Maoists kill 7 security personnel in Jharkhand, 3 missing Six CRPF personnel and one Jharkhand Jaguar special task force policeman were shot dead by Maoists in the state’s Latehar district on Monday. Twelve personnel were injured; three CRPF men were missing till late on Monday night. The injured, including three critically wounded men, waited hours for medical attention as bad weather prevented an IAF helicopter from landing at the site. The Maoist group involved in the four-hour encounter is believed to have been headed by Arvind, an important leader thought to be holed up in the area for the past 25 days. The CRPF had been camping there since December 20 to try and capture him. The encounter, named ‘Operation Saamna’, involved about 220 CRPF and some Jharkhand Police personnel. After about five hours, the injured men were driven to the nearest railway station, put on a train and sent to a hospital in Daltonganj town, two hours away. Armed with AK-47 rifles, the Maoists fired incessantly at the raiding team. Officials claimed at least four Maoists were killed, but no bodies have been recovered. “The men were gunned down when they were climbing the hills, the four men in the front line died instantly while eight others received bullet injuries,” Pankaj Kumar Singh, IG (Operations), CRPF, said. The CRPF depends on an IAF Mi-17 and a BSF Dhruv chopper for rescue operations in the Maoist-hit areas of Jharkhand and Bihar. The Mi-17 helicopter can’t operate in low-visibility conditions. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ma...ssing/1056089/
Naxalites active once again in Punjab? CHANDIGARH: Punjab government is maintaining a close vigil over Naxalite movement in this border state where, after a brief lull, activities of the Naxalites are again picking up in several districts. According to informed sources in the Punjab Police headquarters here, Naxalites are setting up frontal organizations at several places and there are reports of their establishing Naxalite committees in some districts. Sources said that attempts are also being made to attract fresh recruits to the Naxalite movement. But the police are fully alive to the situation and during the past about two years, nearly one-and-a-half dozen persons have been arrested in connection with Naxalite activities. Only recently, Punjab Police chief Sumedh Singh Saini had conceded that attempts are being made to establish Naxalite cells in the state. Meanwhile, former chief minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh too has expressed concern over the Naxalite activities in different parts of the country including Punjab. Capt Amarinder said on Tuesday that he had raised this issue at the Jaipur Chintan Shivir of the All India Congress Committee because it constitutes a serious challenge to the security of the country. According to the intelligence wing of Punjab Police, the Naxalite movement in the state has now entered its second phase. The first phase consisted of establishment of frontal organizations, while in the second phase the activities of the frontal organizations are stepped up along with a recruitment drive. In the third phase, the movement moves into violent activities followed by open confrontation with the established set-up by carrying out big operations. In the fifth and final stage, Naxalites seek to set up a parallel administration. For the time being, Naxalite activities in Punjab are confined to Mansa, Barnala and Sangrur districts where many of their leaders have been picked up, but they are trying to expand in other areas. http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Naxal...in-Punjab.html
