in West Midnapore; 681 independent candidates in 1,944 gram panchayats and 137 independent candidates in 446 panchayat samitis in Purulia; and 498 independent candidates in 1,944 gram panchayats and 137 independent candidates in 446 panchayat samitis in Bankura. Apart from that, the Maoists are also trying to field candidates in Birbhum,
Hooghly, North and South 24-Parganas, the report mentions. To escape the scanner of the security forces, the rebels have avoided using banners of frontal organizations such as People’s Committee against Police Atrocities or Durniti O Samrajyabadi Agrashan Birodhi Ganatantrik Mancha. While these outfits are expected to provide outside support, this time they are mostly banking on the individual acceptability of the candidates. According to a senior police officer, the Maoists are mainly concentrating on gram panchayats and panchayat samitis because these two tiers are responsible for taking decisions as far as local issues are concerned.
“Surprisingly enough, they are not interested in contesting in the zilla parishad,” the officer said. “We had reports a month back that Maoists are trying to put up independent candidates. We are keeping strict vigil since nominations are going on. Such candidates will definitely be identified,” said Sumit Kumar, additional police superintendent of Jhargram. But senior police officers are not sure whether, even if identified, the administration can do anything. “During the Lalgarh movement, there were lots of people who had the Maoists’ tacit support. There were many who not only gave them moral support but also helped them indirectly. It is very hard to identify them,” a senior cop said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-in-poll-strategy-shift-field-candidates/articleshow/20485047.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24533

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Arms found in well behind Gadchiroli police headquarters
NAGPUR/GADCHIROLI: In a puzzling development, a cache of arms and ammunition has been found in an abandoned 30-feet well barely 200m behind the police headquarters in Gadchiroli. The security agencies deployed in the Naxal-infected district suspect an insider’s hand but are not completely sure yet. The cops have recovered 513 live cartridges of 9mm pistol, 7.62mm self-loading rifles, AKM, INSAS and .303 rifles.
Other material includes two 40mm under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), two live grenades, 48 project para-cell (night flares), 78 spent cartridges, a 7.62mm SLR magazine, a walkie-talkie battery, a 51mm mortar HE bomb case, a detonator box and other ammunitions. It was a lucky discovery for the cops. A dispute over the land between two brothers, one of whom is involved in Anti-Naxal Operations as part of the C-60 commandos, resulted in an expert being called to survey the land.
The well is not completely visible from the police HQ as it is screened by a weir in a pond. One of the brothers first spotted some ammunition lying outside the well which had about 6 feet of water. He immediately alerted the police HQ. Senior officers reached the spot and decided to drain out the water. The discovery left everyone stunned. Gadchiroli SP Mohammed Suwez Haque said that the mystery would be cracked soon.
“We have a fair idea on who could be behind the incident. Police experts are examining the arms and ammunition to ascertain their origin,” he said. TOI learns that the arms and ammunition of the district police, which is forever engaged in battles with the Naxals, are kept at secret locations in Gadchiroli town, from where they are distributed. However, senior officials also feel that the possibility of Naxals or some of their conduits hiding the arms and ammunitions for future use cannot be ruled out. Police are also probing if someone from the department had tried to smuggle the arms to help the Naxals.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Arms-found-in-well-behind-Gadchiroli-police-headquarters/articleshow/20499347.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Arms-found-in-well-behind-Gadchiroli-police-headquarters/articleshow/20499347.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Arms-found-in-well-behind-Gadchiroli-police-headquarters/articleshow/20499347.cms) Maoists blame surrendered leader for Kishenji’s death
An “internal inquiry commission” of the CPI (Maoist) has blamed Suchitra Mahato, once a dreaded underground leader, for the death of politburo member Kishenji in an alleged encounter in Junglemahal in November 2011. Four months after Kishenji’s death, Mahato surrendered before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Writers Buildings in March 2012. Branding her as a “traitor”, the CPI (Maoist) central committee has approved “retaliation” against those involved in the “conspiracy”, saying they will be “punished when the time comes”. The “inquiry commission” has said Mahato, who was believed to be with Kishenji during his last few days, lured him into a trap laid by security forces.
The “internal inquiry” has also identified the chief minister as “one of the chief conspirators”, and warned that she will not be “spared”. Significantly, a day after the attack on the Congress rally in Chhattisgarh recently, Banerjee had said, “If I die, there are people to take the Trinamool Congress ahead. I have a hand-picked team of about 90 people who will take the party forward.” Her comment was believed to have been provoked by the security threat. Her security has since been stepped up. Top Maoist sources told The Sunday Express that senior leaders inquired into the circumstances surrounding Kishenji’s death.
About a month before the alleged encounter, the CPI (Maoist) central committee reportedly lost communication with Kishenji, and received reports that he was in “touch” with the political leadership of Junglemahal and was working towards a “truce” with the government. According to the “inquiry report”, Kishenji was killed by security forces after he was “trapped by the state government, using some of the senior Maoist leaders”. The inquiry reportedly found that Mahato had persuaded Kishenji to move to the Binpur area in Junglemahal, where he was eventually killed. Moreover, in the last fortnight or so before he was killed, while Kishenji reportedly kept his phones switched off fearing that the security forces would track his movements, Mahato, who was accompanying Kishenji, had kept her cellphone on, says the report.
The report also has a reference to the Naxalbari movement, during which Deepak Biswas, a close associate of Naxal leader Charu Majumdar, was identified as a “traitor” after the latter’s arrest in 1972. Biswas was later murdered in Siliguri. While Mahato is reported to be living in a “safe house” provided by the government, Maoist sources said, “Police claim she is in a transit camp in the police headquarters in West Midnapore district. But we know where she is.” While 32 of the 40 Maoists who have surrendered so far have been inducted as homeguards, Mahato is not among them.
“Mahato runs a very high security threat, that is why the government needs to protect her the most. After a recent intelligence report, we have stepped up her security,” said a senior police official. “All the surrendered Maoists run security threats. But the threat perception varies from case to case. The risk is minimum for those who were inducted as homeguards. But there are some senior leaders who are high risk, and the government is doing everything to protect them,” said Siddhinath Gupta, IG, Western Range. Silda to Sankrail, named in 20 cases SUCHITRA Mahato has more than 20 cases against her, including murder, sedition and arson.
She is said to have led the 2009 operation in which the Sankrail police station in-charge was abducted, and two policemen were killed. She was also named in the Silda case in which 25 EFR personnel were killed in 2010. While she was earlier married to Maoist leader Sashadhar Mahato, she later married Prabir Garai, with whom she surrendered.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-blame-surrendered-leader-for-kishenjis-death/1126908/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-blame-surrendered-leader-for-kishenjis-death/1126908/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-blame-surrendered-leader-for-kishenjis-death/1126908/0) Guwahati Central Jail: Alert after Maoist’s escape bid
GUWAHATI, June 8 – An alert has been sounded in all prisons, particularly those housing Maoist cadres in the State, after an escape bid by a hardcore Maoist leader last evening in the Guwahati Central Jail was foiled and incriminating documents were recovered from inside the jail premises. Ajay Chandra, the Maoist leader, headed the rebel outfit in Assam prior to his arrest in Kolkata. He was also looking after the arms supply section of the outfit. Assam prisons at present house over 45 Maoists cadres, of which nine are currently lodged in the Guwahati Central Jail. “It is certainly a disturbing development.
More than the escape bid, it would be vital to unearth the route through which those documents were procured inside the jail premises,” official sources told The Assam Tribune. Maoist activities are believed to have grown in Assam, with the State even pleading with the Centre to declare a number of areas as Maoist-affected to facilitate development in those areas. Jail authorities claimed that Maoist leader Ajay Chandra alias Raj alias Indranil Chandra, who was arrested in connection with three cases in May 2012, was about to execute a jail-break with the help of 28-feet-long rope, which was recovered during a routine check.
The Maoist leader was arrested in July in connection with Special Operation Unit Police Station case number 1/2011, National Investigation Agency case number 1/2012 and Fatasil Ambari Police Station case number 274/2012 under section 120(B)/121/121(A)/122/123/384 of Indian Penal Code read with section 10/13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Following the developments, the Superintendent of the Guwahati Central Jail reviewed the security arrangements and apprised the Inspector General of Prisons and Senior Superintendent of Police (City) about the incident. IG (Prisons) PP Barooah told this reporter that the incident is of sensitive nature and “we are doing whatever is needed to ensure that they don’t recur.” This is arguably the first time that a jail-break attempt involving Maoists has come to the fore in the State. More than 40 incidents of jail-break attempts were executed successfully in the last eight years, most numbers being reported in Karimganj district jail.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0913/at07

(http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0913/at07)
(http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0913/at07) India next after PRISM: govt can soon legally read your mail
Do you browse civil rights sites? Often enter Niyamgiri or Kudankulam as search words? Call, text or mail friends reminding them about that weekly visit to the local slum to distribute medicines or teach kids? Or blog and tweet angrily about the live skeletons you encountered during a jungle holiday in a tribal belt? You better watch out. Yesterday, The Guardian exposed how British agencies used the top-secret American eavesdropping program ‘PRISM’ — that carries out extensive, in-depth surveillance on live communications and stored information of virtually anyone anywhere in the world — to spy on its citizens.
While the outrage in the UK already has the David Cameron government on the back foot and there is anxiousness among Indian netizens, few at home notice that India itself is not far behind on this dangerous global trend. This April, our government started putting in place its Central Monitoring System to get access to everything in the country’s telecommunication network, ranging from your emails, social media exchanges, web browsing history, chats to phone calls and text messages. Forget public debates, not even Parliament had an opportunity to debate the move. Nobody, however, can complain about this mega anti-privacy mechanism which is perfectly legal on paper. Then information technology minister Milind Deora told Parliament last December that the Rs 400 crore monitoring system would “lawfully intercept internet and telephone services”.
Indeed, India’s Information Technology Act 2000 has been amended twice in 2008 and 2011 and allows government officials to access personal emails, phone calls or text messages as part of reasonable security practices and procedures. The ‘reasonability’ remains conveniently undefined and depends on official discretion. So what exactly does the government want to listen in on? Why do the human rights groups deny it the benefit of doubt in this age of terror?
Anyway, why should you worry if you do not have something criminal to hide? Well, you could be jailed for life for, if nothing else, “exciting disaffection” — which includes “disloyalty and all feelings of enmity” — towards the government. Section 124A of the IPC has remained unchanged since 1870 when the British framed the all-encompassing Sedition Act. It says “whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years to which fine may be added”. Prominent freedom fighters including Mohandas Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak were booked under Section 124A during the raj.
In the recent years, sedition charges have been slapped on paediatrician Dr Binayak Sen (for trying to improve public health standards in the state-forsaken hinterlands), writer Arundhati Roy (for repeating Jawaharlal Nehru’s view that accession of a disputed territory cannot be against the wishes of the people) and young Aseem Trivedi (for drawing an aesthetically-challenged and inconsequential cartoon). The latest in the government’s arsenal is the all-season-any-reason invocation of the Maoist spectre. The first widely publicised case was that of Kamlesh Painkra in Chhattishgarh.
A grassroots reporter, Painkra was the first journalist to report the gross human rights violations of the state militia called Salwa Judum in 2005. He was promptly dubbed a Maoist. His brother, a teacher, was arrested on charges of sheltering Naxalites and Painkra’s PDS licence, the family’s main source of income, was cancelled. Fearing death in a staged encounter, he left Chhattisgarh and the CRPF demolished his house in Bijapur to build a volleyball court for its jawans. In 2009, Laxman Choudhury, a stringer with a vernacular newspaper in Odisha’s Gajapati district, was charged with having links to Maoists for writing on the police-drug mafia connection.
He was booked under Sections 120 (B) and 124(A) — criminal conspiracy and sedition — for apparently receiving eight Maoist leaflets sent through a bus conductor and made to spend 10 weeks in jail before the high court granted him bail. In March 2010, Gujarat police arrested Niranjan Mahapatra, a freelance journalist, for his alleged involvement with the Maoists. Gujarat police said they recovered plenty of Maoist literature written in Oriya from his rented accommodation, that Mahapatra was associated with a workers union, used to visit demolition sites in slums and networked with the affected, and that his source of income could not be immediately ascertained. And yes, his neighbours apparently told the cops that his house often remained locked for 15-20 days. Did you ever imagine that any of this could make a journalist a Maoist?
Then again, journalists have not been the only targets. In April 2010, Sunil Mandiwal, an assistant professor of Delhi University, was detained twice by the police for suspected links with Maoists. As usual, the cops claimed they recovered “Left-leaning” literature and books from Mandiwal’s home, which, for them, was evidence enough. In June 2010, scientist Nisha Biswas, college professor Kaniska Chowdhury and writer Manik Mondal were arrested for visiting West Bengal’s Lalgarh area where they were surveying the severity of state-sponsored atrocities carried out by the central-state joint forces.
Their crime included participation in street corner meetings organized by various human rights and resistance groups including the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). In July, Debalina Chakraborty, a student of Jadavpur University, went on an indefinite fast after the state CID dubbed her a Maoist leader. Chakraborty, secretary of a women’s organisation working in tribal areas of Nandigram and Lalgarh, was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the cops after they recovered a letter from a Maoist courier written by one “Debu”. Such instances are too many but for want of space, let’s jump to more recent ones.
In December 2012, Kerala police arrested Gopal, a former scientist of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, and six others and booked them under the UAPA as Maoists. While Gopal was a vocal member of the Committee for the Protection of Civil Liberties (PUCL) in Tamil Nadu, others were active student union members and took part in various protest movements such as the anti-Kudankulam agitation. Only last week, Anam Vivekananda Reddy, MLA from Nellore rural, dubbed Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman professor M Kodandaram a “terrorist” who was “preaching terrorism to students instead of giving lessons”. The professor, Reddy told the media, was working to strengthen the Maoists and deserved exemplary punishment including termination of his job at Osmania University.
Not all of us join rallies against injustice — social, environmental, political or economic — or visit slums and villages to help out the victims of a lopsided system. But most of us have a thing or two to say about the affairs of the state and those occupying our public offices. Not all of them use sanitised language in personal communications. Now that the biggest of brothers have built the capacity to snoop on every spoken and written word, even the most casual and inconsequential comments can be used against you. Going by the instances cited above, and the sarkari sleuth’s ingenious ability to make a travesty of truth and common sense, most of us may soon qualify to be a Maoist, a sympathizer or, at any rate, merit a sedition complaint. It will all depend on if and when the authorities have scores to settle or need a few scapegoats.
http://www.firstpost.com/tech/after-prism-india-is-next-govt-can-soon-legally-read-your-email-855683.html

(http://www.firstpost.com/tech/after-prism-india-is-next-govt-can-soon-legally-read-your-email-855683.html)
(http://www.firstpost.com/tech/after-prism-india-is-next-govt-can-soon-legally-read-your-email-855683.html) Deep inside rebel territory where insurgents celebrated the May 24 attack with cries of ‘Long Live Mao!’
Deep inside the forests, at the Maoist camps in Gariaband about 100km from Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur, there were celebrations over the successful attack on Congress leaders. This was after May 25.The party cadres, some of them new recruits, shouted ‘Long Live Mao!’ in full-throated unison. The excitement was palpable. But the fight against the ‘enemy’ was far from over. Plans were already being made for future strikes. Surrounded by the forest and secured by his cadres, commander of the zonal committee Jaani Salaam was thinking ahead on the execution of the plans and a hit list. The terrain Entering Maoist territory and meeting the top commanders involves both tact and toughness. The camps lay beyond Gariaband, which was been formed two years ago and has been the block headquarters of Raipur. It took a 40 km walk from there to reach the camp.
Even though rich in flora and fauna, lack of electricity, water, roads and hospitals makes it a laggard on the development front. This is where the Gariaband-Manpur diamond mine is located. From the time that Chhattisgarh was still a part of Madhya Pradesh, locals and foreign companies have been eyeing the mine. At present it is in possession of the Chhattisgarh Mines and Mineral Department – at least legally. In truth, the Maoists control it. The government proposes to have a wildlife sanctuary in this area and a large area here has been earmarked for the Udanti Tiger Reserve. This too has pitted the government against the Reds who are against the reserve.
To send a harsh message to the government, the Maoist central committee has established a new dalam, or armed squad, named Gariaband-Manpur Zonal Committee. Gariaband, Dhamtari and Mahasamund districts come under this committee. The border areas of Orissa run along Mahasamund and provide an easy escape route for the Maoists. A year ago, the Gariaband area had witnessed a Maoist ambush of a Congress convoy. State congress president Nand Kumar Patel had been a target on that occasion too and had a narrow escape. On May 25, he did not carry the same luck and was among those killed by the Reds. Geographically, the area is significant for the Left extremists because of the proximity to Raipur.
Long march
A man was waiting at the assigned location. He would be the guide for meeting the Reds at their camp. He was joined by a member of a sangham, or village committee. There are strict rules on entering Maoist territory – cameraman Mahendra Kumar was ordered to return. The guide explained that the senior (Dada) had instructed him not to allow the cameraman into the den. “If you need a cameraman they will provide one for you at the site. You come with your tape only,” he said. Four other men came along the way, each one leading the way deeper into the forests. About 22 km inside, and finally it was at the heart of Maoist stronghold. But this was not a walk in the park. Reaching the Maoist den meant hiding from the security forces and the police as well.\
Encounter
Entry to the camp offered the chance to see how the Reds operated, their programming and planning. Jaani Salaam was there. His mother tongue is Telugu and he clearly had little appreciation of the workings of a democracy. He knew who had to be eliminated and where violence would be let loose. He made it clear that his dalam would kill Salwa Judum activists.
There was more. It was not just about boycotting elections – both Congress and BJP workers are to be targeted and there is a hitlist in place. Forest department officials are on their radar too, for marking land for the tiger reserve. “We are opposing the tiger project because it will displace the tribals from their habitat,” said Salaam, “The BJPled state government, and Raman Singh himself, will make this a police district.
Thousands of policemen are deputed in Manpur, forcing the tribals to move to other places. Raman Singh’s government is plotting against us. “They come at night, arrest poor people, thrash them, label them as Naxals, put them in jails or kill them in staged encounters. Once a boy was called to the police station to be questioned on whether he knew the way to our camps. When the boy could not provide details, he was beaten up.” He continues, “One day the police went to the village and pretending to have lost their way, asked four boys to show them the way out. But they took the boys to the Manpur police station and thrashed them.
They are terrorising innocents. Many villagers are even implicated in false cases. We are struggling for justice as the government has become oppressor.” About another incident, he claims two boys were picked up by the police and taken to Manpur. The villagers sat hoping for the release of the boys. “The forces under instructions from the government lathicharged men, women and children. The time has come to fight with guns,” said Salaam,
“Election is a business for political leaders. But the poor want freedom. This is an armed struggle to liberate people from the oppression of the government.” After the meeting, it was back the same way, returning to the same spot where the man had waited for us. Throughout the journey to Gariaband, it seemed people were judging the strangers in their midst.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2338260/Deep-inside-rebel-territory-insurgents-celebrated-May-24-attack-cries-Long-Live-Mao.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2338260/Deep-inside-rebel-territory-insurgents-celebrated-May-24-attack-cries-Long-Live-Mao.html?ito=feeds-newsxml)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2338260/Deep-inside-rebel-territory-insurgents-celebrated-May-24-attack-cries-Long-Live-Mao.html?ito=feeds-newsxml) Three hardcore Maoists arrested in Bihar
Three hardcore Maoists have been arrested with weapons from a village in Rajepur police station area in Bihar’s East Champaran district, police said today. “Acting on a tip off, a team of Special Armed Police (SAP) raided in Pakhri village last evening and arrested Suresh Sahni alias Sujit, Dhanesh Sah and Rajmangal Ram after they tried to escape by firing on the police,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Harimohan Shukla said.
A pistol, six ammunitions and two mobile phones were seized from the arrested Maoists, he said. Sahni, said to be the sub-zonal commander of a Maoist outfit and his associates, were wanted in a dozen cases, in Sheohar, Muzaffarpur and East Champaran districts, including massacre of five people and abduction of a BDO in Sheohar district, Shukla said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/three-hardcore-maoists-arrested-in-bihar-113060900622_1.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24545

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxals fire at CRPF camps in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR: Naxalites on Monday night opened fire at CRPF camps in Chhattisgarh’sSukma district but the attack was repulsed by security personnel. Sources said three different camps of the paramilitary in south Bastar were targeted in Naxal gunfire which was suitably retaliated to by the troops. The firing went on for about an hour, they said. There has been no loss of life or property. “This is Maoists’ regular strategy to aim and fire at security forces camps from a distance and then run away in the dark,” a senior official said. The forces are on alert everywhere in the state, the official said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Naxals-fire-at-CRPF-camps-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/20532517.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Naxals-fire-at-CRPF-camps-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/20532517.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Naxals-fire-at-CRPF-camps-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/20532517.cms) In how to tackle Naxals, sign of new battle between Centre and states
New Delhi: The Prime Minister is meeting representatives of all political parties in an attempt to engineer an agreement on how to tackle Naxalism. Last month, a convoy of Congress leaders was attacked in Chhattisgarh. 25 people were killed. The Centre wants states affected by Naxalism – like Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh – to forgo the focus on development in Naxal-affected areas and take more responsibility in combating Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Specifically, it would like states to conduct thorough intelligence operations to identify and locate top local Naxal commanders, add more police stations in the worst-affected areas, empower and upgrade special state forces so that they are less dependent on central paramilitary troops, and speed up the construction of roads so that troops have better access to affected areas.
The Centre also believes it is essential for mainstream political parties to be encouraged to be more active in areas dominated and controlled by Maoists. At last week’s conference on internal security, called by the PM and attended by chief ministers of different states, there was resistance to “the military approach.” Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “We must work together to launch serious developmental initiatives so that misdirected people or those who were left of the development net can be brought back into the socio-economic net.” There have been no major Maoist strikes in Bihar in the last few years and ground support for the Naxals appears to be shrinking, which means there is little incentive for the government there to change its strategy.
“Unless tribal areas are developed on a war footing, they will continue to be vulnerable to the Naxalites,” Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said at the same meeting. The Centre wants to promote what officials refer to as “the Andhra model.” Over the last decade, the state of Andhra Pradesh has evolved a policy where the District Superintendent of Police (DSP) makes key decisions about how and when to target Naxals.
In most cases, this officer is expected to lead operations against Maoist military formations – platoons and companies of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army of the CPI (Maoist). The State Intelligence Bureau helps to gather information about Naxal activities and leaders, which is passed on to the DSP. Development of Naxal-affected areas by providing facilities like road, health, education and revitalising the Public Distribution System to counter the propaganda of Naxals takes second place to military action.
“We want political parties and states to realise that the soft option won’t work and unless they go after the Maoists, the Maoists will kill them at every given opportunity no matter how weak or denuded the Maoists may be,” a senior official in the Home Ministry told NDTV. This approach signals, say sources, a paradigm shift in the Centre’s assessment of the Naxal insurgency. The movement is no longer being seen as a result of the State failing to provide basic facilities to its own people.
The development-deficit approach is Nehruvian in nature. It puts the onus on the State to redress the grievances of the people. And, the Naxals are perceived as an instrument that highlights the neglect of the poorest and most backward parts of states. The powerful National Advisory Council, headed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, had earlier endorsed this view. With today’s meeting, government officials hope to propagate the view that Naxals attack Indian democracy and its representatives and must be dealt with militarily. Speaking to reporters after the massacre at Chhattisgarh last month, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters that there was no difference between Maoists and terrorists.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-how-to-tackle-naxals-sign-of-new-battle-between-centre-and-states-377588

(http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-how-to-tackle-naxals-sign-of-new-battle-between-centre-and-states-377588)
(http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-how-to-tackle-naxals-sign-of-new-battle-between-centre-and-states-377588) Bihar to step up anti-naxal strategy
The political class’ pledge to quell the Maoist violence renewed hopes that the Nitish Kumar government would finally carry out a “mid-course correction” in its handling of the naxal challenge. The Centre believes that Bihar had been going a little too soft on Maoists and had not adequately deployed state and central police forces to pro-actively carry out operations.
It was in the backdrop that the home ministry had ordered two CRPF battalions to move out of the state in March and put on hold its plans to induct more forces. A government official confirmed the decision – that had since been reversed – was aimed at sending a clear message that the state police need to get cracking on the Maoists. Bihar’s violence profile – Maoist-related killings doubled in the first five months this year as compared to 2012 – seems to have convinced the Nitish government to stress on security operations.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Bihar-to-step-up-anti-naxal-strategy/Article1-1074267.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Bihar-to-step-up-anti-naxal-strategy/Article1-1074267.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Bihar-to-step-up-anti-naxal-strategy/Article1-1074267.aspx) Maoists torch JCB, bulldozer, run away with tractor in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Maoists on Monday torched two road construction machines and took away a tractor in the insurgency-hit Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. “Maoists torched a bulldozer and a JCB machine of the forest department, apart from taking away a tractor, engaged in road construction work in Mendra village,” Pakhanjore Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Anil Kumar Soni told PTI. Maoists are observing Jan Pituri Week from June 5 to June 11 to commemorate their ‘martyrs’. Vehicular traffic was thin at many places in south Bastar’s remote areas. People faced difficulty in reaching their destinations.
As the Railways have decided not to run the passenger train from Visakhapatnam to Kirandul beyond Jagdalpur fearing Naxal attacks during the week, passengers were forced to travel by bus from Jagdalpur to Kirandul. Police said patrolling by paramilitary forces had been intensified in the Naxal-infested areas. However, this time Maoists neither announced any relief for public transport system nor gave any call for bandh during the Jan Pituri week, contrary to their past practice. Meanwhile, a Naxal was arrested from Mardapal police station area of Kodagaon district, police said. “Guddu Muriya, 25-year-old member of Usri Jan-militia, was arrested in Mulnar village on Sunday late night,” Additional Superintendent of Police Surjeet Atri told.
zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/maoists-torch-jcb-bulldozer-run-away-with-tractor-in-chhattisgarh_854196.html (http://www.signalfire.org/zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/maoists-torch-jcb-bulldozer-run-away-with-tractor-in-chhattisgarh_854196.html)

(http://www.signalfire.org/zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/maoists-torch-jcb-bulldozer-run-away-with-tractor-in-chhattisgarh_854196.html)
(http://www.signalfire.org/zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/maoists-torch-jcb-bulldozer-run-away-with-tractor-in-chhattisgarh_854196.html) India: The Maoists Are Winning – OpEd
By Ajai Sahni
Once again, the Maoists have engineered a mass slaughter, this time at Darbha in Chhattisgarh, killing 27, among them, Mahendra Karma, the architect of Salwa Judum, who was under Z-plus protection. The reaction has been somewhat more shrill in the present case, as compared to preceding excesses, including the greater Chintalnar massacre which killed 76 security force (SF) personnel, because the Darbha attack killed politicians, and is being projected as a ‘direct assault on democracy’.
It is not clear how the killing of large numbers of SF personnel is less of a ‘direct attack’ on the democracy that they stake their lives to protect; but such distinctions are perhaps best understood by those who have a more subtle appreciation of democratic theory. Nevertheless, the greater agitation would be reassuring, if one could believe, as many commentators have stated, that the Darbha incident will be a ‘turning point’ in the national approach to counter-insurgency; that, finally, after decades of incoherence, prevarication and periodic cycles of political opportunism, consensus on dealing with the Maoists is near at hand.
The Minister of State for Home, R.P.N. Singh, standing in for Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who chose not to disturb his vacation in the US, has assured us that “there will be more active operations” and that the Government would “relook” at its Naxal policy. Home Secretary R.K. Singh has declared that coordinated and joint operations will soon be launched in Chhattisgarh and neighbouring States. In the exercise of its hoary and revered ‘battalion approach’ to crisis management, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) has announced that all of two battalions of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are soon to be dispatched, to reinforce the 28 presently deployed in Chhattisgarh.
The Prime Minister has reiterated his ‘determination’ to fight the Maoists. Various leaders from different political formations have, diversely, declared that the time has come to ‘crush’ the Maoists. Demands for the deployment of the Army and Air Force are rife. Appearances notwithstanding, none of this is particularly reassuring. But before examining the reasons for this, it is useful to look at some essentials of the Darbha incident. Various investigations have been instituted, and it is not the intention, here, to second guess these. However, the magnitude of the failure that preceded the attack is abundantly clear.
Virtually every aspect of state, security and administrative function collapsed, and the most rudimentary of established procedures were ignored, virtually gifting the Maoists with the opportunity to engineer this devastating strike. As usual, cries of ‘intelligence failure’, including the Chief Minister Raman Singh’s accusation that the Centre provided ‘no timely input’, have been matched by the Centre’s assertions that due warning of escalating Maoist threat in the area had been given. But those who speak of ‘intelligence failure’ lack all understanding of the sheer disintegration of the system. The constant demand for ‘specific information’ from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) misunderstands both the nature of insurgent organisation and violence, as well as the reality of the IB’s existing capacities and mandate.
The IB has an actual strength of 18,975 personnel (against a sanction of 26,867) including all support and secondary staff, and an unspoken mandate that covers everything under the sun. No more than a few score personnel would be fully committed to monitoring the Maoist movement across the worst afflicted States, spanning nearly 500,000 square kilometres (excluding affected areas in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh) and a population of well over half a billion. State intelligence agencies add limited capacities to this rudimentary capability, as do technical surveillance operations managed by the Air Force from faraway Hyderabad and the more distant National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) at Delhi. The combined intelligence cover in the Maoist heartland of Bastar Divsion is sporadic, inaccurate, generalized and, indeed, often no more than notional.
To imagine that real time and actionable preventive intelligence could be available on an incident like Darbha borders on absurdity. Indeed, demands for specific intelligence on impending Maoist attacks are no more than an index of the degree to which India’s political leaders are divorced from the ground realities of the theatres of violence, and of the state of their own security apparatus. Another aspect of the Darbha incident requires attention.
The Maoists are boasting about the “dog’s death” they have inflicted on Mahendra Karma; spokesman Gudsa Usendi declared, “this historic attack has created a festive atmosphere in entire Bastar region (sic)”. Partisan exaggeration notwithstanding, this impact must not be underestimated. The Darbha attack proves that the state cannot protect its own, even as it demonstrated the sheer relentlessness, determination and efficiency with which the Maoists pursue their declared enemies. This will have inevitable impact on Maoist mobilisation and recruitment in the immediate future. To return to the issue of response; shared anger, agitation and frustration are a matter entirely different from a strategic consensus, and there is already evidence of the quick dissipation of any such emerging consensus.
Partisan bickering has begun, as has the tug-of-war between the Centre and States. Many ‘experts’ have offered their own idiosyncratic interpretations of the Malay, Mizoram, Peruvian and other ‘models’ as readily available ‘solutions’, each with their own divergent recommendations. Despite a greater apparent consensus on a more ‘hardline’ approach, the decrepit debate over ‘military’, ‘developmental’, ‘social’ and ‘political’ approaches, is already re-emerging.
Crucially, moreover, a broad consensus on a ‘hardline’ approach does not constitute an actual counterinsurgency strategy; nor does a determination to improve ‘coordination and cooperation’ between States and with the Centre. Even where the ‘law and order’ approach and ‘military strategies’ have been adopted, their character and impact varies widely across theatres. There is no simple choice, with automatic and inevitable consequences to follow.
All use of force is not equal. The ‘law and order’ solution, indeed, comprehends an infinitely wide spectrum of Force dispositions, strategies, tactics, policies and practices, many of them effective, and others entirely counter-productive. The reality, moreover, is that the current and projected availability of counter-insurgency Forces in Chhattisgarh – some 30 battalions of CAPFs (yielding roughly 12,000 personnel on the ground) and 16 battalions of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF, with a higher ratio of operationalization, yielding another 8,000 personnel) – are not even a fraction of what is needed to dominate the Bastar Division (nearly 40,000 square kilometres, of predominantly difficult terrain) leave alone all afflicted areas in the State.
As for the ‘coordination’ bogey, it is useful to recall that the Andhra Pradesh Police resolved the State’s Naxalite problem with little help from other States, and no more than the usual financial support for security expenditure and Police modernisation from the Centre. On the other hand, Chhattisgarh had ‘cooperated’ most enthusiastically with the Centre when then Home Minister P. Chidambaram launched his ‘massive and coordinated’ operations across the Maoist affected States.
The consequence was the death of hundreds of SF personnel, culminating in the slaughter at Chintalnar, and no enduring gains to show for these wasted lives. Current state capacities cannot be reconciled with any coherent CI strategy against the Maoists – be it ‘clear, hold and develop’, ‘area domination’, ‘intelligence based surgical strikes’, or any other current formulation, including the nonsense about developmental and political solutions.
The present enthusiasm for the ‘military solution’, ‘massive’ deployments, hi-tech wars, and ‘intensified operations’ will, likely, soon dissipate. It can only be hoped that hasty and ill-conceived political adventures don’t put more lives at unnecessary risk in the interim, as they have done in the past. (The author is an expert on counter-terrorism and serves as the executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi).
http://www.eurasiareview.com/10062013-india-the-maoists-are-winning-oped/

(http://www.eurasiareview.com/10062013-india-the-maoists-are-winning-oped/)
(http://www.eurasiareview.com/10062013-india-the-maoists-are-winning-oped/) Maoist whiff spurs cop act- 66 youths yanked off train in Tinsukia
Jorhat, June 10: Police last night detained 66 suspected Maoist recruits from Tinsukia railway station as they were about to board the Chennai Express. Deputy inspector-general of police (eastern range) Satyen Gogoi told The Telegraph that the police had “some specific information” about a large number of youths trying to leave Assam through the district with the intention of joining the Maoists. The drive was carried out at the railway station based on this information.
He said the police detained persons found “doubtful” during the checking carried out on the train. These youths could not give proper answers when questioned by the police to verify the information on the documents produced by them. Tinsukia superintendent of police P.P. Singh said most of the 66 youths detained were supposed to leave Assam for jobs for the first time, while some were returning to their jobs in southern states.
He said the police were verifying each and every piece of information and documents along with the name of the proposed or current employers. Singh said parents/guardians of the youths were also contacted and asked to come to Tinsukia police station to help the police in the investigation. Sources said the fact that many of these youths were from villages known to be insurgency or Maoist-affected had made the police even more suspicious.
Most of the youths hailed from places like Sadiya, Tangana, Dhola in Tinsukia district, Rajgarh and Tingkhong (both in Dibrugarh district) and Namsai in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, which are deemed sensitive in terms of insurgency and Left-wing extremism. Sources said around 15 of the youths belonged to the tea community, while the others belonged to Ahom, Moran and other Assamese communities. The most wanted Maoist leader of the state, Adiyta Bora, who was arrested in Odisha in 2011 and brought to Assam and who later jumped bail, is from Tingkhong. In May last year, four Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the police in Sadiya.
The development assumes significance as, according to intelligence reports, Maoists are making inroads into Tinsukia district, with top police officers and also chief minister Tarun Gogoi admitting time and again to their presence in the district. Sources said there had been earlier reports about unemployed youths from tea garden areas of the district going out of the state in search of jobs and not returning home for a long time.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130611/jsp/northeast/story_16992659.jsp

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24557

[TheGodlessUtopian]

150 Maoists attack train in Bihar, shoot 3 men dead, loot arms from RPF jawans
Over 150 armed Maoists today carried out a daring attack on a Patna-bound train, killing three persons, including an RPF jawan, and injuring five others in Bihar’s Naxal-affected Jamui district before looting passengers and fleeing with weapons. Police and railway officials said RPF jawan Sukhnath D Singh and a passenger were killed in the attack while Kumar Amit, a Patna-based Bihar police sub-inspector, was found dead in an AC coach when the Dhanbad-Patna Inter-City Express reached Keul at Lakhisarai, ECR Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Amitabh Prabhakar and Lakhisarai DSP Vijay Prasad said.
Five persons, identified as K P Singh (train guard), Manoj Kumar Singh (railway employee at Jamalpur), Dharmendra Sah (Lakhisarai), P K Tripathi (Patna) and Satish Kumar (Muzaffarpur) suffered injuries and were given treatment at Keul station, Prabhakar said adding that Manoj Kumar Singh’s condition was stated to be serious. Around 150 Maoists forcibly stopped the train near Kunder Halt between Jamui and Mananpur railway stations, about 170 km from Patna, at 1320 hours and fired indiscriminately for about half-an-hour on the train and its passengers, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Law and Order, S K Bharadwaj said.
The Maoists also looted weapons from two RPF personnel and later let the train go towards its onward journey, he said. Two companies of CRPF have rushed to the spot to carry out a combing-cum-search operation against the Maoists who retreated into the forest after carrying out the daring daylight attack on the train, Jamui district magistrate Shashikant Tiwari said. The operations against the Maoists was being led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Md. Abdullah, he said, adding blood stains have been found on various spots which pointed to injuries or casaulties among the retreating ultras.
The Maoists also detonated explosives to deter the security forces from chasing them, Tiwari said. The DM said that prime facie it appeared that the Maoists attacked the train to loot passengers as also weapons from the RPF escort party. Bihar’s Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand said details about the sequence of events had been sought from the District Magistrate of Lakhisarai.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/150-maoists-attack-train-in-bihar-shoot-3-men-dead-loot-arms-from-rpf-jawans/1128633/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/150-maoists-attack-train-in-bihar-shoot-3-men-dead-loot-arms-from-rpf-jawans/1128633/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/150-maoists-attack-train-in-bihar-shoot-3-men-dead-loot-arms-from-rpf-jawans/1128633/0) Naxals kill Lloyds Vice President and two others in Gadchiroli
Suspected Naxals killed three persons including a Vice President of Lloyds company near Nender village in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Thursday. Gadchiroli police confirmed the killings but the police teams are yet to reach the spot and the forces are proceeding cautiously fearing ambush by the Naxals, said some police sources. According to Gadchiroli police PRO Dharmendra Joshi, Jaspal Dhillon, Vice President of Lioyd company, a Sub–contractor A.P.Mallikarjun Reddy and Police Patil Raju Sadmake were killed by the Naxals in Nender village under Gatta Gram Panchayat in Etapalli tehsil of the district at around 12.30 am on Thursday.
The reason behind the killing would be known only after the forces reach the spot of incident, said Mr. Joshi. The area where the killings have taken place, had been witnessing some tensions due to the proposed Iron Ore mining unit of the JSW ISPAT. Almost all the villages in this belt have made their opposition to the project very clear and the Naxals have also backed the villagers.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-kill-lloyds-vice-president-and-two-others-in-gadchiroli/article4810212.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-kill-lloyds-vice-president-and-two-others-in-gadchiroli/article4810212.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-kill-lloyds-vice-president-and-two-others-in-gadchiroli/article4810212.ece) Security forces gun down woman Naxal in Chhattisgarh, one arrested
Raipur: A woman Naxalite was killed and another ultra arrested after a gun battle with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist-hit Narayanpur district, police said today. The face-off between the Naxals and joint contingent of district police, CRPF and STF took place in the Nelnar forests area under Chhotedongar police station limits (over 350 km from Raipur) yesterday, Narayanpur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) NK Sahu said. “The deceased has been identified as Sarita, a native of South Bastar, who was active in Nelnar area committee of the Maoist. She was also PPC (platoon party commander) of the battalion II of the Maoists,” the DSP said.
The arrested woman Naxalite has been identified as—Ghasni—of LOS (local operating squad) at Nelnar. The patrol party was on a combing operation in the region and on getting a tip off about the presence extremists at Ulistar village in Nelnar area, security forces swung into action and began surrounding them, he said. On seeing the patrol party, the ultras started firing indiscriminately at them. The search party retaliated following which naxals fled into the deep forest. After the encounter, security personnel recovered the body of a Naxal, apart from huge cache of arms and ammunition. Ghasni, who was trying to escape from the spot, was nabbed.
“Several other Naxals had received bullet injuries but their associates managed to take them to the core forest region,” the DSP said. Police also recovered three rifles, two guns, a country-made pistol, live cartridges, about 10 bombs, a couple of detonators, 36 bags, wires, surgical instruments, commodities of daily use and various Naxal related material from the spot, Sahu added. PTI
http://www.firstpost.com/india/security-forces-gun-down-woman-naxal-in-chhattisgarh-one-arrested-868337.html

(http://www.firstpost.com/india/security-forces-gun-down-woman-naxal-in-chhattisgarh-one-arrested-868337.html)
(http://www.firstpost.com/india/security-forces-gun-down-woman-naxal-in-chhattisgarh-one-arrested-868337.html) ‘Naxals now hiding in Kodagu, Ch’nagar’
Home Minister K J George on Wednesday informed the Legislative Council that naxals in the state had entered Kodagu and Chamarajanagar districts, following largescale combing operations in the 13 taluks of the Malnad region. George said the Maoists have gone into hiding in these two districts after they were pushed out by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) with rigorous combing and sanitisation operations. Reports suggest that there is an increased movement of naxals in Sringeri in Chikmagalur district, Subramanya in Dakshina Kannada district and Kodagu. “We will be increasing the combining operations in these places now,” he said.
The minister said the government was looking at a two-pronged strategy to check naxals by addressing the problems of the local people in interiors of Shimoga, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Chikmagalur, and strengthening the ANF. Jungle warfare training “The Centre for Counter Terrorism (CCT), Garud, and the Andhra Pradesh commando force, Greyhounds, will be giving our ANF additional training in jungle warfare to tackle the Maoists. We have also allocated Rs 5.3 crore towards the 13 ANF camps which are located across the four most affected districts,” he said.
Replying to a query by Ganesh Karnik (BJP) about the State’s response to naxalism, in the light of the daring Maoist attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, George said that the State government was ensuring highest priority to those districts which were affected by the naxal problem. He said the state government, in the light of the Chhattisgarah attacks, will be giving additional security to the VVIPs touring the naxal-affected regions of Karnataka.
“We are also preparing a new package for those naxals who want to surrender by putting down weapons. To those who persist with armed resistance, the State will ensure that they do not rise again, ” he said. On the rehabilitation of the people affected by naxal menace, the minister said that under the new forest policy, those residing in the forest region will be given special packages for make a better living. “The project is already in implementation stage with Hunsur seeing some progress.” Already a package of Rs five crore has been approved for the rehabilitation of people in eight blocks of the four affected districts. George said that he would hold meetings with officials on June 18 and 19 in Udupi and Mangalore to discuss the naxal issue.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338378/039naxals-now-hiding-kodagu-ch039nagar039.html
(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338378/039naxals-now-hiding-kodagu-ch039nagar039.html)
Small action teams set up to assist CRPF in tackling Maoists
Ranchi: To assist the para-military forces in their relentless drive against the Maoists in deep forests, Jharkhand police have set up small action teams (SAT) as back up support and for carrying out operations independently. “Small Action Teams (SAT) have been formed in the naxal-affected districts to assist and complement the CRPF and also handle independent operations on their own,” Jharkhand’s Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said today. Faced with left wing extremism in 18 of the 24 districts in the state, the DGP said induction process of five battalions of CRPF/SSB (Special Security Battalion) has already been started in required areas.
Kumar said special anti-naxal operations were being led by senior police formations of the state. He said a separate action plan against splinter groups like People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and Tritiya Prastuti Committee has borne results with more than 30 PLFI leaders and cadres being arrested, besides the arrest of 40 other leaders and activists of other outfits. Stating that there was a slight drop in naxal incidents in the first five months compared to the corresponding period in the last two years, he said a total of 181 naxal incidents were reported till May 31 this year as against 197 last year and 202 in 2011.
The CPI (Maoist) committed 52 per cent of violence out of the 181 incidents while its splinter groups People’s Liberation Front of India and another group was 29 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. However, encounters in the state increased in the first five months of the year recording 31 as against 22 last year and 27 in 2011 in the corresponding period. The police were successful in nabbing 294 extremists of different groups this year, an increase compared to 2012 (211) and 2011 (160), the DGP said.
The security forces were engaged in 30 incidents of exchange of gun battles with the extremists during 185 special operations against naxalites conducted till 31 May. He said 10 bodies of naxalites were recovered till 31 May while intelligence reports said 12 other naxalites had been killed in encounters but their associates carried away the bodies. The security forces were also successful in recovering six police weapons, ten regular weapons, 135 country made weapons, 974 cartridges, 51 IEDs, 2,575 detonators and 2,646.08 kg explosive substances during the period. The police also recovered 1,63,000 rupees, he said, adding the money was collected by the naxalites as levy or extortion.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/small-action-teams-set-up-to-assist-crpf-in-tackling-maoists-869647.html

(http://www.firstpost.com/india/small-action-teams-set-up-to-assist-crpf-in-tackling-maoists-869647.html)
(http://www.firstpost.com/india/small-action-teams-set-up-to-assist-crpf-in-tackling-maoists-869647.html) Left wing extremism scares officials at block levels in Jharkhand
Ranchi: Jharkhand is facing a major problem in execution of developmental projects as many officials posted at the block level “abdicate” offices for fear of left wing extremism (LWE). “During interaction with Block Development Officers (BDOs)I was informed that officials abdicate offices either out of fear of them or in the name of Maoists,” Chief Secretary R S Sharma said on Thursday. “Abdicating offices will not help, and at no cost one should abdicate office because the bad elements will dominate,” Sharma told a press conference here. The district deputy commissioners and superintendents of police were directed to ensure security if any official has specific problem, the chief secretary said.
The state headquarters was monitoring the impediments, he said. Recognising that the LWE has been a big problem in the developmental process and that the state was not in a ‘denial mode’, he said contractors were not turning up for road construction in the naxal-infested Latehar district. “We have called them (contractors) and assured security so that they can ensure construction work because connectivity is the main thing to have access to mitigate the problem (extremism),” Sharma said.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/left-wing-extremism-scares-officials-at-block-levels-in-jharkhand_854842.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/left-wing-extremism-scares-officials-at-block-levels-in-jharkhand_854842.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/left-wing-extremism-scares-officials-at-block-levels-in-jharkhand_854842.html) Chhattisgarh govt asks International Red Cross to stop activities in tribal Bastar
RAIPUR: In a significant development, the Raman government in Chhattisgarh has directed to the world’s renowned humanitarian organization-The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – to suspend all its operations in the Naxalite affected Bijapur district where it was providing assistance to violence-hit people in improvised tribal Bastar region for the last two and a half years. “We had issued an order two days ago, asking ICRC to suspend all its operations in the region.
This was done after issuing a formal show cause notice to the international organization”, Bijapur district collector Mohammad Qaiser Abdul Haque told TOI over telephone. The state government’s decision to ask the ICRC to stop its activities comes despite chief minister Raman Singh’s declared position that his government would welcome all organizations which were ready to work for peace and help out with education, health, shelter and basic facilities in the region.
When ICRC had expressed its willingness to work in Bastar in 2008, Singh had maintained that with the kind of resources and expertise ICRC has at its command, its presence will benefit the poor tribals of the region where a huge population is suffering because of the conflict. Elaborating on the reasons, Bijapur district collector said “ICRC is yet to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state government for working in the region. Besides, there are some diplomatic issues pertaining to the government of India”.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Chhattisgarh-govt-asks-International-Red-Cross-to-stop-activities-in-tribal-Bastar/articleshow/20569485.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Chhattisgarh-govt-asks-International-Red-Cross-to-stop-activities-in-tribal-Bastar/articleshow/20569485.cms)

AP police fear Maoist intrusion into T-stir
Police suspect that left-wing extremists may infiltrate the “Chalo Assembly” protest and spark violence during the stir called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) here on June 14. Police also reiterated that no permission would be given to the proposed protest, citing ongoing session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly. “We have inputs that left-wing extremist groups may get involved in the ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest and generate violence,” a senior police officer told PTI.
A string of violent incidents had marred the ‘Telangana March’ held here on September 30 last year with police suspecting the involvement of Maoist insurgents. “We here have been reports in a section of media here that the banned CPI (Maoist) has given a call to transform the ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest into a militant struggle,” Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters. Apart from 20 companies of central paramilitary forces, police personnel from various districts in the state are being drawn to maintain law and order on June 14. “We have seen that when such calls were given in the past by pro-Telangana organisations… invariably things have turned violent,” Sharma said.
He was referring to the “Million March” held in March 2011 and the ‘Telangana March’ in September last year. “Large-scale destruction of private and public property has taken place and that is why we have decided that we cannot give permission to any such demonstration,” Sharma added. Police will deal strictly with those who violate the orders. Telangana Joint Action Committee, headed by M Kodandaram, is an umbrella organisation of various groupings of employees, students etc. who are backing the separate statehood demand.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338383/ap-police-fear-maoist-intrusion.html

(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338383/ap-police-fear-maoist-intrusion.html)
(http://www.deccanherald.com/content/338383/ap-police-fear-maoist-intrusion.html) Maoists to strike again?
Intelligence reports of a possible attack on jails, alert sounded
Raipur: Alert has been sounded in all the jails of the state after intelligence agencies report a possible Maoist attack on the prisons. The jails will now have stricter security arrangements and a visitor’s management system. A survey has been done with National Information Centre (NIC), Delhi. After the system is in place, pictures of the visitors will be taken. Their thumb impression will also be taken. A complete biometric record will be in place.
The entire system will be kept online. Digital pictures of all the visitors coming to pay a visit to any of the prisoners will be taken. Their digital signatures will also be taken. Everything will be saved on a computer. The record of any visitor will be just a click away after this system comes in place. It will easier to trace a particular person through their thumb impressions. The officials said that that UD proofs will also be taken – driving licence, pan card, voter ID card or Aadhar card. NIC is preparing a special software for keeping records of the ID proof. KK Gupta, DIG, Raipur Jail, said, “All preparations of the visitor management system are complete. Around Rs. 1.5 crore were spent in the entire project. There has been a contract with Delhi NIC for the system. The system will be in place from next month.” Apart from the jail in the capital, prisons in Jagdalpur and Ambikapur are also put under high alert after information of the possible Maoist attack.
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-OTC-maoists-to-strike-again-intelligence-reports-of-a-possible-attack-on-jails-alert-4290611-NOR.html

(http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-OTC-maoists-to-strike-again-intelligence-reports-of-a-possible-attack-on-jails-alert-4290611-NOR.html)
(http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-OTC-maoists-to-strike-again-intelligence-reports-of-a-possible-attack-on-jails-alert-4290611-NOR.html) Gun Battle Between Security Men, Maoists in Jharkhand
An hour-long gunfight took place between paramilitary forces and Maoists today but no one was injured though train services were disrupted between Barkakana and Latehar railway stations, police said. CRPF and CoBRA personnel were on anti-Maoist operation when they encountered a volley of bullets from the left wing extremists near Kumandih railway station of the district. The personnel returned the fire and the exchange of fire lasted about an hour and train services were immediately stopped following the gun battle, the police said. The encounter was over and the services would start soon, sources said.


Delhi asks NIA to probe weapons haul in Mizoram
The March 8 arrest of three Bangladeshi nationals in Mizoram with a cache of sophisticated weapons has alarmed the Centre enough to order National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the arms-bust. Rabi Chakma, Sabuj Chakma and Mani Tripura, all Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested after Mizoram police and Assam Rifles recovered 33 AK-47 rifles along with a Singapore-made light machine gun, a US Combat Browning Automatic Rifle, 809 rounds of ammunition and 33 magazines in two separate operations in Lengte village near the Lengpui airport, about 30km from Aizawl on March 8. An official source said that the NIA registered a case at its Guwahati branch on Friday following an official notification issued by the Union home ministry directing it to conduct a detailed probe into the seizure.
The source said another reason why the seizure had worried the home ministry was that Mizoram — showcased as an island of peace in troubled Northeast — was being increasingly used by rebels from other states as a corridor to smuggle arms and also to cross over to neighbouring countries seeking refuge or training. Increased vigil along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur is another reason why Mizoram is now the preferred route. Mizoram shares a 722km border with Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the source, the arms consignment was believed to be for one of the factions of the Shanti Bahini, the military wing of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti, which claims to be fighting for the rights of the indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/Regional/RegionalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDAzOTI2MA%3D%3D-jQ3vi6ykhhk%3D

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24576

[TheGodlessUtopian]

UAV for anti-naxal operations in Chhattisgarh to fly out of Bhilai soon
RAIPUR: Decks seem to have been finally cleared to set up the base for the Indian Air Force’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) use in anti-Naxal surveillance programme at the Steel Authority of India’s airstrip at Bhilai. Though the move to shift the base of the UAVs from Hyderabad to Bhilai had been going on for quite some time, the recent massacre of Congress leaders on May 25 in Bastar hastened the process, with the centre acting as a mediator between SAIL and IAF.
If insider’s are to be believed an understanding has reportedly been reached between the SAIL and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which will operate the UAV. According to sources, the process for setting up the base is in final stages and it’s only a matter of “short time” that UAV would start doing daily sorties for monitoring movement of Naxalites. Vijay Mairal, DGM Public Relations of Bhilai Steel Plant, confirmed that a high level team of the NTRO visited the plant yesterday.
He however refused to give any further details on the plea that discussions were still going on. He also refused to comment on whether a formal MOU had been signed between SAIL and NTRO for using SAIL’s Nandni airstrip. As of now, UAV had been operating without much success, primarily due to the long flight distance, from Hyderabad. The 12 Israeli-made Searcher tactical UAV imported last year for tactical intelligence gathering over the Naxal areas of Chhattisgarh and Orissa were to be actually stationed at airstrip at Jagdalpur.
However, reports suggest that Air Force authorities refused deployment of their men in Jagdalpur due to “poor living conditions” and demanded shifting of the base of SAIL’s plant in Bhilai. With the shifting of the base to Bhilai, the UAV, will be able to spend more time in the air gathering tactical intelligence as their flying distance to the sensitive areas of Jagdalpur would reduce to almost half from the present 500 kms from Hyderabad, sources said.
While none of the officials were willing to come on record as to when the UAV would finally start flying out of Bhilai, Additional Director General of Police (Naxal Operation) R K Vij, admitted that it would be of great help in tackling the Naxal menace. Vij told TOI the shifting of the base would lead to better coordination as state’s officers would be able to visit Bhilai easily for the interpretation of the data collected by the UAV. He said earlier the officers were sent to Hyderabad and it was time consuming. “All coordination issues will be sorted out if they are in the vicinity”, he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/UAV-for-anti-naxal-operations-in-Chhattisgarh-to-fly-out-of-Bhilai-soon/articleshow/20764594.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/UAV-for-anti-naxal-operations-in-Chhattisgarh-to-fly-out-of-Bhilai-soon/articleshow/20764594.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/UAV-for-anti-naxal-operations-in-Chhattisgarh-to-fly-out-of-Bhilai-soon/articleshow/20764594.cms) Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh: Odisha Police arrest two
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police on Tuesday arrested two suspected Maoists in connection with the May 25 deadly attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh. According to a news channel, the two suspects, who were arrested from Malkangiri, provided logistical support to the Naxals for the audacious attack. “Last year we had recovered at least seven improvised explosive devices in the district and the arrested duo was wanted in that case.
They joined the Maoist organisation five to six years ago. They have confessed to their involvement in several Red offensives in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, including the Dharba Ghati attack,” said SP (Malkangiri) Akhileswar Singh. The SP said, “Ora (Madhi) and Kasa (Madhi)have revealed that around 200 ultras, including 35 from Malkangiri, divided into four groups, participated in the Dharba Ghati massacre.
The group from Malkangiri, comprising 20-armed ultras and 15 cadres, reached Tirkipalli in Chhattisgarh on May 19 where they with other Maoists were given three-day training by some top Maoist leaders prior to the attack on May 25.” “After the attack, the Left-wing extremists were divided into four groups and fled the spot. The Maoists from Odisha returned to Malkangiri,” Singh added.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/naxal-attack-in-chhattisgarh-odisha-police-arrest-two_857604.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/naxal-attack-in-chhattisgarh-odisha-police-arrest-two_857604.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/naxal-attack-in-chhattisgarh-odisha-police-arrest-two_857604.html) Naxal leaders Gonsalves, Srinivasan convicted by Nagpur court
Two top Naxal leaders, arrested by Mumbai ATS in 2007, were today found guilty of unlawful activities by a local court and given jail terms. Vernon Stanlase Gonsalves alias Vikram (50) and Srinivasan Krishnan alias Vishnu (50) were sentenced to imprisonment of five and six years respectively. Co-accused Angela Sontakke was acquitted. They were facing a case under Arms Act, Indian Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Indian Penal Code.
After the arrest, they were brought to Chandrapur for investigation, and later tried at the special court here. District and Additional Sessions Judge P M Dunedar convicted the two for unlawful activity and carrying arms and explosives. On August 19, 2007, police arrested Shridhar and Vernon from suburban Govandi in Mumbai for links with Naxal movement.
Two firearms, gelatin sticks and detonators were recovered from them, along with Naxal literature. Vernon and his wife Susan Abraham had worked among tribals in Chandrapur area between 1984 and 1994. Susan came back to Mumbai in 1994 after she gave birth to a son. According to police, Srinivasan was a national politburo member of Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) and Gonsalves was a top state-level leader of the banned outfit.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/naxal-leaders-gonsalves-srinivasan-convicted-by-nagpur-court-113062500928_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/naxal-leaders-gonsalves-srinivasan-convicted-by-nagpur-court-113062500928_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/naxal-leaders-gonsalves-srinivasan-convicted-by-nagpur-court-113062500928_1.html) Country-made bombs seized in AP village
Guntur (AP), Jun 25 (PTI) Police today seized about 50 country-made bombs from a village, once a Naxal stronghold, near here in Andhra Pradesh. The bombs were recovered from Mannesultan Palem village, where Maoists were once active, police sources said. Following the seizure, 20 persons were taken into custody for interrogation, they said, declining to provide further details.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/3750448_Country-made-bombs-seized-in-AP-village

(http://www.ptinews.com/news/3750448_Country-made-bombs-seized-in-AP-village)
(http://www.ptinews.com/news/3750448_Country-made-bombs-seized-in-AP-village) Police recover can bomb during Operation Prahar
MOTIHARI: The CRPF and police sleuths during ‘Operation Prahar’ recovered a can bomb having pressure release technique planted by Maoists near a road bridge at Ajgari on Barakagawn-Sishani road under Pakaridayal police station in East Champaran district, which exploded when it was being defused by a bomb disposal squad. However, no one was hurt in the explosion. Param Shiwam, commandant, CRPF, said, the bomb had been planted by the Maoists to to kill the CRPF and police jawans who have launched ‘Operation Prahar’ on foot to nab the Maoists.
It may be recalled that CRPF and police sleuths had recovered three landmines on Rajepur road near Rajepur last week, which were planted by the Maoists to blow a police jeep. According to intelligence sources, around 150 hardcore Maoists of Jharkhand and Jamui have sneaked into this area of East Champaran, Sheohar and Muzaffarpur districts and their resurgence has rung alarm bells.
The recovery of bombs and landmines ahead of six-day bandh called by Maoists from June 26 to July 2, in the district is causing concern to the police. East Champaran SP Vinay Kumar said the police have geared to tackle the Maoists. A Maoist Suhag Paswan, who was arrested in Gujarat on October4, 2012, and who was taken on remand here by the police, has disclosed that 11 landmines have been planted on different roads in this area by Maoists.
The police and CRPF swung into action to locate these bombs with the help of bomb detecting devices and sniffer dogs and recovered five IEDs on Rajepur, Ajagari and Chaita roads. The police have launched ‘Operation Prahar’ on foot to trace the rest six bombs on roads in this district. One IED each was recovered in Sheohar and in Dewariya in Muzaffarpur by the police.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Police-recover-can-bomb-during-Operation-Prahar/articleshow/20753540.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Police-recover-can-bomb-during-Operation-Prahar/articleshow/20753540.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Police-recover-can-bomb-during-Operation-Prahar/articleshow/20753540.cms) Maoists kill two, injure another in Bihar
MUZAFFARPUR: Armed Maoist cadre, dressed in police uniform, attacked the house of Chairman of Primary Agriculture Credit Society killing two persons and injuring another in a village in Kudhni in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, a police officer said on Tuesday. “Prabhat Rai (25) and Laxmi Rai (60) died on the spot, while Rajkumar Rai suffered bullet injuries last night when Maoist cadre dressed in police uniform attacked Chairman of Primary Agriculture Credit Society ( PACS) Pradeep Rai’s house at Mankauli village,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), West, Anuj Kumar said. Nearly two dozen armed Maoists dressed in police uniform fired randomly on the family members of Rai, he said.
The injured person was admitted to a hospital, Kumar said, adding his condition was stated to be critical. Maoists left behind leaflets containing slogans against the landed gentry and warned Rai against exploiting the poor people, DSP said. A case has been registered against unidentified Maoists and raids were being carried out to arrest the attackers, the police said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoists-kill-two-injure-another-in-bihar/articleshow/20758815.cms

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoists-kill-two-injure-another-in-bihar/articleshow/20758815.cms)
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maoists-kill-two-injure-another-in-bihar/articleshow/20758815.cms) Anti-Maoist operations in Gumla forests
GUMLA: Security forces continued anti-Maoist operations in Kashmar region under Bishunpur police station on Monday. A big contingent of CRPF personnel and district police under SDPO D K Pande started their operation on Sunday. Police suspect there are about 30-35 cadres. Kashmar region comprises three hinterland panchayats under the same police station and touches the boundaries of Latehar Sarju – the Red bastion. and since a long time the region has been a hotbed for the rebels.
The presence of a rebel squad in this region for the last few days led security forces to start a well-planned operation in the forest area. Gumla SP Rakesh Bansal confirmed that an anti-Maoist operation is being carried out.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Anti-Maoist-operations-in-Gumla-forests/articleshow/20756529.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Anti-Maoist-operations-in-Gumla-forests/articleshow/20756529.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Anti-Maoist-operations-in-Gumla-forests/articleshow/20756529.cms) Four naxals held in Rajnandgaon: police
Raipur/Rajnandgaon, June 25 (PTI) Four naxals were arrested today during a search operation in Maoist-hit Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said. “The cadres of Jan militia group of Maoists were arrested by the joint contingent of district force and ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police) from the Manpur police station area of the district,” Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Shukla told PTI.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/3750335_Four-naxals-held-in-Rajnandgaon–police (http://www.ptinews.com/news/3750335_Four-naxals-held-in-Rajnandgaon--police)

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24745

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Amid setbacks, Maoists try their luck at the ballot box
Blows to their armed campaign in recent months may have spurred Maoist insurgents to rethink their tactics and look towards democratic processes – such as local council elections – as a way of advancing their goals and regaining lost support, sources tell Khabar South Asia. But Indian officials appear to have mixed views about the apparent trend, with some cautiously welcoming the move and others worried it will only serve to help the militants reassert control.
According to West Bengal Additional Director General of Police Banibrata Basu, the Naxals – as the far-left militants are commonly known — have already won sarpanch and samiti member posts in Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and have now apparently set their sights on the gram panchayat (village council) polls in West Bengal, which will be held in three phases during July. Intelligence reports suggest that “top Maoists from Jharkhand and (Odisha) have held two rounds of secret meetings with their local cadres in Kharagpur to discuss strategies for the panchayat polls,” Basu told Khabar.
West Bengal police say they have identified 17 blocs in several districts impacted by the insurgency – including West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia – where an abnormally high number of independents have filed nominations.
Naxal sources confirm new strategy
Speaking from his hideout, CPI (Maoist) Ghatsila sub-zonal commander Sunil (alias Kunda Mahato) appeared to confirm the tactical shift. “Our organisation has suffered many serious setbacks since the death of [longtime military leader] Kishenji and we are now determined to regain the lost ground,” he told Khabar. “We definitely want to get in touch with the people and the panchayat elections present an excellent opportunity to achieve this.” The rebel’s newfound embrace of the democratic system has left government officials and experts divided. Some say the Naxals are bringing violence to the process and using it to maintain their strongholds.
“The Maoists are also of the view that winning the gram panchayats will also prevent the police and security forces from undertaking combing operations in these villages, making them a safe haven for them,” warned Ministry of Home Affairs Additional Secretary (Naxal Management) Rajiv Sharma. In the past, officials say, the Maoists have not shied away from violence and intimidation as a way of influencing election outcomes. As an example, police point to the March 2012 panchayat polls in Gadchiroli, where candidates affiliated with the Naxals won as many as 50 seats.
“In order to ensure their victory, the rebels used terror to force 83 elected representatives of different political groups to quit their post in 2012,” said Gadchiroli superintendent of police (SP) Suvez Haque. In Odisha, where dozens of seats in the last council elections went to Maoist-linked candidates, the local government is contesting the outcome. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has asked the Rural Welfare Ministry to withhold all funds for rural development to these village bodies, fearing the money will end up in Maoist coffers. An opportunity for peace? Others see an opportunity to promote peace as the rebels find themselves with a greater stake in civil society.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is spearheading development projects in Maoist-affected areas, says the reintegration of militant movements has borne fruit in other regions of India, such as the northeast. Insurgent-ridden states like Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Punjab have successfully accommodated radical movements into the political system, thereby helping them return to the mainstream, he told Khabar. “There is a need to engage these people as well as set off a political process to solve the issues which the security forces don’t achieve,” he said.
http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2013/06/26/feature-01

(http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2013/06/26/feature-01)
(http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2013/06/26/feature-01) Nagpur court sentences senior Maoist leaders
The additional sessions court, on Tuesday, found senior Maoist leaders, Vernon Gonsalves, 55, and Sridhar Srinivasan, 54, guilty of unlawful activities and carrying arms and explosives, and slapped them with five and six year sentences, respectively. While delivering the sentence the additional session judge, PM Dunedar, also acquitted Angela Sontakke, who was arrested from Thane in 2011. Angela is the wife of senior naxalite leader Milind Teltumde, the secretary of the Maharashtra state committee of the CPI (Maoist). Gonsalves and Srinivasan were arrested by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) from Mumbai with arms and explosives in August 2007.
The police had claimed to have recovered detonators, a hand grenade, two firearms, 20 high-explosive gelatine sticks and so on from them. Their arrest brought into focus sympathies among a few of Mumbai’s highly-educated, middle-class for naxalites. The police had similarly arrested Arun Ferreira, a science graduate of St Xavier’s College and once a trainee Roman Catholic priest from Nagpur, along with a senior naxalite leader, Murali. Arun was released by the court recently. Vernon alias Vikram once taught economics at KC College and Ruparel College. He and his wife, Susan Abraham, worked among the underprivileged people of Chandrapur for years.
They also worked with labour unions in the industrial city of Chandrapur in Vidarbha region. Vidarbha, the backward region of Maharashtra, acted as a magnet for student radicals from Mumbai in the 80s. The late Anuradha Ghandy, a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) and her husband, Kobad Ghandy, a politburo member of the banned organisation, also worked in the region.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Nagpur-court-sentences-senior-Maoist-leaders/Article1-1082570.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Nagpur-court-sentences-senior-Maoist-leaders/Article1-1082570.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Nagpur-court-sentences-senior-Maoist-leaders/Article1-1082570.aspx) Maoists-police engage in gunbattle in Jharkhand
Latehar (Jharkhand): The para-military forces, which began anti-naxal operation, were fired upon by the left wing guerrillas of the CPI (Maoist) near Kumandih village of Latehar district, police said on Wednesday. “The anti-naxal operation began on Monday. The Maoists opened fire on the personnel of the CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and the district police last night,” Superintendent of Police Michael S Raj told reporters here.
Stating that the security forces had also retaliated and the exchange of fire lasted for about an hour, he said a few shots were also fired around 11 am today. There was no casualty from any side, he said adding the security forces were also scourging the forests in the night as well. PTI
http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttarakhand/maoists-police-engage-in-gunbattle-in-uttarakhand_858023.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttarakhand/maoists-police-engage-in-gunbattle-in-uttarakhand_858023.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttarakhand/maoists-police-engage-in-gunbattle-in-uttarakhand_858023.html) WB: Fears of Maoists winning uncontested
The Union home ministry has warned the Mamata Banerjee administration that a number of Maoist-backed candidates may have already won several uncontested seats in the panchayat elections scheduled from July 2. According to SEC officials, about 4,500 gram panchayat seats and 710 panchayat samity seats were won uncontested in the nine districts slated for the first phase of the rural polls.
Three of these districts — West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia — are hotbeds of Maoist activity. The MHA wrote to the state home secretary on June 20, citing similar attempts by Maoists in at least two other states. “The process of panchayat elections in Odisha and Maharashtra was vitiated through the use of coercive means by the Maoists to intimidate prospective candidates and prop up their own supporters.
As a result, a number of representatives of the Maoists were elected unopposed,” the letter said. Maoist sources revealed that the party’s entry into the arena of ‘proxy governance’ had triggered a major internal debate, with hardliners opposing the practice and arguing that it symbolised a hankering after mere ‘short-term relief’ which would make the overarching goal ‘of exposing the hollowness of the existing system and overthrowing it’ much tougher.
In Bengal, this debate was kicked off by Chhatradhar Mahato’s participation in the 2011 Assembly polls, which resulted in a virtual split within the party. The MHA, however, is not taking the Maoist ‘experiments with electoral democracy’ lightly and has advised states to implement a meaningful plan to provide adequate security. “Since the rural polls in West Bengal are to be held shortly… security arrangements must be strengthened utilising central armed forces deployed in the state for the anti-Naxal operations, particularly to ensure that cross-border infiltration does not take place, since this might subvert the election process,” the letter said. Acting on the advisory, the state government has asked for Bengal’s borders to be sealed for the duration of the panchayat elections.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/WB-Fears-of-Maoists-winning-uncontested/Article1-1082655.aspx

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/WB-Fears-of-Maoists-winning-uncontested/Article1-1082655.aspx)
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kolkata/WB-Fears-of-Maoists-winning-uncontested/Article1-1082655.aspx) Suspected Maoist attack road construction site in Jamtara district
RANCHI: Suspected CPI (Maoist) cadre torched one earthmover, three tractors and blew up a vacant make-shift tent at Ghatiari, around 250 kilometres from here, in Jamtara district. The place is on the border of Jamtara and Dhanbad districts. The rebels destroyed the make-shift tent, thrashed all the workers engaged in construction of a road and bridge by using explosives. The construction site was attacked sometime around midnight on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. Police sources said that the rebels had demanded levy from the road construction company and were regularly threatening them for the last two months.
“When the company finally declined to pay the levy the rebels attacked the construction site and destroyed the equipments,” said police. Inspector general of police (Dumka Zone) Arun Oraon confirmed the incident. He said that prima facie the attack was Maoists. “The rebels have damaged equipments and even thrashed the workers at the construction site,” said Oraon who was on the way to inspect the site.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Suspected-Maoist-attack-road-construction-site-in-Jamtara-district/articleshow/20775779.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24764

[TheGodlessUtopian]

HC grants bail to naxal ‘sympathiser’ Sheetal Sathe
The Bombay High Court today granted bail on humanitarian grounds to alleged naxal sympathiser Sheetal Sathe, who is due to deliver her baby next month. Sathe, an activist of radical musical group Kabir Kala Manch, had approached the High Court after a sessions court rejected her bail application earlier this month. Justice A M Thipsay today granted her bail on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 as the prosecution also did not opposed her application.
After being underground for over two years, Sathe and her husband Sachin Mali, had courted arrest outside Mantralaya. They were arrested by ATS on April 2. Sathe and Mali were declared absconding accused in a case registered in 2011 against 15 people for their alleged role in supporting and funding naxal activities in the state. The duo are facing charges under several sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for their alleged involvement with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). While seven persons were arrested in 2010, Sathe, Mali and six others were absconding. Sathe sought the relief on the humanitarian grounds and on parity as the seven arrested accused in the case were released on bail.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-grants-bail-to-naxal-sympathiser-sheetal-sathe-113062700779_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-grants-bail-to-naxal-sympathiser-sheetal-sathe-113062700779_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-grants-bail-to-naxal-sympathiser-sheetal-sathe-113062700779_1.html) ‘Naxalite’ Vernon released from Central Jail
NAGPUR: It was difficult to imagine the tall, grey-haired, bespectacled man emerging from Nagpur Central Jail on Wednesday as a dreaded Naxalite or a member of a banned organization. Hugging his wife with glee, Vernon Gonsalves appeared no different than any man waiting for six years to be close to his family again. It was after much speculation that Gonsalves was released at 6.30pm from Nagpur Central Jail.
Apart from wife Susan Abraham and another close relative, his counsel Surendra Gadling too was waiting outside the jail gate with some social workers. The waiting well-wishers were anxious whether the activist would be rearrested and implicated in a fresh case, which has been the routine practice of security agencies against people suspected to be working for Naxalite outfits or the movement. Gonsalves had been convicted on Tuesday under various sections of Unlawful Activities (Preventions) Act and Arms Act in 2007 by district and additional sessions Judge PM Dunedar. He had already undergone incarceration for the period he was sentenced, so he was released immediately.
He had been sent to jail after being arrested with Shridhar Shrinivasan in August 2007. A visibly relieved Susan said her husband spent 10 extra months in jail. “He was no terrorist anyway,” said Susan. An activist championing workers rights herself, Susan was among the regular faces who turned up from Mumbai at the Suyog Building on every court hearing for Gonsalves. After a long fight for justice, she was finally able to take her husband back to Mumbai.
A former professor of business organization at a prominent Mumbai college, Gonsalves was labelled an ex-central committee member and former secretary of Maharashtra State Rajya Committee of the Naxalites by the security agencies and charged in around 20 cases. Gonsalves has been acquitted in 17 cases as prosecution could not furnish evidence. He was discharged in one case while trial is underway in one of the cases, Gonsalves was convicted in the case whose verdict was delivered in Nagpur.
“It is for the society to decide what I am. But, I am certainly not a terrorist,” said Gonsalves, overwhelmed with joy. He also said that he intends to read the 251-page judgment before commenting on the long drawn criminal justice system. “It’s a great feeling of relief. It was a long, tedious trial that brought this freedom. I am still getting used to this freedom; I need time to collect my thoughts,” he said before stepping into the car to leave with Gadling.
The lawyer also said that he needs time to read the judgment before deciding whether to appeal against the conviction. Gadling said his client has been acquitted under most sections of UAPA, challenging the claim that he was a Naxalite. “Since most charges were disproved against Gonsalves, it is unfair to call him antinational. Moreover, the prosecution also failed to prove that he was waging or abetting war against the nation or government,” he said. Gonsalves, who wants to continue social work, had been a gold medallist in MCom. “When one steps out of jail, it is a different feeling all together,” he said
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Naxalite-Vernon-released-from-Central-Jail/articleshow/20787836.cms

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Naxalite-Vernon-released-from-Central-Jail/articleshow/20787836.cms)
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Naxalite-Vernon-released-from-Central-Jail/articleshow/20787836.cms) Eight Maoist guerrillas killed in encounter with security forces
Eight Maoist guerrillas were shot dead by the security forces on Thursday in an encounter in the forests of Latehar district of Jharkhand. Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said five Maoist cadre were killed in the gun battle when they opened fire on one group of security personnel while other three died in a gunfight against another group of security men in Kumandih forest of the district. He said the bodies were not yet recovered as the encounter was still on. The anti-Maoist operation was launched on Monday by the personnel of CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and the district police. This was the third encounter in the last three days, the police said.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/eight-maoists-guerrillas-killed-in-encounter-with-security-forces/402244-3-233.html

(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/eight-maoists-guerrillas-killed-in-encounter-with-security-forces/402244-3-233.html)
(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/eight-maoists-guerrillas-killed-in-encounter-with-security-forces/402244-3-233.html) Maoists destroy under construction bridge in Jharkhand
Maoists destroyed yesterday an under construction bridge in Jharkhand’s Ghatiyari area with the aim to stall development in the state and cause inconvenience to the residents . “They tied up the people here and told them to sit still and not do anything, after that they went and set fire to the tractor and they also set fire to a motorcycle there.
While leaving they placed a explosive device near the shed due to which the shed collapsed,” said Superintendent of police (SP), Jamtara, Nagendar Choudhary. According to the residents, 20 armed men, dressed in uniform came at midnight and tied up all the workers and asked them to sit quietly. The perpetrators later set ablaze earthmovers and tractor in the area. The government has invested a total sum of rupees 7 crores seven lakhs on the bridge being built over Barakar river.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/maoists-destroy-under-construction-bridge-in-jharkhand-113062700446_1.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24782

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Surat cops get ‘wanted naxal’
The police on Thursday produced a suspected naxal, recently arrested in Andhra Pradesh, in a city court, which sent him to police custody till June 29. The suspect, Pitla Arjun (43), was wanted here in connection with a case lodged against him in February 2010 for allegedly promoting naxalism in south Gujarat. Deputy Superintendent of Police Karim Polra said, “Pitla hails from Karimnagar and was presently staying in a chawl at Chembur in Mumbai. He was arrested by Andhra Police a few days ago. We will try to dig out more information from him on the whereabouts of other absconding naxals.”
www.indianexpress.com/news/surat-cops-get-wanted-naxal/1135292/ (http://www.signalfire.org/www.indianexpress.com/news/surat-cops-get-wanted-naxal/1135292/)

KKM activists questioned by rural police
Pune rural police Friday detained and questioned three activists of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), earlier arrested by the ATS for alleged Naxal links, after they participated in an agitation at Somatne Phata in Talegaon Dabhade. The agitation was led by Sant Bhoomi Sangharsha Samiti for saving Bhandara and Bhalchandra hills. The three who had been granted bail recently, were identified as Deepak Dhengle, Siddhartha Bhosale and Rupali Jadhav.
Additional superintendent of police (Pune rural) Vijay Kumar Magar said, “Based on prior information, we questioned KKM activists and searched them. We found nothing suspicious. So we let them go. We, however, lodged an offence against Madhusudan Maharaj for blocking the road.” Known for singing revolutionary songs, KKM has been on the radar of investigative agencies as some of its members were arrested by the state ATS for alleged Naxal links. Talegaon Dhabade police reportedly registered an offence against Maharaj, who had allegedly called the KKM activists for participating in the agitation. Police inspector R D Patil of Talegaon Dabhade police station said they questioned the KKM activists to verify their actions. Rupali’s husband Sagar Gorkhe was among those arrested by ATS.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kkm-activists-questioned-by-rural-police/1135413/

Bail to Naxalites arrested in Kanpur
KANPUR: The Allahabad high court had granted bail to three alleged Naxalites, who were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) from Naubasta in 2010. Justice Het Singh granted bail to Naveen Prasad Singh, Deepak Ram and Bansidhar alias Chintan, a couple of days back and directed them to furnish sureties for the satisfaction of the trial court. There representatives (pairokars) produced the high court order in the additional district and sessions court (XVIII) on Friday.
The court had fixed June 29 to decide on the amount of surety money. Accused Bansidhar Singh alias Chintan is a PhD and MPhil holder from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi and an ex-member of the organisation’s politburo. As many as eight members of banned CPI (Maoists) were arrested from different places of Kanpur by the STF on February 8,2010. Two of them were top leaders of the banned group. Besides Chintan, another top leader was Balraj alias Arvind Kumar. The other arrested Maoists were Rajendra Prasad and Bachcha Prasad. Bachcha Prasad was taken by Andhra Pradesh on remand for investigation.
All were arrests were made from Naubasta area. The police had claimed to recover Naxalite literature, pen drives, CDs and lap-top and Rs 7.40 lakh from their possession. One Kobad Gandhi was arrested first and during interrogation he had revealed the names of other members. The Naubasta police had filed chargesheet against them in 2010. At present, the case was passing through prosecution evidence stage. Their counsel Mohammad Asif pleaded that more than two years had passed and prosecution had presented one witness while it had submitted a list of 50 witnesses.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Bail-to-Naxalites-arrested-in-Kanpur/articleshow/20822928.cms

Maoists put up banner justifying brutal Bastar attack
Gadhchiroli, Maharashtra, Jun 29: Maoists on Friday put up banners in remote parts of this district justifying the attack on the convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar area on May 25, in which 29 people were killed, as an act of punishment for “supporters of Salwa Judum”. “How can punishing the supporters of Salwa Judum be an attack on the democratic values,” the ultras asked in the banners put up by Gadchiroli Divisional Committee of CPI (Maoists), at different places in Regdi, Kasansur, Ghot and other areas of the district. “The death of Mahendra Karma and other Congress leaders is a punishment given by the people. It is a natural justice,” the banner further said.
www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-put-up-banner-justifying-brutal-bastar-attack-24377.html (http://www.signalfire.org/www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/maoists-put-up-banner-justifying-brutal-bastar-attack-24377.html)

Maoist duo held in Odisha: police
Malkangiri: Two Maoists, allegedly involved in several incidents of violence including murder, were arrested from Silakota forests in Malkangiri district, police said on Saturday. Kasa Madhi and his son Dulla Madhi were caught during a joint combing operation by Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) personnel yesterday, Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said. The ultras belonged to the ‘padia dalam’ of the Maoists and were active members of the militia for the last four years, he said. During interrogation the duo had confessed to their involvement in the killing of Pandu Madkami, village head of Parsonpalli on October 27 last, he said.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/maoist-duo-held-in-odisha-police-385859

Maoist involved in attack on former Jharkhand speaker arrested
A Maoist who was involved in the attack on the convoy of former Jharkhand speaker Inder Singh Namdhari and on a police patrol was today arrested along with three others in Garhwa district. The Maoist, Surendra Singh Kherwar, was arrested from his house at Rajbash village in Chinia block along with three others, Upendra Singh Kharwar, Arvind and Navrang Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Prasad said. Three weapons were seized from their possession, Prasad said. He said that Kherwar was one of the accused in the attack on Namdhari’s convoy in Latehar district last year and on a police patrol party in Garhwa district in January this year when several police personnel were killed.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-involved-in-attack-on-former-jharkhand-speaker-arrested-113062900602_1.html

Police destroy arms recovered from Maoists in WB’s Jhargarm
West Bengal: Security personnel destroyed arms and ammunition recovered from Maoists in Jhargram district. Giving details of the recovery, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandant, Paras Nath said the weapons included a Tiffin bomb weighing 300 kilograms. In addition, a flashlight, guns, 125 meters of flexi wire and five pencil cells were also recovered and confiscated. Nath said the area has been sealed off and more teams have been arranged to conduct search operations.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/west-bengal/police-destroy-arms-recovered-from-maoists-in-wb-s-jhargarm_858647.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24791

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxal movement gaining foothold in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia villages
Ballia (UP): Community policing and combative efforts had appeared to be effective in checking Maoist menace in Uttar Pradesh, but a recent Ballia administration letter on apprehension of the Naxal movement taking roots in 53 villages might force the state police to redraw its plans. The state has three Naxal-infested districts – Sonebhadra, Chandauli and parts of Mirzapur – and it had been successfully managing to check the menace but a letter by superintendent of police, Ballia in April has highlighted the threat that looms large in 53 villages of the district which share border with Bihar on three sides.
According to the letter, all the socio-economic factors said to give rise to Naxalism are present in Ballia and if remedial steps are not taken, it would take root there, posing a challenge to law and order and development. These 53 villages include Nagwa, the native village of freedom fighter Mangal Pandey, Ojhwalia, the village of noted Hindi litterateur Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, and six villages under Dokati police station area of Jai Prakash Narain. The letter requests the government to provide all facilities in these villages of Ballia which are being provided to the Naxal-infested areas of the state and give priority to development schemes.
It also stresses on bringing the backward and poor people in the mainstream to check the youth from being misled. According to police sources, Naxals have been active in the district in some form or other since 2001 and there are inputs suggesting that a ‘daman virodhi morcha’ (anti- oppression front) had also been formed here. Police sources said the Inspector General of Police, Varanasi has also sent a letter to the police chiefs of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh to remain vigilant with regard to the activities of ‘Bharat ka Janvadi Morcha’, CPI Maoists and Nari Mukti Morcha.
The letter also states that a two-day meeting of one of these outfits was organised at Nagri Pracharini Sabhagar on October, 2011. According to sources, additional force consisting of one ASP, one circle officer, 15 SIs and 150 constables have been provided and patrolling is being conducted in these 53 villages which share their borders with Bhojpur, Chappra, Buxar and Siwan. A massive community policing system in the three Naxal- infested districts is already in place with camps being held regularly for bringing people into the mainstream and extending help in education, health, employment and computer training among others.
Earlier this month, SP, Sonebhadra and deputy commandant CRPF and their team had taken part in combing in areas adjoining Chhattisgarh. They had also met the locals and took stock of their problems. IG Varanasi, G L Meena when contacted, said the reply from the government was awaited with regard to extending the benefits to these 53 villages of the district. Once that is received, help will be extended to people of these areas through central government schemes not just in policing but also on the development front, he said.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130630/news-current-affairs/article/naxal-movement-gaining-foothold-uttar-pradeshs-ballia-villages
(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130630/news-current-affairs/article/naxal-movement-gaining-foothold-uttar-pradeshs-ballia-villages)
Women Cadres Shedding Traditional Roles in LWE Areas
Women in naxal cadres are being recruited more for military operations in Bastar Maoist-hotbed as against the general perception of their role as cooks, motivators and shields, according to recent findings by the state police. The women cadres are also being given equal chance in decision making at special zonal committee rung of outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). “Women cadres are actively participating in military operations in large number as compared to their male counterparts. It has been clearly witnessed in recent attacks (Jiram valley attack on Congress convoy) carried by Maoists,” Inspector General, Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and anti-naxal operation, R P Kalluri told PTI.
“Women cadres are generally more brutal and ferocious. We cannot rule out their increasing numbers in the movement in Bastar. We have to psychologically deal with the issue,” Kalluri said. Intelligence inputs suggest the number of women cadres has significantly increased in the past two years in Bastar region, considered as country’s worst naxal-hit area, and apparently in other states as well. In 2010, women constituted around 40 per cent of the Naxal cadre which increased to 60 per cent in the beginning of this year. Chhattisgarh leads among naxal-hit states where recruitment of women cadre is higher.
“Women were only recruited to assist men or for ordinary tasks. But now the scenario has changed. With most of the men rebels quitting the movement, it has prompted the Maoist leaders to alter their recruitment strategy. They are giving more preference to females,” an IB official said on condition of anonymity. In the past few months, about 60 per cent women cadres were recruited at lower ranks in naxal camps as compared to men, while they hold 50 per cent presence in area and divisional committees and 25 per cent in zonal committees, the official said. In Bastar, around 27 divisional naxal committees were operating under Dandkaranya special zonal committee, in which over 20 were being lead by women cadres.
By recruiting women, the Naxal leaders want to convince people that they enjoy social acceptability. Besides doing the routine work, women also serve better in collecting intelligence inputs, the official added. As per the IB official, Sujata, active since past several years in the region, is heading the Dandakaranya state military commission. Accompanying her are Niti (chief of north Bastar divisional committee), Madhvi (west Bastar divisional committee), Kosi (Mangler area committee) among others. However, this is not a recent phenomenon as women have been part of the naxal movement since its beginning, an expert on Maoist issues feels.
“They (women) easily do not quit the movement, that is why their numbers are increasing,” Professor Girishkant Pandey, head of defence studies science in Government Science College, said. According to Narayanpur Deputy Superintendent of Police N K Sahu, Chetna Natya Mandali (CNM) — a cultural wing of Maoists — plays a dominant role in recruiting women. For various cultural activities aimed at publicising the naxal propaganda, mostly tribal girls were recruited and later they joined the movement. Besides, it has recently been observed that more male cadres are quitting the movement, Sahu said. Notably, a woman platoon party commander was recently killed in Narayanpur district while a woman deputy commander of national park area committee was gunned down in Bijpaur district, police said.
http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=802365
(http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=802365)

‘Replicating Andhra model will be disastrous’
KANNUR: The Union government’s decision to replicate Andhra Pradesh model at national level to fight the Maoists will have disastrous consequences, said Varavara Rao, Maoist ideologue and activist from Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, an elite commando force named Greyhounds is being used to fight left wing extremists. “Greyhounds are another version of Salwa Judum, which recruited tribal people to fight the Maoists,” he added. A meeting of chief ministers of the Maoist-affected states held in New Delhi on June 6 has agreed to form a unified national policy to tackle the Maoist menace and follow the Andhra Pradesh model to counter them.
The meeting was convened following the Darbha attack in Chhattisgarh that wiped out the state Congress leadership. Speaking to TOI here on Saturday, Rao, who was here to attend a convention organized against the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, said that the method Andhra police were using was illegal and extra-constitutional. “The Greyhounds has no geographical limits and will go to any state to kill Maoists. Giving sanction to adopt the Andhra model at national level is the sign of the frustration that has crept into the minds of the rulers,” he said. According to Rao, there were a number of reasons for the decline of Maoists in Andhra Pradesh.
“But the leadership of the North Telengana Special Committee are by and large intact, despite the police actions,” he claimed. “Government is now concentrating on eliminating Maoist leadership. Earlier, there were raids and harassment to nab the leaders. Now the security forces are focusing more on wiping out the leaders,” said Rao. At the same time, Maoists are spreading their activities to other areas despite being under pressure from the security agencies in their strongholds.
“The party is gaining strength in the North East and in some areas in South India.” Rao also expressed apprehension that the government might use the army against the Maoists after the elections to the Chhattisgarh assembly and the general elections in 2014. “The Centre is planning an all-out offensive against the Maoists. Deploying the army is dependent on the outcome of the polls. If any party gets a decisive mandate and forms a stable government, possibility of using the army against the Maoists is very high,” he added. Rao also said that there have not been any significant efforts to revive the dialogue between the Maoists and the government after the killing of the CPI (Maoist) politburo member Azad, which led to a stalemate.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Replicating-Andhra-model-will-be-disastrous/articleshow/20838405.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24807

[TheGodlessUtopian]

SP, five other policemen killed in Jharkhand Naxal attack
Ranchi: Naxals carried out a daring attack in Jharkhand’s Dumka district on Tuesday when they attacked a police motorcade killing six cops, including an SP. Reports said the Naxals attacked the motorcade of Amarjit Balihar, the Superintendent of Police of neighbouring Pakur district, when he was returning from a meeting.
Balihar as well as five other police personnel were killed in the attack. Maoists opened fire on the police convoy when it was passing through the Kathikund area. Additional forces have been rushed to the spot, officials said. “Six policemen including Pakur Superintendent of Police Amarjit Balihar were killed in a Maoist ambush,” state Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar said. Initial reports had put the death toll at seven.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/naxals-attack-police-convoy-in-jharkhand-seven-cops-killed_859413.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/naxals-attack-police-convoy-in-jharkhand-seven-cops-killed_859413.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/naxals-attack-police-convoy-in-jharkhand-seven-cops-killed_859413.html) As it happened: Pakur SP, five others killed in Jharkhand
Naxal attack 21.06: Pakur SP, five others killed in Jharkhand Naxal attack A superintendent of police, known for his tough stand against Left-wing extremism, and five other policemen were killed and three others injured in an ambush by Maoists in Jharkhand’s Dumka district today. The ultras, who were lying in wait, opened fire and hurled bombs at the convoy of 45-year-old Amarjit Balihar, SP of Pakur who was returning from Dumka, state Home Secretary N N Pandey told PTI. Balihar, an IPS officer of 2003 batch, had been commandant of Jharkhand Armed Police. He was a target of Maoists due to his tough stand against them ever since his posting at Pakur, sources said. The driver of Balihar’s vehicle was among those killed, he said, adding five policemen died on the spot and another on way to the hospital.
The Maoists fired over 150 bullets at the policemen, who did not get a chance to retaliate, DIG (Dumka) Priya Dubey said, adding the ultras also looted the weapons of the policemen. The attack took place around 3.45 pm near Kathikund in Dumka district bordering Pakur, about 400 km from here, when they were returning after attending a meeting chaired by Dubey and attended by all the SPs of the range, Additional Director General of Police B B Pradhan said. Earlier, police had said the incident had occurred near the forests of Amrapara in Pakur district bordering Dumka. Besides Balihar, the dead policemen were identified as Ashok Kumar Srivastav, Chandan Kumar Thappa, Manoj Kumar Hembrom and Rajesh Kumar Sharma. The name of the sixth policeman is yet to be known, Pandey said. Their bodies were taken to Dumka and the injured were admitted to the sadar hospital there and later referred to Dhanbad hospital, he added. PTI
http://www.firstpost.com/india/as-it-happened-naxal-attack-in-jharkhand-kills-5-including-pakur-sp-921995.html

(http://www.firstpost.com/india/as-it-happened-naxal-attack-in-jharkhand-kills-5-including-pakur-sp-921995.html)
(http://www.firstpost.com/india/as-it-happened-naxal-attack-in-jharkhand-kills-5-including-pakur-sp-921995.html) Naxal militia members held from forest
Bhadrachalam (AP): Two naxal militia members, wanted in connection with a string of “destructive and violent activities,” were arrested in Khammam district, a senior police officer said on Monday. “Tellam Dadaiah alias Madhu and Karam Ungaiah were arrested when they were moving in Pedda Bandirevu forest area of Dummagudem mandal under suspicious circumstances,” Bhadrachalam ASP N Prakash Reddy told.
The duo were apprehended by a special team attached to Charla and Dummagudem police stations and the personnel of CRPF 141 Battalion when they were returning after conducting combing operations last evening, he said. Dadaiah and Ungaiah have confessed to be working for Venkatapuram Area committee and Vijay Militia dalam, led by commander Musaki Bheema alias Lal, Reddy said. “The militia members had participated in many violent and destructive activities in Venkatapuram circle limits, including murder of home guard Sheelam Naresh at Parnashala, blasting of Forest guest house at Sitanagaram among others,” the ASP added.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/naxal-militia-members-held-from-forest_859282.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/naxal-militia-members-held-from-forest_859282.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/naxal-militia-members-held-from-forest_859282.html) Odisha Maoist attack: 6 including 1 cop injured
Sambalpur (Odisha): A special operation group (SOG) jawan was seriously injured after being shot at during an exchange of fire between police and Maoists in a forest in Odisha’s Subarnapur district on Tuesday, police said. The exchange of fire ensued during a combing operation in the Patrapalli-Jharbahali forests under Ulunda police station, about 70 km from here, they said.
Arms including one SLR, four rifles, a hand grenade, a pistol besides other materials being used by the ultras were seized from the spot, DIG (Western Range), Sanjay Kumar said. On a tip-off that Maoists active in Chattisgarh and Jharkhand had set up many camps in the area, the SOG with the help of local police had launched a combing operation in the area when they encountered retaliation which continued for a long time. However, the ultras succeeded in retreating into the forests, the sources said. Combing operation in the area had been intensified and senior officials including superintendent of police, Subarnapur, N Sekhar had rushed to the spot.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/odisha-maoist-attack-6-including-1-cop-injured_859510.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/odisha-maoist-attack-6-including-1-cop-injured_859510.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/odisha-maoist-attack-6-including-1-cop-injured_859510.html) Hardcore Maoist arrested in Bihar
Chapra: A hardcore Maoist was arrested on Tuesday with weapons from a village in Bihar’s Saran district, a police official said. Acting on a tip off, the police raided Baligaon village located in Gandak riverine area and arrested the Maoist, identified as Chandrashekhar Sahni, said to be self-acclaimed area commander of Saran region a Maoist outfit, Superintendent of Police Sujeet Kumar said. Sahni was wanted in cases of extortion and levy collection from the construction companies engaged in road and rail projects in the district and surrounding areas, he said. Two pistols among a haul of arms and ammunitions were recovered from the ultra’s possession, Kumar said.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/hardcore-maoist-arrested-in-bihar_859438.html

(http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/hardcore-maoist-arrested-in-bihar_859438.html)
(http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/hardcore-maoist-arrested-in-bihar_859438.html) Police arrest Maoists leader in Jharkhand
Jharkhand: Based on intelligence inputs, police arrested a Maoists leader in Jharkhand’s Latehar district recently. Superintendent of Police Michael Raj said his team raided a hideout and recovered five rifles, 73 cartridges, and other goods from a hideout after interrogating the arrested Maoist leader. “He revealed in his statement the whereabouts of the arms. On that basis, five rifles, 73 cartridges, 40 metres of police uniform and other goods were recovered,” said Raj.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/police-arrest-maoists-leader-in-jharkhand_859366.html

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24828

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Security forces surround 250 Naxals in Jharkhand
In a massive operation against the Naxals, security forces have laid siege to a hill in Jharkhand, entrapping nearly 250 guerrillas by cutting their supply lines, police said here on Friday. The ‘Jaal Char’ operation has been jointly launched by the state police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Latehar district, around 145 km from the state capital Ranchi. “The operation was launched 10 days ago in a well planned manner with around 2,000 security personnel now surrounding the hill.
Gun battles took place at least on five days. We have cut the Maoist supply lines by deploying forces at Kumadih railway station,” a police officer involved in the operation told the news agency. Police claim to have killed at least eight rebels, destroyed one camp, seized landmines, explosives, mobile phones, medicines and other materials in the last 10 days of the operation. The hill is spread around 17 sq km. With more than 15 villages located in the area, the security forces are gradually closing upon the guerrillas, a police officer said. According to sources at the police headquarters here, the union home ministry has been informed about the operation. Earlier on Thursday, Jharkhand police chief Rajiv Kumar, who is monitoring the entire operation, said the Naxalites should either surrender or be prepared to face bullets.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/security-forces-surround-250-naxals-in-jharkhand-113070500333_1.html

(http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/security-forces-surround-250-naxals-in-jharkhand-113070500333_1.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/security-forces-surround-250-naxals-in-jharkhand-113070500333_1.html) Special forces for Red bastions soon
The first batch of the anti-naxal special force for four affected states is likely to be ready by the year end. The home ministry has this week cleared the decks for the first group of police officers to be trained at Andhra Pradesh’s training facility for its commando force, Greyhound. The first course for police trainers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will begin in the third week of July, a government official said on Thursday.
Over the next few weeks, Greyhound trainers will teach the commando trainers how to survive in jungles and hostile environment, intercept Maoists and neutralise them if necessary. These trainers will then go back to their respective states to retrain the commandos in a three-month crash course. By next July, the home ministry expects the four states to have the full complement of the special force ready to take naxals head on.
“These 8,000 members of the special forces in these four states will be the nucleus of the anti-Maoist offensive, collecting intelligence and conducting surgical operations against Maoist leaders,” a home ministry official said, conceding that the Greyhound in AP — and the special forces elsewhere — were only one component of the central offensive
. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Special-forces-for-Red-bastions-soon/Article1-1087242.aspx (http://www.signalfire.org/.%20http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Special-forces-for-Red-bastions-soon/Article1-1087242.aspx)

(http://www.signalfire.org/.%20http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Special-forces-for-Red-bastions-soon/Article1-1087242.aspx)
(http://www.signalfire.org/.%20http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Special-forces-for-Red-bastions-soon/Article1-1087242.aspx) Security blind spot in Santhal Pargana – Maoist slaughter of Pakur cops jolts state, talks on for full-time CRPF presence
Ranchi, July 4: Caught off-guard by the daylight Maoist ambush in Dumka that killed Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar and five other policemen, the state is considering mounting pressure on the Union home ministry to strengthen security in Santhal Pargana. In an obvious oversight, the six-district tribal hinterland doesn’t deploy CRPF permanently despite the area’s increasing Maoist footprint. “The area has no permanent deployment of CRPF, though deliberations are on. After the Kathikund firing, we have assembled CRPF personnel from other areas for combing operations,” CRPF inspector-general (operations) M.V. Rao told The Telegraph.
The state will take the final decision on approaching the Union home ministry in consultation with principal home secretary N.N. Pandey and director-general of police Rajeev Kumar. Also, only three districts — Deoghar, Godda and Pakur — are covered under the Centre’s Integrated Action Plan (IAP), while Dumka, Sahebganj and Jamtara are not. Sahebganj is not even deemed worthy of Union home ministry’s SRE (security-related expenditure) funds for Naxalite-hit districts.
The examples suggest Santhal Pargana is not on the focus of state and Centre as far as effective curbing of rebel threat is concerned. CRPF has three operational areas — Chaibasa (West Singhbhum), Ranchi and Hazaribagh — and an equal number of officers in the rank of deputy inspector general (operations). Zone Chaibasa takes care of West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan and Khunti districts. Ranchi monitors Ranchi, Khunti, Simdega, Gumla and the critical Palamau division comprises Latehar, Palamau and Garhwa. Hazaribagh takes care of Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Giridih, Chatra and Dhanbad. Santhal Pargana is out of the loop even though senior officers say this is a big mistake. “CRPF should be deployed in Santhal Pargana and a discussions to this effect should be taken up at the highest level.
The mere presence of CRPF boosts the morale of the district police,” said a senior CRPF official not wishing to be named. Senior IPS Arun Oraon, who heads the police force of six districts of Santhal Pargana commissionary as an inspector-general based in Dumka, provided details on the status of other central security-cum-development schemes in the region. “The IAP scheme has been launched in only three districts. Schemes under SRE are implemented in five districts of the commissionary but not Sahebganj,” he told The Telegraph. IAP and SRE include development projects such as all-weather roads, civic action programmes of the security forces, fortified camps for police personnel in Naxalite-hit areas.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130705/jsp/frontpage/story_17082774.jsp

(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130705/jsp/frontpage/story_17082774.jsp)
(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130705/jsp/frontpage/story_17082774.jsp) Jharkhand Maoist attack: Police corner mastermind of Dumka ambush
RANCHI: Security forces on Thursday said they have surrounded the Maoists, including the mastermind, involved in the Dumka ambush in which Pakur superintendent of police Amarjit Balihar was killed along with four other cops. In a late night operation, CoBRA jawans cordoned off all exit points at Kumundih jungle in Latehar, 200km from here, where Dumka ambush mastermind and several other Maoists are hiding.
Security forces also forbade villagers’ movement outside the Kumundih forests without extensive checks and frisking, building more than 20 such points in the jungle. A senior IPS officer, coordinating the anti-Maoist operation, said several companies of CoBRA, CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguars and district police have been deployed around Kumundih. “The Maoists will have to either surrender or face death,” said DGP Rajiv Kumar on phone from Kumundih forest, which has three police stations around it: Barbadih, Garu and Manika. “The head of the CPI(Maoist) in Jharkhand, Arvindji alias Nishantji with 200 rebels are hiding in Kumundih.
A member of the powerful Bihar Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) of the CPI(Maoist), Arvindji is suspected to have helped rebels ambush the SP,” said a police source. The Dumka ambush was carried out under the direct guidance of Arvindji, who had arranged for the Maoists “central military commission” guerrillas for the attack. Dumka DIG Priya Dubey said Arvindji’s guidance was definitely behind Tuesday’s ambush. The government on Wednesday vowed to forcefully retaliate against the Maoists in the wake of the Dumka attack. Sources said two companies of CoBRA, five of CRPF and six of Jharkhand Jaguar were rushed to Kumundih in the aftermath of Dumka incident, in which Pakur SP and five security personnel were killed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jharkhand-Maoist-attack-Police-corner-mastermind-of-Dumka-ambush/articleshow/20921494.cms
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jharkhand-Maoist-attack-Police-corner-mastermind-of-Dumka-ambush/articleshow/20921494.cms)

A Maoist founder who never wore a uniform, never went underground
Badri Rai is possibly one of the humblest men around. Dumka and Pakur police say he was one of the founding members of the CPI (Maoist) in the Santhal Pargana zone and was a sub-zonal commander. The 57-year-old man sitting outside his house in Dumka’s Sahruapani village smiles and shrugs. After being in jail from 2007 to April 2012, Rai, whose village is within the Kathikund block, now calls himself a farmer. His sons have moved up to replace their father: zonal commander Ramlal Rai, about 30 years old, is now in jail after being arrested in February. Shahdev Rai, 35, is commander of one of the three sub-zones that comprise the SP zone.
It is being widely speculated that Shahdev, along with zonal commander Praveerda, planned the July 2 attack on Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar to avenge his brother’s arrest. “They were forced into joining the party,” said Rai, and it was the only time he became emotional during a 45-minute interview. “The police would trouble my children so much during my time in jail, they had no option but to run away and join the party. Shahdev was leading a normal life in the village, he had a grocery shop here,” he said. Rai claims he was jailed for an incident for which he was not responsible. “The police wanted me in, so they charged me in a case where some dumpers were set on fire. I was not even around that day. The case was finally thrown out,” he said. Rai said he joined what was then the Maoist Communist Centre in 2003-04 and never went underground.
He claims he never got arms training and that he was active only in the Maoist frontal organisation Kisan Committee, involved in mobilising farmers against money lenders. “The party was started here in 2001 by people who came from Giridih district and Bihar’s Bhagalpur. Most of my time was spent doing groundwork. I never wore a uniform,” he said. He laughs heartily when asked about being a sub-zonal commander: “The party was too small to be divided into sub-zones back then.” Police say armed squads were formed in 2005, but Rai claims arms training and levy collection began during his time in jail.
Rai refuses to talk about the party after his incarceration, but agrees that the SP zone has entered into a new phase after the killing of Balihar. “There cannot be any more grassroots work to grow the party now. Most workers will have to go underground,” he said. Rai was with the Communist Party of India in the 1980s and was in the Dumka district committee. He left after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha swallowed most of their organisation: “We supported Shibu Soren for one election and he left with most of our cadre,” he said. Rai may have left the party, but is excited by its growth. He talks of how Soren came to the region as chief minister to inaugurate an industrial project and talked of the growing Maoist influence. “The state had just been created, and he talked about Jharkhand turning into Lalkhand. Soon, in 2004-05, we were growing rapidly, as JMM betrayed the people by supporting huge industrial projects. What they don’t seem to realise is that wherever there are mines, Maoism will grow,” Rai said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-maoist-founder-who-never-wore-a-uniform-never-went-underground/1137965/0

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-maoist-founder-who-never-wore-a-uniform-never-went-underground/1137965/0)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-maoist-founder-who-never-wore-a-uniform-never-went-underground/1137965/0) Maoists appear to be training cadres to shoot down copters
Documents seized by security forces in Maoist-hit Koraput district reveal that the rebels appear to have started training cadres to gun down helicopters used in ferrying security personnel for counter-insurgency operations. This came to light after security forces recovered certain documents listing techniques to shoot down choppers and other aircraft from Maoist camps in Naranga forest of Narayanpatna two days ago.
“We suspect the Red rebels are being trained in it (bringing down choppers),” said DIG (BSF) Sumer Singh. “As the documents are in Telugu, we are taking the help of a translator,” he added. As Maoists frequently attack security personnel by planting landmines and ambushing patrolling teams, security forces prefer the aerial route. This has prompted Maoists to learn techniques to target helicopters, Singh said. He said if the Maoists get the technology and arms to shoot down choppers, the security personnel would face tough challenges while executing anti-extremist operations. “Top officials of security forces go to Maoist-hit areas in helicopters to assess the situation. If the Red outlaws succeed in targetting choppers, a major mishap might take place,” he said.
However, police believe that with the arms they have, the Maoists cannot target helicopters. “Generally Maoists try to fire at copters carrying security forces at the time of landing and take-off. But they have never been successful as around 2 to 3 km radius around the helipad is sanitized,” said SP (Malkangiri) Akhileshwar Singh. “All necessary precautionary measures will be taken to ensure the Maoists never get a chance to target choppers ferrying security forces,” he added.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-appear-to-be-training-cadres-to-shoot-down-copters/1138093/

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-appear-to-be-training-cadres-to-shoot-down-copters/1138093/)
(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-appear-to-be-training-cadres-to-shoot-down-copters/1138093/) Security tightened in Red zones of Bokaro
BOKARO: District police on Thursday beefed up security arrangements in Maoist-hit areas in Bokaro. This arrangement has been made following the recent rebel attack in Dumka district in which Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar was killed along with five other policemen. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed in the Red zones is also on alert. CRPF personnel are cautious and are avoiding movement in and around the area other than the patrolling and operations they are carrying out.
The security in the bordering areas of Purulia ( West Bengal), Giridih and Hazaribagh districts have also been intensified. Police in Jhumra hills in Gomia and the Upperghat of Nawadih block are , sensitive areas under the Bermo sub-division. SP, Bokaro Kuldeep Dwivedi said each police station have been directed to tighten security arrangements in their areas. Police personnel equipped with hi-tech weapons can be seen guarding different points in Red-hit areas. Checkpoints on roads are also well-guarded and checking made stricter. Political leaders were asked not to take out rallies in remote areas. SP said they are also concerned about the security of political leaders in the area. They have asked MLAs and MPs to avoid visiting any interior areas of their constituencies for functions and meetings and also inform police if they do so.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Security-tightened-in-Red-zones-of-Bokaro/articleshow/20921860.cms

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24854

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Killing of Prasadam condemned
Haragopal recalls late leader’s concern for Girijans
The government and the police were responsible for the killing of Ganti Prasadam, president of Martyrs’ Friends and Relatives Association and the vice-president of Revolutionary Democratic Front, in Nellore on Thursday, said leaders of people’s organisations, human rights activists and revolutionary writers, here on Friday. Prasadam had no enemies and only the government had a reason to eliminate him since Prasadam was travelling across India and working among people to awaken them, RDF’s joint secretary G.N. Saibaba said at a press conference. Selfless man Prasadam could work anywhere and on any issue and had also taken up agrarian issues and would work openly among the people to create revolutionary awareness and go underground when necessary, Prof. Saibaba said. Prasadam was the central committee member of CPI (ML) Party Unity which later merged with CPI (Maoist) and went underground.
After he was released from a lengthy detention after his arrest in Aurangabad, Prasadam had come out into the open and worked with many people’s organisations. Prof. Saibaba demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting or retired High Court judge into the murder of Prasadam. Human rights activist G. Haragopal recalled Prasadam’s concern for Girijans and his humane nature when he wanted the voiceless Girijans released first and not him or other leaders in exchange of then Malkangiri Collector Vineel Krishina.
When the Girijans were not released, Prasadam went on a fast in the Bhubaneswar jail and got about 200 of them released. Prasadam’s killing was murder of humanity. He was concerned about the people and wanted to help them, but was eliminated, said Prof. Haragopal. Virasam’s Chalasani Prasad recalled his 40 years’ association with Prasadam and his work among the people in Bobbili area where he was worshipped like a god. He alleged that the police in mufti had killed him. General secretary of RDF Raj Kishore alleged that the government goondas killed Prasadam to create a fear among those working against injustice and atrocities and for a new democratic order. He was certain that the people would make the government pay for killing people like Prasadam.
At another press conference, Mr. Chalasani Prasad, T. Sreerama Murthy of ACLC, P.V. Ramana of Anti-Privatisation Committee, K. Venkata Ramana of Dalita Hakkula Samakhya, K. Padma of Mahila Chetana, Ganesh Panda of AIFTU, Kondayya of CPI (ML-New Democracy), M. Venkateswarlu of IFTU, S. Ramana of Dalita Vimukti, Ravi of Slum-dwellers Association, Venkata Lakshmi of POW and JV Ratnam condemned Prasadam’s murder and sought a judicial inquiry into the killing.
http://www.thehindu.com/news//Visakhapatnam/killing-of-prasadam-condemned/article4888010.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news//Visakhapatnam/killing-of-prasadam-condemned/article4888010.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news//Visakhapatnam/killing-of-prasadam-condemned/article4888010.ece) Special squad for targeted killings
Kolkata, July 5, 2013, DHNS: Raising alarms for the state police forces along the West Bengal-Jharkhand-Bihar-Chhattisgarh corridor, the Maoists seem to have formed a special squad, whose job would be to undertake targeted killings of political leaders and senior police officials. The possibility of such a squad executing killings emerged when the West Bengal Police was informally sharing intelligence with Jharkhand Police, who is currently busy in looking for more clues to the recent daylight killing of Amarjit Balihar, the Superintendent of Police of Pakur district, along with five others.
According to a senior police official from the West Bengal anti-Maoist cell, there were several references to a special squad that have been undertaking only targeted killings, after detailed planning to ensure perfect execution. “The recent killing of Mahendra Karma and other Congress leaders at Chhattisgarh is one such example in which planning should have happened over months. Balihar’s killing should have been planned in such a manner to ensure there would be nothing jeopardising the operation,” he said.
This special squad, being thought of as a Maoist special operations group by senior administrative and police officials, is reported to have been formed with cadres who are either from Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh or are well aware of the terrain along this corridor for ease of movement and superior execution. Besides the Central Military Commission, the special squad is also expected to maintain contact with the regional commanders although it is unlikely they would report to these commanders or would inform them before hand, if they were to pass through the regions they control.
http://www.deccanherald.com//343015/special-squad-targeted-killings.html
(http://www.deccanherald.com//343015/special-squad-targeted-killings.html)

Special vigil across UP after Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand
Special vigil is being maintained across Uttar Pradesh in view of recent Naxal attacks in Chattisgarh and Jharkhand killing Congress leaders and senior police officers. IG, Law and Order, RK Vishkarma told reporters that as three districts of the state Sonebhadra, Chandauli and Mirzapur are Maoist affected, special vigil is being maintained across the state in the wake of the recent Maoist attacks in adjoining Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. To a question on whether there is any input relating to Maoist threats in the state, Vishkarma evading a direct reply said extra precaution was necessary as Maoists often strike at places least expected.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/special-vigil-across-up-after-maoist-attacks-in-chhattisgarh-jharkhand/404442-3-242.html

(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/special-vigil-across-up-after-maoist-attacks-in-chhattisgarh-jharkhand/404442-3-242.html) Binayak Sen denied permission to UN Rapporteur’s seminar
His visit will compromise the internal security of the state, says court
Rights activist Binayak Sen has been denied permission to participate in an international seminar on health care in Kathmandu by a Raipur court. Dr. Sen sought permission to visit Kathmandu after confirming his participation to the seminar organisers and hence “the application is not bona fide” the court order said. The court has also considered a reply by Chhattisgarh police that said Dr. Sen’s visit to Nepal “will compromise internal security of the state.” Dr. Sen was invited by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health to speak in an international two-day seminar on providing health care in conflict areas. Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, told The Hindu that he is “surprised and shocked” by the court’s order.
He said the report of the meeting would be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Hours before his departure on Friday, a court order restricted Dr. Sen from visiting Kathmandu. “It is evident from the application that the applicant has agreed to take part in the programme without the permission of this court.
He sought permission on June 28 and accepted the proposal (to visit Kathmandu) on June 21,” Additional Sessions Court judge Alok Kumar Upadhyay said in his order. “Dr. Sen agreed to attend the meeting (before June 21) before he sought a permission, so that the organisers could send him the accommodation and flight details and he could furnish those in turn (to court) with his application,” said Dr. Sen’s lawyer, S.K. Farhan. The details of accommodation and a copy of the air tickets to and from Kathmandu were attached with the application. Earlier, the court sought a reply from the police about Dr. Sen’s application, to which Additional SP, Raipur, Lal Umed Singh replied that Dr. Sen’s visit is detrimental to the country’s security. “Such foreign visits of Dr. Sen consolidate Naxal and Maoist networks. India’s internal security is also compromised,” Mr. Singh stated
. “In view of increased Maoist violence, killing of security personnel and prominent political leaders, objection is raised against Dr. Sen’s foreign visit,” Mr. Singh told the court. Dr. Sen was invited to speak on healthcare delivery and accessibility to people in remote conflict areas, especially focussing Chhattisgarh. His topic was broadly described in the draft agenda as ‘availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health facilities, goods and services — duties and responsibilities toward affected populations, obligations of non-discrimination and medical independence, Treatment of parties to the conflict cf. civilians.’
He was supposed to speak on the first day of the seminar alongside health care and human rights activists from Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Jamshid Gaziyev, Special Procedures Branch, Katherine Footer of John Hopkins School of Public Health and International Committee of the Red Cross will be attending the seminar, according to the draft agenda. In April 2011, a Chhattisgarh Court directed Dr. Sen to surrender his passport as a bail condition in line with the Supreme Court order. While it is not mandatory to have a passport to travel to Nepal, Dr. Sen needs permission from court for any overseas travel. Earlier, he was allowed to travel abroad twice — to South Korea in 2011 and United Kingdom in 2012 — and on both occasions the Chhattisgarh court approved the travel.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/binayak-sen-denied-permission-to-un-rapporteurs-seminar/article4885917.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24861

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Six Naxals killed in Gadchiroli
Six Naxals were shot dead by the Gadchiroli police on Sunday morning in an encounter on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarhborder in Ettapalli division of the district. “Naxals attacked a police team which was carrying out anti-Naxal operation on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border on Sunday morning.
The operation is still going on. We have managed to recover six Naxal’s dead bodies, all in uniform. One Carbine, one .303 gun, three Bharmars (Country made rifles), hand grenades, backpacks and some Naxal literature were recovered from the spot” Gadchiroli Police PRO Dharmendra Joshi told The Hindu. But Mr.Joshi also said the number of casualties could increase because “the operation is still on”.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/sixnaxalskilled-ingadchiroli/article4891466.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/sixnaxalskilled-ingadchiroli/article4891466.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/sixnaxalskilled-ingadchiroli/article4891466.ece) Plight of jailed tribal undertrials ‘serious’: Supreme Court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has termed as “serious” the plight of tribal undertrials, lodged in various central jails in eight Naxal-affected states, but sought factual details for passing any judicial order. “These are very serious matters. You (PIL petitioner) are only relying on the media report. The data can be collected. You complete facts. We cannot pass order on generalised data. “If you want this court to entertain this petition, at least file certain facts so that we can act,” the bench headed by Justice R M Lodha said and asked the petitioner to file an additional affidavit giving factual details. The bench was hearing the PIL filed by Jinendra Jain on behalf of society ‘Fight For Human Rights’ alleging that thousands of tribals were languishing in various central jails without any trial in Naxal-affected states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Advocate K R Chitra, appearing for the society, argued that the Centre and the eight states be asked to respond as the issue was related to the fundamental rights of the underprivileged section of the society. “The Adivasi undertrials are languishing in various jails for very long period without any trial and as a result, unrest and hostilities are prevailing in tribal areas of the country,” the advocate argued.
“Often, the undertrials are not informed about the grounds of their arrests,” the PIL said. They are not even duly represented by lawyers of their choice as there are very few interpretors available in courts who can speak Adivasi languages like ‘Gondi’ and ‘Halbi’, it said. The PIL further said, “Adivasi undertrials speak only Adivasi language and there are no sufficient number of interpreters/translators available in courts, hence they are deprived of their fundamental rights of fair trials as they are unable to explain the real facts and circumstances to the judicial officers.”
The undertrials, arrested mostly in Naxal-violence related cases, are lodged in distant central jails and hence, they are deprived of “their rights to meet their relatives”, it said. The PIL also sought a direction to the Centre and the states to “initiate urgent concrete action and also appoint a special commission of eminent jurists” to oversee dedicated fast track courts to hear their cases.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/plight-of-jailed-tribal-undertrials-serious-supreme-court/articleshow/20953093.cms
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/plight-of-jailed-tribal-undertrials-serious-supreme-court/articleshow/20953093.cms)

Maoists taste success, form crack hit squads
KOLKATA : The CPI(Maoist) has formed “special operations group” after being rejuvenated following their successful operations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand recently, according to Intelligence Bureau officials. The central military commission of the party is in charge of this group and cadres from nine states where the Maoists are active have been specially recruited for the SOG. A large number of them are women who hail from Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. They are being imparted training in jungle and guerilla warfare and also how to survive in dense forests for days without proper ration and hide from drone aircraft.
An intelligence official said, “During the last two operations it was noticed that Maoist squad members had fired rampantly which indicated that many of the cadres who had ambushed the convoy in which top Congress leaders were killed were novices. “As such, they are now imparting specialised training to their cadres by forming the SOG to use firepower at optimum level and also complete ambushes within minimum time and flee the area. They will basically be hit and run squads,” he said.
The West Bengal unit of the Maoists has also come under severe criticism for mishandling many operations and despite protests the state unit has now been placed under the command of the Jharkhand party unit. A tribal leader was killed by the Maoists in Purbo Medinipur district which the central party leadership felt was a big tactical mistake as tribals were their main support base. The central Maoist leadership, IB officials said, had also decided not to kill low ranking policemen or even those whom they suspect as informers among villagers. “They have decided to pin point top police officials, politicians and big businessmen as class enemies and annihilate them and thereby regain the support of the tribals. They had lost many of their bases due to ‘Operation Greenhunt’ but after killing the founder of Salwa Julum Mahendra Karma they are regrouping in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand very fast,” the official said. The SOG at present has 200 members and at least 15 are from Jangal Mahal area of West Bengal. The Maoist central leadership has directed that these SOG squads would be aided by local party units and its mass fronts.
http://freepressjournal.in/maoists-taste-success-form-crack-hit-squads/

(http://freepressjournal.in/maoists-taste-success-form-crack-hit-squads/)
(http://freepressjournal.in/maoists-taste-success-form-crack-hit-squads/) Maoists blame A.P. govt. for Prasadam’s death
The Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of the outlawed CPI-Maoist has condemned the death on Saturday of activist and Ganti Prasada Rao alias Prasadam (60), and blamed the Andhra Pradesh government for what the rebels called an “organised assassination.” Claiming that Prasadam was assassinated in a planned manner, the statement signed by DKSZC spokesperson Gudsa Usendi said that “ … the State [Andhra Pradesh] is threatening all those forces who are raising their voice, agitating and fighting against its anti-people and oppressive policies.” Prasadam was critically injured following an attack near a Nellore hospital on Thursday.
He died of a deep knife wound early on Saturday morning. Prasadam joined the Srikakulam Girijan Armed Peasant Struggle and started working with the undivided CPI (ML) in his teens. Later he joined the A.P. State Committee of the People’s War. He was arrested and eventually released but continued with open mass organisation. “…he continued in the committee of relatives and friends of Martyr Heroes [Amaraveerula Bandhumitrula Committee] and participated in all legal and open democratic movements that have been going on in A.P. He stood in support of the revolutionary literary movement also. He integrated with the ongoing mass movement for separate Telangana State,” the CPI-Maoist said.
According to the State Committee statement, the killing of Prasadam has to be seen in the backdrop of retaliatory attack by the State to avenge the Maoist ambush of May 25 that witnessed death of senior Congress leaders. “On the pretext of this attack [May 25 ambush], the rulers of the country have conspired to crush all democratic and revolutionary movements and to carry on their offensive with more severity. Comrade Ganti Prasadam’s killing should also be seen as a part of this conspiracy,” the release said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoists-blame-ap-govt-for-prasadams-death/article4889429.ece

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoists-blame-ap-govt-for-prasadams-death/article4889429.ece)
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoists-blame-ap-govt-for-prasadams-death/article4889429.ece) Reds look to revamp military wing Specially trained men to take up positions in guerilla zones, says document
Suresh Dharur/TNS
Hyderabad, July 6 Facing the heat from security forces, the Maoists have firmed up plans to raise an additional 14 battalions of People Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of the banned CPI (Maoist). An internal document of the outlawed outfit, procured by the anti-Maoist intelligence wing of the state police, reveals that the task of PLA reorganisation, training and placement of forces has been entrusted to a key member of the party’s central committee (CC), Sonu, alias Nambala Keshav Rao. The Maoist document (dated June 28) surfaced after week-long celebrations in the forests of Chhattisgarh to mark the 10th anniversary of the formation of the CPI (Maoists).
The celebrations were followed by a meeting of the central committee at an unknown location in Jammu and Kashmir last week. The document indicated the plans to declare several regions in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra as “guerilla zones” in the near future. The specially trained guerillas will take positions in these zones and continue their support for what they call “people’s agitations” for land. “The Maoist teams will wage war not only in their strongholds but also in the new areas to demonstrate our strength and commitment” the document said. Nambala Keshav Rao (58), alias Basavaraj, accused in over two dozen cases and also said to be the one behind the recent attack on Congress leaders in Bastar, is the brain behind the Maoist intelligence network.
In a statement handed over to some select media organisations, Namburi Pratap, a spokesman of the central committee, has accused the AP Police of spreading false reports about the illness of some of the Maoist top guns like Ganapati, Katakam Ramakrishna and Sudarshan, as part of a propaganda to mislead the cadres. The statement, handed over to mediapersons at Paderu in Visakhapatnam, indicated that the district committees of CPI (Maoist) would be revived in AP after a gap of over eight years.
The reports from Chhattisgarh say the Maoists have constituted ‘Baal Action Teams’ to deploy school children in different capacities, to counter the build-up of security forces. BAT, a specialised school children unit of the Maoists, which has started operating in Bastar region from past several months, would also help the Baal Sanghams (children’s associations) and Chhatra Sanghams (students’ associations), that are already functional in the areas, police sources said. Bal Sanghams and Chhatra Sangham were active for the past several years in the region. They are used as informers, messengers and even as shields during the military operations.
AP was once a stronghold of Naxalites, so much so that the extremists were in a position to run parallel administration in their bastions, particularly in the Telangana region. However, over the years, the Maoist movement witnessed significant erosion in its support base. Dangerous plans An internal document of the banned CPI (Maoists), procured by the anti-Maoist intelligence wing of the AP Police, reveals plans to raise an additional 14 battalions of People Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of the outfit Several regions in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would be declared “guerilla zones”
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130707/main6.htm

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130707/main6.htm)
(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130707/main6.htm) Convenience Is Not Strategy – Analysis
The governments’ lack of enthusiasm and willingness to meet the Maoist challenge is pervasive and perplexing. Neither the 25th May attack in Chhattisgarh’s Darbha nor the 2nd July killing of the Superintendent of Police of Pakur district in Jharkhand by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres constituted momentous military victories for the outfit. None of these attacks furthered the outfit’s purported objective of capturing state power in any manner.
Yet the 35 dead bodies of politicians, activists and security forces, left behind by these attacks, significantly deepened the myth of an invincible adversary. There are doubts whether the Indian state would be able to neutralise the threat. The 25th May attack was described as a game changer and a landmark event. Within hours, leaders and bureaucrats, propped by the agile media, promised decisive action to end the conflict through joint operations, kinetic actions and hunting the rebels down.
Each of these claims, rooted in the sense of shock and outrage against the first ever large scale attack on the political leaders, ended in a whimper a vaguely worded resolution by political parties asking the central and state governments to do all that is possible; and an assurance by the Prime Minister that his office with the Cabinet Secretary and the Home Secretary will fine tune the existing anti-Maoist strategy to strengthen the country’s defensive and offensive capabilities. How the fine tuned strategy differs from the one that preceded it, still remains unknown, although at least eight attacks leading to 20 deaths (until 2nd July) have followed the 25th May attack.
Extremists have killed security force personnel and civilians in ambushes, destroyed road-building instruments, attacked a train, and killed a vice president of a private steel manufacturing company. None of these, including the most outrageous attack on a passenger train in Bihar, has evoked emotions or been described as affronts on Indian democracy. The great Indian resilience, backed by the belief in the invincibility of the Indian state, has returned.
A lot has been made out of the achievements of the security force operations against the CPI-Maoist in the past years. The outfit is described to have been weakened, lost areas under its control and has been stripped of its ability to carry out sustained violence. The noticeable decline in violence levels countrywide, both in terms of incidents and fatalities, has been cited to support this claim. Extremism related incidents in 2012 compared to the previous year declined by 19 percent. Fatalities among security forces and civilians declined by 19 and 36 percent respectively. While much of this is irrefutable, whether these gains are due to a clear strategy or simply rewards that large deployment and operationalisation of security forces accrue over time, is a relevant question.
It is also possible to interpret each parameter of state success in the opposite manner, demonstrating that it is in fact the CPI-Maoist which has managed to achieve its objective of minimising its losses and holding on to its areas of influence. Compared to an annual average of 174 cadre deaths between 2007 and 2011, only 72 cadres were killed in 2012. Absence of larger attacks by the outfit were made up by 134 smaller attacks on security forces in 2012. Constituting more than 11 attacks per month or an attack every third day, these kept up the outfit’s violent profile, and its support among the tribal communities. Even in a phase when the outfit’s influence was described to have shrunk rapidly, the CPI-Maoist managed to organise 113 training camps and Jan Adalats (People’s Courts) in 2012, almost at the same level as 2008 and 2009.
The group lost some territories in Jharkhand, but managed to hold on to its strongholds in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Odisha. Amid claims that the paramilitary forces have wrested 5000 square kilometre area from the Maoists in 2012, Abujhmaad, arguably the most crucial stronghold from the outfit’s point of view, remained unscathed. The first ever and also the lone security force foray into Abujhmaad forests was undertaken in March 2012. Personnel interviewed by the media before the operation talked about their fears of encountering hydra-headed monsters. Apart from media headlines that over 3000 security forces have shattered the impregnability of Abujhmaad, this exploratory trip achieved little and has not been repeated ever since.
The attempt here is not to paint the overall anti-Maoist strategy as mumpsimus. However, a sense that the efforts constituting each affected state’s strategy to defeat left-wing extremism is disjointed and aim only at temporary gains, is almost inescapable. The MHA (which has conveniently passed on the responsibility of all failures to the state governments), is yet to take the blame for letting the loopholes that hampered the big war strategy of 2010, culminating in the launch of Operation Green Hunt, persist. The deployment of insufficiently motivated forces prone to violating standard operating procedures, the abysmal lack of ground level intelligence, and absence of coordination between the central and the state police forces continue to mar operations in various theatres. Forces continue to suffer from leadership, and command and control crises.
The civil administration’s lack of enthusiasm to step into the areas cleared of extremist presence has often been cited as the greatest failure of the overall counter-Maoist effort. However, big attack-induced alacrity notwithstanding, the lack of enthusiasm to meet the extremist challenge is pervasive and perplexing. Here are some examples. It took over a week for the Home Minister to return from the United States of America, to attend to the May 25th attack, which he later described as an attack on democratic foundations of the country. A whole month passed before the Unified Command Structure in Chhattisgarh could huddle together to analyse the attack.
For almost seven years, security forces battled the extremists wearing the uncomfortable hard-leather shoes, before the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) relaxed the norm and allowed them to wear canvas shoes. It took four years for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) high command to figure that not using the 50 mine-protected vehicles (MPVs) is in fact a better idea as far as preventing casualty among its personnel is concerned.
The longevity idiocies that play out in the Maoist theatres are the greatest bane of the country’s fight against extremism. Novelist and Nobel Laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote, “We do not err because truth is difficult to see. We err because this is more comfortable.” The country would have to wait for the governments, states as well as the Centre, to emerge from their comfort zone and stop masquerading tactical convenience as a counter-Maoist strategy that will secure victory, some day.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/07072013-convenience-is-not-strategy-analysis/

(http://www.eurasiareview.com/07072013-convenience-is-not-strategy-analysis/)
(http://www.eurasiareview.com/07072013-convenience-is-not-strategy-analysis/) After Jharbahali firing, cops fail to trace red ultras
While the police and security forces remain clueless regarding whereabouts of the Maoists with whom they had an exchange of fire in Jharbahali forest under Ulunda police limits in Sonepur district on Tuesday afternoon, it is apprehended that the Maoists may trigger violence to make their presence felt. Under pressure from the security forces and on the run, the Maoists are believed to have escaped in small groups to Saranda forest on Odisha-Jharkhand border.
After being caught unaware by the security forces, they may have buried their arms and ammunition somewhere in the forest. Although the police and security forces are on look out for the arms and ammunition with sniffer dogs and gadgets, they have failed to meet any success. Even though IG (Operations) S Priyadarshi rushed to Sonepur after the incident and reviewed the situation after going around the districts and returned to the headquarters on Saturday, it is now emerging that at least two senior leaders of the Red rebels were in the group with whom the police had exchange of fire. While it is assumed that Divisional Secretary of Dandakaranya Division of the Maoists Murali was with the group and managed to escape on a bike, the identity of the other fugitive could not be ascertained.
It is believed that the Maoists, who have been using Sonepur district as a corridor, could have earned people’s support in the area that provided them logistics to set up camp in Jharbahali forest. The possibility of the Maoists breaking into small groups to elude notice of the security forces on combing operation and taking trains from Sambalpur, Balangir, Rairakhol for Ranchi and Rourkela enroute to Saranda is also not ruled out.
Well placed sources said the banned outfit recently held State Committee meeting and resolved to revive the Sambalpur-Deogarh-Sundargarh Committee and unleash violence to re-establish their base in the region. Hardcore Maoist Kunu Dehuri alias Ajay, who was also reportedly present in the camp and has been with the outfit ever since they announced their arrival on January 23, 2003 with killing of Kader Singh, has been made secretary of the Division and entrusted with the responsibility of reviving the outfit.
DIG (NR) Sanjay Kumar said combing operation is continuing and SPs of the districts including Sundargarh and Rourkela have been alerted as the Maoists are expected to retreat to these districts. He said the offensive against the Maoists will continue and they will not be allowed to settle down.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/After-Jharbahali-firing-cops-fail-to-trace-red-ultras/2013/07/07/article1671815.ece

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=24882

[boiler]

Observe Bharat Bandh on October 5 protesting the brutal massacre of 14 Maoists in Malkangiri by the neo‐fascist Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha!

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Press Release
September 17, 2013

On September 14, 2013 the SOG of Odisha conducted a joint operation with the District Voluntary Force and the police in Silakota forests in Podiya block of Malkangiri district in Odisha and brutally massacred 14 Maoists including a woman comrade. The police seized their weapons too. Our CC, CPI (Maoist) is calling upon the people of our country to observe Bharat Bandh on October 5 to protest this brutality perpetrated by the neo-fascist Naveen Patnaik government in collusion with the central government and under the guidance of the imperialists, particularly the US imperialists.

Naveen Patnaik has been shamelessly playing the ultimate comprador since he came to power by signing countless MoUs with the MNCs to hand over for peanuts the natural riches and resources of Odisha. The people of Odisha, particularly the Adivasis and the Dalit peasantry are engaged in a life and death struggle against the central and state governments and their mining mafia which are hell bent on displacing them and impoverishing them to please the corporate houses by implementing these MoUs.

On the other hand they are waging a bitter struggle against the big land lords, usurers and liquor mafia that are sucking their blood like leeches. The militant, long drawn and uncompromising struggles of the brave people of Odisha against POSCO and in Kashipur, Niyamagiri and Narayanapatna have not only inspired the fighting people of our country but also every activist fighting against the ill-effects of neo-liberal policies all over the world. Naveen Patnaik government born with deaf ears due to its comprador character has ignored the genuine demands of the people and instead resorted to severe repression with the complete support and aid including 27 Battalions of paramilitary forces including COBRA Bns on all the people’s movements ongoing in Odisha.

Massacres of people and activists including Maoists have become a common feature of this repression. Arrests, false cases, harsh punishments, inhuman incarcerations, beatings, atrocities, rapes, burning peoples homes and property – what not, the neo- fascists did not leave any stone of cruelty unturned to suppress the genuine aspirations of the people. Our party has been working since decades in Odisha and organizing the oppressed masses, particularly the Adivasis against the exploitation, oppression and suppression they are suffering in the hands of the ruling classes. It has either been in the forefront or has extended its full support to all the people’s movements against liberalization, privatization and globalization not only in Odisha but in majority of the states in our country.

So the Indian ruling classes under the guidance and goading of the imperialists launched the multi-pronged country wide offensive Operation Green Hunt – War on People since mid-2009 to wipe out our movement and suppress the genuine struggles of the people. Repression on oppressed masses is the hall mark of any exploiting state and OGH denotes a crucial node in this as it has surpassed all the previous offensives both in its scale and brutality. Though OGH is supposed to wipe out the Maoist movement it is in fact aimed to suppress every genuine democratic demand of the people, particularly for Jal, Jungle and Zameen. That is why the Maoists, democratic organizations and individuals and the people are at the receiving end of this offensive.

The Nazi Hitler, Fascist Mussolini or their current descendants like Bush, Obama, Hollande, Cameroon, or their desi avatars of Sonia, Manmohan, Rahul Gandhi, Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Pranab Mukherji, or their satraps in the states like Raman Singh, Naveen Patnaik, Kirankumarreddy, Mamta Banerji, Piruthvi Raj Chavhan etc all have one thing in common. They all think they can play with people’s lives as and how they want. What they unfailingly don’t realize is that they are amassing the fury of the people and that they are bound to be buried underneath its torrent. The killings of people in Kashipur, Niyamagiri, Narayanapatna or in Malkangiri as on September 14 both in police firings and in fake encounters would never succeed in suppressing the people of Odisha.

If at all it would give them more reasons to hate this government and mobilize for its overthrow. The ignoramus DGP of Odisha, true to his nature of a boot-licking dog of the ruling classes has warned that any Maoists entering Odisha would face the fate of these 14 Maoists killed in Malkangiri. Would they never learn from history? No, unless it is their doomsday. It is the anti- people, pro-imperialist, pro-CBB, pro-land lord neo-liberal policies of the Indian ruling classes that is giving rise to Maoism in the vast rural tracts of our country in every state and there is no need for any Maoists to enter from ‘outside’ states or sky. Every comprador ruler who is implementing LPG policies is fated to face the resistance of the people and it is just one step forward in the right direction for them to turn into Maoists.

As all fascists he refuses to respect facts and that is why the beloved children of Odisha who were killed in Malkangiri are looking like ‘outsiders’ to this progeny of Goebbels. The people of Odisha would definitely avenge the killing of their beloved sons and daughter in Silakota forests by embracing Maoism in large numbers and by teaching the Naveen Patnaik gang a fitting lesson. Beloved People of India, Our beloved comrades who were killed in Malkangiri are mostly Adivasis who have taken upon themselves the duty of fighting the neo-liberal policies that are most detrimental not only to the Adivasis but all other exploited and oppressed masses in our country.

Protesting their encounter means lending your voice not only against the brutal offensive OGH but also saying a big NO to the pro-imperialist economic policies of the ruling classes. This year alone has seen massacres of people and Maoists in places like Lakadbandha in Jharkhand, Govindgaon, Bhatpar, Sindesur, Medri and Bhagawanpur in Gadchiroli of Maharashtra, in Edesmetta and Puvvarti in Chhattisgarh to name a few. In almost all these incidents both village women and women Maoists were also brutally murdered. All of them belong to the oppressed sections of our country and they have been fighting for the liberation of all oppressed sections in the society.

Protesting these massacres should be done by whoever opposes the lopsided development model of the ruling classes and we appeal to every citizen who aspires for democracy in our country to participate in the protest. We appeal to all the genuine democratic organizations, parties and individuals of our country to unequivocally condemn the September 14 massacre and organize and participate in protests against it. We appeal to the people of our country to observe Bharat Bandh on October 5 and participate in the protests in huge numbers.

(Abhay) Spokesperson, Central Committee, CPI (Maoist)

http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25640

[boiler]

In shift from guerrilla strategy, Maoists raise 2 new battalions
September 30, 2013
Reposted by jeffrey dean


The People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the CPI(Maoist) has moved on to being a conventional fighting force in at least two locations and has raised two battalions, sources in the state police and Ministry of Home Affairs say.
This is a major shift from the Maoists’ guerrilla strategy: it has always maintained that the “principal and central task” of PLGA is to transform itself “into a fully developed People’s Liberation Army.”
The Maoists insist on establishment of Revolutionary Base Areas as a precondition for transformation of the PLGA: this move is probably an indication that the CPI-Maoist considers itself sufficiently entrenched in certain locations to stop calling them Guerrilla Areas.
This has resulted in the raising of battalions by the Naxal Central Military Commission, with about 250-300 fighters in each. Two such battalions have been reportedly raised, at least partially — in Jharkhand’s Latehar district and along the Orissa — Chhattisgarh border. These are an upgrade from PLGA companies and platoons, which have 40-45 and 8-10 fighters each, respectively.
A conventional fighting unit would have about 1000 personnel in a battalion.
There have been rumours PLGA would soon be upgraded. “They have been calling themselves PLA in some areas since the end of 2012 or beginning of this year. We have encountered battalion formations since the Katia encounter,” said an officer of the state police. “Maoists claim to have raised battalions in the Orissa-Chhattisgarh border, too,” said an MHA official.
“Maoists seem to be implementing a new strategy, Vikendrikaran. This is decentralisation. In the face of a larger enemy, they split and melt away,” said the officer.
K Vijay Kumar, a Security Advisor at MHA, said the upgrade to PLA is part of the flexibility conventional fighting forces cannot afford. “This is why we call it an asymmetric battle: such flexibility is adversely loaded against even the strongest government. They exist outside rule of law; they can do things we cannot, like change squad strengths at will. PLA is considered the ultimate and third level of their strategy. However, it is easy for them to go back to the second stage without problems,” he said.

http://www.systemicc...new-battalions/

[boiler]

Intelligence report: Maoists not losing strength
October 7, 2013

RANCHI: The Left-wing extremists in Jharkhand have carried out fewer attacks in state till September 15 this year.

However, all of them were severe and had great impact, says state intelligence that feels there is no reason to think that the rebels are losing strength.

The ferocity of the rebels has surprised the central agencies, who have asked the state police to be more alert so that they can thwart the nefarious designs of the extremists.

The intelligence bureau has reported that a total of 270 rebel attacks have taken place in Jharkhand since January till September 15. The number of Red attacks in the same period last year was 370. The data was presented at a meeting organized by the Maoist division of the Union home ministry recently.

DGP Rajiv Kumar confirmed the statistics and said, “The figures were collected by the sources of the intelligence bureau and not by the state police.”

Less number of Red attacks was not the least surprising for the cops. “It is a result of extensive anti-Maoist operations, which are going on in various parts of the state. More operations have been started in the past one year,” said Kumar.

The state intelligence, however, does not take the recent decline in the number of Maoist attacks at face value. It is also not ready to believe that the ultras have lost their strength. Though the incidents have been fewer, they have left deep scars. “If we consider the Latehar incident in January and the attack on the Pakur SP convoy in July, the rebels have been successful in damaging morale,” said a police officer in the police headquarters.

Police spokesperson S N Pradhan agreed. “The rebels’ organizations have got scattered and are disoriented. Even then they have been able to strike and it is a matter of concern,” said Pradhan.

The intelligence bureau has warned Jharkhand police that the rebels are exploring new geographies. The forces have occupied places which they once used as dens in several parts of the state. The Maoists continued to move to newer geographies as police continued to enter and occupy their places. In this manner, the Reds have spread their tentacles into almost all 24 districts and in 18 of them they have powerful presence.

MORE…

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoists-not-losing-strength-intelligence-report-says/articleshow/23624046.cms

[boiler]

India: The largest “democracy”? — or, a brazen — but false — electoralism?

[As Maoists in India denounce India's claimed "democracy" as deceptive and fraudulent, the Indian state deploys nearly 150,000 troops, and moves hundreds of voting stations out of rebellious regions. See the following two reports from the mainstream Indian press. -- Frontlines ed.]
———————————————
Maoist posters calling for poll boycott found at bus stand
Business Standard, Tuesday, October 22,

Maoist posters calling for boycott of the upcoming Assembly polls were found pasted at a bus stand in the Kanker district inChhattisgarh, where as many as 18 Maoist-affected constituencies will go to polls on November 11.
Three posters and two banners were found put up at the waiting hall of the bus stand under Pakhanjore police station limits last evening, a senior police official told PTI today.
Although, security personnel regularly visit villages to instill confidence in the people to vote, the rebels have appealed to villagers to kick both the BJP and Congress out of power, the police said, adding that a case has been registered in this connection.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of the Maoist threat, the Centre has sent additional 40,000 personnel of paramilitary forces to ensure peaceful polling, in addition to around 65,000 police personnel and 27,000 paramilitary troops already engaged in anti-Maoist operations in the state.
As many as 18 Maoist-affected constituencies in Chhattisgarh will go to polls on November 11, while the remaining 72 constituencies will vote in the second phase on November 19.

Poll booths in red zones may be relocated
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Raipur, October 20, 2013
Chief election commissioner VS Sampath on Saturday hinted at the possible relocation of nearly 150 polling booths in the hyper-sensitive Bastar zone.
The Chhattisgarh police had recommended that the state EC shift 323 polling stations in the Maoist-infested zone, but the figure was reduced to 299 by the state commission following its own assessment, and forwarded to the EC.
“Efforts would be made to bring the polling booths closer to villages in these areas where the reach is inaccessible”, Sampath said.
Out of the 21,424 polling stations in the state, there are 6,920 sensitive and 3,249 hypersensitive polling.
The EC affirmed that very elaborate security arrangement has been made to ensure free, fair and participatory elections.
“The security measures will be so elaborate, that Bastar might have never seen something like this before”, Sampath said. At the same meeting, the EC cautioned political parties to not mix the approaching festivals with politics.
http://revolutionary...e-electoralism/

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Cops kill 2 woman Naxals in Gadchiroli, lose commando in counter-attack

NAGPUR: Security forces gunned down two alleged Naxal cadres near Hiddoor village of Etapalli sub-division in south Gadchiroli on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh state border on Monday. But their success came undone when commandos stayed too long at encounter site and walked into rebels’ counter attack just a couple of kilometres away leading to death of one jawan and injuries to a couple of others.

It’s learnt that a troupe of C-60 commandos, returning after duty for local village civic bodies poll at remote Jambiya Gatta of Etapalli taluka, had taken a detour through the village and jungles of Hiddoor as a routine area domination exercise when the first encounter took place. Hiddoor and Hicher are two villages considered heavily influenced by the Naxals. The forces and Naxals are learnt to have exchanged fire after running into each other in the forest. Top police officials claimed bodies of two unidentified women cadres were also recovered.

The cops stated the Naxals managed to carry away more injured cadres. After the rebel guerrillas retreated, the cops recovered one .303 rifle, around 25 pittoos (rucksacks), Naxal literature, utensils and other material during search operations. As cops spent time doing this, Naxals launched a counter-attack on the forces later in the day. The C-60 commandos, who seemed to have spent crucial couple of hours in the place of first encounter, were caught off guard and walked into the ambush laid by the reds in the jungle. C-60 commando Ganpat Madavi was killed in the encounter while another was seriously injured as Naxals cornered the forces for sometime before retreating as the security forces retaliated.

The injured were rushed to Aheri rural hospital for treatment. Sources from Gadchiroli police stated Naxal’s Company 10 was active in the region where action took place. Security forces are also not ruling out involvement of Gatta or Surjagarh local organizational squad (LOS). Deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam said that the security forces were trying to ascertain whether the Naxals near Hiddoor were part of the supply or courier team linking rebels in jungles of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh with that of Abhujmadh, considered as reds’ bastion. “The bodies of slain Naxals would be shown to the surrendered rebels for identification,” he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Cops-kill-2-woman-Naxals-in-Gadchiroli-lose-commando-in-counter-attack/articleshow/24845408.cms


CPI (Maoist) camp raided; arms and ammunition recovered

A raid was carried out at a camp of the CPI (Maoist) in Giridih district and arms and ammunition were recovered, police said today. Led by Additional Superintendent of Police Kundal, the security personnel comprising CRPF, CoBra and district police force men conducted the raid in a jungle near Tesafuli village last night in search of absconding ultras and recovered three rifles, three country-made pistols and 16 live cartridges, Superintendent of Police (Giridih) Kranti Kumar said. No arrest could be made, but combing operation was on in the foothills of Parasnath jungle in the naxal-affected district, the SP added.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/cpi-maoist-camp-raided-arms-and-ammunition-recovered-113102900849_1.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25914

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Justice deliverance slowing down in Chhattisgarh district, RTI reveals

A series of RTI queries have revealed that only 4.3 per cent of criminal trials end in convictions in south Bastar, partially dominated by the Maoists, compared to a national average of 38.5. The accused individuals – who almost entirely belong to Gond community – are arrested as naxals and spend three to six years in prison in different cases as under-trials before being acquitted by the court. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Raman Singh, while talking to The Hindu has said that many tribals are languishing in jails for years and ‘‘should be brought out.’’ RTI queries filed by a group of lawyers have also revealed that the deliverance of justice has increasingly slowed down over the last decade.

Dantewada court, located in the hotbed of Maoist movement, registers maximum cases among district courts where tribals face trial for aiding the red rebels. Any persons arrested in far flung areas are produced in Dantewada court and hence the lawyers chose the same court to authenticate their apprehension that nearly all the accused gets acquitted after spending years in jail. ‘‘We wanted to know if nearly all the accused in naxal cases finally gets acquitted or not and the RTI replies revealed that we were right,’’ said Shishir Dixit, the lawyer who filed the queries.

RTI data of cases were collected from 2005 to 2012. The queries revealed that 95.7 per cent of all sessions trials end in complete acquittal of all accused on all charges, hence the rate of conviction is 4.3 per cent. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the national average of conviction rate under Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2012 was 38.5. Moreover, the conviction rate for crimes under Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act, is also much higher nationally i.e. 61.9 and 52.8 respectively. While the majority of the tribals are charged under Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act, along with other laws, the conviction rate here is again very low – three out of 425 cases in Arms Act, and zero out of 157 cases in Explosive Substances Act lead to conviction in the past 8 years.

The analysis of the RTI data reveals many more facts regarding relationship between judiciary and the tribals, albeit only in south Bastar. For example, 190 cases were started in 2005 and half of those were disposed off that year, while in 2012, only 10 per cent of the cases, instituted in the same year, were disposed off. Further analysis of the data shows that the longest of cases in 2005 lasted for three years. But in 2012, a significant number of 15 cases were disposed off, six years after registration. ‘‘This clearly highlights how the delivery of justice is slowing down in tribal areas, rather than speeding up’’, one of the lawyers filing the RTI said. Number of cases disposed in the period, from 282 in 2005, has also fallen sharply. Data shows that 229 cases were disposed off in 2011, whereas 211 and 208 in 2010 and 2009 respectively. In 2008 only 148 cases were disposed off, while 158 in 2006.

The committee set for reviewing the cases of under-trials in Chhattisgarh jails reviewed ‘‘235 cases’’ till May, this year, according to the head of the committee, Nirmala Buch. She said the committee recommended the Chhattisgarh government “not to oppose the bail pleas of 110 under-trials, of which 63 were cases of naxalites.’’ However, only a couple of dozens of accused got bail or acquittal since the recommendation was made.

‘‘Those who are arrested for small, petty crimes and in jails for years…(the allegations) should be relaxed and they ought to be brought out of jail. We have discussed the issue with the police chief and the Buch Committee is working on it,’’ Chief Minister Raman Singh told The Hindu. However, he added that a general amnesty could not be granted as proposed by some officials. “We can grant (amnesty) for all, at the same time. But definitely look into cases one by one,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/justice-deliverance-slowing-down-in-chhattisgarh-district-rti-reveals/article5285821.ece




M_Id_434330_maoist

In Chhattisgarh, Maoists ask villagers to use NOTA

Maoist groups are reportedly holding meetings at villages in Chhattisgarh, asking them to press the newly introduced None Of The Above (NOTA) option in the EVMs during the upcoming assembly elections in the state, a senior CRPF officer said. The meetings assume significance as the Maoists have been asking villagers and locals to boycott the polls. “We have come to know that the Maoists are holding meetings with villagers and asking them to press the NOTA button.

Their first attempt is to dissuade the people to go to the poll booths of course and if at all they go they have been asked to take the NOTA option,” said CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi. The CRPF has been appointed as the nodal agency for force mobilisation during the assembly elections next month. The maximum deployment is in Chhattisgarh. “They have made plans to disrupt the elections by attacking the security forces,” said a senior CRPF official.

The DG said they had deployed more than 7,000 personnel only to sanitise the routes and roads in the Maoist-affected state. The CRPF has also asked its men to refrain from using anti-landmine vehicles, terming them as “fancy vehicle” as its use makes them easy identifiable and emphasised on using private and unmarked vehicles for movement inside the jungles. Trivedi said Monday that one of the most challenging jobs for his force was to ensure that around 56,000 policemen sent from other states apart from the one-lakh odd Chattisgarh policemen were inducted safely.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-chhattisgarh-maoists-ask-villagers-to-use-nota/1188934/


Chhattisgarh: Naxal arrested ahead of elections

Raipur, Oct 29: Just before the beginning of elections, a naxal was arrested in the Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. The Naxal had a cash reward of Rs 8000 on him and was arrested when he was trying to flee the site of raid. The cadre was nabbed with the joint effort of the CRPF and the CAF (Chhattisgarh Armed Force) from a forest area at Usoor. Named Nuppo Bhima, the cadre was nabbed during a search operation in Usoor, 400 km from Raipur. On reaching the forest of Galgam village, the security forces spotted him fleeing from the site, which is when he was chased and nabbed. On interrogation, the cadre confessed to several cases of loot, arson, murder and attempt to murder in the region.

http://news.oneindia.in/india/chhattisgarh-naxal-arrested-ahead-of-elections-1332734.html


Bengal government to shift key Maoist leaders from Midnapore jail

KOLKATA: West Bengal government has decided to shift some key Maoist leaders who have been languishing in Midnapore Jail to some other jails following an intelligence input which said that these leaders were trying to flee from Midnapore jail. A senior state government official said on Wednesday that they had recently got an intelligence input which claimed that some Maoist leaders were preparing for a jailbreak. Immediately after getting the input, state government has instructed jail department to shift these Maoist leaders from Midnapore jail to some other jails in the state. Important among these leaders are Sudip Chongdar, Prasanta Patra, and Sukhshanti Baskey.

It is learnt that Chongdar and Patra will be shifted to Dum Dum central jail and Baskey will be shifted to Bankura jail. Another Maoist leader Dhritiranjan Mahato will also be removed to Dum Dum jail, sources said. Kalpana Maity, a woman Maoist activist will also be shifted to Bankura jail along with Sukhshanti Baskey. Raja Sorkhel, another Maoist leader will be removed to a jail in Hooghly district. Prasun Chatterjee will find his new home at Purulia jail. All these Maoist leaders have been languishing at the Midnapore jail. The shifting process of these Maoist leaders will start from Wednesday itself, the senior official informed. Chhatradhar Mahato, leader of the Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) which has links with the Maoists, will also be shifted to Alipur Central Jail in Kolkata. Mahato is also an inmate of Midnapore jail.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bengal-government-to-shift-key-maoist-leaders-from-midnapore-jail/articleshow/24934172.cms


Maoists to boycott LS polls

The ultra Left CPI-Maoist will boycott the 2014 general elections in West Bengal, two years after Kishenji, a politburo and central military commission member of the outfit, who was later killed in an encounter, had asked the cadres to take part in the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections and vote for the Trinamool Congress. The banned outfit’s central committee has issued a circular stating they “will give a vote-boycott call in Bengal and implement it with its full strength”.

According to the circular, “Bengal is an important and integral part of the red corridor. The party has suffered a huge loss in the state too. However, the party has decided…it will give the vote boycott call in Bengal… All frontal organisations, over ground and under ground cadres are directed to start preparations…” The message reached Maoist cadres early this month. “The boycott call will be executed in Bengal under the leadership of Kishen da,” said a source in Maoist ranks. The outfit had called for boycott of the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections too, but Kishenji had defied the party line and wrote in a press statement that he wanted to see TMC chief Mamata Banerjee as the “chief minister of Bengal.”

However, Kishenji was killed within four months of Mamata Banerjee assuming the CM’s office. Significantly, the Maoists had not given a poll boycott threat during the recently-concluded panchayat polls in Bengal and three tribal-dominated districts in Junglemahal —- West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura —- witnessed almost 85 per cent voter turn out. Moreover, in two years, no incident of violence has been reported from Junglemahal —- the area where the Maoists are likely to enforce the boycott. When contacted, Varavara Rao, a Maoist ideologue based in Andhra Pradesh, said, “There will be a vote boycott call in Bengal and the party will try to implement it. But it depends on the people of Junglemahal also.” Rao claimed that that Maoists have not left Bengal.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoists-to-boycott-ls-polls/1188973/0


Maoist allege Agri Dept of monopolizing urea distribution

IMPHAL, October 29: The Agriculture department is pilfering the supply of Urea which is meant for distribution to farmers, according to secretary of publicity and propaganda, Nonglen Meitei of the proscribed Maoist Communist Party of Manipur. The release states that the Agriculture department had procured 3 lakh bags of urea for the paddy season and to be sold to farmers at a subsidized rate of Rs 286 per bag. But, the farmers had bought a bag at the rate of Rs 700 as the subsidy was not tendered in actuality. If the 3 lakh bags were distributed on time and subsidy was provided to help the farmers , at least 150 bags could be distributed to each Leikai across the State.

The announcement by the department that all the bags have been distributed to the farmers is a fictitious statement and the Maoist has investigated the matter. It is not only marginalizing of the farmers who are still poverty ridden but oppression to the public by the concerned authorities. The department must have conducted a sales upto the tune of Rs 6 crores from the bags but mostly the sale was monopolized for the profit of some section and not in the interest of the farmers. Hence, the Maoist take the stance that the matter will not be taken lightly and in the general welfare of the farmers will take up necessitate action. The release also invites suggestion from the general public and the state on the issue within 5 days.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/10/maoist-allege-agri-dept-of-monopolizing-urea-distribution/


Maoists threaten to stop banks from recovering farm loans

KOZHIKODE: Maoists have threatened that they will block any attempt by banks to initiate recovery proceedings against farmers in Wayanad who have failed to repay the loans. The rebels also warned of people’s trial against illegal moneylenders in the district who are responsible for the farmer suicides in the district. Kattuthee (Forest Fire), the bulletin issued by Kabani dalam of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the CPI (Maoist), also threatened to eliminate the loan sharks and the resort mafia operating in the district. The bulletin, a copy of which is in possession of TOI, delineates the immediate agenda of the Maoists in the tribal areas in the state.

They foresee a larger role for themselves in intervening in issues hitherto neglected by the mainstream political parties. The torching of the earth mover at Kavilumpara near Thottilpalam on Sunday is seen by security forces as the first step in this regard. The bulletin claims that the guerrilla army, with the help of people, will give exemplary punishments to those who ‘torture and exploit’ tribals in Wayanad. “If there is any farmer suicide in the area we will hold a public trial on elected representatives, including MLAs,” the document said. Maoists have also declared that PLGA forces will resist any attempt by security forces to evict tribals from their habitat in the name of setting up tiger reserve and conserving forests.

“We will launch agitation with the support of people against projects that are dangerous to the environment,” the bulletin said. The document also claimed that the members of PLGA had held meeting at Karinkanni colony in Wayanad on August 14 and apprised the tribals of the resistance movements under the leadership of Maoists in central parts of India. The bulletin lashed out at CPM district secretary C K Saseendran for taking the side of security forces and trying to replicate Salwa Judum in Wayanad. “He reached the Karinkanni colony along with the Thunderbolts and Scorpios and wanted the tribals to be evicted from the colony,” the document said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Maoists-threaten-to-stop-banks-from-recovering-farm-loans/articleshow/24905758.cms


Rebels kill villager

BHUBANESWAR: Maoists on Monday night killed one of the four men kidnapped by them on Friday, at Gatibeda near Sunabeda tiger reserve in Nuapada district, branding him as a police informer. The deceased was identified as Bishnu Meher of Balangir’s Kushapali village. Of the other three, while Karna Meher escaped from the camp, whereabouts of Brundaban Meher and Guna Meher are not known, police said.

“The body of Bishnu was found near Gatibeda. We found Maoist posters near the spot. The villagers had stopped supporting the Maoists. The extrimists, in their desperate attempt to terrorize villagers, killed him. He never worked for police,” said SP (Nuapada) Umashankar Das. He said no complaint of four persons missing has been lodged in any police station of the district. The posters revealed that Maoists suspected Bishnu to be a police informer. “Three women Maoist cadres went to Bishnu’s house on Friday and called him for a discussion. They took him to the nearby forest. Villagers found his body after three days and informed us,” said a police officer. He said the Red rebels’ have claimed responsibility for killing Bishnu.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Rebels-kill-villager/articleshow/24894042.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25922

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Bihar becoming bridge for Maoists in Nepal, India: Central intelligence panel

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) headed by the cabinet secretary has criticised the Bihar police and central security forces for not carrying out counter-intelligence operations against Maoist. In an intelligence assessment report accessed by The Indian Express, the JIC has said that the state was becoming “a bridge between Maoist movements in Nepal and India”. The assessment was carried out a few months ago. “Of concern is not only the sharp rise in security forces causalities but also the fact that not a single Naxal cadre has been killed in any counter-intelligence operation as against five Maoists killed in the same period last year. The reason for worry for the government is the killing of 13 security personnel this year as compared to 1 last year. The number of Naxals arrested has also decreased to 174 from 428 last year. The recovery of weapons dropped to 47 from 151,” the report said.

Underlining the poor police-population ratio in the state, it said “Bihar has also performed poorly on utilisation of development funds released under the integrated action plan (IAP). Almost 33 per cent of funds allotted to Bihar under IAP covering 11 districts remain unused, whereas Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh used around 84 per cent and 78 per cent.” The field report also indicated that in some parts of Bihar, “Maoist have undertaken construction of small roads, check dams and other development works threatening local contractors to contribute in the construction or provide digging equipment.”

The report observed that “Bihar has been an important cradle of the Maoist movement and given its complex agrarian and social relationships, sustained the movement in the period of its relative decline”. It said 60 per cent of Maoist violence was reported in Gaya, Jamui and Aurangabad districts. The JIC also warned the security forces to keep an eye on CPI (Maoist) activities in Bihar and Jharkhand as reports suggested Maoist leaders in jails continued to aggressively guide the movement. Ex-politburo member Pramod Mishra reportedly operated from the Beur jail in Patna. The report said “given the soft-handling of the issues by Bihar police, the state could witness a major action not necessarily in a core party area”. “The Maoist movement largely rests on issues of deprivation and the caste, classes most affected by it,” it said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bihar-becoming-bridge-for-maoists-in-nepal-india-central-intelligence-panel/1189363/0



Family identifies Naxal woman killed in Gadchiroli encounter

The issue of the identity of one of the two women Naxals killed in an encounter in Etapalli tahsil two days ago has been resolved with her family identifying the body. Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Suvez Haq told The Indian Express that the family of Rita Kodpi from Gundjur village in Gatta-Jambiya area of Etapalli reached Gadchiroli Wednesday. Initially, they added to the confusion when the couple said the deceased wasn’t their daughter while their two sons said the body was that of their sister.

But finally, all four and a cousin concurred that she was their Rita. The couple, however, said even if the deceased was their daughter, they won’t be able to take the body back since it would mean inviting the wrath of their God for cremating one person twice,” said Haq. They are also telling us now that some Naxals visiting Gundjur a few days ago had told her that their daughter was alive,” he added.

The other Naxal was identified as Sarita alias Jyoti Pungati and was stated to be from Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. “Her family has been sent a message and they are also expected to arrive,” said Haq. Rita was Deputy Commander of Platoon 7 that was camping near Hidur village when the encounter took place. With her identity now established, it has become almost clear that one of three women killed in an encounter at Bhatpar a few months ago, then identified as Rita Kodpi, was someone else. A youth from Bhatpar had then claimed that she was his sister called Sunita Tado and that she was a Maoist militia member. “Sunita Tado wasn’t on our record as a Naxal.

We have sent the chest bones for forensic test to confirm the identities and the result is awaited,” the SP said. Question mark, however, still hangs over the identity of the other deceased woman at Bhatpar then confirmed to be Sarita Pungati, a Platoon 7 member. “Some surrendered Naxals have identified the other woman from the Hidur encounter as Sarita Pungati. We have sent a message to her family in Bijapur, who had then claimed the body as that of their daughter Sarita and cremated it. Once they come, that identity issue might also be resolved,” said Haq.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/family-identifies-naxal-woman-killed-in-gadchiroli-encounter/1189366/0



Chhattisgarh: 2 hardcore Maoists killed in Sukma

Two hardcore Maoists including the secretary of Shabri dalam area committee were gunned down in an encounter with the security forces near Madaiguda in Sukma district, bordering Andhra Pradesh (AP) about 520 km south of Raipur on Thursday morning. According to the Sukma police, acting on the specific intelligence inputs on the armed guerrillas camping in high strength near Palcharma village close to the Andhra–Chhattisgarh border, the forces led by the Andhra police moved to the area. The Chhattisgarh police and the paramilitary forces based in AP were the part of the joint team that set out on the search operation.

“The Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on the forces when it reached the forested terrain of Bade Talma (south Konta) some 110 km from the Sukma district headquarter. The forces swiftly retaliated the rebels’ attack. Two Maoists were shot dead and the bodies recovered from the encounter spot”, the additional SP (Sukma) Neeraj Chandrakar told Hindustan Times. The rebels fled into the nearby jungles. The gun-battle continued for nearly two hours. “There was no casualty or any injury sustained by the security forces. Two self-loading rifles (SLR), explosives and some items of daily use were also recovered from the site”, Chandrakar said.

Additional forces have been rushed to the region and the search operation intensified along the border areas, he added. The bodies were identified as Naresh, the secretary of the Shabri dalam committee and Ramuram. In another incident two jawans of the Sukma district police force during patrolling were critically injured when they accidentally hit the pressure bomb planted by the Maoists. Both were rushed to Jagdalpur government hospital for immediate medical attention. Sukma is among the worst-hit districts by the Maoist violence in south Bastar.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-2-hardcore-maoists-killed-in-sukma/article1-1145776.aspx



Protest against shifting Maoist prisoners

KOLKATA: The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) has condemned the “arbitrary” transfer of Maoists from the Midnapore central jail to different jails across the state. Two days ago, the Mamata Banerjee government moved seven leaders, including PCPA chief Chhatradhar Mahato, PCPA leader Sukshanti Baskey, Maoist state committee members Sudip Chongdar and Kalpana Maity, Maoist sympathisers Raja Sarkhel and Prasun Chatterjee, to different jails in the state following reports that they were plotting to jailbreak. PCPA or the Peoples Committee against Police Atrocities is the frontal organisation of the CPI-Maoists.

In a press release, the CRPP said that “We strongly condemn the arbitrary transfer of the leaders to different jails on the plea of security reasons. Prasun, a resident of Kolkata, was transferred to far-off Purulia-Bankura jail …” Even as ADG (prison) Ranveer Kumar said claimed that “the seven Maoists were hatching a plot to free from jail and that they had been staying together in the correctional home for far too long, we have decided to separate them for sometime and send them to different correctional homes,” the CRPP has sought to know the status of the cases registered against the political prisoners.

The press release read: “Chhatradhar Mahato has got bail in most of the cases. He has been acquitted in the Anuj Pandey case. The UAPA case, in which all of them are implicated, has been deliberately delayed by the absence of the investigating officer (IO) for months together and will come up for final hearing in late November 2013.” It added, “Against Prasun and Raja, there is only one case each. Why should the prisoners conspire to escape from jail at all?” The forum of political prisoners said it would have made sense had the prisoners been shifted to jails located near their residences.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Protest-against-shifting-Maoist-prisoners/articleshow/25008275.cms



CPI (Maoist) militia member arrested

A member of the armed wing of Communist Party of India (Maoist), who was allegedly involved in several offences, was arrested at Paderu in Visakhapatnam agency area here today. 30-year-old L Neelam Dora, a native of Dimerkel under Peadabayalu zone joined the Maoist party in 2004, surrendered before cops in 2007 and got married to a girl. However, he rejoined the Maoist party as a militia member in 2008 and actively took part in some violent incidents.

Paderu police inspector Sheikh Ghafoor said Neelam Dora was allegedly involved in some offences since 2010 in Visakhapatnam agency, such as pasting Maoist posters and circulating pamphlets during the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Week, besides ganja smuggling during the past few months. Dora has been booked under various sections of the Explosive Substances Act 1908 and of the IPC, the police said.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/cpi-maoist-militia-member-arrested-113103001204_1.html



Villagers ransack police station

KORAPUT: A mob allegedly ransacked Machkund police station in Koraput district on Wednesday afternoon in protest against the killing of a villager by BSF personnel. He was killed on suspicion of being a Maoist during a counter-insurgency operation the previous night. Before coming to the police station, the villagers staged a road blockade at Gunaipada, around 13 km from Machkund, by keeping the body of Gangadhar Kirsani, 30, and demanding adequate compensation to the family of the victim and job to a family member.

The villagers said Gangadhar and Samara Challan of Litiput in Lamtaput block were keeping a watch over their ragi field at night when BSF personnel opened fired on them. “While Samara fled, Gangadhar was hit by bullets. We want Rs 30 lakh compensation,” said villagers. Police said the villager was killed during an encounter with Maoists. “Around 30 BSF men spotted 50 to 60 Maoists near Litiput around 9 pm.

No sooner the Maoists saw the BSF men, they started firing and our men retaliated. The exchange of fire continued for 20 minutes. The rebels fired around 30 rounds. Gangadhar was killed in the gun-battle,” said DIG (south-west range) S Dev Dutta Singh. According to the DIG, whether the deceased was with the Maoist or caught in the crossfire is under investigation. “If Gangadhar is found to be innocent then he will be compensated as per the prevailing government norms,” he said. Villagers lifted the road blockade around 5 pm after the administration paid initial compensation of Rs 15,000 from the district Red Cross fund for the cremation. “Around 2 pm, villagers entered the Machkund police station, but no major damage has been reported,” Singh added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Villagers-ransack-police-station/articleshow/24959418.cms



CorCom washes hand off blast

IMPHAL, October 30: The Coordination Committee (CorCom) KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK (Pro), RPF and UNLF has said in a press release that the bomb blasts at Thangal bazar on October 29 and at Moirangkhom Moreh Van parking on October 30 were not handiworks of the CorCom. It has also sympathised with the families who have lost their loved ones and to those who were injured during the blasts. The CorCom further claimed in its statement that even though attacking the security forces of India is an unavoidable action, the CorCom does not consider the people of India as enemies and has no objective to attack them.

However, the Indian security forces not only confronts the armed movement but also uses force against the general public of Manipur, it alleged. It has further alleged the Indian security forces of breeding several organizations and of using such organizations to carry out activities which would put the revolutionary movement in a bad light. It has also charged that the security forces have never fully disclosed the items including monetary items seized from individuals who are arrested or the things submitted by those who have surrendered before them. The outfit further claimed that the two bomb blasts were carried out either by outfits not under the CorCom, or a hidden agenda of the security forces.

Meanwhile, the Maoist Communist Party, Manipur in a press statement while condemning the Moirangkhom bomb blast said the outfit has no hand in the blast which killed two individuals. The statement also expressed its sympathies to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones in the blast. The attack seemed to be carried out with the main objective of showing the armed movement in a bad light it said and added that it is an act of reactionaries.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/10/corcom-washes-hand-off-blast/
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25934

[TheGodlessUtopian]

With polls just round the corner, Naxals plan a massive ambush: Report

As Chhattisgarh is gearing up for the Assembly polls that are scheduled to be held on November 11, more than 400 Naxal commanders and guerrillas held a meeting on October 29 at Bastar to disrupt the elections, said intelligence reports. The Intelligence agencies have alerted the Centre and the state about a possible Naxal attack between November 8 and 10, said reports.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/with-polls-just-round-the-corner-naxals-plan-a-massive-ambush-report/431733-80-259.html


Maoist leaders’ recurrent visits keep Chhattisgarh police on toes

Raipur: Amid inputs of senior Maoist leaders frequently visiting Bastar region from adjoining states to chalk out action strategies ahead of this month’s polls, security forces are keeping a close eye on inter-state borders to check the movement of the rebels. According to Intelligence Bureau sources, top Maoist leaders like central committee member Kadri Satyanarayana alias Kosa, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee secretary Ramanna and many middle-order leaders are being noticed more frequently, conducting meetings in the region.

Besides, a large number of cadres are also being mobilised from Naxal-affected zones of neighbouring states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to strengthen their capabilities ahead of polls, the sources said. “We are aware of every situation and even local police have been informed and every movement is under close vigil of police,” Director General of Police Ramniwas told PTI when asked about the frequent visits of Maoist leaders.

Local security forces are in close coordination with police of adjoining states to keep an effective check on cross border movement of Naxals, supply of liquor and movement of other criminal elements, the DGP said. The security personnel are fully prepared to conduct polls in the region in a peaceful manner, he assured. The IB sources also suspect that the rebels killed in recent Naxal encounters– in Etapalli of Maharashtra on October 29 and in Chhattigsarh’s Sukma yesterday — on the interstate borders were allegedly part of Naxal team formed to create nuisance in the border areas during polls in south Chhattisgarh.

Two alleged Naxal cadres were gunned down in Etapalli sub-division in south Gadchiroli on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh state border in the wee hours of Monday. In Sukma, two ultras were yesterday killed by security forces in the forests of Maraigudi police station area on Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh Border. Eighteen Naxal-affected constituencies of eight districts – Bastar, Bijapur, Kondagaon, Sukma, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Kanker and Rajnandgaon – will go to polls in the first phase on November 11.

Naxal cadres have been visiting many villages in their stronghold Bastar district for past one month, putting up posters and asking people not to cast votes in the elections. They have also given a bandh call in the region from November 7 to 12 in support of their call to boycott the first phase of polls scheduled on November 11.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/maoist-leaders-recurrent-visits-keep-chhattisgarh-police-on-toes_887506.html


Two cops injured in Maoist bomb explosion in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Two police personnel were injured when a pressure bomb laid by Maoist exploded in Sukma district of South Chhattisgarh today, the police said. The incident took place when they were on an area domination exercise under Chintagufa police station limits, Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Chandrakar said.Assistant constables Munna Madkam and Anil Samrath were injured in the blast when they were hit by the pressure bomb laid by the rebels, he said.

After being administered first aid at Konta Primary Health Centre, the two policemen were brought to Jagdalpur Medical College, he said, adding one of them has been airlifted to Raipur for further treatment. The condition of the injured is stated to be stable, he said.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/two-cops-injured-in-maoist-bomb-explosion-in-chhattisgarh_887334.html


Maoist ultra killed by security forces in Odisha

Security forces today gunned down a suspected Naxalite in the jungles of Koraput district in Odisha and recovered some arms and ammunition following the operation. A joint squad of CRPF’s CoBRA commandos and Odisha’s Special Operations Group (SOG) recovered the body of the ultra after engaging some Maoists in the jungles of Potangi here. CoBRA commander and Inspector General VS Yadav confirmed the incident to PTI saying an INSAS rifles and a few magazines had been recovered from the spot. In another anti-Naxal operation, in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, a CoBRA commando was injured while combating armed Maoists. This latter operation is still continuing, senior officials said.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-ultra-killed-by-security-forces-in-odisha-113110100309_1.html


Five security personnel injured in encounter with Maoists

Five security personnel were today injured during an encounter with the Left-wing guerrillas in Kumandih Jungle of Latehar district. “One jawan of the CoBRA and four personnel of the Jharkhand Jaguar were injured in the encounter with the Maoists,” SP Michael S Raj said. All the injured were taken to a hospital in Ranchi, about 100km from here, he said. Security forces launched the anti-Maoist operation from Wednesday and the Maoists exploded landmines and opened fire around 10am today, resulting in the encounter, he said. Police, however, could confirm the name of the injured CoBRA jawan Pradeep Kumar.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/five-security-personnel-injured-in-encounter-with-maoists-113110100809_1.html


Bengal govt shifts rebels to new jails fearing uprising

KOLKATA: Fearing a possible uprising inside correctional homes and facing a threat by CPI (Maoist) general secretary Muppala Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathi to carry out a strike to free his comrades, the Mamata Banerjee government has resorted to tactics adopted by the British. Maoists housed in correctional homes across the state are being shifted to new locations. The process recently started with the shift of seven Maoists from the Midnapore Correctional Home. Ganapathi has recently urged armed squads to stage attacks on correctional homes in nine states, including Bengal to free jailed Maoists and supporters. Ramanna, chief of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, also stated this in a recent interview.

In 2005, Maoists carried out a daring raid on the Jehanabad correctional home in Bihar, killing several people and freeing a top leader. Ranvir Kumar, inspector general (prisons), said: “It is quite natural to relate his (Ganapathi’s) statement with the move to shift inmates. However, this is more of an administrative decision. It is not prudent to keep Maoists at a single location for a long time. They are all very dangerous. The more they stay together, the greater the possibility of a conspiracy. So, the government has decided to send them to different correctional homes in the state.” “There was a huge concentration of Maoists in Midnapore correctional home.

Before the shift took place, there were 98 Maoists there including leaders like Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan, Sukhshanti Baskey and Chhatradhar Mahato. This was a major concern for the authorities and it was decided to shift them elsewhere. The same policy will be followed at other district correctional homes,” a senior prison official said. Such reshuffles were initiated in correctional homes of Bihar and Odisha where Maoists, including some politburo and central committee leaders are housed.

Before Independence, the British would shift freedom fighters to ensure they don’t spread their ideology among other inmates. “The rebels not only formed a strong organization inside the Midnapore correctional home, they also built a network with their comrades outside and journalists. They even sent and received advisories and orders to and from leaders outside,” sources in the Counter Insurgency Force, a unit set up to combat Maoists in Jangalmahal, said. After the shift, Chhatradhar Mahato has been housed in Cell 6 of Block 3 at the Alipore Correctional Home. This cell is under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. There are central intelligence reports indicating that the Maoists may be down but no way out in Jungelmahal.

Efforts are still on to ‘capture’ Junglemahal as this forms an important corridor for their operations in other states. A central IB report (between September 17 and October 17) indicated that the ultras may attempt to break into any of the correctional homes in the state. This prompted the state to carry out a study on the vulnerability of correctional homes in districts. The one in Midnapore was found most vulnerable due to lack of infrastructure and security. The fact that the CRPF made important seizures in Bandwan in Purulia even though they missed operations leader Ranjit by a whisker only goes on to prove this point.

Hence, when there was an input that all these seven leaders were planning another conspiracy, we did not wish to take a chance, said an official. Central agencies reminded how Maoist ideologues like Varavara Rao recently told the media that they have indeed asked people to boycott elections but added immediately that it was up to the people to implement the same perhaps an indication of the waning popularity of the outfit.

While Chhatradar has been shifted to Alipore jail, Sudip Chongdar, Prashanta Patra and Dhritiman Mahato were shifted to Dum Dum jail, Raja Sarkhel has been shifted to Hooghly jail. State committee member Sukhshanti Baskey and Prasoon Chattophay are housed in Bankura and Prasoon Chattophay has been shifted to the and Purulia jails respectively. Only last month, Maoist Action Squad member Sahebram Hembrem was spotted in Jhargram’s Bankisol and Chandipur areas.

Several armed robberies, often in uniform, were reported soon after from the area. Similarly, state military committee member Ranjit Pal is believed to be active in Purulia’s Balarampur and Baghmundi areas. Maoist leader Bikash too is also rumoured to often visiting Barikul.

It is only at the beginning of this month that several police stations from West Midnapore (Lalgarh, Salboni, Kotwali), Jhargram police district (Belpahari, Binpur, Jamboni, Gopiballabpur, Nayagram), Purulia and Bankura were asked to be on alert. The fact that the anti-Maoist operations have not received a major boost after the killing of Kishenji and some high-profile surrender like Suchitra Mahato have also left security agencies worried and hence the move, said sources.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bengal-govt-shifts-rebels-to-new-jails-fearing-uprising/articleshow/25016925.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25942

[TheGodlessUtopian]

JAP personnel killed in encounter with Maoists

Jamshedpur: A Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) personnel was on Saturday killed in an encounter with Maoists in between Jiyan and Hariyan villages in Ghatsila sub-division, police said. The security personnel were engaged in a routine combing operation in the naxal-hit area when an encounter took place during which the Maoists started firing on them, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Devendra Thakur said. The JAP personnel was killed in the encounter, he said. Meanwhile, senior police officials have rushed to the spot and launched a massive operation to track down the ultras, who reportedly made a hasty retreat following the incident.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/jap-personnel-killed-in-encounter-with-maoists_887632.html


Maoist Killed in Odisha-AP boarders in Pottangi block of Koraput

Report by Manoranjan Routray; Koraput: One unknown Naxal killed during an encounter at Tala Paniki village on the Odisha –Andhra Pradesh boarders under Pattangi police station of Koraput district on Friday said, Koraput Superintendent of Police Awinas Kumar in a press meet here at Koraput. One INSAS rifle, two magazines of INSAS, 47 live rounds of INSAS, 101 detonators, one Hand-Grenade, camera IED, medicine box, 20 pencil battery, Naxal kit bags, polythene sheets, rope, umbrellas, water bottles, two kit bags containing like item of daily use like toothbrush, comb, wrist watch, scissors, soaps, washing powder, needles, Tiffin boxes and Maoist literatures were recovered from the area after the Security Forces in a joint operation raided the Maoists.

According to DIG of Police (SWR), S Devdutta Singh, the operation was led by, the 202 CoBRA Battalion of the CRPF along with the Koraput district police and SOG Forces. He informed that the joint forces, following a tip about movement of armed group of outlawed CPI Maoists in the forest area under Pottangi police station, an Anti –Naxal Operation was launched on 31st October 2013(Thursday) to nab armed Maoists.

“At about 09.00 am, on 1st November (Friday), while security forces were coombing the forest area near Tala Paniki village under Pottangi police station, they sighted group of 30-35 armed cadres including some lady cadres. Security forces asked them to surrender by revealing their identity but Naxals started firing to kill police personnel. Our forces also fired back at them and the gun battle continued at least for one-and-a-half hours. When this battle came to a halt, our forces started a search operation and in that they recovered a body of an unknown Maoist,” he added. The DIG further says, this is the 3rd central Regional Committee (CRC) of CPI (Maoist) which is the military company of Naxals. Sing also said that the same 3rd CRC Naxal group was involved in the Ralegada incident dated 27th August 2013 in which four BSF personnel were killed, and again they planning to target police personnel on National Highway in Pottangi area. After the incident, combing in the area intensified.

http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=45345


167 polling stations shifted in Bastar due to Naxal threat

RAIPUR: As many as 167 polling stations in the sensitive areas of Naxal-affected Bastar region, which will have polling in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, have been relocated for “security and accessibility” reasons. “A total of 167 polling booths of Bastar region were shifted due to security and accessibility reasons,” Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kujur told reporters this evening.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/167-polling-stations-shifted-in-bastar-due-to-naxal-threat/articleshow/25075562.cms


More UAVs watching Bastar 24×7 ahead of polls

NEW DELHI: Boots on the ground and eye in the sky — the home ministry is using both in tandem to secure assembly elections in south Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, a Maoist stronghold. The CRPF, nodal agency overseeing deployment of security forces for the upcoming assembly elections in five states, has increased the number of unarmed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Maoist zone for round-the-clock surveillance. UAVs have been withdrawn from Maoist zones in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, Jharkhand and Odisha and mounted above Bastar.

About half a dozen UAV Netra, owned by the CRPF, are conducting recce and gathering real-time intelligence across about 40,000 sq km of Bastar region that votes on November 11. These indigenous UAVs can send real-time video of ground movement within a 5-km radius. Netra can identify human activity about 500 m away. Besides, the MHA has asked the NTRO, country’s elite intelligence agency, to fly UAV Heron whose range — about 400 km — is much more than the UAV Netra. The Israeli Heron is operated from airbase at Begumpet in Hyderabad. It was supposed to start operating from October 1. However, its launch was delayed by about a month due to various reasons, including weather. The UAVs will aid planning of operations and deployment of more than 50,000 security forces inducted in Bastar’s Maoist heartland for the polls, said a senior officer.

The poll boycott call by the Maoist and history of violence in Bastar makes the November 11 election prone to high security risk. In early October, Ramanna, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee secretary of the Maoists, said, “When the government uses force and violent measures to defy our poll boycott call, then we will definitely resist such repression.” The message is loud and clear. “We are pulling all stops to ensure a safe election in Bastar,” said a CRPF officer.

The UAVs can play a crucial role in surveillance and intelligence gathering in the region where real-time human intelligence is hard to come by. Flow of technical intelligence is meager as large swathes are inaccessible and not covered by mobile phone network, for instance. Grabs sent by the UAVs help the security forces on the ground to monitor Maoist movement and plan precision strike operations in Bastar and also along Chhattisgarh’s border with Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand. However, the UAVs have not had a spotless record over Chhattisgarh’s hostile terrain. The UAV Heron had failed to spot the movement of about 500 Maoist cadres in Bastar’s Darbha Ghati. These Maoists attacked a convoy of Congress leaders almost wiping out the party’s top leadership in Chhattisgarh in May.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/25079452.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25948

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Telangana: Panel warned new state would give fillip to Maoists

In the event of giving full statehood to Telangana along with Hyderabad, Justice Srikrishna Commission quite explicitly describes the dangers of gains to be made by Maoists and communal forces in the new state. Expansion of the Maoists: The commission maintains that Maoists, in all likelihood, would gain by the creation of a new state of Telangana, as the new state is likely to go soft towards them initially, given that they over the years supported the struggle for the formation of Telangana. “By the time the state realises the Maoist menace, it may be too late for the state to handle them with a bifurcated police force contributing to a weaker response to the problem,” the report says.

It would allow the CPI (Maoist), whose zones and sub-zones straddle state and district boundaries, to make use of new political boundaries and help in extending their activities from neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warrangal, Khammam, parts of Nizamabad and Medak in north Telangana and Mehboobnagar and Nalgonda in south Telangana. Giving example of creation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh that followed increase in spread of Maoist violence there, the report says, “Increase in poverty which is natural corollary to a slowdown in economic activity, will drive more people into the arms of CPI (Maoist)… and “provide fillip to Left Wing Extremism.”

The report notes that when intensity of the agitation by the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) started ebbing down, Gaddar floated a new front – Telangana Praja Front (TPF) — on the instructions of the underground cadre of Maoists to sustain agitation for a very prolonged duration and it tried to project itself as an alternative to the TRS. Thus the Maoists are trying to come back after through Telangana agitation.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-telangana-panel-warned-new-state-would-give-fillip-to-maoists-1913038


Maoists keen on giving a Kerala face to organization

KOZHIKODE: Maoists who kicked off their activities in the state with the torching of an earthmover at Kavilumpara near Thottilpalam last Sunday are keen to give a Kerala face to their organization. The aliases they selected for their underground activists are that of the late Naxalite leaders who had led the movement in the late 1960s. The statement issued by Maoists, claiming responsibility for the attack in Kavilumpara, has the name of Mandakini, the wife of Kunnikkal Narayanan and mother of K Ajitha.

Narayanan and Mandakini were the first-generation Naxalites who came out of the CPM fighting against the revisionism in the party. A Maoist cadre who visited the Karinkanni tribal colony in Wayanad two months ago had introduced himself as Varghese, the name of the Naxalite leader who was killed by the police in Thirunelli is 1970. The first document released by the Maoists after the launch of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee in February, 2013, was in the name of Jogi, the tribal who was killed in police firing in Muthanga in 2003. The document had references to the Kurichya warriors who fought valiantly against the British under Pazhassi Raja. More significantly, the name of the new dalam (armed squad) formed by the Maoists this month is named Kabani dalam after the name of the river.

By these moves, Maoists are trying to assert that they are the true successors of the Naxalite movement that sprouted in Kerala in 1967. The CPI (Maoist) belongs to a different stream of the Naxalite movement that was unfamiliar to Kerala. The Kerala brand of Maoists mainly followed the line of Charu Majumdar, even after his death in 1972. However, the CPI (Maoist) is the continuation of the CPI -ML (Peoples War) in Andhra Pradesh, which was critical about the stances of Charu Majumdar. The CPI (Maoist) is dominated by leaders from Andhra and its detractors always refer to the Andhra dominance to take a dig at the party.

By invoking the memories of the late Naxalite leaders from Kerala and anti-imperialist struggles in the state, they are trying to prove that the movement indeed is an indigenous one and not something imported from outside. Meanwhile, police have indentified the cadres who visited Vilangad in Kozhikode on Friday. They said the group included Maoist leader Sundari, Latha, Jayenna and Suresh. It is not yet sure whether Roopesh alias Praveen, former Kerala state secretary, was in the group.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Maoists-keen-on-giving-a-Kerala-face-to-organization/articleshow/25142688.cms


Maoists ‘sighted’ in Kozhikode rural

Team of Thunderbolt commando force begins combing operations

A team of the Thunderbolt commando force of the State police began combing operations for suspected Maoists at the Vayad tribal colony in Naripetta grama panchayat in the district on Saturday. The operations were being conducted with the assistance of the local police and forest officials following reports about the presence of Maoists at the Naripetta and Vilangad regions in the district bordering Wayanad and Kannur districts. Official sources said a nine-member armed group, including women, reportedly visited the Adivasi colony and distributed pamphlets to the residents on Friday night. Two of them were suspected to be the absconding Keralites involved with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The Maoists were attired in black military style uniform and a few of them also carried guns. They interacted in Hindi and Malayalam. They spent about 45 minutes at the colony, collected vegetables and other provisions from the households and retreated back into the forests. The tribals and local people informed the police about these uniformed strangers. They said the armed group warned them about their exploitation by the government. The group said they were willing to protect them.

Police personnel attached to the Kuttiyadi and Valayam stations made a quick search in the region. Subsequently, assistance of the specialised force was requested, a senior official said. He told The Hindu that a suspected group belonging to the Left radical outfit had moved into the forests of Nilambur, Wayanad and Kozhikode from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Home Department had planned to conduct an operation with the help of Central Reserve Police Force personnel as the Thunderbolt commandos were not trained to search Maoists. A week earlier, an excavator was set ablaze allegedly by Maoists at Chooranimala in Kavilumpara panchayat in the limits of the Thottipalam police station in the district. The excavator of a quarry- cum- crusher unit was destroyed by them demanding protection of the Western Ghats.

The police had recovered posters and literature of CPI (Maoists) and copies of its new bulletin ‘Kattuthee’ (forest fire) from the spot. The pamphlets showed similarity to the ones distributed by members of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist). Activities of the banned CPI(Maoist) at the tri-junction of the Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu borders were reported as early as 2011. The security apparatus of the governments of Kerala and Karnataka had been caught unawares after the CPI(Maoist) formed a new guerrilla zone in the Western Ghats.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/maoists-sighted-in-kozhikode-rural/article5308449.ece


Hardcore Maoist arrested in Bihar

MOTIHARI: A hardcore Maoist was arrested on Saturday from Bakhari village under Patahi police station of East Champaran district, superintendent of police Vinay Kumar said. The Maoist, Rajkishore Singh, was wanted in connection with serial blasts at Madhuban in East Champaran district on June 23, 2005 and was also involved in an encounter with the police in Thenahra police station area few years before. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of local police and CRPF raided a place in the village and nabbed Singh who had come to his native village, Kumar said. He was being interrogated.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hardcore-Maoist-arrested-in-Bihar/articleshow/25140563.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25959

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Chhattisgarh polls: MHA asks security forces to be in mission mode

NEW DELHI: The Centre has ordered tightening of security in Chhattisgarh following intelligence inputs that Naxals are engaged in “assiduous preparations” to disrupt the two-phased assembly elections on November 11 and 19. In an advisory, the Home Ministry said CPI (Maoist) continues to engage itself in “assiduous preparations” through large scale mobilisation of its cadre, assembling and planting of IEDs on polling routes and booths, formation of small teams assigned with specific tasks to locate suitable ambush points and target polling parties and security forces. Large groups of armed Maoist cadres (more than 50) along with their senior leaders have been noticed on several occasions since October 1 in Narayanpur, Bijapur and Kanker districts in connection with executing the plan of the outfit to disrupt the polls.

The Maoists also organised a large meeting of cadres (approximately 300) which was attended among others by their chief Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy. “With regard to the elections, several small teams were formed and assigned specific tasks to locate suitable ambush points, plant IEDs, detain polling parties and loot EVMs during meeting where suitable awards with promotions in ranks were announced for the cadres on successful completion of assigned tasks,” the advisory said.

The Home Ministry told security forces deployed in Chhattisgarh to step up anti-Naxal operations in the Maoist strongholds to dominate the areas not only within the state but also adjoining districts of Maharashtra and Odisha. “The security forces must remain in mission mode during the entire electoral process and ensure peaceful and incident free elections,” the advisory said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/chhattisgarh-polls-mha-asks-security-forces-to-be-in-mission-mode/articleshow/25218896.cms


Poll-bound Chhattisgarh covered in security blanket

It is a cat-and-mouse game with the Maoists here,” said G Singh, a 28-year-old jawan of the CRPF’s E-company as he walked with his colleagues towards their destination of the day: Lohapara village. The village is about 14km from the nearest road head (National Highway 30) and the route is through Maoist-controlled areas. The E-company’s responsibility for the day was to “dominate the area” and sanitise the route — mud tracks through paddy fields — so that voting can happen on November 11 without any hitch. However, the final location of the polling booths will be made public only a couple of days before the poll day. NH30 from Jagdalpur, the HQ of Bastar, to Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh goes right through the centre of the Maoist heartland of Dantewada, Sukma, Dornapal and Konta.

A large part of this 440-km route is through the forests and in recent times this region has witnessed major strikes by the Maoists: in 2010, 76 CRPF soldiers were killed at Dantewada and in May almost the entire Congress state leadership was wiped out during the Darbha Ghati attack in Bastar. When a CRPF company goes out patrolling, they use new routes every day and the time for leaving the base camp also varies. Even while patrolling, the route to reach their destination is different from the one they take for going back to the base camp. Each company of 100 to 130 jawans combs around five to seven km a day, but sometimes they sanitise even 10-15km.

Each jawan carries a backpack for food and water but then there is no time to sit in peace and eat; it’s a grab-and-go lunch. “The dangerous areas on any route are the culverts or mud tracks where Maoists plant IEDs or pressure bombs,” said assistant commandant H Gainwal. So the first group to sanitise the route is the IED detection team. “Everything looks serene here. But behind the trees, there could be someone sitting and watching us and alerting the Maoists,” said unit commander Mohan Prakash.

As the company moves forward, three to four jawans are left on either side of the tracks to ensure that there are no attacks from behind. “We want to create confidence in the people so that they can vote without fear,” he added. The Maoists have called for a poll boycott. Despite such confidence-building efforts, villagers are divided over whether the presence of forces will mean better voter turnout. “The tribals are afraid of the forces and the moment they see them, they will run to the forests to hide,” said Jiten Singh, a shopkeeper at Tukanar.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/myindia-myvote/chunk-ht-ui-myindiamyvote-homepage-topstories/poll-bound-chhattisgarh-covered-in-security-blanket/sp-article10-1147119.aspx


Combing operation called off

The Anti-Maoist combing operation which was being conducted by a team of the Thunderbolt Commando Force of the state police in Kannavam forest and nearby areas in the district, was stopped without yielding any results. The massive operation was launched after reports of ‘Maoists’ sightings at Vilangad Vayad Tribal Colony in Naripetta grama panchayat in the district on Friday evening. The operations were conducted with the assistance of local police and forest officials.

“The operation was launched on Saturday morning and continued till 4 pm ,” said a senior police official. He also added that it is highly likely that the ultras might have escaped into dense Kannavam Reserve Forests. Earlier it had been reported that an armed group which included women, had visited the Adivasi colony and distributed pamphlets to the residents on Friday. Police officials said that two of them were suspected to be absconding Keralites involved with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). According to the police, members of the banned outfit, dressed in black uniform and carrying guns, visited the colony and interacted with the locals in Hindi and Malayalam.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Combing-operation-called-off/2013/11/04/article1871244.ece


Chhattisgarh: 2 more maoist killed

Raipur, Nov 4: The 25,000 strong paramilitary force deployed in Chhattisgarh, ahead of the Assembly Elections this month is doing its bit thoroughly. Apart from the earlier Maoist and Naxal encounters, reports suggest that two more Maoists have been killed in a gun battle by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Chhattisgarh. In a separate incident, another Maoist has been arrested following the clash in Basaguda on Sunday. The bodies of the Maoists have been handed over to the police. Investigations are on and the arrested person is being questioned, according to an official.

http://news.oneindia.in/india/chhattisgarh-2-more-maoist-killed-1335603.html


Maoist Jhadu Tadingi arrested

A hardcore Maoist named Jhadu Tadingi (35), who was involved in a number of murders, was arrested in Naryanpatna block of Koraput district on Sunday. According to Koraput superintendent of police (SP) Awinash Kumar, basing on intelligence reports regarding his presence, personnel of Narayanpatna police station and Koraput district police had started an operation in jungles near Dumsil village to nab him from Saturday. According to the police, Jhadu had initially joined the controversial tribal organisation Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) and had later switched over the Narayanpatna area committee of Srikakulam Koraput Divisional Committee (SKDC) of outlawed Maoist organisation.

Since 2009, he was he was involved in several cases of murder. He had led the ultras for the murder of Siva Madangi at Jogi Palur village on August 11 this year. Jhadu was also involved in the landmine attack near Patamunda of Narayanpatna area on September 1, 2012 in which a personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) Xavier Kindo was killed. Investigation and interrogation has proved that he had provided logistic support for the IED blast on Naryanpatna-Laxmipur road in June 2009 in which nine police personnel were killed. Jhadu was involved in the gruesome murder of village leader Nityanand Meleka at Gotiguda in 2009 and murder of Suresh Piniti of Bandhugaon the same year.

Series of murders

According to the police, he was also involved in the murder of Gokula Pondu of Balipeta, Ghasi Kendruka of Dumsil, Sambru Huika of Odiapentha, Sikunu Meleka of Tentulipadar in the year 2010. In 2011 he was involved in the murder of Rabindra Bidika of Bikrampur, Dali Habika of Pilbore. He was also involved in the murder of innocent tribal Dharma Rao Kendruka of Dumsil on July 27, 2012 and had killed Sukra Huika of Odiapentha and Uday Hirdika of Bhitarpada the same year. Apart from these murders, the arrested Maoist was also involved in other unlawful violent activities in Narayanpatna and adjoining areas like attack on Narayanpatna police station, damages to houses of non-tribal people, looting, extortion, road blockades, planting of IEDs etc, the SP said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoist-jhadu-tadingi-arrested/article5313794.ece


Two Maoists Arrested in Bihar

Two Maoists were arrested today by the Special Task Force (STF) from Railway Station Road under Town police station area in Bihar’s Jehanabad district. Acting on a tip off, an STF team apprehended Nirmal Paswan alias Mutwar and Nandan Vishwakarma, while they were on way to purchase arms from a supplier, Superintendent of Police Sayali Dhurat said. A number of Maoist literature was recovered from the two who belonged to Palamu district of Jharkhand. Paswan was wanted in connection with dacoity in the railway premises among slew of other cases and had been jailed in the past too, the SP said. Vishwakarma too was arrested earlier on charge of supply of illicit weapons to the Maoists, she said.

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=815975
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25965

[TheGodlessUtopian]

22 IEDs recovered from Naxal-hit areas of Jharkhand

RANCHI: Effecting a major recovery of explosives in Naxal-hit areas, security forces have seized as many as 22 IEDs in the state. The operation carried out by CRPF’s special anti-Naxal operations force CoBRA and local police was carried out in Amwatikar and Manika areas of Latehar district of the state since yesterday. A total of 22 live Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have been recovered in the operation, a senior official said. The operation to locate more such explosives and defuse them are on, they said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/22-ieds-recovered-from-naxal-hit-areas-of-jharkhand/articleshow/25248719.cms


MHA alert: Ganapathy in Abujhmad

Security forces claimed to have spotted top Maoist leader Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy in the dense forest of Abujhmad trying to organise a meeting of cadres to carry out attacks ahead of Chhattisgarh elections. While it is being considered a headway in the hunt for Rao, it has put security forces on their toes. In an alert to Naxal-affected states, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said CPI(Maoists) continue “assiduous preparations” for largescale mobilisation of cadre, assembling and planting of IEDs on polling routes and booths, and forming small teams to locate ambush points to target polling parties and security forces.

Large groups of armed Maoists, along with senior leaders, have been noticed since October 1 in Narayanpur, Bijapur and Kanker districts. “With regard to elections, several small teams were assigned specific tasks to locate suitable ambush points, plant IEDs, detain polling parties and loot EVMs during meetings where suitable awards with promotions were announced for cadres on successful completion of assigned tasks,” the alert said.

The MHA has asked security forces to step up anti-Naxal operations in Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh and adjoining districts in Maharashtra and Orissa. “The security forces must remain in mission mode during the entire electoral process and ensure peaceful elections,” an MHA advisory said. The Maoists have directed government teachers not to participate in election duty. “In Dantewada district, the outfit has asked some villagers to leave their village on November 10 and ensure none except children and the old remain in the village on polling day. In Sukma district, some villagers were asked to keep themselves away from polling booths, polling parties as well as four-wheelers from November 10,” it said. The MHA said there have been inputs indicating procurement of incendiary materials and purchase of a vehicle by the outfit for executing its plan to disrupt polls.

“The CPI (Maoist) is collecting names and mobile numbers of SHOs, sarpanchs and details regarding buildings where security forces would be accommodated,” it said. Directing strict security drill, the Ministry said security of polling parties and EVMs needs to be strengthened in view of fresh inputs. Road-opening parties have been instructed to be alert. Identifying likely ambush spots, dismantling IEDs and other precautions were suggested. The Centre also advised the Chhattisgarh government to work in coordination with Orissa and Maharashtra to check cross-border movement of Naxals.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mha-alert-ganapathy-in-abujhmad/1191003/0


Naxalite arrested

Dharamveer Mahto alias Badalji (25), a suspected Naxalite, was arrested by the police on Monday from village Ataulla on the border of Patna and Arwal districts under Paliganj police station. The cops had prior information about Dharamveer’s visit to the village, said sources. Paliganj SHO Naseem Ahmed on Monday said Mahto was arrested in 2010 with a large consignment of explosives and firearms. After serving jail term for almost a year and a half, he came out and joined the Naxalites’ activities, the SHO added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Student-found-murdered-in-Jakkanpur-area/articleshow/25236154.cms


Maoist dump unearthed by BSF

Parvathipuram (Vizianagaram): Security forces unearthed a Maoist dump very close to Tolamandiaguda village in Narayanapatna block of Odisha’s Koraput district, nearly 40 km from here, on Monday. Border Security Force (BSF) jawans of the 28 Battalion of Narayanapatna found the dump at a farm field hardly 50 metres from the village entrance while on a combing operation. The dump included a country-made pistol, a large quantity of medicines, one black bag and a lot of revolutionary literature in Telugu. According to assistant command of the battalion, Prasanth Kumar Sarma, so far BSF had unearthed more than 15 dumps in the district and security personnel were continuously conducting combing operations.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Maoist-dump-unearthed-by-BSF/articleshow/25239074.cms


Kerala to form anti-terror force

KOZHIKODE: The state will form an anti-terror force to tackle the Maoist menace and allot Rs 3.15 crore for development of infrastructure in 14 police stations, home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan told reporters here on Monday. He said the government was viewing the presence of Maoists in Kerala with due seriousness. Three companies of armed police will be deployed in Kuttiady, where Maoists were spotted recently.

The personnel will be provided an additional pay of Rs 1,000 a month. The minister said special home guards would be deployed in areas frequented by Maoists in the past few months. The members of Home Guards will be selected from tribal areas. He said the Maoists were trying to exploit the sentiments of tribals. IG B Sandhya is engaged in a study on the exploitation among adivasis in Kerala. The details of the report pertaining to each department will be shared with departments concerned.

The DGPs of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will oversee the police action in the tri-junction area, where the Maoists are concentrated, he said. Meanwhile, police have started a probe to verify the Maoist claim that they had taken away explosives from the Mukkam granite quarry at Kavilumpara near Thottilpalam when they torched the earthmover on October 22. In a CD sent to some media organisations here, Maoists had shown the video of explosives – gelatin stick, fuse, detonators and ammonium nitrate — they took away from the quarry. “The quarry owners had denied that they had stored explosives at the quarry but we are verifying their statement. It is possible that they are lying as they didn’t have the licence to store them,” an officer said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Kerala-to-form-anti-terror-force/articleshow/25234619.cms


Odisha judge gets used bullets, detonator in parcel

A judge in Odisha Tuesday received a parcel containing a threat letter, two used bullets and an obsolete detonator, police said. The parcel, which arrived through the postal department’s speed post, was received at the office of Debasis Panda, sub-judge at Koraput town, about 500 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. Inspector in charge of Koraput police station S.C. Raiguru said police have seized the parcel and started investigations.

“No one has been arrested yet,” he told IANS. The name of the sender is mentioned as one Kameswar Rao. The letter which bears the name of the Communist Party of India-Maoist has accused the sub-judge of not giving justice to the people and torturing them on false charges. In the letter, the judge has been warned that he would have to face the consequences if he does not mend his ways.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Odisha-judge-gets-used-bullets-detonator-in-parcel/2013/11/05/article1873956.ece
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25968

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Three IEDs recovered from Naxal area in J’Khand

Security forces have recovered three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from Naxal-hit areas of West Singhbum district of Jharkhand. A joint squad of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police carried out the operation in which some Maoist uniforms and literature was also recovered from Sonua area of the district. The forces had recovered and defused about 22 explosives yesterday in the state.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/three-ieds-recovered-from-naxal-area-in-j-khand-113110600620_1.html


Naxal threat kills poll fervour in Bastar

There is absolutely no sign of any election fever in Annaram, a tiny tribal village, located just 45 km from Bijapur, district headquarters in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar region. However, a banner hoisted by the Naxalites calling for boycott of elections is the only sign. An eerie silence has descended on the village since the brutal killing of Karsharam Shankar on October 2. The Naxals called him a police spy. Tribal residents of around a dozen villages in the area are yet to meet any political worker.

“We have not moved beyond block and district headquarters, leave about campaigning in villages. Nearly 70 per cent of the Bijapur constituency will remain uncovered by our campaign. Our cadres fear that they will either be abducted or killed if they try to push further into interior areas”, local BJP leader Navin Vishwakarma told this newspaper. Over 300 activists belonging to the BJP and the Congress units of Bijapur, who had joined Salwa Judum (anti-Naxal movement) in 2005, have been eliminated by the Naxals. “The only frequent visitors to the villages in remote areas are Naxals, who descend on villages in groups to warn the locals of serious consequences if they defied the poll boycott call,” a local police officer said, requesting anonymity. All the 222 polling booths in Bijapur Assembly constituency have been declared “hyper-sensitive.”

Some 436 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed in Bastar, which comprises of seven districts and of these 115 companies are stationed in Bijapur. The 11 Assembly constituencies in Bastar, which are going to polls on November 11, face similar problems. The poll scenario continues to remain grim in Bastar despite deployment of a record 1,00,000 central paramilitary forces personnel in the whole region to ensure peaceful elections, and 24-7 vigil over 40,000 sq km area of the belt by drones. Bastar was a Congress bastion till 1998, but switched to the BJP in 2003 and 2008 Assembly polls.

The Congress hopes to regain its lost ground in Bastar to some extent by wresting at least five seats from the BJP. Even the CPI wants to open its account in the Assembly from Bastar during this election. Devti, widow of Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma, is contesting from the Dantewada Assembly constituency in south Bastar. Karma was brutally killed in the May 25 Naxal attack on a Congress convoy at Darbha in Bastar district. His widow and four sons has been provided ‘Z’-plus security after Naxals threatened to eliminate the rest of the family. “We are really worried for Karma family. No state-level leader has dared to join their campaign. A palpable fear is also evident among the few workers she was carrying along with her in her campaign”, Dantewada district Congress president Avdesh Gautam, whose house was also attacked by the Naxals three years ago in the area, told this newspaper. Devti, who wants to carry forward her husband’s legacy by winning the seat, is confining her campaign to urban areas only. “We have not been able to cover more than 50 per cent areas in the constituency so far. I do not foresee any chance of ever visiting the areas for campaigning in this poll”, Mr Gautam said.

Tree trunks draped in red banners calling for boycott of polls are a common sight in Bastar villages of Gajnar, Masnar, Mulsnar, Khetepal, Dungir and Dusipal. “The situation has worsened after May 25 massacre of Congress leaders at Darbha by Naxals. Our cadres are not willing to risk their life by visiting interior areas”, BJP leader Vishakarma said. Maoists have circulated leaflets in interior villages issuing diktats to the local adivasis to leave their villages two days before the polling day and warning them against exercising franchise. The situation in Narayanpur district is interesting. Here, the “haats (tribal weekly markets)” have turned much-sought-after venues for poll meeting by the political parties. Tribals from nearby villages pour into the weekly markets to purchase groceries. This has given candidates a chance to reach out to tribal voters without visiting their villages. “Despite heavy deployment of forces, there was an attempt to target candidates by planting landmine in a weekly market in Orcha last week. But forces foiled their plan by detecting the landmine in time,” a local police officer said.

Tribals in Abujhmad area, declared as a liberated zone by Maoists, falling under Narayanpur district, have never heard of polling. In Sukma district, considered epicentre of left-wing insurgency in Bastar, the local area committees have of late become active meeting villagers in their respective area of jurisdiction asking them to stay away from liquor parties thrown by candidates and drive them out of their villages, a senior district police officer said. “In most parts of Assembly constituencies in Bastar campaigning ends after sunset every day due to fear of Naxal attack”, state BJP spokesman Yashwant Jain, who is currently camping in Bastar to oversee party’s electioneering, said.

Situation in other insurgency-hit Assembly constituencies in Bastar division like Kondagaon, Keshkal, Chitrokote, Bastar, Antagarh, north Kanker and Bhanupratappur, where election activities are confined only to urban areas. The situation is bad, admit BJP and Congress campaign managers as around 50 per cent of Bastar has not been covered by political parties so far although the elections are less than a week away. In the worst Naxal-affected districts of Narayanpur, Bijapur and Sukma, political workers have not even visited 30 per cent of their territories. Whatever be the outcome of polls, unprecedented security arrangements in Bastar may make it the costliest elections in a particular territory in electoral history of India.

http://www.asianage.com/india/naxal-threat-kills-poll-fervour-bastar-570


Naxals planning to attack “soft targets” in cities

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. The Maoists are deploying small action teams in city areas of Bastar region to carry out operations, because of security scenario inside forest pockets, according to Intelligence Bureau sources.

The cadres have also been told to maintain security of their senior leaders commanding them during operations. They are reportedly setting up cadres in cities of Bastar region for disrupting the polling process, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. Intelligence inputs indicate that these groups are working with an objective of creating an atmosphere of fear, besides planning to abduct candidates of political parties and indulging in arson.

Inputs also suggest that the Reds have been threatening government employees, especially school teachers, not to take up poll duties. However, no government employee has so far complained of getting threats, the official said. Following the inputs, security personnel have been alerted to keep a hawk eye on the movement of people from remote areas to cities for taking part in political rallies in Bastar, the official said.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/naxals-planning-to-attack-soft-targets-in-cities-113110600429_1.html


Maoist presence confirmed in more areas

Malappuram: The presence of Maoists has been established in more places in Kerala. Latest reports point to the presence of rebels in the Edakkara Punchakolli forest areas. Tribals have reported that they have seen about 20 armed people. On the tip off, Kerala and Tamil Nadu police personnel combed the area. The tribals saw the group when they ventured into the forests to collect fruits. They also said that the armed group talked to them for more than 30 minutes and later threatened them.

However, combing operations by special forces from Tamil Nadu and Kerala could not find anyone as mentioned by the tribals. However, the police are of the opinion that Maoists could be present in the region and security has been beefed up. There are also plans to enhance combing operations in the coming days.

http://english.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?contentId=15387715&tabId=1&programId=11565535
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25975

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Forces detect 500kg IEDs in 10 days in poll-bound Bastar

NEW DELHI: Across poll-bound Bastar in south Chhattisgarh, where Maoists hold sway, security forces led by the CRPF found about 500kg IEDs in the last 10 days averting loss of lives and property. Maoists planted these improvised explosive devices (IEDs), also called landmines, along highways and kutcha village roads, to enforce poll boycott and harm security forces. “Of them, most are command wire IEDs. However, pressure IEDs have also been found in Chhattisgarh,” said a senior CRPF officer. A command wire IED has a wire attached to a circuit. It can be detonated from about 50-60 m away by a cadre hidden in the forest.

Pressure IED can explode when a person or a vehicle passes over it. Early Thursday, a CRPF-led joint forces team found two 25kg command wire IEDs packed in steel cans along the highway between Dornapal and Jagargunda in Sukma district. The IEDs were planted close to the spot where the Maoists had ambushed and killed 76 CRPF men in 2010. The joint forces team detected the IEDs during a patrol. Most of the IEDs detected are made of ammonium nitrate though large number of gelatin IEDs have also been found. “These deadly explosives reached the Maoists mainly through pilferage from mining companies in Chhattisgarh and neighbouring Jharkhand,” said an officer. Since November 1, security forces found 132kg IEDs in Chhattisgarh and 130kg along the state’s border with Jharkhand. More IEDs were defused at the spot they were found.

In October, 109kg IEDs were found in Chhattisgarh and 274kg along Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border. Bastar, which has seven districts and 12 assembly constituencies spread over about 40,000 sq km, goes to polls on November 11. Earlier, the Maoists had asked villagers not to walk on kutcha roads after October 31 as these would be heavily mined by IEDs. True to their word, Maoist cadres have already mined roads, especially in the interiors, to prevent villagers from reaching polling booths. Their other aim is to inflict maximum damage on security forces on poll duty. Maoists could mine areas around booths, suspect senior officers. About 50,000 security forces have been deployed in Bastar to secure poll in the Maoist stronghold. Before induction, they were sensitized about IEDs by experts, including officers from CRPF’s Institute for IED Management in Pune.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/forces-detect-500kg-ieds-in-10-days-in-poll-bound-bastar/articleshow/25399874.cms


Maoists reiterate call for poll boycott in tribal Bastar region

RAIPUR: Outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoists) have reiterated their call for boycott of elections in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh alleging that security forces deployed in large numbers for the polls were unleashing terror on people to thwart its campaign for boycott of elections. “Road opening parties (ROP), round the clock patrolling, police pickets everywhere, mobile check posts, regular combing operations, fake encounters, raids on villages, illegal arrests and implicating tribals in false cases have become order of the day”, CPI (Maoist) Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee secretary Rammana said in an SMS message circulated to media in the state capital.

Claiming that students were forced to vacate residential hostels to facilitate accommodation of security forces, he said studies in almost all schools in the interiors have been affected. Ramanna exhorted employees, progressive and democratic intellectuals to boycott elections and extend every kind of support to the peoples’ struggle going on in Dandakaranya. “Let us forge ahead undeterred for genuine freedom on the basis of self-reliance by intensifying peoples war and defeating operation green hunt”, Rammanna said. There are also unconfirmed reports that Maoists have given a call for bandh in the interior areas of Bastar but there is no independent confirmation either from the police or from the rebels.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/25399013.cms


Maoists torch vehicles, beat up workers

Maoists raided the project site of a private construction company in Vishungarh, around 110 km from here, late Thursday and also beat up four labourers of the company, police said. The non-payment of levy demanded by the rebels is said to be the reason for the incident.

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/11/08/224–Maoists-torch-vehicles-beat-up-workers-.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Chhattisgarh: Two BSF jawans and a civilian killed in Naxal landmine blast

Raipur: Two BSF jawans and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicles in Maoist-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. The troopers were returning after security deployment for polling in Sukma region when a landmine blast took place between their two vehicles near Kerlapal camp, Additional Director General Police (Naxal Operations), R K Vij told reporters. While three persons were killed, two others were injured in the blast.

Soon after getting news of the incident, additional forces were rushed to the spot and the injured were being retrieved from there, he said. According to police sources, a convoy of BSF vehicles was returning to their camp after conducting poll duty in the region, when Naxals triggered a blast on a road near Manjhipara and Badeshetti villages in Sukma.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131112/news-current-affairs/article/two-bsf-jawans-and-civilian-killed-naxal-landmine-blast


One Dead in Firing as Chhattisgarh Votes

A police officer manning a polling booth was shot dead during elections in the central state of Chhattisgarh Monday by suspected Maoists, the state’s director general of police said. Tens of thousands of security personnel fanned out across the state as its southern districts went to the polls amid a heightened threat of attacks by the region’s Maoist rebels who had called for a boycott of the election.

The officer from the Central Reserve Police Force was killed in firing in Dantewada district, Ram Niwas, the director general of police in the state, told The Wall Street Journal. As helicopters carrying medical aid hovered overhead Monday, a low-intensity blast in Kanker district injured one junior security officer and short bursts of firing broke out in nearby districts, Mr. Niwas added. The administration was forced to cancel voting in two areas as attacks by rebels prevented polling personnel from reaching their designated booths.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/11/11/one-dead-as-chhattisgarh-votes-amid-blasts-firing/


NAXALS malnad_0

‘Naxals adopting new way of using IEDs to sabotage C’garh polls’

The findings of the teams from the Institute of IED Management of the CRPF at Talegaon near Pune show that the Maoist are using a type of misleading IED (Improvised Explosive Device) to sabotage elections in Chhattisgarh. The findings show that the Maoists are using IEDs instead of direct confrontations. The first phase of Chhattisgarh elections that got over on Monday covered six districts worst effected by the Left Wing Extremism.

Two teams from the Institute IED Management (IIM) were in Chhattisgarh before the elections and have studied the IEDs and explosives that were recovered during several raids. Commandant Mohammed Jamal Khan, principal of the IIM told Newsline, “A different kind of IED, which is kind of a booby-trap, is being used by the Maoists. They keep a wire protruding out of the ground and an impression is created that the IED is somewhere nearby connected to this wire. But the real IED is somewhere in the way. Such IEDs have been recovered from the Jagargunda Chintalnar road, which had the major Maoist attack in the recent past in May.” Commandant Khan said, “Maoist are using IEDs instead of the direct confrontation. They have lost a lot leaders and there hasn’t been enough recruitment. So this is the method they are opting for now. Hundreds of kilograms of explosive materials recovered from this belt prove this.”

The IIM teams have helped other security forced like BSF, ITBP, the Chhattisgarh state police who are deployed in the state during the elections. “We have also given directive to these forces about another strategy. There is a possibility of an attack in which security forces are intercepted by light firing, which will prompt them to take hiding in nearby bushes. There is possibility that these places are rigged,” said an officer with the institute.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Naxals-adopting-new-way-of-using-IEDs-to-sabotage-C-garh-polls-/1193836/


How security forces foiled plot by Naxalites

NEW DELHI: The Maoists had prepared the ground to cause large-scale disruptions during polling in Chhattisgarh, but meticulous planning by security forces ensured the first phase passed off without any major incident. To foil Maoist designs, the security forces moved only on foot, studiously avoiding vehicles, built two-tier security rings around polling booths ensuring the Maoists were beaten back on the periphery itself and freshly-inducted troops were trained in visual detection of IEDs. As was evident from the firing on polling booths that led to the death of a CRPF jawan and the recovery of over a dozen IEDs on Monday, Naxals were determined to scuttle the polls.

On Monday the CRPF alone fought as many as 14 Maoist attacks and over three days recovered 78 IEDs from the poll zone. If despite all this the Maoists failed to score a spectacular hit, it was because of the deployment of 1 lakh personnel, over 56,000 of whom were fresh inductions by CRPF. According to CRPF, appointed the nodal agency for poll security, the force mobilized its 350-odd trainers and bomb experts from across the country to Chhattisgarh to train troops.

In a 15-day exercise before polls, the troops were put through a jungle familiarization exercise, taken on mock patrol drills and taught how to sniff out IEDs even without equipment. “For such a large deployment equipment is always going to fall short. So we taught our men how to spot IEDs visually and dismantle them,” said a senior CRPF officer. With inputs of IEDs planted on many roads in Bastar and Rajnandgaon, the force forbade its troops from using vehicles and all movements and deployments were carried out on foot. “We deployed a DIG in each district to oversee security. Just moving 564 companies was a huge operation and used 83 companies for opening roads,” CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi said. Polling booths were given two security rings — the first cordon to secure booths and the second at a distance so that any attack is neutralized without harming civilians. “Most firings today happened on the outer cordon,” a senior officer explained. A bigger challenge awaits the force with the likelihood of troops being targeted when they are pulled back from poll duties. “EVMs too will move on Tuesday and could be targeted,” said the officer.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/25613845.cms


Two security personnel injured in naxal attack on poll parties

A deputy commandant of CRPF and a BSF jawan were injured in separate naxal attacks on polling parties in Maoist-affected Bastar region, police said. The incidents took place in Sukma and Kanker districts of Bastar division when the polling parties were returning to the district headquarters after elections in the respective regions early this morning, a senior police official said. The Deputy Commandant of CRPF 150 battalion was shot in his legs when naxals opened indiscriminate firing on the polling party accompanied with security forces in Temelwada forest under Chintagufa police station limits of south Bastar, the official added.

Soon after, additional forces were rushed to the spot and a helicopter has also been sent to airlift the injured officer, he said. In a separate incident, a BSF jawan was injured in a landmine blast triggered by naxals near Gondahur village under Pakhanjore police station limits of Kanker district, he said. The paramilitary forces were opening the road for the movement of buses in Gondahur village bringing back polling parties when naxals triggered a high intensity blast leaving a BSF jawan injured, he said. However, the polling parties are safe.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/two-security-personnel-injured-in-naxal-attack-on-poll-parties-113111200287_1.html




12IN_TH_SONI_SORI_1650312f

SC grants interim bail to Soni Sori, Lingaram Kodopi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Soni Sori, the tribal school teacher of Dantewada and her relative journalist, Lingaram Kodopi. In a couple days Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi are expected to be released from jail. Meanwhile Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi will be transferred to Delhi. Granting the interim bail Justice S S Nirjar said since the Chhattisgarh police has not able to furnish proper reply on time, an interim bail has been granted. The next hearing of the case is on December 3. The bail application was filed couple of months ago by Ms Sori’s lawyer Colin Gonsalves. Lawyer Prashant Bhusan filed the application on behalf of Lingaram Kodopi. Ms Sori and Mr Kodipi.

While Ms. Sori and Mr. Kodopi either got bail or acquittal in most of the cases, both were denied bail by the Chattisgarh courts. Rejecting the bail petition in Chattisgarh High Court, a couple of months back, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said that “on basis of the seriousness of the evidence” the petition had been rejected. Finally, the bail application was filed in the Supreme Court earlier this month. Ms. Sori has been acquitted in six of the eight cases in the last one and half years, while Mr. Kodopi has been acquitted in the only other case of planning an attack on local Congress leader Avdesh Gautam.

In the present case, regarding Essar Steel, where both Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi have been accused of arranging “protection money” on behalf of the company to Maoists, was the only case in which the accused have not yet been granted bail. The main accused, D.V.C.S Verma, general manager at an Essar steel plant, and B.K. Lala, an Essar contractor, were arrested for allegedly disbursing the money. Both Mr. Verma and Mr. Lala got bail within few months of their arrest. But Ms Sori and Mr Kodopi have had to wait nearly two and half years.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-grants-interim-bail-to-soni-sori-lingaram-kodopi/article5343449.ece


Maoists kill rebel leader, 2 others in Gaya

Three people, including the local head of CPI (Maoist) rebel group Sashastra People’s Morcha (SPM), were killed and two injured by Naxals at Amkola village in Mohanpur block of Gaya district Sunday. Police said SPM local head Sanjay Yadav, who was reportedly also a police informer, had gone to Amkola with Munishwar and Surendra Yadav to watch a dance programme. Over two dozen Maoists laid seige to the cultural programme venue. They first fired in the air to disperse the crowd and then shot Sanjay (31), Surendra (32) and Munishwar (36). Manoj Yadav, who formed the SPM in 2009, was also attacked in 2010. Gaya SP Nishant Kumar Tiwari said: “Sanjay Yadav and the ultras had an old enmity. He was targeted also for assisting the police in carrying out anti-Naxal operations.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Maoists-kill-rebel-leader–2-others-in-Gaya/1193813/


Naxals trigger blasts on eve of Chhattisgarh assembly polls, 2 jawans hurt

Two Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawans were injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in the Maoist-hit Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh on the eve of the first phase of Assembly elections, police said. “The incident occurred this afternoon near Baldongri village under Aundhi police station, located around 125 km from Rajnandgaon district headquarters, when a polling party was heading towards its destination,” Rajnandgaon SP Sanjeev Shukla said.

The polling party was on its way to Baldongri booth when Naxals set off a low-intensity IED blast near a rivulet, leaving two ITBP personnel injured, he said. “The jawans were provided primary treatment at a local health centre and are being brought to the Rajnangdaon headquarters,” he said, adding the polling staff reached their destination safely. 18 constituencies of Naxal-affected Bastar and Rajnandgaon districts are going to polls on Monday. The troopers, two of whom sustained splinter injuries, took immediate positions and because of their movement in ‘Y’ pattern, there was no casualty. “Due to their alertness the troops were able to combat the blast which was carried out by an IED weighing about 15 kg,” a senior official said. Both the troopers are out of danger and they have been shifted to a nearby healthcare centre. The polling booth has been taken over by security personnel.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/naxals-trigger-blasts-on-eve-of-chhattisgarh-assembly-polls-2-jawans-hurt/1193208/


Anti-Naxal combing operations enters day 2

The combing operation launched by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) and police in the deep forests of Kuthlur and surrounding regions after Naxals torched a vehicle of social worker Ramachandra Bhat entered the second day on Sunday. IGP (Western Range) Pratap Reddy said the operation will continue until success is achieved. SP Shantanu Sinha told Express that the police are assisting the ANF in the combing operation. Asked whether the operation has been launched in other districts too, Sinha refused to give a specific answer. Bhat has been involved in rehabilitating tribals, Malekudiyas and other forest dwellers volunteering to relocate from the Kudremukh National Park. Police sources said some families which are unwilling to relocate from the forest assumed that Bhat is working against tribals. This must be the reason for the Naxal attack.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Anti-Naxal-combing-operations-enters-day-2/2013/11/11/article1884089.ece


Naxals regroup, induct recruits in Karnataka

Mangalore: Contrary to the government’s claim that the number of Maoists in the Malnad forest region has decreased, the red bri*gade has in fact been trying to regroup and is now inducting new people into its ranks. Naxal top leader and one of the Dantewada attackers, B.G. Krishna*murthy, who was absconding from Karna*taka for the past two years was recently spotted in Sringeri forest, locals here claim. Krishnamurthy, who hails from Bukkadibail village in Sringeri Taluk, leads the naxals in the area and adjoining areas in Chikmagalur district. The naxal leader was found missing for a long period, and rumours about his possible shift to Chhatisgarh after a police crackdown circulated.

However, forest dwellers now claim that Krishnamurthy “After a gap of two years, people have seen Kris*hnamurthy. He has returned and is very active with his team in Sringeri forests,” sources told Deccan Chronicle. Sources also claim that the maoists have not only regrouped, but have been recruiting new people into their ranks. “Many new faces are said to have joined the Naxal group. It is not yet clear if they are new recruits from the region or if they have come from other states.

The Maoists have been clandestine about their movements these past few days. “Earlier, they would move about freely and visit any house in the forest, but now they have restricted their movement and visit only their supporters, so that officials and non-sympathisers of the Maoist movement could be easily hoodwinked,” sources said. It may be recalled that on Saturday, about 15 Maoists set a motorbike and a car belonging to Ramachandra Bhat ablaze. Mr Bhat, an NGO employee’s possessions were attacked in the wee hours of the morning.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131111/news-current-affairs/article/naxals-regroup-induct-recruits-karnataka


Beltangady: Naxals target gram panchayat member, set fire to property

Beltangady, Nov 9: Once again, Naxals have made their presence felt in the coastal districts, though after a long gap. A group of 10 to 20 armed Naxals reportedly visited Kutlur gram panchayat member Ramachandra Bhat’s house in Beltangady, Naravi in the early hours of Saturday November 9 and left a trail of damage.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=200330


Landmine blast injures five BSF personnel in poll-bound Chhattisgarh ‘

The troopers were returning after security deployment for polling in Sukma region when a landmine blast took place between their two vehicles near Kerlapal camp, Additional Director General Police (Naxal Operations), RK Vij said. “Five BSP personnel, including a doctor, were injured in the incident,” Vij said. Soon after getting news of the incident, additional forces were rushed to the spot and the injured were being retrieved from there, he said. Further details were awaited. According to police sources, a convoy of BSF vehicles was returning to their camp after conducting poll duty in the region, when Naxals triggered a blast on a road near Manjhipara and Badeshetti villages in Sukma. (Agencies)

http://post.jagran.com/landmine-blast-injures-five-bsf-personnel-in-pollbound-chhattisgarh-1384244747


Hardcore Maoist arrested by joint security forces in Munger

A hardcore Maoist has been arrested from a village in Munger district of Bihar, police said. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of STF (Special Task Force) and CRPF raided Sonebarsa village and arrested a hardcore ultra Bhim Turi from a house, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Kumar Singh, said. Turi was involved in several offences committed by the Maoists, the ASP said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/hardcore-maoist-arrested-by-joint-security-forces-in-munger/433668-3-232.html


New hostage policy bars releasing hardcore Maoists

The Union home ministry has asked the states not to release hardcore Maoists facing murder charges if faced with a hostage situation. Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday announced that the Centre had finally formulated the standard operating procedure to be followed while dealing with hostage situations in areas affected by left-wing extremism. However, Shinde did not elaborate on the new policy. The home ministry had begun working on the policy after the 2011 abduction of Vineel Krishna, the then-collector of Odisha’s Malkangiri district.

The final policy gives the states some leeway to negotiate with Maoists but bars the release of hardcore armed guerrillas who face murder charges or are serving prison terms for murder. Last year, finance minister P Chidambaram, who was then home minister, had rejected a policy of no-negotiation with Maoist abductors on grounds that it was not practical. Instead, the Centre has asked states battling against Maoist insurgency to fast-track the setting up of special forces, which could be immediately deployed for operations in such cases.

A standing offer to request deployment of the Black Cat commandos of the National Security Guard has also been made in case specific intelligence inputs were available to conduct operations. There has been a rise in the incidents of Maoists abducting government functionaries in order to secure the release of their cadres and sympathisers.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/new-hostage-policy-bars-releasing-hardcore-maoists/article1-1149887.aspx


Maoists eyeing trade unions for urban push

Far from their bastions in the jungled tracts of central India, activists and sympathisers of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) have been making repeated attempts to penetrate into workers’ associations and trade unions in the national capital. “Associations with close ties to the CPI (Maoist) have been very active in the last few months. We have come to know of several such meetings where representatives of such associations have met trade union activists, but without substantial success till now. But Delhi is a focus area for Maoists,” a top government source told HT on condition of anonymity.

These efforts are also in keeping with the key resolutions adopted by the fourth central committee meet held in the dense forests along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border sometime in February-March 2013. In a document of the adopted resolutions, suspected by security agencies to have been penned by CPI (Maoist) general secretary Muppalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy himself, it is written:

“We should mobilise the non-peasant vast masses in all our strategic movement areas. We should build the urban movement and rally the working class and the vast urban masses into the revolutionary movement.” While security and intelligence agencies had indicated the ‘presence’ of Maoist elements across many urban areas including New Delhi and in Bihar and Jharkhand, their ‘influence’ was always under doubt. “The latest strategy is to ramp up the ‘influence’ in the urban network. This is a ‘tactical’ effort to get forces of urban discontent together on the basis of a common workable understanding,” said the source. Traditionally, tribal communities across central India have been the usual mainstay of the Maoists for support, with the inaccessibility and remoteness of such areas facilitating construction of bases for weapons training and ideological indoctrination.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-eyeing-trade-unions-for-urban-push/article1-1149324.aspx


Maoists beat up sarpanch’s husband

G MADUGULA (VISAKHAPATNAM): The husband of Kalimkota sarpanch in G Madugula mandal of Visakha Agency was beaten up allegedly by CPI on Wednesday for not heeding their diktats. However, the incident came to light only late on Thursday night. Around 30 Reds of Korukonda Area Committee caught hold of Killamkota sarpanch Lakshmi’s husband, Munipalle Pandanna, who is a former sarpanch of the same panchayat, hauled him to a praja court at Killamkota and severely beat him up for not responding to their calls to meet them, sources said.

They also targeted Pandanna because he allowed his wife to contest the panchayat elections held three months ago despite the boycott call given by them in their stronghold areas at Killamkota, Boyitili, Nurmathi and Beeram. The Naxals had even taken away the nomination papers at Nurmathi and Boyitili from the polling staff, striking terror in people of the area during polling. The Maoists had warned Pandanna to boycott the elections much before the panchayat polls or face dire consequences, but instead of heeding their diktat, he put up his wife’s nomination for the elections.

After his wife’s victory in the polls, Pandanna shifted his residence from Surtapalli, 3 km away from Killamkota, to the mandal headquarters G Madugula to avoid Maoist attacks. But he was caught by Maoists on Wednesday when he went to his native village Surtapalli as a Maoist squad was very close to his village. The Maoist squad that beat up Pandanna also destroyed hooch at Lingeti junction on the G Madugula and Pedabayalu border areas and warned the liquor businessmen of stringent action if they were found selling hooch again.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-09/visakhapatnam/43853936_1_former-sarpanch-sarpanch-s-panchayat-elections


Anti-Red ops intensified in Hazaribag

HAZARIBAG: Anti-Maoist operation in the forests between Gomia and Bishnugarh was intensified on Sunday following attack on construction workers and destruction of property worth Rs 1 crore. The operation, which started on November 8, was stepped up at Narki forest after Chhath, said Satish Kumar Jha,DSP (rural), Hazaribag on Sunday.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-11/ranchi/43929278_1_anti-red-ops-hazaribag-construction-workers
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=25997

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Home ministry urges DoT to speed up process of installing mobile network in naxal-affected areas

Keeping in view the upcoming assembly elections in naxal- affected Chhattisgarh, the home ministry has urged the telecom department to sped up the process of installing mobile networks in naxal affected zones. Chhattisgarh which has recently seen a spurt in violent activities by Maoists is going to second phase of polls on November 19. In an internal note to the telecom department the home secretary Anil Goswami said that Chhattisgarh is one of the worst naxal affected states and conducting peaceful elections will be a big challenge for the state administration in absence of uninterrupted mobile coverage. The home ministry has also urged the telecom department to consider sending truck mounted base stations to help security forces smoothly conduct the second phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.

http://www.telecomtiger.com/PolicyNRegulation_fullstory.aspx?passfrom=breaking news&storyid=19055&section=S174


Four Naxals arrested in Chhattisgarh

They were nabbed from the forests of Gorna hills of the Naxal-affected region by a joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and district police force this evening. Four Naxals including three women were on Wednesday arrested in connection with the attack on a polling booth in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said. They were nabbed from the forests of Gorna hills of the Naxal-affected region by a joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and district police force this evening.

During November 11 polls in the Bastar region, rebels had attacked Mankeli polling booth in Bijapur district. No one was injured in the attack. After getting information about the movement of Naxals involved in the attack on Mankeli polling booth, security personnel were mobilised last evening. Today, forces reached to the Gorna hills after cordoning off the entire region and rounded up four people. Naxal literature, banners calling for boycott of polls, crackers, bow-arrow and Naxal fatigues were recovered.

Those arrested were identified as Kaadti Parmila, a member of Naxals’ Military Company II; Odi Sunny, militia platoon member; Madkam Sunny, militia platoon member; and Sodhi Puska, a male cadre. Chhattisgarh government has declared Rs 1 lakh reward on military company members. Kadti Parmila was involved in murder, attempt to murder, loot, encounters and several other crimes in the region since 2007, police said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-four-naxals-arrested-in-chhattisgarh-1918770


400 spiked booby traps recovered in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: About 400 spiked wooden blocks planted to trap and maim patrol and election duty personnel were recovered by security forces as they were looking for hidden landmines in Naxal-affected Bastar area of Chhattisgarh. Sources said these blocks had sharp nails and chiseled metal rods which would act as deadly booby traps once security men or poll parties walk over them. “While the forces were looking for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to defuse them, they were surprised to find these innovative traps. Close to 400 such death clutches were recovered from Bijapur district alone,” a senior official said.

As compared to the last Assembly polls of 2008, where four persons were killed in 48 incidents in these areas during the poll day, one security personnel was killed in a total of 17 incidents that took place on November 11, the sources said. The first phase of polls were held on this day in the state which covered all the Naxal violence-affected areas. The second phase of polling is scheduled for November 19. Over 56,400 personnel of central paramilitary forces were inducted afresh in the state for the first phase of polls in the state.

http://zeenews.india.com/assembly-elections-2013/chhattisgarh-polls/400-spiked-booby-traps-recovered-in-chhattisgarh_889916.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26020

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Naxal ideologues ‘more dangerous’ than armed cadres: Govt

New Delhi: With violence perpetrated by Naxals continuing, the Centre has said that ideologues of the Maoists are more dangerous than the armed cadres who have killed more than 8,100 civilians and policemen since 2001. Terming the activities of Naxals as serious impediment to the nation-building process, the government has told the Supreme Court that the rebels have destroyed thousands of development and infrastructure facilities and kidnapped proactive, sincere district collectors to prevent development from reaching the poor.

“In the meantime, the ideologues and supporters of the CPI (Maoist) in cities and towns have undertaken a concerted and systematic propaganda against the state to project the state in a poor light and also malign it through disinformation. “In fact, it is these ideologues who have kept the Maoist movement alive and are in many ways more dangerous than the cadres of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army,” the home ministry has said in an affidavit in the apex court.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/57wCslxzWpyCYCRWKNdOuI/Naxal-ideologues-more-dangerous-than-armed-cadres-Govt.html


CRPF officer booked for leaking information on security operations to Naxals

The Gaya police on Thursday registered a case against a CRPF assistant commandant, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, posted in the Naxal-affected area of Barachatti (Gaya), on charges of leaking crucial information on security operations to the Naxals. Confirming this, Inspector General of Police (Operations) Amit Kumar said Yadav was being interrogated, and was likely to be arrested. “He had been providing information related to the anti-Naxal operations of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Task Force (STF), as well as the activities and operations of the CRPF’s CoBRA unit,” said Kumar. “The leakage of information was posing grave danger to the security of our forces,” he said.

“We have telephone records and other clinching and crucial evidence against the officer,” said the IG. When contacted, CRPF IG (Operations) Zulfiquar Hasan said they had initiated a “parallel inquiry” into the case. “The Bihar Police got in touch with us regarding the allegations against the CRPF officer. We also want to get to the bottom of this… to what extent the officer was helping the Maoists. We have lost over 1,000 men in anti-Naxal operations and this is a very serious issue for us,” he said. According to sources, Yadav’s role came to light following the arrest of a Naxal leader, Pradip Yadav, who was active in the Gaya-Aurangabad area, by the STF on Thursday. The CRPF officer has been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/crpf-officer-booked-for-leaking-info-on-security-ops-to-naxals/1195140/


Police infrastructure to tackle Maoists in Telangana robust: Government

HYDERABAD: Stating that the existing police infrastructure in Telangana is fairly robust, the ministry of home affairs (MHA), in its report to the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana, has cautioned that the ongoing agitations against the bifurcation and subsequent formation of Telangana state may provide a window of opportunity to the banned CPI (Maoist) to regain its ground in the region. In view of the state bifurcation issue,the MHAs naxal management division has prepared a report on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation in Andhra Pradesh and circulated the copy to the GoM. Additional secretary, MHAs naxal management division, Rajeev Sharma is also part of the special task force formed by the MHA to look into various law and order issues related to the state bifurcation and the head of the task force, K Vijay Kumar, also met the GoM in Delhi on Thursday.

As per the prognosis of the naxal management division about the LWE status post bifurcation in Telangana,the twomonth old agitation in Seemandhra in protest against the division of the state necessitated relocation of security forces from Telangana to Seemandhra and this stretched the limitations of the security apparatus in Telangana.The Maoists, eagerly waiting for an opportunity to regain their lost ground in Telangana, may start supporting some overground organizations and they might intensify their political activities by targeting socially marginalized groups like tribals and dalits to enhance their base, the report,acopy of which is available with TOI, said.

As Telangana has a history of strong militant base with a large number of central committee members and overground CPI (Maoist) leaders belonging to the region,they would exploit issues like Polavaram, Singareni Colliery and bauxite mining project by manipulating the affected population from socially marginalized sections.Unless the anti-Naxalite initiatives continue,the Maoists would intensify their efforts to manipulate the situation in their favour, it added.

If there is any perceptible weakening of security apparatus and resolve on the anti-Naxalite front,the Maoists who have formidable armed capabilities in guerilla zones contiguous to Telangana border in Chattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra states will make forays into the newly-formed state. The current agitational programmes against the bifurcation and subsequent formation of Telangana state will possibly provide a window to the Maoists to regain its ground in Telangana and,hence,adequate counter measures need to be put in place, the report suggested. It, however, ended by saying the existing police infrastructure in Telangana region is fairly robust.

Of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh, 15 districts,including seven from Telangana – Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy and Warangal – were classified as LWE affected,according to the report. Since 2008,169 incidents of LWE-related violence were reported in the seven Telangana districts in which 69 persons lost their lives. Of the LWE-related violence,maximum incidents were reported from Khammam and Visakhapatnam districts. There has been a significant fall in LWE-related violence during the past one year in Telangana.In 2012,28 incidents of LWE-related violence were reported in which 11 persons lost their lives where as till September 30 in 2013,seven incidents were reported in which three persons lost their lives.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Police-infrastructure-to-tackle-Maoists-in-Telangana-robust-Government/articleshow/25814989.cms


Chhattisgarh polls: Security beefed up ahead of second phase

Raipur: The police has beefed up security ahead of the second phase of polls, after recovery of a huge explosives from Maoist-affected Gariyaband district of Chhattisgarh. Fourteen tiffin bombs and live cartridges, besides other “Maoist-related items” were recovered after an encounter with naxals in the Chuura police station limits of Gariyaband bordering, Odisha state, the police said. The encounter between security forces from the Mahasamund district and the Maoists took place in the forests of the Gaurmudi village, after which explosives and live cartridges were recovered, said Mahasamund superintendent of police Deepak Jha.

Security forces were mobilised from Komakhan police station limits of Mahsamund along the interstate border of Chhattisgarh and Odisha for the operation, he said. After crossing an area falling in Odisha, when security forces reached the forests of Gaurmudi village, the rebels opened fire on them and fled, after security forces retaliated, he said. Later, 14 tiffin bombs, four detonators, eight live cartridges, AK 47 rifle rounds, one live self-loading rifle cartridge, wire, batteries, Maoist documents and items of daily use were recovered from the spot, he said.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/chhattisgarh-polls-security-beefed-up-ahead-of-second-phase-1232285.html?utm_source=ref_article
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26031

[TheGodlessUtopian]

‘Rogue CRPF officer had separate cellphone to leak info to Naxals’

The CRPF officer detained for allegedly passing on information to Naxals in Bihar was not doing so for money but for other reasons, a senior official said on Friday. He added that investigation was on to ascertain the reasons. CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi said due to the leaks “not much damage was done and some operations were not giving desired results” although the Bihar Police claimed that the information leak was “too sensitive” in nature. “As far as the officer’s role is concerned he was involved in passing information about the movement of troops. The forces’ plans were not jeopardised as such, only some operations were not giving the desired results,” said Trivedi. Investigators have found that Assistant Commandant Sanjay Kumar Yadav used another cellphone to talk to his Naxal contacts, a senior officer said.

“He was sending operational details like routes a CRPF company was to take, the destination as well as the composition of the force. This gave the Naxals enough time to escape. Because of the leak, CRPF missed several important catches,” he said. The information was being sent to Sandeep Yadav, a member of special area committee looking after operations in Bihar, Jharkhand and north Chhattisgarh. Bihar Government had recently announced a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his arrest. “We have also arrested another person identified as Pradeep Yadav, who was the conduit between the Naxals and the CRPF officer.

He is a known Naxal sympathiser in the area,” said the officer. “We have not been able to track any money trail so he (the CRPF officer) was definitely not passing on any information for this particular reason. We are exploring whether there were ideological reasons involved.” The police said they tracked the CRPF officer by putting a Naxal leader under surveillance. “For a month we did not know the identity of the person, the flag was raised during the surveillance of a Naxal leader,” an officer said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rogue-crpf-officer-had-separate-cellphone-to-leak-info-to-naxals/1195562/0


Security forces recover 14 bombs in poll-bound Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Security has been tightened across Chhattisgarh ahead of the second phase of Assembly elections. This was done after security forces recovered fourteen bombs in Maoist-affected Mahasamund District. The bombs were recovered from the Komakhan area of the district by a joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police following an encounter with Maoists. Elections will be held in 72 constituencies on Tuesday next week.

http://zeenews.india.com/assembly-elections-2013/chhattisgarh-polls/security-forces-recover-14-bombs-in-poll-bound-chhattisgarh_890229.html


MCP, URF too clarify

Imphal, November 16, 2013 : Two more armed outfits, namely, Maoist Communist Party (MCP), Manipur and United Revolutionary Front (URF) have also clarified that they have no connection with the killing of Vice President of Manipur People’s Party (MPP) Haobijam Manisana, who was gunned down by some unidentified armed assailants along Tiddim Road, near Tulihal Aiport on November 13 . Condemning such killings, the two outfits have also conveyed condolences to the bereaved family and shared in their grief.

http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=Snipp12..171113.nov13
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26038

[TheGodlessUtopian]

C’garh polls: Police on alert in Sarguja, Raipur divisions

Even as first phase of polling in the worst Naxal affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh concluded by and large peacefully, security forces have been directed to stay alert in some districts of Sarguja and Raipur divisions ahead of the second phase of polling tomorrow. Sarguja and Raipur divisions are located on the inter-state border where frequent movement of Naxals has been witnessed.

Although rebels have not appealed for poll boycott in these regions, yet recovery of a huge haul of explosives from Gariyaband district bordering Odisha after an encounter with Naxals by security personnel two days back has alarmed the security personnel deployed in these region. “Naxals may be enraged over the success of first phase of polling in Bastar and Rajnandgaon which saw over 75 per cent turnout for voting. They may have some evil design in other parts going to polls in second phase, where they have little hold,” a senior police official said.

Few vulnerable areas of Mahasamund, Gariyaband and Dhamtari of Raipur division bordering Odisha and Jashpur, Raigarh and Ambikapur in north Chhattisgarh have been marked where rebels may create trouble during polling process, following which security forces have been told to be extra cautious in these regions, he said. An assistant commandant of CRPF was killed in a Maoist ambush in Khallari village of Dhamtari on Chhattisgarh-Odisha border in June this year.

In October 2010, in Mahasamund seven Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces and a large quantities of arms and ammunitions, Naxal documents and other material were recovered. In 2011, a Naxal camp was destroyed in Suwarguda forest in which ammunitions, Naxal documents etc were recovered in Sarngarh region of Raigarh. However, police have successfully checked Naxalite expansion in Sarguja division linked with Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but still Maoists find it an easy way to move from Bastar region, passing through Chhattisgarh-Odisha borderline to reach Jharkhand and Bihar. Over a lakh security personnel have been deployed for second and last phase of polling in 72 constituencies of the state tomorrow, the police official added.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/c-garh-polls-police-on-alert-in-sarguja-raipur-divisions-113111800768_1.html


Maoists vandalize forest checkpost near Sringeri

BANGALORE: Amid intense combing operations against Naxal elements who had recently shown their presence in Malnad area, the extremists struck at Tanikodi forest check-post, 12 km from pilgrim centre Sringeri, and damaged the facility in the wee hours of Monday. Reports reaching police headquarters here said a four-member gang of Naxals including three women damaged the check post that is lying on the main road leading to Sringeri around 2.15 am. “The Naxals fired once in the air and threatened the forest guards before vandalizing the check-post extensively. They shouted slogans against the rehabilitation package by the government for forest evacuees,” said Chickmagalur superintendent of police Abhishek Goel.

State police chief Lalrokuma Pachau told TOI that the combing operations are in progress and he suspected there were others in the group that attacked the check-post. Additional director general of police (Law and Order) MN Reddy said Naxal pamphlets found near the check-post expressed their resistance against eviction of those occupying forest land. Police sources said the Naxal attack comes in the wake eviction of some squatters from forest land. “The attack seems to have stemmed out of some dissatisfied elements who are against the government initiative to rehabilitate the evacuees of forest land,” said a police source.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Maoists-vandalize-forest-checkpost-near-Sringeri/articleshow/25995631.cms


Two die for opposing Maoist activity

RANCHI: In another incident of revenge killing, a group of suspected Maoists gunned down two civilians on Saturday night in Chatra district situated in the state’s Red corridor. Shyamdev Yadav (35) and his friend Ganesh Yadav (30) were killed for allegedly opposing Left-extremism in the locality. Their bodies, which were recovered from Sangrampur village in Chatra, bore bullet marks on chest and stomach, said police. “The two were shot on their way to a nearby marketplace by heavily armed Maoists,” said Chatra SP Anoop Birtharay. The suspected rebels left posters behind which claimed responsibility for the murders and also warned people against hindering Maoists movement by turning into informers. Shyamdev was opposed to Left-wing extremism and used to work as an informer for police, sources in the police said.

“He (Shyamdev) had killed his uncle, a Maoist sympathizer and informer, in 2010 and Maoists had vowed to avenge the murder,” said Birtharay. Shyamdev went to jail in 2010 for murdering his uncle and was released on bail a few months ago. A policeman, on condition of anonymity, said Shyamdev was always against his uncle supporting Maoists and killed him over a petty property issue. “He had taken the dead body (of his uncle) to the forest and burnt it. He then collected the bones and smashed them with boulders and spread them in the forest,” said the cop.

Shyamdev was arrested by Chatra police immediately after the incident came to light. Pratappur circle inspector Dinesh Murmu said Shyamdev had come out of jail a few months ago. “He must have thought that the Maoists had forgotten the incident. He never perceived a threat to his life and never informed police about it. I will be able to give more details only after the investigation is over,” said Murmu. Over 70 cases of Maoist killing have been reported since 2011 from Chatra, 150km from Ranchi in the northern part of state. The distirct shares border with Bihar’s Maoist-hit Gaya where rebels recently killed a former activist.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Two-die-for-opposing-Maoist-activity/articleshow/25962863.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26055

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Five Naxals held for attacking police during polling in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Five Naxals, including a woman, were arrested in separate search operations in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-hit Bijapur district for attacking security personnel during first phase polling in the state on November 11. Two cadres were arrested by a team of CRPF, CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) force and district force from the forest under Basaguda police station limits last evening, a senior police official said.

The search party was on a combing operation in Basaguda area, located around 450 km from Raipur, when it spotted two persons fleeing from the forest. After chasing them, security forces nabbed them, he said. During interrogation they admitted their involvement in an attack on security personnel in forests of Tarrem village on November 11 when polling for state Assembly election was held in the region, he said. In another incident, three ultras were held by a joint group of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district force from the forests of the district’s Bhusapur and Marudbaka villages two days back, the official said. The rebels, reportedly members of Pamed/Usoor area committee of Maoist, were earlier also involved in several crimes including attempt to murder, planting bombs and attacks on police party in the region, he added.

http://zeenews.india.com/assembly-elections-2013/chhattisgarh-polls/five-naxals-held-for-attacking-police-during-polling-in-chhattisgarh_891011.html


Wet drought: Maoist calls for Vidarbha bandh today

NAGPUR: Maharashtra state committee of banned Communist Party of India ( Maoist) has called for a ‘Vidarbha bandh’ on Tuesday to protest the government’s failure to extend genuine assistance to farmers of eastern Maharashtra, which was severely hit by excess rains and flooding this year. The rebels claimed that police’s repressive policy and natural disaster have taken a heavy toll of farmers in Vidarbha. Issuing a press note, the rebel outfit’s comrade Sahyadri claimed that 200 Vidarbha farmers have ended life in last four months due to various problems.

Highlighting the plight of farmers due to excess rains and flood, the press release underlined that 18 lakhs hectare farms have been devastated in the region and 1.5 lakhs houses destroyed in the incessant rains. The rebels also claimed that the flood has taken a toll on livestock. Slamming the government for paying lip service to affected families, the rebels claimed that Gadchiroli police’s C-60 commandos have tortured several farmers and their family members in the name of anti-Naxal operations.

The rebels have also blamed the police department for arresting several leaders who voiced tribal and farmers concerns. The Naxals have demanded benefits for farmers from the government, including waiving off loans and interest. The rebels have also demanded additional loans for farmers and various facilities for them and their families. The Naxals have also protested against security forces using schools as camps and students for peace rallies organized by them.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Wet-drought-Maoist-calls-for-Vidarbha-bandh-today/articleshow/26003602.cms


Bihar govt soft on Maoists: Intelligence panel to Centre

PATNA: The joint intelligence committee of the Centre has accused Bihar government of being soft on the banned CPI (Maoists) resulting in a 41% increase in Red killings this year compared to the previous year. The intelligence agencies have informed the Centre and the prime minister that Bihar government has not taken effective steps to control Red terror. A report submitted by the committee says, “There has been continual deterioration in most parameters of the counterinsurgency grid in Bihar. Bihar government is soft towards the Maoists.” The report has mentioned that 38 persons, including 25 civilians and 13 securitymen, were killed this year, compared to 25 last year.

It says while there has been a substantial decline in Maoist violence in the country, Bihar has registered an increase. “Our concern is not only a sharp increase in security forces’ casualties but also the fact that not a single Maoist cadre has been killed in counterinsurgency operations this year, compared to five during the same period last year,” the report says. The performance of anti-Maoist grid in the state has been decidedly weak. While 17 encounters with Maoists took place in 2011, the number of cross-firings between security forces and Maoists decreased to 12 in 2012 and till August this year, only six encounters took place in Bihar. Moreover, recovery of weapons has also shown a downward trend – from 171 in 2011 to 47 in 2013.

Though 32 out of 38 districts of Bihar are Maoist-affected, the Red violence this year was confined to only 16 districts. The most affected areas are Gaya, Aurangabad and Jamui districts. The committee suggested concerted action against Maoists in Gaya, Aurangabad and Jamui districts, otherwise it would be detrimental to other states as Maoists find easy passage to Nepal from Jharkhand and other areas. Talking about the Maoist set-up in Bihar, the intelligence committee said that Bihar has been placed under the overall command of Maoists’ Eastern Regional Bureau.

It is the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee that supervises the activities of different regional and zonal committees across the state. Besides, the outfit has divided Bihar in seven different zones. Maoists also operate through two People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army ( PLGA) companies and an extensive underground network of Jan Militia, Communist Youth League, Krantikari Kisan Committee and Nari Mukti Sangh units.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Bihar-govt-soft-on-Maoists-Intelligence-panel-to-Centre/articleshow/26005657.cms?cfmid=2000000


Kerala Home Minister holds press conference on counter insurgency measures

Minister for Home Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Monday said the State government was planning a multi-pronged approach to tackle the Maoist threat, including the establishment of a special anti-terrorist force. Replying to questions at a press conference here, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the Home Department had decided to strengthen 16 police stations in the tribal areas, in addition to opening Jana Maithri police stations.

The student police scheme would also be implemented in tribal schools, he said. Persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribe communities would be appointed Home Guards and be given other tasks such as monitoring the reach of government welfare programmes and development activities. Such measures would ensure a participatory role for the tribals, besides ensuring more interaction with the local population. Currently, the Thunderbolt force was present in the area.

The government would also requisition the services of Central forces, if necessary, but it did not perceive any threats from the Maoists, the Minister said. In reply to a question, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the participatory programme of the government did not have any resemblance to the Salwa Judum force in Chhattisgarh. The objective of the government was to ensure a participatory role for the tribal population. A joint operation involving the Director Generals of Police of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Police was already in place to monitor the situation, he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/multipronged-plan-to-face-maoist-threat/article5365167.ece


3946_cover

Maoists create land hurdle for Jharkhand

DALTANGANJ: Maoists in Palamu’s Pipra block have warned villagers against giving land to the state government for construction of administrative buildings. Pipra, 22 km from Harihurganj in Palamu, is strategically located on Bihar border and is one of the important areas for both Maoists and police of the two states. A tender for building a block and a circle offices and a police station was issued about three months ago but due to land problem, work could not be started on the projects.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoists-create-land-hurdle-for-Jharkhand/articleshow/26006181.cms


Reds keep police busy in Jharkhand

RANCHI: A joint team of security forces and police and Maoists exchanged fire in the forests of Mode-Madhukam village in Khunti on Monday evening. Khunti SDPO Ashwini Kumar Sinha said the rebels were the first to fire at the joint team of Jharkhand Jaguar and district police when they were on regular patrolling duty in the forests near Mode-Madhukam, around 70km from Ranchi. According to police, Maoists were holding a meeting when they saw the team and opened fire. Security forces fired in retaliation after which the Maoists fled, said police.

Police fired around 40 rounds in response to which Maoists fired around 30 rounds, though there was no report of casualty. Police recovered four bikes, one pistol, 40 rounds of bullets, one large battery that was being used to light electric bulbs and four sets of Maoist fatigues. No bulb was however found from the site. “A search operation is being conducted in the area,” said Sinha. Security forces in West Singhbhum district recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) on Monday. The explosive was planted by Maoists to target security forces in Kiriburu forests in the district. West Singhbhum SP Pankaj Kamboj said a police team was on patrolling when they detected the explosive.

It was later diffused, he added. The IED was around 20kg. Meanwhile, Latehar police arrested a Maoist courier boy, Sanjay Kumar Singh (22) on Sunday night and seized articles which was meant for Maoists. The boy was produced in a local court and jailed on Monday. The seizures included 25 bags for bullets, 25 green caps, 5 litre oil used for cleaning firearms, two mobile phones and five SIM cards. The articles were brought from Ranchi and were supposed to be delivered in Latehar when the police conducted a raid and arrested him. “The boy has confessed that he was working for rebels. We have interrogated him for more information. Police will act on information received from him,” said Latehar SP Michael S Raj.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Reds-keep-police-busy-in-Jharkhand/articleshow/26006172.cm
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26061

[TheGodlessUtopian]

DGPs, IGPs to discuss cyber security, counter-terrorism, anti-Naxal operations

New Delhi, Nov.20 (ANI): Key issues such as cyber security, anti-Naxal operations and ways to improve counter-terrorism efforts are expected to dominate discussions at this year’s annual conference of directors general of police and inspectors general of police. The three-day conference to be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Thursday, will deliberate on making police stations nerve centres of all activities pertaining to anti-Naxal operations. This will include a focus on ways to improve the gathering of hard intelligence, planning field operations, identification of gap areas in implementation of various developmental schemes and co-ordination among various government departments.

Since the social media is intimately linked with freedom of expression and has become a preferred means of communication for millions of people, the conference would deliberate on ways to ensure that the medium is not put to invidious use and a mechanism is put in place to counter it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the senior police officers on Saturday. He will also release a commemorative postage stamp and present the President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service to various awardees on the same day. The conference would discuss and deliberate on ways and means to make the cutting edge level policing resourceful, effective, professional and service oriented so that it inspires confidence among community. Issues such as improving generation of intelligence and its quick dissemination through the platform of Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and Subsidiary Multi Agency Centres(SMAC) will also feature in the deliberations.

The functioning of state intelligence units and how their inputs can be dovetailed into MAC/SMAC network for better coverage will be assessed. It would discuss major security concerns and the need for addressing the same collectively by all agencies. It would also deliberate on further consolidating the peace processes in the country’s northeast region. A complete session has been devoted on controlling riots by using non-lethal means in which police leaders from different states would share their experiences of dealing with agitations with minimum casualties. Another session has been earmarked to sensitize police on its role as key responder in disaster management.The conference would discuss strategies for making police forces more sensitive towards minority sections and would emphasise the need for developing early warning systems to prevent communal conflagrations and to evolve suitable response strategies. (ANI)

http://truthdive.com/2013/11/20/DGPs-IGPs-to-discuss-cyber-security-counter-terrorism-anti-Naxal-operations-Update-Shinde.html




_70644115_maoistrebelschaap

Two persons shot dead by Maoists, Bandh in Malkangiri

Maoists shot dead two persons in Odisha’s Malkangiri district suspecting them to be police informers even as a bandh was being observed by the ultras today demanding withdrawal of security forces and halt to anti-naxal operations. A group of heavily armed ultras stormed into Bahiliguma village in remote Chitrakonda area late last night and gunned down Satirao Hantala (45) and Laxmi Khara (37) after calling them out of their houses, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said.

The assailants left the place immediately after committing the crime and swiftly disappeared into the nearby forest, he said. Hantala was believed to have worked for the Maoists earlier but appeared to have snapped ties later, the police said. The ultras apparently killed the duo as they suspected them to be police informers. Security personnel rushed to the area soon after the incident and a combing operation was launched to track the ultras, the police said. The killing coincided with a bandh called by Maoists of Andhra-Odisha border area demanding immediate withdrawal of security forces including BSF from the area and halt to anti-naxal operations, official sources said.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Two-persons-shot-dead-by-Maoists-Bandh-in-Malkangiri/2013/11/20/article1901257.ece


‘Bihar police acted in haste’

The Bihar Police jumped the gun in arresting an assistant commandant of the CRPF posted in Gaya who was allegedly passing on information about the movement of troops to Naxals, according to CRPF officials. Sources said the CRPF had requested the state police to keep the concerned officer under surveillance for some more time so that the web of the entire conspiracy could be exposed. The state police, however, decided to go ahead with the arrest, and the accused officer has now taken an alibi that he was in touch with the Naxals to plant a mole among them. Besides invoking the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act (UAPA), the Gaya Police have also booked the accused officer, Sanjay Yadav, under the Official Secrets Act.

“Before the Bihar Police informed us about the identity of the officer, we had also come to know that some kind of minute operational details were being leaked. We however did not know at that point in time that it was one of our own officers,” said Dilip Trivedi, DG, CRPF. Before the police could pinpoint the officer involved in leaking the information to a Naxal leader, identified as Pradeep Yadav, who has also been arrested, they groped in the dark for about three months.

“Initially we did not know the identity of the officer and the trail reached him as we had put a Naxal leader under surveillance. For months we had no idea who this officer was, the moment we came to know we informed the CRPF,” said Amit Kumar, IG (operations), Bihar Police. “When the state police informed us we requested them to keep the concerned officer under watch for some more time so that we could know his exact reach in the Naxal hierarchy. They, however, went ahead with the arrest,” said a senior officer. Asked whether the officer could be trying to cultivate the Naxals he was in touch with as a source, Kumar said, “There was no two-way exchange of information among the Naxals and Yadav. There are hundreds of calls between them.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bihar-police-acted-in-haste/1197015/0


_70371737_maoistrebelschattisgarhap

Why women join India’s Maoist groups

India’s Maoist rebel groups are increasingly hiring more women for their operations, reports journalist Kishalay Bhattacharjee.

Rebecca, a tribal girl, is a bodyguard of a local area commander of India’s Maoist rebel group in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Maoists, also known as “Naxalites”, have been operating for more than 40 years in central and eastern India. They demand land and jobs for the poor, and ultimately want to establish a communist society by overthrowing India’s “semi-colonial, semi-feudal” form of rule. Carrying an automatic rifle, Rebecca’s face is covered with a black mesh to protect herself from malaria in the mosquito-infested jungles of Kandhamal district. Rebecca’s sister joined the rebels in 2010.

After her arrest she was allegedly gang raped in police custody. ‘Keep a vigil’ Her brother, she says, was also held by the security forces and “died mysteriously” in custody. Rebecca says “state repression” drove her to take up arms and join the rebels too. “We don’t live this hard life for nothing. I had no choice but to join the revolution. Now there is no looking back,” she says defiantly. The Maoist movement started in the 1960s with a peasant uprising in a small tea garden in West Bengal state. Analysts say that the reason more women are joining “the movement” can be attributed to the desperate conditions that prevail in India’s countryside: Displacement of locals from their lands due to big business projects, grinding poverty and fear of atrocities by security forces and state-backed militia – like Salwa Judum – who are countering the rebels.

Police officials say the rebels seem to have no ideological problem in hiring more women. “Maoists recruit women for fighting and to keep a vigil on the male cadres who may harass villagers,” says Rahul Bhagat, a former police chief of the Maoist stronghold of Bastar in Chhattisgarh. “In effect, almost half the rebel fighters are women now. Most of the men and women fighters cohabit either as married or unmarried couples.” Women rebels, police say, generally play a tactical role in operations: They are placed at the front to distract security forces. Women fighters have led some of the major rebel attacks in India. In May, police say, women fighters joined male rebels in the front while carrying out a deadly attack in Chhattisgarh, where 24 people, including some top state politicians, were killed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24456634


Police arrest Maoist leader, recover arms in Jharkhand

Palamu, Nov 20 (ANI): The Jharkhand police have arrested Maoist leader Nirmal Bhuyan alias Mahesh, who was on the wanted list for his involvement in a number of crimes and recovered arms in Palamu district of Jharkhand. The police said they have also seized a gun and some bullets from the arrested rebel.

http://www.aninews.in/videogallery2/17772-police-arrest-maoist-leader-recover-arms-in-jharkhand.html


Red leader arrested from Ekta Ghatee village

DALTONGANJ: A sub-zonal commander of the CPI(Maoist) was arrested on Tuesday from Lesliganj police station area here when he was trying to flee on a motorcycle. Nirmalji, was arrested from Ekta Ghatee village here and sent to jail on Tuesday. Police recovered a revolver, two cartridges and seized a motorbike. Nirmalji was active in the northern part of Latehar district. He joined the organization in 2006 and in just seven years, has achieved the self-styled rank of a sub-zonal commander, said Palamu SP N K Singh. In 2012, he battled with the CRPF at Barwaiyya in Latehar district. In 2013, he fought with security forces during Operation Cheetah in Kumandih.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Red-leader-arrested-from-Ekta-Ghatee-village/articleshow/26060462.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26069

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Life hit in Koraput

Normal life was crippled during the bandh called by Maoists of Andhra Pradesh Odisha Special Zonal Committee in Koraput region on Wednesday. Trucks and buses remained off the State Highways in Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Nabarangpur districts. Passengers were found stranded at bus stands and essential commodities laden trucks going towards Malkangiri were stopped on Jeypore border.

In the Maoist posters and banners found in Lamtaput, Narayanpatna, Bandhugaon and Ramgiri, the ultras have demanded withdrawal of para-military forces, stopping the killing of innocent tribals by police besides ending the anti-Maoist operation in the region. Security was beefed up in Maoist dominated areas and security personnel in large number were deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Koraput SP Aswini Kumar said the bandh was peaceful and combing operation was going on in the area. Koraput DIG SD Singh reviewed the security situation with SPs of southern pockets.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Life-hit-in-Koraput/2013/11/21/article1903072.ece


Three Maoists arrested, explosives recovered in Bihar

The Bihar police Thursday arrested three hardcore Maoists and recovered a huge quantity of explosives, including 5,000 bullets, 65 grenades and 12 pistols, in Gaya district, police said. Acting on a tip off, a joint team of the district police and the Special Task Force (STF) raided Baratand village near Banka Bazaar in Gaya and arrested three Maoists and recovered a large quantity of explosives, Gaya Superintendent of Police Nishant Kumar Tiwari said.

According to police officials, besides bullets, grenades and pistols, they also recovered material used for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). The state police, along with the STF and the central para military forces, has intensified combing operations against Maoists in Gaya. Gaya, 100 km from here, is considered a Maoist stronghold. Last week, a joint team of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force had seized a large quantity of explosives from a Maoist hideout in a forest in state’s Jamui district. They seized about 100 kg ammonium nitrate contained in three sacks, nine LPG cylinders, two IEDs, and two packets of Powergel — a range of explosive products used by the mining industry around the world.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/three-maoists-arrested-explosives-recovered-in-bihar-113112100404_1.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26078

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Strike hits normal life in Manipur

IMPHAL, NOV 22: Normal life was partially affected in Manipur by a general strike called by underground Maoist Communist Party (MCP) in protest against alleged allocation of land for the erection of wooden border fencing in undemarcated areas along the Indo-Myanmar border in Chandel district. Markets, shops and business establishments were closed in different areas of the state capital, but they were open in the outlying areas, officials said. Transport services between Manipur and neighbouring states were cancelled in view of the strike which began from midnight last night. Reports from the districts said that life was normal, although transport services between Imphal and the district headquarters were cancelled.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/strike-hits-normal-life-in-manipur/article5379067.ece


Cops to ensure workers’ safety

HAZARIBAG: With a view to restart the construction work of the 20-Km long Gomia-Bishnugarh highway that is set to connect Hazaribag to Bokaro, two Maoist-hit districts, police here have decided to set up temporary security camps between Gomia and Bishunugarh to ensure safety of the construction workers. SP Manoj Kaushik said he has zeroed on the areas where police will set up its temporary security camp for instilling confidence amongst the panicky workers who fled on the night of November 7-8 when about 100 Maoists attacked the camp site of the Dhanbad-based construction company and set ablaze equipment and vehicles parked there.

The SP said: “This is one of the important road links between the two red belts and we cannot allow the construction work to come to a halt for alleged non-payment of levy to the CPI(Maoist) activists as it will send an wrong signal to the people and the rebels operating in the region”. The SP said he has visited the area and conducted raids to nab the culprits responsible for disturbing peace in the area and also reviewed the present situation here. On the fateful night of November 7, Bishnugarh OC Rameshwar Ram failed to contain Maoist attack on the camp site despite prior warnings by the SP. Four staff of the company were critically injured in the attack and had to be hospitalized at a Dhanbad hospital for treatment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Cops-to-ensure-workers-safety/articleshow/26172455.cms


EVMs in strongrooms to avert Maoist ambush

RAIPUR: EVMs — which will decide the fate of candidates on December 8 — have been placed under a three-tier security to avert Maoist ambush. As many as 300 personnel have been deployed on the premises of Sejbahar’s government engineering college, where electronic machines of the Raipur district are kept in strong rooms under the surveillance of 35 cameras. More than 300 CRPF and BSF jawans will provide round-the-clock security, not allowing anyone to enter the strong rooms, police sources said adding that the security would be tightened and increased on the D-day.

The machines of seven Vidhan Sabha assemblies have been kept in different rooms, which are being monitored from the police control room. “It is usually said that people fiddle with EVMS after polls. This is the reason police have tightened security so that no allegations are made by any political party. No one can even venture around the EVMS within a radius of 300m,” a police source said. According to joint chief electoral officer DD Singh, counting would be done in 14 rounds on December 8, as Raipur (south) constituency has maximum number of candidates. A projector or LCD would also be installed for the purpose.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/EVMs-in-strongrooms-to-avert-Maoist-ambush/articleshow/26172410.cms

Anti-Naxal Squad office inaugurated

Superintendents of Police, Guntur Urban and Rural, Gopinath Jatty and J. Satyanarayana inaugurated the Anti-Naxal Squad (ANS) office on District Police Office premises here on Friday. About ten ANS parties will take up combing operations to prevent naxal activities in Guntur district. OSD to monitor An officer of the rank of Officer on Special Duty will monitor the ANS operations. The Guntur police, with the coordination of police from Prakasam and other neighbouring districts, will take up the anti-extremist operations in Vinukonda, Macherla, Dachepalli, Bollapalli, Gurajala, Rentachintala, Rajupalem and other mandals, said the police. Additional Superintendent of Police, Armed Reserve (AR) Srinivasa Rao, Urban AR Deputy Superintendent of Police Mehar Baba, Rural AR DSP Satyanarayana, and Reserve Inspectors were present.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/antinaxal-squad-office-inaugurated/article5382773.ece


Naxalism: Profile Of Deo Kumar Singh Alias Arvindji

The head of the CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand, Arvindji, is suspected to be hiding in Kumundih jungle in Latehar district of Jharkhand. The name reminds of the infamous CPI (Maoist) attack in Latehar district in which a total 16 personnel, including 12 jawans (11 from the Central Reserve Police Force and one from the state’s commando force, ‘Jharkhand Jaguars’) were killed in January 2013. It also reminds of the manner in which the Maoists placed the body of three CRPF jawans over landmines, and implanted photo-sensitive and pressure-release improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the abdomens of two other slain jawans to cause further damage to those who came to retrieve the bodies.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/23112013-naxalism-profile-deo-kumar-singh-alias-arvindji/


Naxals trying to open new chapter in South India: MHA

New Delhi: Naxals are making efforts to open a new theatre in south India with movement of armed cadres witnessed in Western Ghats and tri-junction of Tamil Nadu- Kerala-Karnataka, posing a serious security threat to the three states.In an internal communication, the Home Ministry has said the CPI (Maoist)’s efforts in the direction of expanding its organisational base in Western Ghats and the area around the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu-Kerala-Karnataka are discernible.

The activities are in the form of relative increase in movement of armed cadres in the area, along with activities of its frontal organisations and over-ground elements. The efforts of the Naxals to open a new theatre in south India is a cause for serious concern. However, at this stage it can easily be controlled through a well-formulated action plan, the Home Ministry said. During this year, so far, presence and movement of armed CPI (Maoist) groups have been noticed on over two dozen occasions in the districts of Malappuram, Wayanand and Kannur in Kerala and Mysore, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts in Karnataka.

Though adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu have not witnessed any movement of armed Naxal cadres, activities of its front bodies have increased distinctively in Erode district, the Home Ministry said. Based on various intelligence inputs, the Ministry has asked police forces of the three states to maintain strict vigil along the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu-Kerala-Karnataka and all-out efforts be made to check the activities of the Naxals in the initial stage itself.

“If necessary, joint operations of the three states may be conducted to maintain the dominance of the administration in the area and thwart any attempt of the CPI (Maoist) to build their hideouts or organisation at this strategic tri-junction,” the Home Ministry told the three states.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/naxals-trying-to-open-new-chapter-in-south-india-mha_892165.html


Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram vote on Monday

Special measures are being taken to ensure that polling in eight Naxal—hit districts are smooth and trouble-free, election office sources said..

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-mizoram-vote-on-monday/article5386325.ece




156124_335725219894052_542438943_n

3 southern states want LWE status

The red corridor is expanding with three southern states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — trying to get the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) status from the Centre. The move, which comes ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls, is based on “intelligence reports” suggesting that the CPI (Maoist) is trying to strengthen its South West regional bureau in the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karanataka. The grant of LWE status would mean extension of special infrastructure schemes (SIS), security related expenditure (SRE) and integrated action plan (IAP) schemes. Currently, there are nine states covered under the Central schemes, which also include raising an anti-Naxal force, assistance to build roads and civic action programme.

Under the SIS in LWE-affected states, the Centre has allocated Rs 500 crore, while for SRE funds are provided for meeting the recurring expenditure related to insurance, training and operational needs of the security forces and rehabilitation of LWE cadres. The IAP scheme for tribal and backward districts entitles a sum of Rs 30 crore for each district. The threat posed by Maoists in southern states was also discussed during the ongoing police chiefs conference in New Delhi. According to security agencies, Naxals aim to develop some districts in the three states with a view to provide shelter to its leadership in the event of increased anti-Naxal operations in its strongholds in central India. Out of the nine states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar are the worst affected, where government is fighting armed squads of Naxals with the help of Central paramilitary forces.

The MHA has also written to the governments of the three states informing them about the activities of the CPI (Maoist). According to MHA, the presence of Maoist groups has been noticed on 15 occasions in the districts of Malappuram, Wayanand and Kannur districts in Kerala, and in Mysore, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts in Karnataka. Similarly, activities of Maoists front bodies have increased in Erode district in Tamil Nadu.

“In these areas, the cadres of CPI (Maoists) were were trying to reach out to the targeted social sections by raising issues of displacement, discrimination, ‘neo-liberal’ economic policies and social subjugation while exhorting them to join the ‘revolutionary struggle’ to ‘recapture’ forest, water, land and factories,” said one of the communications. The Centre also advised the states to develop anti-Naxal forces. In its letter, the MHA said, “The financial incentive for personnel in anti-Naxal units is perhaps only 20%of the basic salary, whereas in all the LWE affected states, the incentives ranges from 50-60% of the total salary. The state can consider enhancing the incentive. The forces in these units are ageing with most of the personnel above 35 years. This factor wo-uld vastly impair their mobility. Since, this a deputationist force, there appears to be need for infusion of younger fresh blood.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/3-southern-states-want-lwe-status/1198590/0


Police arrest Maoist commander, wife

MOTIHARI: The East Champaran police, in a raid conducted jointly with CRPF and SSB, arrested Hemant Paswan, zonal commander of west Bihar and his wife Anju alias Simran, secretary of Nari Mukti Morcha, from village Mirazapur under Patahi police station on Thursday when they were planning to launch a major offensive in bordering areas of the district. The arrested duo were asked by a top leader of banned CPI(Maoist) Rajan to carry out major strikes, arson or blasts in the area as the Maoists are perturbed due to the police drive against them and arrest of more than 70 Maoists during last one year resulting in decline in its levy collection.

East Champaran SP Vinay Kumar said Hemant Paswan is a native of Sitamarhi and was operating earlier in Sitamarhi and Sheohar districts. Anju alias Simran is native of Mirzapur, who was in jail for five years in connection with Madhuban blasts case in 2005. She was released from jail in 2011 and after that got married with hardcore Naxalite Hemant Paswan. Hemant was earlier in-charge of Gaya, Jehanabad and Muzaffarpur of the organization. The police seized two pistols, cartridges, charger of laptop, three cellphones and a pen drive from the possessions of husband-wife duo. The pen drive and cell phones are being examined by the police, the SP said.

According to police sources, the duo were assigned a special task of attacking contractors, police stations and other construction sites to create a fear psychosis among the people to facilitate easy collection of levy . On November 15, heavily armed Maoists led by Paswan and Anju attacked the camp of a private company engaged in the construction of road at Gonahi under Patahi block and set ablaze the hot mixing machine and trolley. The ultras also threw some pamphlets asking the contractor to pay levy or face the consequences. The manager of the company, Sanjiv Singh, told police that no levy was demanded by the Maoists from him earlier. After the arrest of Jahir Madari and Nanhki Paswan, both hardcore Maoists and levy collectors in the district, the Maoists are a very perturbed lot.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-23/patna/44389396_1_hardcore-maoists-patahi-sheohar


Assam declared ‘Maoist hit’ for first time, ‘disturbed area’ tag renewed

GUWAHATI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has declared Assam a Maoist-hit state and has given it the ‘disturbed area’ tag under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. The tags will apply to the entire state of Assam and a 20-km belt in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya bordering the state for one more year from December 4. The state was first declared a ‘disturbed area’ on November 27, 1990, by the Centre under the provision of Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act; the tag has been renewed every year since then. The current term expires on December 3. It’s the first time that the MHA has cited Maoists as one of the reasons for continuing with the tag.

A notification issue by joint secretary (northeast) Shambhu Singh said that a review of law and order in the state indicates that “Maoist presence in Assam and border areas of Arunachal Pradesh has been noticed and hence their activities were noticed in Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Tinsukia districts of Assam and Namsai area of Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh.” The notification states that the review, based on which the MHA has decided to renew the ‘disturbed area’ tag for the state, also indicates that “the law and order situation in the state of Assam continued to be a matter of concern due to the violent incidents caused by underground outfits.”

The notification states that from January to August this year, undergrounds were involved in 127 incidents of violence in the state in which 11 persons, including two security personnel, were killed. “In Arunachal Pradesh, Ulfa (Independent) cadres use the Lohit, Changlang and Tirap districts for infiltration and exfiltration to Myanmar, where the base camps of the outfit are located. The outfit uses these areas extensively for temporary transit camps while on the move as well as to escape counter insurgency operations in Assam,” the notification stated.

On the border with Meghalaya, the MHA notification states that “the bordering areas of Assam and Meghalaya are being used by UG (underground) outfits like the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC). The GNLA, particularly in the West Khasi Hills district, is reportedly facilitating Ulfa (I) in establishing a safe shelter-cum-base in bordering areas.” AFSPA provides special powers to the army and gives it a freehand while carrying out counter-insurgency operations.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-23/guwahati/44389349_1_disturbed-area-garo-national-liberation-army-achik-national-volunteer-council


24-hr Maoist bandh cripples Imphal

IMPHAL: Life was paralyzed in Imphal on Friday due to a 24-hour general strike called by the underground Maoist Communist Party, Manipur (MCPM) to denounce the alleged loss of Manipur’s territory as a result of the controversial India-Myanmar border fencing along the Moreh sector. Because of the bandh, the footfall of people at the main venue of the ongoing 10-day Manipur Sangai Festival on the historic palace compound here was low.

This, despite the state government having arranged buses for tourists to visit the venue. The festival kicked off on Thursday. Business establishments in Imphal city in areas such as Paona Bazaar, Thangal Bazaar, Bir Tikendrajit Road, Mahatma Gandhi Avenue and Dharamsala were closed and interstate transport services remained suspended. Most of the government offices and educational institutions were also closed though regular flight services were not affected.

The bandh, which came into force from Thursday midnight, also hit life in other districts. The MCPM said the general strike is the first step of its “People’s Resistance” for the “indigenous land and people”.Many civil society organizations and opposition parties feared that a large portion of Manipur’s territory will fall into Myanmar owing to the ongoing ‘flawed’ bordering fencing. Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar. They categorically demanded that the Centre halt the fencing work until the international boundary is clearly demarcated by the two neighbouring countries.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-23/guwahati/44388814_1_moreh-sector-manipur-shares-border-fencing


UNLF_20121126

Warm greetings extended to people on UNLF’s 49th b’day

Imphal, November 23 2013 : Extending greetings to the people of Manipur on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the Central Committee of the the proscribed outfit has invited members of all ethnic groups in Western South East Asia (WESEA) to participate actively in ‘the liberation struggle against India and its reactionary puppets’ . In its annual statement, the Central Committee said that it holds the people of Manipur as the progenitor of change and the source of its strength.

The Manipur-India conflict which started with India’s forcible annexation of Manipur is now entering the 64th year and the armed struggle against India launched by the UNLF to restore Manipur’s freedom is now 49 years old. The annual statement went on to observe that the ups and downs are a natural part of the process of change. The latter comes about mainly because of the superior strength of the Indian security forces and their deceitful stratagems as well as when mistakes creep in the operational processes of the groups spearheading the process of change.

http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=19..241113.nov13


People`s movement on Nov 29-30: MCP

IMPHAL, November 23: A people’s movement will be taken out on November 29 and 30 nights, said the Maoist Communist Party, Manipur. In a press release, the outfit has said that its central committee appreciate the people of Manipur for fully supporting the 24 hour general strike on November 21, which was the first step of its people’s movement. Revolution and the people’s movement are the two sides of the same coin, and as such it a must for the people’s movement to be successful, it said. The outfit has further said that as part of the second step in its people’s resistance: To protect Indigenous Land and People of Manipur, rallies will be held at several places on the nights of November 29 and 30. It has further appealed to the people of Manipur to support the movement.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/11/peoples-movement-on-nov-2930-mcp/


MLA seek ‘support’ of Maoists to run mine

An independent legislator in Jharkhand on Saturday sought the support of Maoists for smooth functioning of Latehar district’s Sikani coal mine, which reopens after 26 months. Speaking at the reopening ceremony of the colliery here in the presence of chief minister Hemant Soren, MLA Videsh Singh from Panki constituency in Palamu district appealed to the “jungle sarkar” (Maoists) to work together with the state government. “The government, leaders, local public and the jungle sarkar should work together to ensure smooth operations at the mine,” Singh said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mla-seek-support-of-maoists-to-run-mine/article1-1154893.aspx


Maoists raising money through NGOs, says IB

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has warned states that Maoists are employing innovative methods to raise money for their activities, including collecting funds through NGOs set up by them. In a note presented in the annual Directors General of Police conference here, the IB said they have collected evidence, which suggests that the Maoists have set up several NGOs, and are collecting funds for political activities. This information has been gathered after questioning a number of Maoist cadres in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Sources said Maoists have set up NGOs in these states to collect funds.

Another area of concern highlighted by the IB was the ultras’ plans to loot banks and ATMs in the interior areas of Maoist-affected states. Sources said the Maoists’ finances are dwindling and they are now looking at new avenues for enhancing their coffers. The IB now wants the states to strengthen security at the ATM kiosks and local banks.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/370692/maoists-raising-money-through-ngos.html


Assam govt plans tribal welfare to check Maoists

GUWAHATI: The Tarun Gogoi government has drawn up elaborate plans to check Maoist elements from spreading their tentacles among the vulnerable adivasi communities (tea-tribe groups) and six other ethnic groups of the state. The Assam government is determined to prevent Maoists from gaining a firm foothold in the state as the Reds have brought Assam, along with Nagaland and Manipur, under its ‘eastern regional bureau,’ which includes West Bengal, Jharkhand and the eastern coastal region as well. “There is an ambitious design of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PGLA) to extend its ‘Red Corridor’ into the Assam, Nagaland and Manipur,” a security source said and added that the Siliguri corridor is being silently intruded by the CPI (Maoist) cadres to spread their bases in the northeast and neighbouring Bhutan.

“They (Maoists) have already made their presence known in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Dhemaji and Tinsukia districts in Assam. The PLGA’s next destinations are two other northeastern states of Manipur and Nagaland,” the source said. The source added that Maoists are also trying to make inroads into the Nepali-dominated areas along the Indo-Bhutan border areas in Kokrajhar district. “We are giving due attention to the grievances of the adivasi communities to prevent the entry of Maoists into Assam. We are keeping a close watch on the activities of the Maoists in the state but at the same time we have to erase the feeling of neglect and alienation among the different communities and empower them,” a government official said. ”

So far, the Maoists have been able to influence some youth from the state and few Khamti boys from Arunachal Pradesh. However, unlike Jharkhand, there is just a sprinkling of Adivasi youth here. There are few young people from Goalpara and Kamrup district but the majority is from Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Golaghat districts and many from Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts,” the source said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Assam-govt-plans-tribal-welfare-to-check-Maoists/articleshow/26282251.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26086

[boiler]

Naxals on the comeback trail

Reports suggest that the Naxals are trying to make a comeback to Malnad, sensing an opportunity in the eviction of forest dwellers and tribals from the Western Ghats.

Menasinahadya (Chikmagalur district): Menasinahadya, a tiny village of 400 people, nestling in the Western Ghats, is so remote that the sick travel 25 kms to reach a hospital, 15 kms to find a grocery store and about 8 kms to catch a bus which makes only two trips a day to this part of the hills.

Its serenity, however, was shattered by gunfire that left an elderly woman injured over a decade ago, giving the state its first wake-up call to Maoist activity in the Malnad.

Soon more violent events unfolded with top Naxal A. Saketh Rajan being killed in these parts by the police, and the ultras responding in kind. The Maoists who found the village, strategically situated between Sringeri and Moodigere taluks, a safe route to take owing to its remoteness, however, began to desert it as the authorities became more alert to their movements and Menasinahadya, once a hub of Naxal activity, fell silent about two years ago.

But now all indications are that the red brigade is trying to make a comeback in these parts, smelling an opportunity in the eviction of forest dwellers and tribals from the Western Ghats under the National Park Act and the government’s move to implement the Kasturi*rangan report on conservation of the ghats. To the dismay of the authorities who had boldly declared the Naxals of the Western Ghats were in retreat, they appear to be back in action and this time in a more aggressive mode if the vandalism of a forest checkpost and the burning of vehicles belonging to an employee of an NGO working for the rehabilitation of forest dwellers are anything to go by.

Even more worryingly, some Naxal sympathisers claim these attacks are a ‘dry run’ for bigger attacks to come as the Maoists are regrouping and gearing up to make their presence felt more tellingly in the near future.

A fresh team of Naxals is said to have arrived in the area after the required training and prepared a different safe route in the Malnad. The new recruits are reportedly locals as well as youth from Hassan and Mandya, who are being guided by more experienced Maoists from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While their past strongholds were patches of the Western Ghats in Dakshina Kan*nada, Udupi, Chik*magalur and Shimoga, they are taking no chances this time and are reportedly keeping to the dense forests rather than showing themselves in villages and remaining in touch only with their sympathizers for fear of the police.

“The Naxals visit the homes of their sympathisers only for food and shelter while also trying in secret to influence other families who could sympathise with their cause,” say sources. Despite the Naxals’ renewed attempts to infiltrate the Malnad, the government seems to be in denial yet again and continues to downplay their numbers in the region. While it claims there are a mere 25 to 30 ultras still in the Malnad, Naxal sympathisers, surrendered Mao*ists and police sources place their number at at least thrice that.

Recalling that the red brigade had cashed in on the eviction of tribals and villagers from forests in the Malnad when the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) was created in early 2000 , they say they have been presented with such an opportunity again.

“Eviction of forest dwellers and tribals had given Naxals the opportunity to appear as champions of their cause and paint the government as the villain of the piece in the past and now they are preparing to do the same,” says Ganapathy Gowda (name changed) who was closely associated with the movement in its early days in the region.

“The government said it would not coerce anyone to leave the forest, but the lives of the villagers became pathetic after it brought in restrictions on their means of earning a livelihood. For instance people of Karle village could not continue fishing after it was banned in the area for ecological reasons. Such villagers offered easy pickings for Maoists,” recalls another villager.

Unfortunately, Maoists who are now preparing to take advantage of similar restrictions in the offing in the ghats, seem more dangerous than before. “Every Maoist now carries a gun, even an AK 47 at times, grenades and ammunition besides a 15 to 20 kg bag with all necessary supplies,” reveal sources, adding that the Naxals of the Malnad have been told to make their own arrangements for arms and supplies by their central unit “As the local Naxals have to become self-reliant they are likely to become more violent too,” they add.

While the ultras seem intent on making a return, the Ani-Naxal Force( ANF) and the ciivil police are still not working in tandem as required. ANF commander Seemanath Kumar Singh , however doesn’t seem worried and even denies the Maoists are returning yo the Malnad. “We have no such information,” he said, when contacted, asserting that the ANF was capable of dealing with them even if they were. “As the commander of the ANF I can assure you that we have dedicated teams and full striking power , if necessary,” he maintained.

MORE…

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131202/news-current-affairs/article/naxals-comeback-trail

[boiler]

Eight cops killed as Maoists trigger landmine explosion

Maoists massacred seven police officials in a landmine explosion in Bihar on Tuesday even as the state cabinet approved a new surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy for left-wing extremists.

The rebels ambushed the police personnel near Nabinagar in Aurangabad district, 120 km south of capital Patna, around 4.30pm and looted their weapons.

The team of six special auxiliary police jawans and sub-inspector Ajay Kumar, the station house officer of Tandwa, was targeted on its way back from a monthly crime meeting at nearby Nabinagar.

Their vehicle was blown to pieces barely a km away from the Tandwa police station.

The attack came less than 72 hours after the rebels attacked the Sahebganj-Patna Intercity Express and killed three GRP personnel.

Patna zone inspector general Sushil Khopde rushed to the spot with reinforcements even as the CoBRA battalion of the CRPF was asked to launch a combing operation. The operations, however, progressed slowly for fear of mines.

Leader of opposition in assembly and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tore into the Janata Dal (United) government following the Aurangabad attack.

He reiterated his charge that the Bihar government had “gone soft on the Maoists”. The BJP leader cited a Union home ministry report which had blamed the state for holding back operations against rebels despite mounting attacks against the police.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar had on Monday said Bihar did not have a magic wand to stop the attacks and the answer lay in initiating multiple measures including socio-economic development.

While Maoist attacks have continued of late, not a single rebel has been killed in any of the operations launched so far.

In September, Maoists had targeted an erstwhile Ranvir Sena (a private militia of upper caste landlords) commander in Daudnagar area of Aurangabad district and blown up his SUV carrying six others. All seven were killed in the attack.

The attack was carried to protest a Patna high court verdict absolving 36 persons charged with the Laxman-Bathe carnage in adjacent Arwal district. In December 1999, suspected Ranvir Sena members had killed 54 Dalits at Laxman-Bathe.

In July, the Maoists had attacked a construction camp to the east of Aurangabad district headquarters and killed five police personnel.



MORE…

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-kill-7-cops-in-bihar-s-aurangabad-district/article1-1158615.aspx

[boiler]

Eight cops killed as Maoists trigger landmine explosion

Maoists massacred seven police officials in a landmine explosion in Bihar on Tuesday even as the state cabinet approved a new surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy for left-wing extremists.

The rebels ambushed the police personnel near Nabinagar in Aurangabad district, 120 km south of capital Patna, around 4.30pm and looted their weapons.

The team of six special auxiliary police jawans and sub-inspector Ajay Kumar, the station house officer of Tandwa, was targeted on its way back from a monthly crime meeting at nearby Nabinagar.

Their vehicle was blown to pieces barely a km away from the Tandwa police station.

The attack came less than 72 hours after the rebels attacked the Sahebganj-Patna Intercity Express and killed three GRP personnel.

Patna zone inspector general Sushil Khopde rushed to the spot with reinforcements even as the CoBRA battalion of the CRPF was asked to launch a combing operation. The operations, however, progressed slowly for fear of mines.

Leader of opposition in assembly and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tore into the Janata Dal (United) government following the Aurangabad attack.

He reiterated his charge that the Bihar government had “gone soft on the Maoists”. The BJP leader cited a Union home ministry report which had blamed the state for holding back operations against rebels despite mounting attacks against the police.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar had on Monday said Bihar did not have a magic wand to stop the attacks and the answer lay in initiating multiple measures including socio-economic development.

While Maoist attacks have continued of late, not a single rebel has been killed in any of the operations launched so far.

In September, Maoists had targeted an erstwhile Ranvir Sena (a private militia of upper caste landlords) commander in Daudnagar area of Aurangabad district and blown up his SUV carrying six others. All seven were killed in the attack.

The attack was carried to protest a Patna high court verdict absolving 36 persons charged with the Laxman-Bathe carnage in adjacent Arwal district. In December 1999, suspected Ranvir Sena members had killed 54 Dalits at Laxman-Bathe.

In July, the Maoists had attacked a construction camp to the east of Aurangabad district headquarters and killed five police personnel.



MORE…

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-kill-7-cops-in-bihar-s-aurangabad-district/article1-1158615.aspx

[boiler]

Five maoists arrested in Odisha

Koraput: At least five Maoist ultras, involved in around 10 murders and several Naxal offensives in Odisha's Koraput district, were today arrested by a joint team of police and BSF personnel. The arrested Naxals were working for the Srikakulam- Koraput division of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) for the past several years and were apprehended near China Sabdam forest area last night, police said.

"These people were in our wanted list since long for their direct involvement in several murders in between March 2010 and July 2013 on charges of being police informers. They had unleashed terror in the area and were in the armed squad of the Maoists," said SP (Koraput) Awinash Kumar. During interrogation, the arrested Naxals confessed to have committed murders and a series of other violence in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon area which has taken place in past two years, the SP said. "They had confessed to torching a mobile tower at Bandhugaon and participating in road blocking and feeling trees at the time of Maoists bandh call in the area," he said. The arrested members have been identified as Abhi Pidika, Bulu Pidika, Adana Meleka, Chekiti Prasad and Jetu Meleka, all residents under Bandhugaon police limits.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/five-maoists-arrested-in-odisha-1273043.html?utm_source=ref_article

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Massive combing and search operation underway against Maoists

Munger (Bihar): A day after Maoists shot dead three BMP jawans and injured two others in a running train, security forces today launched a massive combing and search operation to nab the perpetrators reportedly hiding in the forests of Bihar’s Munger district, a police officer said. Security forces comprising CRPF, STF, SAP and the district police have launched combing and search operations in Kanani, Rajasarai, Rishikund forests under Bhimbundh sanctuary since early this morning to nab those who carried out the fatal attack on the five BMP jawans near Jamalpur railway station last evening, Munger’s Superintendent of Police Naveen Chandra Jha said. We have specific inputs about the Maoists hiding in the forests of Bhimbundh sanctuary, he said, adding that ambush teams have been deployed at sensitive points to confront the ultras. The Munger Range DIG, Sudhansu Kumar, was commanding the security forces, while he and SP (Operations) Naveen Kumar were part of the security forces conducting combing operation against the Maoists, Jha said.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/massive-combing-and-search-operation-underway-against-maoists_893605.html


BSNL may soon select vendors to set up towers in naxal areas

NEW DELHI: State-owned telecom firm BSNL is likely to open within 10-12 days the financial bids for the tender to set up mobile towers in the states affected by naxal violence. BSNL had floated the tender in August for supply, installation, testing, operation and maintenance for five years of 1,315 sites of 2G GSM network in left wing extremist (LWE) areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/bsnl-may-soon-select-vendors-to-set-up-towers-in-naxal-areas/articleshow/26681644.cms


Top pilots quit Pawan Hans, refuse to fly to Naxal areas

Five top officials of Pawan Hans Helicopters, a public sector undertaking, put in their papers on Saturday to protest against flying to Naxal-hit areas without due security cover. All five helicopter pilots are of the rank of deputy general manager and have been with the organisation for over 15 years.

Their en masse resignation has badly hit the country’s largest helicopter operator. In an email sent to both the CMD and the GM of Pawan Hans, the five pilots who have been serving in Naxal affected areas of Gadchiroli, Chattisgarh and Giridh and Palamu for the last five years, have argued that operating under constant stress is now impossible for them. They have also pointed out that since they have neither any background in military and paramilitary operations nor are their flying machines equipped with guns, they fear they could be sitting ducks.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Top-pilots-quit-Pawan-Hans-refuse-to-fly-to-Naxal-areas/articleshow/26653061.cms


Despite taking 2 bullets, cop battles Naxals in Gadchiroli

NAGPUR: A head constable, attached to Jarawandi police station in Etapalli tehsil in south Gadchiroli, was hurt in a brief gun battle with Naxals on Friday evening. A profusely bleeding Murari Gedam, 42, who was hit in the left thigh and abdomen, fought until the Naxals retreated. Preliminary inquiry suggested that the Naxals could be part of Kasansur Local Organizational Squad (LOS). Superintendent of police, Gadchiroli, Mohd Suvez Haque said that a combing operation has been launched in the area after the incident.

“A Naxal formation could have come to put up banners or posters or distribute pamphlets for the forthcoming People’s Liberation Guerilla Army week from December 2-8. We were already planning massive operations to flush out the Naxals,” said Haque. He said Gedam is now out of danger. Sources in Gadchiroli police stated that Gedam was part of the combined patrolling team of local cops and paramilitary forces. Four such teams were formed for area domination exercises. Gedam’s team was headed to a village when the Naxals opened fire about a kilometre away from the police station.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Despite-taking-2-bullets-cop-battles-Naxals-in-Gadchiroli/articleshow/26655105.cms


Maoists Go On Inflation Control Mode

In normal circumstances, political powers-that-be would have been more than happy. After all, someone was making an effort to keep prices of essential commodities in check, that too in rural areas. But these are far from normal times. A Chhattisgarh-based Maoist committee has issued a price list of 53 commodities to “control inflation” in tribal dominated areas, where their word is law. However, onions are missing from the list, indicating that even the armed rebels have little control over the vegetable which has the potential to make or break elected governments. According to officials, Maoists dominate the forest produce market and merchants give in to their demands fearing reprisal. “They collect protection money from shopkeepers and middlemen to finance terror operations. Earlier, they used to target big contractors but now they are desperate to gain people’s support and money as they are losing ground,” an official said.

An intelligence officer involved in anti-Maoist operations said the latest theatrics of fixing prices is a damage control and face saving strategy after they failed to disrupt recent elections in Chhattisgarh despite assembling armed cadres from other states. However, the officer admitted that administrative vacuum in certain areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra was the main reason behind such arm-twisting tactics of the Maoists. The unique price list reveals that Mahua has been priced at `30 per kg while several vegetables are priced between `10 and 15. Staple potato can only be sold for `10. Wheat and rice distributed through PDS by the state government is also missing from the price list. The Maoists have also ensured that products made by tribals command better prices in the market.

Wholesalers will have to pay `30 for one broom made with forest grass. Raw cow skin will command `300, while price for buffalo skin has been fixed at `500. A source said security agencies will look into this latest price circular issued by the Maoists. However, he confirmed that the Centre is already working on a plan to remove middlemen from Naxal areas to crackdown on profiteering on forest produce. He said the move was planned to check the extortion money collected by Maoists. “All Naxalite affected states have been asked to rope in own agencies to buy forest produce directly from the villagers.”

http://newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Maoists-Go-On-Inflation-Control-Mode/2013/12/01/article1920790.ece


Odisha, Chhattisgarh intensify combing

Odisha and Chhattisgarh police have launched a joint search operation along the border after two security personnel were killed in an ambush by left wing extremists in Nuapada district. The incident occurred on Friday evening when 12 bike-borne security personnel were returning to their base camp in Sunabeda forest. However, two personnel – Debendra Dharua of District Voluntary Force and Prakash Rout, a special police officer – lagged behind. A group of naxalites took advantage of the situation and ambushed the party at Dhekunpani village.

“Our men fought valiantly. The two persons, however, sustained grievous bullet injuries. We don’t have any information about casualties on the part of naxalites,” said Uma Shankar Das, Nuapada Superintendent of Police. Naxalites had taken away one AK-47 assault rifle and an INSAS rifle from the force. From early morning on Saturday, personnel of Central Reserve Police Force, Special Operation Group, CoBRA battalion, Nuapada district police and Chhattisgarh police came together and started the combing operation. “We have intensified our search. As of now, we have not come across any group of naxalites inside Sunabeda forest,” said Mr. Das.

The incident took place a couple of days after villagers in Nuapada announced their plan to take on naxalites alleging that ultras were killing innocent people by branding them as police informers. Sunabeda forest which separates Odisha and Chhattisgarh has become a safe haven for naxalites during the past few years. Since 2009 when the first death in naxal violence was reported, around 20 people including police and forest personnel, people’s representative and tribal youths have been killed by the extremists.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/odisha-chhattisgarh-intensify-combing/article5409117.ece


Jharkhand: Maoist Attempt to Blow Up Bridge Foiled

The security personnel today foiled ultra outfit CPI (Maoists)’s attempt to blow up a road bridge and recovered eight detonators from under a bridge in the Naxal-affected Palamau district, police said. Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel comprising of District Armed Police rushed to the spot near Pipra village and recovered the explosives kept under the bridge in a polythene bag, said Superintendent of Police Nagrendra Kumar Singh. The bridge was situated on National Highway 75 and the ultras wanted to blow it up, he claimed. Meanwhile, the security personnel launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras.

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=819202


Three Suspected Red Rebels Held

Jeypore: Three suspected Maoists were arrested by Raigarh police from the bordering Jhunkipar village under Menapur divisional committee of Chhattisgarh. On a tip off, police raided the areas and nabbed the trio. Two revolvers, five cartridges and electrical wires were seized from their possession. Police are interrogating them for their alleged involvement in different Maoist-related cases. In another incident, security forces found two country-made guns and gun making materials, hidden in Litiput forest.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Security-Personnel-Killed-in-Maoist-Ambush/2013/12/01/article1921575.ece


Mullappally offers help to tackle Maoist threat

Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran has said that the Union Home Ministry will provide all assistance to tackle the Maoist threat in the State. He was talking to presspersons at Mananthavady in the district on Saturday. Mr. Ramachandran said he had discussed the issue with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and promised all assistance from the Union Ministry in this regard.

A senior official of the Union Home Ministry had discussed the issue with the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and would hold talks with the State Home Department in the coming days, Mr. Ramachandran said. Joint operation The State government was yet to seek a joint combing operation of the Central forces and the Thunderbolt commandos, he said. The Karnataka government had issued a shoot-at-sight order to tackle the Maoist menace, but the Kerala government was yet to issue such an order, Mr. Ramachandran said. Such an order would be executed by the Kerala government, if necessary, he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/mullappally-offers-help-to-tackle-maoist-threat/article5410322.ece?homepage=true

Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26139

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Aurangabad naxal attack: Body of BMP jawan found near blast site, toll reaches 8

Body of a Bihar Military Police (BMP) jawan has been recovered from near the site of landmine blast triggered by Maoists taking the death toll to eight, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. During search operations on Tuesday night, body of BMP jawan Sanjay Kumar Kushwaha was found near the blast site, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) SK Bhardwaj told PTI. The jawan is a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

With recovery of the body of BMP jawan, the toll in the Tuesday landmine blast by Maoists near Chandragarh More (circle) on the Tandwa-Nabinagar road has gone up to eight. Officer in-charge of Tandwa police station Ajay Kumar, five SAP jawans and a homeguard driver are other victims of the explosion which blew off the police jeep.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/aurangabad-naxal-attack-body-of-bmp-jawan-found-near-blast-site-toll-reaches-8/437642-3-232.html


Internal Security Division takes home ministry warning on Naxalite menace seriously

MANGALORE: Internal security division of Karnataka State Police taking note of an internal communication by the Home Ministry that CPI (Maoists) are trying to open a new theatre in south India has stepped up vigil in Karnataka and coordination with neighbouring states. The ministry had warned that armed cadres witnessed in Western Ghats and tri-junction of Tamil Nadu- Kerala-Karnataka, poses a serious security threat to the three States.

The home ministry’s communication figured in the coordination committee meeting of police top brass of the three states held in Thiruvananthapuram on November 27. Karnataka was represented by Inspector-General of Police (Southern Range) and Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Anti-Naxal Force) at this meeting, which incidentally is the second such effort after a similar meeting that Karnataka hosted in Mysore earlier in March this year. In an informal chat with reporters here, Alok Mohan, additional director-general of police (internal security division) said, “Karnataka on its part is fully geared to meet Left winged extremism on its soil.”

Buoyed by Rs 9 crore grant to the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), Alok said steps have been taken to modernise ANF and equip it with better weaponry including night vision goggles. This is in addition to heightened combing, and patrolling, he noted. The Thiruvananthapuram meet helped refine strategies that police force in three states need to adopt to take on this emergent threat, Alok said, adding strategies apart police in any state will deal with any anti-social elements in their own manner. While the presence of naxalites is not so much in Karnataka, their activities in Kerala and getting reinforcements from Tamil Nadu is an area of concern and this is where coordination among forces helps, he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/Internal-Security-Division-takes-home-ministry-warning-on-Naxalite-menace-seriously/articleshow/26859854.cms


Bid for force to tackle Maoist menace on hold

MALAPPURAM: When at least seven police stations in Nilambur region have been struggling to address the Maoist scare among local residents, a proposal regarding the formation of a separate team of police equipped with modern arms and high-tech devices, exclusively for the region, is still pending with the state government. Months ago, the police had submitted a proposal regarding this to the government in the backdrop of reports on suspected groups of Maoists in the region. This was after the local police failed to trace the gangs which frequently visited tribal colonies in the region, mainly due to manpower shortage and lack of high-end facilities.

A highly placed source of the special branch of police, Malappuram, said that after reports surfaced regarding Maoist presence in the region, local police stations have been struggling to carry out routine duties such as handling cases reported in the station limit. “Earlier such incidents were reported once or twice a month. But now, the presence of suspected groups are reported almost every day and police personnel including inspectors and sub-inspectors have been forced to conduct frequent visits at tribal colonies as part of investigation,” the source said, adding that local police stations with limited number of staff and facilities cannot effectively handle such cases.

“In the detailed proposal, we had demanded a separate police team, well-equipped with modern arms and GPS-enabled devices to trace out the gangs, exclusively for handling such cases reported from various parts of Nilambur. But the government is yet to consider the proposal, even after a suspected group fired at forest staff deep inside the forest last week. Though police personnel including sub-inspectors of seven police stations in the region were recently trained in anti-Naxalite operations, it is not good enough to fight Maoist groups,” the source said, adding that the proposal for the separate police team awaits government sanction as the police do not have the power to purchase modern gadgets or arms.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Bid-for-force-to-tackle-Maoist-menace-on-hold/articleshow/26810658.cms


Tensions between CRPF and Bihar police

..The ongoing ‘cold war’ between Bihar police and the CRPF has its adverse effect on anti-Maoist operations in Bihar. It started when the state police instituted an inquiry by an IG-rank officer into killing of one Arvind Bhuiyan by CRPF in an encounter at Baltharwa village located on the border of Gaya-Aurangabad districts and inside Chakarbanda forest in June 2012. The IG, according to reliable sources, had held CRPF guilty.

Though the police headquarters did not initiate any follow-up action, it did break the heart of the central force which decided to go slow and has reduced its job to only guarding its camp in Maoist-infested areas, sources said. The differences, however, turned uglier when the Bihar police HQ lodged a case and subsequently jailed an assistant commandant Sanjay Kumar Yadav of CRPF after taping his phone call which revealed he was passing operational details to Maoists in Aurangabad. Going by the recorded transcript provided to the CRPF, the officers of the central paramilitary force maintained that the state police stretched this issue too far..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Strained-ties-with-CRPF-hamper-anti-Red-operations/articleshow/26814225.cms


Massive hike in payoffs to deserters in Bihar

..Meanwhile, the state government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar announced a new surrender and rehabilitation policy for the rebels, who belong to the Communist Party of India (Maoists), media reports said. Top leaders would get Rs 2.5 lakh ($4000) if they renounced arms. This would include members of the state, regional, central committee and politbureau of the Maoist party. The offer is a huge jump from the 2001 policy which promised Rs 10000 ($160) first and Rs 3000 ($50) in due course. An official of the state cabinet coordination committee was quoted by the media as saying that those surrendering would be paid more if they laid down more arms and ammunition.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/12/indian-state-moves-rein-maoists-20131248420330228.html




cadres-of-maoist-cultural-wing-celebrating-plga-week-arrested_041213094855

Cadres of Maoist cultural wing celebrating PLGA week arrested

Four Maoists, including two women, were arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Tuesday when they conducting cultural activities allegedly aimed at publicising Maoist ideology on the occasion of their ongoing People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week. “Cadres of Maoist cultural wing Chetna Natya Mandli were nabbed from Jaigur village from the Jangla police station limits,” a senior official told PTI. Communist Party of India (Maoist) is observing PLGA week from December 2 to 8 in memory of their slain leaders during which Maoists organise programmes to spread their propaganda and recruit new youth into their fold.

A joint team of the Special Task Force and the district force, which was on a combing operation, located some tribal youth performing songs and dances with anti-government themes, he said. Those arrested were identified as Kunjami Jummo (22), Telaam Sannu (25) as well as women performers Manju (25), Telam Mangi (22). “They were booked under the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005,” he said. Maoist pamphlets, banners and other articles used while performing cultural programmes were seized from their possession, he said, adding seized pamphlets carried messages of the PLGA week being observed by the Maoists.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cadres-of-maoist-cultural-wing-celebrating-plga-week-arrested/437574-3-235.html


Wanted Maoist arrested in Odisha

Malkangiri: A wanted Maoist was arrested from a forest during a search by security personnel in Odisha’s Malkangiri district. The 30-year-old Maoist, identified as Era Padiami alias Mukesh, was arrested during a joint operation by BSF and police in Kanaguda forest under Kalimela police station limits last evening, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Pramod Kumar Bagh said. Era, son of wanted ‘deputy commandant’ of Kalimela Maoist Dalam Wada Padiami, had been working in Badiata and Mariata areas for the last eight years. He was involved in an attack on CRPF personnel in 2006, encounters with security forces, loot and landmine explosions in some places, the DSP said.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/wanted-maoist-arrested-in-odisha_894380.html

11 ultras held for spreading Naxal ideology in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Eleven cadres, most of them women, of a cultural front of Maoists, were arrested for allegedly spreading Naxal ideology during their ongoing PLGA week in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said today. “The ultras were nabbed while they were conducting cultural activities near Biriyabhumi village under Bhairamgarh police station limits of south Bastar last evening,” a senior police official said. A team of local police was on a combing operation yesterday in restive Bhairamgarh forest, located around 450 kms away from state capital Raipur.

On reaching near a river close to Biriyabhumi village, the security personnel found some tribal youths attired in traditional costume, chanting songs with anti-government themes to allegedly provoke villagers against the state, the official said. After a detailed interrogation, they were booked under the provisions of Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, he said. Those arrested were identified as Sukhmati Madkam, Ilo Padiyami, Raje Vekko, Aayati Kunjam, Roddo, Hidme Podiyam, Sunita Poyam, Sunita, Somani Poyam, Dhanne Vekko and Koparam Poyam, all aged around 20 to 23 years and members of Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM) of Maoists.

Naxal literature, musical instruments and articles used while performing cultural activities were seized from their possession, he said. The banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) is observing Peoples’ Liberation of Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week from December 2 to 8 in honour of their slain leaders during which they organise various programmes to spread their propaganda, besides recruiting new youths in their fold. So far, 15 members of CNM have been arrested during the week. PTI

http://zeenews.india.com/news/chhattisgarh/11-ultras-held-for-spreading-naxal-ideology-in-chhattisgarh_894569.html


Five Wanted Naxals Held in Chhattisgarh

Five alleged hardcore Naxals, carrying cash rewards on their head, were arrested during separate search operations in Maoist-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, police said today. “Acting on a tip- off, three ultras were nabbed from the forest of Madanar village under Bayanar police station limits of Kondagaon district late last evening,” a senior police official said. The security personnel were mobilised in the region following inputs about the presence of the rebels in Madanar forests. On reaching there, police rounded up two suspected men who later during interrogation admitted to being involved in the Naxal movement as active members of Madanar Jantana Sarkar group of Maoist, the official said.

Those arrested were identified as Juglu (45) and Gandoram (40), carrying cash rewards of Rs 25,000 and Rs 3,000 respectively on their heads. After joining the Red outfit in 2000, they were involved in incidents of crime including loot, arson, murder and attack on police party, he said. On way back to their camp, the search party apprehended another cadre, Sonau (40), who had a reward of Rs 5,000 on his head, from Rajbeda village in the area, he said.

A muzzle loading gun was also recovered from his possession, he said. Sonau, an active area committee member of Maoists, was involved in the attack on security forces in August this year in the region and was also wanted in cases of murder, attacks on security personnel and several others, he said. In a separate combing operation, two rebels were held from Siksod police station area of Kanker district in Bastar by a joint group of district force and BSF today. Those arrested were identified as Dururam (32) and Mangu Ram (52), carrying cash rewards of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively on their heads.

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=819733


Maoist

Naxals may eliminate politicians to show strength: intelligence input

The state police have received intelligence inputs which state that Naxalites may assassinate political leaders and police informants this week. The police department has asked all the police stations in naxal-affected districts to be alert so that nothing untoward takes place. Naxalites are observing the 12th foundation week of the People Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) from December 2 to 9. During this week, naxals display their strength by assassinating policemen and political figures across India.

On Tuesday, eight persons, including seven policemen were killed in a Maoist attack in Bihar. According to the intelligence inputs (dna has its copy), there is a strong possibility that naxals may attack patrolling parties, police stations, sub-police stations and seize arms and ammunition, damage government and private property and murder political leaders and police informants.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-naxals-may-eliminate-politicians-to-show-strength-intelligence-input-1929879


Suspected Maoist linkman held

GUWAHATI: City Police on Wednesday arrested a person from the Maligaon area on suspicion of being a Maoist linkman. Police have found at least 400 detonators, 15 fuse wires and 100 gelatin sticks from his possession. The person, identified as Malu Sethi, is from Odisha. “He came to Guwahati on train. We are quizzing him now and suspect that he is a carrier for the Maoist rebels in Assam,” said a policeman of Jalukbari Police Station.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Suspected-Maoist-linkman-held/articleshow/26872539.cms


Maoist killing: Bihar police mull strategy, BJP wants army

A day after a landmine explosion triggered by Maoists claimed the lives of eight policemen in Aurangabad district of south-central Bihar, the police were still struggling to come up with an effective action plan to deal with the increasingly belligerent ultras. For much of Wednesday, top police officials reached by HT kept on repeating they were holding meeting(s) at Aurangabad and were not in a position to say anything on the matter immediately.

Among those who participated in the day-long meetings were central zone (Patna) IG Sushil Khopde, IG (Operations) Amit Kumar and Aurangabad SP Upendra Kumar Sharma. However, Aurangabad BJP MLA Ramadhar Singh, till recently a minister in the Nitish government, said the police infrastructure had collapsed in the face of the Maoist onslaught in Magadh region, including Aurangabad. “No combing operation has been launched to nab the ultras. I demand that Magadh be handed over to the army/para-military forces for effective tacking of the Maoist menace”, Singh told HT.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoist-killing-bihar-police-mull-strategy-bjp-wants-army/article1-1159101.aspx


Maoists threaten to kill some top politicians in Bihar

Patna: A panic has gripped Bihar as Maoists, who operate in a large swathe of the state, have threatened to kill top politicians. The rebels made their intention clear through posters, which they have plastered in several villages of central Bihar and also the neighbouring state of Jharkhand, forcing authorities to issue red alerts in these areas. On the hand-written posters pasted on the walls of residential buildings, government offices and road-side trees, the Maoists have formally listed the names of some of the politicians whom they plan to target in the coming days.

In the past weeks, dozens of such posters have been found in several villages of central Bihar and the bordering areas of Jharkhand, which have robbed the peace of the state police, now hard-placed to check Maoist violence in Bihar. The politicians who figure in their hit-list include Sushil Kumar Modi (BJP), former deputy chief minister, Giriraj Singh, BJP lawmaker and former minister, Dr CP Thakur, former Bihar BJP chief, Sushil Kumar Singh, JD-U parliamentarian, Ranvijay Singh, JD-U lawmaker, Kaushal Kumar Singh, BSP leader, Indu Bhushan Sharma, national president of the Nationalist Farmers’ Association, and others.

The posters credited to the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), have also exhorted youths and adults to join the outfit’s rank and defeat the “reactionary forces”. The fresh threats to eliminate some top politicians in the state come close on the heels of three major Maoist attacks recently, leaving a total of 17 people killed — the most recent being the killing of eight policemen on Tuesday in a landmine blast in Aurangabad district.

Finding the overall situation spiralling out of the control, the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar held a high-level meeting with the top officials in the state on Thursday at which he ordered the top bureaucracy and police brass to evolve a strategy to tackle surging Maoist violence in the state. Reports said the chief minister is highly concerned at the sudden spurt in Maoist activities in the state now that the next general elections are a few months away. Meanwhile, security to Patna-based Beur Central Jail has been beefed up following intelligence inputs that rebels could attack the prison to release their leaders. More than 300 Maoists, including some 30 top leaders, are said to be lodged in this jail. In 2005, Maoists had raided a jail in central Bihar’s Jehanabad district and managed to free a number of their top leaders, including Ajay Kanu.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/maoists-threaten-to-kill-some-top-politicians-in-bihar-1.1263596


3 held on charge of making country-made bombs

Three persons were arrested on charge of repairing and making country-made guns meant for the use of Maoists in Koraput district. They were nabbed during a joint combing operation by personnel of the Border Security Force and Koraput district police inside Ranjitguda forest area under Laxmipur police station limits. The combing operation was part of the intensification of anti-Maoist operation in the district to check possibility of violence by the Naxalites during their martyrs’ week which started from Dec 2.

According to Koraput Superintendent of Police (SP) Awinash Kumar, there were intelligence reports that some persons were trying to supply country made guns to Maoists of Laxmipur and Narayanpatna areas to create panic among general public living in remote areas during the martyrs’ week of Maoists. The operation inside the Ranjitguda forest was also aimed at tracking down these suppliers of arms to Maoist elements.

The three persons who were arrested were Chuda Naik of Diasili village, Ara Praska and Satya Nachika from Ghoda Tikri village. Three Single Barrel Muzzle Loaded (SBML) guns, a blower used by ironsmiths, gun powder, metal cutting blades and pellets and spare parts of guns, were seized from their possession. The seized items also included other tools used to manufacture and repair country made guns like hammers and sharpening instruments.

“During initial interrogation, it was found that the arrested persons were planning to supply some country made guns to the Maoists of the area. They were also involved in supplying arms to other miscreants apart from the Maoist elements,” the SP said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/3-held-on-charge-of-making-countrymade-bombs/article5425165.ece


Maoists’ Letter Triggers Panic among Politicos

A letter purportedly released by CPI (Maoist) has created panic among the leaders of various political leaders in Bhadrachalam division of the district. Some leaders, whose names have figured in the missive, are understood to have making arrangements to leave the district. CPI (Maoist) Khammam district secretary Kiran released a letter Tuesday alleging that Bhadrachalam MLA K Satyavathi, District Congress Committee (DCC) president Vanama Venkateswara Rao, MLC Balasani Lakshminarayana and former ZPTC member of Bhadrachalam Gundu Sarat, had made a lot of money by playing a key role in sand mafia in the division.

They took the help of a tribal B Balya, to run their illegal activities. He alleged that the leaders had managed to get some of their followers elected to the tribal sand societies in Bhadrachalam, Charla and Venkatapuram and claimed that three persons – Srikar, P Pasi, Gowtham and Narsimha Rao – were fecilitating deals for them. Kiran also said due to illegal sand transportation, the roads were getting damaged and faulted the officials for not taking action against them.

He warned that the people would punish the culprits if the government failed to take action against them. Responding to the Maoists’ letter over the phone, MLC Lakshminarayana said that he was in no way concerned with sand mafia. “I am not aware of the Maoists mentioning his name in sand mafia,” he added. Expressing doubts over the letter, MLA Kunja Satyavathi said the letter would have been released by some Congress leaders. She also said that she did not even know where sand quarries were located and added that she was not afraid as she had not done anything wrong.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Maoists-Letter-Triggers-Panic-among-Politicos/2013/12/05/article1928561.ece


BSF Man Injured in Maoist Encounter in Odisha

A BSF man was injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists in a forest in Odisha’s Malkangiri district today, police said. The encounter took place when a BSF team was searching the Tumkimarka forest in Gamphakunda gram panchayat, Kalimela Inspector in-Charge, S K Nayak said. The BSF man was injured in the hand. The Maoists, some of whom were believed to be injured, fled after the encounter, he said. The search was launched following the kidnap of three persons, including the son of a Sarpanch and a woman, from Gamphakunda village by Maoists last night. One of those kidnapped managed to escape.

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=819720


Maoists blow up two buildings of school under construction

GUMLA: Maoists blew up two buildings of an under construction model school by triggering a powerful bomb blast at Kurumgarh village under Chainpur police station, 68km from the district town of Gumla late on Tuesday. The blasts created huge craters destroying the separate buildings of the school. The rebels also fired several rounds in the air, raised slogans and left behind a note after triggering the blasts. According to information, more than 50 armed Maoists led by zonal commander Ashok Ji alias Prasad Lakra, Dilwar and Ranthu reached the site of the under construction Buniyadi model school in Kurumgarh at around 12 am.

They planted powerful bombs in two separate buildings of the school, whose plaster and other finishing work were yet to be completed and blew it up. The note left behind read: “Destroy police camp.” Before leaving the spot, they also raised slogans and fired in the air. The rebels fear that the security forces will use such buildings as temporary camp to carry out anti-Maoist operations in the forest areas . Police inspector N T Singh said the school buildings were being constructed for last three years on a budget of Rs 50 lakh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoists-blow-up-two-buildings-of-school-under-construction/articleshow/26868476.cms
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26164

[TheGodlessUtopian]

16 alleged Maoist cultural wing activists arrested

At least 16 Muria Gond tribals have been arrested in the last 48 hours in Bijapur district of south Chhattisgarh for allegedly acting as cultural activists of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). The arrested alleged activists are aged between 18 and 22 years and were influencing the locals against the administration through song and dance, a release from Bijapur police said. Local court

According to the district SP Prashant Agarwal, the activists have been produced in a local court. The alleged activists belong to the Chaitanya Natya Manch (CNM), the cultural wing of the CPI (Maoist). The police release said the first group of 11 activists were arrested on Wednesday, while they were performing near Bidiyabhumi village under Bhairamgarh police station in Bijapur. Second group The second group of three boys and two girls were picked up from Kondapal village under Mirtur police station.Both groups were arrested during a searching operation carried out by the district force. Drums, musical anklets, green clothes, red head-bands and Naxal literature were confiscated, the release said.

Mass arrest

No Maoist version regarding the mass arrest of CNM activists was available till late evening. This is the first major arrest of cultural wing activists in the recent years.

Tribals

The CNM activists are normally recruited from the local tribals who have a natural flair for song and dance. While a section of the CNM activists later join the party or its armed wing, many members leave the cultural wing as they grow up. The CNM activists are unarmed and never given any training in arms, unless they join the party.

Armed wing

Mr. Agarwal said the CNM members were not carrying any arms and were not connected to the party’s armed wing, the Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/16-alleged-maoist-cultural-wing-activists-arrested/article5426558.ece?homepage=true


Maoists kill journalist in Bastar

RAIPUR: Caught between the Naxalites and the police for long, Sai Reddy—a rural journalist who earned the wrath both the rebels and the police in the conflict zone of tribal Bastar—was killed by the Maoists on Friday afternoon near a market in Basaguda in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Police said Reddy, who is in his early 50s, had gone to Basaguda when a group of Maoists attacked him with sharp edged weapons near the market and fled from the spot.

The journalist, who was lying in a pool of blood, was rushed to district headquarters of Bijapur but he succumbed to his injuries on his way to the hospital. “This is the second incident in the recent past in which Maoists killing journalists. In February this year, a journalist Nemichand Jain was killed by the rebels in Sukma. Forty five days after the murder, Maoists had apologized for Jain’s killing”, Bastar’s journalist association president S Karimuddin told TOI.

“In 2008, Sai Reddy was arrested by the police and kept in jail under the state’s much-debated Chhattisgarh Special Security Act, accusing him of having links with the Maoists. On the other hand, Maoists had set his house ablaze and had threatened him suspecting him to be a sympathizer of the security forces”, he said adding that the association strongly condemned the Maoist attack on journalists in Bastar. Journalists in Bijapur said Sai Reddy had been receiving threats from the Maoists even after he was released after the court due to lack of any evidence against him.

Reddy’s detention under the controversial law came to national limelight after activists mounted an international campaign for release of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) leader Dr Binayak Sen, who was also arrested and jailed under the same law. Reddy a resident of Basaguda in Naxalite-hit Bijapur district, was arrested in March 2008. Police claimed that he was detained after an arrested Naxalite, Rambabu, revealed he had “connections” with him and that Naxals took their ration from a shop run by his wife.

Like many journalists in Bastar, Reddy too earned his living selling grain and minor forest produce while contributing to local newspapers. His writings on Naxal violence in the region earned him the wrath of both Maoists and security forces. On one occasion, the rebels had threatened to kill him and his family if he didn’t leave Chhattisgarh. The rebels blew up his house, forcing him to flee to Cherlapal in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Maoists-kill-journalist-in-Bastar/articleshow/26966563.cms


Three Maoists, including a woman, held Jamui

(Bihar), Dec 6 (PTI) Three Maoists, including a woman, were today arrested by the security forces from Harni forests in Khaira police station area in Bihar’s Jamui district, the police said. During a combing and search operation in the wake of Naxal attack in Munger and Aurangabad districts, the security forces nabbed the three Maoists hiding in the forests and seized a haul of explosives, detonators and Naxal literature from their possession, the sources said.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/4212585_Three-Maoists–including-a-woman–held.html


Suspected Maoist ‘killed’ in encounter

KORAPUT: A suspected Maoist was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Malkangiri district on Thursday. The exchange of fire helped at least of the three persons kidnapped by the radicals escape from the Maoist camp. They were kidnapped on Wednesday night. While Padhia Madhi reached his village on Thursday, there is no news about the other two, including a woman. “Blood trails at the encounter spot suggest that a Maoist has been killed and few injured in the gun battle, but the number is yet to be ascertained,” said SP (Malkangiri) Akhileswar Singh.

A group of 40 to 50 Maoists, including women cadres, swooped down on Gumphakonda village, around 45 km from Malkangiri, around Wednesday midnight and dragged the trio, including the son of Gumphakonda sarpanch, out of their homes. The Red rebels accused them of helping police and took them deep into the forests. “On Thursday morning, when BSF personnel launched an operation to ascertain the whereabouts of the kidnapped villagers, the Maoists fired on our men near Tunduli Batla around 10 am.

The exchange of fire continued for more than an hour. Unable to face the firing, Maoists fled from the spot,” the SP said. Padia Madhi, the kidnapped person who reached home on Thursday, said, “The Maoists assaulted and kept us on a hill-top. We were interrogated by them. We escaped when the rebels were engaged in a fire. The other two are yet to reach the village. I am not a police informer.” Police said search operation is on to trace the villagers. Our men recovered IED and few Maoists belongings near the spot.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Suspected-Maoist-killed-in-encounter/articleshow/26951724.cms


BSF (1)

BSF DG Reviews Anti-Maoist Operations

The BSF would further intensify anti-Maoist operation in this part of the State in the wake of recovery of arms and ammunitions from forest areas.This was informed by BSF DG Subash Joshi who reviewed the BSF activities in the Maoist affected Koraput and Malkangiri districts on Thursday. The DG held discussion with the local officials and took stock of the situation. Joshi flew in from New Delhi to the BSF office at Badapada situated in the cut-off region of Malkangiri and interacted with the security forces besides Malkangiri SP Akhlieswar Singh regarding the challenges faced by them in tackling the ultras.

Prior to that, he reviewed anti-Maoist operation in Koraput’s Narayanpatana, Bandhugaon, Boipariguda and Ramgiri areas. The DG asked the security forces to be more careful during combing operations and lauded the role of the elite forces in containing Maoists from spreading their tentacles in the districts. Joshi’s visit is considered important in the wake of PLGA Week being observed by the ultras.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/BSF-DG-Reviews-Anti-Maoist-Operations/2013/12/06/article1930860.ece


Prisons put on alert in view of Maoist attacks

PATNA: The Centre has issued a letter to all the ‘left wing-affected (LWE) states’, asking for security audit especially in the prisons where Maoists are lodged. Acting on the letter, the state home (prisons) department has directed the DMs and SPs of the Maoists-hit districts, including Patna, to audit the security arrangements and enhance the same, wherever necessary. According to intelligence inputs, Red rebels increase their operations in February and March.

But keeping in view the recent Maoist attacks in the state, the state prisons have been put on high alert. IG (prisons and correctional services) Anand Kishore told TOI on Thursday security audit of all the prisons had been done. In his letter to the DMs and SPs, Kishore said the officials concerned could request the district judge to conduct trial of Maoist prisoners through videoconference. In case of non-availability of the technology, Maoist prisoners should be transported to the court in separate vehicles with adequate security. Security personnel could also be deployed on the roads during the transit.

The IG said one DSP along with the jail superintendent would ensure the security of every prison. Incidents of Maoist prisoners using mobile phones from the prison premises have also increased in recent times. The prison staff should be made accountable if mobile phones are found from the possession of inmates. Talking about mobile phone jammers, Kishore said, “It takes between Rs 20 crore and 25 crore to install jammers in one jail.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Prisons-put-on-alert-in-view-of-Maoist-attacks/articleshow/26924132.cms


Maoists threaten to kill Sushil Modi, Bihar BJP leaders

RANCHI: Maoists have put up posters in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, threatening to kill top Bihar BJP leaders, including former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Modi along with party colleague and former minister Giriraj Singh have been advocating strong police action against Maoists in Bihar. The two leaders have alleged the Nitish Kumar government is soft on the Maoists who have recently carried out attacks in Bihar.

“We have recovered the posters that threaten to target Modi, Giriraj, Rajya Sabha MP C P Thakur and other BJP leaders,” Latehar SP Michael S Raj said on Thursday. The posters have urged people not to come under the influence of these leaders because they are “fascists”.

Police have sounded an alert in the district. “We have communicated to Bihar police,” said additional SP Manish Kumar Bharti. Police said the posters read, “Sampradayeek aur fascist party Bhajapa tatha khunkhar pratikriyawadiyo ke chakkar me na padey. Aam admi se anurodh hai ki samanti pratikriyawadi Sushil Kumar Modi, Giriraj Singh, C P Thakur and other leaders ko maar girayein (Do not get influenced by communal and fascist BJP. Common people are requested to kill feudal reactionaries Sushil, Giriraj, Thakur and other leaders).”

Latehar is close to Chatra district in Jharkhand where Maoists from Bihar allegedly take shelter. “It could be a possibility that the posters were meant to be used in Bihar, but the banned outfit’s men inadvertently brought and pasted them here,” a police officer said. Three such posters and two banners were recovered from two different places on Wednesday. One poster said CPI(Maoist) has opened a recruitment cell each in all panchayats. “The posters invited schoolchildren to join the party,” said the police officer. Two Maoist posters were recovered from Deoghar district on Thursday. Police said the posters condemned police action against the Maoists and asked people to support their cause.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-threaten-to-kill-Sushil-Modi-Bihar-BJP-leaders/articleshow/26926814.cms


Nine panchayat members resign in Koraput district

KORAPUT: Nine out of 26 elected panchayat representatives of Koraput’s Bandhugaon block resigned on Thursday in the face of Maoist threats, sources said. Officially, however, they cited non-execution of development works in their area as the reason. The members signed a single resignation letter and handed it over to the block development officer (BDO) of Bandhugaon on Thursday afternoon. The block consists of 12 panchayats.

The panchayat members who resigned included four sarpanchs, two samiti members, a block chairperson and two zilla parishad members. The members have complained in the letter that education and healthcare facilities have virtually collapsed in the area. Besides, beneficiaries are not getting houses under IAY and Mo Kudia Yojana and several poverty alleviation programmes have been hit due to the callousness of officials. Locals, however, said repeated threats by Red rebels were the real reason behind the mass resignation. “A couple of weeks back, the extremists put up posters at several places in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks urging panchayat members to resign from their posts.

The elected members have bowed down in front of the Maoists diktat,” a source at Bandhugaon said. Countering the charges leveled by the members, Koraput collector Sachin Jadhav said, “It’s not true that development activities have been hit in Bandhugaon. More emphasis is being given to Bandhugaon and several development projects have been expedited in the block recently.” “I was informed by the BDO over phone that nine panchayat members have resigned. They had not given any prior notice to the administration. Necessary action will be taken after getting the resignation letter,” the collector added. SP (Koraput) Awinash Kumar said, “No panchayat member ever approached us about the threat from Maoists. If any complaint is lodged, we will take necessary action.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Nine-panchayat-members-resign-in-Koraput-district/articleshow/26952242.cms

Political party team distracting people from reality- Maoist

IMPHAL, December 6: covering up for the yielding of state land to Myanmar and betraying the trust of the people, the recent meeting between the delegates of the All Political Party from Manipur, without BJP and MPP, and the leaders of the ruling Government at the centre, including the Prime Minister, and the subsequent decision to stop all construction activities on the border fencing is nothing but a feeble attempt to mislead the people and prevent another spontaneous uprising.

Also, all fencing activities along the international border has been on hold since the last week of June 2013, according to a press release signed by Nonglen Meitei, Secretary Publicity & Propaganda, Maoist Communist Party, Manipur. Alleging the formation of the High Power Committee by a cabinet decision on the 13th of August, 2013 to deal with all issues relating to the border fencing activities as an eyewash to divert attention from the possible backlash by the people after learning of the sale of state land by the Ibobi led Government to Myanmar for ` 5 crore, the release also points out various agencies such as the SIB, IB and MI being utilised in the state to collect information and keep a close watch on the developments regarding the border fencing issue, reminding the people of the declaration made by Shambhu, Joint Secretary, Home at a press conference in Moreh that the ongoing fencing work is not the real border fencing but a security fencing to keep unlawful infiltrators out.

Terming the recent decision by the centre to review fencing works which has already been inspected and reported officially as a political drama played out in view of the upcoming election, the release further questioned the inactivity and studied silence of the central leaders on this particular issue while the Prime Minister took the trouble to visit China after the Chinese army incursion in Ladakh, and also taking up issues with his Pakistani counterpart when Pakistani army crossed over to Indian soil.

Alleging that the state delegates have not broached the subject of Myanmar army incursions, the statement asked whether the people of Manipur should feel satisfied with the efforts of the Government or trust their words when it is clearly evident that these seemingly positive developments are mere ploy to further their personal goals by betraying the trust and loyalty of the people. It is also stated that a “Half Million March” is being organized by Maoist Communist Party, Manipur to preserve and protect the territorial integrity of Manipur, and also to demand the return of the money taken for sale of state land to Myanmar. Details of the march will be communicated later to the people, the release added.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/12/political-party-team-distracting-people-from-reality-maoist/


Naxals arrested in Bihar

Three alleged Maoist ultras, including a woman, and two Maoist sympathisers were arrested in Bihar on Friday. The Jamui police arrested Savita Murmu, Jharkhand resident, and Brahmadeo and Buddhan Bhulla, Bihar residents, from Janakpur village, Jitendra Rana, Superintendent of Police (SP), Jamui, told The Hindu. “We had information that a military wing of Naxals was to arrive in the village. The woman is part of the military squad. We also recovered explosives, detonators, uniforms and Maoist literature,” Mr. Rana said. In another operation, the Aurangabad police arrested two Naxal sympathisers, involved in the recent landmine explosion that killed eight police personnel.

The police arrested Umesh Ram, a shoe vendor and Basarasth, a pan vendor, for passing vital information to the Naxals, regarding the movement of the police party and were instrumental in leading them to the landmine. “They were constantly in touch with the Maoist leaders. They actively participated in the landmine blast incident,” Aurangabad SP Upendra Kumar Sharma told The Hindu.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/naxals-arrested-in-bihar/article5433802.ece


Blast may hit Nabinagar power project work

GAYA: Four days after the Maoists engineered a landmine blast in Nabinagar police station area of Aurangabad district, breakthrough eluded police in the case in which no less than eight cops including the Tandwa SHO Ajay Kumar were killed in a daylight operation of the CPI(Maoists). According to Amit Kumar, IG operations, the sequence of events is now known to the police. No arrest has so far been made in this connection, said the IG. Earlier, on Wednesday ADG law and order SK Bharadwaj claimed that nearly 15 Maoists involved in the incident have been identified as suspects and they included Maoists hailing from the Dumaria police station area of the Gaya district.

The incident has caused additional concern among the senior officials as a mega power project is underway in the Nabinagar area and the landmine blast is likely to impact the pace of execution. Contractors, in any case engaged in construction work in Maoist areas have to buy peace with the Naxalite organizations by paying ‘protection money’ called ‘levy’ by the Maoists. Not long back, the Maoists attacked a SAP camp established to provide security to the construction company engaged in the execution of development projects in the Goh police station area of the district.

The Maoists, besides killing three SAP personnel and injuring an equal number of cops, also looted the entire armoury of the SAP camp comprising no less than 30 sophisticated weapons including SLRs and AK-47 assault rifles. Meanwhile, the strategy chalked out in January’2013 to withdraw police jeeps from the ‘forward’ police stations located deep inside the Red zone is now being executed. The number of extremely vulnerable police stations is said to be around 15 in the districts of Gaya and Aurangabad.

According to sources, in order to give more teeth to its anti-Naxalite operations and reduce dependence on central forces for works like demining and deep searches for landmines, the Bihar police plans to extend the training period of the cops in counter insurgency and anti-terrorist operations. As of now, four weeks training is given to the Bihar cops at three schools located in the BMP headquarters at Bodh Gaya, Dehri and Umraon.

The training programme is funded by the Central government. Whereas, other Naxalite-hit states run similar programmes for eight weeks and in Odisha, it is more than eight weeks, Bihar till now has been giving only four week training. The training period will be extended, said a senior police official engaged in anti-Naxalite operations. The need for a review of the training format is also being felt, as no less than 3,000 Bihar policemen have already got basic training in counter insurgency and anti-terrorist operations but the impact of the training is yet to be effectively felt.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Blast-may-hit-Nabinagar-power-project-work/articleshow/26984076.cms


Maoists hack village head to death

VISAKHAPATNAM: Maoists struck once again in the Visakha Agency area, killing a village head at Sapparla in GK Veedhi mandal on the midnight of Thursday by hacking him to death in the presence of villagers for allegedly harassing and cheating people. The deceased was identified as Gemmela Chinna Rao (48), village head of Panasalabanda, 17 km from the mandal headquarters. The death comes even as the CPI Maoists are celebrating People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week from December 2. More than 50 armed cadres of the Maoist military wing PLGA led by Commander Ravi came to Panasalabanda village and dragged Chinna Rao from his house.

He was taken to Sapparla village, where he was executed in a gruesome manner. The Reds pasted posters in the name of PLGA at the incident spot accusing Chinna Rao, president of Vana Samrakshana Samithi ( VSS) of the village, of colluding with the forest department by handing over a five-acre teak plantation in the forest, that was encroached upon by the tribals, to the forest department and planting teak saplings by the order of the forest department officials.

The Naxals also alleged that Chinna Rao was enjoying benefits like a jeep given by the forest department for public use. The Maoist posters urged the people to make a success of praja courts that are being conducted during the PLGA week celebrations. The Reds also warned the village heads or munsabs, who are harassing and cheating the people, to surrender to the people, failing which they would be expelled from their villages. They said no state or police would be able to protect them from the PLGA. Meanwhile, in a bid to protest against the killing, GK Veedhi police took out a procession with placards and banners on Friday morning.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Maoists-hack-village-head-to-death/articleshow/26985004.cms


‘Panchayat members resignation not proper’

KORAPUT: Resignation tendered by nine elected panchayat representatives from Koraput’s Bandhugaon block on Thursday will be rejected because the letter was neither addressed to appropriate authorities nor submitted through proper channel, said collector of Koraput Sachin Jadhav on Friday. The block chairperson, two zilla parishad members, two samiti members and four sarpanchs had submitted a resignation letter to BDO of Bandhugaon.

“The manner in which the resignation letter was submitted is not acceptable according to Panchayati Raj Act. All elected members can’t resign from their respective posts by putting signatures on a single resignation letter. Also, zilla parishad members can’t tender their resignation to BDO,” the collector said. “The elected members had also not given notice to the administration prior to resigning from their posts. Though I am yet to receive the resignation letter, it will be rejected,” he added. According to officials, sarpanchs and samiti members have to submit their resignations to sub-collector and the zilla parishad members to collector.

The elected representatives had resigned, citing non-development of the area. Sources claimed they put in their papers bowing to Maoist diktat. A few weeks back, Red rebels had urged panchayat members to resign from their posts through posters put up at several places in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Panchayat-members-resignation-not-proper/articleshow/27015617.cms

Odisha Police arrested Five Maoists in Bandhugaon block

Report by Manoranjan Routray, Koraput: Five Maoists were arrested and two country-made guns seized from them during a combing operation in Bandhugaon block of Koraput district of Odisha, on the occasion of their ongoing People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week. Acting on a tip-off, Koraput police and 28 battalion of BSF arrested the rebels, identified as Abhi Pidika, Bulu Pidika, Adana Meleka, Chekiti Prasad and Jetu Meleka, from China Sapadam forest area under Bandhugaon police station limits today, said laxmipur SDPO Jalandhar Jali in a press meet at laxmipur.

Police said, the arrested ultras are involved in around 10 murders and several Naxal offensives in Koraput district, Police said the arrested five rebels were in the armed squad of the outlawed outfit and participated in several Maoist offensives. “The guns were being supplied to cadres in Laxmipur and Narayanpatna,” the police said. Combing operation has been intensified in the area, police said.

http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=46188

Suspected Maoist arrested

Hajipur, Dec 8 (PTI) A suspected Maoist was arrested today with ammunition in Bihar’s Vaishali district, police said.Acting on a tip off, the police nabbed one Radhe Singh from Ghazipur Chowk and seized a country-made pistol and four ammunition, besides Naxal literature from his possession, they said. A native of Saradhanesh village under Mahnar police station area, Singh was later booked under arms act and other provisions of the law and sent to jail, they said.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/4217238_Suspected-Maoist-arrested.html
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26207

[boiler]

High support for Maoist “None of the Above” campaign

RAIPUR: Amid exceptionally high number of people choosing NOTA option in Chhattisgarh as compared to four other states in the assembly polls, question now being asked is whether it has anything to do with outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) efforts to encourage people to reject all candidates participating in the democratic process.

In the 90 assembly segments, including the Naxalite-dominated areas of tribal Bastar, more than four lakh votes, were polled in the two-phased assembly elections. In constituencies of tribal Bastar region, NOTA polled 78,186 votes, with the highest 10,848 in Chitrakot-ST followed by 9,677 in Dantewada-ST.

Similarly, in tribal areas of Sarguja in north Chhattisgarh, an average 5,000 votes had preferred NOTA option in all eight constituencies, while in three constituencies of tribal Jashpur, the NOTA votes ranged between 4,000 and 5,500.

In Marwahi-ST constituency, from where former chief minister Ajit Jogi’s son Amit Jogi was in the fray, 7,115 voters exercised NOTA option. Votes for NOTA were polled in all 90 constituencies.

“In Maoist areas, it is likely that people preferred NOTA option because of the directive by the Naxalites. Maoists can encourage people to opt for NOTA in every elections and can argue at some point of time in future that people in their areas of influence have rejected all candidates participating in the democratic process,” said former state election commissioner Sushil Trivedi.

He attributed “first time excitement”, particularly among new voters, as the reason for higher votes for NOTA in areas other than in Naxalite-affected areas, as a section of younger generation could have felt that thrill of rejecting all the candidates in the fray. “Besides, there are also cynics in the society, who think that all the candidates are not worth,” he added.

Additional director general of police (Naxalite operations) Rajinder Kumar Vij told TOI “As of now, we have no inputs whether the Maoists had directed or encouraged the people in the tribal areas to exercise their franchise on NOTA.”

Before elections, there were reports that Maoists were conducting training camps with dummy EVMs in Bastar region to make the people aware about the NOTA option, if at all they decide to go out for vote. These reports also quoted that the rebels were telling people that it was best tool to protest against government’s exploitation.

However, Maoists had appealed to people to boycott elections, but they could not enforce it because of the unprecedented security arrangements.



MORE…

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/assembly-elections-2013/chhattisgarh-assembly-elections/buoyed-by-red-effort-most-prefer-nota-in-chhattisgarh/articleshow/27151105.cms

[boiler]

“We Shall Certainly Defeat the Government”

Somewhere in the impregnable jungles of Dandakaranya, the supreme commander of CPI (Maoist) spoke to Open on issues ranging from the Government’s proposed anti-Naxal offensive to Islamist Jihadist movements

At first sight, Mupalla Laxman Rao, who is about to turn 60, looks like a school teacher. In fact, he was one in the early 1970s in Andhra Pradesh’s Karimnagar district. In 2009, however, the bespectacled, soft-spoken figure is India’s Most Wanted Man. He runs one of the world’s largest Left insurgencies—a man known in Home Ministry dossiers as Ganapathi; a man whose writ runs large through 15 states. The supreme commander of CPI (Maoist) is a science graduate and holds a B Ed degree as well. He still conducts classes, but now they are on guerilla warfare for other senior Maoists. He replaced the founder of the People’s War Group, Kondapalli Seetharaamiah, as the party’s general-secretary in 1991. Ganapathi is known to change his location frequently, and intelligence reports say he has been spotted in cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata and Kochi. After months of attempts, Ganapathi agreed to give his first-ever interview. Somewhere in the impregnable jungles of Dandakaranya, he spoke to RAHUL PANDITA on issues ranging from the Government’s proposed anti-Naxal offensive to Islamist Jihadist movements.

Q Lalgarh has been described as the New Naxalbari by the CPI (Maoist). How has it become so significant for you?

A The Lalgarh mass uprising has, no doubt, raised new hopes among the oppressed people and the entire revolutionary camp in West Bengal. It has great positive impact not only on the people of West Bengal but also on the people all over the country. It has emerged as a new model of mass movement in the country. We had seen similar types of movements earlier in Manipur, directed against Army atrocities and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in Kashmir, in Dandakaranya and to some extent in Orissa, after the Kalinganagar massacre perpetrated by the Naveen Patnaik government.

Then there have been mass movements in Singur and Nandigram but there the role of a section of the ruling classes is also significant. These movements were utilised by the ruling class parties for their own electoral interests. But Lalgarh is a more widespread and more sustained mass political movement that has spurned the leadership of all the parliamentary political parties, thereby rendering them completely irrelevant. The people of Lalgarh had even boycotted the recent Lok Sabha polls, thereby unequivocally demonstrating their anger and frustration with all the reactionary ruling class parties. Lalgarh also has some distinctive features such as a high degree of participation of women, a genuinely democratic character and a wider mobilisation of Adivasis. No wonder, it has become a rallying point for the revolutionary-democratic forces in West Bengal.

Q If it is a people’s movement, how did Maoists get involved in Lalgarh?

A As far as our party’s role is concerned, we have been working in Paschim Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia, in what is popularly known as Jangalmahal since the 1980s. We fought against the local feudal forces, against the exploitation and oppression by the forest officials, contractors, unscrupulous usurers and the goondaism of both the CPM and Trinamool Congress. The ruling CPM, in particular, has become the chief exploiter and oppressor of the Adivasis of the region, and it has unleashed its notorious vigilanté gangs called Harmad Vahini on whoever questions its authority. With the State authority in its hands, and with the aid of the police, it is playing a role worse than that of the cruel landlords in other regions of the country.

Given this background, anyone who dares to fight against oppression and exploitation by the CPM can win the respect and confidence of the people. Since our party has been fighting uncompromisingly against the atrocities of the CPM goons, it naturally gained the confidence and respect of the people of the region.

The police atrocities in the wake of the landmine blast on 2 November [in 2008, from which West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had a narrow escape] acted as the trigger that brought the pent-up anger of the masses into the open. This assumed the form of a long-drawn mass movement, and our party played the role of a catalyst.

Q But not so long ago, the CPM was your friend. You even took arms and ammunition from it to fight the Trinamool Congress. This has been confirmed by a Politburo member of CPI (Maoist) in certain interviews. And now you are fighting the CPM with the help of the Trinamool. How did a friend turn into a foe and vice-versa?

A This is only partially true. We came to know earlier that some ammunition was taken by our local cadre from the CPM unit in the area. There was, however, no understanding with the leadership of the CPM in this regard. Our approach was to unite all sections of the oppressed masses at the lower levels against the goondaism and oppression of Trinamool goons in the area at that time. And since a section of the oppressed masses were in the fold of the CPM at that time, we fought together with them against Trinamool. Still, taking into consideration the overall situation in West Bengal, it was not a wise step to take arms and ammunition from the CPM even at the local level when the contradiction was basically between two sections of the reactionary ruling classes.

Our central committee discussed this, criticised the comrade responsible for taking such a decision, and directed the concerned comrades to stop this immediately. As regards taking ammunition from the Trinamool Congress, I remember that we had actually purchased it not directly from the Trinamool but from someone who had links with the Trinamool. There will never be any conditions or agreements with those selling us arms. That has been our understanding all along. As regards the said interview by our Politburo member, we will verify what he had actually said.

Q What are your tactics now in Lalgarh after the massive offensive by the Central and state forces?

A First of all, I wish to make it crystal clear that our party will spearhead and stand firmly by the side of the people of Lalgarh and entire Jangalmahal, and draw up tactics in accordance with the people’s interests and mandate. We shall spread the struggle against the State everywhere and strive to win over the broad masses to the side of the people’s cause. We shall fight the State offensive by mobilising the masses more militantly against the police, Harmad Vahini and CPM goons. The course of the development of the movement, of course, will depend on the level of consciousness and preparedness of the people of the region. The party will take this into consideration while formulating its tactics. The initiative of the masses will be released fully.

Q The Government has termed Lalgarh a ‘laboratory’ for anti-Naxal operations. Has your party also learnt any lessons from Lalgarh?

A Yes, our party too has a lot to learn from the masses of Lalgarh. Their upsurge was beyond our expectations. In fact, it was the common people, with the assistance of advanced elements influenced by revolutionary politics, who played a crucial role in the formulation of tactics. They formed their own organisation, put forth their charter of demands, worked out various novel forms of struggle, and stood steadfast in the struggle despite the brutal attacks by the police and the social-fascist Harmad gangs. The Lalgarh movement has the support of revolutionary and democratic forces not only in West Bengal but in the entire country. We are appealing to all revolutionary and democratic forces in the country to unite to fight back the fascist offensive by the Buddhadeb government in West Bengal and the UPA Government at the Centre. By building the broadest fighting front, and by adopting appropriate tactics of combining the militant mass political movement with armed resistance of the people and our PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army), we will defeat the massive offensive by the Central-state forces. I cannot say more than this at the present juncture.

Q The Centre has declared an all-out war against Maoists by branding the CPI (Maoist) a terrorist organisation and imposing an all-India ban on the party. How has it affected your party?

A Our party has already been banned in several states of India. By imposing the ban throughout the country, the Government now wants to curb all our open activities in West Bengal and a few other states where legal opportunities exist to some extent. The Government wants to use this draconian UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act] to harass whoever dares to raise a voice against fake encounters, rapes and other police atrocities on the people residing in Maoist-dominated regions. Anyone questioning the State’s brutalities will now be branded a terrorist.

The real terrorists and biggest threats to the country’s security are none other than Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, Buddhadeb, other ruling class leaders and feudal forces who terrorise the people on a daily basis.

The UPA Government had declared, as soon as it assumed power for the second time, that it would crush the Maoist ‘menace’ and began pouring in huge funds to the states for this purpose. The immediate reason behind this move is the pressure exerted by the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the imperialists, particularly US imperialists, who want to plunder the resources of our country without any hindrance. These sharks aspire to swallow the rich abundant mineral and forest wealth in the vast contiguous region stretching from Jangalmahal to north Andhra. This region is the wealthiest as well as the most underdeveloped part of our country. These sharks want to loot the wealth and drive the Adivasi people of the region to further impoverishment.

Another major reason for the current offensive by the ruling classes is the fear of the rapid growth of the Maoist movement and its increasing influence over a significant proportion of the Indian population. The Janatana Sarkars in Dandakaranya and the revolutionary people’s committees in Jharkhand, Orissa and parts of some other states have become new models of genuine people’s democracy and development. The rulers want to crush these new models of development and genuine democracy, as these are emerging as the real alternative before the people of the country at large.

Q The Home Ministry has made preparations for launching a long-term battle against Maoists. A huge force will be soon trying to wrest away areas from your control. How do you plan to confront this offensive?

A Successive governments in various states and the Centre have been hatching schemes over the years. But they could not achieve any significant success through their cruel offensive in spite of murdering hundreds of our leaders and cadres. Our party and our movement continued to consolidate and expand to new regions. From two or three states, the movement has now spread to over 15 states, giving jitters to the ruling classes. Particularly after the merger of the erstwhile MCCI and People’s War in September 2004 [the merger between these groups led to the formation of the CPI (Maoist)], the UPA Government has unleashed the most cruel all-round offensive against the Maoist movement. Yet our party continued to grow despite suffering some severe losses. In the past three years, in particular, our PLGA has achieved several significant victories.

We have been confronting the continuous offensive of the enemy with the support and active involvement of the masses. We shall confront the new offensive of the enemy by stepping up such heroic resistance and preparing the entire party, PLGA, the various revolutionary parties and organisations and the entire people. Although the enemy may achieve a few successes in the initial phase, we shall certainly overcome and defeat the Government offensive with the active mobilisation of the vast masses and the support of all the revolutionary and democratic forces in the country. No fascist regime or military dictator in history could succeed in suppressing forever the just and democratic struggles of the people through brute force, but were, on the contrary, swept away by the high tide of people’s resistance. People, who are the makers of history, will rise up like a tornado under our party’s leadership to wipe out the reactionary blood-sucking vampires ruling our country.

Q Why do you think the CPI (Maoist) suffered a serious setback in Andhra Pradesh?

A It was due to several mistakes on our part that we suffered a serious setback in most of Andhra Pradesh by 2006. At the same time, we should also look at the setback from another angle. In any protracted people’s war, there will be advances and retreats. If we look at the situation in Andhra Pradesh from this perspective, you will understand that what we did there is a kind of retreat. Confronted with a superior force, we chose to temporarily retreat our forces from some regions of Andhra Pradesh, extend and develop our bases in the surrounding regions and then hit back at the enemy.

Now even though we received a setback, it should be borne in mind that this setback is a temporary one. The objective conditions in which our revolution began in Andhra Pradesh have not undergone any basic change. This very fact continues to serve as the basis for the growth and intensification of our movement. Moreover, we now have a more consolidated mass base, a relatively better-trained people’s guerilla army and an all-India party with deep roots among the basic classes who comprise the backbone of our revolution. This is the reason why the reactionary rulers are unable to suppress our revolutionary war, which is now raging in several states in the country.

We had taken appropriate lessons from the setback suffered by our party in Andhra Pradesh and, based on these lessons, drew up tactics in other states. Hence we are able to fight back the cruel all-round offensive of the enemy effectively, inflict significant losses on the enemy, preserve our subjective forces, consolidate our party, develop a people’s liberation guerilla army, establish embryonic forms of new democratic people’s governments in some pockets, and take the people’s war to a higher stage. Hence we have an advantageous situation, overall, for reviving the movement in Andhra Pradesh. Our revolution advances wave-like and periods of ebb yield place to periods of high tide.

Q What are the reasons for the setback suffered by the LTTE in Sri Lanka?

A There is no doubt that the movement for a separate sovereign Tamil Eelam has suffered a severe setback with the defeat and considerable decimation of the LTTE. The Tamil people and the national liberation forces are now leaderless. However, the Tamil people at large continue to cherish nationalist aspirations for a separate Tamil homeland. The conditions that gave rise to the movement for Tamil Eelam, in the first place, prevail to this day. The Sinhala-chauvinist Sri Lankan ruling classes can never change their policy of discrimination against the Tamil nation, its culture, language, etcetera. The jingoistic rallies and celebrations organised by the government and Sinhala chauvinist parties all over Sri Lanka in the wake of Prabhakaran’s death and the defeat of the LTTE show the national hatred for Tamils nurtured by Sinhala organisations and the extent to which the minds of ordinary Sinhalese are poisoned with such chauvinist frenzy.

The conspiracy of the Sinhala ruling classes in occupying Tamil territories is similar to that of the Zionist rulers of Israel. The land-starved Sinhala people will now be settled in Tamil areas. The entire demography of the region is going to change. The ground remains fertile for the resurgence of the Tamil liberation struggle.

Even if it takes time, the war for a separate Tamil Eelam is certain to revive, taking lessons from the defeat of the LTTE. By adopting a proletarian outlook and ideology, adopting new tactics and building the broadest united front of all nationalist and democratic forces, it is possible to achieve the liberation of the oppressed Tamil nation [in Sri Lanka]. Maoist forces have to grow strong enough to provide leadership and give a correct direction and anti-imperialist orientation to this struggle to achieve a sovereign People’s Democratic Republic of Tamil Eelam. This alone can achieve the genuine liberation of the Tamil nation in Sri Lanka.

Q Is it true that you received military training from the LTTE initially?

A No. It is not a fact. We had clarified this several times in the past.

Q But, one of your senior commanders has told me that some senior cadre of the erstwhile PWG did receive arms training and other support from the LTTE.

A Let me reiterate, there is no relation at all between our party and the LTTE. We tried several times to establish relations with the LTTE but its leadership was reluctant to have a relationship with Maoists in India. Hence, there is no question of the LTTE giving training to us. In spite of it, we continued our support to the struggle for Tamil Eelam. However, a few persons who had separated from the LTTE came into our contact and we took their help in receiving initial training in the last quarter of the 1980s.

Q Does your party have links with Lashkar-e-Toiba or other Islamic militant groups having links with Pakistan?

A No. Not at all. This is only mischievous, calculated propaganda by the police officials, bureaucrats and leaders of the reactionary political parties to defame us and thereby justify their cruel offensive against the Maoist movement. By propagating the lie that our party has links with groups linked to Pakistan’s ISI, the reactionary rulers of our country want to prove that we too are terrorists and gain legitimacy for their brutal terror campaign against Maoists and the people in the areas of armed agrarian struggle. Trying to prove the involvement of a foreign hand in every just and democratic struggle, branding those fighting for the liberation of the oppressed as traitors to the country, is part of the psychological-war of the reactionary rulers.

Q What is your party’s stand regarding Islamist jihadist movements?

A Islamic jihadist movements of today are a product of imperialist—particularly US imperialist—aggression, intervention, bullying, exploitation and suppression of the oil-rich Islamic and Arab countries of West Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, etcetera, and the persecution of the entire Muslim religious community. As part of their designs for global hegemony, the imperialists, particularly US imperialists, have encouraged and endorsed every war of brazen aggression and brutal attacks by their surrogate state of Israel.

Our party unequivocally opposes every attack on Arab and Muslim countries and the Muslim community at large in the name of ‘war on global terror’. In fact, Muslim religious fundamentalism is encouraged and fostered by imperialists as long as it serves their interests—such as in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, and Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan.

Q But what about attacks perpetrated by the so-called ‘Jihadis’ on innocent people like it happened on 26/11?

A See, Islamic jihadist movements have two aspects: one is their anti-imperialist aspect, and the other their reactionary aspect in social and cultural matters. Our party supports the struggle of Muslim countries and people against imperialism, while criticising and struggling against the reactionary ideology and social outlook of Muslim fundamentalism. It is only Maoist leadership that can provide correct anti-imperialist orientation and achieve class unity among Muslims as well as people of other religious persuasions. The influence of Muslim fundamentalist ideology and leadership will diminish as communist revolutionaries and other democratic-secular forces increase their ideological influence over the Muslim masses. As communist revolutionaries, we always strive to reduce the influence of the obscurantist reactionary ideology and outlook of the mullahs and maulvis on the Muslim masses, while uniting with all those fighting against the common enemy of the world people—that is, imperialism, particularly American imperialism.

Q How do you look at the changes in US policy after Barack Obama took over from George Bush?

A Firstly, one would be living in a fool’s paradise if one imagines that there is going to be any qualitative change in American policy—whether internal or external—after Barack Obama took over from George Bush. In fact, the policies on national security and foreign affairs pursued by Obama over the past eight months have shown the essential continuity with those of his predecessor. The ideological and political justification for these regressive policies at home and aggressive policies abroad is the same trash put forth by the Bush administration—the so-called ‘global war on terror’, based on outright lies and slander. Worse still, the policies have become even more aggressive under Obama with his planned expansion of the US-led war of aggression in Afghanistan into the territory of Pakistan. The hands of this new killer-in-chief of the pack of imperialist wolves are already stained with the blood of hundreds of women and children who are cruelly murdered in relentless missile attacks from Predator drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, within the US itself, bail-outs for the tiny corporate elite and attacks on democratic and human rights of US citizens continue without any change.

The oppressed people and nations of the world are now confronting an even more formidable and dangerous enemy in the form of an African-American president of the most powerful military machine and world gendarme. The world people should unite to wage a more relentless, more militant and more consistent struggle against the American marauders led by Barack Obama and pledge to defeat them to usher in a world of peace, stability and genuine democracy.

Q How do you look at the current developments in Nepal?

A As soon as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [CPN(M)] came to power in alliance with the comprador-feudal parties through the parliamentary route in Nepal, we had pointed out the grave danger of imperialist and Indian expansionist intervention in Nepal and how they would leave no stone unturned to overthrow the government led by CPN(M). As long as Prachanda did not defy the directives of the Indian Government, it was allowed to continue, but when it began to go against Indian hegemony, it was immediately pulled down. CPN-UML withdrew support to the Prachanda-led government upon the advice of American imperialists and Indian expansionists. We disagreed with the line of peaceful transition pursued by the UCPN(M) in the name of tactics. We decided to send an open letter to the UCPN(M). It was released in July 2009.

We made our party’s stand clear in the letter. We pointed out that the UCPN(M) chose to reform the existing State through an elected constituent assembly and a bourgeois democratic republic instead of adhering to the Marxist-Leninist understanding on the imperative to smash the old State and establish a proletarian State. This would have been the first step towards the goal of achieving socialism through the radical transformation of society and all oppressive class relations. It is indeed a great tragedy that the UCPN(M) has chosen to abandon the path of protracted people’s war and pursue a parliamentary path in spite of having de facto power in most of the countryside.

It is heartening to hear that a section of the leadership of the UCPN(M) has begun to struggle against the revisionist positions taken by Comrade Prachanda and others. Given the great revolutionary traditions of the UCPN(M), we hope that the inner-party struggle will repudiate the right opportunist line pursued by its leadership, give up revisionist stands and practices, and apply minds creatively to the concrete conditions of Nepal.

Q Of late, the party has suffered serious losses of party leadership at the central and state level. Besides, it is widely believed that some of the senior-most Maoist leaders, including you, have become quite old and suffer from serious illnesses, which is also cited as one of the reasons for the surrenders. What is the effect of the losses and surrenders on the movement? How are you dealing with problems arising out of old age and illnesses?

A (Smiles…) This type of propaganda is being carried out continuously, particularly by the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of the psychological war waged by intelligence officials and top police brass aimed at confusing and demoralising supporters of the Maoist movement. It is a fact that some of the party leaders at the central and state level could be described as senior citizens according to criteria used by the government, that is, those who have crossed the threshold of 60 years. You can start calling me too a senior citizen in a few months (smiles). But old age and ill-health have never been a serious problem in our party until now. You can see the ‘senior citizens’ in our party working for 16-18 hours a day and covering long distances on foot.As for surrenders, it is a big lie to say that old age and ill-health have been a reason for some of the surrenders.

When Lanka Papi Reddy, a former member of our central committee, surrendered in the beginning of last year, the media propagated that more surrenders of our party leaders will follow due to ill-health. The fact is that Papi Reddy surrendered due to his loss of political conviction and his petty-bourgeois false prestige and ego. Hence he was not prepared to face the party after he was demoted by the central committee for his anarchic behaviour with a woman comrade.

Some senior leaders of our party, like comrades Sushil Roy and Narayan Sanyal, had become a nightmare for the ruling classes even when they were in their mid 60s. Hence they were arrested, tortured and imprisoned despite their old age and ill-health. The Government is doing everything possible to prevent them from getting bail. Even if someone in our party is old, he/she continues to serve the revolution by doing whatever work possible. For instance, Comrade Niranjan Bose, who died recently at the age of 92, had been carrying out revolutionary propaganda until his martyrdom. The social fascist rulers were so scared of this nonagenarian Maoist revolutionary that they had even arrested him four years back. Such is the spirit of Maoist revolutionaries—and power of the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism which they hold high. When there are serious illnesses, or physical and mental limitations to perform normal work, such comrades are given suitable work.

Q But what about the arrests and elimination of some of your senior leadership? How do you intend to fill up such losses?

A Well, it is a fact that we lost some senior leaders at the state and central level in the past four or five years. Some leaders were secretly arrested and murdered in the most cowardly manner. Many other and state leaders were arrested and placed behind bars in the recent past in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and other states. The loss of leadership will have a grave impact on the party and Indian revolution as a whole. We are reviewing the reasons for the losses regularly and devising ways and means to prevent further losses. By adopting strictly secret methods of functioning and foolproof underground mechanisms, by enhancing our mass base, vigilance and local intelligence, smashing enemy intelligence networks and studying their plans and tactics, we hope to check further losses. At the same time, we are training and developing new revolutionary leadership at all levels to fill up the losses.

Q How do you sum up the present stage of war between your forces and those of the Indian State?

A Our war is in the stage of strategic defence. In some regions, we have an upper hand, while in others the enemy has the upper hand. Overall, our forces have been quite successful in carrying out a series of tactical counter-offensive operations against the enemy in our guerilla zones in the past few years.

It is true that our party has suffered some serious leadership losses, but we are able to inflict serious losses on the enemy too. In fact, in the past three years, the enemy forces suffered more casualties than we did. The enemy has been trying all means at their disposal to weaken, disrupt and crush our party and movement. They have tried covert agents and informers, poured in huge amounts of money to buy off weak elements in the revolutionary camp, and announced a series of rehabilitation packages and other material incentives to lure away people from the revolutionary camp. Thousands of crores of rupees have been sanctioned for police modernisation, training and for raising additional commando forces; for increasing Central forces; for training Central and state forces in counter-insurgency warfare; and for building roads, communication networks and other infrastructure for the rapid movement of their troops in our guerilla zones. The Indian State has set up armed vigilante groups and provided total support to the indescribable atrocities committed by these armed gangs on the people. Psychological warfare against Maoists was taken to unheard of levels.

Nevertheless, we continued to make greater advances, consolidated the party and the revolutionary people’s committees at various levels, strengthened the PLGA qualitatively and quantitatively, smashed the enemy’s intelligence network in several areas, effectively countered the dirty psychological-war waged by the enemy, and foiled the enemy’s all-out attempts to disrupt and smash our movement. The successes we had achieved in several tactical counter-offensive operations carried out across the country in recent days, the militant mass movements in several states, particularly against displacement and other burning issues of the people, initiatives taken by our revolutionary people’s governments in various spheres—all these have had a great impact on the people, while demoralising enemy forces. There are reports of desertions and disobedience of orders by the jawans posted in Maoist-dominated areas. Quite a few have refused to undertake training in jungle warfare or take postings in our areas, and had to face suspension. This trend will grow with the further advance of our people’s war. Overall, our party’s influence has grown stronger and it has now come to be recognised as the only genuine alternative before the people.

Q How long will this stage of strategic defence last, with the Centre ready to go for the jugular?

A The present stage of strategic defence will last for some more time. It is difficult to predict how long it will take to pass this stage and go to the stage of strategic equilibrium or strategic stalemate. It depends on the transformation of our guerilla zones into base areas, creation of more guerilla zones and red resistance areas across the country, the development of our PLGA. With the ever-intensifying crisis in all spheres due to the anti-people policies of pro-imperialist, pro-feudal governments, the growing frustration and anger of the masses resulting from the most rapacious policies of loot and plunder pursued by the reactionary ruling classes, we are confident that the vast masses of the country will join the ranks of revolutionaries and take the Indian revolution to the next stage.

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/we-shall-certainly-defeat-the-government

[boiler]

“We Shall Certainly Defeat the Government”

Somewhere in the impregnable jungles of Dandakaranya, the supreme commander of CPI (Maoist) spoke to Open on issues ranging from the Government’s proposed anti-Naxal offensive to Islamist Jihadist movements

At first sight, Mupalla Laxman Rao, who is about to turn 60, looks like a school teacher. In fact, he was one in the early 1970s in Andhra Pradesh’s Karimnagar district. In 2009, however, the bespectacled, soft-spoken figure is India’s Most Wanted Man. He runs one of the world’s largest Left insurgencies—a man known in Home Ministry dossiers as Ganapathi; a man whose writ runs large through 15 states. The supreme commander of CPI (Maoist) is a science graduate and holds a B Ed degree as well. He still conducts classes, but now they are on guerilla warfare for other senior Maoists. He replaced the founder of the People’s War Group, Kondapalli Seetharaamiah, as the party’s general-secretary in 1991. Ganapathi is known to change his location frequently, and intelligence reports say he has been spotted in cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata and Kochi. After months of attempts, Ganapathi agreed to give his first-ever interview. Somewhere in the impregnable jungles of Dandakaranya, he spoke to RAHUL PANDITA on issues ranging from the Government’s proposed anti-Naxal offensive to Islamist Jihadist movements.

Q Lalgarh has been described as the New Naxalbari by the CPI (Maoist). How has it become so significant for you?

A The Lalgarh mass uprising has, no doubt, raised new hopes among the oppressed people and the entire revolutionary camp in West Bengal. It has great positive impact not only on the people of West Bengal but also on the people all over the country. It has emerged as a new model of mass movement in the country. We had seen similar types of movements earlier in Manipur, directed against Army atrocities and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in Kashmir, in Dandakaranya and to some extent in Orissa, after the Kalinganagar massacre perpetrated by the Naveen Patnaik government.

Then there have been mass movements in Singur and Nandigram but there the role of a section of the ruling classes is also significant. These movements were utilised by the ruling class parties for their own electoral interests. But Lalgarh is a more widespread and more sustained mass political movement that has spurned the leadership of all the parliamentary political parties, thereby rendering them completely irrelevant. The people of Lalgarh had even boycotted the recent Lok Sabha polls, thereby unequivocally demonstrating their anger and frustration with all the reactionary ruling class parties. Lalgarh also has some distinctive features such as a high degree of participation of women, a genuinely democratic character and a wider mobilisation of Adivasis. No wonder, it has become a rallying point for the revolutionary-democratic forces in West Bengal.

Q If it is a people’s movement, how did Maoists get involved in Lalgarh?

A As far as our party’s role is concerned, we have been working in Paschim Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia, in what is popularly known as Jangalmahal since the 1980s. We fought against the local feudal forces, against the exploitation and oppression by the forest officials, contractors, unscrupulous usurers and the goondaism of both the CPM and Trinamool Congress. The ruling CPM, in particular, has become the chief exploiter and oppressor of the Adivasis of the region, and it has unleashed its notorious vigilanté gangs called Harmad Vahini on whoever questions its authority. With the State authority in its hands, and with the aid of the police, it is playing a role worse than that of the cruel landlords in other regions of the country.

Given this background, anyone who dares to fight against oppression and exploitation by the CPM can win the respect and confidence of the people. Since our party has been fighting uncompromisingly against the atrocities of the CPM goons, it naturally gained the confidence and respect of the people of the region.

The police atrocities in the wake of the landmine blast on 2 November [in 2008, from which West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had a narrow escape] acted as the trigger that brought the pent-up anger of the masses into the open. This assumed the form of a long-drawn mass movement, and our party played the role of a catalyst.

Q But not so long ago, the CPM was your friend. You even took arms and ammunition from it to fight the Trinamool Congress. This has been confirmed by a Politburo member of CPI (Maoist) in certain interviews. And now you are fighting the CPM with the help of the Trinamool. How did a friend turn into a foe and vice-versa?

A This is only partially true. We came to know earlier that some ammunition was taken by our local cadre from the CPM unit in the area. There was, however, no understanding with the leadership of the CPM in this regard. Our approach was to unite all sections of the oppressed masses at the lower levels against the goondaism and oppression of Trinamool goons in the area at that time. And since a section of the oppressed masses were in the fold of the CPM at that time, we fought together with them against Trinamool. Still, taking into consideration the overall situation in West Bengal, it was not a wise step to take arms and ammunition from the CPM even at the local level when the contradiction was basically between two sections of the reactionary ruling classes.

Our central committee discussed this, criticised the comrade responsible for taking such a decision, and directed the concerned comrades to stop this immediately. As regards taking ammunition from the Trinamool Congress, I remember that we had actually purchased it not directly from the Trinamool but from someone who had links with the Trinamool. There will never be any conditions or agreements with those selling us arms. That has been our understanding all along. As regards the said interview by our Politburo member, we will verify what he had actually said.

Q What are your tactics now in Lalgarh after the massive offensive by the Central and state forces?

A First of all, I wish to make it crystal clear that our party will spearhead and stand firmly by the side of the people of Lalgarh and entire Jangalmahal, and draw up tactics in accordance with the people’s interests and mandate. We shall spread the struggle against the State everywhere and strive to win over the broad masses to the side of the people’s cause. We shall fight the State offensive by mobilising the masses more militantly against the police, Harmad Vahini and CPM goons. The course of the development of the movement, of course, will depend on the level of consciousness and preparedness of the people of the region. The party will take this into consideration while formulating its tactics. The initiative of the masses will be released fully.

Q The Government has termed Lalgarh a ‘laboratory’ for anti-Naxal operations. Has your party also learnt any lessons from Lalgarh?

A Yes, our party too has a lot to learn from the masses of Lalgarh. Their upsurge was beyond our expectations. In fact, it was the common people, with the assistance of advanced elements influenced by revolutionary politics, who played a crucial role in the formulation of tactics. They formed their own organisation, put forth their charter of demands, worked out various novel forms of struggle, and stood steadfast in the struggle despite the brutal attacks by the police and the social-fascist Harmad gangs. The Lalgarh movement has the support of revolutionary and democratic forces not only in West Bengal but in the entire country. We are appealing to all revolutionary and democratic forces in the country to unite to fight back the fascist offensive by the Buddhadeb government in West Bengal and the UPA Government at the Centre. By building the broadest fighting front, and by adopting appropriate tactics of combining the militant mass political movement with armed resistance of the people and our PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army), we will defeat the massive offensive by the Central-state forces. I cannot say more than this at the present juncture.

Q The Centre has declared an all-out war against Maoists by branding the CPI (Maoist) a terrorist organisation and imposing an all-India ban on the party. How has it affected your party?

A Our party has already been banned in several states of India. By imposing the ban throughout the country, the Government now wants to curb all our open activities in West Bengal and a few other states where legal opportunities exist to some extent. The Government wants to use this draconian UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act] to harass whoever dares to raise a voice against fake encounters, rapes and other police atrocities on the people residing in Maoist-dominated regions. Anyone questioning the State’s brutalities will now be branded a terrorist.

The real terrorists and biggest threats to the country’s security are none other than Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, Buddhadeb, other ruling class leaders and feudal forces who terrorise the people on a daily basis.

The UPA Government had declared, as soon as it assumed power for the second time, that it would crush the Maoist ‘menace’ and began pouring in huge funds to the states for this purpose. The immediate reason behind this move is the pressure exerted by the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the imperialists, particularly US imperialists, who want to plunder the resources of our country without any hindrance. These sharks aspire to swallow the rich abundant mineral and forest wealth in the vast contiguous region stretching from Jangalmahal to north Andhra. This region is the wealthiest as well as the most underdeveloped part of our country. These sharks want to loot the wealth and drive the Adivasi people of the region to further impoverishment.

Another major reason for the current offensive by the ruling classes is the fear of the rapid growth of the Maoist movement and its increasing influence over a significant proportion of the Indian population. The Janatana Sarkars in Dandakaranya and the revolutionary people’s committees in Jharkhand, Orissa and parts of some other states have become new models of genuine people’s democracy and development. The rulers want to crush these new models of development and genuine democracy, as these are emerging as the real alternative before the people of the country at large.

Q The Home Ministry has made preparations for launching a long-term battle against Maoists. A huge force will be soon trying to wrest away areas from your control. How do you plan to confront this offensive?

A Successive governments in various states and the Centre have been hatching schemes over the years. But they could not achieve any significant success through their cruel offensive in spite of murdering hundreds of our leaders and cadres. Our party and our movement continued to consolidate and expand to new regions. From two or three states, the movement has now spread to over 15 states, giving jitters to the ruling classes. Particularly after the merger of the erstwhile MCCI and People’s War in September 2004 [the merger between these groups led to the formation of the CPI (Maoist)], the UPA Government has unleashed the most cruel all-round offensive against the Maoist movement. Yet our party continued to grow despite suffering some severe losses. In the past three years, in particular, our PLGA has achieved several significant victories.

We have been confronting the continuous offensive of the enemy with the support and active involvement of the masses. We shall confront the new offensive of the enemy by stepping up such heroic resistance and preparing the entire party, PLGA, the various revolutionary parties and organisations and the entire people. Although the enemy may achieve a few successes in the initial phase, we shall certainly overcome and defeat the Government offensive with the active mobilisation of the vast masses and the support of all the revolutionary and democratic forces in the country. No fascist regime or military dictator in history could succeed in suppressing forever the just and democratic struggles of the people through brute force, but were, on the contrary, swept away by the high tide of people’s resistance. People, who are the makers of history, will rise up like a tornado under our party’s leadership to wipe out the reactionary blood-sucking vampires ruling our country.

Q Why do you think the CPI (Maoist) suffered a serious setback in Andhra Pradesh?

A It was due to several mistakes on our part that we suffered a serious setback in most of Andhra Pradesh by 2006. At the same time, we should also look at the setback from another angle. In any protracted people’s war, there will be advances and retreats. If we look at the situation in Andhra Pradesh from this perspective, you will understand that what we did there is a kind of retreat. Confronted with a superior force, we chose to temporarily retreat our forces from some regions of Andhra Pradesh, extend and develop our bases in the surrounding regions and then hit back at the enemy.

Now even though we received a setback, it should be borne in mind that this setback is a temporary one. The objective conditions in which our revolution began in Andhra Pradesh have not undergone any basic change. This very fact continues to serve as the basis for the growth and intensification of our movement. Moreover, we now have a more consolidated mass base, a relatively better-trained people’s guerilla army and an all-India party with deep roots among the basic classes who comprise the backbone of our revolution. This is the reason why the reactionary rulers are unable to suppress our revolutionary war, which is now raging in several states in the country.

We had taken appropriate lessons from the setback suffered by our party in Andhra Pradesh and, based on these lessons, drew up tactics in other states. Hence we are able to fight back the cruel all-round offensive of the enemy effectively, inflict significant losses on the enemy, preserve our subjective forces, consolidate our party, develop a people’s liberation guerilla army, establish embryonic forms of new democratic people’s governments in some pockets, and take the people’s war to a higher stage. Hence we have an advantageous situation, overall, for reviving the movement in Andhra Pradesh. Our revolution advances wave-like and periods of ebb yield place to periods of high tide.

Q What are the reasons for the setback suffered by the LTTE in Sri Lanka?

A There is no doubt that the movement for a separate sovereign Tamil Eelam has suffered a severe setback with the defeat and considerable decimation of the LTTE. The Tamil people and the national liberation forces are now leaderless. However, the Tamil people at large continue to cherish nationalist aspirations for a separate Tamil homeland. The conditions that gave rise to the movement for Tamil Eelam, in the first place, prevail to this day. The Sinhala-chauvinist Sri Lankan ruling classes can never change their policy of discrimination against the Tamil nation, its culture, language, etcetera. The jingoistic rallies and celebrations organised by the government and Sinhala chauvinist parties all over Sri Lanka in the wake of Prabhakaran’s death and the defeat of the LTTE show the national hatred for Tamils nurtured by Sinhala organisations and the extent to which the minds of ordinary Sinhalese are poisoned with such chauvinist frenzy.

The conspiracy of the Sinhala ruling classes in occupying Tamil territories is similar to that of the Zionist rulers of Israel. The land-starved Sinhala people will now be settled in Tamil areas. The entire demography of the region is going to change. The ground remains fertile for the resurgence of the Tamil liberation struggle.

Even if it takes time, the war for a separate Tamil Eelam is certain to revive, taking lessons from the defeat of the LTTE. By adopting a proletarian outlook and ideology, adopting new tactics and building the broadest united front of all nationalist and democratic forces, it is possible to achieve the liberation of the oppressed Tamil nation [in Sri Lanka]. Maoist forces have to grow strong enough to provide leadership and give a correct direction and anti-imperialist orientation to this struggle to achieve a sovereign People’s Democratic Republic of Tamil Eelam. This alone can achieve the genuine liberation of the Tamil nation in Sri Lanka.

Q Is it true that you received military training from the LTTE initially?

A No. It is not a fact. We had clarified this several times in the past.

Q But, one of your senior commanders has told me that some senior cadre of the erstwhile PWG did receive arms training and other support from the LTTE.

A Let me reiterate, there is no relation at all between our party and the LTTE. We tried several times to establish relations with the LTTE but its leadership was reluctant to have a relationship with Maoists in India. Hence, there is no question of the LTTE giving training to us. In spite of it, we continued our support to the struggle for Tamil Eelam. However, a few persons who had separated from the LTTE came into our contact and we took their help in receiving initial training in the last quarter of the 1980s.

Q Does your party have links with Lashkar-e-Toiba or other Islamic militant groups having links with Pakistan?

A No. Not at all. This is only mischievous, calculated propaganda by the police officials, bureaucrats and leaders of the reactionary political parties to defame us and thereby justify their cruel offensive against the Maoist movement. By propagating the lie that our party has links with groups linked to Pakistan’s ISI, the reactionary rulers of our country want to prove that we too are terrorists and gain legitimacy for their brutal terror campaign against Maoists and the people in the areas of armed agrarian struggle. Trying to prove the involvement of a foreign hand in every just and democratic struggle, branding those fighting for the liberation of the oppressed as traitors to the country, is part of the psychological-war of the reactionary rulers.

Q What is your party’s stand regarding Islamist jihadist movements?

A Islamic jihadist movements of today are a product of imperialist—particularly US imperialist—aggression, intervention, bullying, exploitation and suppression of the oil-rich Islamic and Arab countries of West Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, etcetera, and the persecution of the entire Muslim religious community. As part of their designs for global hegemony, the imperialists, particularly US imperialists, have encouraged and endorsed every war of brazen aggression and brutal attacks by their surrogate state of Israel.

Our party unequivocally opposes every attack on Arab and Muslim countries and the Muslim community at large in the name of ‘war on global terror’. In fact, Muslim religious fundamentalism is encouraged and fostered by imperialists as long as it serves their interests—such as in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, and Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan.

Q But what about attacks perpetrated by the so-called ‘Jihadis’ on innocent people like it happened on 26/11?

A See, Islamic jihadist movements have two aspects: one is their anti-imperialist aspect, and the other their reactionary aspect in social and cultural matters. Our party supports the struggle of Muslim countries and people against imperialism, while criticising and struggling against the reactionary ideology and social outlook of Muslim fundamentalism. It is only Maoist leadership that can provide correct anti-imperialist orientation and achieve class unity among Muslims as well as people of other religious persuasions. The influence of Muslim fundamentalist ideology and leadership will diminish as communist revolutionaries and other democratic-secular forces increase their ideological influence over the Muslim masses. As communist revolutionaries, we always strive to reduce the influence of the obscurantist reactionary ideology and outlook of the mullahs and maulvis on the Muslim masses, while uniting with all those fighting against the common enemy of the world people—that is, imperialism, particularly American imperialism.

Q How do you look at the changes in US policy after Barack Obama took over from George Bush?

A Firstly, one would be living in a fool’s paradise if one imagines that there is going to be any qualitative change in American policy—whether internal or external—after Barack Obama took over from George Bush. In fact, the policies on national security and foreign affairs pursued by Obama over the past eight months have shown the essential continuity with those of his predecessor. The ideological and political justification for these regressive policies at home and aggressive policies abroad is the same trash put forth by the Bush administration—the so-called ‘global war on terror’, based on outright lies and slander. Worse still, the policies have become even more aggressive under Obama with his planned expansion of the US-led war of aggression in Afghanistan into the territory of Pakistan. The hands of this new killer-in-chief of the pack of imperialist wolves are already stained with the blood of hundreds of women and children who are cruelly murdered in relentless missile attacks from Predator drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, within the US itself, bail-outs for the tiny corporate elite and attacks on democratic and human rights of US citizens continue without any change.

The oppressed people and nations of the world are now confronting an even more formidable and dangerous enemy in the form of an African-American president of the most powerful military machine and world gendarme. The world people should unite to wage a more relentless, more militant and more consistent struggle against the American marauders led by Barack Obama and pledge to defeat them to usher in a world of peace, stability and genuine democracy.

Q How do you look at the current developments in Nepal?

A As soon as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [CPN(M)] came to power in alliance with the comprador-feudal parties through the parliamentary route in Nepal, we had pointed out the grave danger of imperialist and Indian expansionist intervention in Nepal and how they would leave no stone unturned to overthrow the government led by CPN(M). As long as Prachanda did not defy the directives of the Indian Government, it was allowed to continue, but when it began to go against Indian hegemony, it was immediately pulled down. CPN-UML withdrew support to the Prachanda-led government upon the advice of American imperialists and Indian expansionists. We disagreed with the line of peaceful transition pursued by the UCPN(M) in the name of tactics. We decided to send an open letter to the UCPN(M). It was released in July 2009.

We made our party’s stand clear in the letter. We pointed out that the UCPN(M) chose to reform the existing State through an elected constituent assembly and a bourgeois democratic republic instead of adhering to the Marxist-Leninist understanding on the imperative to smash the old State and establish a proletarian State. This would have been the first step towards the goal of achieving socialism through the radical transformation of society and all oppressive class relations. It is indeed a great tragedy that the UCPN(M) has chosen to abandon the path of protracted people’s war and pursue a parliamentary path in spite of having de facto power in most of the countryside.

It is heartening to hear that a section of the leadership of the UCPN(M) has begun to struggle against the revisionist positions taken by Comrade Prachanda and others. Given the great revolutionary traditions of the UCPN(M), we hope that the inner-party struggle will repudiate the right opportunist line pursued by its leadership, give up revisionist stands and practices, and apply minds creatively to the concrete conditions of Nepal.

Q Of late, the party has suffered serious losses of party leadership at the central and state level. Besides, it is widely believed that some of the senior-most Maoist leaders, including you, have become quite old and suffer from serious illnesses, which is also cited as one of the reasons for the surrenders. What is the effect of the losses and surrenders on the movement? How are you dealing with problems arising out of old age and illnesses?

A (Smiles…) This type of propaganda is being carried out continuously, particularly by the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of the psychological war waged by intelligence officials and top police brass aimed at confusing and demoralising supporters of the Maoist movement. It is a fact that some of the party leaders at the central and state level could be described as senior citizens according to criteria used by the government, that is, those who have crossed the threshold of 60 years. You can start calling me too a senior citizen in a few months (smiles). But old age and ill-health have never been a serious problem in our party until now. You can see the ‘senior citizens’ in our party working for 16-18 hours a day and covering long distances on foot.As for surrenders, it is a big lie to say that old age and ill-health have been a reason for some of the surrenders.

When Lanka Papi Reddy, a former member of our central committee, surrendered in the beginning of last year, the media propagated that more surrenders of our party leaders will follow due to ill-health. The fact is that Papi Reddy surrendered due to his loss of political conviction and his petty-bourgeois false prestige and ego. Hence he was not prepared to face the party after he was demoted by the central committee for his anarchic behaviour with a woman comrade.

Some senior leaders of our party, like comrades Sushil Roy and Narayan Sanyal, had become a nightmare for the ruling classes even when they were in their mid 60s. Hence they were arrested, tortured and imprisoned despite their old age and ill-health. The Government is doing everything possible to prevent them from getting bail. Even if someone in our party is old, he/she continues to serve the revolution by doing whatever work possible. For instance, Comrade Niranjan Bose, who died recently at the age of 92, had been carrying out revolutionary propaganda until his martyrdom. The social fascist rulers were so scared of this nonagenarian Maoist revolutionary that they had even arrested him four years back. Such is the spirit of Maoist revolutionaries—and power of the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism which they hold high. When there are serious illnesses, or physical and mental limitations to perform normal work, such comrades are given suitable work.

Q But what about the arrests and elimination of some of your senior leadership? How do you intend to fill up such losses?

A Well, it is a fact that we lost some senior leaders at the state and central level in the past four or five years. Some leaders were secretly arrested and murdered in the most cowardly manner. Many other and state leaders were arrested and placed behind bars in the recent past in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and other states. The loss of leadership will have a grave impact on the party and Indian revolution as a whole. We are reviewing the reasons for the losses regularly and devising ways and means to prevent further losses. By adopting strictly secret methods of functioning and foolproof underground mechanisms, by enhancing our mass base, vigilance and local intelligence, smashing enemy intelligence networks and studying their plans and tactics, we hope to check further losses. At the same time, we are training and developing new revolutionary leadership at all levels to fill up the losses.

Q How do you sum up the present stage of war between your forces and those of the Indian State?

A Our war is in the stage of strategic defence. In some regions, we have an upper hand, while in others the enemy has the upper hand. Overall, our forces have been quite successful in carrying out a series of tactical counter-offensive operations against the enemy in our guerilla zones in the past few years.

It is true that our party has suffered some serious leadership losses, but we are able to inflict serious losses on the enemy too. In fact, in the past three years, the enemy forces suffered more casualties than we did. The enemy has been trying all means at their disposal to weaken, disrupt and crush our party and movement. They have tried covert agents and informers, poured in huge amounts of money to buy off weak elements in the revolutionary camp, and announced a series of rehabilitation packages and other material incentives to lure away people from the revolutionary camp. Thousands of crores of rupees have been sanctioned for police modernisation, training and for raising additional commando forces; for increasing Central forces; for training Central and state forces in counter-insurgency warfare; and for building roads, communication networks and other infrastructure for the rapid movement of their troops in our guerilla zones. The Indian State has set up armed vigilante groups and provided total support to the indescribable atrocities committed by these armed gangs on the people. Psychological warfare against Maoists was taken to unheard of levels.

Nevertheless, we continued to make greater advances, consolidated the party and the revolutionary people’s committees at various levels, strengthened the PLGA qualitatively and quantitatively, smashed the enemy’s intelligence network in several areas, effectively countered the dirty psychological-war waged by the enemy, and foiled the enemy’s all-out attempts to disrupt and smash our movement. The successes we had achieved in several tactical counter-offensive operations carried out across the country in recent days, the militant mass movements in several states, particularly against displacement and other burning issues of the people, initiatives taken by our revolutionary people’s governments in various spheres—all these have had a great impact on the people, while demoralising enemy forces. There are reports of desertions and disobedience of orders by the jawans posted in Maoist-dominated areas. Quite a few have refused to undertake training in jungle warfare or take postings in our areas, and had to face suspension. This trend will grow with the further advance of our people’s war. Overall, our party’s influence has grown stronger and it has now come to be recognised as the only genuine alternative before the people.

Q How long will this stage of strategic defence last, with the Centre ready to go for the jugular?

A The present stage of strategic defence will last for some more time. It is difficult to predict how long it will take to pass this stage and go to the stage of strategic equilibrium or strategic stalemate. It depends on the transformation of our guerilla zones into base areas, creation of more guerilla zones and red resistance areas across the country, the development of our PLGA. With the ever-intensifying crisis in all spheres due to the anti-people policies of pro-imperialist, pro-feudal governments, the growing frustration and anger of the masses resulting from the most rapacious policies of loot and plunder pursued by the reactionary ruling classes, we are confident that the vast masses of the country will join the ranks of revolutionaries and take the Indian revolution to the next stage.

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/we-shall-certainly-defeat-the-government

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Boycott Army recruitment rallies: CPI (Maoist)

RAIPUR: Outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) gave a call to youth to boycott Army recruitment rallies, claiming their efforts were on to make Chhattisgarh military and Air Force bases. In a message circulated to media, CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Uday said governments are deploying police and para-military forces to unleash terror for implementing memorandum of understanding (MoUs) signed with corporate giants. In order to suppress the people’s movement, ruling classes are trying to convert Chhattisgarh into a military zone, he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Boycott-Army-recruitment-rallies-CPI-Maoist/articleshow/27251743.cms

Maoist held from forest during police search operation

A Maoist, carrying a reward on his head, was arrested during a search operation in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, the police said here today. The Maoist was nabbed from the forests of Bardela village under Jangla police station limits last evening, a senior official said. A local police team on a combing operation in Jangla area, located around 450 kms away from state capital Raipur, reached the Bardela forest when they spotted a suspect fleeing, after which he was chased and arrested, the official said.

The arrested Maoist was identified as Lekam Aaytu (35), self styled vice-chief of Jantana Sarkar Maoist organisation in Tungali area, he said. He was allegedly involved in several incidents of arson, attempt to murder and other offences, he said, adding he carried a reward of Rs 10,000 on his head. The arrested Maoist is being interrogated, he said.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/maoist-held-from-forest-during-police-search-operation-113121300653_1.html

Special Judicial officer appointed for trying top Maoist

A Special Judicial Officer was today appointed on the direction of Governor for speedy trial in cases against top jailed Maoist Ajay Kanu for whose release the ultras had enacted jail break in Jehanabad eight years ago. Mohammad Salim was appointed as Special Judicial Officer for trial of all cases against Kanu in the Beur jail here where he is lodged at present, district court sources said. The Governor’s order for appointment of the special judicial came in the wake of a direction of the Patna High Court, the sources said. So far, the top Maoist is being tried in six cases in Patna, Jehanabad and Gaya.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/special-judicial-officer-appointed-for-trying-top-maoist-113121300683_1.html

Maoists Abduct 7 Villagers

Maoists abducted seven villagers including a ward member in Ramaguda and Chintalwada under Kalimela police limits on suspicion of being police informers on Wednesday. The ward member, Tulasi Behera, was kidnapped from Chintalwada village while Budra Sodi, Budra Padiami, Deba Padiami, Suba Khara, Rama Behera and Jaga Madkami were taken away from Ramaguda. Sources said a group of Maoists came to Chintalwada first and then went to Ramaguda and asked the seven villagers at gun-point to follow them.

Panic gripped the people of two villages following the incident. Police are yet to know the whereabouts of the abducted villagers. Of late, Maoists have been targeting the villagers on the suspicion that they may be sharing information about Maoist movement with police. The Maoists had kidnapped three persons including Padia Madi, son of a village sarpanch of Gamphakunda, on December 4. One of them escaped next day, while the other two were released on December 7.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-Abduct-7-Villagers/2013/12/13/article1942838.ece
Source: http://www.signalfire.org/?p=26264

[boiler]

Peoples War in India Clippings 15/12/2013

Manipur Maoist calls general strike from December 21

IMPHAL, December 14: Unless food grains are provided to the people under the Public Distribution System (Food Security Act) under the Food and Civil Supplies bby December 20, the Maoist Communist Party, Manipur is all set to announce a 12 hour general strike on November 21. Conveying it in a press release, the Manipur Maoist mentioned that December-January used to be a prosperous time in the past. Now there is no such prosperity, it observed. It is also observed that distributions of PDS items are not witnessed in the hill districts of Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Churchandpur, Sadar Hills, Chandel and Senapati.

Further mentioning in this regard, it is further said that the distribution of PDS items was done in the past few months due the pressure from the people, but it has been stopped now as the pressures withers. The Manipur Maoist is now ready to take it up along with pressuring for the provision of health care at minimum rate at the health institutes including RIMS, it said. The general strike will be called off if the said condition is fulfilled before the deadline but in case the condition is not fulfilled, then the general strike must be imposed at any cost, it warned.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/12/manipur-maoist-calls-general-strike-from-december-21/

Asaram’s Aurangabad ashram under Naxal attack threat

After routinely targeting security forces and the railways, Maoists in Bihar’s Aurangabad district on Sunday threatened to attack the ashram of Asaram Bapu, jailed controversial spiritual leader charged with rape, police said. A district police official said a group of armed Maoists ransacked the wire fencing of Asaram’s ashram, and hoisted red flags within the premises two days ago. “The threat from the Maoists is clear. They have demanded that the ashram be shifted out of the town. If it does not shift, it could be attacked,” police officials said. Many other ashrams in the state too have felt ripples of fear and panic, ever since the threat by the Maoists.

“We live in fear. The diktat of the Maoists carries more weight here than that of security people,” said a staff member of the ashram in Aurangabad to IANS on phone, on condition of anonymity. Aurangabad, considered a stronghold of the Maoists, is one of the districts worst-affected by violence in Bihar. District administration has beefed up security for the ashram in view of the threat. There are over a dozen Asaram Bapu ashrams in Bihar. Asaram Bapu, 72, is currently under trial in a case relating to sexual assault of a minor girl. He is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/asarams-aurangabad-ashram-under-naxal-attack-threat/439743-3-232.html

Four, including PSO, injured in Naxal blast

NAGPUR: Naxal violence returned to Gadchiroli after a lull on Saturday when four district police personnel, including police outpost in-charge of Halwada in Etapalli tehsil, were injured in a blast triggered by the rebels. The four did not receive shrapnel injuries and escaped with burns.

The incident is being viewed as a well-planned move to make an impact during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur. The explosion is learnt to have taken place at a time when the jawans from the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) had nearly diffused the landmine. Sub-inspector VB Chavan, an officer of the 2011 batch, is among the injured along with constables Manoj Bhoyar, Kirtidar Kunghadkar and Mangesh Dhamande. While Chavan is posted as police station in-charge of Halewada outpost, the rest three are part of BDDS team of Aheri headquarters.

The injured have been shifted to Kunal Hospital in Nagpur where Deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam rushed to ensure the treatment of the injured jawans. The doctors have claimed the personnel to be out of danger. The BDDS from Aheri was summoned to Halewada after local police from the outpost were informed about two mines at a distance of around 200 meters from each other. One of the mines was planted within 200 metres of the outpost. It was learnt that another mine was planed outside the village at a spot which police often use as their strategic location.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Four-including-PSO-injured-in-Naxal-blast/articleshow/27393383.cms


Varavara: Will move against ‘fake encounter’ of Kishenji

Poet and Maoist sympathiser P Varavara Rao said they would move court against the “fake encounter” of Kishenji, just like they had done in the case of Naxalite leader Azad. “We are waiting for the forensic reports in the case which are yet to arrive. Once they will arrive, we will move court in Kishenji’s case as well,” he said on the sidelines of the second conference of Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP).

He said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to power with the promise that all political prisoners would be freed but she has failed to keep that promise. “Now we see that the doctor who had treated Kishenji had been arrested. Nobody is a Naxalite or a terrorist for a doctor. For a doctor, they are all patients. If he had treated Kishenji as a patient, how is that a crime?” he said. “She (Mamata) is ruling like a fascist, just like it was during the Left Front term.” CRPP president SAR Geelani spoke likewise. “When we talk about political prisoners, we don’t talk about a particular region. We talk about prisoners throughout the world. Anybody who works for the betterment of society, no matter what means he or she uses, and if that person is caught and put behind bars for his political ideas or struggle, he or she is a political prisoner,” he said.

Members of the group said that as against official papers that said there were 65 political prisoners, there are at least 270 political prisoners in the state. “The present government came to power with this aim and promise that they will release all. They have not kept their word, in fact, there are more political prisoners now,” Geelani said. Referring to the recent amendment to the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992, he said, “The amendment is deceiving people.” CRPP vice-president Sujato Bhadro said that in spite of an interim report placed in December 2011 and a full report in 2012 by the review committee on political prisoners, no step has been taken by Mamata for the release of political prisoners. “There are 40 SIMI activists, 60 others convicted, 14,00 GMM activists about whom the government is not making its stand clear,” Bhadro said and added that if political prisoners, including Chhatradhar Mahato, were released, true peace would return to Junglemahals.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varavara-will-move-against–fake-encounter–of-kishenji/1207842/0

Maoists regrouping in Bengal: Varavara

KOLKATA: People’s movement led by Maoists in Jangalmahal area in West Bengal is gaining ground once again after CPI (Maoist) military strategist Koteswara Rao’s death, said Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao on Saturday. In Kolkata to attend the second conference of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, the poet and activist accused the government of not keeping the promise of releasing political prisoners after assuming power. “Certainly there will be resurgence of people’s movement in West Bengal led by Maoist groups. They will regroup themselves. I am already seeing signs of that,’ he said. Drawing a parallel with the YSR government in Andhra Pradesh, Varavara came down heavily upon the Mamata Banerjee government. “Opposing Operation Green Hunt was Mamata Banerjee’s pretension to come to power. It happened in a similar way in AP. Mamata exploited the situation in the same way YSR in Andhra exploited it.

She dislodged the CPM government from the state but the situation has gone from bad to worse,” Rao said. In a recent article titled ‘Killing of Kishanji and Peace Talks’, Rao has written that while the late YSR Reddy took some measures conducive to talks like calling back Greyhounds from combing operations and stopping encounter killings, Mamata Banerjee has not shown any inclination to withdraw the joint forces. “Instead she declared that she would arm ten thousand adivasis to fight Maoists in Jangalmahal,” he wrote. “I came here after Kishanji was killed. For the last two years it was difficult for me to come as there was no solidarity of the different wings active here,” he said. Criticizing the government’s tendency to brand any dissenting voice as Maoist, he said that a few days ago, Samir Biswas, the doctor who treated Kishanji, was arrested for being a Maoist.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-regrouping-in-Bengal-Varavara/articleshow/27390067.cms

‘Four Maoists held in East Champaran

MOTIHARI: The police, on a tip-off, arrested four Maoists including Baidyanath Paswan alias Baidya on Friday night at Pachpakari near Dhaka in East Champaran district and recovered threatening letters for levy, Maoist literature, cellphones and cash from their possession. According to police sources, the arrested Baidyanath is a native of Sheohar district and presently in-charge of levy collection under Pakaridayal sub-division of the district. The other three Maoists, who are being interrogated, belong to Patahi police station. ASP Sanjay Kumar Singh said that on December 6, too, four Maoists were arrested with the collected levy amount of Rs 5 lakh and the police have got vital clues from the documents recovered from the Maoists.

The police swung into action after it acquired confidential information that Baidyanath Paswan had reached Pachpakari with his associates to collect levy from some persons. However, one Maoist escaped from the scene. The police have launched combing operation under Sikrahna and Pakaridayal sub-divisions of the district to arrest him. According to police sources, Baidyanath Paswan was wanted in 14 cases of violence, loot, arson and extortion in East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts and was evading arrest for long. The police of these districts have been asked to interrogate him.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Four-Maoists-held-in-East-Champaran/articleshow/27377890.cms


Red zone hots up over land

Aurangabad, Dec. 14: The recent spurt in Maoist attacks in this rebel hotbed of south Bihar has its roots in the struggle for control over land in the region. Buoyed by the improving law and order conditions, landowners have been making quiet efforts to reclaim their farmland that have captured under the “economic blockade” programme of the Naxalites for over two decades. The Maoists, in turn, are intensifying their drive to keep their “writ” intact on the lands.

Locked in a fierce war with the landowners through much of the 1980s and 1990s, the Naxalites imposed what they termed an “economic blockade” on the landowners’ farmlands. It effectively meant dispossessing the actual owners from the lands, often at gunpoint, and letting their supporters or cadres to cultivate them as their own. The police in those years of the bloody battle earned the wrath of the Maoists for they invariably sided with the landlords. With the Nitish Kumar government generating confidence among the people by restoring the “rule of law”, the landowners gained in confidence to reclaim the farmland caught in the “economic blockade” for decades.

The CPI(Maoist), according to insiders in the rebel outfit, has put in place a “well-planned” mechanism to strike at the security forces who are lending giving confidence to landowners to regain their “legitimate” claim over their plots. “The economic blockade was like a time bomb ticking for years. It is now exploding,” said a CPI(Maoist) leader. He said the landlords had “unlawfully” acquired far more land than the ceiling in the hinterland, keeping the Dalits and the lower strata of society landless for centuries. “We had actually enforced justice by dispossessing the landlords who were enjoying prosperity over their ceiling surplus lands and distributed them among the landless people,” the rebel leader said.

It is as hard to officially justify the claim of the Maoists as to assess the quantum of land lying under the economic blockade. But the officials dealing with land-related issues estimated that at least 200 acres of farmland in Goh, Nabinagar, Kudumba, Dev, Madanpur and Rafiganj — all rebel-dominated blocks in Aurangabad district — have been captured by the Maoists. “Goh alone has over 30 acres of farmland under the economic blockade for two-and-a-half decades,” a block official told The Telegraph. Security sources said the Maoists had adopted two-pronged strategies — on one hand, they are “terrorising” the upper and middle level farmers against any “thought” of going back to their land, and on the other, they are targeting police personnel with alarming regularity to send the message that their lives were at the mercy of the Naxalites. The Maoists have carried out three major attacks on police personnel in the past five months, claiming the lives of at least 11 security personnel, including a station house officer.

The last two strikes — one in Nabinagar and another in Obra — were more ferocious in nature. The latest spell of Maoist raids has altogether cost 20 lives. Panic has gripped Aurangabad district, particularly the areas where armed guerrillas in uniform are seen moving freely. The fear among the men-in-uniform can be gauged from the fact that they prefer to move in private and public vehicles instead of in police patrol cars. Travel in non-police vehicles is considered safe in the region as Maoists seldom target them. Maoist sources revealed they were simmering in anger against some big landowners who have started farming on agriculture land “confiscated” under the economic blockade programme.

This theory has found some sympathy in the state’s political class. Independent MLA from Obra, Som Prakash, said: “Obra in particular and Aurangabad district in general have been a saga of inequitable distribution of land, fostering inequality in society for centuries. The actual solution lies in equitable distribution of land rather than some sort of knee-jerk reaction.” Several places in Aurangabad district have, of late, witnessed skirmishes between rebels and landlords mustering muscle and courage to reclaim their farmland in Goh, Nabinagar, Obra and Madanpur blocks. Recently a landowner, Ram Niwas Singh (50) of Azan village, faced the wrath of the rebels. Hundreds of people armed with batons, spears, axes and hatchets invaded the eight-acre plot, which Ram Niwas tried to recapture with the help of the police. Ram Niwas and the police forces retreated in a hurry when they saw the rebels advancing menacingly. Similar was the saga of Ram Sagar Yadav (32) of Nizamatpur and Pramod Yadav (42) of Azan village.

They were forced to forfeit their ownership over 18 acres and 22 acres of land respectively. The Maoists seized the land under the “economic blockade” programme and distributed them among the landless people. The two farmers tried to regain control over their land on the “assurance” from the local police picket officials. Ram Sagar said that in July, the Maoists pasted pamphlets on his house commanding him not to set foot on the piece of land.

“They came to my house around midnight, pasted pamphlets and left after raising slogans. But they didn’t harm any member of the family,” he said, adding that the local policemen showed no urgency when informed about the episode. Some landowners under the cover of anonymity revealed that even Goh MLA Ran Vijay Singh has been a “victim” of economic blockade. “Not to speak of others, even a ruling party MLA has to bow before the firepower of the Naxalites. The MLA has been on good terms with some top ranking leaders of the outfit,” a farmer said, adding that the legislator managed to till a few acres of land after using his contacts with the Maoists and also with the help of the police. Ran Vijay Singh admitted that he facilitated setting up of a police picket at his native village.

He also conceded that his agriculture land in his ancestral village had been “captured” by the Naxalites. Talks with a cross-section of the people revealed that the recent Maoist attacks were aimed at creating panic among the general masses. “Before July, the Maoists were defensive after the police arrested several senior leaders,” they said. After July 2013, the Maoists stepped up their activities and carried out major operations to keep the influential farmers away from their native places so that they could not interfere into their affairs. Most of the big landlords of the district have shifted either to Patna or the district headquarters town of Aurangabad out of fear of Maoist reprisals, the residents said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131215/jsp/frontpage/story_17669918.jsp#.Uq3RRJIsI8M

http://www.signalfire.org/

[boiler]

Peoples War in India Clippings 15/12/2013

Manipur Maoist calls general strike from December 21

IMPHAL, December 14: Unless food grains are provided to the people under the Public Distribution System (Food Security Act) under the Food and Civil Supplies bby December 20, the Maoist Communist Party, Manipur is all set to announce a 12 hour general strike on November 21. Conveying it in a press release, the Manipur Maoist mentioned that December-January used to be a prosperous time in the past. Now there is no such prosperity, it observed. It is also observed that distributions of PDS items are not witnessed in the hill districts of Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Churchandpur, Sadar Hills, Chandel and Senapati.

Further mentioning in this regard, it is further said that the distribution of PDS items was done in the past few months due the pressure from the people, but it has been stopped now as the pressures withers. The Manipur Maoist is now ready to take it up along with pressuring for the provision of health care at minimum rate at the health institutes including RIMS, it said. The general strike will be called off if the said condition is fulfilled before the deadline but in case the condition is not fulfilled, then the general strike must be imposed at any cost, it warned.

http://kanglaonline.com/2013/12/manipur-maoist-calls-general-strike-from-december-21/

Asaram’s Aurangabad ashram under Naxal attack threat

After routinely targeting security forces and the railways, Maoists in Bihar’s Aurangabad district on Sunday threatened to attack the ashram of Asaram Bapu, jailed controversial spiritual leader charged with rape, police said. A district police official said a group of armed Maoists ransacked the wire fencing of Asaram’s ashram, and hoisted red flags within the premises two days ago. “The threat from the Maoists is clear. They have demanded that the ashram be shifted out of the town. If it does not shift, it could be attacked,” police officials said. Many other ashrams in the state too have felt ripples of fear and panic, ever since the threat by the Maoists.

“We live in fear. The diktat of the Maoists carries more weight here than that of security people,” said a staff member of the ashram in Aurangabad to IANS on phone, on condition of anonymity. Aurangabad, considered a stronghold of the Maoists, is one of the districts worst-affected by violence in Bihar. District administration has beefed up security for the ashram in view of the threat. There are over a dozen Asaram Bapu ashrams in Bihar. Asaram Bapu, 72, is currently under trial in a case relating to sexual assault of a minor girl. He is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/asarams-aurangabad-ashram-under-naxal-attack-threat/439743-3-232.html

Four, including PSO, injured in Naxal blast

NAGPUR: Naxal violence returned to Gadchiroli after a lull on Saturday when four district police personnel, including police outpost in-charge of Halwada in Etapalli tehsil, were injured in a blast triggered by the rebels. The four did not receive shrapnel injuries and escaped with burns.

The incident is being viewed as a well-planned move to make an impact during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur. The explosion is learnt to have taken place at a time when the jawans from the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) had nearly diffused the landmine. Sub-inspector VB Chavan, an officer of the 2011 batch, is among the injured along with constables Manoj Bhoyar, Kirtidar Kunghadkar and Mangesh Dhamande. While Chavan is posted as police station in-charge of Halewada outpost, the rest three are part of BDDS team of Aheri headquarters.

The injured have been shifted to Kunal Hospital in Nagpur where Deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam rushed to ensure the treatment of the injured jawans. The doctors have claimed the personnel to be out of danger. The BDDS from Aheri was summoned to Halewada after local police from the outpost were informed about two mines at a distance of around 200 meters from each other. One of the mines was planted within 200 metres of the outpost. It was learnt that another mine was planed outside the village at a spot which police often use as their strategic location.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Four-including-PSO-injured-in-Naxal-blast/articleshow/27393383.cms


Varavara: Will move against ‘fake encounter’ of Kishenji

Poet and Maoist sympathiser P Varavara Rao said they would move court against the “fake encounter” of Kishenji, just like they had done in the case of Naxalite leader Azad. “We are waiting for the forensic reports in the case which are yet to arrive. Once they will arrive, we will move court in Kishenji’s case as well,” he said on the sidelines of the second conference of Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP).

He said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to power with the promise that all political prisoners would be freed but she has failed to keep that promise. “Now we see that the doctor who had treated Kishenji had been arrested. Nobody is a Naxalite or a terrorist for a doctor. For a doctor, they are all patients. If he had treated Kishenji as a patient, how is that a crime?” he said. “She (Mamata) is ruling like a fascist, just like it was during the Left Front term.” CRPP president SAR Geelani spoke likewise. “When we talk about political prisoners, we don’t talk about a particular region. We talk about prisoners throughout the world. Anybody who works for the betterment of society, no matter what means he or she uses, and if that person is caught and put behind bars for his political ideas or struggle, he or she is a political prisoner,” he said.

Members of the group said that as against official papers that said there were 65 political prisoners, there are at least 270 political prisoners in the state. “The present government came to power with this aim and promise that they will release all. They have not kept their word, in fact, there are more political prisoners now,” Geelani said. Referring to the recent amendment to the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992, he said, “The amendment is deceiving people.” CRPP vice-president Sujato Bhadro said that in spite of an interim report placed in December 2011 and a full report in 2012 by the review committee on political prisoners, no step has been taken by Mamata for the release of political prisoners. “There are 40 SIMI activists, 60 others convicted, 14,00 GMM activists about whom the government is not making its stand clear,” Bhadro said and added that if political prisoners, including Chhatradhar Mahato, were released, true peace would return to Junglemahals.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varavara-will-move-against–fake-encounter–of-kishenji/1207842/0

Maoists regrouping in Bengal: Varavara

KOLKATA: People’s movement led by Maoists in Jangalmahal area in West Bengal is gaining ground once again after CPI (Maoist) military strategist Koteswara Rao’s death, said Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao on Saturday. In Kolkata to attend the second conference of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, the poet and activist accused the government of not keeping the promise of releasing political prisoners after assuming power. “Certainly there will be resurgence of people’s movement in West Bengal led by Maoist groups. They will regroup themselves. I am already seeing signs of that,’ he said. Drawing a parallel with the YSR government in Andhra Pradesh, Varavara came down heavily upon the Mamata Banerjee government. “Opposing Operation Green Hunt was Mamata Banerjee’s pretension to come to power. It happened in a similar way in AP. Mamata exploited the situation in the same way YSR in Andhra exploited it.

She dislodged the CPM government from the state but the situation has gone from bad to worse,” Rao said. In a recent article titled ‘Killing of Kishanji and Peace Talks’, Rao has written that while the late YSR Reddy took some measures conducive to talks like calling back Greyhounds from combing operations and stopping encounter killings, Mamata Banerjee has not shown any inclination to withdraw the joint forces. “Instead she declared that she would arm ten thousand adivasis to fight Maoists in Jangalmahal,” he wrote. “I came here after Kishanji was killed. For the last two years it was difficult for me to come as there was no solidarity of the different wings active here,” he said. Criticizing the government’s tendency to brand any dissenting voice as Maoist, he said that a few days ago, Samir Biswas, the doctor who treated Kishanji, was arrested for being a Maoist.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-regrouping-in-Bengal-Varavara/articleshow/27390067.cms

‘Four Maoists held in East Champaran

MOTIHARI: The police, on a tip-off, arrested four Maoists including Baidyanath Paswan alias Baidya on Friday night at Pachpakari near Dhaka in East Champaran district and recovered threatening letters for levy, Maoist literature, cellphones and cash from their possession. According to police sources, the arrested Baidyanath is a native of Sheohar district and presently in-charge of levy collection under Pakaridayal sub-division of the district. The other three Maoists, who are being interrogated, belong to Patahi police station. ASP Sanjay Kumar Singh said that on December 6, too, four Maoists were arrested with the collected levy amount of Rs 5 lakh and the police have got vital clues from the documents recovered from the Maoists.

The police swung into action after it acquired confidential information that Baidyanath Paswan had reached Pachpakari with his associates to collect levy from some persons. However, one Maoist escaped from the scene. The police have launched combing operation under Sikrahna and Pakaridayal sub-divisions of the district to arrest him. According to police sources, Baidyanath Paswan was wanted in 14 cases of violence, loot, arson and extortion in East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts and was evading arrest for long. The police of these districts have been asked to interrogate him.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Four-Maoists-held-in-East-Champaran/articleshow/27377890.cms


Red zone hots up over land

Aurangabad, Dec. 14: The recent spurt in Maoist attacks in this rebel hotbed of south Bihar has its roots in the struggle for control over land in the region. Buoyed by the improving law and order conditions, landowners have been making quiet efforts to reclaim their farmland that have captured under the “economic blockade” programme of the Naxalites for over two decades. The Maoists, in turn, are intensifying their drive to keep their “writ” intact on the lands.

Locked in a fierce war with the landowners through much of the 1980s and 1990s, the Naxalites imposed what they termed an “economic blockade” on the landowners’ farmlands. It effectively meant dispossessing the actual owners from the lands, often at gunpoint, and letting their supporters or cadres to cultivate them as their own. The police in those years of the bloody battle earned the wrath of the Maoists for they invariably sided with the landlords. With the Nitish Kumar government generating confidence among the people by restoring the “rule of law”, the landowners gained in confidence to reclaim the farmland caught in the “economic blockade” for decades.

The CPI(Maoist), according to insiders in the rebel outfit, has put in place a “well-planned” mechanism to strike at the security forces who are lending giving confidence to landowners to regain their “legitimate” claim over their plots. “The economic blockade was like a time bomb ticking for years. It is now exploding,” said a CPI(Maoist) leader. He said the landlords had “unlawfully” acquired far more land than the ceiling in the hinterland, keeping the Dalits and the lower strata of society landless for centuries. “We had actually enforced justice by dispossessing the landlords who were enjoying prosperity over their ceiling surplus lands and distributed them among the landless people,” the rebel leader said.

It is as hard to officially justify the claim of the Maoists as to assess the quantum of land lying under the economic blockade. But the officials dealing with land-related issues estimated that at least 200 acres of farmland in Goh, Nabinagar, Kudumba, Dev, Madanpur and Rafiganj — all rebel-dominated blocks in Aurangabad district — have been captured by the Maoists. “Goh alone has over 30 acres of farmland under the economic blockade for two-and-a-half decades,” a block official told The Telegraph. Security sources said the Maoists had adopted two-pronged strategies — on one hand, they are “terrorising” the upper and middle level farmers against any “thought” of going back to their land, and on the other, they are targeting police personnel with alarming regularity to send the message that their lives were at the mercy of the Naxalites. The Maoists have carried out three major attacks on police personnel in the past five months, claiming the lives of at least 11 security personnel, including a station house officer.

The last two strikes — one in Nabinagar and another in Obra — were more ferocious in nature. The latest spell of Maoist raids has altogether cost 20 lives. Panic has gripped Aurangabad district, particularly the areas where armed guerrillas in uniform are seen moving freely. The fear among the men-in-uniform can be gauged from the fact that they prefer to move in private and public vehicles instead of in police patrol cars. Travel in non-police vehicles is considered safe in the region as Maoists seldom target them. Maoist sources revealed they were simmering in anger against some big landowners who have started farming on agriculture land “confiscated” under the economic blockade programme.

This theory has found some sympathy in the state’s political class. Independent MLA from Obra, Som Prakash, said: “Obra in particular and Aurangabad district in general have been a saga of inequitable distribution of land, fostering inequality in society for centuries. The actual solution lies in equitable distribution of land rather than some sort of knee-jerk reaction.” Several places in Aurangabad district have, of late, witnessed skirmishes between rebels and landlords mustering muscle and courage to reclaim their farmland in Goh, Nabinagar, Obra and Madanpur blocks. Recently a landowner, Ram Niwas Singh (50) of Azan village, faced the wrath of the rebels. Hundreds of people armed with batons, spears, axes and hatchets invaded the eight-acre plot, which Ram Niwas tried to recapture with the help of the police. Ram Niwas and the police forces retreated in a hurry when they saw the rebels advancing menacingly. Similar was the saga of Ram Sagar Yadav (32) of Nizamatpur and Pramod Yadav (42) of Azan village.

They were forced to forfeit their ownership over 18 acres and 22 acres of land respectively. The Maoists seized the land under the “economic blockade” programme and distributed them among the landless people. The two farmers tried to regain control over their land on the “assurance” from the local police picket officials. Ram Sagar said that in July, the Maoists pasted pamphlets on his house commanding him not to set foot on the piece of land.

“They came to my house around midnight, pasted pamphlets and left after raising slogans. But they didn’t harm any member of the family,” he said, adding that the local policemen showed no urgency when informed about the episode. Some landowners under the cover of anonymity revealed that even Goh MLA Ran Vijay Singh has been a “victim” of economic blockade. “Not to speak of others, even a ruling party MLA has to bow before the firepower of the Naxalites. The MLA has been on good terms with some top ranking leaders of the outfit,” a farmer said, adding that the legislator managed to till a few acres of land after using his contacts with the Maoists and also with the help of the police. Ran Vijay Singh admitted that he facilitated setting up of a police picket at his native village.

He also conceded that his agriculture land in his ancestral village had been “captured” by the Naxalites. Talks with a cross-section of the people revealed that the recent Maoist attacks were aimed at creating panic among the general masses. “Before July, the Maoists were defensive after the police arrested several senior leaders,” they said. After July 2013, the Maoists stepped up their activities and carried out major operations to keep the influential farmers away from their native places so that they could not interfere into their affairs. Most of the big landlords of the district have shifted either to Patna or the district headquarters town of Aurangabad out of fear of Maoist reprisals, the residents said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131215/jsp/frontpage/story_17669918.jsp#.Uq3RRJIsI8M

http://www.signalfire.org/

[boiler]

Maoists regrouping in Bengal

KOLKATA: People’s movement led by Maoists in Jangalmahal area in West Bengal is gaining ground once again after CPI (Maoist) military strategist Koteswara Rao’s death, said Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao on Saturday. In Kolkata to attend the second conference of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, the poet and activist accused the government of not keeping the promise of releasing political prisoners after assuming power.

“Certainly there will be resurgence of people’s movement in West Bengal led by Maoist groups. They will regroup themselves. I am already seeing signs of that,‘ he said.

Drawing a parallel with the YSR government in Andhra Pradesh, Varavara came down heavily upon the Mamata Banerjee government.

“Opposing Operation Green Hunt was Mamata Banerjee’s pretension to come to power. It happened in a similar way in AP. Mamata exploited the situation in the same way YSR in Andhra exploited it. She dislodged the CPM government from the state but the situation has gone from bad to worse,” Rao said.

In a recent article titled ‘Killing of Kishanji and Peace Talks’, Rao has written that while the late YSR Reddy took some measures conducive to talks like calling back Greyhounds from combing operations and stopping encounter killings, Mamata Banerjee has not shown any inclination to withdraw the joint forces. “Instead she declared that she would arm ten thousand adivasis to fight Maoists in Jangalmahal,” he wrote.

“I came here after Kishanji was killed. For the last two years it was difficult for me to come as there was no solidarity of the different wings active here,” he said. Criticizing the government’s tendency to brand any dissenting voice as Maoist, he said that a few days ago, Samir Biswas, the doctor who treated Kishanji, was arrested for being a Maoist.

MORE…

http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...l-varavara-rao

[boiler]

Maoists take responsibility for killing Bastar journalist

The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has claimed responsibility for killing senior Bastar journalist Sai Reddy (51). In a statement, the powerful South Regional Committee (SRC) of the Maoists has alleged that Mr. Reddy closely worked with the police to dislodge CPI-Maoist in south Bastar. “That is why the people have awarded death to Mr. Reddy,” the four-page statement said. However, the press release, signed by SRC secretary Ganesh Wike, also stated that the party is not averse to criticism and journalists writing against the CPI-Maoist. The local journalists of Bastar refuted the Maoist argument that Mr. Reddy was associated with the police.

The press release, dated December 10, was delivered to journalists on Tuesday night. Describing Mr. Reddy as a “reactionary journalist,” the release claimed that he helped the security forces strengthen their base in Maoist areas over last several years. He played an active role against the people’s movement in Basaguda and Usur areas over the last two decades, it claimed. It also alleged that he had worked closely with the police in the 1997 Jan Jagran Abhiyan (precursor to anti-Maoist, vigilante movement, Salwa Judum). The Maoists further claimed that Mr. Reddy played an active role in Salwa Judum after its formation.

“He introduced several young men of Basaguda to Salwa Judum and also played a key role to recruit Special Police Officers,” the release said while accusing Mr. Reddy of murder and arson. “He was active in establishing a spy network in the area,” said the SRC secretary.

The SRC is perhaps the strongest of the Maoist regional committees in the country with at least three administrative cum political divisions — south and west Bastar and Darbha — under its command. It has no less than four (out of 12) military companies and more than a dozen platoons reporting to divisions. The committee was earlier headed by Ramanna, the incumbent State secretary. SRC reports to the state committee of the region — Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee — and operates in the lower half of southern Chhattisgarh, adjacent areas of eastern Maharastra and Telangana.

Ganesh Wike, who signed the press release, is the chief of SRC. Thus an affirmation by Mr. Wike, claiming responsibility for killing Sai Reddy, cannot be seen as an average statement, feel observers. “The statement has to be connected to the highest decision making body — the Central Committee — if it is coming from SRC,” said a former Maoist leader of southern India, on condition of anonymity.

The Maoists, however, clarified that the party is not against journalists of Bastar. “It is not a policy of the party to assassinate journalists who would write against us. We do not encourage any policy to jeopardize the independence of the media … rather we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to write.”

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/maoists-take-responsibility-for-killing-bastar-journalist/article5476410.ece

[boiler]

Maoist Insurgency Spreads to Over 40% of India. Mass Poverty and Delhi’s Embrace of Corporate Neoliberalism Fuels Social Uprising

On May 25, 2013, Maoist insurgents in the Indian state of Chattisgarh wiped out almost the entire leadership of the Congress Party in that state by killing 28 of its members in an ambush. The Congress Party forms the central government in India, but is in opposition in Chattisgarh, which is ruled by the Hindu supremacist and fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

This attack followed an even more devastating one by the Maoists in April 2010 in the same state, which killed 76 paramilitary troops. Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party leader, was “aghast” at the Maoist assault on her party members, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the insurgents “the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country.”

The Maoist rebellion in India is 40 years old. It started in 1967 in the town of Naxalbari in West Bengal, because of which the guerrilla group is also known as Naxalites. The state suppressed the early Naxalites, but did not completely eliminate them. New Delhi seems unable to deal with the Maoists’ latest incarnation, which was created in 2004 with the birth of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) that united two major Maoist factions.

Since then, the insurgency has spread like wildfire over 40% of India’s land area, encompassing 20 of the country’s 28 states, including 223 districts (up from 55 in 2003) out of a total of 640. The seven most affected Indian states in terms of fatalities are Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh, in that order. These regions comprise the “Red Corridor.” About 10,000 people have been killed in the expanding civil war since 1980. The Maoists wield about 20,000 armed fighters and another 50,000 supporters. The Indian government complains that the insurgency has crippled economic activity in Central and Eastern India.

The long-term objective of the Maoists is the armed overthrow of the Indian state and the creation of a socialist-communist government. The Maoists term this a “democratic revolution, which would remain directed against imperialism, feudalism, and comprador bureaucratic capitalism.” The insurgents do not consider the Indian electoral system and governments to be democratic, but rather tools that benefit the landlord and capitalist classes.

The insurgency stems from the Indian government’s turn to neoliberal capitalism that began in 1991 and which has massively increased poverty and inequality in the country, especially to the detriment of farmers and Adivasis (Indigenous tribal Indians). At the same time, this economic strategy has enriched a small élite such as the Tata, Ambani, and Jindal families, which is why India is depicted by the Western mainstream press as an economic superpower, the poster child of globalization and successful capitalism.

Seven hundred and fifty million Indians, about 75% of the country’s population, live in poverty while the top 5% of Indian families hold 38% of total assets.

India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world, after the U.S. and China. According to the prominent Indian author and ecologist, Dr. Vandana Shiva,

“Four of the top billionaires of the world are now Indian, and I work at the other end of how they became billionaires because I work with the communities whose land is grabbed, city dwellers whose water bills or electricity bills jumped to ten times more. These few billionaires that have emerged, we never had this scale of billionaires — they now control one-third of the Indian economy, which means someone else lost their part of the economy. The Tatas and the Ambanis are using armed might. I think everything that happened in Latin America and Central America with the creation of Contras, the arming of society, dividing of society, is being tried in India.”

The Indian capitalist class, in league with Western multinational corporations and governments, is continuing the rapacious legacy of Western colonialism (the British ruled and exploited India for 200 years) by looting the country’s land and mineral resources to increase its wealth, while driving most of the population to destitution. As Dr. Shiva says, the Indian élite is using armed might to maximize its wealth, which is mainly the military might of the Indian state that has been thoroughly corrupted by neoliberalism both at the national and provincial levels.

The state has accelerated its grabbing of the mineral-rich land of the 84 million Adivasis (8% of the population) in India for iron and steel corporations including Tata, Jindal, Mittal and other companies. This has displaced and impoverished millions of Adivasis and driven them to join the Maoists, who claim to represent their grievances. The Adivasis, the original people of India, were among the poorest people in the country to begin with, being denied basic services by the Indian state with their land being stolen by New Delhi since 1947 when the country became independent. This thievery violates the Indian Constitution itself, which protects the land rights of Adivasis.

Adivasis have been surviving by subsistence farming and by scraping a living from forestry. But even these precarious means of livelihood are threatened by the Indian state’s and corporations’ growing confiscation of Adivasi lands since 1991, so the tribal people “risk losing everything they’ve ever known.” The Maoist war is a resource war over land and the enormous mineral wealth under it, but also a war for the very survival of the Adivasi people. Most of the fighters among the Maoists are Adivasis, although the leaders are not.

The Indian state’s response to the Maoist challenge has been to send 81,000 paramilitary troops into the affected areas in “Operation Greenhunt,” which, by attacking Adivasis, has only driven them further into the arms of the Maoists. There is a positive development component to the state response, too, but central and provincial governments in India are so corrupt that only about 10% of development funds trickle down to the people they are supposed to benefit. The face of government that Adivasis see is therefore usually one of wide-scale violence and corruption.

The state of Jharkhand in eastern India is a main focus of the insurgency. According to one observer, corruption is rampant in Jharkhand, which is turning away from electoral politics and “slipping into the hands of the Maoists.” During the last 12 years, not a single provincial government in Jharkhand has completed its term, and there have been eight of these during this period. India’s electricity generation is mainly dependent on coal, and Jharkhand, along with four other states in which the insurgency is strongest, accounts for 85% of India’s coal deposits. Jharkhand also contains the world’s biggest iron ore deposit.

The corrupt Jharkhand government has signed 42 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with various large iron and steel companies, including Tata, Jindal, Mittal, and Essar. The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), India’s top official investigating agency, has launched a probe into the giving of coal mines by the state to Jindal Steel and Power and other companies. Jindal has benefited greatly from a policy that gave away coal mines without auctions – a policy that may have cost the government $30 billion, according to the state auditor’s 2012 report. The CBI raided Jindal’s offices and the New Delhi residence of the chairman, Naveen Jindal, on June 11.

Adivasis make up 26% of Jharkhand’s population, and many depend on forests for their livelihood. These kinds of industrial projects have already ravaged the forests, and their increase will expand such damage. Jharkhand contains the Saranda forest, Asia’s largest sal tree sanctuary, for which the government has granted 19 mining licenses. Saranda is where the world’s biggest iron ore deposit is located. At present, there is one state-owned mine operating in Saranda.

“It’s the genocide of the Adivasis,” says Xavier Dias about the opening of Saranda to mining companies. Dias is spokesperson for the Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee (JMACC), the biggest alliance of Adivasi organizations affected by mining, and the editor of a newspaper dedicated to the communities impacted by mining. He has worked in support of the rights of Adivasi communities in Jharkhand for 30 years. Dias was jailed by the Jharkhand government for his activism in November 2012, on false charges. In June 2013, he won the court case that followed his arrest.

According to Indian journalist Sayantan Bera,

“Saranda is to eastern India what the Amazon rainforests are to the world. Its springs feed rivers like the Karo, the Baitarani, and the Sanjay. Extensive mining operations are killing these perennial streams. Wastewater from washaries of iron ore mines on the periphery has already contaminated the groundwater aquifers. Mine workers and residents in the periphery of Saranda are dying from liver disease caused by contaminated groundwater.”

State security forces have launched three major military operations in the Saranda forest, aimed at clearing the Maoist presence there for the mining companies. Says Indigenous activist Gladson Dungdung, convener of the Jharkhand Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, “The government has been helping in securing land, water, and minerals for the corporate giants through military operations.

“In Saranda in June, July, and August 2011, there were three massive operations: Operation Monsoon, Operation Bravo Boy, and Operation Anaconda. The security forces killed two Adivasis, raped several women, and tortured more than 500 Adivasis. They also disrupted the Adivasis food grain supply, destroyed the harvest, ate livestock, and destroyed all official identification papers of the Adivasis (ration cards, voter ID, land titles). The Adivasis were forced to leave their villages and they only returned after our intervention. The end result is that the the government gave mining leases to 19 mining companies in the region including Tata, Jindal, Mittal, Rungta Mines and others.”

Dias adds:

“Today Jharkhand is a fully militarized zone. There are over a hundred bases with a total of 50,000 official paramilitary troops involved in military action. There are Indian Army bases, too, but these are not involved in direct action yet. Aside from government paramilitary forces here, we also have the mining corporations’ security forces. The government claims that its troops are there to counter the Maoists, but in actuality it is the democratic movements such as people resisting land grabs or fighting police repression that are intimidated into silence. By creating this drastic panic among the people, the corporations are free to suck out the minerals and forest resources.”

Dias points out that

“Tata Iron & Steel Company’s iron ore mine lies in Noamundi, Jharkhand. It is one of their first mines in India, operational since 1907 and supplying ore to Tata’s furnace in Jamshedpur. This is the homeland of the Adivasi people of India, from whom resources were expropriated to convert the House of Tata from an opium trader to a full-fledged monopoly capitalist company, one of the first in British India.” Tata first became prominent by handling the opium trade for the British, who forced China to buy the drug which helped destroy both the Indian and Chinese economies. The opium plant was grown in India under British orders.

“The Adivasis of Jharkhand,” says Dias, “have centuries of history of struggle against the outside colonizer. The East India Company in June 1855 got the British Crown’s army to wage a war against them and, even with no firearms, they fought back. Today, their struggle is against the Indian monopoly capitalists and the state sector corporations. They are fighting for the right to self-determination within the Indian constitution, the right to a distinct culture, economy, and existence. It boils down to having the right to their land, their forests, and their water sources.”

As Gladson Dungdung explains,

“Today, we live in the corporate Indian state, not in a welfare state. The government makes all the laws and policies in favour of the corporate houses. For example, the Jharkhand government introduced the Industrial Policy of 2012, which clearly says that 25 kilometers of both sides of the four-lane road from Kodarma to Bahragora [towns in Jharkhand] will be handed over to the corporations as a Special Economic Zone. Where can people go from here? The state is simply not bothered about its people. See the example of [the state of] Chattisgarh, where 644 villages were forcibly vacated by Salwa Judum and handed over to corporations.”

In addition to paramilitary troops, the state has also used death squads known as Salwa Judum (SJ), meaning Purification Hunt, to spread a reign of terror and drive out Adivasis from villages for the benefit of companies — and on a massive scale, as Dungdung says. One of the Congress Party leaders killed by Maoists in Chattisgarh in May 2013 in the attack that eliminated 28 of them (see above) was Mahendra Karma, who created the Salwa Judum in 2005. Karma was stabbed 78 times by the Maoists and shot 15 times.



The Salwa Judum was responsible for displacing 300,000 Adivasis, killing, raping, and looting them and burning down their villages. Five hundred charges of murder, 103 of arson, and 99 of rape have been levelled by citizens against the Salwa Judum, but the Chattisgarh government has not investigated or processed a single case. According to Human Rights Watch,

“Since mid-2005, government security forces and members of the Salwa Judum have attacked villages, killed and raped villagers, and burned down huts to force people into government camps… The conflict has given rise to one of the largest internal displacement crises in India.”

Ironically, the SJ itself was made up of Adivasis, and Karma himself was Adivasi, too. The Indian Supreme Court declared the SJ illegal in 2011 and ordered the Chattisgarh government to disband it.

The Maoists have also killed civilians some of whom they claim were police informers. According to Dias, in Jharkhand, the insurgents attack Adivasi villages, extort money from mining companies, and protect the ones that are grabbing land from Adivasis. He says:

“No corporate boss has so far been killed by the Maoists. When the Maoists call a general strike, those companies that pay levies to them are allowed to function and the rest are attacked. I do not believe that a mining company can function here without paying levies to the Maoists. Jharkhand is the place from where Maoists finance their operations in other states, too.”

Gladson Dungdung is critical of the Maoists, too, saying that, “As far my knowledge and experience is concerned, they are not fighting for the Adivasis [in Jharkhand]. Instead, they have created more problems for the democratic people’s movement. It’s very easy for the government to call these democratic struggles Maoist and suppress them. I think the Maoists are part of the problem, not the solution.”

Xavier Dias, however, admits that “there are places where the Maoists are providing some good services to the Adivasis, such as Bastar [a town] in the state of Chattisgarh. He also does not think that the Maoists are corrupt, but considers them “misguided.” Dias does not see armed struggle as the way to solve India’s class and Adivasi problems.

Dayamani Barla, an Adivasi activist also based in Jharkhand, says that Adivasis support the Maoists. She points out that “New Delhi’s failure to protect the interests of the tribals has led them to lend their support to the Maoists, whom they believe are fighting for their basic rights.”

According to the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera, which has sent correspondents into Maoist-controlled areas in Jharkhand, in many of these places the insurgents

“have organized the Adivasis and taken up community projects to provide services the government doesn’t. In 2010, Al Jazeera visited one such village, Tholkobad in Jharkhand state, where, under the name of the ‘agrarian revolution,’ the Maoists were providing support to the villagers to improve farming methods. One village leader told Al Jazeera that the Maoists frequently visited their villages, and treated everyone equally.”

Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, author of the acclaimed book The God of Small Things which has sold six million copies worldwide, has also visited Maoist-controlled areas in Chattisgarh. She, too, commends the Maoists in her 2010 article “Walking with the Comrades.” Referring to the Adivasis’ and Maoists’ fight against the Indian Forest Department in the Dandakaranya area, she states: “Emboldened by the people’s participation in these struggles, the party decided to confront the forest department. It encouraged people to take over forest land and cultivate it.

“The forest department retaliated by burning new villages that came up in forest areas. In 1986, it announced a National Park in Bijapur, which meant the eviction of 60 villages. More than half of them had already been moved out, and construction of national park infrastructure had begun when the party moved in. It demolished the construction and stopped the eviction of the remaining villages. It prevented the forest department from entering the area. On a few occasions, officials were captured, tied to trees, and beaten by villagers. It was cathartic revenge for generations of exploitation. Eventually, the forest department fled. Between 1986 and 2000, the party redistributed 300,000 acres of forest land. Today, Comrade Venu says, there are no landless peasants in Dandakaranya.”

Asad Ismi is the CCPA Monitor’s international affairs correspondent and has written extensively on India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. His latest radio documentary Capitalism is the Crisis has been aired on 41 radio stations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe reaching an audience of more than 33 million people. For his publications visit www.asadismi.ws.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/maoist-insurgency-spreads-to-over-40-of-india-mass-poverty-and-delhis-embrace-of-corporate-neoliberalism-fuels-social-uprising/5362276

[boiler]

Naxals blow up bridge to counter anti-Naxal hunt

SEELERU (VISAKHAPATNAM): CPI Maoists blew up a bridge on the Poteru river in the wee hours of Saturday, snapping road connectivity between Kalimela and Padia in Odisha’s Malkangiri district bordering Visakhapatnam. The blast came on day one of the indefinite bandh that was called by the Reds in Koraput and Malkangiri districts of Odisha in protest against the central government’s decision to deploy huge forces in the Maoist infested areas. The government had announced that it would deploy 40,000 additional forces to intensify its anti-Naxal hunt.

According to sources, around 40 to 50 armed cadres triggered a land mine and destroyed the bridge as part of attempts to stall the movement of cops who are using the road as part of their combing operations.

In yet another incident, Reds conducted a famine raid by looting the house of special police officer (SPO) Laccha Madkami at Sangel village in Kalimela area on Friday night. Sources say that the Naxals warned the SPO to resign from the post or face dire consequences.

Malkangiri Divisional Committee Secretary of CPI (Maoist) Punam Chandar, in an audio tape released on Friday, said no vehicle will be allowed to ply on roads and all commercial and business establishments in both the districts will remain closed during the bandh. However, hospitals and medicine are exempted, Chandar added. The Maoist leader appealed to people to oppose the operation against innocent people in the name of Maoists.



MORE…

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Maoists-Call-Indefinite-Bandh/2013/12/28/article1969529.ece

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-12-29/visakhapatnam/45674413_1_naxals-blow-indefinite-bandh-raid-houses

[boiler]

Maoists call for T bandh tomorrow

The North Telangana special zonal committee of CPI (Maoists) has given a call for bandh in Telangana on January 3 expressing apprehensions over the death of Telangana Praja Front president Akula Bhoomaiah in a road accident in the city a few days ago. The committee, in a press release, raised several doubts about the fatal accident of Bhoomaiah, who was a prominent leader of the Democratic Teachers Federation, which was alleged to have links with extremists organisations, particularly the erstwhile People’s War Group. Some rights activists have also demanded that the government institute a judicial enquiry into the death as they suspected foul play.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/maoists-call-for-t-bandh-tomorrow/article5528729.ece

Gun-making unit of Maoists unearthed in Jharkhand

In what is being considered as a prize catch, security forces have for the first time unearthed a full-fledged gun-manufacturing unit run by the Maoists deep in the forests of Simdega district in Jharkhand. The factory is believed to have been set up two months ago and had lathe machines, which were procured from Kolkata — about 500 km away — and transported. The forces also found that the factory was being run on electricity from generator sets snatched from BSNL towers in the vicinity.

The discovery of this gun-manufacturing unit followed a sustained operation against the Maoists over the past one week by the security forces led by the CRPF in all the seven Maoist-affected states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Orissa. During this drive, security forces for the first time managed to comb new areas in Niyamgiri hills of Orissa that were always dominated by Maoists. The forces conducted 49 operations simultaneously in the affected states from December 26 to January 1, with the aim to destabilise the Maoist movement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in the next few months.

“We had never planned such an operation before and this was also done to bring all the forces involved in anti-Maoist operations on a common table. It was a concerted drive against the Maoist groups who take advantage of gaps in the inter-state boundaries. We also recovered a lot of literature, the attempt is to analyse each and every document,” said CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi. Intelligence agencies had come to know of the gun-manufacturing units being run by the Maoists for the first time in 2012, after the arrest of senior Maoist leader Sadanala Ramakrishna from Kolkata.

The rebels used to procure raw materials in parts and assemble them in the unit. During the operations last week, the forces recovered 1,900 gun-making items, machines and other equipment to make .303 pistols, rifles, IEDs and 900 grenades. Seventy-two IEDs were recovered from Khunti in Jharkhand. In Chhattisgarh, the drive saw eight encounters, in which two Maoists are said to have been killed.

“Of the 49 operations we conducted, at least 27 were planned on inter-state borders. The Maoists could not do much during the Assembly elections and their aim now is to disrupt the Lok Sabha elections. We want to puncture their efforts by conducting a series of operations so that they do not get the time to re-group. Earlier there were state-specific operations, this time we involved all the stakeholders,” said IG (operations), CRPF, Zulfiquar Hasan.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gunmaking-unit-of-maoists-unearthed-in-jharkhand/1214374/0

Maoists spread wings, flock to Kerala from other states

KOZHIKODE: Intensifying their efforts to carve out a new guerrilla zone in south India, Maoists have increased the number of their armed cadres operating on the Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. Sources said Maoist cadres from states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa have been deployed in Kerala as part of the effort. Local people in Malappuram had recently told police about spotting armed Maoists cadres, who spoke in some north Indian language. Maoists operating in Kerala, thus far, consisted mainly of cadres from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The number of members in Maoist squad was below 30 till last month.

Among these, police identified 10 persons, including two Malayalees. But there has been a steady increase in the number of armed guerrillas operating in Kerala over the past few weeks. Sources in police say the number has crossed 100 now. “We have information that Maoists from other states are coming to Kerala now. But their exact number is not immediately known,” a senior police officer said. Some of the Maoist leaders from Kerala were sent to the rebel strongholds in other parts of the country. Sinoj alias Ramesan, the Maoist from Thrissur who is leading the squads in Nilambur, had undergone guerrilla training in Jharkhand three years ago.

A group of Maoists from Kerala were sent to Lalgarh in West Bengal when the rebels were taking on the security forces during the uprising in 2009, to get trained in the basics of guerrilla warfare. Redeploying cadres from one place to another is a usual practice among Maoists. In the beginning of the 1980s, Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, the legendary Naxalite leader from Andhra Pradesh, had sent seven squads to Dandakaranya to develop the area into a guerrilla zone.

It was these cadres from Andhra Pradesh who did the ground work for converting the area into a guerrilla zone. The influx of well-trained and battle-hardened members of the Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the Maoists would be a real challenge for the security forces in the state. Unlike their counterparts in central India, the state police have not yet encountered the military might of the Maoists. Police are still clueless about the types of weapons in the possession of the Maoists and the strategy they may adopt here.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Maoists-spread-wings-flock-to-Kerala-from-other-states/articleshow/28265594.cms

Naxals kill police jawan in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Jan 2 (PTI) A police jawan was allegedly kidnapped and killed today by naxals in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. Assistant Constable Rup Singh Thakur (35), abducted last evening, was found dead in Matda village this morning, Bijapur Deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhnandan Rathore said. The jawan posted at Jangla police station limits was kidnapped by ultras while he was returning from his duty.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/4283394_Naxals-kill-police-jawan-in-Chhattisgarh-.html

Investigating officer of Naxal couriers case flooded with 20,000 letters claiming their innocence

The investigating officer (IO) of the cases pertaining to alleged Naxal couriers Hem Mishra and Prashant Rahi, who were arrested by Gadchiroli police in August-September last year, is finding himself flooded with a philatelic opportunity. He has so far received over 20,000 letters from all over the world declaring Mishra and Rahi “innocent activists” and pleading for their release. With the flood of letters still continuing at the rate of 40-50 every day, the harangued IO is now finding an opportunity to collect stamps of various countries. “Initially, it bothered me so much since I used to get 300-500 of them every day. Now, I am trying to get over it by comforting myself with the thought that it’s actually an opportunity for me to collect stamps of so many different countries,” IO Suhas Bawche told The Indian Express.

The letters have been coming in from almost all parts of the world, including Europe and USA, with the majority of mails, about 60 pc, being sent from The Netherlands. Some have also come from China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The flow has since been thinning out with only 40-50 letters coming daily now. “The contents are generally the same with little difference. The writers say the two are innocent and honest activists.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/investigating-officer-of-naxal-couriers-case-flooded-with-20000-letters-claiming-their-innocence/1214657/0

Two Maoists held in Bihar with arms and explosive

Security forces have arrested two hardcore naxalites with arms and explosives from a village in Bihar’s East Champaran district, a police officer said on Thursday. Acting on a tip off, the CRPF and the STF jointly raided a hideout in Gurania village yesterday and nabbed the Maoists duo, identified as Manoj Kumar Agrawal alias Agrawalji, and Baitha, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Operation, Sanjay Singh said.

Agrawal, a native of Salempur village in Sheohar district, was said to be a self-styled area commander of the proscribed CPI(Maoists), the ASP said, adding that Baitha hailed from Majirwa village in East Champaran district. Two country-made pistols, two live ammunition, two mobile phones, a detonator and naxal literature were recovered from the arrested ultras’ possession, the ASP said, adding that both were wanted in about half a dozen cases of naxal violence.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-maoists-held-in-bihar-with-arms-and-explosive/1214682/

Forces recover remote-controlled IED from Naxals

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The Naxals seem to have brought a paradigm shift in carrying out subversive activities as security forces have for the first time recovered a “unique” remote-controlled device to blow set off IEDs on their targets to cause maximum casualties. The device was recovered during a five-day offensive carried out in all Naxal-affected states beginning December 26 by CRPF in close coordination with BSF, ITBP and state police forces.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/4284754_Forces-recover-remote-controlled-IED-from-Naxals.html

Contractor held for aiding Naxalite

CHANDRAPUR: 24 sets of walkie-talkie were seized from the possession of a contractor who was nabbed by the Gadchiroli police while carrying a consignment to Naxalite on Tuesday. Contractor Dhananjay Padisalwar was caught red-handed with a box he was carrying for Naxalites on a bike in Rompalli jungle in Sironcha tehsil. While there were reports that Padisalwar was carrying arms and explosives for Naxalites, cops had kept the details of the recovered material under wraps. Police said the accused has confessed that he was carrying them to Naxalites. Padisalwar was produced before a court on Wednesday which remanded him to seven days of police custody.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Contractor-held-for-aiding-Naxalite/articleshow/28251796.cms

Arms seized from Maoist hideout in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jan 2 (IANS) Four locally-made guns were Thursday seized by police in a raid at a Maoist hideout in Odisha’s Koraput district, an official said. The Smooth Bore Muzzle Loading (SBML) guns were found in Siriguda forest in Narayan Patna area of the district, over 500 km from Bhubaneswar. Police raided the hideout on a tip-off, Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar told IANS.

[boiler]

It is a discovery which has shaken the security forces operating in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas of central India. Indications are that the insurgents may no longer remain confined to the rural regions, launching attacks using outdated modes.

A camp belonging to the splinter group of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) in Jharkhand’s Simdega district which was busted in the last week of December 2013, has revealed the presence of remote control and timer-based Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a first of sorts.

“It was a camp of the PLFI, which we see as a splinter group of the Maoists which was busted and what was revealed is indeed something new. They have utilized these devices recently in the district and around and it is a worrying trend.” He went on the state how the PLFI has utilized these devices for pursuing criminal ends and not to target security forces. “But with the discovery of such a capability, we can not rule out anything,” said Asim Minz, Superintendent of Police, Simdega, which lies the south eastern region of the state in proximity to West Bengal and Chhattisgarh,

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which, in an inter-state operation, stumbled upon this manufacturing unit has termed this discovery a success.

“This unit had the capability of manufacturing close to three hundred weapons. It also had lathe machines and generators which had been stolen from a BSNL tower. Additionally, we recovered close to 70-kg of explosive from there,” said Director General (DG) CRPF Dilip Trivedi.

Former Home Secretary RK Singh, reacting to this discovery, stated, “This was being anticipated. The insurgents have been attempting at upgrading their weaponry. What these remote-controlled and timer devices do is that they take away the need for deploying an individual, which has been their practice. It is a big challenge before our agencies to bust this enhancement especially the links that these insurgents have with underground groups in north eastern states.”

MORE... http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/exclusive-maoist-bust-shocks-security-set-up-reveals-quantum-jump-in-insurgentscapabilities/1/335342.html

[boiler]

Maoists at the gate: Intelligence reports reveal ultra-left groups have infiltrated Delhi's labour unions to incite violent protest

If you thought the Maoist uprising was confined to the faraway badlands of Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, you've got another think coming.
Ultra-left organisations are steadily infiltrating labour unions and workers' groups in Delhi and the National Capital Region, intelligence agencies say.
Information gathered by these agencies suggests that Delhi is emerging as a major urban base of ultra left ideology.

Front organisations of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) have let their members loose across the capital. Many of their members are said to be active in Delhi's satellite towns like Gurgaon and Ghaziabad.
Intelligence inputs indicate that the Maoists have the clearly defined objective of entering the workforce, becoming part of workers' associations, and motivating them to carry out violent protests.
One of the groups active in the national capital region is the Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Intelligence inputs indicate they have penetrated various social fora, trade unions and workers' groups as well as bodies working for social empowerment.
Intelligence agencies have information that RDF has told its fraternal organisations to participate and lead in any retaliation against violence by dominant social classes.
"This is not like AISA, the student body of the CPI(M-L). Their level of involvement is much higher; they are more like a Maoist overground," one Delhi-based intelligence official says.
An intelligence report says that the group has "resolved to launch a militant campaign against caste violence".
Of Delhi's 11 districts, seven have a strong ultra-left influence. They are Central, South, New Delhi, North-West, North, South-West and North- East. Sources say that the group has already developed a strong base in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
Intelligence inputs indicate activity by ultra-left groups in states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Sources say Maoist cadres from left-wing affected states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are being regularly sent to Delhi. The RDF is just one of such identified organisations.
"There are several frontal organisations of CPI(Maoist) that have penetrated into unions, workers groups' and organisations working in the social sector," says a source.
RECENT MAOIST ARRESTS IN DELHI
Sources say the ultra-left cadres work in layers. The modus operandi of the group is aimed at provoking violence, starting from distributing pamphlets, distributing material related to Maoist ideology, holding rallies, and finally penetrating protests and triggering more violence.
Anand Kumar, Professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University says such inputs cannot be dismissed out of hand but it is imperative to find reasons for this.
"There needs to be engagement between policy makers, intelligence agencies and social scientists. We need to know what a sufficient indicator for being ultra-left is," he says.
The Maoist strategy of creating urban bases in cities was uncovered in Delhi with the arrest of Kobad Ghandy in 2009 on charges of spreading the ultra-left influence.
The presence of ultra-left groups and their active participation came to the forefront when Intelligence Bureau gathered information that left-wing extremist groups had entered the Maruti workers' protests last year and instigated the workers to grievous violence.
There are intelligence inputs that ultra-left elements had even entered the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement as well as the public protests after the Delhi gang-rape case of December 16 last year.
"These were instances where they instigated the mob. They have a planned strategy and there are inputs that they continue to do this," said an intelligence officer.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2353935/Maoists-gate-Intelligence-reports-reveal-ultra-left-groups-infiltrated-Delhis-labour-unions-incite-violent-protest.html#ixzz2q2060L00
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[boiler]

Rio Tinto finds diamond reserves in Bastar, but says can’t mine due to Maoist problem

MULTINATIONAL companies have found early signs of substantial diamond reserves in the Maoist heartland of Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.
But the companies, such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, have decided to shift their gaze elsewhere after consulting the state government on how long it could take for the security operations against the Maoists to wind down.
“We had applied for a reconnaissance permit for the Bastar region, but the state government has asked us to explore other zones instead,” Nik Senapati, the India managing director of Rio Tinto, told The Indian Express.
The company’s application was based on aerial surveys which indicated there are diamond bearing deposits in the region. The Bastar region is geologically one of India’s three oldest zones, the other two being the Deccan Plateau and the Bundelkhand region.
Diamonds have been found in both regions — in the ancient Golkonda mines and the more recent Bunder block. Rio, one of the world’s largest commercial mining companies, is working on the latter and hopes to start excavation by the end of financial year 2018.
But Chhattisgarh has informed the company that it cannot provide adequate security cover to its employees to work in the Bastar region. Based on the data gleaned from the reconnaissance permits, Rio would have moved to the next stage to apply for a exploration permit.
The Raman Singh government has instead approved the application from the British-Australian company to explore for the mineral in the Korba Hills in the north of the state. Bastar is to the south and comprises the five districts of Bijapur, Dantewada, Bastar, Kanker and Narayanpur.
“The Chhattisgarh government has forwarded our application for exploration licence at Korba to the union mines ministry,” said Senapati.
The state geological department has often suspected there could be diamonds in the Bastar region but these had remained unproven. The five districts form a sprawling 40,000 sq km zone.
Diamonds are potentially available in what are geologically known as Kimberlite pipes that had spewed lava billions of years ago. Some of those turn out to be “diamondiferous” or those with extractable reserves of the mineral.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/rio-tinto-finds-diamond-reserves-in-bastar-but-says-can-t-mine-due-to-maoist-problem/1220309

[IBleedRed]

Turn on English subtitles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NXza5wVtq2I

[boiler]

Maoists release abducted Jharkhand officials; 2 CRPF men killed in landmine explosions

GIRIDIH: The Maoists on Monday released the four officials of rural development department, who were abducted on Saturday.

"The abducted officials have been freed," Giridh SP Kranti Kumar told TOI, cofirming their release.

The four were kidnapped at Pirtand, 35 kms from from the district headquarters on Saturday.

Two CRPF jawans were killed and 17 others were wounded in serial landmine explosions during the rescue operation launched by the security forces to free the abducted officials.

The Maoists trigerred around 22 serial land mine explosions at Dholkatha, in Madhuban jungles on Monday afternoon.

According to the Giridih SP the forces were engaged in a combing operation when they were targeted by the Maoists.

The released employees are — Maqsood Ansari,panchayat sewak, Chandradeo,rojgar sewak, Shambhu Pandey, panchayat secretary and V Sai Vamsi Vardhan, a fellow under PM rural development fund.

The injured jawans were airlifted in two helicopters for treatment at Ranchi.

The hostages told their friends after release that the kidnappers were looking for deputy commissioner and BDO of Giridih too.

Earlier, a team of security personnel from the CRPF,Jharkhand Armed Police, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Giridh police launched combing operations in the jungles of the Pirtand to locate the hostages.

The DG of Jharkhand Police Rajiv Kumar,IG(operations) M L Meena and DIG,Sumna Gupta were camping and monitoring the rescue operations for the safe release of the abducted employees.

The DGP and other senior officials also conducted an aerial survey of the jungles on helicopter to trace the hideout of the Maoists.

"The securtitymen were conducting combing operation when the serial explosions took place at Dholkattha. The area is heavily forested and surrounded by mountains. There are no approach roads also," Giridih SP Kranti Kumar told TOI.

The employees had gone to attend a camp at Khokhra village under Pirtand police station on Saturday morning to distribute old age and social security pension among the villagers.

Yogendra Yadav,driver of the vehicle in which the four were travelling was let off on Sunday morning with the warning to switch off his mobile.

He said the 12 armed Maoists were looking for deputy commissioner and BDO and later asked for identity of each of the four.

They asked the driver to go away with the vehicle.

Later they switched off the mobile sets of the four and took them inside the jungles.

On January 22, the Maoists had destroyed the Peo panchayat building with explosives and warned the employees against organizing any government camp in the area.

They were also opposed to setting up police outpost at Khokhara.

The DGP who reached the village announced upgradation of Khokhra TOP as full fledged police station from Monday.

DGP suspected the involvement of Ajay Mahto gang of Maoists which is active in Pirtand jungles and claimed his activities had picked up in the recent past,according to intelligence inputs.

Harun Rashid, the younger brother of Maqsood Ansari,a panchayat sewak, who was among the four kidnapped earlier told TOI at deputy commissioner's office, "My brother was apprehensive of attacks by Maoists ever since the panchayat building was blown up by them three days back. He did not wish to go the villages for distribution of government money."

A resident of Phulzori village, Rashid said Ansari had left the house at 7.30am on Saturday with a promise to his six daughetrs and wife to return by the evening.

However, he did not return in the evening and his mobile was found switched off, Rashid said.

When we met the deputy commissioner and SP on Sunday morning, we got "cold response".

Again,the family came to DC office on Monday to put pressure on the administration for release of the employees.

There are 31 PM rural development fellows, mostly with engineering and management degrees working in the villages of Jharkhand.

Vamsi Vardhan from Thimmanayunipepa village in Kurnool district had joined Pirtand in September last year.

A BTech from Vidya Niketan at Tirupati,he was with TCS for 19 months before joining as a fellow here.

He had launched an NGO "Akansha" for educating the poor children in the villages.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-release-abducted-Jharkhand-officials-2-CRPF-men-killed-in-landmine-explosions/articleshow/29450010.cms

[boiler]

Maoists Look for Safe Sanctuaries and External Support

V K Ahluwalia

January 27, 2014
A media report of 17 January this year, said a large number of armed guerrillas of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or Maoists in short, have infiltrated into Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh comes as no surprise. Of course, it is difficult to hazard a guess at the number of rebels that have moved across the porous border between Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and from the adjoining areas of Gondia (Maharashtra). The enclosed map shows a few safe sanctuaries in the Maoist-affected areas indicating that in case of sustained operations and hot pursuit by the security forces (SF) against the Maoists, they could move into some of the prominent forested areas - also characterised by their remoteness and vulnerable population. These include general areas in and around Malkangiri, Abhujmarh, Gadchiroli, Balaghat, Balrampur and Sarguja, and Saranda. Interestingly, all these lie along inter-state boundaries. The bi-junctions and tri-junctions are known to be the most vulnerable areas.

On 29 May last year, the Maoists - in one of the deadliest pre-planned attacks - had successfully ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, killing 29 people. The immediate reaction of the rebels was to cross over to southern parts of Odisha, which thereafter resulted in an increase in violence, particularly in Malkangiri and Koraput. The SF too had further intensified their operations in southern Odisha (Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagarh, Navrangpura etc), southern Chhattisgarh with greater focus on the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. They have met with a large measure of success, resulting in apprehension, elimination or surrender of a few rebels. Gudsa Usendi (GVK Prasad), leader and spokesperson of Dandyakarna Special Zonal Committee (DSZC) surrendered to the Andhra Pradesh police in early January 2014, after having remained with the Maoists (particularly in Chhattisgarh) for about three decades. The rebels have also remained active in the conflict areas by resorting to killing civilians and security personnel, laying IEDs and preventing development activities by destroying plant equipment and vehicles of contractors. If we plot, on a map, the areas in which the operations were conducted by the SF and the places where the rebels have experienced the heat of such operations, the Maoists could possibly move into the adjoining areas of Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh) to the west or Andhra Pradesh in the south or forested areas in the north, to seek refuge. Considering the overall status of anti- Maoist operations, the distances involved and the success achieved by the Andhra Pradesh's police, Balaghat forests and ghats appeared to offer a relatively safer sanctuary.

Movement of the Maoists into an otherwise relatively dormant Balaghat region was quite expected. It has been reported that one of the Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) commanders, named Dilip, who has been on the wanted list, has led the armed Maoists into the Balaghat region. Balaghat has also been in the news in recent times due to activities of the Tanda Dalam (guerrilla squad). Coupled with this, a few suspected Maoists were arrested in early January 2014. Balaghat district - one of the poorer district - lies along the south eastern portion of the Satpura Range, and has a series of ghats, laden with dense forest cover. In addition, it is extremely rich in minerals such as manganese, bauxite, copper, marble, dolomite, limestone and clay. Balaghat has all the ingredients required to bolster Maoists activities - difficult terrain, dense forests, vulnerable population. While such forested areas and ghats provide safe sanctuaries to the Naxals, it is also easier to move across the porous border into Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to escape the dragnet of the operations by the SF.

Maoists are known to be more innovative and dynamic to change their tactics. Following the broad principles of Mao Tse Tung and Che Guevara - the acknowledged masters of guerrilla warfare - Maoists have adopted hit and run tactics, utilised space to disperse themselves and deny a target, and have avoided direct and prolonged confrontation with the SF. In addition, it appears that movement of their armed cadres into other areas may also be part of their tactics to release pressure on their traditional strongholds. We could also expect them to shift some of their arms, rockets and IEDs manufacturing units to safer areas like Balaghat. While shifting a few elements to safe havens, the Maoists would continue to carry out violent attacks in their traditional strongholds, including firing on helicopters, to tie down the SF in different areas. Thus, SF remain dispersed and are relatively weak, having spread over a large area. However, whenever the Maoists suffer heavy losses, they would normally carry out a 'tactical retreat' to rest, recoup, recruit cadres, and train, so as to strike at an opportune moment. The SF, therefore need to continuously appreciate and analyse the expected movement of hard core Maoists, based on situation on the ground and by developing traditional human intelligence.

Besides, a media report of November last year noted, based on a letter of the general secretary of CPI (Maoist) to 24 international groups in September 2013, the Maoists are seeking international alliances and support to sustain and to strengthen their movement. The letter was intercepted by the security agencies. The report should, perhaps, be seen in the backdrop of the Maoists suffering many losses and the relative weakening of the movement. They have already established linkages with militant outfits in the north east like Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) (IM) and People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur. The CPI (Maoist) is fully aware that a movement of this magnitude cannot sustain on its own for long without any external support; be it in terms of funding, weaponry, training, refuge or ideological support. Though not entirely true of the Maoists movement in India, such an initiative is also in line with a study report by RAND Corporation which suggests, among others, that, without external support and available sanctuaries, no internal insurgency can thrive for long.

At present, we do not have any concrete evidence of direct involvement of any external powers, except a few linkages being established with certain militant organisations and ultra - outfits. The Maoists are known to have linkages with Maoists of Nepal and anti - India terror groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Given India’s geopolitical location, it would come as no surprise if the CPI (Maoist), through its aggressive efforts, is able to garner substantive resources for its disposal. Therefore, we need to remain sensitive to the fact that some of the external powers are perhaps monitoring the Maoist situation in the country very closely and would most willingly provide the necessary support. For instance, in order to open another active front, we could expect our adversaries to be more aggressive by providing multi-faceted support to the Maoists to further destabilise the heartland of the country. Thus, there is a need to sensitize our diplomatic community of the impending threat, as also to streamline the intelligence apparatus to monitor such activities of internal and external powers, to pro - actively prevent 'tangible support' to the Maoists. However, we must not forget that solution to the conflict finally lies in improving the security environment, providing good governance, and simultaneously ensuring implementation of the planned development projects on the ground.

http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/MaoistsLookforSafeSanctuariesandExternalSupport_vk ahluwalia_270114

[boiler]

Maoists pose strategic threat to Northeastern India

The Northeastern corner of India is feared to be under the vicious threat of Maoist cells with available weaponry and sympathizers. While the Centre spends about a crore annually to fight the Maoists, their spread in the Northeast is a matter of deep concern despite big financial packages for the surrendering Maoists.

TheGovernment of India’s peace interlocutor for Assam, PC Haldar today said that the presence of Maoists in the Northeast has the potential to create serious “strategic security complications” and urged the security establishments to take the attempts by the Naxals to consolidate themselves in the area seriously while planning a strategy to tackle the red rebels.

Inaugurating a two-day national seminar, titled “Responding to the Maoist Spread in India’s Northeast”, organized by Guwahati based think-tank Centre for Development and Peace Studies, Halder said: “The possibility of forces inimical to India using Maoists as a pawn would have to be factored in by the security establishment.” He said, the decision of the Maoists to set up bases in eastern Assam, along the border with Arunachal Pradesh, has assumed added significance because of its proximity to the international border and the traditional routs that insurgent groups in the Northeast have been using to excess its bases in Myanmar. The Seminar is supported by the British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata.

Halder, who is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), described as misconception the belief by many that the Maoists cannot work together with ethnic identity movements. He also said that the “religiosity” of the people also does not act as a deterrent against collaborating with Maoists. He said that an effective anti-Maoist strategy for any government would have to be a combination of security measures and focused development with a mechanism to address the genuine grievances of the people and that on the contrary, a much greater emphasis will be required from the structures of local governance to redress genuine grievances of the people to deny anyone an opportunity to exploit these to secure a hold on the public mind.

Earlier, addressing the Seminar, British Deputy High Commissioner to Eastern India, Scott Furssedonn-Wood said that India and UK have been cooperating and working together in a number of fields including in areas of development, conflict prevention and peace. He said India and UK have tremendous potential in furthering trade and business and emphasized that peace and stability as a prerequisite for economic growth.

The British envoy said, “Cooperation between Britain and India on security, counter-terrorism and cyber attack is now closer than it has ever been. People are alive today on the streets of Birmingham and Bangalore because of the work our countries have done together to protect them. Criminals are being brought to justice in our respective courts because of the growing cooperation between our police and judicial systems.”

He further said that as the British envoy to Eastern and North Eastern India he feels that the North East has to flourish for the eastern part of India to keep pace with the future growth projected for India. “I want to see the North East region playing a growing and dynamic role in India’s economy and, consequently, in the economic partnership between our two countries,” he said.

Welcoming the participants, who include leading experts on Naxalism from across the country, Wasbir Hussain, Executive Director, Centre for Development and Peace Studies, said the spread of Maoism to the north-eastern region has added a new security dimension to the volatile region. He called upon the Government and the civil society to address the root causes of the problem and formulate a long term development agenda to eradicate poverty and unemployment in the region and improve governance and delivery mechanism.

Several prominent civil society leaders spoke on the first day of the seminar on Monday presenting their perspectives of the ground situation in the State. Dr. Ranuj Pegu, Chief Executive Councilor, Mishing Autonomous Council, Assam said the Government’s effort to devolve powers by setting up autonomous councils was a good idea but said that things could be back to square one if the Govt. Fails to effectively empower these councils to deliver development on the ground.

A leading NGO activist from Tezpur, Barnabas Kindo, said that the Maoists have the potential to capitalise on the “prevailing underdevelopment” of the Adivasis of Assam and called upon the Government to uplift the community. Dr Budhin Gogoi, Principal of Margherita College also addressed the Seminar.

Prominent experts who would speak on Tuesday include, Vishwa Ranjan, Former DGP, Chattisgarh, Lt. Gen. A.S Lamba, Former Vice Chief of Army Staff, Dr PV Ramana of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, BJ Mahanta, Additional DGP Assam, LR Bishnoi, IGP, BTAD.

MORE…

http://www.assamtimes.org/node/9524

[boiler]

NDIA: HIDE AND SEEK IN CHHATTISGARH – ANALYSIS

Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including a Deputy Commandant, were killed and 12 security personnel were injured in a landmine blast triggered by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on February 9, 2014. The incident took place in the morning in a forest near Bodhrajpadar village within the Bhejji Police Station limits. Constable Rajiv Rawat, of 219 Battalion, CRPF, and Deputy Commandant Nihil Alam, were killed. A joint squad of the CRPF, its specialised unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) and District Police personnel had been engaged in an anti-Maoist operation in the region over the preceding few days.

Just the previous evening, on February 8, three Maoists had been killed in a gunbattle with a joint team of the Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra Police, during combing operations in the Badekakler Forest in the Farsegarh Police Station limits in Bijapur District. Bodies of the three Maoists and a muzzle-loading gun, a tiffin bomb, Maoist literature and some items of daily use were later found on the spot. The dead were identified as Naveen Mandavi (38), his wife Mase Telam (27) and Sannu Udde (23). Mandavi was the ‘section commander’ in ‘Military Platoon II’ of the CPI-Maoist in the area. While these two incidents give the superficial impression of an even contest for dominance between the Security Forces (SFs) and the Maoists, the reality is different and unpleasant.

On October 25, 2013, Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami had pulled up the CRPF and Border Security Force (BSF) for the “purely defensive strategy” adopted by the SFs in the State. He is believed to have expressed his displeasure with the Chhattisgarh administration and Central Forces over the “lull” in action, despite the Centre asking them to step up anti-Naxal operations, especially after the May 25, 2013, Darbha attack on a convoy of Congress Party leaders and supporters.

Goswami had also conveyed that CoBRA teams needed to be deployed extensively, with result-oriented tasks. A review of the major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) documented by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) confirms Goswami’s assessment. Through 2013, a total of eight major incidents were recorded in Chhattisgarh. Of these, the SFs suffered principal losses in as many as five, and in one incident there were two fatalities on each side. Only in one incident did the Maoists suffer heavily. That operation, however, was planned and executed by the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh just inside the Chhattisgarh border.

The only incident where the SFs deployed in Chhattisgarh took the initiative was a botched operation that ended with the killing of at least seven villagers, one SF trooper and one Maoist. Unsurprisingly, Chhattisgarh has succeeded in avoiding the dubious distinction of recording the highest fatalities in Left Wing Extremism related incidents in a State – an unfortunate position it has often held in the past, and has only marginally edged out by Jharkhand in 2012 and 2013: fatalities in Jharkhand stood at 170 and 162, respectively, in these two years, as against 147 and 148 in Chhattisgarh. There has been little significant change in the security situation in Chhattisgarh in terms of fatalities and incidents between 2012 and 2013.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/13022014-india-hide-seek-chhattisgarh-analysis/

Top think tank fears resurrection of Maoists in Bihar

A latest assessment report by a top government think tank has warned of resurrection of a flailing CPI (Maoist) in the near future due to poor counter-Moaism efforts by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government. The report titled “Left-Wing Extremism: Trends in 2013″ prepared by Ajit Lal, chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), vetted by the dna categorically says that “Any respite, at this stage, such as provided by the feeble anti-Naxal response in Bihar, could be fatal to the gains made by security forces” and could help Maoists “form new battle ready company and units.” Taking a grim view of the assessment, the Centre is soon expected to send a stinker to chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Working directly under cabinet secretariat, the JIC is second most important security think tank of the government after the National Security Council (NSC) that predicts future trends after analysing Intelligence data from the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing and the Directorates of Military, Naval and Air Intelligence. Taking a dim view of Bihar, the assessment report notes a significant 57% increase in terms of killings in the state even though the rise in the number of incidents was only 5%. “A part of the reason for the increase in violence in Bihar was the poor counter-Naxal efforts.

As compared to 27 security forces personnel killed during 2013 in anti-Naxal operations, there were nil casualties on the Naxal side. In terms of arrests and recoveries also there was a decline. As against 272 Naxals arrested, 2 surrendered and 148 weapons recovered in 2012.” “Again, 38 weapons were looted from the security forces in 2013 as against nil in the preceding three years. These 38 constitute over 53% of the total 71 arms looted by the Maoists all over the country.This acceleration in weapons and ammunition could help in the formation of a new platoon or company units which the party had been hoping to raise for Bihar-Jharkhand region,” the report states.

In sync with the JIC assessment, a senior official of the central reserve police force (CRPF), key central armed police force involved in anti-Maoism operation across seven states said, “In last one-and-a-half years, we have been witnessing a steady decline in the will of the state and its police to tackle Maoist insurgency. Quite often, despite having strong intelligence inputs the state police refuse to cooperate with the central forces to launch counter operations. This, in turn, demoralises our jawans as they cannot function alone in a state.”

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-dna-special-top-think-tank-fears-resurrection-of-maoists-in-bihar-1961609

Pressure Groups Being Roped in to Tackle Naxal Threat

The state government is in discussions with social pressure groups to act as mediators for the surrender of naxals, Home Minister K J George said on Wednesday. “These pressure groups are mediating on the process of surrendering,” he said after holding a meeting with police officials at Inspector General of Police (western range) office. The government is extending all support to help naxals join the mainstream. “Our efforts may yield results soon,” he added. George said, the Police Department will recruit 8,500 personnel and 20 per cent of them will be women.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Pressure-Groups-Being-Roped-in-to-Tackle-Naxal-Threat/2014/02/13/article2053680.ece#.Uvz3oZIsI8M

Anti-Maoist Operations Fail to Bear Desired Fruits

The Police Department in the state completed one-year of anti-Maoist operations on Thursday without bearing any fruitful result. The police had first confirmed Maoist presence in state on February 13, 2013, in the Pulingom forest in Kannur. The rumours about the presence of armed persons in the forest was first reported from Kanamvayalil near Cherupuzha in Kannur. The estate labourers here had informed the police that they had seen a six-member armed gang, including a woman, on February 1, 2013. However, they had passed this information to the police on February 12 only. The police had confirmed the information passed on to them by the estate labourers on February 13.

The then Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan informed the State Assembly on February 18 that the government would deploy an action force to deal with the Maoist situation. A Special Commando Force under the Kerala Police ‘Thunderbolt’ started combing operations in Munderi Forest area near here on February 24, on the basis of a fresh report about the presence of armed persons in the forest area. “The anti-Maoist operation in the state is on the right track. But we are keeping the details away from public owing to the nature of the action plan. It is joint efforts with the help of different government departments to tackle the situation by taking the tribals residing in the forest area into confidence.

The government expects a breakthrough in the Maoist operation within a short time,” said Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, now the Minister for Forest. Presence of Maoists was reported from around 15 tribal colonies in Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Malappuram districts. They had reportedly visited five colonies more than once. The strong presence of police and commando wing did not deter the suspected groups from coming out of their hiding and interacting with the tribes. They, reportedly, collected food grains from the tribal colonies and even attacked government officials two times during this period. 45 police stations spreading in these four districts in Malabar are on the ‘attack list’ of suspected Maoist gang as per the intelligence report.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Anti-Maoist-Operations-Fail-to-Bear-Desired-Fruits/2014/02/13/article2053909.ece#.Uvz5qJIsI8M

http://www.signalfire.org/

[boiler]

Three women Naxalites arrested

PATAPATNAM (SRIKAKULAM): The Odisha police on Friday arrested three women Maoists in Mohana police station limits in Ganjam district of Odisha, nearly 60 kms from here, and seized arms and cash from them. Armed with leads provided by the arrested cadres, the cops also unearthed huge dumps at various locations in Ganjam district. The arrested women cadres of the banned outfit were identified as Nikitha Majhi, Susanti and D Anita. While Nikita carries a rewardof Rs three lakh on her head, Susanti and Anita carry rewards of Rs 50,000 each. Sources said that the trio was arrested a couple of weeks ago and the arms dump was unearthed in the past two days.

The police seized one AK-47 rifle, four SLR rifles, two Insas rifles, one 9 mm pistol, 354 rounds of various rifles, 13 magazines, one tiffin bomb and Rs 10.5 lakh in cash from their possession. During interrogation, the women Naxalites revealed the locations of various arms dumps in Ganjam district comprising two computer printers, two laptop chargers, USB board, two dry cell batteries, four walkie-talkie batteries, stapler, three printer ink bottles, one stabilizer, two extension boards, 50 CDs, one mixer grinder, huge quantity of medicines, silence mode generator, kit bags, 25 kg rice bag, dry food material, Naxal uniforms, eight tarpaulins, two water drums, 25 detonators, 400 gm gun powder and revolutionary literature.

The trio was involved in more than 40 cases in different districts of Odisha. They were part of squads that attacked the Nayagarh armoury, burnt an Orissa RTC bus under Adava police station in Gajapati district, killed two grama rakshaks at Kattama under Adava police station and were involved in exchange of fire with CRPF, Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) at different places.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Three-women-Naxalites-arrested/articleshow/31196175.cms

Maoist fear keeps contractors away

KORAPUT: Contractors are not keen to take up Rs 3.3 crore irrigation project at Karanjanala village in Rayagada’s Muniguda block, fearing Maoists. The project, once finished, will irrigate 555 hectare of agricultural land. Muniguda, a Maoist-hit area, borders Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts. “On many occasions, there is no response to our tender notices. Last year, a contractor came forward and dumped raw materials at the construction site, but he refused to start work after Red rebels allegedly threatened him,” said a senior officer in minor irrigation department of Rayagada.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Maoist-fear-keeps-contractors-away/articleshow/31188328.cms

[boiler]

Naxal conduit providing medical aid to cadres arrested in Raipur

Continuing its drive to weaken the urban network of Maoists, Chhattisgarh police have arrested from Raipur another naxal conduit who was providing medical aid to the cadres as a registered medical practitioner. Shatrughan Manilal Vaishnav alias Bhola Doctor (40), a native of Bande police station area of Kanker district in North Bastar, was nabbed from Pachpedi Naka area in the state capital last evening, a senior police official said. The accused had been associated with hardcore naxals since 2000, the official added.

After his interrogation, it came to light that he has connection with top Maoist cadres of Bastar and Gadchiroli. According to the official, the conduit, working as a doctor, was allegedly ensuring medical facilities to Maoists, and also involved in arranging treatment facilities for the injured cadres at the hospitals in urban areas. Vaishnav was also engaged in procuring explosives, arms, medicines, uniforms and other items of daily use.

Moreover, he also played a vital role in arranging meetings of contractors, businessmen, transporters with Maoists in restive pockets of Bastar region. Vaishnav was also associated with Babulal Sharma and Tarak Kundu, who were arrested few months back in Raipur, and extorted money from Tendu leaves contractors for Maoists. Notably, Sharma and Kundu were arrested in Raipur’s Shankar Nagar area alongwith detonators and material used to prepare explosives in August last year. Around 17 naxal conduits had been arrested from different locations of the state in the past two months, he said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/naxal-conduit-providing-medical-aid-to-cadres-arrested-in-raipur/455274-3-235.html

50 kg IEDs recovered, defused in Rayagada

Two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) weighing 25 kg each, 32 gelatin sticks, as many electric detonators and other bomb making items were recovered from a Naxal hideout in the Tikarhamsa-Seshkal area of Rayagada district during combing operations by CRPF forces and state police personnel in the early hours today, the sources said.

http://odishasuntimes.com/35044/50-kg-ieds-recovered-diffused-rayagada/

Splinter group kills Latehar Maoist commander

RANCHI: A Maoist subzonal commander was killed on the border of Latehar and Garhwa district, around 194km from here late on Friday. The body of Kameshwar Singh alias Brajeshji, 35, was found from a forest under Chiniya police station area of Garhwa on Saturday. He had several bullet injuries in his chest. Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad, a Maoist splinter group has claimed responsibility for the murder. Villagers spotted the body and informed police immediately.

Garhwa SP Sudhir Kumar Jha said, “Villagers informed us about the body following which we sent our patrolling parties to the site. The victim is reportedly a subzonal-level Maoist commander, who was active in the areas bordering Latehar. It appears to be a case of gang rivalry,” said Jha. Police have recovered a note from the pocket of the deceased. “In the note, JJMP claimed that the man was killed because he was trying to create trouble for them,” said Jha.

No weapons were found from the site, which indicates that they could have been snatched away by the assailants. “Our sources from Latehar identified him as Kameshwar Singh,” added Jha. Maoists, JJMP and Tritiya Prastuti Committee are locked in a war of supremacy in areas bordering Garhwa and Latehar. They collect money from tendu leaf dealers, contractors and businessmen in the area. A police officer said the body was found in Chiniya area, which is dominated by JJMP. “It is likely that the JJMP rebels kidnapped him from Latehar (where Maoists enjoy a dominance) and dragged him across the border before killing him,” he said. Jha said, “An investigation has been launched into the incident.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Splinter-group-kills-Latehar-Maoist-commander/articleshow/31264200.cms

[boiler]

Security forces get special training to keep Maoists in check

Jharkhand Police started special training sessions for security forces to handle improvised explosive devices (IEDs) after Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) warned the state police regarding the nefarious plans of the CPI-Maoists to disrupt Lok Sabha elections. According to the guidelines provided by the MHA, the training is being provided to all security personnel. In the first phase of training session, the security forces will be trained to maintain law and order during elections. “I have a deadline to complete the training before the election process is initiated,” said Anurag Gupta, inspector general of police and Jharkhand Police spokesperson.

Before the beginning training session, state police have also imparted training to the appointed trainers. Under the supervision of IG training Umesh Kumar Singh, the trainers were taught on IED safety protocols. The elite anti-Naxal force Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ) is being provided special training to detect and defuse IEDs. MHA wrote to the state police and informed that the banned outfit was ready to disrupt the peaceful elections in the state and they named their mission ‘Chunao Bahiskar’. Maoists were planning to ambush security forces, polling centres, police stations and polling parties in the state, the letter said. MHA has directed the state police to sensitise security forces and polling parties to strictly comply with the security drill and standard operation procedure. It also instructed road opening parties to remain alert to avoid any untoward incident.

Since 14 years, around 450 security personnel have lost their lives in various anti-insurgency operations. Maximum of them were killed in IED balsts.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ranchi/security-forces-get-special-training-to-keep-maoists-in-check/article1-1190354.aspx

Centre tells forces to remain alert in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand

The Centre has directed security forces deployed in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to tighten vigil in the three states in view of intelligence reports which suggested that Naxals would try to carry out subversive attacks in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. Worried over the plans of Maoists who may target political rallies and prominent political personalities, the Home Ministry has asked the paramilitary forces deployed in the three states to take maximum precautions and work in close coordination with the state police to foil any attempt by the rebels to disturb peace, official sources said today.

The intelligence inputs suggested that the Naxals may carry out spectacular attacks similar to the strike on a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh before the state assembly polls in May 2013 which eliminated several top state leaders of the party. Nearly 30 people, including Chhattisgarh PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and former Union Minister V C Shukla, were killed in that attack. Besides, in 2013, there were 383 incidents of violence in Jharkhand in which 150 civilians and security personnel were killed and there were 353 such cases in Chhattisgarh where 110 people lost their lives. In Bihar, 69 people, including security personnel, lost their lives in 176 incidents of violence in 2013.

The Home Ministry has already identified 13 worst Naxal- affected districts in Jharkhand as highly sensitive. There are eight highly sensitive districts in Chhattisgarh and five highly sensitive districts in Bihar. Concerned over high incidents of violence by Naxals, the government has asked the Election Commission to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in these 26 districts, besides seven other districts, in the first phase to ensure maximum security and minimum casualties. However, it is the EC which will take a final call on the poll schedule. More than 1.20 lakh central paramilitary personnel, in addition to state police forces, are expected to be deployed for the multi-phased Lok Sabha polls which are likely to be held in April-May.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-centre-tells-forces-to-remain-alert-in-bihar-chhattisgarh-jharkhand-1966497

[boiler]

Indian Maoists kill 16 police in ambush

Maoist rebels have killed at least 16 policemen in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police say.

The patrol was on its way to provide security to workers building a road in Sukma district when rebels fired at them, officials say.

Twenty-five policemen were injured in the attack, senior police officer Mukesh Gupta told BBC Hindi.

Chhattisgarh is a stronghold of the rebels who say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.

The Maoists are active in more than a third of India’s 600 districts and control large areas of several states in a “red corridor” stretching from north-east to central India.

Tuesday’s ambush happened in the Tongpal area of Sukma.

It is not clear whether the rebels suffered any casualties.

Last May, rebels attacked a convoy carrying state Congress leaders and party workers in Sukma, killing 27 people, including some top state politicians.

And in April 2012, rebels kidnapped a senior government official in the district, which is part of the Maoist-dominated Bastar region. Alex Paul Menon was freed after 12 days in captivity.

The Maoist insurgency began in West Bengal state in the late 1960s and has become, according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the country’s “greatest internal security challenge”.

Major military and police offensives in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and levels of violence have fallen.

But hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing hundreds of people every year.



MORE…

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26524542

[boiler]

Timeline: Major Maoist attacks since 2009

At least 15 security personnel and one civilian were killed in a Maoist attack on a CRPF search party in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. The attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers took place in the thickly forested Tongapal area in Sukma district, about 500 km south of Raipur in Bastar region.
The area where the attack took place is a largely cut off and Maoists are ruling the roost there since late 1980s.
Here is a timeline of major Maoist attacks since 2009:

April 22, 2009: Maoists hijack a train with at least 300 people on board in Jharkhand and force it to run to Latehar district before fleeing.
October 27, 2009: Maoists detain the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express for eight hours during a bandh called by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities in West Bengal.
November, 2009: Maoists blow up railway tracks in Simdega district in Jharkhand derailing a passenger train, killing two people and injuring 38 people.
May 19, 2010: Maoists trigger landmine blast on railway tracks near Jhargram in West Bengal's West Midnapore district injuring two drivers of a goods train and leaving the engine damaged.
May 20, 2010: Fourteen oil tankers of a goods train derail and catch fire after the Maoists blow up railway lines between Dighwara and Pipra stations in Bihar under Muzaffarpur-Narkatiyaganj section of the East Central Railway.
May 22, 2010: Two people, including a policeman, travelling in the Tatanagar-bound Steel Express, injured in the crossfire between the Maoists and joint forces in West Midnapore district.
May 28, 2010: Maoists derail the Jnaneswari Express in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, causing its collision with another train, resulting in the death of at least 141 passengers.
June 13, 2013: Maoists attack a passenger train in Bihar's Jamui district Thursday afternoon, killing a railway police personnel and two passengers.
February 9, 2014: Two CRPF officials killed, 12 injured in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh
February, 28 2014: 7 police personnel killed in Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh.

http://ibnlive.in.co...7209-3-235.html

[boiler]

CPI-Maoist cadres attack BJP MLA's property in Bihar
Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres set ablaze a petrol pump owned by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and hurled bombs and opened fire at his residence on March 13 in Muzaffarpur District, reports The Times of India. Around 15-20 Maoists attacked the petrol pump of Ram Surat Rai in Ahiapur Police Station area, around 10 km from District Headquarters, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Saurabh Kumar said, adding, the Maoists took the staff hostage and set on fire an oil tanker and portion of the petrol pump. They assaulted the petrol pump staff before vandalising the petrol pump and setting it on fire. After plundering the petrol pump, the Maoists went to Rai's residence in Bocha Police Station area of the District and opened fire besides hurling bombs. The MLA was neither at the petrol pump nor at his home during the attack.

[boiler]

Maoists call for favourable atmosphere for talks

Hindustan Times
Speaking exclusively to HT at a training camp on Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border, top leaders of CPI Maoist Bihar-Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee said they were ready for talks with the government provided a favourable atmosphere was created.
"We have burnt our fingers many times in the past. We lost our top central committee leader Cherikuri Rajkumar alias Azad and politburo member Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji who went that extra mile to broker peace and were instead killed in cold blood," said the committee secretary Deenbandhu. He asked the governments to immediately release all prisoners of war (Maoists) lodged in various jails and then initiate the peace process.

While Azad was killed on July 2, 2010 in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, Kishenji was killed on November 24, 2011 in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
Maoists allege both their top leaders were killed in fake encounters. Days before his killing, they said, Azad had begun process for dialogue with the Centre.
The leaders conceded that the organisation was going through an acute leadership crisis, but quickly asserted that they were used to these ups and downs and would soon bounce back with a vengeance.
"You may kill us but you cannot kill our ideology," said zonal commander Sanjayji, 50, elucidating the increasing police atrocities on people who supported them.
"We have not budged from our ideology. We are pro poor people. Allow us to work in a peaceful manner with the farmers and working class. We do not believe in gun power. Guns are not our political weapons. It is for self-defence. We are fighting a political battle," he added.
Maoists are distributing pamphlets among villagers urging them to raise their voices to secure the release of "revolutionaries, who have been arrested unarmed from bus stops, railway stations, markets, hospitals, homes, marriage functions, even temples and are languishing in jails for years". Some of them, the rebels alleged, were in their seventies and battling old-age related diseases behind bars.
"Look at the paradox, actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for terror charges, gets successive paroles but 63-year-old Kobad Ghandy, without a single conviction and battling cancer along with heart conditions, fails to get bail," he said.
Sanjayji also thanked the Doon School Old Boys' Society for supporting Ghandy's release. "If Ghandy is anti-national, why haven't such charges been leveled against the MPs who threw chairs and sprayed pepper in Parliament, bringing disrepute to the country, globally," asked another rebel leader, Deenbandhu.

[boiler]

Peoples War in India Clippings 23/3/2014
Naxals ban use of mobiles till polls
Raipur: Maoists have imposed a ban on use of cell phones in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-wracked Bastar to “disable” the intelligence network of security forces in the region, police sour-ces said on Saturday. Inte-lligence sources said the rebels have also launched a drive in remote areas in Bastar to seize cell phones from the local tribals. Sources said Naxals have issued a directive to tribals to deposit their cell phones with the local rebel leaders and warned of serious consequences if they defied the diktat.
“We have received reports of Naxals enforcing ban on use of cell phones in remote villages. The ultras have also been forcing the local tribals to part with their cell phones or face serious consequences,” Rajendra Narayan Das, SP of Kanker said. The drive apparently was aimed at “disabling” intelligence network of security forces in Naxal-stronghold areas by identifying the police informers. “Naxals are scrutinising the cell phones of villagers to check if phone numbers of police personnel have been stored in them. The rebels punish those whose cell phones have such numbers saved, suspecting them as police informers,” Mr Das said.
A senior police officer posted in south Bastar disclosed that several innocent tribals who were found to have stored mobile numbers of their kin serving in police department were executed after being branded police spies by the ultras. “The other motive was to prevent security forces from locating their movements during the Lok Sabha polls in Bastar on April 10,” he said.
http://www.deccanchr...iles-till-polls
Maoist held with a weapon
A Maoist was arrested today with a weapon from a locality at Khaira in Bihar’s Jamui district, sources said. Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a hideout in Garhi Bazar locality and nabbed the ultra, identified as Kedar Yadav, the sources said. A country-made pistol was recovered from Yadav’s possession, they said. A native of Ghuthiya village, the Maoist was wanted in several cases of naxal violence in the district, the sources added.
http://www.business-...32300322_1.html
Maoists blow up two school buildings in Giridih area
Maoists cadres blew up two school buildings in Navakaniya village of Giridih district in Jharkhand on Friday night as the banned outfit stepped up its violent campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The village targeted by cadres of the CPI-Maoists is around 35km from the district headquarters and 230km from capital Ranchi. The banned outfit is opposed to the elections and has asked people of the state to stay away from the democratic process.
Security personnel had no knowledge of the incident till they reached the village on Saturday afternoon. The nearest Pirtand police station is just 12km from the village. The heavily-armed Maoist cadres also terrorised the villagers and held two of them captive while the others planted dynamite on the school buildings before blowing them up. The Maoists distributed pamphlets dictating villagers to boycott polling activities. Terrorised villagers remained tightlipped before the media. However, an eyewitness, on condition of anonymity, said, “At around 7:.30pm, a group of 50 to 60 armed Maoists arrived here and assembled near the Navakaniya upgraded middle school. Later, they called upon two of the villagers and assaulted them.”
http://www.hindustan...News Headlines)
Police arrest Maoist in Jharkhand
Lohardaga /Jhargram, Mar 23 (ANI): Acting on a tip-off Police arrested a Maoist and recovered money in Lohardaga district of Jharkhand.
http://www.aninews.i...mine-in-wb.html
Maoist Posters Found Again
Fresh anti-poll posters by Maoists have surfaced in Rayagada, leaving local leaders worried over the conduct of peaceful Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the Maoist-hit region. Maoist posters and banners were found at Parsali panchayat office of Kalyansingpur block on Saturday where the ultras urged upon Dongria Kondhs residing in Niyamgiri hill to boycott the elections. Police said they have recovered few posters and suspect it to be the handiwork of the local Maoist supports.
Few days back, similar posters were found in interior Majhiguda and Dasmantpur panchayats of Koraput where ultras had asked the locals not to exercise their franchise on April 10 and accused all political parties of being anti-poor. The posters also asked the people not to let politicians enter villages for campaigning.
http://www.newindian...ce#.Uy8EBJJTW1E
Maoists fire at SPO’s family
The villagers said the police had not even visited Hembrom, but district police officials said investigations were on A squad of the CPI(Maoist) on Friday night opened fire at a social gathering at Khunti, 30 km from Ranchi, injuring two villagers and set fire to a jeep. The tribal villagers said they suspected the rebels targeted the family and friends of Raila Dhingra Munda for his work as a special police officer (SPO) gathering intelligence for the Khunti district police.
On Saturday, Mara Munda, Raila’s younger brother who had been shot in the right thigh and had fractured a bone, lay in Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Institute’s orthopaedic intensive care ward. “We had invited more than 400 villagers to celebrate the ear-piercing ceremonies of both my sisters. At 8.30 p.m., I stepped out of our courtyard and heard a gunshot. The next moment, I fell,” Mr. Munda said. “There was panic as everyone tried to flee. I cried out for my friends to pull me inside the house or I would have died,” recounted the 20-year-old with some effort as his father, Sande Munda, who can speak only Mundari, looked on.
The Maoists had killed his eldest brother, Rupu Munda, who also worked as an SPO, in a market at Adki in 2010. Mr. Mara’s elder brother, Raila, who the family suspects was the Maoists’ target, was away in Khunti town when the incident happened. The villagers first rushed both to Khunti’s Sadar Hospital, and to Ranchi in the morning. While the villagers in Hembrom in Adki block said the police had not even visited the village since Friday night, district police officials said investigations were on. “Our search operations are on for the Maoists,” said Superintendent of Police Anish Gupta. Mr. Raila Munda said he started working as an SPO in 2008.
http://www.thehindu....icle5820420.ece

[boiler]

Indian Maoists Pledge Support for Renewed Tamil Eelam Struggle

Indian Maoists pledge support for armed Eelam struggle

Indian Maoists have pledged support for another armed struggle by the Sri Lankan Tamils for an independent Eelam.

Indian website thatstamil.oneindia.in has quoted Maoist general secretary Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi as having told a pro-naxalite website in an interview that the Eelam struggle has not died down with the passing of LTTE leader Prabhakaran. “It is still alive and we shall support it with arms”.

Apparently keeping in mind the Indian experience where naxal groups like Maoist Communist Centre, the People’s War and others have come together and are controlling vast areas in Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal, he said: “The battle for Tamil Eelam is not lost yet. Eelam will blossom one day if all the (Tamil) groups come together and, with changed strategies, resume the struggle”

Mr Ganapathi said: “We shall smuggle in sophisticated arms in ultra-modern boats to the rebels to revive the armed struggle in Sri Lanka and nobody can stop us. We are formed groups for this”.

Admitting that the Eelam struggle has suffered a big setback, maybe a virtual defeat with the elimination of the LTTE, Mr Ganapathi has said, ” the Eelam movement has now become rudderless, but the thirst for freedom has not died down among the Eelam Tamils”.

He said, “there is no change in the situation” which led to the armed struggle for an independent Eelam” in the early 1980s. The “celebration of Prabhakaran’s death by Sinhala chauvinists in Colombo and the encouragement given to them by the fascist Sinhala Government show the Sinhalese’ hatred for Tamils and the Tamil nation”.

He also expressed the fear that there would be another State-sponsored colonisation of Tamil areas by the Sinhalese, leading to a change in the demographic pattern in the “Tamil homeland” of northern and eastern provinces.

Mr Ganapathi accused the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government of having carried out a “genocide” of Tamils. He expressed anguish over the confinement of displaced Tamils in “internment” camps fenced off by barbed wires and said,”whoever tortures people like this deserve to be punished and no one can stop us from arming these people”.

The Maoist leader said “we are not only willing to extend all help the Eelam Tamils achieve their independence but also guide leaders of resistance movements on how to achieve the goal of a Democratic People’s Republic of Tamil Eelam”.

Answering questions, Mr Ganapathi said the Maoists had consistently denied having received any arms training from the Tamil Tigers and added, “but we always supported their struggle”. He said “we did receive training from the renegades of the LTTE in the early 1980s, but not in recent times”.

Defence experts have from time to time spoken about links between the LTTE and the Maoists and the interview confirms this.

Speaking in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in early 1991, the then Home Minister M V Mysoora Reddy said the Maoists (in their then avatar as People’s War) had acquired 60 AK-47s and 20 Sten guns from the LTTE. This was reiterated in the Lok Sabha, on Dec 10, 1991, by Bandaru Dattatreya, then an opposition MP who later became Minister of State for Railways.

In 1995, Mallojula Venugopal, the then secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee, claimed that some ex-LTTE cadres had initially trained them in fabricating landmines.

Maintaining the same line, Ganapathi himself said in an interview in 1998: “They were not LTTE. They were ex-LTTE. What happened was that these people came to India after leaving their organisation and formed Communist groups. (We) had relations with these groups. As part of that, they held training camps for us”.

Further proof of the Maoists’ LTTE links surfaced, once again, when two video cassettes containing LTTE’s training modules were recovered in December 2001 from an arms dump of the rebels in Nelimaliga village of Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh.

In the aftermath of the failed Oct 1, 2003 assassination attempt on the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said that the rebels had received expertise in using improvised explosive devices (IED) from the LTTE.

Speaking to mediapersons in a village in Madhuban block in Supaul district of Bihar, CPI-Maoist spokesman Azad said on Dec 14, 2005 that they had learnt “new warfare tactics from the on-the-run and purged LTTE military commanders in 1986-87″. He added that the LTTE commanders gave them training in making and laying landmines.

http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/indian-maoists-pledge-support-for-renewed-tamil-eelam-struggle/

[boiler]

By Abhishek Bhalla

A nexus between Maoists, construction contractors and government officials has hit the development of key infrastructure like roads in the rebel strongholds of Chhattisgarh, hampering anti-insurgency operations ahead of the polls.

[Reposted from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2591085/Troop-movement-crippled-Maoist-zone-rebels-contractors-join-forces.html]
The abysmal condition of important roads has slowed down the mobilisation of troops and proved a major handicap for security forces.

A major national highway that runs through Maoist citadels in Sukma is virtually non-existent for about 80 kilometres.

Sources said deals between the rebels and contractors, coupled with red tape and corruption, are taking a toll on security forces involved in anti-Maoist operations. Rebels take advantage of bad roads to lay an ambush and find enough time to escape.

A senior police officer – who is part of anti-insurgency operations – described the nexus between contractors and Maoists as a scam and “an agreement between two parties to help each other”.

“The contractors take money from the government to start a project and give part of it to the Maoists. Then they don’t begin the work on the pretext of security concerns,” the officer said.

When Mail Today travelled on National Highway 221 that connects Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, the 80km stretch from Sukma to Konta took about five hours to cover, as the asphalt disappeared.

The stretch is dotted with rebel strongholds like Chintanlar, considered the Maoist capital, and Jagargonda, which is almost completely cut off and surrounded by thick forests. This region is a favourite spot for rebels, who often plant IEDs to target security forces.

The contract for a Rs 198-crore project to repair NH 221 was given nearly two years ago, but work has still not begun. A payment of over Rs 10 crore was also made, but fearing a backlash from the rebels, the firm has not begun work, sources said.

There is a similar situation on National Highway 16 connecting Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh to Maharashtra. The 50km stretch from Bijapur to Bhopalpatnam is a nightmare and can take up to three hours to cover. Just like Sukma, Bijapur is a Naxal hotbed and bad roads affects operations.

The highway connecting Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh is a major trade route and good connectivity will also mean more development, which would be a major setback for the Maoists.

Civil and police officials said providing security to construction parties was not a problem.

“There are some procedural delays. The estimated cost of the project has increased but security is not a problem,” said A.K. Topo, district collector of Sukma.

“We have to secure only one side of the road that is heavily dominated by Maoists. On the other side is a river, so they cannot attack from there. We can use all our resources to counter any attack on construction parties,” a police officer said.

The officer said there had been no attack on construction parties or no incidents to hold up work. Significantly, the road is in almost perfect condition once it enters Andhra Pradesh.

Sources said contractors sometimes burn their equipment and stop work in order to show that there is a threat from rebels. When the matter is probed, it turns out that there was no attack, they added.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Arun Deo Dutt said good roads can be of great help for security forces.

“Force mobilisation will be easier. If the highway is in a good condition, connectivity to villages along the road will also be better. This will result in pushing back the Naxals,” he said.

Mobile tower lethargy

Land has been allotted for installing mobile towers in the Red Corridor, but the four-year-old project has not been completed. The project was first planned in 2010 and got an impetus in May last year after a Maoist attack on a Congress convoy killed 27 people, including senior party leaders.

A June 2014 deadline for completing the project is unlikely to be met as only 363 towers have been installed.

To make matters worse, an error in estimates in the Rs 3,046 crore budget has further delayed matters, because fresh calculation suggests the need for an additional Rs 789 crore.

Sources said even the towers that have been installed are not functioning due to maintenance problems. At least 75 mobile towers are not working in Chhattisgarh alone.

MORE…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2591085/Troop-movement-crippled-Maoist-zone-rebels-contractors-join-forces.html

[SensibleLuxemburgist]

http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/Regional/RegionalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDA1NzI3Mg%3D%3D

Militants called the Kuki National Army have banned the Indian National Congress from running for elections in the Lok Sabha for the Outer Manipur constituency. It is time for the people of India to throw off the shackles of generations of the INC monopolization of democracy in India.

[boiler]

Maoist attack kills 14 police and poll staff

Two days after peaceful polling in insurgency-hit Bastar zone, the Red brigade carried out two separate strikes within a span of one hour, killing 14 people, including five CRPF men and seven people returning from election duty, in south Chhattisgarh.

It took the Maoists barely 10 minutes to target an ambulance after 10 CRPF personnel boarded it to return to their camps. The rebels detonated a powerful blast at Kamanar near Darbha in Bastar district, about 350 km from state capital Raipur. Five jawans were killed on the spot.

Another five personnel were injured and were air-lifted to Raipur for advanced medical attention. In the span of 11 months, this is the third major attack by the guerillas in the Darbha region.

In another blast triggered by the rebels seven poll staffs were killed and five others injured at Ketulnar in Bijapur district. According to Bijapur police, the poll officials were returning from Kutru to the district headquarters in a passenger bus. “After the blast, the Maoists opened fire which was repulsed by the security forces who were deployed nearby for road opening operations,” the police source said.

Sunil Kujur, the Chhattisgarh chief electoral officer, said. The Bastar Lok Sabha poll saw 52 per cent turnout on April 10.

The landmine blast near Darbha came as a surprise since the road was recently built. “It appears that the Maoists planted the explosives before the roads were built and the blast was triggered by someone sitting 150 metres from the spot,” Bastar superintendent of police Ajay Yadav said.

The ambulance was thrown up in the air and landed some 15 metres away from NH-30 where the incident occurred. A four feet deep crater was formed.



MORE…

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/maoist-attack-crpf-men-bastar-landmine-blast/1/355462.html

[JiangQing]

11th April:
Seven STF jawans killed, 11 injured in Maoist attack in Bastar
Seven personnel of Special Task Force (STF) were killed and eleven others injured in an encounter with outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) rebels at a village near ​Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday. Additonal director general of police (anti-Naxal operations) Rajinder Kuamr Vij said that the encounter took place at Pidmal village between Dornapal and Chintagufa when the rebels tried to attack the security personnel. The forces retaliated leading to a fierce encounter during which seven security personnel died and eleven others injured.
The gun-battle continued for more than an hour with the rebels who were believed to be in large numbers. STF’s commander Shankar Rao is among the dead. The injured personnel have been shifted to nearby hospitals and the critically injured are expected to be airlifted to state capital for further treatment. After lying low for sometime, there are indications that the Maoist rebels can step up violence in Bastar region during summer when they observe their tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC).


12th April:
Another Naxal attack: 17 vehicles torched at mining site in Kanker
A day after killing seven policemen in an ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, the Naxals on Sunday allegedly set ablaze at least 17 vehicles engaged in mining work in insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said. No one was hurt in the incident, they said. A group of armed Naxals raided the Barbaspur iron ore mining site under the limits of Korar police station and after threatening the labourers, they torched 17 vehicles engaged in mining work, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendera Singh Meena said.
After torching the vehicles, the Maoists fled into the forest, he said. On getting information about the incident, a police team was immediately rushed to the spot which found the vehicles, including trucks, mining machineries and JCB, burnt, he said. A search operation has been launched in the region to nab the ultras involved in the incident, the SP added. The extremists are reportedly opposing iron ore mining in the area being done by Neco Jayaswal Company.


13th April:
Third Naxal attack in 48 hours, BSF soldier killed in gunbattle in Kanker district
In the third Naxal attack in the last 48 hours, one Border Security Force soldier was killed in a gunbattle with the rebels in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on Monday. A group of Naxals opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel who were carrying out patrolling in the proximity of Chhote Baithiya BSF camp under Bande police station area late Sunday night, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh Meena said. A gunbattle erupted between security forces and ultras and the rebels soon fled to the core forests, he added.

13th April:
3 cops killed, 8 injured in an attack on security vehicle in Chhattisgarh At least 4 police officials have been killed and eight are injured as Naxalites in its fourth attack in last three days tried to explode a mine protected vehicle (MPV) near Cholnar in Dantewada district in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Monday. According to the police sources, the rebels triggered a powerful blast aiming at the anti-landmine vehicle that injured 11 security personnel who have been taken to a district hospital. The incident was reported near Cholnar, approximately 25 Kms from district headquarters of Dantewada. After reaching the ambush site, Dantewada district superintendent of police Kamal Lochan Kashyap is supervising relief and rescue operations.

[JiangQing]

Naxals kill abducted police constable in Chhattisgarh
The body of a police constable, who had been abducted by the Naxals last week, was today found on a road in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Police said that constable Beera Basant, the victim, had left for Bijapur on April 7 after being transferred to the district. He was earlier posted at Awapalli. Naxals abducted him near Bijapur valley. Today his body, with injuries inflicted by sharp-edged weapons, was found near Pamelvaya in the district. Police said a piece of paper found on the body had a warning to the people not to join anti-Naxal campaigns.


source: business-standard(dot)com

[Comrade Jacob]

Naxals kill abducted police constable in Chhattisgarh
The body of a police constable, who had been abducted by the Naxals last week, was today found on a road in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Police said that constable Beera Basant, the victim, had left for Bijapur on April 7 after being transferred to the district. He was earlier posted at Awapalli. Naxals abducted him near Bijapur valley. Today his body, with injuries inflicted by sharp-edged weapons, was found near Pamelvaya in the district. Police said a piece of paper found on the body had a warning to the people not to join anti-Naxal campaigns.


source: business-standard(dot)com
Gotta love those spooky scary Maoists

[JiangQing]

17th of April:

A 30-year-old man was found bludgeoned to death at Machh Bhandar in Ghatshila subdivision of East Singhbhum District on April 17 triggering suspicion that the murder might be a handiwork of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), reports The Telegraph. The victim is yet to be identified. The body was lying near an under-construction canal over Subarnarekha River in the Ghurabandha Police Station area. Boulders used to bludgeon him were also found near the murder spot along with some MaoisMaoist posters were found near Kurli panchayat office under Bisamcuttack police limits in Rayagada district on Friday. In the posters, Maoists protested the aggressive operation of the CRPF against them and the plan to establish new CRPF camps in Niyamgiri. The posters and banners were found a day after the IG of CRPF, Piyush Anand, took stock of the steps taken to curtail Maoist menace in the district.t posters calling for a hike in wages of kendu (Diospyros Melanoxylon) leaves collectors. However, Police cannot be sure of the rebel hand as of now, as the posters can be old. "At the moment, we are not in a position to say for sure that the Maoists committed the murder. The body has been recovered and sent for autopsy to Ghatshila government hospital," Additional Superintendent of Police (anti-Naxalite operations) Sanjiv Kumar Burnwal said. (source: satp(dot)org)


18th of April:

Maoist posters were found near Kurli panchayat office under Bisamcuttack police limits in Rayagada district on Friday. In the posters, Maoists protested the aggressive operation of the CRPF against them and the plan to establish new CRPF camps in Niyamgiri. The posters and banners were found a day after the IG of CRPF, Piyush Anand, took stock of the steps taken to curtail Maoist menace in the district. (source: newindianexpress(dot)com)


23rd of April:
Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda again goes on hunger strike

Berhampur (Odisha): Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda has again started hunger strike in Berhampur Circle Jail here.

Earlier, Panda was on hunger strike from March 31 to April 4 protesting his solitary confinement in the jail and accusing authorities of stopping his letters from reaching the court.
He also demanded that he be provided with the list of cases pending against him in different police stations.
The rebel leader had postponed his strike after jail authorities assured that they would draw the attention of the authorities to his demands. Since his demands were not fulfilled, he is on an indefinite fast since yesterday, said his advocate Deepak Patnaik.
Sabyasachi was served food, but he is not eating anything since yesterday, said Assistant Jailor Satya Narayan Behera.
In another development, Dandapani Mohanty, who is lodged in the same jail for alleged Maoist activities, threatened to launch a hunger strike from tomorrow.
Mohanty, convener of Damana Pratirodha Manch, a human rights organisation, was arrested from his house here on February 8, 2013.

[JiangQing]

Activists and villagers threatened as UP police continues crackdown on anti-dam protest

After police firing in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, marred an anti-dam protest on Ambedkar Jayanti last week, activists have now accused the police of further brutality on the morning of April 18 as it attempted to clear protestors, mostly tribals, from the dam site.

The police allegedly attacked protestors with rubber bullets, tear gas and lathis. They chased protestors back to their villages, where they also vandalised their homes.

On Monday, a fact-finding team from the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan released a report stating that the district police and around 500 to 1,000 Provincial Armed Constabulary surrounded the site of the protest and “beat and chased the villagers right up to their villages”.

It is not yet clear how many people were injured in this round of attacks, but at least 14 people from four villages have been admitted to a block hospital in nearby Duddhi. Many women were beaten on their thighs and buttocks. The April 14 attack left 39 people injured, of whom 12 had serious injuries. As Scroll reported last week, one person is still near death in a Varanasi hospital. The police allegedly also seized tents and generators at the site of the protest and burned posters and banners.

Villagers have been protesting at the site of the proposed Kanhar Dam since December 23, following an order by the National Green Tribunal to stay construction until it could hear the case.

However, the proposed height of the dam has been increased from 39.9 metres to 52.9 metres, expanding the submergence area and intensifying fears, the report said. Even more shocking, it added, is that affected villages in Chhattisgarh have not even been informed that any part of their land will be submerged.

As the Uttar Pradesh state government continued construction despite the order, villagers on April 14 decided to intensify their protest by blocking the approach to the dam, leading to the first police backlash. After the police firing on April 14, the protest swelled with people streaming in from surrounding villages. All protestors have now been dispersed. Unidentified people cleared the dam site of all machinery on Saturday morning.

Villagers targeted

Police action has been followed with direct threats, both to villagers and to activists who came to the area after the initial news of police firing on April 14.

After the protests made front-page news in Uttar Pradesh papers, the district magistrate visited residents of Sundari village, one of several affected, and asked them to make a list of demands, said Gambhira Prasad, an activist leading the protests, but now in hiding.

“The DM said that he would give our requests to the government, so that is going on at the side,” Prasad said. “But we don’t know what will come of that.”

The Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan might have an answer. Dominant caste leaders held a meeting in Sundari on Sunday, saying that they would give their consent to the government.

“Most of them were quoting the DM Sanjay Kumar belligerently saying that he had said that all protest and movements should stop,” the report said. “Otherwise he would foist so many cases that they would rot in jail for the rest of their lives and use up all the compensation in paying lawyers.”

The Uttar Pradesh government suspended the last district magistrate, Dinesh Singh, for being lax on development work. The police has filed cases against around 956 people in all.

Meanwhile, those who had joined the protests after news of the April 14 firing spread have now dispersed to their villages. Not everyone has been able to leave the area. The police has shut off an area around Sonbhadra, claimed Prasad.

“Our guests from Delhi are not being allowed to go away,” Prasad said over the phone. “They had tried to drive their cars back, but were turned back in Duddhi itself.”

Despite repeated attempts, Scroll could not reach the district magistrate. The sub-district magistrate put down the phone after hearing Scroll's query.

Activists under watch

Even as the administration attempts to negotiate with villagers, it continues to target activists who came from outside the affected area to investigate these incidents.

Two separate fact-finding teams, one from Delhi and another from Chhattisgarh, went to the site of Kanhar dam on Sunday after reports emerged of the firing on April 14. The Delhi team, which included Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, and Priya Pillai of Greenpeace, is yet to file theirs.

On Sunday evening, as the Delhi team finished its visits to villages around the Kanhar dam area and headed to another outside the affected area to spend the night, its members were informally detained by a group of policemen. Led by a still-unidentified man in plain clothes, the police searched their car and bags and also attempted to intimidate the car’s driver.

“When Priya [Pillai] and I tried to intervene, the man in civil clothes wagged his finger at us and told us, ‘You are women, aapki beizzati hojaegi,’” Krishnan said.

Another member of the team, Debaditya Sinha stepped between them, at which the plain clothes man threatened to arrest him as a Naxalite.
After police firing in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, marred an anti-dam protest on Ambedkar Jayanti last week, activists have now accused the police of further brutality on the morning of April 18 as it attempted to clear protestors, mostly tribals, from the dam site.

The police allegedly attacked protestors with rubber bullets, tear gas and lathis. They chased protestors back to their villages, where they also vandalised their homes.

On Monday, a fact-finding team from the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan released a report stating that the district police and around 500 to 1,000 Provincial Armed Constabulary surrounded the site of the protest and “beat and chased the villagers right up to their villages”.

It is not yet clear how many people were injured in this round of attacks, but at least 14 people from four villages have been admitted to a block hospital in nearby Duddhi. Many women were beaten on their thighs and buttocks. The April 14 attack left 39 people injured, of whom 12 had serious injuries. As Scroll reported last week, one person is still near death in a Varanasi hospital. The police allegedly also seized tents and generators at the site of the protest and burned posters and banners.

Villagers have been protesting at the site of the proposed Kanhar Dam since December 23, following an order by the National Green Tribunal to stay construction until it could hear the case.

However, the proposed height of the dam has been increased from 39.9 metres to 52.9 metres, expanding the submergence area and intensifying fears, the report said. Even more shocking, it added, is that affected villages in Chhattisgarh have not even been informed that any part of their land will be submerged.

As the Uttar Pradesh state government continued construction despite the order, villagers on April 14 decided to intensify their protest by blocking the approach to the dam, leading to the first police backlash. After the police firing on April 14, the protest swelled with people streaming in from surrounding villages. All protestors have now been dispersed. Unidentified people cleared the dam site of all machinery on Saturday morning.

Villagers targeted

Police action has been followed with direct threats, both to villagers and to activists who came to the area after the initial news of police firing on April 14.

After the protests made front-page news in Uttar Pradesh papers, the district magistrate visited residents of Sundari village, one of several affected, and asked them to make a list of demands, said Gambhira Prasad, an activist leading the protests, but now in hiding.

“The DM said that he would give our requests to the government, so that is going on at the side,” Prasad said. “But we don’t know what will come of that.”

The Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan might have an answer. Dominant caste leaders held a meeting in Sundari on Sunday, saying that they would give their consent to the government.

“Most of them were quoting the DM Sanjay Kumar belligerently saying that he had said that all protest and movements should stop,” the report said. “Otherwise he would foist so many cases that they would rot in jail for the rest of their lives and use up all the compensation in paying lawyers.”

The Uttar Pradesh government suspended the last district magistrate, Dinesh Singh, for being lax on development work. The police has filed cases against around 956 people in all.

Meanwhile, those who had joined the protests after news of the April 14 firing spread have now dispersed to their villages. Not everyone has been able to leave the area. The police has shut off an area around Sonbhadra, claimed Prasad.

“Our guests from Delhi are not being allowed to go away,” Prasad said over the phone. “They had tried to drive their cars back, but were turned back in Duddhi itself.”

Despite repeated attempts, Scroll could not reach the district magistrate. The sub-district magistrate put down the phone after hearing Scroll's query.

Activists under watch

Even as the administration attempts to negotiate with villagers, it continues to target activists who came from outside the affected area to investigate these incidents.

Two separate fact-finding teams, one from Delhi and another from Chhattisgarh, went to the site of Kanhar dam on Sunday after reports emerged of the firing on April 14. The Delhi team, which included Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, and Priya Pillai of Greenpeace, is yet to file theirs.

On Sunday evening, as the Delhi team finished its visits to villages around the Kanhar dam area and headed to another outside the affected area to spend the night, its members were informally detained by a group of policemen. Led by a still-unidentified man in plain clothes, the police searched their car and bags and also attempted to intimidate the car’s driver.

“When Priya [Pillai] and I tried to intervene, the man in civil clothes wagged his finger at us and told us, ‘You are women, aapki beizzati hojaegi,’” Krishnan said.

Another member of the team, Debaditya Sinha stepped between them, at which the plain clothes man threatened to arrest him as a Naxalite.

“What we need to focus on is why the people are opposing dams,” Krishnan said. “You can’t take away both their land and livelihood. Many tribals collect mahua from forests even if they don’t own land. How will they survive? The government needs to offer them land and rehabilitation in exchange for what they are losing, not just compensation. That is the issue here and that is why they are opposing the dam.”
“What we need to focus on is why the people are opposing dams,” Krishnan said. “You can’t take away both their land and livelihood. Many tribals collect mahua from forests even if they don’t own land. How will they survive? The government needs to offer them land and rehabilitation in exchange for what they are losing, not just compensation. That is the issue here and that is why they are opposing the dam.”

[Comrade Jacob]

Can someone update this, I liked this thread.

[John Nada]

Can someone update this, I liked this thread.I too find the Indian Revolution interesting, and if it succeeds will be up there with the Russian and Chinese Revolutions. That will be over 17% of the world's population under the DotP.

Signalfire (http://www.signalfire.org/) is where a lot of the stuff on this thread is copied-and-pasted from. That site also has stuff on Rojava, Kurdistan and Turkey too, and some interesting translations of older articles on Marxist theories. Lately it's been the usual, police frame people, state says they're stepping up and on the verge of victory and the Naxals later prove them wrong, and snitches get shot.

It's a few months old, but there was an interview with the CPI(Maoist) General Secretariat Ganapathy. I thought it was interesting that he mentioned the objective condtions globally for a revolution were improving:
MIB: What is the position of the International Communist Movement (ICM) at present especially since the party’s assessment is that the objective world situation is turning further favorable to the revolution? What do you think would be the impact of Avakianism and betrayal of Nepal Revolution by Prachanda-Bhattarai clique for the ICM?

GP: The objective world situation is turning excellent for the advancement of revolution. As noted before, the imperialist system continues to go through its most serious crisis since the Great Depression, leading to massive lay offs and shrinking of job opportunities, unemployment and impoverishment on the one hand and intensified exploitation of working masses and neo-colonial plunder of oppressed countries and people on the other. Wars of occupation have shown no signs of abating, with US imperialism getting bogged down in Iraq, Afghanistan and several other warfronts. Revolutionary, democratic and national liberation forces against imperialism and its domestic props are strengthening in different parts of the world. Workers, peasants, the middle classes, Blacks, immigrants, Muslims and other persecuted communities, women, students, youth and various oppressed classes and sections are coming out onto the streets.

Several EU countries have been rocked by massive worker’s demonstrations and strikes against job cuts, unemployment and underemployment, reduction in real wages, withdrawal of social security spending and other ‘austerity’ measures of the governments. As the gap between the rich and the poor is widening and class antagonism is sharpening, more and more people are joining struggles in the capitalist countries. The Black people, Muslims, immigrants and other oppressed people are protesting in Europe and North America for their democratic rights. In the backward countries too, the disparity of wealth, impoverishment and destitution of the working people, political oppression are all leading to mass upheavals. Several Asian and African countries are going through turmoil and civil war. The armed national liberation struggles of the Iraqi, Afghan, Palestinian, Kurd and other peoples are advancing even in the face of bloodbaths and massacres.

National aspirations of the Scot, Catalonian and other nations of Europe are sustaining. In South America, people have organised massive protests against the anti-people neo-liberal policies adopted by the governments of countries like Brazil. However the subjective forces in the ICM are seriously lagging behind this favourable objective situation in the world today. There is a contradiction between the potential of the objective situation and the subjective capacity of the Maoist forces to utilise it for the advancement of World Socialist Revolution. We know from the lessons of history that this subjective weakness can be overcome principally by waging revolution according to the concrete conditions of each country.

As the revisionist and reformist forces are proving incapable of addressing the people’s issues, the possibility of their rallying with the Maoist forces is increasing. Maoist parties and organisations in many countries are gaining strength and some new parties are in the process of formation. The unity among Maoist parties, organisations and forces is also growing. The potential for a powerful new wave of revolutions is increasing. Facing several odds, PPWs in the Philippines and India are continuing. Maoist parties are carrying out struggles in several other countries as well. Solidarity activities among international Maoist forces around support to the people’s war in India, international mobilisation against counter- revolutionary OGH and Oplan Bayanihan, struggles for the rights of political prisoners, etc. are being carried out. So it is possible that the ICM and the Maoist forces will be in a position to play a significant role in people’s struggles and thereby usher in a revolutionary wave in the future.

Of course, the revisionism of Prachanda-Bhattarai clique and their betrayal of the cause of Nepali people and WSR caused serious damage to the ICM. These traitors have destroyed the glorious people’s war from inside and helped the enemy to retain their stranglehold over the oppressed Nepali people. This is a reversal not only for the Nepali people but also for the entire ICM. However, the bitter struggle waged by genuine Maoist forces against Prachanda-Bhattarai clique, their shameless surrender before the imperialists and their agents, and most importantly, Nepali people’s own struggle against these traitors has have exposed the clique’s reactionary character and its betrayal of MLM in the name of developing and enriching it.

These modern revisionists have become the most trusted lackeys of imperialism, domestic feudal and comprador bureaucratic capitalist forces and Indian expansionism. Nepali masses and the ICM have completely rejected their class collaborationism and will definitely advance on the path of revolution by throwing these turncoats into the dustbin of history. Similarly, the so-called new synthesis of Avakianism too has seriously damaged some Maoist parties. This is because Avakianism is nothing but disguised revisionism and liquidationism. Though it may have some negative impact in the ICM temporarily, it will certainly be defeated. As a detachment of the world proletariat, our party will continue to struggle against Avakianism and all forms of revisionism in the communist movement internationally and in the country.Source: http://www.signalfire.org/2015/06/20/maoist-information-bulletin-mib-interviews-cpimaoist-general-secretary-comrade-ganapathy/ Why does anyone give a fuck about Avakian when the RCPUSA isn't that strong anyway?:confused:

[initforthelutz]

http://www.signalfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Location-of-Maharashtra-in-India.jpg
SATP on CPI (Maoist) strategic shift towards base building and urban work in Maharashtra
…There has been a clear downward trend in other patterns of violent activities as well. The Maoists orchestrated one blast in Gadchiroli District in 2015, as against three such incidents in 2014, and seven in 2013. They were involved in four arson incidents in 2015, as against one in 2014. In one such incident on January 22, 2015, the Maoists set on fire around 14 vehicles of an Andhra Pradesh-based private company engaged in road construction in the Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The Maoists roughed up a few labourers and their supervisor when the work on the Gharanji-Pustola stretch was underway for the connecting road between Edampayali and Korkoti.
Amidst the slump in their activities in Maharashtra and elsewhere, the Maoists are shifting focus towards recruiting active supporters and are planning the formation of a Revolutionary People’s Council, to function parallel to local civic bodies like panchayat samities (village committees) and zilla parishads (district councils). This was revealed during the interrogation of a senior Maoist cadre arrested by the Gadchiroli Police.
Meanwhile, in a press statement, the CPI-Maoist acknowledged the death of ‘central committee’ member, identified as Sridhar Srinivasan aka Vijay aka Vishnu, of heart attack on August 18, 2015. The Maoists also acknowledged that Srinivasan was active in the Mumbai, Pune and Vidarbha regions before his death. These revelations strengthen the apprehension expressed by Chief Minister Fadnavis that the rebels are trying extend their influence into these urban spaces…
http://www.eurasiareview.com/29122015-india-maharashtra-back-against-the-wall-analysis/


http://www.signalfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Suspected-Maoist-commits-690x377.jpg
Suspected Maoist commits suicide at Ghatshila police station
Jamshedpur : A 19-year-old youth who was a suspected member of CPI Maoist committed suicide at the Ghatshila police station lock-up in the wee hours today. The deceased was identified as Ramesh Mahali alias Bhuchan, a resident of Shyamsundarpur in Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum. According to information, Bhuchan was one of the three accused who had killed Venket Reddy (40), site in-charge of a construction company, at Shyamsundarpur jungle after kidnapping him from Kharkasoli, a canal construction site along Subernarekha river in Shyamsundarpur on December 8. In this connection, the police had already arrested Jairam Munda, an close associate of dreaded rebel Fogra Munda and sent him jail earlier.
The more accused Fogra and Bhuchan were still absconding. Bhuchan was arrested in Shyamsundarpur yesterday and had been shifted to Ghatshila police station for being forwarded to the Ghatshila Sub-jail after his production in a judicial magistrate court in Ghatshila today, but he committed suicide in the lock-up today. The police discovered about the incident and later shifted the body to the MGM Medical College mortuary for post-mortem,” noted an official.
http://www.avenuemail.in/jamshedpur/suspected-maoist-commits-suicide-at-ghatshila-police-station/86510/
MAOISTS HOLD MEETING TO WIN VILLAGERS’ CONFIDENCE
Maoists are reportedly losing support of tribal in Nawadih block of the Bokaro district a stronghold of the rebels that shares borders with Giridih and Hazaribagh. The rebels have enjoyed an advantageous position in Nawadih block due to solid tribal support. But sources said excess interference of Maoists in the day to day life of tribals is eroding their support base in the area.To build confidence among villagers of upper ghat, a Maoist-affected block of Bokaro district, held a meeting at the forest area of upperghat here on Sunday night ,sources said.
According to sources, more than 100 rebels including local villagers, assembled near Kachho and Pipradih forest areas .The meeting has been described as local issue and slow pace of implementation of schemes in the villages of 18 panchayat of Nawadih block of the Bokaro district have been issued of the meeting, sources said.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/maoists-hold-meeting-to–win-villagers-confidence.html (http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/maoists-hold-meeting-to--win-villagers-confidence.html)
Maoist abduct, kill postman in Bastar
RAIPUR: Slain body of a postman was found at Dantewada district of Bastar region on Tuesday. The postman was abducted by Maoists last week from Pariya village of Kuwakonda region in Dantewada. Police said 34-year-old Sujit Modiyami was abducted on Saturday from weekly market and his body was found lying near forests which was reported by the natives. Police said that it seemed that Maoists had killed him under suspicion that he was police informer and tagged him as secret trooper. Sources said that in the pamphlets found near body of slain postman, Maoists alleged that he had taken money from police for persuading lower rank cadres to surrender. Modiyami used to charge Rs 50,000-60,000 for surrender of each cadre and was also allegedly getting a monthly payment of Rs 6,000 from police.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Maoist-abduct-kill-postman-in-Bastar/articleshow/50376109.cms (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Maoist-abduct-kill-postman-in-Bastar/articleshow/50376109.cms)
Maoists shifting base from Chhattisgarh?
VIJAYAWADA: The encounter which left Sabari Area Committee (SAC) commander Nagesh alias Ganesh dead in Chinthur area under East Godavari district has once again proved that a large number of Maoists have entered Andhra Pradesh of late. The deceased, a Guttikoya by caste, hailed from Chattisgarh and was drafted to head the SAC sometime ago. There was a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head because he planned the gruesome murder of five persons and also oversaw extortion in Chinthur, Yatapaka and VR Puram areas this year.
Security agencies suspect that armed cadre have been infiltrating into the state especially after bifurcation. The encounter in which a Maoist was killed near Visakhapatnam in June and a gunfire between the police and the Maoists in Araku forest area subsequently suggest the banned outfit has clear intention to focus on AP. In the undivided state, Maoists were mainly confined to some parts of Telangana, leaving the Andhra region untouched by and large.
A senior officer attached to OCTOPUS (Organisation for Counter Terror Operations) said there were no encounters between the police and Maoists who carried out their operations in the form of People’s War Group (PWG) earlier in the Andhra region since 1990. The trend of gun battles that began in June this year indicates the aim of Maoists to expand their base in AP, he added. The bauxite mining issue in Visakhapatnam Agency and Polavaram-induced tribal displacement in the twin Godavari districts appear to come in handy for the outfit to make a foray into the Agency where few officials have chosen to visit in the past few months.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/Maoists-shifting-base-from-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/50377336.cms

[initforthelutz]

https://www.signalfire.org (http://www.signalfire.org)

Maoist arrested in Chhattisgarh
A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Sudan Korram, wanted in connection with murder of a Police Constable and several other crimes, was arrested from his house at Erandarwal village under Mardapal Police Station limits in Kondagaon District, reports The Pioneer on December 31.
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=12/31/2015&id=9#9

(http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=12/31/2015&id=9#9)
Attack on Nitta Gelatin: Charge sheet filed
KOCHI: In the case related to attack on Ernakulam Nitta Gelatin India Ltd (NGIL), the police have submitted the charge sheet. This is the first charge sheet in the case. It has been filed against the first five accused. In the charge sheet, the police have alleged that the accused are CPI Maoist members. The charge sheet has been filed against Arun Balan, Sreekath, Jose, Ramanan and Anoop. The police have alleged that the above five had indulged themselves in anti-national activities and hence they were a threat to national security.


It was in November 2011, NGIL office at Ernakulam Panampilly Nagar was allegedly damaged by the accused. The police’ claim was that Maoists were behind the attack. They also claimed to have recovered Maoist pamphlets from the incident spot. Well ahead of the incident, the company was in the news as locals had risen in protest against it, alleging that it dumped huge quantities of factory waste into Kathikudathu River near Chalakkudy.
http://www.kaumudi.com/innerpage1.php?newsid=73160

[John Nada]

Signalfire is where a lot of the stuff on this thread is copied-and-pasted from.Scratch that. The editor of Signalfire is no longer interested in MLM or the People's War in India. It won't be updated anymore.:(

[John Nada]

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST) CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversaries of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) and the Historic Naxalbari Armed Uprising, Centenary of the Earth-shaking Russian Socialist Revolution and the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Great Teacher of International Proletariat Karl Marx with Revolutionary Enthusiasm and Spirit!
Call of the Central Committee


Dear comrades, friends of the Indian revolution, workers, peasants, toiling masses,
We are going to celebrate four historically significant world proletarian anniversaries within a short span of time. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) – which is completing its fiftieth anniversary this year – was an unprecedented revolutionary mass upsurge in socialist China led by Mao and the Communist Party. It aimed at bringing each and every sphere of the cultural superstructure in conformity with the countryʹs socialist economic base by arousing the vast working masses against bourgeois and other forms of reactionary culture. It involved a bitter class struggle against the entrenched capitalist-roaders, it was a continuation of the anti-revisionist struggle of the Great Debate and marked a new stage in the development of the Chinese Revolution.

It reinforced Maoʹs teaching that many cultural revolutions will be necessary on the path to communism by building and consolidating socialism. Internationally, it provided the conditions and context for a decisive break with revisionism in the communist movements of many countries, formation of ML parties and a new wave of armed agrarian revolutionary wars. In India, the great Naxalbari peasant revolutionary armed uprising – which is going to complete its fiftieth anniversary – was influenced and inspired by the GPCR. Naxalbari was a path-breaking event under the leadership of comrade Charu Majumdar – one of the two great leaders, teachers and fore-founders of CPI(Maoist) comrades CM and KC – which marked a new beginning in the history of the countryʹs democratic revolution.

The centenary of the victory of the great Russian Socialist Revolution is also approaching. It smashed the political power of the Russian capitalist and the feudal classes through armed insurrection and for the first time established a new state of the working class and the toiling masses under the leadership of comrades Lenin and Stalin. It undertook the task of building socialism and laid the foundations of a socialist system, thus paving way for the transition to communism. Bolshevik Revolution was guided by the correct proletarian ideology of Marxism and a correct proletarian revolutionary party. It adopted correct strategy and tactics and carried out relentless struggle against right and ʹleftʹ opportunism within the party and the country. In the course of socialist construction and struggle against domestic and international opportunism, Marxism developed into a new and higher stage – Leninism or Marxism-Leninism. The bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx, the founder of the proletarian ideology, politics and scientific socialism and a great revolutionary philosopher who formulated an entirely new and thoroughly scientific theory and method, is also coming near. Marx showed a new path for humanity that flourished in the process of bitter class struggle and in struggle against bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ideology, economics, politics and culture as well as in struggle against right and ʹleftʹ opportunism within the working-class movement. It marked the dawn of a new epoch for humanity that was chained to class exploitation and oppression for thousands of years.

This made the transition to a classless society – and hence to the realm of freedom – a real possibility. These anniversaries are important occasions to reaffirm the irrefutable truth that the only alternative to wage-slavery, exploitation, oppression, domination, destitution,
discrimination, disparity, devastation, crises and wars engendered by capitalism in the present world is socialism and communism. These are occasions to declare once again that in the fight against capital, its grave-diggers will bury the old decadent social relations and build new social ones in their place in the course of building socialism to progress to a classless society, thus bringing the prehistory of humanity to an end so that the real history of humanity can begin. Those who claim the permanence of capitalism and the out-datedness of communism wantonly forget that humanity has spent most of its past in a classless society, has emerged from a classless society and is destined to once again enter a classless society by passing through successive higher stages under the leadership of the proletariat – the newest, the last and the most revolutionary class in history.

Those who point to the reversal of the Soviet and Chinese socialist societies willfully forget that the bourgeoisie too had to face innumerable defeats over several centuries before it could emerge victorious in its struggle for power against the feudal class. Ever since the Paris Commune, every defeat has brought new lessons to the proletariat. Learning from mistakes and drawing lessons from defeats, the proletariat and its party will relentlessly, doggedly and steadfastly pursue its struggle against the bourgeoisie as the vanguard of all oppressed social classes and social sections to build socialism in one country and then in several countries to finally establish socialism on a world-scale by defeating capitalism, imperialism and all reaction.
Then, after all the necessary conditions have matured, the society will finally be able to inscribe on its banner – ʹfrom each according to his/her ability, to each according to his/her wantʹ. So let us once again assert in the course of celebrating these anniversaries that there is no alternative to Marxism/MLM! There is no alternative to proletarian party/leadership! There is no alternative to revolution and there is no alternative to socialism and communism!

Three of these anniversaries – the fiftieth anniversary of the GPCR, the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution and the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx –are going to be celebrated by the proletariat in all the countries of the world. Our Party, CPI(Maoist), is a committed detachment of the international proletariat. It is guided by the scientific ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM) and creatively applies this ideology in concrete revolutionary practice. It staunchly and relentlessly fights against revisionism of all hues, be it right-opportunism or ʹleftʹ-sectarianism. It is engaged in a widespread protracted war to successfully complete the New Democratic Revolution (NDR) in India as an inseparable part of the world
socialist revolution.

CPI(Maoist) joins the international proletariat in celebrating these important anniversaries. It is our bounden duty to celebrate these three great world proletarian revolutionary events along with all genuine Maoist parties and organizations and individuals of the world as a way of upholding, defending, following and applying MLM for advancing the NDR in our country. To celebrate these events is to grasp the revolutionary essence of Marxism, to emulate the spirit of the victorious proletarian revolutions of the past, to learn from the positive and negative experiences of the international proletariat, to draw lessons from our defeats and mistakes and to rely on our strength for boldly advancing towards completing the NDR in our country in new social and revolutionary conditions by fighting imperialism and all reaction.

Therefore, these historic occasions should be celebrated by our Party to the best of our strength and ability in all places where we have our presence. All the party units should make preparations, put maximum efforts and issue calls to the vast masses to actively and energetically participate in these celebrations. We call upon them to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the GPCR from 16 to 22 May 2016, the fiftieth anniversary of Naxalbari from 23 to 29 May 2017, the centenary celebrations of the Bolshevik Revolution from 7 to 13 November 2017 and the birth bicentenary of Karl Marx from 5 to 11 May 2018. If for any reason it is not feasible to conduct these events on the above-mentioned dates, they can be organised in any other time of the years of these anniversaries (The CC regrets the delay in issuing the call for the fiftieth anniversary of the GPCR due to unavoidable circumstances. It should therefore be celebrated at any time for a week between May 2016 and May 2017 with the aim of taking the great significance of GPCR to the masses). These occasions should be celebrated in the form of campaigns and as Anniversary Weeks.

Comrades,
The world capitalist system is giving rise to acute economic and political crises, destruction of productive forces, intensified exploitation and oppression and predatory wars across the globe. A great majority of the countries, nations and people are subjected to the growing stranglehold of imperialism, resulting in massive resentment as well as resistance among the people. The coming social upheavals are making all reactionaries of the world and their institutions shudder. Therefore they are adopting various repressive and deceptive tactics including widespread counter revolutionary propaganda against MLM and socialist revolutions, new democratic revolutions and national liberation movements as well as all kinds of peopleʹs democratic struggles to pacify and divert the boiling social discontent. In such a situation, our aim should be to confront the enemy on a wider plane encompassing ideological, political, military and all other spheres. The four upcoming revolutionary anniversaries should be utilized for this task.

We should use these occasions to ideologically and politically educate the countryʹs workers, peasants, students, youths, intellectuals, the oppressed social sections including women, Dalits, Adivasis and oppressed nationalities and religious minorities and all other sections of the toiling masses. We should call upon them to rise to the occasion, unite and get organized strongly enough to resist the ruling-class onslaught by all possible means. We should appeal to the masses to participate in the new democratic revolution and join the peopleʹs war in large numbers and more militantly. The message that the new democratic revolution is the only way for the liberation of the vast toiling masses should be widely propagated among them. This is all the more crucial in the present times when Brahmanical Hindu fascism in serving the interests of the Indian ruling classes and imperialism is more viciously and widely attacking communism and all progressive and democratic ideologies, movements, cultures, values, aspirations and practices openly and in the parliamentary guise as a part of its general offensive against the people.

We will have to plan two types of programmes to celebrate these anniversaries. The first type is the programmes in rural areas organised by our Party, PLGA, Revolutionary Peopleʹs Committees (RPCs) and the revolutionary mass organisations (MOs). The second type is the open and legal programmes mainly in the cities to be organised by open organisations either independently or with other revolutionary-democratic forces and individuals. Our MO leadership should take maximum initiative for organizing these events. They should take the responsibility of chalking out the plan of these programmes with other friendly forces. While the fiftieth anniversary of Naxalbari uprising has international significance, it is basically related to the ongoing protracted peopleʹs war of our country. Pro-Maoist and radical democratic parties, organisations and individuals at all-India and state levels may be willing to come together with us for celebrating this anniversary if we make necessary efforts, take initiative and show necessary flexibility. While it is important to try to celebrate the occasion jointly with other
forces, we should not allow the dilution of the ideological-political essence and significance of Naxalbari. So it is better to unite with only those who broadly uphold Naxalbari without diluting its essence. They should generally be supportive of the ongoing revolutionary and democratic movements. Keeping the above in mind, maximum participation should be ensured. Our Central Committee appeals to the genuine proletarian parties, organisations and individuals of different countries as well as the friends, well-wishers and supporters of the Indian revolution to organise
programmes celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Naxalbari in the context of the ongoing protracted peopleʹs war in India.

Genuine Marxists as well as revisionists will uphold and celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the GPCR, the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution and Marxʹs birth bicentenary. So there is a possibility of organizing these celebrations on an even wider basis by involving many more forces than the Naxalbari anniversary. But we should unite with only those Marxist and democratic forces which uphold the core teaching of Marx – the absolute necessity of smashing the old state by applying force to build socialism under the dictatorship of the proletariat so as to proceed towards establishing a classless society, i.e., communism. This essential teaching of Marxism– which was first put in practice in its true spirit in Russia under the leadership of Lenin and Stalin – is ignored and rejected by the revisionists and neo-revisionists of the world and in this way fight against Marxism in the name of Marxism in the interest of capitalism-imperialism.
These forces are in existence in all countries today and they try to prevent the working class from advancing on the revolutionary road.Opportunists like CPI and CPI(M) in our country too do not adhere to this fundamental teaching of Marx. So it is better to avoid uniting with them on the basis of the Party banner for these celebrations. We must not forget for a moment that it is impossible to advance in the fight against the enemy with clarity, courage and unity in the ranks of the Party and the people without a relentless and uncompromising struggle against opportunism of all hues. However, those intellectuals who uphold the essence of Marxʹs teachings, Bolshevik Revolution and the GPCR even while supporting such parties can be invited to our forums and programmes.

Since the fiftieth anniversary of the GPCR, the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution and Marxʹs birth bicentenary will be celebrated internationally, efforts should be made to organize at least one international program in any of the Indian cities on a date agreeable to all participants. We can utilize the event to talk about all the four anniversaries. Likewise, Indian revolutionaries should participate in international programmes organized by genuine revolutionary forces abroad to celebrate these events.

It is to be expected that the enemy will try to create all kinds of hurdles everywhere to prevent us from organizing these anniversaries, be it in the urban or the rural areas. We should be prepared for this and make realistic and practicable plans to conduct these programmes successfully in spite of such disruptionist efforts. We should organize public meetings, hall meetings and seminars in urban areas by depending on our mass base and by mobilizing the people. All programmes should aim at taking the ideology of MLM, its relevance in the present conditions and in the future and the Partyʹs ideological-political line to the vast masses. MLM should be presented as the alternative to all bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ideologies such as economism, reformism, parliamentarism and post-modernism, etc. The necessity of the world proletarian revolution, the unprecedented world historic achievements of the Russian and Chinese revolutions and the great advancements they made in the history of humanity in spite of later betrayals by the revisionists, renegades and capitalist-roaders emerging from the Party leadership should be highlighted. The reasons behind the collapse of the Russian, Chinese and other socialist/new democratic states along with measures to prevent similar reversals in the future should be discussed deeply and comprehensively. Our views on the scientific theory of the proletariat emerging from the struggle for production, class struggle and scientific experiment, the need for applying proletarian leadership method and style of work as well as the application of class-line and mass-line should be placed before the broad masses of the people.

In addition, the Party, PLGA, organs of peopleʹs power/RPCs and revolutionary MOs should widely propagate the achievements of Indiaʹs revolutionary movement among the masses. All party committees from top to bottom along with primary units and Party fractions in MOs/united front forums should conduct theoretical study and political classes on MLM, Bolshevik Revolution, GPCR and the NDR of our country during these occasions. New recruitment campaigns should be taken up by the Party, militia and MOs to replenish their strength with new forces. Torchlight/armed processions, rallies, pubic meetings and group meetings etc. should be conducted in the Guerrilla Zones by following all methods of defense and secret functioning considering the likelihood of enemy attacks to disrupt our programs. Similarly, rallies, hall meetings, public meetings, seminars, etc. should be organised by the mass organisations in the cities by mobilizing like-minded forces and the people. Our Party, PLGA, RPCs and revolutionary MOs should prepare propaganda material, give interviews to the media and publish theoretical-political books and special issues of magazines in concerned languages.

Books on revolutionary theory and history should be published/republished. Propaganda material of different kinds and all other publications should in general have a simple and creative style of presentation easily understandable to the masses. Fractions in MOs should pay special attention and take initiative in this regard. Special attention should be paid to bring out books/booklets/collection of articles written in a lucid style for enhancing the understanding of MLM, Russian Revolution, GPCR and our Party history among the cadres and activists. Given the significance of the four anniversaries, attention should be paid to enhance the ideological-political level of the Party. Revolution is a festival of the workers and the toiling masses and its victories are the fruits of their heroic sacrifices. The upcoming anniversaries too are the festive occasions of the masses. So their active participation and involvement should be ensured in all our propaganda, mobilization and programmes. We must strive to involve the people to the widest possible extent so that they embrace these events as their own and enthusiastically enhance their role in the countryʹs ongoing evolutionary war.

Comrades,
The international proletariat shoulders the historic responsibility of guiding the vast masses in thousands of battles against the enemy through a tortuous path to establish a classless society. Wielding the invincible weapon of MLM – the present-day Marxism – it will continue to advance towards fulfilling this historic mission. Our Party as one of its detachments has achieved some significant successes in the last fifty years since the outbreak of the great Naxalbari armed agrarian uprising by passing through a thorny path with many ups and downs, twists and turns in the path of protracted peopleʹs war. These achievements have been won by creatively applying MLM to the concrete conditions of the country, fighting back the continuous fascist repression of the ruling classes in collusion with the imperialists and with the blood of thousands of heroic martyrs. We should utilize the upcoming anniversaries to uphold and defend these achievements and draw inspiration from them to make further advancements in the peopleʹs war. We should equip, educate and remould the Party and the masses with MLM on these occasions and place before them the positive and negative experiences and the lessons learnt from the mistakes in our practice. We should strive to enhance the enthusiasm and fighting spirit of our Party, PLGA, RPCs, MOs, friendly forces and the masses through these anniversaries. We should try to gain the confidence of the friendly forces and the people and to win them over to our side so that they can be united vastly and strongly against the common enemy. We should make all efforts to propagate new democracy, socialism and communism as the only path of liberation from the chains of exploitation, oppression, bondage and
enslavement. This is the path shown by the great international proletarian teachers Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. This is the trail blazed by Bolshevik Revolution, Chinese Revolution and Naxalbari. On the occasion of the four upcoming anniversaries, let us renew our pledge to continue advancing on this path! We call upon all Party units and members to propagate this Call extensively among the people and successfully conduct the anniversary celebrations with their active involvement and participation.
With revolutionary greetings,

Ganapathy)
General Secretary,
Central Committee,
CPI(Maoist)Source: http://avaninews.com/article.php?page=705

[John Nada]

One night this February, six rockets whooshed out of the forest and burst into flames, raining shrapnel into trees surrounding a police camp in Chhattisgarh. No lives were lost but the explosions sounded a loud alarm for the security forces fighting a decades-old, violent Maoist insurgency.


Until recently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cleared all the trees and shrubs before pitching their camps in the forests where the rebels hold sway. But these days the trees are left to stand as a shield against projectiles that the insurgents seem to fire with worrying frequency.


Security specialists say the Maoists are adapting themselves to the changing ground situation. With the region teeming with 118 paramilitary battalions comprising 120,000 troops, they are taking to the aerial route to attack.

“The more we learn their tactics, the more they learn our tactics,” said a senior CRPF officer involved in anti-Maoist operations. “As we improve, so do they.”

The Maoists’ crude artillery of rockets and mortars was on display even during the deadly ambush in Sukma two weeks ago that killed 25 CRPF soldiers. The guerrillas used five different kinds of airborne projectiles in the ambush, officials said.


One of the projectiles seized from the spot of the attack was what security forces describe as the “Rambo arrow”. Fired from a traditional bow, the arrowhead carried low-grade gunpowder that explodes on impact after hitting a target.


“Rambo arrows don’t cause much damage, but they disorient you in the fog of war,” said a CoBRA trooper who survived the ambush. The CoBRA is a special commando unit that specialises in guerrilla warfare.

Intelligence officials who studied the ambush said the projectiles were used to force troopers to abandon cover positions and come into the open, where they were picked off with gunfire.
The rockets, including the crude versions, bear testimony to the Maoists’ changing tactics under heightened pressure exerted by the swelling number of security forces. Their area of influence has shrunk over the years and mounting ambushes are becoming difficult, though not entirely rare. Triggering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is also becoming a challenge.


“We have been recovering IEDs of increasing sophistication,” Jamal Khan, the principal of CRPF’s Institute of IED Management at Pune told HT. “As we have grown better at identifying and defusing IEDs, the Maoists have been forced to adapt”.


The new emphasis on airborne projectiles, field officers say, is a logical next step in a decades-long game of cat-and-mouse between soldiers and guerrillas.Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-forge-rocket-powered-resurgence-to-take-on-crpf-forces/story-Uv8Zm0t4yZhgEQSPA3fGjP.html

Exploding arrows? That's some Rambo shit!:cool: There was another ambush where they used it too: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4317986/Maoists-kill-Indian-soldiers-explosive-tipped-arrows.html

[John Nada]

Maoist party rejects heavy encounter in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. firing,The Statement maintained that the police deliberately launched a malicious propaganda on Maoists and issuing concoted versions about the death toll to rejuvenate the demoralised cadre of the CRPF This act Wonʹt deter the Maoists in the bastion and the people Would continue to Wage the Struggles, it reiterated.

Dandakarnya committee of Maoist Party said in statement. After recent attack on Police by Maiosts, Police are creating furore in forest villages, the statement criticised. On May 13,14,15 Police fired in air and created panic among people, it said. Police physically tortured the people who were there at forest villages, the statament criticised.Source: http://avaninews.com/article.php?page=1100

[guevarism]

Sukma Attack - Spurts of revolutionary flames rising from the indian Revolutionary outfits are evident of the selfless zeal we carry .
Praise be to the Maoist ommandos who killed Indian state sponsored terror-carriers , the paramilitary forces who put up a sham and farce show of their gun-power and tried to overpower our comrades .
The Maoist comrades have given them the right response by fearlessly killing and mutilating the agents of State sponsored hindutva terror.
Let us all Indian comrades gather in this hour of need and unite to fight off communal tendencies from this region


#lal-salaam
#red-salute

Martyrs are reborn and so will our slain comrades