NAXAL/ MAOISTS- 2013 January to December - 2013

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Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre∗ Maoist violence registers a new low in 2012 (12) HYDERABAD: Relentless counter-insurgency operations taken up in all left-wing extremism-affected States seemed to have had the desired impact, as Maoist violence registered a record low in 2012. The downward trend in violence in the last six-year period, could indicate the success of the security forces in pushing the Maoist revolution into a strategic equilibrium stage. Another possibility could be an unannounced tactical retreat from some areas by Maoists themselves to protect their cadre. The peace secured puts tremendous responsibility on the civil administration to speed up developmental works, though security experts caution that the forces must not slip into complacency. The success or failure of counter-insurgency operations is gauged by the rise or fall in the number of incidents perpetrated by Maoists. In 2012, there were 1,365 incidents involving Maoists in nine States. Maoist guerrillas killed 409 persons (296 civilians and 113 security personnel). This is a record low in the last seven years with the death toll standing at 611 (2011), 1,005 (2010), 908 (2009), 721 (2008) and 696 (2007), according to statistics of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Interestingly, Jharkhand has overtaken Chhattisgarh in Maoist killings in 2012. Out of 409 killings last year, Jharkhand accounted for 160 deaths, followed by Chhattisgarh (107), Odisha (45), Bihar (43), Maharashtra (41) and Andhra Pradesh (13). A possible reason for this surge in violence in Jharkhand could be the decision of the Maoist leadership to strengthen base, while maintaining a low profile in Chhattisgarh, where security forces are making inroads in the otherwise impregnable Bastar forests. “This could mean Maoists are heightening the violence in various other States in a sustained and determined bid to spread security forces thin,” said P.V. Ramana, senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). Intelligence inputs culled from different sources indicate that there is an element of despondency among Maoist strategists with their State units unable to recruit youth into the revolutionary movement. The inputs also speak of the Maoist urban network being disrupted. The current scenario reflects a situation where the security forces are establishing their stronghold in plain areas, while making gradual inroads in the Maoist bastions in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, says a senior intelligence official. This is the right time for the civil administration to move in and take up developmental works. “Any laxity on this count would be exploited by Maoists, who would change their strategies and tactics to regain control over the areas where security forces are gaining a foothold,” feels another officer. (The Hindu 3/1/13) CRPF wants J’khand, Bihar to rehabilitate 500 Naxal supporters (12) New Delhi: The CRPF has reportedly written to both Jharkhand and Bihar governments to rehabilitate more than 500-odd Maoist sympathisers who were identified and detained during various combing operations. The force has also proposed to categorise the sympathisers based on their educational qualifications and other required skills. “The states had agreed to our proposal to divide them in different categories. They would be given either vocational training or financial aid or jobs,” a senior official said. The CRPF has claimed that in the last one year it has cleared over 5,000 sq km in Saranda, Gaaru and Burra Pahar areas of Maoist influence in Jharkhand and Bihar, which was followed by development projects. Officials say that the number of such sympathisers has been increasing and the state

∗ This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

governments are yet to act. Meanwhile, CRPF officials, on their own, have entered into tie-ups with NGOs to start skill development programmes for youths in Maoist-affected areas. Young men are trained to develop mechanical and driving skills. Women are trained and deployed as security guards in urban areas or as caretakers at orphanages and old-age homes. “For better results, security operations and development projects need to go simultaneously,” an official said. (Indian Express 3/1/13) Mamata hands out job cards cycles, scooters to surr endered Maoists (12) Medinipur: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee handed out jobs cards, cycles and scooters to surrendered Maoists in the state's Medinipur region over the weekend. She also addressed local people and also gave away cash rewards and certificates to former Maoists in bid to encourage the ultras to give up arms. During the event two Maoists surrendered with arms before Banerjee amid assurances of proper rehabilitation by the state government. Meanwhile, she also distributed awards to athletes, archers and members of the football clubs from the Jangalmahal region of Medinipur, believed to be a stronghold of the Maoist movement. Banerjee declared that jobs would be announced in the area through the employment exchange, and thus, prompt tribal youth not to be misled by the rebels and later be disillusioned. The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of millions of landless people and marginal farmers. However, the government has termed them as India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to higher growth and more jobs in Asia's third-largest economy. (New Kerala 6/1/13) Maoist camp busted; Naxal uniforms, guns recovered (12) Jagdalpur : Police on Sunday morning busted a Maoist camp under operation in a dense forested area of Birbhati village about 12 kms north-west from district head quarters Sukma and seized large numbers of Naxal uniforms, guns and other items. However no Maoist was arrested in the action. Superintendent of Police Sukma, Abhiskek Shandilya said we had information about presence of Maoist in Birbhatiti village under Bhejji police station. Acting on the inputs a joint team consisting of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPC), District Force (DF), Special Task Force (STF) and Combine Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was formed and sent for action. However, somehow Maoists got information about the movement of security forces who then fled away hastily leaving behind their belongings in the camp, said SP. Inspector General of Police Bastar range Himanshu Gupta lauding the action said that police have found 4 guns of 12-bore, Maoist uniforms in large number, ration, tents, pitthu bags, Naxal literature, banner, poster etc. from the spot. Some ration that was looted from security forces was also found in the camp. (Pioneer 7/1/13) 'Guns not a solution as Naxalism rising due to wron g policies' (12) JAIPUR: Former Army chief V K Singh today blamed successive governments at the Centre and states for the rise of Naxalism in the country, noting that a host of issues like lack of development and violation of people's rights helped strengthening base of the ultras in the country. "Those who are in power are responsible for the issue of Naxalism. It can not be solved by force deployment, but by social reform and change in policies," Singh said here. Calling for urgent steps to deal with the challenge in wake of the increasing expansion of Naxals, Singh, however, said the issue could be resolved only through wide-ranging reforms and not by force. "When CRPF Jawans were killed in an ambush laid by Naxals in Chhattisgarh in 2010, the Centre sought my suggestion over possibility of deployment of Army but I declined because this issue can be solved only by social reforms," he said. He said factors like injustice on part of the machinery compel people to support Naxals as they start seeing a solution to their problems in the methods used by the ultras. The number of districts affected with Naxalism was 50 in 1990 and now has increased to around 270, Singh said, underlining the need for urgent attention towards the issue. (Times of India 7/1/13) 7 crpf men die in latehar naxal ambush (12)

Seven CRPF personnel were killed and at least nine others injured in a fierce gun battle with Maoist guerrillas in Latehar district on Monday. Jharkhand director-general of police G.S. Rath said that nine or 10 other personnel from CRPF and Jhar-khand Jaguars were injured in the gun battle with the Maoists near Katila, in Amua-tikar village of the district. The CRPF had rushed to the spot after the police got information that several Mao-ist rebels, including those from outside the state, had assembled near the place. The enc-ounter broke out when Maoists on a hill-top fired on the security personnel. (Asian Age 8/1/13) Sickening strategy: why naxals hid IED inside a bod y (12) Ranchi: Maoists once again displayed their propensity towards brutal violence when they cut open the body of a slain trooper on Tuesday and implanted an improvised explosive device (IED) to booby-trap the security personnel carrying out rescue operations. The body, stitched with surgical precision, was retrieved on Wednesday from the Ambatikar forests, the theatre of the gun-battle between the security persons and rebels, and subsequently flown to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for autopsy. What could have been a major disaster was averted after the doctors carrying out the postmortem found something wrong with the kind of stitches on the body. They immediately contacted senior officials of the state police and CRPF. Experts from bomb disposal squads of both the CRPF and Jharkhand police carried out examinations of the body on Wednesday and Thursday and eventually discovered the IED, planted beneath the ribs of the slain CRPF jawan, Babulal Patel. "The scanner detected the explosive," said a bomb disposal expert, adding that the IED was fitted with a solar panel and also connected with the stitches. "It could have exploded either by the pull of the stitches or coming in contact with light," said a senior CRPF official not authorised to speak to the media. An inspector general of the Jharkhand police said: "Maoists have been using booby traps in boxes, trees and clothes, but booby-trapping a body was never heard of so far." Married only a year ago, Patel was from Allahabad. (Hindustan Times 11/1/13) Odisha Maoist leader's wife to join politics (12) Bhubaneswar: Subhasree Das, the wife of Odisha's most wanted Maoist leader Sabhyasachi Panda, has expressed interest in joining electoral politics. "After talking to people, I have decided to join mainstream politics," Panda said yesterday at a meeting of Jan Mancha, Odisha, a platform she has floated after release from jail. "Politics is not new to our family. I was born in a political family and my father-in-law was also in politics," she said referring to late Ramesh Chandra Panda who was elected to the Odisha Assembly as a communist candidate. "Therefore the Panda family has some support in Ranpur area of Nayagarh district," Subhshree, who was born in Puri district, said. Asked whether she was creating field for her Maoist husband to return to the mainstream after surrendering, Subhasree said "I do not know whether he will surrender. But, I will contest the next polls." She said her focus would be to fight against corruption and the spread of liquor. Subhasree was earlier arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in January 2010. She spent about two years in jail till the Orissa High Court acquitted her in October 2011. She was, however, booked in other cases and put behind bars and released when her husband was holding two Italian nationals hostage in February 2012. "I was released as per court order. The hostage crisis has nothing to do with my release," Panda said. The meeting was attended by former finance minister Panchanan Kanungo and Jan Adhikar Manch leader and Maoist mediator Dandapani Mohanty. (Zee News 14/1/13) Naxals torch 27 vehicles at Gadchiroli road constru ction site (12) NAGPUR: The Naxals sounded a wake-up call for Gadchiroli cops on Sunday afternoon by torching 27 vehicles at a road construction site near Lekha (Menda) village on Godalvahi-Dhanora road, some 6km from the state highway connecting Gadchiroli and Rajnandgaon. Sources in the district said a group of around 40 rebels, most likely to be members of Tippagarh dalam and a platoon dalam, chased away the

site supervisors before setting the vehicles afire. Reports said 20 tractors, two JCB machines, a road roller, two water tankers and two bikes were set afire. Seven more tractors were deployed at the site, but survived the arson because they had been used to take labourers to the base camp for lunch. There were no injuries or casualties in the incident. The arson came within a week of Naxals executing a blast on Dhanora-Heti road during a police sponsored community outreach programme in the vicinity. The latest violence, inflicting loss to the tune of almost a crore, has put both police and district administration on the backfoot. The torching of vehicles at construction sites is usually used by Naxals to show their strong anti-development stance, especially their opposition to road construction. An official of public works department (PWD) said the latest incident has dealt a major blow to the morale of the agency, and private contractors are expected to back away from contracts in view of the huge loss. The vehicles torched on Sunday were working on a project being implemented by the Pune-based Ingoley Patil company. This company had suffered losses earlier too, when Naxals had set a couple of tractors and construction site equipment on fire at Potegaon last year. The present work was part of the Road Requirement Project (RRP-1), costing around Rs30 crore, funded by the central government. The job was to construct a 28km road from Pustola to Godalvahi and Dhanora in north Gadchiroli. Around 14km of road already exists, and the work between Godalvahi and Pustola had been taken up by the company. The work had picked up pace only this year, said a source. He added that it would be difficult now to convince the contractor to restart and complete the work. Deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Gadchiroli range, Ravindra Kadam said the motive behind the large scale arson is as yet unclear. Police have already started an operation in the area. (Times of India 15/1/13) State Govt not serious about solving Naxal issues: Jogi (12) Raipur: Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Ajit Jogi, on Monday charged that Bharatiya Janata Party led State Government was not serious towards solving the Naxal issue plaguing the State for more than a decade now and instead trying to keep it alive so that it would drive benefit again during the Assembly polls scheduled this year. Since it has failed to protect the life of common man as well as security forces, it should resign on moral grounds, he demanded. The former Chief Minister said that while the Union Government was providing huge funds to curb insurgency, has deputed more than 100 company paramilitary forces, provided 18 helicopters, opened army training camps at Kanker and Mahasamund, strengthening intelligence channels in affected areas, modernising police stations in tribal areas. On the other hand, instead of taking other measures, the State Government was indulging in misappropriation of central funds provided under Rural Roads Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Electrification scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, Drinking Water scheme, Public Distribution schemes only due to lack of vision and weak governing ability affecting the development and progress of the State. Jogi charged that while murder of innocent villagers and public representatives was still going on unabated in tribal areas, modesty of tribal girls is outraged in ashram schools, Adiwasis are framed as Naxals after fake encounters, people are migrating to other areas in search of jobs. He said that there is hardly any control on curbing the smuggling of diamond, iron ore, coal and other precious minerals found in the State, the State Government was indulging in producing achievement data on paper even in those areas which have not seen a ray of development just to befool the Centre. (Pioneer 16/1/13) Mobile tower project in nine Maoist-hit States stuc k over cost issues (12) NEW DELHI: The ambitious project of the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide seamless mobile connectivity in nine Maoists-affected States has been caught in a tussle between Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and the Universal Service Obligation Fund , a body under the Department of Telecommunications, over cost estimates of installing mobile towers. Even as Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has urged Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal to expedite the case on an urgent basis in view of growing clashes between Maoists and security forces,

BSNL has sought Rs. 5,807 crore for installing and operating 2,199 mobile towers in nine Naxal -affected States . (The Hindsu 18/1/13) Naxal attack: Injured policemen airlifted to Raipur (12) Raipur: Two policemen injured in naxal attack at Temelwada area of Sukma district were air-lifted to Raipur for treatment on Saturday, Director General of Police Ramniwas said. Naxals attacked the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) party on Friday during the road-opening task in the forests of Temelwada village under Chintagufa police station limits of Sukma district. While head constable Baisuram Mandavi was killed in the attack, platoon commander Nandkishore Bhadoriya sustained injuries. Later, an IAF helicopter Mi-17 was sent to rescue the CAF personnel from Temelwada village. When the helicopter, having seven people on-board, was descending to pick up the injured jawan of the CAF, naxals fired at it and injured the radio operator M K Sahu, who was on-board. Sahu is reported to be critical. After the attack, the chopper had to make a forced landing in forests of Chitagufa police station area. "The injured platoon commander Nandkishore Bhadoriya and radio operator M K Sahu, who was onboard the chopper, have been air lifted to Raipur for better treatment," Director General of Police Ramniwas said. "Technical officials of the Indian Air Force have reached the spot where the chopper made crash landing after it was attacked," the DGP said. After few hours of landing, the CRPF troopers cordoned off the helicopter and rushed reinforcements to the area, Ramniwas said. Additional Director General (ADG) of Naxal Operation RK Vij, ADG, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Mukesh Gupta and Inspector General of Police, CRPF, Zulfiqar Hasan have left for Sukma to ascertain the situation today, the DGP added. Chief minister Raman Singh strongly condemned the attack and said security forces have to be more alert. He expressed grief over the death of the jawan in naxal attack in Temelwada. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured jawans. Singh had also called a meeting with senior police officials at his official residence to take stock of incident last night, official sources said. (Hindustan Times 19/1/13) Police gun down six Naxals in Gadchiroli (12) Nagpur: The Gadchiroli police in an anti-Naxal operation gunned down at least six Maoists near Jimalgatta in Aheri tehsil at around 1.30 am on Sunday. The operation is being said to be the biggest success for the police here. The ambush was carried out by two commando groups totalling 50 near Govindgaon village and was based on precise intelligence inputs. "We had information that Naxals were holding a meeting in the village. We sent two parties that laid an ambush at a vantage position from where they could see a meeting being conducted with villagers participating," said DIG (Gadchiroli range) Ravindra Kadam. He said that after the meeting ended and the villagers left, 10-15 Naxals started walking away from the village. "Our men opened fire. Six of them were killed on the spot and possibly two others were injured. Rest managed to run away," said the DIG. He said the Naxals tried to retaliate, but were badly exposed to police firing. "They couldn't hold the ground as probably six of them died in the first burst of fire itself," he said. The deceased Naxals were identified as Shankar alias Muneshwar Lakda (43), member of south Gadchiroli divisional committee of CPI(Maoist), Vinod alias Chandrayya Kodape (30), Aheri local organisational squad commander, Vinod's wife Geta (25), deputy commander of platoon 14, Zuru Mattami (20), Mohan Kowase (25) and and Sunita alias Pale Bandy Kodape (18). Two SLRs and two .303 rifles were also recovered. "They didn't have shoulder bags as they were probably heading for their nearby camp where we suspect a platoon was camping," Kadam said. (Indian Express 21/1/13) Abandoned IAF copter had two machine guns (12) NEW DELHI: The IAF helicopter that was forced to make an emergency landing in the densely-forested Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, after it came under fire from Maoists, has now been flown back to its operating base at Jagdalpur after being repaired. This comes even as the IAF is conducting a court of inquiry (CoI) into the entire incident, with concerns being raised about how the Mi-17 was hit by 15-17

bullets because the police/paramilitary forces on the ground are supposed to "sanitise" a 1.5-km area around the helipad since helicopters are the most vulnerable while taking off and landing. Moreover, the CoI will also look into the circumstances under which the IAF crew, including the two pilots and two Garud commandos, left behind a grievously-injured Chhattisgarh Police radio operator as well as the disabled helicopter (armed with two light machine guns) behind at the spot. It was only after the IAF crew made its way to the police-paramilitary camp at Chintagufa two km away that CRPF Cobra commandos rushed to the spot to rescue the injured police jawan and secure the helicopter. "Multiple bullet hits had extensively damaged the fuel tank, hydraulic system, rotor blades and AC generator of the Mi-17, which led to hot oil and fuel gushing into the passenger compartment followed by failure of various systems. But the technicians worked around-the-clock to make it fully airworthy again," said an official. (Times of India 23/1/13) Naxals kidnap 8 labourers in Bihar village (12) PATNA: A group of armed Maoists kidnapped eight persons engaged in road and bridge construction work at village Badaldiah under the Khaira police station area in Jamui district in the wee hours on Sunday. Jamui SP Upendra Kumar Sharma said armed Maoists attacked a camp office of a road bridge construction in Badaldiah village, about 30 km from the district headquarters, and took away eight labourers with them. The SP said a combing operation with police and CRPF personnel is on, particularly in areas bordering Giridh district in Jharkhand, to recover the kidnapped workers. According to the police sources, the Maoists chose to kidnap the workers after the company constructing the bridge and road there refused to pay levy demanded by the rebels. Those kidnapped hail from Badaldiah, Dalsinghsarai in Samastipur and Raghopur in Saran district. The road and bridge is being constructed by a Munger-based private contractor who was awarded work by Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam on Jamui-Nawada rural road. The Maoists had attacked the same Khaira police area on September 19 last year and killed one police inspector and injured five other policemen who were patrolling in the night. In 2011, Reds had struck twice and had kidnapped 17 workers engaged in a bridge construction work at Baltharghat. In another incident, they had kidnapped 11 workers in Pakrighat on Kiul river. (Times of India 28/1/13) Shot in abdomen by Naxals, abandoned by IAF crew, h e waited for help for hours (12) Raipur: Till over a fortnight back, Yem Lal Sahu, 29, was an agile young policeman with the Chhattisgarh Armed Force, looking forward to a big promotion and his wedding in the summer. Today, he lies on a hospital bed, fighting paralysis. A portion of his small and large intestines have been removed. Sometimes, his memory fails him. A wireless operator, he was aboard the Mi 17 that flew in to rescue the security personnel injured in an encounter with Maoists in the forests of Sukma district on January 18. Maoists fired at the chopper and forced it to crash-land in the first incident of its kind. Sahu was hit by a bullet in the abdomen. The IAF crew abandoned Sahu, as they rushed to the safety of a nearby CRPF camp. For hours, he was alone in the forest, sending signals for help. He was finally rescued and brought to Raipur the next afternoon. "Due to delay in treatment, he developed haemodynamic instability that caused a paralytic attack," said Dr Sandeep Dave, director of Ramkrishna Care Hospital where Sahu was admitted on January 19. He has already undergone surgeries and will be operated upon again in another four-five months. He can't talk much. Asked a question, he goes deep in thought, the strain on his forehead visible. "MSc (Botany)," he mumbles, almost inaudibly. "No," he corrects himself, "MSc (Maths)...only person from my village." A resident of a village in Balod district, Sahu joined the Chhattisgarh police in 2010 with an MSc (Maths). Recently, he cleared the recruitment exams for Sub-Inspector, his physical test was due in January-end… (Indian Express 1/2/13) Three Maoists arrested in Narayanpatna (12) BERHAMPUR: A hard core Maoist Sarbu Wadeka along with two other Maoist militias was arrested in Narayanpatna block of Koraput district. They were nabbed by personnel of Border Security Force (BSF)

and Koraput district police from outskirts of Podapadar village under Narayanpatna police station limits on Thursday night. The two nabbed Maoist militias were Wadeka Siku and Wadeka Jetu. All of them were residents of Podapadar village. All the three arrested persons were involved in several cases of violence including murders by Maoists and controversial tribal organisation Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) in Narayanpatna area According to Koraput Superintendent of Police (SP), Awinash Kumar, Sarbu was a key Maoist leader of Narayanpatna area and had also served as body guard of CMAS top brass Nachika Linga, who is in the most wanted list of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh police. As per police records Nachika Linga was a Maoist commander. Sarbu happened to be a key Maoist element of Srikakulam-Koraput joint Division Committee (SKDC) of Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC). Sarbu was also extreme close to Maoists like Daya and Aruna who head the Srikakulam-Koraput division of Maoists. According to the police , during interrogation Sarbu revealed details about his training in guerrilla warfare of Maoists. He was involved in the landmine attack on BSF patrolling party at Pattamunda on September 1, 2012 in which a BSF Jawan named Xavier Kindo had been martyred. He was also involved in murder of contractor J. Rajendra Prasad on May 11, 2012 and murder Salu Praska of Laxmipur on February 24, 2012 in Laxmipur police station area. Wadeka Siku was involved in murder of Nityananda Meleka of Gotiguda on May 9, 2009. The cases in which these three were involved included cases of murder, dacoity, abduction and forcive take over of land, police sources said. It may be noted that a hardcore armed Maoist cadre, Nachika Chamara alias Samara, who had also served as bodyguard of Nachika Linga had surrendered before Koraput SP on January 4. In January there were a series of surrender of villagers of Bhaliaput, Upper Renga and Basnaput villages, who were earlier helping and providing logistic support to Maoists and CMAS, at Narayanpatna police station. They had promised to part ways with the violent organisations and lead normal life. This was suspected to have resulted in decline in strength of Maoists and CMAS in the area. (The Hindu 2/2/13) Maoists' first post-civil war meet in Nepal (12) Kathmandu: Six years after they gave up arms Nepal's ruling party on Saturday began its seventh national convention after a 21 year gap and the first one post the 1996-2006 civil war. Thousands of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) cadres thronged the southern industrial township of Hetauda to take part in the inaugural session attended by representatives of political parties from Nepal and abroad. Held at a time when Nepal is witnessing political and constitutional crisis following dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in May last year, it is expected to give a new direction to the country's largest party. When the party's last convention was held at Madi in 1992 it had adopted the line of peoples' war. In the interim it took part in the civil war, signed a peace deal, joined politics and came to power. "We will never leave peoples' issues. But we are willing to change methods to achieve peoples' rights as per need of the hour," UCPN (M) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' stated in his inaugural session. Speakers from other political parties expressed hope that the convention would also pave way for consensus, a national unity government and fresh polls to elect the next parliament. Differences among parties on these issues have prolonged the deadlock and opposition parties blame the ruling Maoists 'lust for power' as the main reason for the same. "We will bring out a formula through this convention to end the political crisis and hold fresh elections," he said. The convention will continue till Thursday and the party is expected to make public its new political strategy on the final day. (Hindustan Times 2/2/13) When Naxals play the khaps, cops play cupid (12) NAGPUR: Cops in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district will play the role of family elders to help complete rituals for a surrendered Naxalite couple whose romantic alliance was strongly opposed by their senior party cadres. The unique marriage ceremony between the two former Naxals (names held back for security reasons) will take place on Monday, likely to be attended by senior police officers. Deputy inspector general of police ( DIG), Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam said cops helped former Naxals to marry to send out a message to the others that a better avenue in life waits for them. "They had faced

strong opposition from their own leaders which led to them surrendering," he said. "Naxals had compelled the woman to return to the rebel movement but she was brought back with the help of her husband-to-be," he added. Security forces say Naxal leaders do not take romantic affairs within the party too kindly. This is especially true for the rebels who are in combat roles. A senior security personnel said Naxals believe romantic alliances distract the guerrillas. They discourage not just affairs but also husbands and wives remaining together. "Marriages lead to pregnancy and such conditions are difficult for the rebels to handle," said the senior officer. (Times of India 5/2/13) Naxal terror on the wane (12) New Delhi: Notwithstanding the bloody encounter between CRPF and Maoist rebels at Latehar in Jharkhand last January 7, according to latest home ministry figures, Naxal violence in the country is on a decline, and it is Mamata's Bengal which is leading the way in successfully decimating Left Wing Extremists (LWE). From a high of 350 LWE incidents in 2010 - with killings of 223 civilians, 35 security forces personnel and 42 Naxals - the figure fell to just six incidents of violence in 2012 with just one Maoist death. Maoist infested states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar are also showing a positive trend. "There has been a 40% decline in incidents, 60% decline in Maoist killings and last year the least number of security forces' weapons were seized by the LWE since the movement began in 1960s," said a top government official. While West Bengal government aggressively went after the Maoists after the attack on then chief minister Buddadeb Bhattacharya on November 2, 2008; it was Mamata who really broke its back. "Apart from the police and security forces, it was Left's Harmud Bahini and Trinamool's Bhairav Bahini that politically countered the Maoists in the affected districts," said an official. "The West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh experiment clearly shows that if the state government follows a tough LWE policy, then the Maoists can be tackled and their core armed strength reduced to manageable levels. Fight against the LWE will not work if it is left only to the CRPF or Central forces," theofficial added. (Hindustan Times 12/2/13) Combing operation continues for Maoists (12) KANNUR: A special team of armed police personnel continued their combing operation in the forest areas near Cherupuzha, bordering Karnataka, on the second day on Wednesday following eyewitness accounts of the presence of armed Maoists in the forest area on the Karnataka side of the border earlier this month. As many as 40 well-equipped policemen from the district, including the special squad of the Inspector General of Police (Kannur range), carried out the combing operation in the forest area at Mundoli. The forest area is located in Karnataka, the police said. The search and screening were a continuation of the police operation that began on February 12 evening jointly with the Karnataka Police. Senior police officers here have reached the conclusion that the armed group, met by local people in the area, was that of Maoists. The district police launched the operation in the border forest area on Tuesday as soon as they got the information of an incident of some local workers being approached by the armed group on February 1. A police team, led by Inspector General (IG) of Police (Kannur range) Jose George and District Police Chief Rahul R. Nair reached the area in the evening and carried out a combing operation. The operation continued on Wednesday with the armed police personnel searching the forest area for five hours. A police team led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Yatheesh Chandra, Iritty Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Pradeep Kumar, Alakkode Circle Inspector Pradeep Kumar, and Payyannur Circle Inspector K.A. Raheem searched the area from 9.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., with a Karnataka Police team focusing on another area. When contacted, the IG told The Hindu that the information available with the police was enough to confirm that the armed people the estate workers had encountered in the forest were Maoists. The suspected Maoist group is said to have 26 people, he said.As more details are coming in of the encounter between the local people and the armed group, the police officers who questioned six workers, including three women, working in a nearby private land disclosed that the armed group approached the workers and asked for grocery items. Though they were

carrying guns on their shoulders, they had not threatened the workers at gun point. The workers had cooked food for the suspected Maoists, the police said adding that the latter had spent nearly three hours with the workers. The Karnataka Police on Tuesday showed the workers the photo of a woman, who, the local people said, was in the armed group. The woman has been identified as Sundari, a Maoist. Four more in the group have also been identified by the Karnataka Police, the officers said adding that the group is also believed to have a Keralite. E.M. Manoj writes from Kalpetta: Forest and police personnel in Wayanad district intensified their combing operations on Wednesday in search of the militants. Though they combed the Tirunelly area on the Karnataka border on Tuesday and Wednesday, they could not find any evidence of the movement of any militant group there, A.V. George, Wayanad Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu. Police stations, especially those adjacent to forest areas, have been asked to be on alert, he said. Two platoons (30 members each) of the Kerala Thunderbolts, an elite group of commandos specially trained for tackling possible terror strikes in the State, would reach the district late evening, he said .They would join officials of the Forest Department and various wings of the State police in the combing operation at the Brahmagiri hills under the North Wayanad forest division on the Kerala- Karnataka border on Thursday morning. A team of forest and police officials from Karnataka are expected to join the combing operation, Mr. George said. The police have asked the public in the district to inform them of the presence of any unfamiliar people in their locality, Mr. George said adding that valuable information would be rewarded. (The Hindu 14/2/13) Maoist involved in IAS officer’s kidnapping arreste d (12) Malkangiri: Two hardcore Maoists, including a woman, who were allegedly involved in the abduction of IAS officer R. Vineel Krishna in 2011, have been arrested in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, police said on Friday. The two ultras were nabbed during a combing operation by personnel of the elite special operation group (SOG) and district voluntary force (DVF) in a forest of Chitrakonda last evening, Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said. “One of rebels is a woman Maoist from Andhra-Odisha Border Area Committee. She was identified as Bhagya alias Satyabati (40) and had been working under Korkunda Maoist dal for the last about 12 years”, he said. The other ultra was identified as Undaliam Bangaraya (50), a hardcore Maoist working under Korkunda Maoist Dal in the region, he said. The two hardcore Maoists were involved in the abduction of the then Malkangiri district Collector R. Vineel Krishna in 2011, attacks on pipeline of a private steel company and on the police force, police said. Andhra Pradesh government had announced Rs four lakh as a reward on the head of the woman Maoist, a senior police officer said. (The Hindu 15/2/13) MHA convenes meeting of Naxal-affected states (12) NEW DELHI: The home ministry has convened a meeting of top police and civil officials of Maoist-affected states next Wednesday to review anti-Naxal operations and improve the efficacy of the strategies. Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will take part in the meeting during which in-depth deliberations will be held on the security situation in the 'Red Corridor'. Sources said the meeting would deliberate on the issue of coordination among state police and central police forces and decide on a strategy to tackle Naxals who are known to flee from one state to another after committing a crime. The meeting will also review the development programmes being carried out in Naxal-hit districts and ways to speed them up to reach the maximum number of people. Naxal violence has been reported in areas falling under 270 police stations in 64 districts in these states. (Times of India 15/2/13) Naxal who planted bombs in jawans’ bodies cornere d (12) NEW DELHI: CPI (Maoist) leader Arvindji, who had got IED planted in the abdomen of CRPF jawans in the recent Latehar encounter, has been cornered in the jungle of Jharkhand's Gumla district along with

150 Maoists. Sources said an encounter between the Maoists and the security forces could ensue anytime. The only thing holding back forces from launching a fight-to-finish strike is the input that Maoists have held some villagers hostage who they may use as human shield in case of a face-off. Sources said, security forces have been on Arvindji's trail for over 15 days, and have surrounded the area forcing him to move within the Gumla jungles. The Maoist contingent, after the Latehar encounter, was escaping to Saranda forest on the Odisha-Jharkhand border, when they were cornered in the Gumla jungle, sources said. A senior official from the anti-Naxal forces engaged in the chase said, "More than a fortnight ago we received information that Arvindji along with certain other Maoist leaders and a contingent of about 150 Naxalites was moving towards Saranda through Gumla. We quickly launched an operation and have been on their trail. We have not let them move out of Gumla because of our constant raids. We are expecting an encounter anytime." Sources said Arvindji's contingent is constantly moving even as CRPF personnel are in hot pursuit raiding successive forest villages. "He is shifting from one village to another. Perhaps, he is also getting information of our movement and hence has remained off our grip as yet. However, we are constantly closing in on him. There is also information that he is holding villagers captive to use them as human shield. So we have to be careful as we do not want civilian casualties," said the official. According to inputs, the Maoist contingent had planned to escape to Saranda following the Latehar encounter and subsequently come back to strike at forces when things had cooled down. Maoists are known to use villagers as shields in an encounter as civilian deaths by force's bullets can then be used for propaganda against State atrocities. CRPF had an encounter with Maoists in Chattisgarh's Sarkeguda forests last June, leading to 19 deaths. Several of these people turned out to be innocent villagers, which security agencies claimed Maoists used as human shield. The encounter put the force at receiving end of barbs from human rights activists and even its standard operating procedure had to be revised. Arvindji continues to be a thorn in CRPF's flesh giving the force a setback in last month's Latehar encounter, where 10 security personnel were killed even as Maoists put photo-sensitive and pressure-release IEDs in the abdomens of two slain jawans to cause further damage to those who retrieved their bodies. (Times of India 17/2/13) Centre to discuss anti-Naxal strategy with four sta tes today (12) NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry, which will review anti-Naxal operations with chief secretaries and DGPs of nine affected states here on Wednesday, will discuss stipulations for the anti-Maoist special forces proposed for Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, and insist on a young, fit crop of police personnel on voluntary deputation who should be on active deployment for no more than 15 days at a stretch. The financial clearances for the state-level anti-Naxal special forces — to be funded by a Rs 280-crore scheme of the home ministry — are in and a final nod by the Cabinet is expected shortly. The home ministry hopes the specialized forces will be constituted within the next six months with young volunteers from the state police, who will be on deputation for a limited period, just like Greyhounds where officers serve for three years. The Centre wants the dedicated anti-Naxal force to have a young profile, with constabulary under 30 years and others below 40 years. Besides, the recruitment to these elite forces should be voluntary and operational deployment of its personnel, who will have to undergo rigorous training to withstand inhospitable terrain and master jungle survival, limited to15 days at a stretch. The ministry is hopeful that young police personnel will evince interest in becoming part of this elite component of the state police, given the incentive of 60% of basic salary, along with dearness allowance, and the promise of other rewards like out-of-turn promotions for acts of bravery. According to home ministry sources, the four states slated to raise these special forces may be asked during the anti-Naxal review meeting on Wednesday to commit to the parameters suggested by the Centre to qualify for funds under the Rs 280 crore scheme. The Centre's interaction with the states on Naxal matters — to be chaired by home secretary R K Singh is expected to finetune operational strategies, besides discussing stepping up of police presence in problem areas such as Dandakaranya forest region, Andhra-Odisha border, Koel-Sankh region in Jharkhand and Jamui-Banka in Bihar. The review, a quarterly affair, will also

see the Centre enquiring about the states' follow up on its earlier suggestion for replicating West Bengal government's successful experiment of recruiting 5,000 junior police personnel from the Naxal hotbed of Jangalmahal. The Trinamool Congress-ruled state has witnessed a steep fall in its Naxalism indices in recent months. (Times of India 21/2/13) 8, including 6 police dead, in Bihar landmine blast (12) Patna: Eight persons, including six Bihar policemen, were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Gaya district of south-central Bihar, early Friday afternoon. The incident took place between Uchla and Dhamania villages under Roshanganj police station in Banke Bazaar block in Shergahati sub-division of Gaya, around 12.30 pm. Gaya city SP Akhtar Hussain confirmed it. The blast occurred when a vehicle carrying the policemen and two villagers was returning from Balasot village in Banke Bazaar block to the Roshanganj police station. The police party had gone to Balasot on the request of the local CDPO (child development project officer) to provide security cover to a function organized there for recruitment of Anganbari workers. "The blast occurred on a six-feet wide earthen road which the police party had taken to return to the Roshanganj police station. The explosives had been laid under a hume pipe laid across the road", said a Barasot local. The vehicle was blown to pieces and all eight on board - six policemen and two villagers, died on the spot, residents of the naxal hit area told HT on Friday afternoon. The two villagers who died in the incident were identified as Pawan Kumar of Sirsa village, located close to Balasot, and Ramesh Mistri, a resident of Balasot. More details were awaited as senior police officers of the district and Magadh range, under which Gaya falls, had rushed to the spot and were not responding to calls. Earlier, six CRPF men were killed and eight personnel, including a deputy commandant, were injured in landmine blasts and a pursuant gun battle between the cops and the Maoists, near Barha village under Dumaria police station of Gaya district on October 18, 2012. (Hindustan Times 22/2/13) Jharkhand: Naxals using school kids as human shield s (12) Lohardaga: Tribal children in Jharkhand are continued to be misled by the red rebels to strengthen their numbers and to use them as human shields. In Pathari village of Lohardaga district in Jharkhand, which remains a stronghold of Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a Naxal outfit, school going children remain their main target. The villagers disclosed that TPC cadres compel the children aged 13-14 years-old to join their outfit and strengthen their cadres. The red rebels also exploit them as human shields against security forces and use them to transfer their consignments. Ganesh Lal, a villager, confirmed the truth by saying: “The Naxals are targeting children as they can be easily influenced to join the outfits. There are many instances where rebels are recruiting children to prepare them for anti-national activities”. Poor villagers who have seen their children being snatched away are reluctant to lodge any complaint with the police. They fear they will be attacked by the Naxals. There are several other villages in Jharkhand where villagers are victims of Naxal atrocities. In Mahuatand village of Latehar district, the rebels have ordered each family to offer one teenager for their cause. Experts believe that illiteracy and poverty have forced many villagers to silently follow the orders of the Naxals. “The Naxals offer a monthly income and food to the poor children and their families to convince them that what they are doing is in their favour. It is highly condemnable. These children should be in schools. However, will these Naxals let their kids join their outfits? I don’t think so. Even Naxals are not allowing their children to be part of their movement and are sending them for studies, said Kishore Kumar Verma, an expert on Naxal affairs. Naxal outfits in various states across India are increasingly using minors, some of them as young as six years, to swell its ranks. These minors are groomed and trained in camps in Naxal-dominated jungles and hence assigned different roles. At the age where they are supposed to get education, these innocent minds are being trapped by Naxals and their ideology. For last few years, Naxal violence has been considered a grave threat to India’s internal security. And, poor tribal villagers remain their prime targets. (Zee News 25/2/13) State gets copter to track Maoists’ movement (12)

MAHADEVPUR (Andhra Pradesh): In a significant step in the fight against Naxal menace, Andhra Pradesh on Monday became the first State to press a helicopter into service for aerial surveillance and other operations in Left-Wing Extremism affected areas. The operation was formally launched from the Mahadevpur mandal of Karimnagar district by Director-General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy. Mr. Reddy and other top officers of anti-Naxalite operations boarded the helicopter for an aerial survey of the strategically located Dandakaranya region spanning Karimnagar and Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Sironcha and Bijapur of Chhattisgarh. A senior officer said the chopper would be used by the Greyhound commandos. For the present, the helicopter would be stationed at Visakhapatnam. Briefing reporters after the aerial survey, Mr. Reddy thanked the Ministry of Home Affairs, particularly Home Secretary R.K. Singh, for allotting the helicopter for anti-Naxalite operations. Incidents of Maoists entering the State from Chhattisgarh would be checked effectively by using the helicopter. Attributing the decline of Maoist movement in the State to a plethora of reasons, including the government’s welfare and developmental programmes, he claimed that people-friendly policing had yielded the desired results. Asked whether the Greyhounds would be used to fight the Maoists in Chhattisgarh, he said they would not conduct operations in Chhattisgarh on their own. “If the neighbouring State asks for help and shares information, we may think of extending it.” (The Hindu 26/2/13)

Guv sanctions prosecution against 25 Naxals (12) Ranchi: Governor Syed Ahmed granted permission on Saturday to prosecute 25 Naxals arrested from Mahuatand police station region. They were involved in attack on police and security forces on September 29, 2011 near Baldarwa village. The Governor also recommended names of Principal Secretary of Urban Development Department Nitin Madan Kulkarni and City Planner Gajanand Ram to attend the workshop to be organised in Moscow on Global Solid Waste Management. The Governor also suspended Godda district cooperative officer Ramnath Prasad and ordered action against him. (Pioneer 3/3/13) Quack beheaded in Jharkhand; Naxals suspected (12) Jamshedpur : Suspected CPI (Maoists) beheaded a quack at Hudagada village in Seraikela-Kharswan district of Jharkhand, police today said. The torso of the victim, identified as Vijay Kumar Dey (37 yrs) a quack, and the severed head were found lying within a distance of 15 metres yesterday. Dey had left home on the afternoon of February 27 but did not return home, leading the family members to lodge a missing report at Kharswan police station on March 1. Superintendent of Police, Upendra Kumar, however, said Dey had a link with the ultra outfit as he used to provide treatment to its cadres and supply medicines to them. Admitting that a Maoists poster was recovered from near the spot owning responsibility for Dey’s killing, Kumar said prima facie it seemed to be the handiwork of the Maoists “but we can not rule out outright that it could be a ploy of the culprits to misguide police.” (Pioneer 4/3/13) State’s Naxal-hit zones to get 987 mobile towers (1 2) Ranchi : A total of 987 villages of Jharkhand will be ‘tele-connected’ under the Centre’s ambitious project setting up mobile towers in remote and inaccessible Maoist strongholds. “These villages need mobile towers, for which requirements will be identified later. For now, we have already demanded 700 mobile towers for the 207 villages on priority,” said IG (Operations) SN Pradhan. Remote villages have long been raising this demand. The decision was finally taken on Monday at a high-level meeting convened by Union Home Secretary RK Singh and attended by Chief Secretaries and DGPs of Maoist-affected States. Nine Maoist-hit States — including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Bengal and Maharashtra — will get 2,200 mobile towers by the year-end. “I don’t think it will be a problem to establish those towers. It is a public demand. The Maoists have no history of damaging any under-construction mobile tower

though it is damaged when police movement increases in the area,” said Pradhan. Nonetheless, as a safety measure, the towers will be set up in consultation with the State Governments near establishments of security forces, police stations or other secured locations. The Home Ministry and department of telecommunication have roped in BSNL for the project. “Cost of construction of each tower will be Rs 10 lakh to 12 lakh and will be provided from the Universal Service Obligations Fund, a corpus being created by the Government through raising the Universal Access Levy,” said Pradhan. Of late, several complaints of poor mobile connectivity have been registered from villagers, security forces and people engaged in developmental projects in these States. The Jharkhand Government constituted a core committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, on February 20 to weed out problems faced by BSNL in providing connectivity in Naxal-affected areas. In the past four years, more than 200 mobile towers have been blown up in the nine States by Maoists alleging security forces were being informed about their movements and locations with mobile phones. (Pioneer 6/3/13) Orissa: Chinese explosives seized from Maoist den ( 12) In a major breakthrough, security personnel belonging to the BSF and the special operation group of the Orissa police on Wednesday recovered a huge cache of explosives during an anti-naxalite operation in Koraput district, nearly 550 km from here. Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel raided certain places in Pinamali forest under Narayanpatna police station area from where explosives were recovered, they said. “The explosives were dumped by the Maoists in a plastic container in the dense forest. The security personnel safely recovered the explosives and no injury has been reported,” said sub-divisional police officer, (Laxmipur), Y.J. Rao. (Asian Age 7/3/13) Fixed deposit bonds handed over to nine surrendered Maoists (12) BERHAMPUR, March 9, 2013: Nine surrendered Maoists were handed over fixed deposit bonds as part of rehabilitation policy of government at a function held in Rayagada town on Thursday night. As per the rehabilitation policy these naxalites were taken as six units. A surrendered Maoist couple was considered single unit. Similarly a father who along with his two daughters who were in the Maoist fold in the past were also taken up as one unit. The Rayagada district rehabilitation committee which was headed by the Rayagada Collector had regarded all these surrendered Maoists as A+ category. So, two of them received fixed deposit bonds worth Rs. 1,40,000, while the rest were handed over bonds worth Rs. 1,50,000. These bonds were handed over to them at a function which was attended by Rayagada Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Pandit and commandant of CRPF, Balaram Behera. The fixed deposit bonds were in joint account with the surrendered Maoists and the Rayagada SP as joint account holders. These fixed deposits were for three years after which they would be handed over to the beneficiaries. This deposit could also be utilised as collateral security to get loans from banks for self employment. All the surrendered Maoists had started living normal life. Thirteen-year-old Rajani Motamajhi, who had been lured into the violent fold at very young age was now studying in class V in Muniguda High School. She was too optimistic about a bright future for herself. Similarly Champa Mandangi, who was an orphan from Koraput district was now studying in class X in Bhubaneswar. She had surrendered last year. Speaking to The Hindu , the Rayagada SP, Mr. Pandit said all these surrendered Maoists would receive financial benefits worth around Rs. 2,50,000 for their rehabilitation through various schemes. They would get Rs. 3, 000 per annum for their education, Rs. 2,000 per year for vocational training, Rs. 25,000 if they want to marry and Rs. 25,000 to build their houses. (The Hindu 9/3/13) Anti-Naxal cops start operations in Mysore district (12) MYSORE: The Anti-Naxal Force, the elite commando force fighting Maoists in Karnataka, is extending its area of operation to Mysore district following apprehension that Naxals could extend their base to forested areas in Mysore and Chamarajnagar. After sighting of Naxals in Kodagu forests, the ANF on

Sunday moved its commandos to rural Mysore, which the senior police officials described as preventive measure. The ANF is opening a temporary camp at Beemanakolli in Heggadadevenakote taluk, one of the most backward taluks in Karnataka. Though the combing operations were planned to start on Sunday, it was put off. The ANF commandos are likely to start the groundwork from Monday and scan the forested areas, particularly those pockets that forms border with Kerala. The 100-plus force is stationed at Beechanahalli in H D Kote where ANF held a joint meeting with Mysore district police and forest officials. A joint meeting of the cops from Kerala and Tamil Nadu too was held for better coordination. The ANF commandant Vasudeva Murthy has arrived to chalk out strategy. Mysore SP R Dileep visited the area. There are no Naxal activities reported from Mysore district. The ANF is extending its activities here as a preventive measure, Inspector General of Police (Southern range) K Ramachandra Rao told The Times of India. "There are also no reports of Naxal sighting in Mysore district," he stated. We are combing the forests in Kodagu where Naxals were sighted. As a preventive measure, the ANF is focusing on Mysore, he explained. Mysore DC Ramegowda stated the intelligence agencies provided information that Naxals could have infiltrated forested areas in Mysore district and the ANF is starting the combing operations. The area of focus for the ANF is forest cover bordering Kerala's Waynad district where Maoists activities are witnessed. This comes one month after Kerala Thunderbolt, the elite group of commandos, intensified their combing operations along with forest staff and police in the forest areas of Brahmagiri hills on the Kerala-Karnataka border following reports of suspected Maoists movement in the area. The ANF is planning to comb the forests in Nagarahole and Bandipur tiger reserves and is likely to set up five temporary camps in Mysore district. It asked details about the topography of the area with the forest staff during the joint meeting. Sources in the forest department said the ANF asked the officials of movement of suspected people in the forested areas and on the fringes. Chamarajnagar SP Rajendra Prasad said they are keeping a tight vigil in the border areas as a preventive measure. "This is to prevent Naxals from gaining ground in the forest areas," he stated. However, the ANF has not moved its staff to Chamarajnagar district. (Times of India 10/3/13) Khaki’s lure leads Naxals to surrender in C’garh (1 2) Nagpur,: The lure of khaki seems to be forcing Naxalites, with many cases against them in different states, to surrender in Chhattisgarh. "The Chhattisgarh government is recruiting surrendered Naxals as assistant constables in addition to the financial package and other facilities that go with the surrender. So they are more inclined to surrender there than in Maharashtra," said a senior police officer. Another reason why Naxals surrender in their home state is that it has some "natural advantages". For instance, top Naxal Shekhar and his wife had recently surrendered before the Andhra Pradesh Polive though as a Naxal he used to work in Maharashtra. He had committed more crimes in Maharashtra than in Andhra Pradesh. So it was relatively easy for the Andhra Police to pardon him and accept his surrender offer. Moreover, the state where surrender happens gets an edge over other states in terms of getting breakthroughs and important information for future action against Naxals. Surrenders in big numbers has been the Naxals' biggest headache in the post-Green Hunt period. "Yes, we are recruiting the surrendered Naxals as assistant constables under the state government policy. But there is nothing new about it," said Additional SP (Rajnandgaon) Y P Singh. Chhattisgarh was in the news after SC rapped it for recruiting tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) during the Salva Judum days. "We scrutinise their cases to decide the merit in the case for being considered for recruitment as assistant constables. If they are going to help is in giving valuable information and clues for our anti-Naxal operations, we may recruit them into the force," said Singh. (Indian Express 11/3/13) Naxalism hits tiger breeding project in Chhattisgar h (12) RAIPUR: The ambitious breeding project of the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India (NTCA) has failed to take off in the Udanti-Sitanandi wildlife sanctuaries of Chhattisgarh due to the threat posed by Naxalites. Though both these sanctuaries are located less than 175km from the state capital, Raipur,

work on the Save Tiger project has failed to commence due to the threat of strikes from Naxals. State forest department officials claim that some ground work, which includes deployment of local force for patrolling and surveillance, has started but are candid about the fact that the in situ (literally means 'in place' when translated from Latin) breeding of tigers, a key to the success for the conservation and growth of this endangered species is yet to start. Admitting that Naxal threat is proving detrimental to the project, Rakesh Chaturvedi, field director, Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, said, "The construction and earmarking of the 'in situ' area is not possible with the risks involved in it". He said that they were finding it difficult to enter the area for selection of 'in situ' site with the Naxal threat looming large. Elaborating, the field director said 'in situ' breeding requires identification and fencing of about 700 to 1000 acres of land within the reserve. Once that is done, a tiger and two tigresses are kept confined in the fenced area for the entire breeding season and the gestation period, which lasts about three to three and half months. Chaturvedi said that once the cubs are born, their growth is constantly monitored for a few weeks and then they are released into the open with radio collars around their necks to keep track of their progress and well being. However, with the Naxal threat looming large, they are finding it immensely difficult to start the work for preparing the site. He said that ground work, under the centrally sponsored scheme of ministry of environment and forest which include deployment of local work force for patrolling, surveillance of water holes, manning of barriers round the year, weed eradication and development of grass meadows has started. He said the state government has asked for additional funds from the NTCA to complete the assigned tasks as the earlier sanctioned money was inadequate. Chaturvedi said as per some sightings and pugmarks, the Udanti reserve has about four to five tigers. He said the prints of the pugmarks have been sent for DNA mapping to Wild Life Institute, Dehradun, for sex determination. He said if the numbers of tigresses are less, they would get more from the other reserves, as and when the project takes off. (Times of India 13/3/13) PIL demands speedy trial for Naxal suspects (12) NAGPUR: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed on Wednesday before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court seeking judicial intervention and relief into the various aspects of Naxal undertrials. The petitioner, Soma Sen is a member of the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights and associate professor of English Department at the Nagpur University. She is engaged in social work for more than two decades. The PIL deals with the plight of the several farmers and other residents of Naxal-affected Gadchiroli who had been nabbed during various operations launched by the government forces in the district. Following their arrest, the petitioner has claimed that the trials are often delayed on numbers of pretexts including not providing escort guards to enable undertrials to remain present before the court. The petitioner has also claimed that delayed trial of the victims has been aggravated by the violation of the fundamental rights of the prisoners and other laws pertaining to present them before the court. Sen has also prayed before the court to discourage videoconferencing facilities which do not allow the undertrials to have access to their lawyers. (Times of India 14/3/13) DIG gets list of Hazaribagh Naxals, miscreants; Guv advisor to get report (12) Hazaribagh: On the direction of Central Government the police department has conducted a survey regarding the number of active Maoists and criminals. As per the result of survey in Hazaribagh police range 241 Maoists and 374 criminals are active. This was informed by DIG Suman Gupta. Gupta said that after getting the direction of central government she sat with the SPs of all the five districts of the range and told to prepare the list of Maoists and criminals at police station level. She said that on the police station level they were categorized in three grades A, B and C on the basis of their criminal history and the cases lodged against them. Those included in A category are hardcore while in B category Maoists and criminals of mediocre group has been included. She said that this report will go to the center and to Governor’s advisor K Vijay Kumar, who during last meeting had raised this matter. (Pioneer 15/3/13)

Forces recover bodies of six 'killed' by Naxals (12 ) Jamshedpur : After four days of struggle, security forces on Saturday succeeded in recovering the bodies of six villagers, who were suspected to have been killed by Maoists at a people's court (jan adalat) in Manmaru village, under Tebo Police Station, of West Singhbhum district. After a fierce encounter with the ultras on Friday, an extensive search led to the buried bodies at a collective grave on a hill in Sabauli village. SP Pankaj Kamboj said, "Joint teams of police and CRPF were moving towards Manmaru during patrolling and reached the spot after two encounters, in which one ultra was also killed on Friday near Kudabeda." Villagers had asked the Naxals for help on the whereabouts of two missing men, Samu Bodra and Hangra Mundai, Maoist sympathisers. The rebels reportedly found their bodies. They then held a jan adalat trial of six persons whom they suspected of killing the two missing villagers. The death sentence was pronounced on these six - Dange Purti, Hindoo Odiya, Litha Odiya, Mangu Odiya, Bandiya Odiya and Selaya Odiya - and they were reportedly killed by the Naxals. Kolhan DIG AK Singh said an ultra had also been killed during operations. He added that the area has been sealed and a combing operation has been launched. (Pioneer 17/3/13) Naxal encounter in Maharashtra leaves Two Commandos injured (12) Nagpur: Two commandos of Maharashtra’s special Anti-Naxal C-60 force suffered bullet injuries in an encounter with the Naxals early in the morning on Monday in a village in Gondia district of Maharashtra. “The encounter took place near Marartola village in Salekasa division of Gondia. Our team was carrying out searching operation when the Naxals fired on it. Two C-60 commandos suffered bullet injuries in the firing “ Gondia Superintendent of Police (SP) Dilip Zhalke told The Hindu. Commando Ramesh Uike suffered bullet injury on his leg and Commando Sanjay Katare suffered shoulder injury, informed the SP. According to the SP, the encounter took place at 12.30 am on Monday. Both the commandos have been shifted to the Orange City hospital in Nagpur and their condition is said to be stable. “The encounter was a close one and many Naxals suffered serious injuries including their Dalam commander Rakesh, but nothing specific can be said about it” said Mr. Zhalke. Mr. Zhalke did not rule out the Dalam Commander Rakesh being killed in the encounter. (The Hindu 18/3/13) Tackling naxal activity is top priority for Karnata ka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala police (12) MYSORE: Tackling naxal activities appears to be top priority of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala police. Police officers working in the border districts of these states seriously discussed the issue and strategies to tackle their activities in respective regions during one-day in-house inter-state border police officers meeting here on Saturday. IGP (southern range) K Ramachandra Rao told STOI the inter-stage Tri-Junction (Karnataka, Kerala and TN) meeting was organized in the wake of sighting of naxals in Kodagu and Hassan districts and ahead of Karnataka Assembly election. Ten times Naxals were sighted in Karnataka since October 2012 and it is something new. As Kodagu is bordering Kerala we suspects Naxals are active in the region and also moving between the three states through forests. We convened the meet to seek coordination of Tamil Nadu and Kerala police because we felt with better coordinated efforts we can tackle the naxal activities effectively. The IGP said we have requested Kerala and TN police to share any information and intelligence with regard to naxals. The agencies tackling naxal activity in Karnataka is known as Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), in Tamil Nadu it is Special Task Force and in Kerala it is Thunderbolt. Officers attached to these forces too attended the meet. A total of 150 officers including three IGPs from TN and two IGPs from Kerala attended the meet along with their subordinates from intelligence, civil and internal security police wings and forest officials where they exchanged information about naxal activities in respective jurisdiction. ADGP (Law and order) Bipin Gopalkrishna, who inaugurated one-day meet, briefed about naxalism in Karnataka and efforts made by government and police in containing naxal activities here. On the occasion, the ADGP felt there is need for operational strategy and to create separate structure within police department to combat naxalism. Besides better

inter-relation between district police and special anti-naxal force will help the police agencies in addressing the issue. Bipin claimed of late "naxalism and left wing extremism is spreading in urban areas". According to Mysore superintendent of police R Dileep, who was nodal officer, there were a number of power point presentations by top officers on how to combat Naxalism. City police commissioner K L Sudheer was part of one-day meet. (Times of India 23/3/13) Chhattisgarh: Naxal training camp busted; 6 held (1 2) Raipur: Special Task Force jawans busted a naxal training camp in dreaded Abuzamad area in Chhattisgarh and arrested six ultras, including two women and a minor boy, police said on Sunday. Police seized three muzzle-loading guns, one tiffin bomb and other explosives after the joint team of STF and district police engaged in a brief encounter with naxals holed up in the hideout, a senior officer said. "The Maoists were nabbed in the forest area of restive Abhujmad region under Narayanpur police station in a joint operation conducted by district police force and STF jawans yesterday," SP Amit Tukaram Kamble said on Sunday. He said the joint team had been on the trail of naxals since March 22 on a tip-off and finally zeroed in on them near Nelnar village. "When the team reached near Madin river yesterday, they located the naxal camp and started encircling it. On seeing that jawans were closing in, naxals opened indiscriminate firing which was retaliated", Kamble said, adding, some of the naxals managed to escape in the dense forest. However, police caught hold of six of them including two women, identified as Manko Kavachi (20) and Baisi Padyami (19) besides Masur Juri (18), Shankar Yadav (40), Bhimesen Poyami (25) and a 16-year-old boy, the officer said. He said so far no reports of injury, either to policemen or naxals, have been received. Police also recovered a solar plate, four radio sets, couple of torch, a flash light, some medicines, clothes, laptop chargers, and other Naxal-related material. The SP said police have widened the dragnet to catch the Maoists. (Hindustan Times 24/3/13)) 2,000 BSF personnel sent to Odisha for anti-Naxal o perations (12) NEW DELHI: Two contingents of 1,000 newly trained personnel each have been despatched by the Centre for anti-Naxal operations in Odisha, taking the total number of central paramilitary troops for the purpose across the country to one lakh. The personnel of Border Security Force (BSF) have been sent to Odisha to be deployed in Nabrangpur, Koraput and Rayagada districts and they will undertake anti-Maoist operations in coordination with the state police, a senior paramilitary official said here. With the induction of these two battalions of security forces, the total number of personnel committed by the central government for anti-Maoist operations has risen to one lakh, he said. Each battalion comprises around 1,000 soldiers. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has deployed about 82 battalions, BSF 11 battalions (five in Chhattisgarh and six in Odisha) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) six battalions such operations in various Naxal violence-hit states of the country. Almost another five battalions (5,000 personnel) of these central forces are waiting in the wings or are undergoing training and they will be also sent soon for operations to deal with the Maoists, the official said. The Union Home Ministry, under whom the operational and administrative control of these forces are vested, is also chalking plans to provide more helicopters for the supporting the troops on the ground in these states. (Times of India 25/3/13) Villagers who took on Maoists shot dead by police ( 12) MADPAL (SOUTH CHHATTISGARH),: The Chhattisgarh police have killed two activists of the Salwa Judum, a government-backed militia to take on Naxalites, which the Supreme Court declared illegal and unconstitutional. A couple of eyewitnesses told The Hindu that the villagers, of the Muria Gond tribe, were “killed in cold blood by the police.” A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident, which has angered the residents of several villages in Bijapur district, 400 km south of the capital Raipur, who took out a rally recently. On February 14, seven Madpal residents went into the forest to recover the carcasses of animals, including two peacocks, they had killed the night before. Near Kurmed, a village 2 km from Madpal, they were stopped on a mud dike between two patches of arable land. The eyewitness said 50-

60 police personnel asked the tribals, who wielded bows and arrows, to surrender their arms. “We were told to sit down, knees folded and our hands placed behind our waist,” said Kuta Vanjam, head of Madpal, who accompanied the hunters. After confirming their identity, the constables fired randomly at the villagers. Dasru Vanjam, who also went with the villagers, was shot in the thigh. He averred that the villagers were “unarmed” when the firing started. The police fired from a “distance of 15 to 20 yards,” he said, raising his crutch and pointing to the boundary wall of his house. While Raghunath Vanjam, 35, died on the spot, Sudru Vanjam, 32, was alive for a while, he said. The Madpal villagers heard the gunshots around 8 a.m. that day. Raghunath’s mother Gutto chased the police for half-a-km. “They told me to go back or they would shoot me,” Gutto said, crying inconsolably. Raghunath’s wife Poddi Vanjam, 32, said that along with the other villagers, they spent four years in Salwa Judam’s Mirtur camp and returned home in 2009. “Now, we are suspected by the Maoists and killed by the police.” At the peak of the anti-Maoist movement, several villages of south Chhattisgarh were evacuated, and the tribals were forced to shift to camps in the vicinity of police or paramilitary forces stations, mostly adjacent to motorable roads. One such camp was at Mirtur, housing as it did the residents of Madpal and 16 other villages. At least 10,000 people stayed there, as estimated by this correspondent during a visit in 2007. That is why the incident has surprised Salwa Judam founder Mahendra Karma. “These men [Raghunath and Sudru] were in the anti-Maoist operation… it is a fake encounter, and [we] demand a proper inquiry. Every villager in remote areas is not a Maoist, the police should understand,” Mr. Karma said on the phone. Bijapur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal has also concluded that the “dead and the injured tribals are not Naxalites.” “There were some 50 Naxalites in the area, and an exchange of fire [with the police] took place. The villagers came in between the police and the Maoists and got shot,” he said. However, the First Information Report filed in the Mirtur station states that the police seized usual accoutrements of Naxals, including single shot gunpowder rifles, Communist literature, bows and arrows and bullets casings. The villagers said the exchange of fire had “never taken place.” They have been asked to testify before the sub-divisional police officer on March 21. (The Hindu 26/3/13) Naxal leader's murder sparks tension in Tinsukia (1 2) DIBRUGARH: CPI (ML - Liberation) leader Gangaram Kaul's murder late on Monday at the Panitola area of Tinsukia has sparked tension in the whole district. Kaul was murdered while he was returning from Panitola town to his native village - Gutibari - around 8.15 pm. He was found lying beside his motorcycle, in a pool of blood, on the middle of the road. His helmet was still on and his face was smashed up. It is being suspected that Kaul was hit with blunt weapons on the head, ear and face. The police have launched an investigation but are yet to make any arrests. The CPI (ML - L) has called a 12-hour state bandh on Friday in protest against the killing. The party's Dibrugarh district secretary, Balindra Saikia, however, on Tuesday said Congress MLA Raju Sahu from Chabua was the mastermind of the attack. "We firmly believe that Congress legislator Raju Sahu is behind the killing. Kaul was quite vocal about the anomalies in the PDS and MGNREGA schemes in the district. He tried to expose the unholy nexus of Congress politicians, Asom Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) and government officials who were committing mass irregularities in various schemes," Saikia said. "Kaul was being threatened by ACMS members and Congress-backed goons. He was also falsely-branded as a Maoist by the police," Saikia added. CPI (ML-L) on Tuesday dispatched a letter to Assam governor J B Patnaik demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident. There were also reports of protests by party workers in various parts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. Kaul (43) is survived by his wife and two children. He had contested twice for the Chabua assembly seat in the 2006 and 2011 assembly elections. In 2009, he contested for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat. In the 2006 assembly polls, Kaul finished fourth with 3,042 votes. Congress candidate Raju Sahu was the winner. Similarly, in 2011 he remained in the fourth position with 7,098 votes. Sahu was again the winner. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections for the Dibrugarh parliamentary seat, Kaul was placed fifth with 8,224 votes. Congress candidate and current Union DoNER minister Paban Singh Ghatowar emerged the winner that time. Reacting to the charges by CPI (ML-L), Congress MLA and

parliamentary secretary Raju Sahu said it was a political conspiracy to malign his name. "I demand a CBI probe into the incident. The guilty should be brought to book soon. I have known him since he was young. At that time, I was the president of Tinsukia district unit of Assam Tea Tribe Students' Association. He is a good person," he said. (Times of India 28/3/13)

AIIMS doctors to treat villagers in Naxal-hit Basta r (12) NEW DELHI: In a first for the country's conflict zones, security forces have roped in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur, for providing treatment to villagers living in seven districts of Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Bastar region using telemedicine. The community outreach facility, to be launched by CRPF director general Pranay Sahay on Tuesday, will also be used by CRPF personnel stationed at remote camps in Bastar. "Twice a week, a panel of doctors at AIIMS Raipur will connect with villagers and paramilitary personnel at more than 100 CRPF camps across Bastar region through Skype (where net connectivity is available) or mobile phones," said Zulfiquar Hasan, IG CRPF in Chhattisgarh. At remote CRPF camps where neither net nor mobile connectivity is available, doctors can be reached through the digital satellite phone terminal (DSPT). "Villagers can come to the CRPF camps on appointed days and speak to our doctors for diagnosis and treatment," said Nitin M Nagarkar, director at AIIMS Raipur. The AIIMS medical college is already functional while the 960-bed hospital will start in phases from next month. Each CRPF camp has about 15-20 villages around, most in remote areas with poor road connectivity. Caught between the Maoists and the security forces, villagers in the region live in the shadow of the gun, grappling with acute poverty, poor infrastructure and diseases. At many places, people walk about 30km to reach a medical facility. Many depend on quacks or die untreated as there is a huge shortage of doctors in the region. Besides battling Maoists in Chhattisgarh, the CRPF men stationed at remote camps have to fight off killer diseases such as malaria and typhoid, and cope with immense stress. Yet, many of their camps lack trained doctors. The AIIMS doctors, it is hoped, will guide paramedics and medical attendants at these camps. Chhattisgarh's infant and maternal mortality rates are higher than the national average, according to the annual health survey, 2010-2011. In December, state women and child development minister Lata Usendi admitted that more than 1 lakh children suffer from malnutrition in the Bastar division alone. Besides, malaria and diarrhoea claim many lives each year in the region. The CRPF already runs medical camps for villagers each month in Chhattisgarh and maintains stocks of medicines at its units spread across 100 locations. "We will provide villagers with medicines prescribed by the doctors at the teleconsultation. If required, we will arrange to shift a patient for treatment to city hospitals," said Hasan. A trial run was conducted at 10 CRPF camps on Saturday. Nagarkar will also lead a team of doctors to visit remote areas to assess the medical needs of villagers. "We will identify areas and plan to set up satellite centres," he said. (Times of India 1/4/13) Army nixes govt plan to hit naxals from air (12) The home ministry wanted to deploy helicopter gunships to carry out surgical air strikes at Maoist camps in the hard-to-reach jungles of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand but has been told to shove the controversial plan back into the deep freezer. CRPF personnel pay their last respects near the coffins of policemen who died in a Maoist attack in Raipur. The home ministry plan was part of the ambitious proposal for the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to deploy all available resources of the central government to scale up the battle against Maoists in their core areas. The note – which also proposed deployment of 30,000 personnel of the army’s anti-insurgency force, Rashtriya Rifles – was sent to the CCS in early August last year. As reported by HT in January, the home ministry couldn’t muster support for induction of Rashtriya Rifles at the meeting of the committee of secretaries that scrutinised the proposals for the CCS. The panel of secretaries, however, cleared other non-controversial aspects of the home ministry plan. At these meetings, Army chief General Bikram Singh strongly advised against “quick fix solutions” to the battles that would need to be fought in the heart of India for many years. Defence

secretary Shashi Kant Sharma pointed to a host of negative implications of air strikes including “considerable collateral damage”. Former home minister, P Chidambaram was the first to go public with the demand for aerial attacks after Maoists massacred 76 security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in April 2010. But he backed out after strident opposition to the plan, settling for choppers to provide logistics support and carry out rescue missions. Behind the scenes, the home ministry not only worked to pump in funds for development in the Maoist heartland but also to raise the level of manpower, weaponry and logistics support to reclaim the over 70,000 sq km of territory where Maoists often have the last word. The deployment of RR battalions and attack helicopters – the latter were extensively used by the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in the late eighties – quietly resurfaced in the home ministry’s wish-list drawn last year. At the heart of this plan was the argument that the government stop dealing with Maoists with kid gloves. Home secretary RK Singh was clear that the Centre should deploy its full might and commit every available resource to the anti-Maoist theatre. The view gained strength after Maoists shot an Indian Air Force chopper on a rescue mission this January in Sukma district close to the spot where 76 personnel were ambushed two years earlier. The Maoists had already shown their brutal face a week earlier when they placed a 1.5 kg explosive inside a CRPF jawan killed in an ambush in Jharkhand's Latehar district. Government sources said the home ministry had agreed to withdraw the twin proposal from the CCS note “at this stage” in view of the reservations. But there is a strong view at the home ministry – articulated by home secretary Singh last year – that the State needs to use its “coercive power” as and when required and deployments should not only cater to the present situation but also futuristic situations”. (Hindustan Times 2/4/13) Maoists blow up Jharkhand panchayat office (12) Ranchi: A two-storey building used as a panchayat office was blown up by Maoists on Tuesday night at Seeram village in Lohardagga district of Jharkhand. Police said three improvised explosive devices were used for the blast. “CPI (Maoists) may have done this as a reaction to the killing of Maoists by the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) in Chatra last week. Or they may have targeted this building because a janta durbar [public meeting] was held by my office and the Collector’s office in this building a few days ago to respond to people’s concerns regarding public schemes and Maoists are opposed to this,” said Lohardagga Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Singh. Ten members of the CPI (Maoist), including four leaders of the Maoists Madhya zone — the area south of the Grand Trunk Road, including Aurangabad in Bihar and Chatra and Palamu in Jharkhand — were killed in a clash with TPC, a splinter group of Maoists, in Chatra district 100 km north of Ranchi on March 27. In a statement released on March 31, CPI (Maoists) Bihar Jharkhand North Chhattisgarh special area committee spokesperson Gopal had declared April 1 to 7 as “pratirodh saptaah” (protest week) in which they would avenge the TPC’s killings, and called for a Bihar-Jharkhand bandh on April 6 and 7. (The Hindu 4/4/13) Sarpanch shot dead by Maoists (12) BERHAMPUR: Alleging that he was a police informer, Maoists murdered a tribal sarpanch Bhagaban Kirsani (38) in Malkangiri district of south Odisha on Tuesday night. His bullet ridden body was located on the outskirts of Kurmanur village under Kalimela police station limits on Wednesday morning. Kirsani happened to be the sarpanch of Kurmanur panchayat of Kalimela block. According to sources, the killers had left a handwritten poster near the body. Through the poster, Paplur Dalam of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of outlawed CPI (Maoist) organisation claimed responsibility for the murder. Maoists claimed that Kirsani was killed as he was a police informer. When contacted, Malkangiri district police denied of any link between the murdered elected village leader. According to police sources, a group of around 25 armed Maoists had reached the house of Kirsani at Kurmanur village on Tuesday night. They forced the sarpanch to come with them. It was alleged that after taking him to a deserted spot, he was shot at from a close range. Kirsani died on the spot, police sources said. Kirsani had received threats from Maoists in the past, sources said. Due to threats of Maoists, he had

preferred to leave his village and stay at Chitrakonda for some time. He had returned to his village Kurmanur about a month ago. It was suspected that Maoists may have targeted the man after recent arrest of key Maoist leader Srinivas Sriramulu in adjoining Andhra Pradesh. Sriramulu was a leading man in the AOBSZC and was looking after activities of the ultras in Malkangiri district. Kurmanur village is near Odisha-Andhra border. It was suspected that the Maoists had felt some persons in Malkangiri district may have leaked information about the movement of Sriramulu to security forces. They may have also killed the sarpanch to keep alive their reign of terror in remote areas of Malkangiri district after arrest of Sriramulu. Combing operation and patrolling by security forces was intensified in the area following the incident. (The Hindu 4/4/13) Vigil stepped up following arrest of suspected Maoi st (12) COIMBATORE; Intelligence wings of the police have stepped up vigil following the arrest of suspected Maoist Shyam Charan Tudu here on Saturday. They have also commenced inquiries to prevent influx of Maoists and criminal elements into Coimbatore region under the garb of migrant workers. Tudu was allegedly involved in murders and attack on the Eastern Frontier Rifles base at Silda in West Bengal which claimed 24 lives. He was taken to West Bengal by train on Monday. Top police officials, however, said that the personnel had been instructed not to resort to any ethnic profiling of discrimination of migrant workers. The objective was only to ensure that no criminal or Naxal element infiltrated into the region posing as a migrant worker. The police clarified that Tudu had no cases or complaints pending against him in the city. The police are also questioning the three co-workers who had shared the place of stay with Tudu. (Hindustan Times 5/4/13) Naxal prisoners on hunger strike (12) NAGPUR: Around 49 Naxals, lodged in Nagpur Central Jail, would observe a day's hunger strike on Saturday. The prisoners have decided to participate in the hunger strike to protest thrashing of another Naxal inmate Anil Gawande by jail officials. Gawande was manhandled by the officials for refusing a body search. Gawade and two others, after returning from Gadchiroli following their hearing, were told by the jail authorities to go for a body search before entering the jail premises. While two others allowed, Gawade disagreed to disrobe before the jail officials who wanted to conduct a thorough search. Sources informed that the enraged jail officials badly thrashed Gawade who was later admitted in the prison hospital with injuries. (Times of India 6/4/13) Maoists blow up railway tracks in Bihar (12) Patna: Maoists blew up a railway track between Hajipur and Sarai stations on Saturday, hitting trains services in Bihar. The blast was part of their two-day bandh. Several trains were delayed for a few hours early in the morning. The track was restored around 9.30 a.m., Amitabh Prabhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the East Central Railway, told The Hindu. “The supposed blast occurred about five km from Hajipur. The damage was not much as the track had a 10 mm gap. One sleeper and 10 Pandrol clips were damaged. In view of the bandh, all drivers and guards were asked to be alert and move at a speed not more than 65 kmph. In a show of exemplary foresight, the driver of the Luchnow-Barauni Express stopped the train before the suspected bomb blast and informed all concerned,” the CPRO said. (The Hindu 7/4/13) IAF flies double sorties and commandos to Naxalite areas (12) RAIPUR: The Indian Air Force (IAF), which faced flak after its personnel abandoned an injured policeman in a chopper crippled in Naxalite firing, has now begun flying double sorties to many areas and more commandos for its air support missions in anti-naxalism operations to prevent such incidents. The sortie routes of the IAF helicopters are being sanitized by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in advance and it has doubled the strength of on-board 'Garuda' commandos to four every time its Mi-17 choppers fly in

remote and forested areas of Naxalite violence affected states, official sources said. A senior official in the anti-Naxalite operations grid noted that the helicopters are under an increased threat from extremists. The new operational procedures are being undertaken after the January 18 incident in Chhattisgarh's Dantedwada district where Maoist gunfire had forced an IAF Mi-17 helicopter to make an emergency landing and the conduct of the on-board IAF men being probed. A court of inquiry is already underway to ascertain the role of the IAF men involved in this operation. In many cases two helicopters fly the same path, with one flying alongside the other in a secure formation, the sources said. While two commandos man the light machine gun (LMG) mounted on-board the chopper, two others armed with sophisticated rifles secure the machine after landing. "The anti-naxalite operations are a dynamic state of affairs. There are regular intelligence inputs suggesting Naxalite tactics and the helicopter sorties are surely under an increased threat," the official said. The CRPF, which is the lead operations force against Maoists, is also deploying more men to secure the helipads during ascent and descent of helicopters that aid the operations by way of bringing in men and material besides evacuating casualties from conflict areas. The Union home ministry had sometime back asked the defence ministry to take action against the IAF men who had abandoned the injured policeman and the helicopter in Chhattisgarh, saying the incident was extremely disturbing. The IAF and BSF 'Dhruv' helicopters fly from bases in Raipur, Jagdalpur and Ranchi for air support missions to forces undertaking anti-Naxal operations. They have a stipulated flying time of 80-hours a month thereby making their flying a precious and meticulously calculated decision by the hard pressed commanders of the forces who rationalise the limited sorties for more than 80,000 troops in Left Wing Extremism hit states. Agencies (Times of India 8/4/13) Vigil stepped up following arrest of suspected Maoi st (12) COIMBATORE: Intelligence wings of the police have stepped up vigil following the arrest of suspected Maoist Shyam Charan Tudu here on Saturday. They have also commenced inquiries to prevent influx of Maoists and criminal elements into Coimbatore region under the garb of migrant workers. Tudu was allegedly involved in murders and attack on the Eastern Frontier Rifles base at Silda in West Bengal which claimed 24 lives. He was taken to West Bengal by train on Monday. Top police officials, however, said that the personnel had been instructed not to resort to any ethnic profiling of discrimination of migrant workers. The objective was only to ensure that no criminal or Naxal element infiltrated into the region posing as a migrant worker. The police clarified that Tudu had no cases or complaints pending against him in the city. The police are also questioning the three co-workers who had shared the place of stay with Tudu. (The Hindu 10/4/13) Youth meet at Naxal hit Bishunpur (12) BISHUNPUR(GUMLA): Over 2000 youths from all blocks of Gumla, Lohardaga and Latehar districts took part in a two-day residential youth convention at Naxal hit Bishunpur block - 50 km off the district town of Gumla on Monday. The meet was organized to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda among the youths to mark his 150th birth anniversary by Ramkrishna Mission in collaboration with Vikas Bharti - Bishunpur. Under the sustained value education project, assisted by the Union government, it focused on youth power. Orators including Swami Bhaktirupanand and Swami Tatsewanand stressed on what Swami Vivekanand taught for a new India by utilizing youth energy. Swamiji envisaged women empowerment also broadly which was spelt out by Ranjana Chowdhary, a member of Jharkhand Woman and child Rights Protection Commission. "In order to give a direction to the youth putting forth the ideals of Swamiji, this youth convention has been organized. Youth energy could be a model for development and the only solution to all problems of the day could be sought in the life style of the great spiritual leader of the country." Ramkrishna Mission Jharkhand head Swami Shashankanand said while differentiating between selfishness and altruism. He also said "It is a sin to neglect gram samaj as the vast majority of the country men reside in villages and without their development we cannot expect the progress of the nation." Youths Sukru Khadia of Olmunda village in Sisai block and Sudeshwar Oraon of Palto village in

Lohardaga district said "We learnt a lot from the youth convention and we will carry froward the message to other villagers." (Times of India 16/4/13) 10 naxals killed in Chhattisgarh encounter (12) Raipur: At least 10 Maoists were killed and several others injured in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, according to police. So far, nine bodies have been recovered and flown to Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh. The area is about 600 km south of State capital Raipur, closer to Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh. According to information from various security sources, a group of Maoists assembled in the forest area near Puvarti village. Acting on a series of tip-offs, an operation led by the Andhra police’s special force, Greyhounds, was launched in the early hours. The sources suggest there was heavy gunbattle, but television footage, though grainy, showed a large team of armed forces firing at some people from an elevation. It was not clear whether the people below were in battle fatigues or carrying arms. As of Tuesday evening, seven fighters of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) were identified as members of the North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC). According to the sources, one of them was Marri Ravi alias Sudhakar alias Kanakala Raji Reddy, secretary, Karimnagar-Khammam-Warangal Committee. The Andhra Pradesh police had declared a cash reward on Marri Ravi, who was one of the tribals of Chhattisgarh to make it to the higher levels of the Maoist party. His wife and district committee member Pushpakka was also killed. Three members of area committees slain were Sabitha alias Vetti Narsakka, Arelli Venkant alias Kiran and Ajay. “We expect majority of them to be from NTSZC,” a senior security official told The Hindu in Chhattisgarh. Though Tuesday’s operation took place about 40 km inside Chhattisgarh, the intelligence input came from the A.P. Police. On inputs, a large contingent of Greyhounds personnel started moving on foot from Khammam on Monday night and crossed the Chhattisgarh border around midnight and encircled Puvarti. According to police reports, the exchange of fire started around 7 a.m. and continued for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, unmanned aerial vehicles captured and sent visuals of 50 Maoist cadres who started retreating. Finally, they escaped. According to the sources, an April 13 operation by a CoBRA unit, which attacked a camp at Chinna Gelur village under the Basaguda police station during a meeting attended by Jagadeesh, one of the top military commanders, forced the Maoists to move 10 km south towards Puvarti. Tuesday’s operation has been the most successful one, from the security point of view, in Chhattisgarh in the past one year. However, officials said a majority of the cadres killed belong to North Telangana and not Chhattisgarh. A few years ago, after having been severely hit in North Telangana, Maoists started taking shelter in south Chhattisgarh. (The Hindu 17/4/13) Jharkhand records highest Naxal violence this year *12) NEW DELHI: Jharkhand not only fared as the state with the highest incidence of Naxal violence in the first quarter of this year, but it also further consolidated its lead over Chhattisgarh with twice the incidents and thrice the deaths reported by the latter. According to the latest statistics of Red terror compiled by the Union home ministry, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar together account for over 80% of Left-wing extremist violence across the country. Odisha has shown a significant decline in Red terror, while West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reported nil/negligible violence. The total number of incidents relating to Naxalism fell to 272 (until March 31, 2013) from 417 in the corresponding period of 2012, and deaths to 89 as compared to 120 in the first quarter of last year. However, the share of Jharkhand in the nationwide Naxal violence is a worrying trend. The state, which has been under the President's rule since January, accounted for over 40% of the countrywide incidents and over 58% of the deaths in the first three months of this year. Chhattisgarh, which was the worst-hit state in terms of Red terror until Jharkhand overtook it in 2011, recorded 59 incidents and 14 deaths in first quarter of this year — down from 91 incidents and 17 deaths in the corresponding period of last year. The figures for Chhattisgarh are far lower than those in Jharkhand, which reported 118 incidents and 52 deaths between January and March, 2013. Of the 52 people who died due to Naxal violence in Jharkhand, 37 were

civilians (of which 14 were killed after being branded 'police informers') and 25 from the security forces. Though the figures are lower this year as compared to 2012, Chhattisgarh showed higher civilian killings (up from 6 to12). However, to give the counter-Naxal forces credit, killings of Maoists by the security forces rose to 18 in the first quarter of 2013 from 14 in the corresponding period of last year. Of these, most Naxalite killings were in Chhattisgarh (8); followed by Maharashtra (6) and Jharkhand (3). Arrests of Naxalites were up from 107 to 120 in Jharkhand, from 52 to 82 ( Andhra Pradesh) and from 83 to 100 (Chhattisgarh). While arms snatching dipped to five in the first three months of 2013 from 26 in the corresponding period of last year, arms recoveries rose from 149 to 167, of which 60 were from Jharkhand alone. (Times of India 20/4/13) Plan to declare Ballia as Naxal-affected district ( 12) 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. (Times of India 22/4/13) Woman Naxal carrying Rs. 5 lakh reward surrenders i n Andhra (12) Warangal: A woman Naxal commander, carrying a reward of Rs. 5 lakh on her head, turned herself in before senior police officers in Warangal on Tuesday. "Shanigarapu Uma alias Anitha, who was carrying reward of Rs. 5 lakh, surrendered voluntarily this evening. She has nearly 35 offences registered against her in Warangal district", said SP A Venkateshwar Rao. Anitha is the wife of Gajerla Ashok, alias Janardhan, who is the Maharashtra state incharge of military wing in Gadchiroli division (Maoist), he said. The SP said Anitha had joined rebels in 1997 and started working as the 'doctors team commander' in the organisation. She had been arrested on two occasions in the past. "When Ashok was working in Chhattishgarh, she went there and was given one .303 rifle by the dalam. At that time, she was trained in medical treatment and got promoted to the rank of commander gradually. Anitha then went on to form the medical team and used to give treatment to the injured or sick comrades", he said. Anitha handed over the weapon to the dalam while working in west Bastar due to ill-health and returned to her native Devannapet village in Hasanparthy mandal of Warangal district, the SP added. "Anitha, with the help of

her relatives, surrendered to police and also handed over to them a sten gun she was in possession with", the officer said. (Hindustan Times 23/4/13) 4 surrendered Naxals identified artiste couple as M aoists: Police (12) Pune: THE Maharashtra Police has claimed that four Naxals who surrendered last month in Gadchiroli have identified the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) members recently booked by its Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) as "active operatives of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)". Ravindra Kadam, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Gadchiroli Range, told The Indian Express: "Four Naxalites who had surrendered before us have identified KKM members, including Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali, as Maoist operatives. They have named the KKM members in their statements showing their association with CPI-Maoists. We would be deciding further course of action against the KKM members named by surrendered Naxals." Kadam confirmed that information had been shared with the ATS. It may be recalled that Sheetal and Sachin were arrested by the ATS after they "surrendered" on April 2, 2013. The couple had claimed that they did not have any links with Naxals and had been booked by the ATS for singing protest songs against the government. The ATS, however, claims that the KKM members were not booked for protest songs, but for their active association with the operatives of banned CPI-Maoist. ATS is collecting evidence about the couple's Naxal links. Investigators said four surrendered Naxals were shown several photographs, including those of KKM members booked by the ATS following the arrest of CPI-Maoist leader Angela Sontakke from Thane in April 2011. They reportedly identified Sheetal Sathe as 'Janaki' and her husband Sachin Mali as 'Samar' from the photographs. The investigators said Maoists gave code names to KKM members, adding that while Sheetal was called Janaki, Vandana and Shabnam, Sachin was called Samar and Shiva. Between November 2011 and April 2012, the surrendered Naxals reportedly told the investigators, seven persons including Sheetal and Sachin were seen in the Naxal belt of north Gadchiroli and Gondia and were introduced as members of the West Area Committee of CPI-Maoists by party secretary Milind alias Deepak Teltumbde, who is Angela's husband. (Indian Express 24/4/13)

How Nepali Maoists chose democracy (12) New Delhi: In August 2010, at the nadir of relations between India and Nepali Maoists, the former Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran, went to Kathmandu as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy. With the Maoists blaming India for blocking their ascent to power, Mr. Saran conveyed a clear message to Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’: “You can either be a revolutionary force with a coercive apparatus or a civilian party abiding by the discipline of multiparty democracy. Make a choice.” Almost three years later, Mr. Prachanda — at a function chaired by his ‘old friend’ Mr. Saran in the Indian capital on Monday evening — declared that the party had made a choice in favour of ‘democracy’ and ‘progressive nationalism.’ The Maoist leader announced that his party, through a national congress in the southern town of Hetauda in February, made three fundamental changes to its ideology. “One, we have accepted peaceful transition, peaceful multiparty democratic politics.” Mr. Prachanda referred to the integration and rehabilitation of the ‘Maoist armed cadres’ as proof, and pointed out, “My party has also given up its ruling mandate, to form a government led by the Chief Justice, to hold elections in a free, fair, and acceptable manner.” The second shift was the ‘focus on economic prosperity and development’ as a party strategy. He thanked India for being Nepal’s biggest development partner, sought investment in a range of sectors, and said, “Economic development is essential for political stability, and a prosperous and developed Nepal will help address the security concerns of our neighbours.” He also floated the idea of ‘trilateral cooperation’ between China, India and Nepal in hydropower and for the development of Lumbini. Mr. Prachanda was quick to add this was a ‘long-term vision,’ not meant to ‘undermine or replace’ bilateral relations between the countries. And three, in a reference to apprehensions about the sporadic ‘anti-Indian’ rhetoric emanating from the Maoist leadership and its broader strategic vision, Mr.

Prachanda said, “For the first time, we have criticised narrow nationalism, feudal nationalism and adopted progressive nationalism. We want good relations with India. Our relations must be the best example of bilateral ties in the rest of the world.” He added that on his visit to Beijing last week, where he met President Xi Jinping, the Chinese leadership too encouraged them to have good ties with India. This, Mr. Prachanda said, was where they differed with the “dogmatic and sectarian” view of extremist colleagues like Mohan Vaidya ‘Kiran’, who have split and continue to criticise Indian ‘expansionism’. So why did he not make the choice earlier? In a meeting with National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon on Monday morning, Mr. Prachanda said that had he acted earlier, the “engine would have moved, but the bogies would have got left behind.” “It took time because we were attempting something unique, and needed to get our cadre and machinery along. But now, the choice is made,” he told The Hindu. (The Hindu 1/5/13) Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy moves Delhi HC for bail ( 12) New Delhi: Jailed Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested for setting up a base of banned CPI(Maoist) here on Thursday sought bail from the Delhi High Court on the ground that he has already been granted the relief by Andhra Pradesh High Court in a case. 65-year-old Ghandy, who was arrested on September 20, 2009, by 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, today 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 killed allegedly by Maoists in Narayanapet in Mahbubnagar district on August 15, 2005. Ghandy has been booked by Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC for offences, including impersonation, cheating and forgery. The Naxal leader's plea stated, "The bail application may be considered sympathetically since, besides being a senior citizen, the applicant suffers from multiple ailments, including urinary prostate problem, irritable bowel syndrome, heart problem, high blood pressure, arthritis and spondylitis for which he requires constant care and consistent medical attention, which he cannot receive in jail." The plea also said Ghandy is lodged in Tihar jail for over three years and over 10 witnesses have already been examined. His bail plea was earlier rejected by the lower court. Ghandy is facing trial in around 20 criminal cases in different parts of the country. (Zee News 2/5/13) Soni Sori, 13 others let off in Naxal attack case ( 12) RAIPUR: Soni Sori, a school teacher whose arrest and alleged torture in police custody in tribal Bastar district of Chhattigarh sparked controversy, was acquitted with 16 other accused on Wednesday in connection with the Naxalite attack on a Congress leader in 2010. A court in Dantewada acquitted Sori and the 16 others as the prosecution could not establish the charges against them. "With this acquittal, Sori has been discharged from five out of eight cases registered against her by the Dantewada police in connection with Naxal related incidents that took place in the region between July 7, 2010 and September 2011," her laywer K K Dubey said. The case of attack on Congress leader Avdesh Singh Gautam was one of the crucial cases against Soni Sori. Sori has been in jail since she was arrested in 2011 for allegedly arranging transfer of money from steel giant Essar Group to the members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). In the Essar case of payment of protection money to Maoists, Essar general manager D V C S Verma and contractor B K Lala are out on bail while Sori and activist Lingaram Kodopi are still in judicial custody. (Times of Idia 2/5/13) Elected representatives under Naxal threat (12) 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. (Times of India 5/5/13) Two naxals surrender in Mumbai (12) MUMBAI: Two members of the Pune-based cultural group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), alleged to be naxals, were arrested today after they surrendered to the police, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said. Those surrendered were Ramesh Gaychor and Sagar Gorkhe. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the official said. A month ago, two KKM members, Sheetal Sathe (27) and Sachin Mali (30), had surrendered outside the state assembly premises. 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. (Times of India 8/5/13) Hardcore Maoist arrested in Rayagada (12) BERHAMPUR: A hardcore Maoist Gameli China Mohan Rao (25) alias Santu, who was a key element behind the abduction of Laxmipur MLA Jhina Hikaka in 2012, was arrested by the Rayagada district police on Tuesday. Arms, ammunition, explosive materials and materials of Maoist use was seized from the possession of the arrested Maoist, who was wanted by both Odisha and Andhra police. The seized goods included a Belgium made revolver, 16 rounds of live ammunition, five gelatine sticks, nine detonators, three kg. of ammonium nitrate, splinters used in Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), remote device to blast IEDs, cash worth Rs. 64,630, computer memory cards, batteries as well as a fake voter identity card. Mahan Rao was involved in around 15 murders and several others acts of Maoist violence in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. He was an area committee member of Koraput-Srikakulam joint division of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) organisation. The arrested Maoist had served as body guard of Maoist central committee member Akkiraju Hargopal alias Rama Krishna alias RK, who also happened to be secretary of AOBSZC, during his visit to Narayanpatna block of Koraput district. He was also close to other top leaders of AOBSZC like secretary of Koraput divisional committee of Maoists, Chemella Kristaya alias Daya alias Bhaskar, Aruna, Jagan Rao, Suresh, Sarita, Vatchmma etc. He hailed from Goudaput village under Pedabailu police station of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. According to Rayagada SP, initial interrogation and investigation has revealed that on March 24, 2012 Mahon Rao along with another Maoist leader Sarita had rounded up MLA of Laxmipur Jhina Hikaka, while they were blocking the road Toyaput. They had abducted the MLA after identifying him and handed him over to naxalite leader Daya. Apart from it he was also involved in a dozen murders of civilians in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon police station limits in Koraput district. As per initial investigation he was also wanted by the Andhra police in relation to at least three murders and several other cases of Maoist violence, said the SP. During interrogation Mohan Rao revealed that now extortion had become main activity of senior Maoist leaders. And these Maoist leaders were using most of the extorted money for their own use. Mohan Rao confessed that he was also involved in extortion and was sending the extorted money to his family in Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Pandit said. Mohan Rao also spilled the fact that the Maoists were now a worried lot as large number of Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) supporters in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks of Koraput district had started to snap links with the CMAS and Maoists. (The Hindu 9/5/13) Naxal’s arrest a breakthrough for cops (12) VISAKHAPATNAM: 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. (Times of India 11/5/13) Maoists blast coffee godown (12) VISAKHAPATNAM: 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. (The Hindu 13/5/13) Naxals hang villager in public (12) Raipur: In a gruesome incident, Naxals brutally killed an elderly tribal man in a Chhattisgarh village by hanging him to death in public, the police said on Thursday. Around 50 armed Maoists stormed Murkinar village under Bedre police station in Bijapur district late on Wednesday night and ordered all the villagers to assemble near a tree in the locality. The ultras then pulled three old men — Guddi Marma (59), Ram Badeja (52) and Mangu Ram (53) — from the gathering to try them in the kangaroo court, set up by them in the village. Later, the Maoists hanged Guddi on a tree in public view of the villagers till he died. They also tortured the two others by beating them mercilessly for the whole night. The police recovered Guddi’s body from the tree on Thursday morning and sent it for post-mortem, a senior district police officer said. Meanwhile, four naxals, including a woman, on Thursday surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district. “The cadres surrendered before Narayanpur superintendent of police Amit Kamble at Benur police station of the district,” additional SP N.K. Sahu told PTI over phone. Those arrested have been identified as — Ajay (21) and Bharat (22), the members of Kudur LOS (Local Operating Squad) of Maoist, Vinod (32) of Chinahri Sarkar Raksha Sakha and Sudha (23), a member of Kohkameta platoon. They all were involved in several cases of crime ranging from loot, arson and murder in the region, Sahu said, adding, that of them, Vinod was active for past several years. “Under pressure from security personnel and due to harsh forest life, he decided to join the mainstream,” the ASP said. They will be rehabilitated as per the government policies, he added. (Asian Age 24/5/13) Mahendra Karma killed, V.C. Shukla injured in Maois t attack (12) Raipur: Mahendra Karma, a powerful tribal leader of the Congress from south Chhattisgarh, who founded Salwa Judum to combat Maoists, was killed in an attack in which at least 18 party workers also died at Darbha, 400 km south of the capital, on Saturday. Senior leader Uday Mudaliar also died in the attack, Congress president Sonia Gandhi told reporters in New Delhi. While there was no official confirmation of the deaths till late on Saturday night, police sources told The Hindu that they feared 18 deaths. A battalion of Naxalites attacked the motorcade of the Congress workers and leaders in the hilly areas of Darbha while they were returning from Sukma after an election rally. “The Naxals first blasted the second and third car of the motorcade and opened fire,” said Additional Director-General (Intelligence) Mukesh Gupta. Senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla is severely injured but safe and Congress president in Chhattisgarh Nandkumar Patel and his son have been abducted by the militants. “We cannot launch a search operation at night, as there is a chance of our getting ambushed,” said an official of the Bastar district administration. Konta MLA Kawasi Lakhma was injured and admitted to hospital. A high-level meeting was convened at Chief Minister Raman Singh’s residence. “Senior official attended the meeting and apprised Mr. Singh of the situation,” said an officer attached to the Chief Minister. A team of doctors has been sent by road to Jagdalpur. Senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi, who was also present at the rally, alleged that the administration did not provide adequate security. “I asked the local police about the security as there was virtually nothing. While huge security forces are deployed for a BJP rally, there is virtually no security cover for us.” The Congress launched the fourth phase of Parivartan Yatra (march for change) in south Chhattisgarh on Thursday. At the end of the rally in Sukma, more than a hundred Congress workers and leaders were coming back in a motorcade. After crossing Tongpal around 4 p.m., when the motorcade reached the hilly tract of Darbha, between Jagdalpur and Sukma, the driver of the first vehicle noticed a roadblock. “A tree and a truck were used to block the road,” said a local journalist. Once the vehicles stopped, the second and third cars were blasted. Then the Naxalites encircled the

area, opening fire from all sides. Local Congress workers, some of whom were present at the rally, claimed that at least 20 of their workers were killed. (The Hindu 25/5/13) 'Foreign funds help Naxals to contest polls' (12) MUMBAI: In the wake of one of the most lethal Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh, the Maharashtra government has raised concerns over "Naxals infiltrating into state's democratic process".More than a dozen people, including several Congress leaders, were killed in Saturday's strike. In an internal note prepared by the state home department recently, the government alerted the Union home ministry to "increased Naxal activity", including their participation in the panchayat polls and funding from foreign countries. "Naxals and their supporters have got elected to the local panchayats, this is an alarming trend. This needs to be curbed immediately," reads the note written to the Union home ministry. The note has been submitted as part of a key Western Zonal Council meeting to be held on June 10. The foray of Naxals into the political fold is receiving funds from NGOs with links to foreign countries, the note adds. The Union home ministry had asked the state government to take appropriate steps in dealing with Naxal violence, terrorism and threat posed to vital installations and other locations. State home officials said the government has put security forces on high alert following the attack and directed that standard operating procedures be followed when VIPs visit areas infested with Naxals. "We don't see Naxals carrying out this sort of attack in Maharashtra as we are better prepared than other states. However, we are still taking all precautions," said a senior government official. There are nearly 3,000 armed Naxals operating in Maharashtra, while more than 10,000 Central Reserve Police Force and other paramilitary personnel have been deployed to combat them. (Times of India 26/5/13) Siddaramaiah condemns Chhattisgarh Maoist attack (1 2) Bangalore: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday condemned the killing of 27 people in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh. He urged the Union government to take steps to contain Maoist attacks in that State and other parts of the country. “Playing with the lives of people is not good. I am totally against violence and killings, and strongly condemn such incidents. I hope the Central government will take serious action in the matter,” he told reporters here. The State government had taken precautionary measures and sounded an alert in coastal and Malnad districts to prevent any Maoist attack, Mr. Siddaramaiah added. Heavily armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on Saturday, killing 27 people, including senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, and injuring 32 people, including senior Congress leader V.C. Shukla. (The Hindu 27/5/13) No talks until Maoists abjure violence, says Centre (12) New Delhi: Maintaining that there would be no talks with Maoists until they gave up violence, the Centre on Tuesday said it would step up its anti-Naxal operations in States affected by Left-Wing Extremism. Pointing out that the last six months had seen Maoists’ “barbarism” reach its peak, Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh said there was an urgent need to review the policy on dealing with Naxals. The Maoists did not have any respect for human rights. There was a need to readdress the policy and there would be more active operations, Mr. Singh told journalists here. “[The Maoists] did not come forward [when the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram offered to conduct peace talks]… They are not interested in talks or following the democratic process. There will be no talks unless they abjure violence. We will review our strategy to deal with Naxals.” Asked about the perception of growing threat to political leaders from Naxals in light of Saturday’s attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh, the Minister said the government would ensure that activities of political parties were not disrupted by extremists. Standard operating procedures would be framed for political parties and the movement of party leaders, Mr. Singh said, adding: “We will ensure that political parties have their space without any disruption. We will ensure that such violence [does] not take place in future. SoPs have to be adhered to.” Mr. Singh said that the government would also review the policy of giving development funds to LWE-affected States: “In some

States, money [has been] lying unutilised for years. There should be [a] mechanism that funds reach the intended district for development without delay and are spent for the benefit of common people.” Meanwhile, criticising Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for being not being present during a time of “national calamity” for the country in the aftermath of Saturday’s incident, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said: “At a time when so much of commotion is happening, the gentleman there is on a private trip for [the] past four days when [the] rest of the people from the official trip have come back.” Speaking to journalists, Ms. Lekhi termed the initiation of a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the attack as “superfluous” given that Chief Minister Raman Singh had told Mr. Shinde that Chhattisgarh would be setting up a commission of inquiry. Mr. Shinde’s absence from North Block continues to be a talking point at the senior government levels. The Minister has been in the U.S. since May 19 for a security dialogue (that took place during May 20-22) and is expected to return only on May 29 as per his itinerary. Officials, who were part of the delegation, including Home Secretary R.K. Singh, are already back. Official sources said Mr. Shinde had stayed back for a private purpose and there were no official engagements to attend. Interestingly, in Mr. Shinde’s absence, his predecessor and Finance Minister P Chidambaram is said to have been in regular touch with Home Ministry officials following the attack. (The Hindu 28/5/13) Naxalites behaving like rogue state: Deora (12) NEW DELHI: Government should not talk to the Naxalites who are behaving like a "rogue state", Union minister Milind Deora today said, seeking an aggressive and cohesive security response against Maoist cadres. Condemning the deadly Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, he said development works should be targeted at locals living in Left wing extremism hit areas so that they are not lured by the radical thoughts of Naxalism. "I don't think you need to talk to them (Maoists). You don't need to talk to these people. When you take up arms against the state, we cannot talk to you. They are behaving like a rogue state," Deora, minister of state for Communication, IT and Shipping told PTI. The MP from South Mumbai said all state governments along with the Centre will have to jointly take the responsibility of ushering development projects in these areas aimed at the local population. Deora said it was his view that "politics should be kept aside" while working in these areas and not only the security apparatus but also other resources required for development should be augmented. "A strong approach both in terms of deploying security forces and initiating public works in Naxal-affected areas is required," he said. The May 25 Naxal ambush in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh killed 27 people including state PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and another prominent leader Mahendra Karma. (Times of India 31/5/13) ‘Discontent among tribals cause of Naxalism’ (12) New Delhi: The Naxal issue can be resolved only by involving tribals, downtrodden in the developmental activities. Unless they are benefited by development, given jobs, provide services like water, health, road, education, the issue cannot be checked, NCP chief and Union minister Sharad Pawar felt. “Economic inequality was a reason which had led to discontent among tribals and other sections and to the growth of naxalism”. “Someday or the other, he may take a different route, there is need to understand this. It is not only a law and order problem.” Mr Pawar said that till the tribals and all other sections don’t feel stakeholders in the development of the country, naxalism will continue to use them. He also asked youth of his party to take up the issues of urban people aggressively and if needed come to the streets. He said the number of people migrating to urban areas is increasing. The NCP workers must address their problems of drinking water, housing, educaion, health and take it up aggressively. Meanwhile, Union ministers of the Congress are coming out with various suggestion to check the Maoists. Tribal affairs minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo dubbed anti-Maoist militia Salwa Judum as a “sinful strategy”, bringing to the fore apparent differences in the Congress over the approach to Maoists. Mr Deo warned that the nation will witness “worse consequences” if the Naxalite issue is treated as a mere law and order problem. (Asian Age 31/5/13)

Tardy development makes fight against Naxals diffic ult (12) NEW DELHI: Apart from apparent security lapses on the ground, it was glaring intelligence failure that led to the May 25 Darbha massacre in Chhattisgarh. Security forces, however, express helplessness in correcting this deficiency, blaming it on the tardy pace and misplaced focus of development in Naxal-affected areas. Sources said due to slow pace of development, forces have not been able to move to new areas to make ground for the state's administrative influence and the development plan has focused largely on roads even as tribals value healthcare far more. This strategic gap and mismatch in aspirations of the local people and government's delivery has led to lack of trust between anti-Naxal forces and tribals, leading to failure of human intelligence — the most important resource in the fight against Maoists. "There is no doubt that our human intelligence is poor in Naxal affected areas. Maoists have better intelligence than us. If the forces had a good network among locals in Bastar, the Darbha massacre would never have happened," a senior CRPF official said, adding that there was indeed input of Maoists' movement in the area but no specific intelligence. But it would be difficult to connect with locals without heeding their needs. Government has already accepted that most Naxal-affected states have failed to spend allocated funds for development. In Chhattisgarh, till 2012, only two of 30 road projects sanctioned in Naxal affected areas had been completed. Close to half were pending while the rest had not even started, sources said. To make matters worse, despite all the spending, government is not giving tribals what they need the most: healthcare. To circumvent laxity in state spending, the Centre in 2010 had launched Integrated Action Plan (IAP) to develop Naxal-affected areas through centrally-sponsored schemes. This was part of what was unofficially called 'Operation Green Hunt', where forces were supposed to first clear an area, establish their hold and then government would bring development to wean away tribals from the influence of Naxals. Though comparatively successful, IAP's focus too has been more strategic than welfare-oriented. Close to 50% of fund allocation under IAP has been for roads while less than 3% goes to healthcare. States as usual have been poor performers on healthcare. In Chhattisgarh, the state spent 35% of allocated central funds on roads but only 16% on healthcare. In several Naxal-affected districts in the state, spending has been nil due to various factors that include reluctance of government doctors to work there. "In Chhattisgarh's interiors, you don't develop network by spending money. Tribals don't take money. They see who is working for them. You give them medicines, they will be yours. In most districts, either NGOs or Maoists themselves provide healthcare through regular camps. So why should villagers give us information," an officer posted in Chhattisgarh asked. Also, the clear-hold-develop policy has failed as development has not caught pace with forces. "It's not easy because of threats from Naxals to contractors, corruption and red tape. So forces have not been able to move to new areas and hold them as envisaged earlier," the officer added. (Times of India 3/6/13) Eight fake Naxals arrested for extortion (12) WARANGAL: Eight pseudo naxalites who were indulging in extortions were taken into custody here on Monday. Speaking to media, G Palaraju, rural superintendent of police, said a former naxalite N Malsur, a resident of Gandhampally village of Khammam district had formed a team with seven persons. When they were found moving in suspicious circumstances at Gandhi chowk area of Maripeda, they were arrested by the local police. Malsur and his gang including G Nagendram, MD Afsar, Sd Naveen, Md Saleem, M Pavan Kumar and V Venkanna, an RMP hailing from Khammam town, and A Venkatanarayana, a resident from Khanapur of Warangal district allegedly extorted contractors and businessmen at Warangal and Khammam districts. The gang printed pamphlets on the name of Telangana Yuvasena. They also brought two 7.65mm pistols and live rounds. With these arms, they also brandished three dummy pistols and resorted to threatening and looting contractors. The ammunition along with six kit bags, olive green uniforms and seven caps was seized. The accused reportedly told the cops that they collected Rs 15 lakh at Mahbubabad from contractors and Rs 50,000 from businessmen in Khammam town. (Times of India 4/6/13)

'Roshni' for Naxal-affected areas: 50,000 youths to be trained (12) New Delhi: Reaching out to youths in Naxal-hit areas, Centre today launched a placement linked skill development scheme targeting 50,000 rural men and women, mostly tribals, in 24 worst affected districts. Initiating the programme called "Roshni", Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said at least 50 per cent of the candidates covered under the scheme will be women and special efforts will be made to proactively cover Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) on a priority basis. 'Roshni' will show a "new path" to the youths being targeted by Maoists, the Minister said. The three-year initiative aims at skilling and placement of 50,000 youth from 24 Naxal-affected districts in nine states. The new programme drew lessons from a similar scheme being implemented in two critical Left-wing Extremism affected districts--West Singhbhum in Jharkhand and Sukma in Chhattisgarh -- and Himayat programme launched to address the needs and aspirations of the youth in Jammu and Kashmir. Beneficiaries aged between 18-35 years with requisite aptitude depending upon the trade or job requirements are to be selected as per the Participatory Identification of Poor. The scheme will be implemented through training partners from the private and public sectors as well as non-profit organisations. The scheme will provide training for youth from identified districts for employment in the organised sector. "The training providers will ensure 75 per cent placement defined as continuous employment for three months at higher than minimum wages. Placements will be provided anywhere in India," Ramesh told reporters. Different training strategies will be used for diverse groups of youths, ranging from school dropouts (below 8th standard to below 10th standard) to those with college education. The Minister said the funding for the 'Roshni scheme' would be in the ratio of 75:25 to be shared between Centre and states. (Deccan Herald 7/6/13) Naxal commander killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh (12) PTI : Rajnandgaon, Sat Jun 08 2013, 17:29 hrs Small Large Print 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 said. "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. (Indian Express 8/6/13) 396 surrender, but no big Naxalites so far (12) GADCHIROLI: Statistics furnished by Gadchiroli police say 396 Naxalites returned to the mainstream since 2005, when the government's surrender policy was launched with fresh vigour. The list, however, is devoid of names from the top brass. The record shows that so far only one Special zonal committee member (SZCM) and two divisional committee members (DVC) have surrendered in the last eight years, apart from 13 commanders and another 15 deputy commanders. Zalamsai Sadmek, alias Raghu, alias Rainu, was the last big name to surrender, in 2008. Raghu was a member of the Dandakaranya special zonal committee. The senior cadre had surrendered after his wife Bharti Akka deserted the movement to

lay down arms. Bharti was one of the two divisional committee members apart from Suresh Halami. This is despite the fact that fatter rewards await top Naxalites if they surrender. Though the government has already spent more than Rs 2.26 crore on the surrenders, the fact cannot be denied that the schemes has failed to bring many significant cadres to surrender. Rumours are frequently heard in the Naxal-affected district about senior cadres like Gopi and Ramdas having expressed their intention to surrender, but nothing materializes. Superintendent of police, Gadchiroli, Mohammed Suvez Haque has just concluded his special drive to boost the government surrender policy. Christened 'navjeevan', it attracted 28 former Naxalites. The highlight of these surrenders was that all the surrendered Naxalites were active in the movement and some of them had participated in major encounters at Markegaon and Hatti Gota, where 31 cops were killed. Deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam and Haque, besides other senior officers, had visited the families of top Naxalite leaders in remote villages as part of 'Navjeevan' policy. But their efforts to get senior rebels to surrender is yet to bear fruit. DIG Kadam said that the top Naxals are driven by commitment. "Most of the senior cadres have served more than 15-20 years. Several are enjoying top commanding positions and respect in the outfit after spending years together in the movement. It is tough to motivate them with any other thoughts, like peaceful life and so on," said Kadam. The DIG said that differences within the party is one of the strongest reasons for many surrenders. The statistics show that the lower ranks, comprising dalam members, area rakshak and gram rakshak dal members, and sangam members, which form the bulk of the jan militia, are the ones who surrender, unlike their leaders. Some 146 cadres from dalams and 117 sangam members have surrendered so far in the last eight years. Police have also recovered 81 firearms, 110 live cartridges and one hand grenade from the surrendered Naxalites. The arms have been nothing significant. This is despite the fact that bringing arms while surrendering leads to fatter rewards. (Times of India 13/6/13) Maoists attack train in Bihar, terrorize passengers , kill three (12) PATNA: Three passengers were killed and over half a dozen injured when about a hundred Maoists attacked Dhanbad-Patna Intercity Express (13331) between Bhalui and Kundhar halts in Jamui district of Bihar falling under Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) on Thursday afternoon. The victims were identified as Amit Kumar, Sarvar Alam of Purnea and an Railway Protection Special Force (RSPF) jawan Sukhant Deonath. Kumar was an SI of Bihar Police posted in Jamui while Deonath of RSPF's E Company, 5 Battalion was on escort duty in the train. Among the injured were Manoj Kumar of Jamalpur, Dharmendra Sao of Lalkhisarai, PK Tripathy of Patna, Satish Kumar of Muzaffarpur and KP Singh, guard of the train. The condition of Kumar who is an employee of Jamalpur workshop, is said to be critical, said East Central Railway spokesman Amitabh Prabhakar adding all the injured were rushed to the nearest government hospital in Jamui for their treatment. TOI Patna special correspondent Pranav Kumar Choudhary, who was travelling in the same train, said the Naxalites, mainly comprising armed girls, appeared from nowhere as the train came to a screeching halt in a forest area. It appeared that some of their comrades were already in the train who pulled the chain at the specified spot. At that time, several bogies of the train were in a tunnel. Chairman of railway board Vinay Mittal said the stranded train carried out its onward journey after 75 minutes of its detention at the site. Train movement was resumed after getting police clearance in the matter, he said. Expressing shock over the incident, ECR GM Madhuresh Kumar said that railways has decided to beef up security measures in Naxalite-affected areas in the ECR. Patrolling will be intensified in close coordination with state police. "Railways would now ensure passengers' safety on running trains," he said, adding three deaths unfortunately took place in the attack. According to Prabhakar, the pre-planned Maoist attack took place around 1pm near Jamui on Howrah-Patna-Mughalsarai section mainline of ECR's Danapur division. The banned outfit started firing indiscriminately on the bogies of the ill-fated train. Bullets hit passengers mostly travelling in sleeper class. Heavily-armed Maoists including women, forcibly entered a few coaches and terrorized passengers. Rail traffic movement on both up and down lines remained disrupted till 3pm. Confirming deaths of three passengers in the attack, DIG (railways) KS Anupam said that additional reinforcements

were immediately rushed to the spot. Jamalpur superintendent of rail police Amitbah Das and deputy superintendent of police Alok Kumar were already present there to supervise a massive combing operation of the area which is mostly dense forest. According to Danapur DRM LM Jha, railways rushed a medical from Danapur and Jhajha to Kiul station where passengers of the ill-fated train were thoroughly examined. All vulnerable stations falling in the division have been put on alert and security is being beefed up from passengers 'security point of view, he said. According to Jamui district magistrate Shashi Kant Tiwary, two companies of CRPF were immediately drafted to the site soon after receipt of information. He also said that the administration is fully prepared to take up cudgels against the banned outfit. According to sources, Maoists snatched and carried away a rifle and an AK-47 from two RPSF jawans while making an escape from the spot. ECR's commissioner of security RPF personally rushed to the spot and escorted the passengers up to Kiul, sources said. (Times of India 13/6/13) Armed women cadre among Maoists attackers on train (12) Patna/Jamui: Over a dozen armed women cadre were among the over 150 Maoists who carried out a daring attack on a Patna-bound train that left three persons dead in Jamui district of Bihar. "There were some women cadre also in the Maoist contingent that attacked the train yesterday," Additional Director General of Police(ADG), Law and Order S K Bhardwaj told PTI. Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) of East Central Railway Amitabh Prabhakar said as per information provided by the police, women Maoists were part of the attackers. Jamui police said that a group of women, comprising around 15-20 cadre, were part of the attackers on Dhanbad-Patna Inter-City Express that was raided by the Maoists between Jamui and Bhalui station. Meanwhile, a report from Lakhisarai district said that that five injured admitted to sadar hospital were out of danger. Prabhakar said that train services were normal in the section that falls under Danapur Division of the ECR. Police said that extra security arrangements have been made in the area. Combing operation has been going on against Maoists in the nearby forest by a joint team of CRPF, Bihar Police and Government Rail Police (GRP). Recalling the nightmare, some of the passengers said they hid under the berth to escape being hit by the firing by Maoists. Many of them took shelter in the toilet. They said the Maoists raided some bogies and looted belongings of the passengers before walking away to the nearby forest. 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. The Maoists also looted weapons from two RPF personnel. (Deccan Herald 14/6/13) Maoists axe constable to death in Chhattisgarh (12) Raipur: An assistant constable was axed to death allegedly by a group of naxals in Maoist-hit Kondagaon district of Chhattishgarh, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night in Iragaon village where 32-year-old Lokesh Kumar was hacked to death when he was returning to work place after having meals at home, Kondagaon Superintendent of Police D Shravan said. Around 4-5 naxals stopped Kumar on his way from Patelpara area and attacked him with an axe, the SP said. Soon after the incident, a police party was rushed to the spot, the officer said, adding a man hunt has been launched to nab the assailants. After Supreme Court rapped Chhattisgarh government for recruiting tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) during Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist movement) days, it recruited SPOs as assistant constables. (Hindustan Times 18/6/13) Two cops injured in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh (1 2) RAIPUR: An assistant sub-inspector of police and a constable were injured on Sunday in a Naxal attack at Maoist-hit Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. "Naxals opened indiscriminate firing at a team of district force and Central Reserve Police Force when it was patrolling in the jungles of Dhaudai police station area," Narayanpur deputy superintendent of police (DSP) NK Sahu told PTI over phone. The injured were identified as — ASI Shivprasad Chandra and constable Govind Tekam. The security

personnel also fired in retaliation but the naxals managed to escape into the thick forest, he said. The injured policemen were admitted to a hospital in Jagdalpur town of Bastar district as they could not be air-lifted to Raipur due to bad whether conditions, he added. (Times of India 23/6/13) Lethal tribal jungle unit joins war on Naxals (12) Karanpur (Bastar): India is raising an unnamed jungle commando outfit of young tribal men in Chhattisgarh's Bastar to counter Maoist guerrillas. Cobra, the most elite commando unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has so far trained and absorbed 300 men aged 18 to 30. The six-month gruelling course at CRPF's Lanjhi forest camp in Bastar is perhaps the world's longest training module in jungle warfare. The Ranger School at Fort Benning, US, has a similar but shorter, 61-day course. The driving philosophy: Locals know their habitat best. In Bastar's dense saal forests where one of the world's bloodiest guerrilla wars is fought, stealth is precious. In the war that is fought behind trees, darkness, glowworms and birdcalls, and where sniper bullets lurk, the local tribals' instincts and familiarity with the terrain are an asset. "There's no foolproof strategy in this war. You have to keep trying new things," says Zulfiquar Hasan, inspector general, CRPF, Chhattisgarh. The commandos are trained to pick up Maoists' tracks, identify fake animal calls used by the enemy as signal, survive for a week or more without carrying food - eating animals and plants and extracting water from spongy roots - and using a range of guns. They use naptha balls to light small, hard-to-detect fires which don't emit smoke of odour. They can tell a poisonous berry from an edible one. "Their local expertise and intuitiveness is proving to be a huge asset against the Naxalites," says Uday Divyanshu, commander of the 204 Cobra battalion. The tribal commandoes are being used mainly to track down Maoists from the faintest clues and to evacuate injured soldiers. At the Cobra headquarters in Karanpur, HT met five members of the new elite jungle force last week. Their favourite diet in the forests: Instant noodles. "But when it gets over, we make do with what the forest offers," says a 22-year-old freshly-trained commando from Bastar's Gond tribe. His next mission after joining the force: To get married. (Hindustan Times 23/6/13) 200 Maoists took part in 3-day training (12) New Delhi: Two alleged Maoists, arrested in connection with the May 25 attack on Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh, have told the NIA that they took part in the attack on the direction of senior Andhra Pradesh cadre Uday. Identified as Kosa Kunjam and Ura Madhi from Katmateru village, they carried arms used in the attack. Their village is one km away from the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border. They have reportedly revealed details of the "planning" of the Naxal attack that killed 28 people, including senior Congress leaders. The NIA said they plan to seek custody of the two to show them photographs of top Naxal leaders who may have taken part in the attack. It is also learnt to have detained a few suspects in Chhattisgarh who are being questioned. Malkangiri SP Akhileshwar Singh said at least 200 Maoists took part in a three-day training at Kirtipalli village. Kunjam and Madhi told the the police that after the training, the group was divided into four sub-groups who walked to the Tulsi Dongar area separately. "The groups met at a particular point where 12-13 from Orissa stayed back. The rest walked for two days to reach the site of the ambush. After the ambush, the others came back and met the Maoists of Orissa. Thereafter, they dispersed," said Singh. Kunjam and Madhi, however, could not see clearly how the Congressmen were killed. The SP said that they recalled seeing the blast and also heard "firing".Orissa DGP Prakash Mishra told The Indian Express, "We have arrested two Naxals and informed the NIA." Preliminary questioning revealed there were 30 cadres from Orissa who took part in the attack while the rest were from Chhattisgarh, he said. The police in Malkangiri were on the lookout for Kunjam and Madhi in connection with an IED haul. (Indian Express 26/6/13) Suspected Naxals kill cop in Gadchiroli (12) Four suspected Naxals killed a police constable in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Thursday. Raj Reddy Pocham Gaddewar was fired at from close range by four unidentified persons when he was

returning home from a hospital in Assarali town around 2.30 p.m. He died of series injuries in the neck and chest, a police press release said. According to some eyewitnesses, the attackers pushed away Reddy’s wife and two children, and fired three rounds at him. The killing took place hardly 200 metres from the Assarali police station, where Reddy had been posted, and right in the middle of a crowded market. The attackers escaped under cover of the crowd. (The Hindu 28/6/13) NIA to quiz held Odisha militants on Naxal attack ( 12) Bhubaneswar: A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expected to visit Odisha’s Maoist-infested Malkangiri district shortly to interrogate two arrested red rebels in connection with the last month’s sensational naxal attack in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. The two Maoists - Kasa Kurujami and Udru Madhi - were nabbed by the anti-naxal cell of the Malkangiri district police during a combing operation last Monday. After their arrest, both admitted before the police that they along with a few other naxal cadres from the state had taken part in the attack on Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh. During interrogation, the Maoists admitted that the plan for the May 25 attacks on the Congress convoy, that wiped out the party’s leadership in Chhattisgarh, had been prepared much in advance. After successfully executing the special operation, the Maoists split themselves into four groups and headed in different directions. About 35 Maoist cadres from Odisha had taken part in the Chhattisgarh operation. “We contacted NIA investigators and conveyed the information after the two Maoists made the revelation (about their participation in the Chhattisgarh attack). A NIA team is likely to arrive here shortly to question both red rebels”, said a senior police official stationed in Malkangiri district. About 30 people, including senior Chhattisgarh Congress state unit president Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and former union minister V C Shukla, were killed. (Deccan Herald 27/6/13) Agnivesh urges PM to hold peace talks with Naxals ( 12) NAGPUR: Social activist Swami Agnivesh on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to initiate dialogue with Maoists to end the decades-long Left-wing violence in the country. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should initiate the peace process himself. He should not depend on the Union Home Minister (P Chidambaram) as people have lost faith in the Home Ministry in this regard in view of the past experience," Agnivesh told reporters here. "The Prime Minister alone can resolve the problem through genuine talks with the Naxalites," he added. He alleged that CPI (Maoist) spokesman and politburo member Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was killed in a "fake encounter" in Nagpur on July 1, 2010 and the CBI probe into the case had been "manipulated"."Andhra Pradesh police's claims that the senior Naxal leader was killed in an encounter near Sarkapalli in Adilabad district (Andhra Pradesh), along with a journalist, Hem Chandra Pandey, is a total lie as they were picked up from Nagpur and killed in a cold-blooded manner here itself," he said. Azad was close to Maoist general secretary Pupalla Laxmanrao alias Ganapathi and regarded by many as the second- in-command. "I was offered to be an interlocutor for talks between the Centre and the Maoists by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Azad was the link between me and the leadership of the Naxalites of CPI (Maoist). "However, a section of state powers, including AP police did not want the peace process and the Maoist leader was killed in fake encounter to scuttle the move," he alleged. "I was in touch with Azad. His death was a setback to the entire talk and peace process. Had he not died, it could have brought a positive outcome in the Left-extremist movement in the country. It was a betrayal of peace process," he said. According to Agnivesh, he had earlier met the Prime Minister demanding judicial probe into the incident. "He had accepted my demand then, but the government backed out later," Agnivesh said. "The CBI probe that had given a clean chit to AP police was completely manipulated and hence we once again demand a judicial probe into the incident," he added. (Indian Express 1/7/13) Jogis under lens in Naxal massacre (12)

NEW DELHI: Theories suggesting a political conspiracy in the DarbhaGhati massacre, where Naxals killed 29 people from a Congress cavalcade have not yet been ruled out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is investigating the attack. The agency has even put a 'padayatra' that former Chhattisgarh CM AjitJogi's son AmitJogi embarked upon some three years ago in Bastar under scanner. Since the attack, there have been various theories doing the rounds — ranging from rivalry within the Congress's state unit to the suspicious role of MLA Kawasi Lakhma precipitating the massacre. BJP leaders have gone on record to suggest Ajit Jogi's complicity in the attack as both the former Chhattisgarh CM and Lakhma are known to be close and survived the attack even as almost the entire top state leadership of Congress was wiped out. While Lakhma was part of the convoy, Jogi had taken a chopper ride. Even though the agency has not found any evidence to back any of these theories as yet, it has kept the investigations open given the circumstances of the case. Sources say the agency is waiting for a big catch from among the Naxals to clear the air on the myriad theories. "We have not ruled out anyone's involvement as yet. Be it Kawasi Lakhma or any other person from any party. We are even looking at the 'padyatra' Amit Jogi embarked upon in Bastar. Either he was very fortunate or there were some arrangements that saved his life. However, right now we are concentrating only on catching the culprits who led the attack," a senior NIA officer said. "Once we have the leader, we will be able to unravel the truth. If at all there was a conspiracy, it must be known only to the senior members of the group that attacked the convoy," he added. NIA recently questioned two alleged Naxals arrested by the Odisha Police in connection with the case. However, both are lower level functionaries who only provided logistical support to the 200 odd Naxals who attacked the convoy on May 25. "They have no knowledge of any conspiracy," said an NIA official. (Times of India 2/7/13) SC takes cognizance of tribal undertrials in Naxal- affected states (12) 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." (Indian Express 7/7/13) Maoists blame A.P. govt. for Prasadam’s death (12) MUMBAI: 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. (The Hindu 8/7/13) Centre to train 3,500 Chhattisgarh cops for anti-Na xal ops (12) New Delhi: The Centre has accepted a proposal to train 3,500 Chhattisgarh Police personnel in jungle warfare tactics and undertaking anti-Naxal operations at the training facilities of central paramilitary forces. The task to train and motivate these men has been entrusted by the Union Home Ministry to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which will train five separate batches of 700 state police personnel each at its recruit/auxillary training centres in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, officials said. The first batch is expected by next month end. This is probably the first time that the central paramilitary force will train such a large number of police personnel hailing from a single state. The CRPF, according to sources, has been assigned the task as it is also the mainstay for conducting anti-Naxal operations in various Maoist violence-hit states. The decision to train these policemen by the central forces was taken recently as Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh has posed a big challenge for security forces operating in the state and the local police administration does not have large training facilities and infrastructure to train its personnel. The state policemen will be given a 60-week training in jungle warfare techniques, commando tactics, unarmed combat, weapon firing and gathering of local intelligence. It is also planned, sources said, that the Chhattisgarh policemen will also be given a stint to train with the elite CoBRA battalion of the force which has been raised for specific tasks of conducting counter-Naxal operations. The top brass of Chhattisgarh Police had recently met CRPF commanders after the state government got in touch with the Union Home Ministry in this regard. (Deccan herald 11/7/13) 4 Naxalites surrender before state DGP (12) NAGPUR: Four Naxalites, including a senior cadre, have surrendered before the Gadchiroli cops in the presence of state director general of police Sanjeev Dayal on Thursday. With this development, the number of those surrendered have gone up to 35 this year. The rebels who returned to the mainstream were identified as Manku Pada alias Suresh (27), Sushila Pudo alias Kamli (20), Rakesh Lekami alias Komti (40) and Sammi Vachami alias Girija (30). Komti was the seniormost among the four in the movement. Police stated that Suresh had joined the movement in 2003. He was a divisional committee member and worked for Company 10 before surrendering. He was platoon B commander for company 10 before being elevated to the post of DVC. Kamli, who had joined the movement in 2009, was also in company 10. Komti was a commander of company no 9 before surrendering. He had joined the banned movement in 1992 through Perimili dalam. Another surrendered Naxal, Girijya is a native of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. He too worked for Naxal movement from 2006 onwards. Though basically a Chhattisgarh cadre, Girijya worked mostly in Gadchiroli. Gadchiroli police, under SP Mohd Suvez Haque, had launched a programme 'nav jeevan' to boost surrender. Under the scheme, the senior cops had been visiting the

residences of Naxalite cadres and requesting their family members to ensure that the member in the banned movement returns to the mainstream. (Times of India 12/7/13) Five Naxals held in Chhattisgarh (6) RAIPUR: Five Naxals were arrested in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh in a joint operation by police and BSF today, police said. "The cadres were nabbed from different villages in the forests of Tadoki police station area by the joint contingent of district force and BSF," Station House Officer (SHO) of Tadoki police station, G S Thakur told PTI. The Maoists are identified as Ramu Gond (50), Fulsingh Markam (25), Shyam Singh (35), Rai Singh (58) and Ramesh Dugga (25)--all members of Jan militia group, Thakur said, adding that the members admitted of being involved in the movement during interrogation. The patrol party was mobilised on specific inputs about the presence of the militia members in the region. They all were apprehended from their respective houses, police said, adding that they were involved in several incidents of crimes in the region. (New Indian Express 15/7/13) Encounter in which six women Naxals died was fake: activists (12) Gadchiroli: A human rights activist on Wednesday alleged that the encounter at Mendhri village in Etapalli tehsil of the district on July 7, in which six suspected women Naxals were killed, was fake. Bela Bhatia, a professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, lodged a written complaint in this regard with the superintendent of police, Gadchiroli on Wednesday. Bhatia headed a fact-finding team that visited the spot recently. Police, huge in number, could have captured women alive as they had indicated that they wanted to surrender, she alleged. "We will produce ourselves before the sub divisional magistrate of Etapalli who is conducting magisterial enquiry into the incident," Bhatia said, addressing a press conference. Police had claimed that they opened fire in retaliation. Gadchiroli, which borders on Chhattisgarh, is a hotbed of Naxal activities. (Hindustan Times 17/7/13) Fearing attacks by Naxals, govt reschedules meet of SPs (12) New Delhi: Apprehending Naxal attacks against police officers during their travel, Home Ministry has rescheduled a meeting of the top cops of the 27 worst Maoist- hit districts convened here as the dates have been leaked. The two-day meeting of the Superintendents of Police and commandants of paramilitary forces deployed in the 27 districts was convened in the wake of the July 3 killing of Amarjit Balihar, the SP of Jharkhand's Pakur district, by Maoists. The meeting scheduled to be held on July 26-27 has been postponed following a request by CRPF which thought that leak of dates could make the officers vulnerable to being targeted by Maoists during their journey to the national capital, sources said. Maoists are known for brutal attacks on convoy of police and paramilitary forces and even on political parties when they travel through their strongholds. Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Director of Intelligence Bureau Asif Ibrahim, Inspector Generals in-charge of operations in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha will attend the conference whose new dates have been kept secret. The meeting is expected to review the anti-Naxal strategy, the success and reverses received so far and the methodology taken by the Maoists to carry out their attacks as well as how to face the new challenges on the ground. The Home Ministry has chosen Mohd Suvez Haque, SP of Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, to brief the gathering on the innovative methods adopted by him to tackle Left wing extremism. Haque has been chosen to give a presentation at the meeting on the methods adopted by him to take on the Maoists, the sources said. Haque, 34, is an officer of the 2005 batch of Indian Police Service. He is a chemical engineer and is considered to be very efficient in dealing with Left wing violence. (Deccan Herald 19/7/13) Govt takes up repair of Malguzari tanks only in Nax al-hit districts (12) NAGPUR: Maji Malguzari tanks (popularly known as Mama tanks) created two to three centuries ago is a rich legacy of eastern Vidarbha. These unique structures, not only maintain water tables of the area, but

also provide protected irrigation to farms around and also drinking water in summers. In November 2011, the state government had set up a study group, under the chairmanship of Madhukar Kimmatkar, to suggest measures to maximize utility of these Mama tanks. The committee submitted its report with 20 recommendations like repairing and rejuvenation, handing over their control from Zilla Parishad to water-users cooperatives. There are 6734 such man-made water-bodies which were covered by Kimmatkar panel in the five districts of Nagpur division. However, Kimmatkar said he was shocked to find that the government had undertaken repair work only for all such tanks in two main Naxal-hit districts of Gondia and Gadchiroli, while around 2400 tanks in the other four districts were left out of the purview of a special task group set up now to prepare an action taken report (ATR) on Mama tanks. The government order in this regard issued on July 2 clearly mentions that only 4451 tanks situated in 31 talukas of the four districts of Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur would be covered for the purpose of ATR. Irked over the large number of tanks being excluded, Kimmatkar said as many as 1105 were left out in Chandrapur, 1105 in Bhandara while not one of the 216 in Nagpur district will be covered by the ATR. "It seems that only Naxalite sensitive districts of Gadchiroli with 1669 tanks and Gondia with 1786 tanks would be taken into consideration. I have written to principal secretary of the water resources ministry to include the remaining 2401 tanks in the four districts," said Kimmatkar. (Times of India 21/7/13) 5 Naxals held from Kanker (12) RAIPUR: Five Naxalites were arrested after a gun battle between the rebels and a joint contingent of Special Task Force (STF) and police in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Kanker district, police said on Saturday. The Naxalites were arrested in the forest area of Mujalgodi Pahadi on Friday night, Kanker DSP M Z Baig said. The jawans, who were conducting combing operation in the region since July 15, spotted movement of Naxalites in the hilly zone of Mujalgodi Pahadi, some 200 km from here. On seeing the security forces, the rebels triggered a pressure- bomb blast and opened indiscriminate fire, he said. Exchange of fire continued for around two hours after which the Naxalites fled to the forest. "A jawan received minor injuries in the blast and was airlifted to Raipur," the DSP said. A combing operation was launched after the firing ceased, and five Naxalites - Jhitku Ram (21), Saggu Ram (19), Ratti Ram (27), Ramsingh (35) and Lakhmu Ram (30) - were nabbed, he said. Wire, couple of detonators, camera and a motorcycle were recovered from the encounter spot. The arrested Naxalites were produced on Saturday in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody. (Times of India 22/7/13) MPs in 85 Naxal-hit districts may have a say in dev elopment works (12) NEW DELHI: MPs in Naxal-affected areas may get a say in how development works are commissioned as part of an annual Rs 30 crore grant that was until now managed by senior administration, police and forest officials in a district. The proposal — if accepted by the Cabinet on Thursday — will vastly increase the influence of MPs in 85 Naxal-affected districts in terms of commissioning development works that are usually limited to Rs 5 crore per constituency. The Cabinet is also likely to approve Rs 4,000 crore allocation for three years for these districts till 2016-17 as the current allocations under the integrated action plan (IAP) run out. A committee that examined the IAP has recommended that MPs as well as local panchayat functionaries like sarpanches be given a role in the allocation of the substantial funds that are controlled by the district collector, police chief and forest officer. Since 2010, a sum of Rs 6,090 crore has been allocated of which Rs 4,220 crore has been disbursed. The works commissioned include infrastructure amenities like roads, bridges, electric poles and anganwadis. The committee has also called for greater coordination between the IAP and existing schemes being run by the home ministry. The large allocation to the IAP signals UPA-II's commitment to pushing welfare and consequently the government's presence into areas that have been seen as "Red zones" where the state is largely absent. Looking to counter arguments often advanced by activists that the state is relying on force to settle the Naxal problem in line with a law and order approach, the government has made a determined bid to empower district officials. The officials have been given a large leeway in deciding the

type of development their districts need and the policy is seen to complement the use of central and state forces to take on the ultras. The clear, hold, build strategy the Centre has adopted since it initiated anti-Naxal operations on a large scale is a multi-pronged approach to an entrenched problem. Officials point to the need to separate local followers from the ideologically committed core of the Naxal organization. Local adherents can find the rebels an attractive option in the face of oppression at the hands of either dominant groups or the state. Also, the war against insurgency can depend on perceptions about who is winning. Fence-sitters and a large section of the local population are unwilling to oppose Naxals if it is not clear that the state has the upper hand. (Times of India 25/7/13) Odisha govt disburse package for surrendered Maoist s (12) Nabarangpur (Odisha): As part of Odisha government’s rehabilitation package for surrendered Maoists, Rs. 1 lakh was released to Laxmidhar Nayak alias Gundadhul, ex-Commandar of Udanti-Raighar-Sinapali border area committee of ultras, who had surrendered before the police last year. Superintendent of police, Nabarangpur, Brajesh Rai said he handed Rs 50,000 to Nayak in Nabarangpur on Friday while an equal amount was deposited in a joint-bank account. In the last fiscal, Rs 1.5 lakh was deposited in the account jointly operated by Nayak and the SP, Nabarangpur, which would be released to Laxmidhar after verification of his conduct over a period of time, he said. Mr. Rai further said that more financial incentives would be provided to him for purchase of land, construction of house and for his marriage. Laxmidhar was a close associate of Kartik, divisional secretary, Lalita and Jani Salm, both active members of Manpur Divisional Committee of Chhattisgarh under which Udanti-Raighar-Sinapali border Area Committee operates. All the operations by the Maoist in Nabarangpur and Nuapada districts in Odisha were being executed by the Area Committee of which Laxmidhar was the Commander. Laxmidhar belonged to Erikbuta village under Pakanjhar police station of Kanker District of Chhattisgarh. However, he was operating in Nabarangpur and Nuapada districts bordering Chhattisgarh. At the time of surrender, Laxmidhar was assured that he would be rehabilitated as per the guidelines and package of the Government. (The Hindu 26/7/13) State prepares for propaganda war in Naxal-hit dist ricts (12) Nagpur: Naxal-affected districts in the state are set to witness a propaganda war. Via a GR issued Tuesday, the government deputed three officials from the information and publicity department to the office of Special Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operations) Anup Kumar Singh here "with immediate effect".District Information Officer (Nagpur) V H Khadse, Information Officer (Parbhani) and Hansraj Raut, sub-editor, District Information Office, Gadchiroli, will undertake propaganda mission. "Naxalites are always campaigning against government and police. A new publicity cell is being opened in Special IG (ANO) office to provide information about government schemes and programmes to people in affected districts," the GR says. "They will counter Naxal propaganda by explaining to people in Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur various government schemes," said Singh. Asked how the propaganda will be done, he said, "Through media, posters and pamphlets, skits and dramas. The modalities will be worked out soon." (Indian Express 27/7/13) Telangana may witness growing Naxal activities: Hom e ministry (12) NEW DELHI: Economically backward Telangana region could witness growing activities of Maoists in coming months as the rebels may take advantage of the process of creation of the new state which may take close to six months. Home ministry officials said Telangana, being the home of most of the top CPI (Maoists) leaders, could become easy target for the Naxals considering its close proximity with worst affected regions - Chhattisgarh's Bastar and Maharashtra's Gadchidoli. During the process of the formation Telangana, the attention of the administration and the police is bound to be diverted as Andhra Pradesh will undergo the exercise of division of the assets, administrative officials and security apparatus etc, officials said. Once Naxal hot beds - Karminagar, Warangal and Adilabad districts - fall in Telanagana

region and the CPI(Maoists) are bound to try their best to activate their old contacts and recruit new cadres in their poor region, the officials said. "We hope that before the Telangana region turns again into a Naxal hot bed, administration takes full control and rein in all undesirable elements," an official said (Times of India 30/7/13) Forces hitting Naxals effectively, ops to intensify : CRPF DG (12) New Delhi: Security forces are penetrating deeper into Naxal affected areas and jungles and they will keep hitting their strongholds, the chief of the lead anti- Maoist operations force CRPF said a day before he hangs up his boots. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief Pranay Sahay, who will retire tomorrow after heading the paramilitary force for more than 10 months, also asserted that it is no more possible for the red rebels to ambush and attack security forces like the deadly 2010 Dantewada ambush as the forces are now familiar with the terrain and are better trained. CRPF had faced its biggest ever setback in anti-Naxal operations when 75 of its men and one Chhattisgarh police personnel were killed in a lethal attack by Maoists in the red stronghold of Tadmetla in south Bastar. "The Naxals are losing out heavily. They are perturbed and I can assure that attacks like Dantewada are no more a possibility. The forces now know the terrain, they are better quipped and trained," Sahay said. CRPF is the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations as it has deployed over 85,000 personnel for the task in various states. The CRPF boss said anti-Naxal operations in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh need to be intensified to get better results. He complimented West Bengal for containing the Left Wing Extremism menace in the state. The DG said all the security forces deployed for combating Naxalites are gaining momentum. He, however, said state police forces do have deficiencies at various levels which the respective governments are trying to address. Sahay also gave figures to buttress his point. "The fact that we are hitting Naxals increasingly is evident from the number of incidents as well as the number of deaths at the hands of the Naxals. From an all-time high of 2,258 incidents (1,005 deaths) in 2010, now it has come down to (till June) 590 incidents where 202 deaths took place," he said. (Zee News 31/7/13) HC pulls up cops for framing tribal as Naxal (12) NAGPUR: Justice ML Tahaliyani of Nagpur bench of Bombay high court in a recent verdict came down heavily on Gadchiroli police for framing an innocent tribal as a Naxalite. The court, setting aside an earlier order by sessions court, has also acquitted the man of the charges of attempt to murder and causing obstruction to government officials. Bamu Miccha was convicted under Sections 307 and 353 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) in an alleged offence of July 2010. It was alleged that he had fired upon police at Pidimili and Paddur jungles. The sessions court had sentenced him to seven years imprisonment and fine Rs 500 holding him guilty under for attempt to murder and another one-and-half years and fine Rs 500 for obstructing government officials on duty. Aggrieved by the order, Miccha preferred an appeal. The high court observed there was no evidence of any kind to fix the identity of the person or arrive at a conclusion that the same person had fired upon the cops. It also stated that most of the eye-witnesses were cops who had claimed to have been fired upon by Miccha who was represented by counsel Surendra Gadling. The court said the witnesses were stereotypes. The court has also expressed doubt regarding the claim of the complainant, the then sub-divisional police officer of Bhamragarh tehsil Suryakant Sagar, that the cops had fired in retaliation after Miccha had opened fire. It said the investigation officer would have seized the firearms if there was firing in exchange. In the final order, the court stated the police seem to have framed Miccha by planting the firearm on him. The court observed that it was unbelievable that terrorists and Naxalites would use crude firearm like Bharmar in this age. (Times of India 3/8/13) Maoists blow up rail track in Gaya, trains standed (12) Gaya: Maoists blew up a railway track nearhere late on Friday night, disrupting traffic on the Gaya-Mugalsari route of East Central Railway. The explosion on the track between Taraiya and Guraru railway

station occurred at around 11pm, barely 20 minutes after the pilot engine of Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani train crossed the area, Gaya Railway DSP Sunil Kumar told PTI. There were no casualties. There is usually a gap of one hour between the pilot engine and the train which follows it. Following the blast, the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani train was stopped at Taraiya station. Many other trains including Bhubaneshwar-Delhi Rajdhani and Sealdah-Delhi Rajdhani were also stranded at Gaya Railway station. The DSP said that senior officials have reached the site to co-ordinate repair work. Railways had decided to run pilot engines ahead of trains following the 2003 accident of Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani in Naxal-hit Aurangabad which left over a 100 people dead. (Hindustan Times 3/8/13) Naxals succeed due to forces' failure to adhere to SoPs (12) New Delhi: The government on Wednesday admitted that the recent attacks carried out by Naxals could be successful due to security forces' failure to adhere to basic policing tactics. "An analysis of recent Naxal attacks disclose that the attacks could succeed mainly due to failure of adherence to basic policing tactics and practices by some of the state police forces," Minister of State for Home RPN Singh told Rajya Sabha. Singh said in the left wing extremism theatre, there are certain standard practices taken by the Naxals which can be easily anticipated, and counter measures by security forces should be in place for such cases. For example, he said, the CPI(Maoist) always target and kill leaders of mainstream political parties whenever they get an opportunity. Similarly, they will kill security forces and loot their weapons as part of their professed guerrilla tactic. "The security forces need to be alert in Naxal affected areas even when elaborate intelligence inputs are not available. The conditioning of the security forces should be such that counter-measures against such attacks should be built into normal policing functions. "However, as evident in some of the recent attacks, there was a failure to anticipate events and put counter-measures in place," Singh said. The Minister said for the Jiram Ghati incident in Chhattisgarh on May 25 in which Congress leaders and workers as well as a large number of civilians were killed by the Naxals, the Chhattisgarh government has instituted a judicial inquiry into the security lapses to the attack. There were 285 incidents of Naxal violence in the country in just three months -- May to July 2013 -- in which 117 people lost their lives. Of the deceased, 47 were killed in Chhattisgarh, 37 were killed in Jharkhand and 15 in Bihar. (Zee News 7/8/13) Delegation asks govt., Maoists to come to negotiati ng table (12) BANGALORE: A delegation of writers, intellectuals and human right activists on Tuesday met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and appealed to him to initiate a dialogue with Maoists in the State. The delegation, led by writer Baragur Ramachandrappa, submitted a memorandum signed by 19 noted personalities to the Chief Minister, demanding that both the government and Maoists come to the negotiating table to create peace and equality in the State. Citing statements made by both Mr. Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K.J. George earlier, attributing the upsurge of the Maoist movement to social inequalities, the delegation appealed the Chief Minister to translate their concern into an official policy and announce the same. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the issue would have to be brought before the Cabinet to make it an official policy. Pointing that the rise of the Maoist movement reflected shortcomings in democracy and the State’s “failure” to address some of the fundamental issues of the people, they said the naxal conflict had seen a lot of bloodshed in the past four decades and the reason for this “tragic situation” could not be ignored. Viewing it as a mere law and order problem and continuing to suppress the movement through police action would not do, the signatories said. The memorandum also said that “ideological stubbornness and unnecessary use of violence” on the part of the Maoists had badly affected societal peace and democratic process. The signatories observed that the impasse could be broken only when both the government and Maoists carried out a serious reflection of their respective positions. The signatories to the memorandum include U.R. Ananthamurthy, Mr. Ramachandrappa, G. Rajashekar, Rahmat Tarikere, Phaniraj, H.S. Doreswamy, G. Ramakrishna, Indudhara Honnapura, Gauri Lankesh,

Parvateesh, L. Hanumanthaiah, Sanat Kumar Belagali, Banjagere Jayaprakash, T.R. Chandrashekar, N. Ramesh, Nagari Babaiah, V.S. Sridhar, A.K. Subbaiah and B.M. Basheer. (The Hindu 8/8/13) Cong leader held for arms supply to Naxals (12) Mumbai: In a significant development, the Gadchiroli police has finally managed to arrest a local Congress leader from Gadchiroli, who was allegedly supplying arms and ammunition to the Naxals. The police has arrested former zilla parishad president of Gadchiroli and Congress leader Bandopant Mallelwar. The police has been on the hunt for Mallelwar and his brother Narendra ever since it intercepted an ambulance ferrying arms and ammunition, explosives and medical supplies to Naxals in Bhamragarh, Gadhchiroli. Four people, who were arrested in the case, had revealed that Mallelwar and the medical officer of the Porla primary health centre Dr Ravindra Karpe, had sent the weapons and ammunition for the Naxals. Mallelwar, his brother Narendra, and Dr Karpe went absconding after the police seizure. The police even began the process of auctioning the properties of Mallelwar and his brother as they were declared offenders. Incidentally, this is not the first time that the Mallewars have been accused of funding Naxals; in 2001, the police recovered `11 lakh after the interrogation of some Naxalites, who told the police about the money that was being sent to them. A gain in 2001, a vehicle in which Mallelwar was travelling was intercepted; he was found carrying `6 lakh in cash for the Naxals. While Mallelwar has been arrested his brother Narendra and Dr Karpe are still absconding. (Asian Age 8/8/13) Naxal attack: IPS body urges CM to reinstate Bastar SP to boost morale of cops (12) NEW DELHI: Contending that there was no specific intelligence about Naxal ambush in Bastar that killed top Chhattisgarh Congress leaders few months back, the national IPS association has urged chief minister Raman Singh to reinstate the local SP, suspended after the attack, to keep up the morale of the police officers. Asserting that the Bastar Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayank Srivastava is a gallant officer who "made a name for himself" in anti-Naxal operations, the association has in a letter to Singh said the 2006-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was not the only one in-charge of security duties in the area and the action against him is "stretching things too far".27 people, including senior Congress leaders like Mahendra Karma, state PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and former union minister V C Shukla, were killed on May 25 when heavily armed Maoists ambushed their convoy in the Bastar area. The state government later suspended Srivastava and transferred out the local Inspector General of Police and Collector. Srivastava has been attached to the DGP office in Raipur. "The current instance wherein lapses for the Darbha Ghati incident have been attributed to SP Mayank Srivastava only would certainly be stretching things too far. The VIP arrangements and the large scale anti-Naxal operations in the adjoining areas where being tasked and controlled by the persons other than the SP also. "...There was hardly any specific intelligence available with state or central agencies regarding the presence of naxalites in such a large number at this location," Pankaj Kumar Singh, the secretary of the central association said in his August 8 letter to the Chhattisgarh CM. The association has a strength of more than 4,000 members at present. "I would, therefore, earnestly request you to immediately reinstate SP Mayank Srivastava so as to restore his confidence in the system and make him feel wanted in this hour of crisis. Such a step, the letter said, will go a long way in instilling faith and belief in the young police officers today and in future also that sincerity, hard work and dedication will be the only benchmarks while dedicating oneself to the service of the society. Pleading the case of the SP, the association said Srivastava had led from the front and the government also recognised his (Srivastava) acts of bravery and gallant action and awarded him the Police Medal for Gallantry twice in a career spanning barely five years. The association said that keeping up the morale of the police officers and security personnel should be the topmost priority in the face of deadly Maoist attacks in such areas. Chhattisgarh government had ordered a judicial probe into this incident. (Economic Times 12/8/13)

14 Maoists surrender before Maharashtra state home minister (12) GADCHIROLI (MAHARASHTRA): 14 Maoists surrendered before Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil on Thursday. The surrendered Maoists belong to remote and tribal villages in Gadchiroli district and adjoining Chhattisgarh. Of the 14 surrendered Maoists, eight are men and six are women in aged between 16 years to 40 years. They include two Maoist couples who had worked in different platoons. The surrendered Maoists will be be given financial assistance by the government under its surrender policy, the police said. The surrender ceremony took place immediately after the flag-hoisting programme in front of the collectorate. The Maoists worked with platoons like Tippagad dalam, Bhamragad platoon, Gatta platoon, Aheri platoon, militia platoon, company number four and company number 10 of the Gadchiroli district. Some of the Maoists had worked in Chhattisgarh-based platoons like Kottur platoon, South Bastar Regional Company Number 2, Bijapur Company number 2 and Bastar Manpur Division Platoon number 2. (New Indian Express 16/8/13) Impose curfew, fine on villagers for helping Naxals : Mumbai top cop (12) NEW DELHI: Imposing curfew, slapping collective fine and taking to task sarpanch and elders in villages found to be giving food and shelter to Maoists are some of the measures suggested by Mumbai Commissioner of Police Satyapal Singh to cripple the Naxal menace. Calling Maoists 'snakes' for declaring a war against the state, he said, "They (Naxals) need to be searched, driven out or neutralized" by putting "collective responsibility" on villagers as even "passive neutrality" of locals is advantageous to the Maoists and an obstacle for security agencies. In the latest issue of the Indian Police Journal (IPJ), a compendium of thoughts and comments of senior police and intelligence community officers brought out by the BPRD, the 1980-batch Maharashtra cadre police officer was critical about the state of affairs in dealing with Naxal violence, termed as the biggest threat to the internal security of the country. He wrote that as far as anti-Maoist strategy in the country is concerned, the coordination among government agencies exists "mainly on paper".He said it was time to admit that the locals are not with the administration despite building roads, bridges and other infrastructure and it has led to little improvement in their quality of life. The Commissioner, in the topic "Fire in forest: Tackling Maoist menace", said the Maoist movement needs to be restricted "both physically and psychologically from the general population"."To further this, extremist and public movements should be regulated through the institution of collective responsibility meaning thereby that hosting the extremists by one in the village, attending the meeting of extremists, providing them food, etc., blocking the roads by felling trees should hold the entire village responsible. "A collective fine for all village residents or curfew for two days may be thought of. Alternatively, the village Sarpanch, police patil and other village-elders should be punished." He said every member of a village, above 12 years of age, must be registered with the district administration and be issued an identity card. "For all regulatory measures, government should consider the enactment of an appropriate law," Singh wrote in his 20-page piece. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), a department for development on policing subjects under the Ministry of Home Affairs, brings out the publication every three months. The IPS officer stated that while the notions of a 'red corridor' swamping large tracts of the country are "exaggerated", Naxals have enlarged their base and areas of militancy. "Not a day passes without any Naxal incident in the country. The problem is quite serious. What we see on the surface is the tip of the iceberg," he said. (Times of India 18/8/13) Maoist leader beaten to death by villagers (12) Kolkata: A prominent Maoist leader was beaten to death by angry villagers at Jhargram in West Midnapore today. The incident happened when Hemanta Mahato, a senior leader of People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, the frontal organisation of the Maoists in Junglemahal, was trying to enter Nedabohara village to join a rally being held in protest against the arrest of a gram panchayat member. Police sources said Mahato, 22, used to lead all operations at Nedabohara village during the Lalgarh movement in 2010 and had several cases, including those of sedition, against him. He was in hiding since

2011 after the new government came to power. When Mahato reached the village today, news spread that he may have arrived to trigger tension in the area ahead of the formation of the panchayat that was scheduled today. Irate villagers gheraoed him, an altercation followed, and he was beaten to death. "Hemanta Mahato and Babloo Mahato used to lead all Maoist actions in the area. They would hold court and meetings, too. Babloo was arrested in 2011 while Hemata managed to escape. Today, he came to join a rally protesting against the arrest of a gram panchayat member and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, Sukumar Murmu," said a senior police official. Murmu was arrested Friday after a landmine device was recovered from his residence. (Indian Express 19/8/13) Five Naxals arrested in Chhattisgarh (12) Raipur: Five Naxalites have been arrested with cache of arms and ammunition from Maoist-hit Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday. “Acting upon specific information, a joint team of Border Security Force and local police nabbed the cadres from forests of Maspur village last evening,” Kanker Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) MZ Baig said. A muzzle loading gun was also recovered from their possession, Mr. Baig said, adding, later two bombs, weighing 7 kg and 2 kg, battery and 10 metre-wire hidden beneath the soil on Maspur—Raoghat road were also recovered based on their statement. After getting a tip-off about Naxals holding a public meeting in the jungles of Tadoki, which lies at around 200 km from the state capital Raipur, the patrol was mobilised on Monday morning. On seeing the security forces near Maspur village, the ultras tried to escape from the spot. Later security personnel chased and arrested them. Four of them — Massu Potai (22), Fandiram Dugga (27), Singrai Potai (40) and Bilas (30)— are wanted in several incidents of crime including murder, landmine explosion, arms and ammunitions loot etc, the DSP said. Another arrested Sindhu Maravi (21), was a member of outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), the DSP said. All the arrested are being interrogated, he added. (The Hindu 20/8/13) No let-up in development drive in Naxal-dominated d istricts (12) NEW DELHI: The 88 naxalite-dominated districts across nine states will continue to receive Rs 5,280 crore over two years and there will be no let-up in the development drive in these areas. Each of these districts will get Rs 30 crore for 2013-14 and 2014-15 under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Left-wing extremism affected districts. The strategy is aimed at containing the spread of red terror. As part of this plan, the number of naxal-dominated districts has been increased to 88 from 82, four of these in Chhattisgarh and two in Maharashtra. The finance and home ministries prevailed over the Planning Commission which had proposed cutting the allocation for these districts to Rs 1,000 crore every year for the remaining four years of the Twelfth Plan. UPA managers opposed the move to slash spending for Maoist-dominated districts ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due next year sensing it might send politically damaging signals in the tribal areas. Many critical projects would remain incomplete if the funds were cut, it was felt. The new plan stipulates that local MPs must be consulted while finalizing IAP projects. At the same time, the existing model where project decisions are taken by three-member committees headed by DMs, with SPs and the district forest officers as members, would continue. The plan panel and rural development ministry wanted that at least half the total spend on these projects be allocated and spent through panchayats and local representatives. But the home ministry said it would be difficult to get infrastructure projects implemented through panchayats because in most villages they are defunct. The government has release around Rs 6,090 crore, of which Rs 4,776 crore was spent ever since the scheme was approved in 2010-11. To bridge the development deficit in backward areas, funds were allocated for village roads, school buildings, health facilities, drinking water and sanitation. Initially, 66 districts were covered under the scheme which increased to 78 in 2011-12 and to 82 in 2012-13. (Times of India 23/8/13) In Naxal areas, security forces will now reach out to individuals (12)

NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has tweaked its Civic Action Programme (CAP), which allows central armed paramilitary forces (CAPFs) to carry out development programmes in the nine-Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected States. They have now been asked to be ‘individual-oriented’ rather than ‘project-oriented’ as this approach will help in bridging the gap between locals and security personnel more efficiently. Under the project christened ‘Winning Hearts and Minds,’ the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force have till now been spending funds on small projects and development activities, which included building small bridges and roads, implementing drinking water and irrigation scheme. Under the revised guidelines, the security forces have been told to spend the money, which is Rs. 20 crore per annum, on welfare activities directed at individuals and families, according to a senior official of the ministry. The CAPFs would give them seeds and manure or livestock, donate household items or help with setting up hand-pumps “so that they could live a comfortable and dignified life.” Other new initiatives would include organising medical camps and funding vocational training programmes for children of villagers, and donating essential items for schools or health centres in backward and remote areas. There are over 80 CAPF battalions, a majority from the CRPF, deployed in the nine LWE-hit States. Explaining the genesis of the CAP, the official pointed out that the banned CPI (Maoist) had been luring the local population to support its so-called, protracted people’s war through petty incentives to local communities or by following a coercive strategy. “Their propaganda is targeted against the security forces and the government/administrative set up,” he said. “Under such circumstances, it is of paramount importance that efforts are made to project the human face of the security forces so that they can win the hearts and the minds of the people. It was decided to provide CAPFs funds to undertake civic activities for people residing in remote LWE-affected areas…This initiative has been successful in many conflict zones across the world and we have also been implementing it to a great degree of success.” (The Hindu 26/8/13) STF commander, jawan killed in Chhattisgarh Naxal e ncounter (12) RAIPUR: A Special Task Force (STF) commander and a jawan were on Tuesday killed in an encounter between the ultras and security forces in Maoist-hit Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, police said. "The incident took place between the forests under Madum police station (Bastar district) and Mardapal police station (Kondagaon district) limits when a joint party of STF and local police was coming out of the forest after an intense operation," Bastar superintendent of police Ajay Yadav said. Those killed were identified as company commander Lav Bhagat and constable Selestian Kujur, Yadav said. The patrol party was on a combing operation for the past two days in the bordering areas of Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Bastar districts of Bastar division. "They succumbed to bullet injuries while being taken out of the forest," the SP said. Earlier, on Monday afternoon, a face-off had taken place between security personnel and Maoists in the forest of Narayanpur area in which two women Naxalites were killed, he said. "After an hour of the gunbattle, security personnel recovered bodies of two women Naxals, dressed in Maoist uniforms, from the spot," the SP said, adding some weapons were also recovered from the spot. Additional forces have been rushed into the forest to help the patrol party reach back to their camp, the SP added. (Times of India 27/8/13) Jangalmahal: Naxals devise new ways of comeback (12 ) Midnapore: Though cornered and forced out of their strongholds in Jangalmahal, the Maoists are plotting new ways of marking a comeback in the region and are in the process of floating new fronts to regain lost ground. In a clear bid to regain lost clout and acceptance among the locals, the rebels have reportedly tied up with some local political outfits, which couldn’t make much of an impression in the panchayat elections and are desperate to hold their own in the region. Though peace has returned in Jangalmahal, there have lately been reports of a noticeable spurt in the movement of the outlaws in the region. On a day the Naxals took out four BSF jawans in a deadly landmine blast in the Koraput area of Odisha, top district and security officials in West Midnapore met to take stock of the prevailing scene in the Naxal

hotbeds of Jangalmahal. While the police top brass held a high-level meeting to assess the prevailing security situation in the district, IG (western arrange) Siddhinath Gupta held talks with top CRPF officials over reports of a likely resurgence of the outlaws in the region. “We reviewed the security situation in areas prone to Naxal attacks. While I can’t fully disclose what transpired at the meeting, we did take stock of the prevailing situation and put in our collective mind to drawing up a future course,” Gupta told Hindustan Times. Sources said the rebels have lately been spotted regrouping in pockets of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, the three districts that make up the Jangalmahal region. There have even been reports of the ultras moving around in Birbhum, said sources. While the rebels have been on the back foot in the wake of the arrest and death of a clutch of top line leaders, including Kishenji, recent sightings of the ultras have spawned fears of a likely resurgence. While several other top names in the Maoist ranks, including Jagari Baskey, Rajaram Soren and Suchitra Mahato, turned themselves over and have since been rehabilitated, the arrest of top commander Arnab Dam alias Bikram helped put an end to the Naxal upsurge in Jangalmahal. There have already been reports of Maoist killings in Birbhum. Amarjit Balihar, the SP of Pakur district in neighbouring Jharkhand, fell to a Maoist ambush strike on the Birbhum-Jharkhand border a couple of months back. Keen to revive the insurgency in their former strongholds and mark a footprint in Birbhum, the Naxals have reportedly floated a rash of new front outfits and are in the process of building a nexus with a motley political crew in the area. A series of arms seizures also point to a likely resurgence of Maoists in Jangalmahal. “We have stepped up vigil and search operations are on to nab suspects. We won’t let the Maoists back in,” a security officer said. (Hindustan Times 28/8/13) 3 Naxals gunned down in C’garh (12) The Chhattisgarh police on Thursday claimed to have gunned down three hardcore Naxals, including a divisional commander, in an encounter in Kuchouli forest under Gangalur police station in Bijapur district, bordering Andhra Pradesh. According to the police, acting on a tip off on gathering of armed guerrillas led by Gangalur divisional committee commander Massa in Kuchouli forest, a joint search party comprising special task force (STF) and district force personnel cordoned off the area to corner them. The rebels opened fire on the security forces leading to a fierce gun battle between them that lasted nearly one hour. The ultras later managed to escape into the forest. The forces later found body of a Naxal and a number of fire arms and explosives at the encounter site. “The body has been identified as that of Chandu alias Chintu, who served as a gunman of Massa. The local villagers however said they had witnessed carrying of two bodies by Naxals while fleeing. The witnesses have also identified one of the bodies being carried by Naxals as that of Massa”, a senior district police officer said. (Asian Age 30/8/13)

233 polling stations in Chhattisgarh face Naxal thr eat: EC (12) NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government has told the Election Commission that as many as 233 polling stations across 18 districts face a high Naxal threat and it may be risky for polling parties to access them in the coming assembly elections. During the EC's interaction with Chhattisgarh administration in Raipur last week, senior state officials requested the poll panel to consider relocating or rationalizing these polling stations in interior villages across 12 Naxal-infested assembly segments of south Chhattisgarh and also the northern districts of Sarguja and Rajnandgaon. They sought shifting of these booths to safer locations like the panchayat/gram sabha office or their amalgamation with polling stations set up in populated areas with road connectivity. Not keen to move around polling stations in 18 of the state's 27 districts, the EC has asked the state government to re-examine the issue. This, the panel told state officials, was also necessary as almost all political parties in the state do not favour a change in polling stations and want at least one polling station in each village. The commission is now preparing for a separate round of discussions with the Union home ministry to assess the Naxal threat and draw up a detailed security plan for polls in Chhattisgarh. The meeting is necessitated as agencies fear that Maoists,

buoyed by the success of their May 25 attack on a Congress convoy in Darbha Ghati, which killed the party's top state leaders, could target political leaders and rallies in the run-up to the election. Sources told TOI that the MHA will seek relocation of polling booths from interior villages to closer to the arterial roads. This, ministry officials feel, will help minimize the risk of landmine attacks and ambush against central paramilitary forces and polling parties during travel to these booths. However, an MHA official added that clearance of its proposal would depend on the outlook of the EC, which will be equally concerned about the convenience of voters, and political parties. Both the EC and the MHA are keen on a staggered election in Chhattisgarh, with a separate phase for the Maoist-infested constituencies. Sources said the EC favours polls across non-affected constituencies of Chhattisgarh, along with Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan, in the first phase. Polling in the Naxal-hit constituencies of Chhattisgarh may be held in a subsequent phase to "ensure maximum deployment of central forces," said an EC official. Large-scale Maoist violence was witnessed, mostly in Bastar region, during the 2008 Chhattisgarh elections. Apart from triggering landmine attacks, disrupting polling and looting EVMs, the Maoists had fired at an IAF chopper ferrying back poll officials and EVMs from a Bastar village, killing a flight engineer. (Times of India 2/9/13) Shinde to review anti-Naxal operations in 9 states (12) NEW DELHI: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will take stock of anti-Naxal operations and development initiatives in Maoist-hit states with their chief secretaries and DGPs at a meeting convened here this month-end. The top civil and police officers of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will attend the meeting that will review the ongoing operations as well as development programmes being implemented there. As monsoon is coming to an end, Naxals may try to intensify subversive activities and the top officials are likely to chalk out strategy how to deal with them, official sources said. Shinde is expected to offer all possible help to the states and advise them to step up vigil in sensitive places to maintain peace. Government recently admitted that the some of the attacks carried out by Naxals in the past were successful due to security forces' failure to adhere to basic policing tactics. "An analysis of recent Naxal attacks disclose that the attacks could succeed mainly due to failure of adherence to basic policing tactics and practices by some of the state police forces," Minister of State for Home RPN Singh had said. Such issues are likely to be discussed in the meeting, the sources said. There were 285 incidents of Naxal violence from May to July, in which 117 people lost their lives. Of the deceased, 47 were killed in Chhattisgarh, 37 were killed in Jharkhand and 15 in Bihar. Shinde, along with top officials, is also expected to take stock of the centrally sponsored special schemes, including Integrated Action Plan, being implemented in most backward regions of the nine states, the sources said. (New Indian Express 4/9/13) Ex-deputy sarpanch killed by naxals in Chhattisgarh (12) RAIPUR: Naxals on Friday allegedly killed a former deputy sarpanch, suspecting him to be a police informer, in Maoist-affected Bastar district of southern Chhattisgarh, police said. Sohan Mandavi (28), the ex-deputy sarpanch of Burgum village under Kodenar police station limits, was killed in the forests near the village, Bastar Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said.The incident came to light this morning when some villagers informed police that the blood-stained body of Mandavi was found on a road, nearly 3 kms away from his native village, the SP said. "Soon after getting the news of the incident, security forces were rushed to the spot," he said. According to the SP, construction of a police station has been approved near Gurdum village on the demand of the villagers, which the naxals are opposing. Preliminary investigation suggested that naxals suspected Mandavi of being a police informer, he said. A search has been launched in the forest to nab the attackers, he added. (Times of India 6/9/13) Naxals recruit 4,000 children as cadres (12)

NEW DELHI: Naxals have recruited nearly 4,000 children, including girls, as part of a recruitment drive to strengthen depleted cadre base. Official sources said the children were recruited for gathering intelligence about movement of security forces, collect rations and work as couriers. The recruitment drive has been going on in all Naxal-affected states but Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand have witnessed the most, they said. While the age of boys is as low as 10 years, the average age of girls is 14-15 years, the sources said. The girls were also being used for cooking and other manual works for the cadres, particularly the senior ones, they said. The home ministry has asked the affected states to take necessary steps to stop such activities of the Maoists and try to rescue the children from their clutches. There were 285 incidents of Naxal violence from May to July this year in which 117 people lost their lives including 47 in Chhattisgarh, 37 in Jharkhand and 15 in Bihar. (Times of India 7/9/13) Nine Maoists surrender in Malkangiri (12) BERHAMPUR: Nine Maoists, including three women, surrendered before Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh on Monday. The surrendered Naxalites were from Maoist-affected areas such as Balimela reservoir, Kalimela, and Chitrakonda police station areas. The three women cadre, all in their early 20, joined the outlawed organisation in 2006. As per police records and their confession, the three women were involved in several cases of violence such as destruction of mobile communication towers, exchange of fire. Out of them, Budri Golari (20) and Sindhe Khillo (22) were part of the Korkunda Dalam. Budri was from Bailigumma village and Sindhe from Jantapai village under Chitrakonda police station limits. The third, Kumari Mali (24), was from Badatekguda village under Kalimela police station limits. She was with Motu Dalam and Kalimela Dalam. The six militia members who surrendered were from the Balimela reservoir area. They included Suresh Pangi, militia commander from Dudapalli village. The others were Kumuti Khillo (20) of Siligumma, Sahadev Mattam (24) of Bandhaguda, Sukadev Burudi of Pujariput, and Dasu Khilllo (30) and Dasa Khillo (28) of Luchapani village.Mr. Akhileswar Singh said the Naxalites were grassroots level organisers in their respective areas. They were helping the Maoists in extortions, conduct of “praja courts,” besides providing logistic support. Surrender of Maoists has been on the rise in Malkangiri district in the last one month, which hints at increasing area domination by security forces. Top Maoist leader Golla Ramullu alias Madhav, who was involved in several cases of violence, including killing of 38 security personnel in Balimela reservoir on June 29, 2008, had been killed in an exchange of fire in the Machkund police station area of Malkangiri district on August 23. (The Hindu 11/3/13) 19 held for paying tribute to Naxalite leader (12) DHARMAPURI: Nineteen people have been arrested by the Dharmapuri district police after they attempted to pay tribute to naxal Balan on his 33rd death anniversary on Thursday. District police authorities didn't grant them permission to do so, citing section 144 on the IPC. "We had informed all Balan's supporters not to perform any such activity at his memorial site situated on Dharmapuri-Tirupatthur state highways near Naickenkottai as the district administration had imposed section 144 across the district after dalit boy Elavarasan's death," said Asra Garg, Dharmapuri district superintendent of police. But they had failed to pay heed to police warning and consequently were arrested. The former naxalite R Balan of Naickenkottai village in Dharmapuri was killed in an encounter at Seriyampatti in Palacode taluk, Dharmapuri district on September 12, 1980. Each year, followers of Balan and members from various naxal outfits including People's War Group (PWG) assemble at Balan's memorial site on his anniversary to pay tribute to him and hoist the naxal flag. Also the activists will circulate handbills bearing messages against the police and the government on that particular day. "They have been arrested under sections 147, 341, 353, 188, 290, 506(i) Indian Penal Code read with 7(1)(a) Criminal Law Amendment Act. They have been produced before the Judicial Magistrate of Dharmapuri district combined court and later remanded at Salem central jail," the SP added. Meanwhile, police stations at Marandahalli, Panchapalli, Palacode, Karimangalam, Pennagaram, Eriyur, Hogenakkal, Mathikonpalayam and

Adhiyamankottai have deployed additional forces. The police have appealed to villagers to inform the nearest police station if they are aware of any naxal movement in their villages. (Times of India 13/9/13) RTI latest weapon in Naxalite hands to target contr actors (1) RANCHI: The Maoists in Jharkhand are using proxies to file Right to Information applications to gather details about government projects in order to target businessmen and contractors for extortion. Cops have recovered RTI documents from a training camp of the People's Liberation Front of India, once a faction of the CPI(Maoist), in Torpa forests, which have details of 30-odd government projects under Khunti district rural development agency, with names of contractors and estimated costs. "The Maoists use RTI documents as proof of a contractor's worth and then extort the 'due amount' from them," said Khunti SP M Tamil Vanan, who made the last such seizure on September 8. They usually demand between 10% to 30% of profit margins, said the police adding that they have resorted to such tactics in the past as well. "In the last two years, I have come across four such RTI documents with Maoists and their sympathisers," said Vanan. Last month, the rebels had beheaded some contractors in Gumla when they refused to pay. "RTI applications from rural areas revolve mostly around government tenders. Applicants want to know who has been awarded tenders and what is the cost of the tender?" said Jharkhand's chief information commissioner D K Sinha. The government is bound by laws to provide such information, he added. Documents recovered from an insurgent camp revealed how the rebels have organized themselves, said the police, adding that they maintain records of their targets. The information is segregated according to zones, sub-zones and areas, and the Maoists deploy armed cadres for collection of levy. "They must have deployed some white collar supporters to file RTI in this particular case (in Khunti). I will get it investigated," said Ranchi zone IG M S Bhatia. Bokaro IG M L Meena said misuse of RTI by Maoists could be happening. Police occasionally come across documents with details of contractors and their targets at rebel camps, he said. Latehar SP Michael S Raj was also not surprised to learn about the RTI route taken by Maoists. "In the past too we've recovered similar documents," said Raj. (Times of India 17/9/13) Land Acquisition Bill will help solve Naxalite prob lem: Jairam (12) Bhopal: Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday claimed the just-enacted Land Acquisition Bill will help to a great extent in tackling the problem of Naxalism in the country. While talking to media persons here at the State Congress headquarters, Ramesh said, “The new law would help in solving the Naxal problem to a great extent as it (Naxalism) is basically associated with the issue of land and forest rights.” In Madhya Pradesh alone, nearly 10 districts are affected by Maoist activities and the landmark legislation will help in effectively tackling the issue, the Rural Development Minister said. However, the fact is that there are only three districts- Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori are Maoist infested, as per the records of police. Madhya Pradesh police had been demanding that 10 districts should be declared Maoist infested, but the Centre is not paying any heed. Ramesh further said that for the first time, the issue of rehabilitation and resettlement has been clearly defined in the bill, passed by Parliament last month. This will ensure adequate compensation for those whose lands would be acquired, he maintained. To a question, he said after the law comes into force, land prices will certainly go up in the country. On the suggestion of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a number of measures were incorporated in the bill regarding irrigation projects, Ramesh said. The path-breaking bill seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly. It stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership projects and 80 per cent for acquiring land for private companies. He told that after RTI, MNREGA, Forest land rights Act, RTE and Food Security Act, this new Act is the sixth milestone decision of the UPA government. (Pioneer 18/9/13)

Naxals gradually losing ground in country: CRPF (12 ) Lucknow: A top CRPF officer on Thursday said Naxalism was gradually losing ground in the country due to proper action and the force was capable of facing any challenge posed by them. “Naxals are on the decline mainly because of proper actions taken against them,” CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi told reporters here, adding, “We are capable of facing any challenge from them.” When asked whether there was any political pressure on him in the State, Trivedi said he had been posted in UP since 2007 and had never felt any pressure. Replying to a question on any input from the CRPF in the Governor’s report on law and order situation in the State, Trivedi said, “No input has been given by the CRPF to anybody.” He praised CRPF’s role in Muzaffarnagar violence saying that it had acted promptly and was capable to repeat it if needed in future. (Pioneer 20/9/13) Six Maoist aides surrender (12) MALKANGIRI: Denouncing violence and exploitation by their senior leaders, six Maoist aides surrendered before SP Akhileswar Singh here with the hope of leading a normal life with the help of the benefits offered by rehabilitation policy of the State Government. They are Raju Hantal (43) and Bhanja Hantal (35) of Rallegada village, Parsuram Khara (27), Rupa Khilo (42), Tripati (25) and Gopinath Pangi (28) of Siligumma under Chitrakonda police limits. They were involved in several cases including abduction of former Collector R Vineel Krishna and Junior Engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi. Said to be the militia members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), all the six were working for the Maoists in the cut-off region, on the other side of Chitrakonda reservoir, which has been turned into a safe heaven for the rebels over the years. They were involved in looting of Sarkubandha Sarpanch’s house and blasting of Chitrakonda based ESSAR company’s booster station in March 2010. The surrendered Maoist aides were frustrated by the behaviour of senior Maoist leaders. Speaking to media after his surrender, Raju Hantal revealed that there is a disagreement on various issues in the banned outfit and thus more and more rebels are expected to surrender soon. All the six Maoist associates who have parted ways from the outfit will be rehabilitated as per the government’s surrender package, the SP said. (New Indian Express 24/9/13) Maoist threat to Collector, MLA over bauxite mining (12) PAIKMAL (BARGARH): After two Maoists were killed in two encounters with security forces on either side of Gandhamardhan hill range on August 30 and September 6, the Red wing ultras have warned an MLA and Bargarh Collector against allowing mining in the hill through banners and posters on Tuesday. While one banner and a poster were found at the main chowk of Paikmal, another banner was spotted at Jamseth. In Jamseth banner, the Maoists have threatened Padampur MLA and former Minister Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha and Bargarh Collector Bhabagrahi Mishra of trial in their court for corruption and bid to hand over Gandhamardan hill for bauxite mining to MNCs. The poster and banners were issued by Chattisgarh-Odisha Border Committee of the CPI (Maoists). In the poster, the Maoists have accused Collector Bhabagrahi Mishra, who has been in the district for more than four years, of favouring the firm entrusted with four-laning of NH 6 in return of ` four crore as gratification. The Collector has also been accused of appointing his acquaintance in SSA, swindling money for the schemes meant for poor, recycling of PDS rice in connivance with millers and conspiring with the MLA to hand over Gandhamardan hill to MNCs for bauxite mining. Similarly in the banners, the Maoists have charged Bariha of taking tribal for a ride and exploiting them, involvement in illegal trade besides involvement in corruption in collusion with the Collector. When contacted, DIG (NR) Sanjay Kumar confirmed about poster and banners and said Paikmal IIC is investigating into the matter. He said after the encounter at Podia in Malkangiri district, the Collectors and VIPs have been asked not to make visits alone and seek security cover. With bauxite mining in Niyamgiri Hills by Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) fizzling out after Supreme Court’s ruling and Lower Suktel project also not picking up pace, the Maoists operating in the areas bordering Balangir and Bargarh districts are trying hard to foment disturbance. In their bid to launch a smear campaign against the State and Central Governments, the Maoists have even taken to

learning Odia.They have also launched a campaign to impress the people that both the Governments have initiated steps to lease out Gandhamardan to VAL for bauxite mining despite being aware of the religious sentiment attached to the hill range. (New Indian Express 25/9/13) Naxal’s marriage gives heartburn to rival group in Palamau (12) Daltongang: The marriage of second-in-command of Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) Chanchalji is the eyesore to the cadres of the Triteye Prastuti Committee (TPC). According to the sources, the TPC cadres recently gave a hot chase to JJMP’s Chanchal in an interior location in Palamau’s Chainpur. Chanchal got married to a girl of Garhwa. A feast was arranged near Chando in Chainpur where the residents too were free to partake of the food. This perhaps irked the TPC which is out to contain the influence of the JJMP in the area. A personal festivity of a Naxal has thus become the cause of anger to a rival outfit. This story of heartburn of a Naxal outfit following this marriage of a rival outfit’s Naxal trickled down just a couple of days back as the marriage was solemnised about four weeks ago. The TPC has more arms and man power than JJMP. The former is more stashed with cash too which it has collected over the years by way of levy. The JJMP is led by Sandeepji who is known for his clarity of thought. SP Palamau NK Singh has conceded that JJMP’s influence is in pockets of Chainpur block and the TPC is looking for some unguarded moments to go for a bloody clash which the SP reiterated the police would avert as for Palamau police all splinter groups of Naxals are alike and are dealt with under law. The SP reminded as to how the police exchanged fire with the TPC in Palamau and strongly asserted that any Naxal outfit is a threat to law. (Pioneer 26/9/13) Centre wants states to cripple Maoists (12) New Delhi: With Maoist guerrillas fighting a bloody battle across nine states conceding that their fighting abilities were getting severely dented, the Centre has asked police chiefs to redouble efforts to cripple the armed insurgency that has killed more than 7,000 people over the last decade. In the same breath, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde also asked states to guard against Maoists scaling up their offensives, particularly Chhattisgarh that goes to polls this year and Bihar that the home ministry accuses of playing spoilsport. The meeting comes in the backdrop of seizure of CPI (Maoist) documents that indicated the guerrillas were under tremendous pressure from the security establishment that had launched a coordinated offensive in November 2009. Nearly 95 battalions of central forces are currently deployed across the naxal heartland besides thousands of state police personnel to restrict the movement of the Maoists. Home ministry sources said the offensive along inter-state borders, however, was still far below optimum levels with egos and commitment to the offensive standing in the way. At Wednesday’s meeting of the states, the home ministry also advised states to focus on accelerating developmental projects – particularly road building projects – in the naxal-affected areas. The Centre also called for targeting middle and senior Maoist leadership and dealing sternly with urban front organisations of Maoists. The home ministry view – that states need to adopt a uniform strategy against Maoists – was also emphasised at the meeting. Else, it was pointed out in remarks targeted at Bihar, the Maoists would just shift out of areas where they are under pressure to quieter territory. As first reported by Hindustan Times on 19 August, home ministry had also sent a stinker to the Nitish Kumar government to nudge the state to pull up its socks last month. But the home ministry believes it hasn’t had any effect. (Hindustan Times 27/9/13)

HC refuses bail to accused in naxal activities case (12) Mumbai: Observing that unlawful activities of naxalites need to be exposed, sternly dealt with and prevented, the Bombay high court refused to grant anticipatory bail to a former zilla parishad president and NCP leader from Gadchiroli accused of providing explosives to naxal groups. Bandopant Mallelwar, former ZP president and local NCP leader from Gadchiroli, and his brother Narendra were accused of

supplying arms to naxalites with five others, including a government doctor of Maharashtra's Maoist-hit Gadchiroli district. While 4 persons were arrested in the case, Bandopant, Narendra and the doctor, Ravindra Karpe, are still absconding. Bandopant approached the Nagpur bench of the high court seeking anticipatory bail on the ground that he was innocent and never indulged in criminal conspiracy to provide explosives and ammunition to naxalites. Bandopant and others were booked under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Act and IPC. "In the present case considering that prima facie there is ground to believe involvement of the applicant (Bandopant) and the fact that the investigation is at preliminary stage, I am not prepared to take a different view from that of the sessions court rejecting his anticipatory bail," justice AP Bhangale observed on July 31. "Custodial interrogation may yield more valuable and material information in respect of the unlawful activities of naxalites which are required to be exposed, sternly dealt with and all their unlawful activities need to be prevented in future in the interest of maintaining law and order in the society and for the welfare and safety of people in the naxal infested areas of the state," Justice Bhangale said. In June, the Gadchiroli police had stopped an ambulance of a government hospital near Bhamragarh and seized arms and ammunition allegedly meant for naxals. Four persons in the vehicle were arrested. According to police, Bandopant and his brother had influenced Karpe to allow them to use the ambulance. Police also conducted searches at the Nagpur house of the Mallelwars and seized two letters by an alleged naxal leader thanking Bandopant for giving Rs. 35,000 as development fund. (Hindustan Times 4/10/13) State Police to pay tribute to martyrs of anti-Naxa l ops (12) Ranchi: In order to pay tribute to those policemen died during encounters with the Maoists, Jharkhand Police in association with ‘Innovations India’ is to organize a musical night ‘Shaheed Samman Sandhya-2013’ on October 21 in Ranchi. As many as 350 families of martyr’s will be invited to the programme where they will be felicitated by Jharkhand Police. “During the musical night, families of the martyrs will be felicitated by us where Chief Minister Hemant Soren will be present as chief guest,” said DGP Rajiv Kumar. Captain of Indian Cricket team Mahendra Singh Dhoni has also been invited to be present with his team during the programme, he added. Bollywood singer Shaan, State artist Raju Srivastava, Bhojpuri singer Manoj Tiwari and anchor Meiyang Chang are expected to perform during the show. (Pioneer 5/10/13) Four Naxals arrested in Chhattisgarh (12) Raipur: Four Naxalites were arrested on Monday during a search operation in Maoist-hit Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, police said. The cadres were nabbed during a combing operation by personnel of the BSF (Border Security Force) and district force in the forests near Vala village under Koyalibeda police station limits, Kanker Additional Superintendent of Police C.D. Tandon said. Based on specific information regarding presence of Naxals, an operation was launched on Monday morning in the restive Koyalibeda forests, located about 200 km away from the State capital Raipur, he said. On reaching near Vala village, security forces spotted some people fleeing into the jungles following which they rounded up them, he added. Those arrested were identified as — Prem Singh Kudo (35), Siyaram Gawde (28), Jaising Nareti (26) and Anesh Usendi (21) who were allegedly active as sangham members of Maoist in north Bastar. They were wanted in cases of loot, arson, attacks on police party, arms act and others, Mr. Tandon said. The arrested are being interrogated, he added. (The Hindu 7/10/13) NRLM to be implemented in Odisha’s Maoist-hit areas (12) Bhubaneswar: Odisha government will implement the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 40 blocks of ten left-wing-extremist-affected districts of the state during this fiscal. The decision was taken at the first general body meeting of the Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM), presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar on Monday. Mr. Patnaik said above 50 lakh poor households had already been organised into women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) through the ‘Mission Shakti’ movement.

The government would implement NRLM in a phased manner based on the success of ‘Mission Shakti’, he said. All the 30 districts of the state would be covered under the scheme in the next five years. In order to make poor people credit-worthy and valued customers of banks, SHGs would be given priority bank-linkages under OLM. The OLM has targeted providing credit linkage to one lakh women SHGs with a credit requirement of Rs. 1,000 crore, he said. The Chief Minister said institution building was a priority area, where all poor and vulnerable households would be organised into SHGs, SHG Federations and Producers’ Collectives. Capacity-building initiatives would be taken to make these institutions economically viable and self-reliant, he said, adding that focus will be on marginalised communities like scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, persons with disabilities and other such groups. Mr. Patnaik said that community-based institutions would be provided with financial assistance of upto Rs. 15,000 as revolving funds. Loans of larger size would be made available to them through their gram panchayat level federations, he said. Panchayat federations would be provided with community investment funds — a grant ranging from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh based on their population. (The Hindu 8/10/13) Naxals 'press units' in forests to spread propagand a (12) NAGPUR: The banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has cells dedicated to reaching out to the masses through media. The media cells, which Naxals call press units, visit the local organisational squads (LOS) and dalams in forested regions to gather information. They are usually led by a regional level spokesperson. These details were revealed during the interrogation of an arrested cadre in Vidarbha. Naxalites, like any other socio-political outfit, ensure that the masses remain updated about their movements, agenda, military exploits, heroism and sacrifices through press releases meant for popular media and also their own publications. Naxals also regularly issue press releases with their own version of events after encounters or civilian or police killings. Apart from projecting their point of view, the Naxals press releases frequently counter the version given by the police. A senior officer in the anti-Naxal operations said, on condition of anonymity, that even police often wait for the press releases and publications from the rebels to find out their side of the story. "We often depend on Naxal literature to find out the names of cadres killed in encounters, as the rebels do not leave the bodies or injured behind, but drag them away. They hail these cadres as martyrs and highlight their work in the party literature after their death," said the officer. "We compare our intelligence reports with Naxal literature and fill in the information gaps," he said. It is also learnt that Milind Teltumbde, secretary of Maharashtra State Rajya Committee, operating in North Gadchiroli-Gondia Balaghat division, pens the outfit's press release in Marathi under the pseudonym 'Sahyadri'. Senior cadre Gopi too releases press notes for the outfit. Sriniwas, whose actual name is Aitu, releases press notes for Western regional committee of South Gadchiroli division, which is part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). Gudsa Usendi acts as spokesperson for DKSZC. Azad was the spokesperson for entire party in India until his death in an encounter, along with a freelance journalist, with the Andhra Pradesh police a couple of years ago. After the death of the media-savvy Azad and Kishanji, Naxals have started avoiding the media, presuming that police would reach them using the mobile phone signals of scribes. The rebels also suspect that a section of the 'capitalist' media is actually working for the government and could be police informers. Intelligence agencies claim the Naxals nurture their own trusted media men, like Prashant Rahi, to spread their ideologies. Only people like Rahi are allowed access to top cadres. An official of Rajnandgaon police in Chhattisgarh said that their raid on a Naxal camp suggested how the rebels have been printing literature, including press releases, in the jungles. "We had nearly got Teltumbde at a Naxal camp site on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border, where they were preparing some press releases. We recovered portable printers, scanners, laptops, batteries, pen drives and a lot of printed material. It was almost a small printing press," said a senior official. * People's March: This magazine, in English, is regarding party's stand on various issues, central committee's decisions, views, agenda and several other issues. According to interrogation report of an arrested Naxal, Delhi professor GN Saibaba was behind this magazine. (Times of India 9/10/13)

Naxals rebuild bases in Gadchiroli (12) Nagpur: Naxals reclaim baseThe Naxals of Gadchiroli have taken advantage of the Monsoons, rebuilding their bases in the absence of police movement in the area. (Reuters) Taking advantage of curtailed police movement during rainy season, Naxals in Gadchiroli have been quietly rebuilding their bases shaken by intensive combat and peace operations by the police. Sources said that the Naxals have been holding big meetings in villages in areas where they had faced severe setback due to aggressive combat, patrol and outreach activities by the Gadchiroli police. The villages include Lenguda, Halewara, Kotmi, Ankepalli, Vedampalli, Nelgonda, Repanpalli, Bhatpaar, Jounde, Middapalli, Kothi, Aldandi, Punnur, Gadder and Chokenada, among others. Normally, the rainy season is when the Naxals strengthen their organisation. While this time they were up against a determined police force, rains were so heavy that the police had to curtail their operations. "The Naxals apparently decided to brave the rain and scale up their village visits. They managed to visit a lot of villages, even staying for two days at a stretch at some without encountering any problem," sources said. At Lenguda in Kasansur area, Naxals reportedly stayed for two days. However the police couldn't go deep enough to check the Naxals. The aim of Naxals was on visiting the villages that police had covered under Operation Nav Jeevan - where they met villagers, heard their problems and helped them with their needs. SP Suvez Haq, said: "Their movements are restricted too." (Indian Express 11/10/13) Chhattisgarh: Naxals hack police constable to death (12) Raipur: Suspected naxals axed to death a 45-year-old police constable and injured another police official in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh today, police said. "Naxals attacked police constable Gautam Pande with an axe and also injured police sub-inspector Satyawadi Sahu (35). They took away Pande's SLR (rifle)," Dantewada SP Narendra Khare told Bhasha/PTI over the phone. Naxals, dressed as villagers, attacked the policemen who were on bandobast duty for the Kuakonda weekly market. "Sahu though overpowered one of the attackers, the latter's aides attacked him with a knife and fled. While Pande died of wounds at Dantewada hospital, Sahu is recovering and out of danger," the SP said. In a seperate incident, ultras also set on fire some equipment, including a machine used in laying of roads, under Kuakonda police station limit. The ultras, carrying bows and arrows, set ablaze the machine and warned labourers and contractor not to carry out any work there, Khare said. A hunt has been launched to trace the naxalites, the SP added. (New Indian Express 12/10/13) Maoists hint at violence during Chhattisgarh polls, say counter offensive inevitable (12) RAIPUR: The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Tuesday indicated the possibility of violence during the upcoming assembly polls in Chhattisgarh saying that a 'counter offensive' has become inevitable because of repressive measures being adopted by the security forces in the region. In a 'custom-made' exhaustive interview of Dandakaranya special zonal committee secretary comrade Ramanna, which was sent to newspapers by email, the rebels declared, "Like in all the previous polls, government has deployed large number of forces that are resorting to repressive measures during its so-called search operations. In such a situation, people will counter it for their self-defence." Elaborating on why the Maoists have called for a poll boycott, Ramanna argued that elections were just a farce and the process was not going to establish an exploitation-free society. Referring to the rumors that Maoists had decided to chop off the fingers of those who ignored their poll boycott call, the Dandanaranya special zonal committee secretary said, "It's a ridiculous propaganda by vested interests. In the past 33 years of Dandakaranya's struggle, neither such a threat was issued nor did any such incident take place. Ours is a political movement and the goal will be achieved only by creating awareness." "On the other hand, it's the government which has been resorting to such tactics. Its leaders normally try to force voters to exercise their franchise and threaten them that they would be booked on the charges of Naxalite violence or their ration cards would be forfeited if they don't cast their vote," he claimed. Defending the May 25 Maoist

attack on a Congress party convoy in Bastar, the Maoist leader described it as a "well planned operation in self-defence" to counter the Salwa Judum and the ongoing operation Greenhunt, which the rebels term as an anti-Naxalite campaign by the security forces in the tribal Bastar region. "Hundreds of tribals were killed during Salwa Judum vigilante movement and many houses were set ablaze. In fact the May 25 attack should be seen as a counter offensive. It is not the first operation of its kind in the history of the Maoist movement. Certainly, it was a major operation as well as historic. The elimination of prominent Salwa Judum leader Mahendra Karma was the major achievement of this attack," he claimed. Ramanna said he did not agree with the perception that the May 25 Bastar attack was an assault on democracy saying that all those who are talking about it were silent when the controversial Salwa Judum vigilantes targeted innocent locals. "In fact, Salwa Judum was an attack on the people," he alleged. (Times of India 15/10/13) Three police jawans killed in Gadchiroli naxal atta ck (12) GADCHIROLI: Three police commandos were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in a forest area on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in the wee hours today. Acting on a tip-off, the anti-Naxal commando force jawans were conducting a combing operation in the Bada Zariya forest area in Dhanora taluka when the Naxals triggered a landmine blast. Three jawans of C-60 Commando Force were killed in the blast, police said, adding further details were awaited. There was also an exchange of fire after the blast, locals said. Senior police officials have rushed to the spot and the bodies are being brought to Gadchiroli, police said. This is a major attack by Maoists in the last few months after police eliminated more than 23 ultras in different operations this year. (Times of India 18/10/13) Naxals kill villager in AP (12) HYDERABAD: A group of suspected Maoists allegedly shot dead a 25-year-old villager, branding him as a police informer in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours, police said. Madakam Kosalu was dragged out of his house in Gollaguupa village of Bhadrachalam rural mandal between 1am and 2am by around seven ultras. They pumped three bullets into Kosalu's chest before fleeing from the spot, a police officer told PTI, adding, that the villager died on the spot. A hunt has been launched to nab the culprits and Chintoor police are carrying out further investigations. (New Indian Ezxpress 21/10/13) Gadchiroli villagers suffer after Naxal attack on p rimary school (12) Bada Jhaliya (Gadchiroli): Until Wednesday, six-year-old Rashmi Gota, a student of Standard one of the Zila Parishad school here, would go to school regularly. But now, she is worried for her school that was damaged in a blast that killed three policemen late on Wednesday night. The school provided primary education to 16 kids here. All of them are now worried because they will have to walk three km every day to a school in Gyarapatti village. Also, it is still unclear whether the school there will admit them in the middle of the year. The blast not only stopped the education of the children, but also made them victims of police atrocities. Angered over the death of their colleagues, policemen thrashed almost every one of them, claimed villager Sherkebai Dhurve. “They did not even spare women and kids,” said Jankai Achala, a young girl of the village. Now, the threat of criminal cases being lodged against the villagers for “helping” Naxals looms large. Almost every one from the village is called to the Gyarapatti police station for interrogation every day, a villager said. The Gadchiroli police have arrested five villagers for the attack and interrogation of many is on. “The school is situated right in the middle of the village. Naxals could not have planted explosives without taking villagers into confidence,” said a policeman. According to Police Sub Inspector Harshraj Adaspure of the Gyarapatti police station, someone first opened fire from a house before the blast. “The firing was a signal to trigger the blast. It was triggered by someone who was standing behind the school,” Mr. Adaspure told The Hindu. Naxals had planted “Ammonium Nitrate four months ago” beneath the school building, according to some police sources. This was triggered with the

help of a remote control from the distance of “at least 100 meters” when 41 police jawans of a Special Action Group of Maharashtra police were staying in the school building on Wednesday. According to villagers, the police team came in the afternoon on Wednesday and stayed in the school building until late night. Police teams often stayed in the school building whenever they visited the village, claimed villagers. However, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohmmad Suvez Haque refused to accept or deny that there was a procedural lapse on the part of the police team. “School building was the only government building in that village. So the jawans decided to stay there. About lapses, only a detailed investigation of the incident will make things clear,” he told The Hindu. The SP also denied that there were any atrocities on the villagers. “The DIG and I spoke to the villagers on Thursday but they did not complain about police atrocities. But I have asked the Sub Divisional Police Officer to inquire into it. Our policy is clear. Atrocities against tribal people, even by our men, will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty,” he said. But District Collector of Gadchiroli Ranjeet Kumar expressed his displeasure over the police teams staying in the school building. “I will raise this issue with the police and we will try our best to reopen that school as soon as possible.” According to the police sources, a relative of Tipagarh Naxal Dalam Commander Dinakar Gota is a resident of the village and thus it is frequented by Naxals. Even the SP said that there were strong inputs regularly about Naxal presence in the Bada Jhaliya area. Naxal supporters or not, people of Bada Jhaliya appear to be at the receiving end. “We have death on either side,” rues Gelet Gota of who could evade police interrogation as he was away from the village when the blast took place. (The Hindu 22/10/13) 12,000 civilians, 3000 policemen killed by Naxals i n three decades (12) New Delhi: Nearly 12,000 civilians and 3,000 security personnel were killed by Naxals in the last three decades, according to the Home Ministry. The Ministry statistics said 4,638 Naxals were killed by security forces during the period. Altogether 11,742 civilians and 2,947 security personnel were killed by the Naxals in different parts of the country since 1980. The highest number of civilian casualty was reported in 2010 when the Naxals killed 720 people -- mostly in nine Naxal-affected states--Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The highest number of casualty among security forces was reported in 2009 when the Maoists killed 317 policemen. The highest -- 296 -- Naxals were eliminated in 1998. In 1980, Naxals killed 84 civilians while 17 of the rebels were also killed that year. There was no loss of life among security personnel in 1980. In 2012, Naxals killed 300 civilians and 114 security personnel. A total of 52 Naxals were killed in encounters with security forces. In 2013, till September 30, a total of 198 civilians and 88 security personnel were killed by Naxals while 52 members of the ultra Left group were eliminated by security forces. (Zee New 23/10/13) 50 tribals desert Naxal-backed outfit in Odisha (12 ) Koraput: At least 50 tribals, including seven children, deserted Naxal-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) in Odisha’s Maoist-affected Koraput district, police said on Thursday. The tribals, who belong to Tala Jamguda village in Bandhugaon area, left the outfit on Wednesday, they said. “The villagers were supporting Maoists out of fear. After they realised that the rebels are using them as shields to carry out their offensives, they decided to return to the mainstream and cooperate with the administration in carrying out development work,” Koraput Superintendent of Police, Awinash Kumar said. The recent exchange of fire between police and Maoists at Champajhola village adjacent to Tala Jamguda brought villagers under police scanner forcing them to leave CMAS. (Pioneer 25/10/13) Two women Maoists killed in Gadchiroli (12) The Gadchiroli police on Monday killed two women Naxals. However, they lost one of their men in an ambush on their way back in the afternoon. "The first incident occurred at around 10.30 am when a C-60 commando party was on an operation in the Gatta Jambiya area of Etapalli tehsil after gram panchayat

election duty," said Ravindra Kadam, DIG of Gadchiroli range. "Our party was in Hidur's vicinity, close to the border of Abujmaad area, when it was fired at. Our men retaliated, in which two women were killed. We recovered their bodies, a 303 rifle, 25 shoulder bags and other material. The other Naxals fled," Kadam added. "We lost one of our men when the party — returning with the recovered material and bodies — was fired at from a hill around 3.30 pm," he said. The area is known for the presence of Central Committee member Bhupati and his wife Tarakka and is frequented by Naxals . "Our men don't frequent this place as it is remote with a dense forest cover," Kadam said. It is suspected that the Naxal group present could be Gatta local organisational squad, or North Indravati Border company. With Monday's incident he total number of women Naxals killed in five encounters this year has gone up to 14. (Indian Express 29/10/13) 10 Maoists surrender in Malkangiri district (12) Malkangiri (Odisha): Ten Maoists, including a hardcore Naxalite couple, surrendered in Malkangiri district on Wednesday. They surrendered at the Malkangiri district police headquarters. The surrendered Maoists, included three women cadres. All of them were from areas considered to be Maoist strongholds like Kalimela and cut off area of Balimela reservoir. With increased area domination by the security forces involved in anti-Maoist operations, there has been continuing surrender of ultras in the district. According to the anti-naxal cell of Malkangiri district for the past three months around 65 Maoists have parted ways with the violent organisation and surrendered before police. The hardcore Maoist couple, who surrendered on Wednesday was Ramesh Madkami (25) and his wife Vijaya Hantal. As per Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), S. Subramaniam, at least 14 cases of Maoist violence were pending against Ramesh. He was an area commander of Gumma cut off dalam of the Maoist organisation. The other Maoists who surrendered were Dalima Khillo alias Karuna (21), who was involved in the Tentulipadar encounter of 2011, Nande Padiami alias Sujata (19), Deba Madkami (23), Soma Madkami (21), Dulla Madkami (21), Bhima Madkami (35), T Chittibabu (25) and Raju Hantala (29). They were also involved in incidents like exchange of fire with security forces, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, damages to mobile communication towers, extortion, arson etc. According to senior police officials the major reason behind these surrenders was that the grassroot level ultras in Malkangiri district had started to realise that they were being misused by the Maoist leaders. They had also started to find out that the leaders of the Maoist organisation were amassing much money through extortion while the grass root level cadres and their families languished in poverty. They felt in case of encounter with police the senior cadres were using them as scapegoats and shields. Killing of 13 Maoists in an exchange of fire with security forces at Silakota in the district in September has also been a reason behind increase in surrenders in Malkangiri district. The surrendered Maoists also added that they were being harassed and humiliated at the hands of Maoist leaders from outside the State. According to Malkangiri district police sources, all the surrendered Maoists would be rehabilitated as per the norms of the government for surrendering naxalites. (The Hindu 30/10/13) Maoist leaders moved from Midnapore jail (12) Kolkata: The state government has moved seven prominent Maoist leaders from Midnapore correctional home to different jails in th estate following reports that they were plotting to escape from jail. The Maoists include PCAPA chief Chhatradhar Mahato, Maoists state committee members Sudip Chongdar and Kalpana Maity, Maoist sympathisers Raja Sarkhel and Parsun Chatterjee, and PCAPA leader Sukhsanti Baskey. PCAPA or Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities is the frontal organisation of the CPI-Maoists. Additional Director General (ADG), Prison, Ranveer Kumar said: "According to our internal assessment, these seven Maoists were hatching a plot to flee from the jail. They had been staying together in the correctional home for a long time. We have decided to separate them for sometime and send them to different correctional homes today." While Mahato was Wednesday removed to Lipore central jail, Chongdar and Baskey were sent to Dum Dum central correctional homes in the city. Mahato,

Chongdar and Baskey are residents of West Midnapore. Chatterjee, a resident of Kolkata, and Maity were transferred to Purulia correctional home while Sarkhel, of Kolkata, is now in Hooghly correctional home. All seven are implicated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Niyati Mahato, wife of Chhatradhar Mahato, said she will file a case against the state government. "My husband was in the (Midnapore) prison for five years. This is a conspiracy by the state government, it does not want locals to meet my husband. He has been granted bail in most of the cases. But the UAPA case is being deliberately delayed," she said. (Indian Express 31/10/13)

In a first, Congress manifesto has strategy to tack le Naxal menace in Chhattisgarh (12) Raipur: After confronting Naxalism for 13 years, the Chhattisgarh polity has finally included the issue in its political programme as the Congress spelt out a strategy to tackle the Red movement in its election manifesto released Monday. "Restoration of trust" and security operations only when they are "necessary", the party emphasised, are keys to resolve the crisis. "For this, gaining the trust of Scheduled Tribes will be given priority," the document said. After two elections in 2003 and 2008, this is the first instance insurgency has found its way in a poll manifesto. Released by AICC treasurer and chief of Congress election campaign committee Motilal Vora in Raipur, the manifesto noted that "the extremists who join the mainstream will be treated with complete sympathy", and officers posted in the Naxal-hit regions will be transferred to normal zones "as per their desire". Jeeram Ghati, the spot where Maoists launched their biggest attack on a political convoy and killed several prominent Congress leaders, will be developed as a "martyr memorial". The party also promised to rehabilitate "tribals displaced either from home or the state due to Maoist violence or violence in its retaliation". By focusing on the trust and governance deficit, the manifesto only carries forward the strategy of slain PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel. Going ahead of the state government's populist subsidised rice scheme, the party promised that "except tax payees, all BPL and APL families in the state will be given 35kg free rice". At present, Antyodaya families get 35kg rice at Rs 1 per kg and priority households get the same quantity at Rs 2 per kg. Promising a slew of measures to woo farmers and tribals, the party claimed if voted to power it would procure paddy from farmers at Rs 2,000 per quintal, and of this Rs 500 will be directly transferred to a woman of the farmer's family. (Indian Excpress 5/11/130 Naxals planning to attack "soft targets" in cities (12) RAIPUR: 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 the 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. Eighteen Naxal-affected constituencies of eight districts- Bastar, Bijapur, Kondagaon, Sukma, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Kanker and Rajnandgaon will go to polls in the first phase of Chhattisgarh elections on November 11. Notably, the police have received inputs that Naxals are planting IEDs near polling booths, main highways and arterial roads and mobilising cadres from adjoining Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in a bid to disrupt the electoral process. Taking a serious note of the

Maoist threat, the Centre has sent additional 400 companies (40,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces to ensure peaceful polling. (New Indian Express 6/11/130 Forces seizing explosives almost daily in Bastar (1 2) RAIPUR: Security personnel on maximum alert in tribal Bastar region in Chhattisgarh ahead of polls, had seized two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from an isolated forest stretch down South Bastar on Thursday, but the recovery was nowhere close to places where Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi were to address elections meetings. With more than a lakh security personnel being deployed in Bastar for smooth conduct of polls, road opening parties are regularly carrying out exercise to detect and defuse landmines in all seven districts of tribal Bastar division, while security forces are also carrying out search and combing operations in areas close to forests to keep rebels at bay, inspector general of police (Bastar), Arun Dev Gautam said. The 58-km long kuccha road from Dornapal to Jagargunda—from where security forces recovered two IEDs-is nearly 160 kilometres away from Jagdalpur, where BJP's Narendra Modi addressed the public meeting on Thursday. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's public meeting was at Kondagaon, which is nearly 200 kilometres away. The IEDs were recovered from an area close to dense forests of Tadmetla, where Naxalites in 2010 had carried out the deadliest attack on security forces deployed for anti-Naxal operations, as they killed 76 of them in a single ambush. This area falls in the so-called liberated zone of Dandakaranya of Maoists where presence of civil administration and the police is virtually non-existent. Security forces have penetrated deep into remote areas for search and area domination exercise, leading to frequent recovery of crude explosives in the area. Police sources said security forces deployed in Bastar region have been recovering explosives from many places during the last one month. On Thursday, an explosive was found in an area close to the residence of BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi, who is contesting for Dantewada (ST) seat. Dantewada is about 90 kilometres away from Bastar divisional headquarters. "Para-military forces deployed in the area are doing their job and making seizures of explosives in the Maoist-dominated areas almost every day. We cannot fathom why the police preferred to alert the media about seizure of IEDs only on the day of Modi's visit. May be BJP wanted to escalate fears over his safety to make a strong case for Special Protection Group (SPG) cover his for its PM nominee", said state Congress media cell in charge Shailesh Nitin Trivedi. (Times of India 8/11/13) Forces fighting Maoists find new enemy (12) Raipur: The security forces deployed to take on Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district have found mosquitoes as their new enemies. While malaria has already claimed life of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan, half a dozen others are battling for life after being hit by the mosquito borne disease, officials said. 54-year-old Puran Singh, who was a trooper of 223 battalion of the CRPF, succumbed to the disease on Tuesday morning. A native of Haryana, Singh was suffering from malaria for past several days. He had been sent to medical college and hospital at Raipur on Oct 31 after test confirmed he was having malaria. He was battling life for several days in critical condition. It is not the first time that a paramilitary trooper was detected positive for the mosquito borne disease. Such incidents have almost become common. Four such troopers were sent to the same hospital from Sukma area on Oct 23 after they detected positive for the Malaria. They were discharged from the hospital on Thursday in good health after several days of treatment. According to the troopers, they spend nights mostly in the forest and often don’t get pure drinking water. They also often drink water which are not fit for consumption. The jawans said they are capable of fighting the left wing extremists but they conceded defeat in their battle against mosquitoes. (Pioneer 8/11/130 Naxals trigger poll-eve blast in Chhattisgarh, 2 ja wans hurt (12) RAIPUR: Two 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 ( Indo-Tibetan Border Police) personnel injured, he told. "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 tomorrow. (Times of India 11/11/13) Lack of development forcing people in Chhattisgarh into Naxalism: Sonia (12) Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) : Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said lack of development in Chhattisgarh has forced some people to adopt the wrong path of Naxalism. She also targeted the Raman Singh-led BJP government for the poor law-and-order in the state and not effectively dealing with the Naxal problem despite Centre's full support. She questioned the steps taken by it to bring those involved in Naxal activities into the mainstream. "When there is no development in the state the problems of people, unemployment, dejection among people have increased. This has forced some people to adopt the wrong path (of Naxalism)," Gandhi told a poll rally here. She accused the BJP of befooling people in the name of development and said the state had moved behind in the past 10 years of its rule. Gandhi said people in Chhattisgarh have not derived the benefits of the central social schemes due to the neglect of the state government as the Centre had sent thousands of crore help to the state. She also alleged that the state government was not giving foodgrains to the poor despite the Centre sending tonnes of it. "There is a huge difference between what they (BJP) say and what they do. I want to ask the BJP where this development that they claim is taking place. Whose development and for whom this development is taking place. Corruption has broken all records in the past 10 years in Chhattisgarh. We don't make hollow promises. Whatever we say, we do," she said. "Law and order has deteriorated. Women are living in fear," she said. Voicing concerns about the dismal state of tribals, she said the BJP government has been cheating on them. "Tribals have not been given their rights on their own land. Poverty and unemployment are on the rise in rural and tribal areas of Chhattisgarh," she said. (Indian Express 12/11/13) Maoist victim gets support from tribes in Kulthur ( 12) Kuthlur, Belthangady taluk, : Several tribals living within the Kudremukh National Park on Monday came in support of the former member of Kuthlur Grama Panchayat Ramchandra Bhat (42) whom alleged Maoists recently targeted accusing him of harassing forest dwellers. The villagers from Maoist-affected areas of Navoor, Yelnir and Kuthlur in Belthangady taluk and Mapala in Karkala taluk said no one was forced to leave the park, and no one had given money to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) to aid the rehabilitation process. Around 2 a.m. on Saturday, a group of about 10 persons set on fire vehicles at the house of Mr. Bhat, who works for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society. Banners put up after the attack alleged that he was an agent who was “forcibly removing tribals for a profit”. “Even when travelling to our remote villages, Mr. Bhat has not taken a single rupee for us. And, in no way has he forced us. All he has done is to give us information, help us fill the forms, and track the rehabilitation,” said Puttanna Malekudiya, from Navoor. Shashidhar Malekudiya, from Alambe in Kuthlur, said as the amount was deposited by the government in the bank account of the beneficiaries, there was “no chance” of the NGO diverting money. Similarly, those who have rejected the rehabilitation package in the national park area of Kuthlur village told The Hindu that they had not be coerced in any way to leave. “Who are they [Maoists] to tell us that we can’t leave the forest? We have done it voluntarily, and in no way are we obliged to ‘preserve’ tribal culture by only staying in the forests,” said Vasanti Malekudiya from Alambe nearby. An atmosphere of fear seemed to have descended on the village. While Sujay Hegde, a resident outside the park premises, said it was “frightening” that an attack could happen by the main road (connecting Udupi

to Dharmasthala), others within the park area expressed concern that those willing to rehabilitate may be targeted next. (The Hindu 13/11/13) CRPF officer booked for leaking information on secu rity operations to Naxals (12) Patna: 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. (Indian Express 15/11/13) CRPF officer arrested for leaking info to Naxals (1 2) GAYA: A CRPF officer deployed in anti-Naxal operations and accused of leaking sensitive operational information to the rebels, was arrested on Monday after a local court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. CRPF Assistant Commandant Sanjay Kumar Yadav, who was detained by Bihar police Special Task Force (STF) on November 14 for questioning, was arrested this evening from the force's camp here after Chief Judicial Magistrate Sherghati issued the warrant, Senior superintendent of police Nishan Kumar Tiwari said. Yadav, who hails from Bihar and joined the paramilitary force in 2009, was deployed in the 159th CRPF battalion in Gaya. Bihar Police had been tracking him for the past two to three months after they intercepted phone calls of a Maoist operative in the state. It had come to light that the officer was supplying information about CRPF raids, composition of patrol teams and weapons used by the troops to the Maoists. Bihar Police STF had arrested another person identified as Pradeep Yadav a cadre of the Maoist outfit on November 14. (New Indian Express 18/11/13) Poor response to Maoist bandh call (12) BERHAMPUR: The dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by the Maoists in Koraput and Malkangiri districts in South Odisha on Wednesday had no impact. The bandh call had been given by the Srikakulam-Koraput Divisional Committee (SKDC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). To the exception of buses of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), all passenger vehicles plied their services in Koraput as well as Malkangiri districts as usual. Small passenger vehicles that ply in the remote rural pockets too were not affected. The OSRTC, as per the decision of its management, preferred to keep its fleet off the road as a precautionary measure. Shops, educational institutions, banks, government as well as non-government institutions remained open in all the areas of these districts. As per Koraput SP Awinash Kumar and Malkangiri Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shiva Subramaniam, security had been intensified to check any attempt to unleash violence by the Maoists. The inter-State borders of both the districts were under strict vigil and all vehicles entering the districts were being checked. Combing operation had also been intensified in the Maoist-prone areas by the local police and paramilitary forces. Some Maoist posters were sighted in the remote areas. As per the posters found in Narayanpatna block of Koraput district, the Maoists had given the bandh call to protest against presence of paramilitary forces in remote Maoist-prone areas of the districts. The Maoists were also protesting against what they called

deteriorating law and order situation in Odisha, arrest of “innocent people” and increase in atrocities against women. The Maoists blamed both the Central and State governments for it. The posters charged the elected representatives of panchayat bodies with helping the police in their fight against the Naxalites. The Maoists demanded that the elected panchayat body members resign within one month. “This is nothing but frustration in the Maoist organisation because of their diminishing support base and presence,” said the Koraput SP. (The Hindu 21/11/13) Maoists kill three in Jharkhand (12) Ranchi: Maoist guerrillas killed three people at two places in Simdega district of Jharkhand, police said on Sunday. According to police, two people were shot dead in Kolibera area of Simdega district, around 110 km from Ranchi, on Saturday night. Officials added that People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) owned responsibility for the killings in a pamphlet they left behind. In the other incident, PLFI killed a person by slitting his throat after accusing him of collecting money in the organisation’s name at Tethaitangar village of the same district. PLFI is one of the six Maoist organisations operating in Jharkhand. (The Hindu 24/11/13) Naxals trying to open new theatre in South India: M HA (12) 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. The Centre has recently 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 Guerrilla Army," the Home Ministry has said in an affidavit in the apex court. Since 2001, Maoists have killed 5969 civilians, often branding them as police informers, class enemies, among others. An overwhelming majority of the people killed are poor tribals whose cause the Maoists and their supporters profess to espouse. During the same period, Maoists have also killed 2147 security personnel and looted 3567 firearms from them. (New Indian Express 25/11/13)

Did AP police visit Malnad to track naxals? (12) SHIMOGA: The intelligence wing of the Andhra Pradesh police visited the Malnad area and collected information about naxals, according to sources. However, the local police neither confirm this nor deny the development. Sources said the police suspect that naxal leaders Ganapathi and Ramesh of Andhra Pradesh have started activities in the Western Ghats range. Till recently, naxals had been lying low in the Western Ghats range but have renewed their activities, giving sleepless nights to the Anti-naxal Force. Though police claim they have rooted out naxals from the district, sources say naxals have expanded their base and strength in the Malnad region. A year ago, police confirmed that the number of naxals was down to 30-40. But now, they are surprised to learn that their numbers have gone up considerably in recent days and are active in Udupi, Chikmagalur and border areas of Shimoga district, sources said. Though police are not ready to give out details about the directions from the intelligence, sources say local naxals may have visited Chhattisgarh and naxals from there may have visited the Malnad region. An intelligence officer on condition of anonymity told Express that some naxals have come out of the forest from Bidaragodu in Shimoga district and Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district. Police admit that there are some gaps in the intelligence on naxal activities in the boarder areas of Shimoga district. As a result, senior officers have warned the district intelligence wing to strengthen its base in the naxal-affected areas and collect information on naxal movement. When contacted, SP Koushalendra Kumar said the Shimoga police do not have any information regarding the Andhra Pradesh intelligence police visit to the Western Ghats. (New Indian Express 27/11/13)

Maoists ambush Inter-City Express in Bihar, 3 GRP j awans killed (12) Patna: Three GRP jawans have been killed in a Naxal attack on a Sahebganj Inter-City train near Jamalpur station here, an official said on Saturday. The incident took place when the Sahebganj-Danapur Inter-City train was passing through Munger, killing the three Government Railway Police (GRP) men onboard the train, besides looting five rifles from them. According to a news report, a group of 08-10 Maoists ambushed the Inter-City train. A group of 8 to 10 Maoists, which was travelling in Sahebganj-Patna Inter-City Express, opened fire in a ladies compartment as the train was between a railway tunnel and the the bridge at Ashikpur barely 900 yards away from Jamalpur railway station at around 1745 hours, Railway Superintendent of Police Amitabh Kumar Das said. The Naxal attack left three escorting members of Bihar Military Police dead and two others injured, he added. Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General Sudhanshu Kumar said that the Sahebganj-Patna Intercity train was attacked by a group of armed Maoists between Jamalpur and Ratanpur. The attack occurred around 200 km from Patna. It was not immediately clear how large the group of Maoists who attacked was. The Maoists looted three INSAS rifles, a sten gun and an AK-47 besides 460 rounds of ammunition from the dead and injured personnel who were from the BMP-12 unit at Bhagalpur, Das said. The Maoists escaped from the train at Passikhana after pulling the chain, where another group of Maoists was waiting beside the tracks, he said. The three dead BMP personnel were Hawaldar Ashok Kumar and constables Bhola Thakur and Uday Singh. The injured were Md. Imtiyaz and Vinay Kumar, Das said. Injured policemen Md. Imtiyaz said in Jamalpur that eight to ten Maoists were on the train. When the train slowed down after the chain was pulled, the group of Maoists waiting beside the tracks stabbed him and another BMP man and snatched away and fired from their weapons, Imtiyaz said. Munger Range DIG Sudhanshu Kumar went to the spot with security forces and launched a search operation. The bodies of the slain BMP personnel were taken out of the train when it reached Jamalpur and the two others injured were hospitalised. The ladies coach, in which the Maoist attack took place, was detached from the train which left at about 2030 hours. In an another Naxal attack incident, two policemen were killed in a gunbattle with Maoists in Odisha's Nuapada district. The gunbattle took place when the rebels ambushed a team of policemen on Friday in Sunabeda sanctuary area, about 550 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. The personnel of

CRPF, District Voluntary Force and special police officers retaliated who were carrying out an operation in dense forest near Datutola and Dhekunpani villages last evening. (Zee News 1/12/13) Bihar attaches property of 21 Maoists (12) Patna: In a crackdown on Maoists, Bihar government has attached the property of 21 ultras, mostly in naxal-affected Aurangabad district, under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A total of 39 cases were prepared by the state police headquarters for seizure of properties under the Act, out of which state government’s go ahead order was given in 21 cases. Prominent among those was the wife of top Maoist commander Arvind Jee, a member of ultra outfit’s central committee, who owned land worth Rs 25 lakh, DGP Abhyanand said. The seizure/attachment of proceeds of illegal activities included land, vehicles, cash, bank deposits and laptop, he said. The initiative, considered a brainchild of the Bihar DGP, is probably the first of its kind in the country. “There is shift in paradigm in dealing with naxal problem, from person to property,” the DGP told PTI. After meticulous scrutiny, the police surveyed movable and immovable property of the Maoists and prepared a list under Abhyanand’s supervision under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. As per provisions of the Act, which was amended in 2011-12, an appeal could be filed with the state police chief against details of properties to be seized within 48 hours of the issue of notice, after which it would be sent to the Home Secretary who was the designated authority for government’s approval in such cases, the DGP said. At the Home Secretary-level, show cause notices would be issued and a proper hearing would be given before passing order for seizure of properties of the ultras earned through unlawful activities. Once the property is attached after following due process, an appeal can be filed only with the District Judge, he said. (The Hindu 3/12/13) Maoists kill 7 cops as property axe looms (12) Patna, Dec. 3: A Maoist blast killed seven policemen including a station house officer in Bihar this afternoon, the state police chief linking the recent spurt in attacks to a move to attach 21 absconding rebel leaders’ properties. A landmine blew up a police jeep on a highway in Aurangabad district, at a spot 140km southwest of Patna, killing all the seven occupants: five Special Auxiliary Police jawans, a home guard and Tandawa station house officer Ajay Kumar. The powerful blast shredded the bodies, twisted the vehicle beyond recognition and left a five-foot-deep crater. Dhruv Kumar, the local station house officer at Nabinagar, was surprised at the rebels’ boldness in targeting the police on a highway rather than in the interiors. Some police sources suspected a Maoist retaliation to the arrest of local commander Pradeep Yadav last month. Director-general of police Abhayanand, however, linked the attack to the recent state government initiative to confiscate the property of 21 senior and middle-rung rebel leaders from Bihar, including central committee member Arvind, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Sources said this was the first time such a measure was being tried in the country and it could involve a lengthy court process, but added that the families of these Maoists had already been served with notices. Several of these rebel leaders are from Aurangabad and neighbouring Jehanabad. A statement by Maoist leader Prahar said the attack was a warning to the government to stop the so-called Operation Green Hunt against the outfit. Bihar is officially not part of the operation. The state has witnessed several Maoist strikes since June 16, when the ruling Janata Dal (United) snapped ties with the BJP. On Saturday, the rebels killed three policemen and injured two before fleeing with their automatic weapons in Munger. The same evening, they attacked a passenger train that shuttles between Jharkhand and Bihar, and snatched the security guards’ weapons. Today, however, five police rifles lay at the blast site. “These rifles were damaged so badly that the Maoists probably thought they were useless,” a police source said. The BJP was quick to attack the “minority” Nitish government’s “soft attitude”, alleging it had given “Maoists and terrorists the upper hand in Bihar”. Earlier, the Centre had accused the Nitish government of being soft on the Maoists. Of Bihar’s 38 districts, 21 are categorised Maoist-affected and 15 of them “worst affected”. Nitish today summoned police chief Abhayanand to his residence to discuss the Maoist threat. The

4.30pm blast took place as the police team was returning to Tandawa from a routine meeting convened by Nabinagar circle inspector Bhup Narayan in his office. (The Telegraph 4/12/13) Naxals hack scribe to death in Bastar (12) Raipur: Constantly living under threats from both Naxals and the police for the past half-a-decade, a senior journalist of Bastar was finally eliminated in a brutal manner by suspected Maoists at Basaguda in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Friday. According to the police, a group of four “sangham (armed militia)” members of the CPI (Maoist) surrounded 51-year-old Sai Reddy, a local journalist, when he was on his way to the weekly market in Basaguda and attacked him with sharp weapons in full public view. He tried to flee, but fell on the ground after being hit by axes hurled by the insurgents. The assailants went on assaulting him even as he lay in a pool of blood. He died on his way to the district headquarters hospital at Bijapur. “Prima facie, Mr Reddy was killed by Naxals. But a probe is still on to confirm the hand of Maoists,” a senior district police officer told this newspaper on the phone. Reddy was the second journalist killed by Maoists in the conflict zone of Bastar. In February this year, senior journalist Nemichand Jain was killed in a similar brutal manner by Maoists in Sukma district. The rebels, however, tendered an apology for his killing one-and-a-half months later. The trend of killing journalists by Maoists, witnessed recently, has deeply disturbed the journalist fraternity. (Asian Age 7/12/13) Alleged Naxals arrested in Bihar (12) Patna: 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 the Naxals was to arrive in the village. Accordingly, we sent a search team. The woman is part of the military squad. We also recovered explosives, detonators, uniforms and Maoist literature,” Mr. Rana said. (The Hindu 7/12/13) Despite BJP win Cong dominates Chhattisgarh's worst -hit Naxal area (12) Raipur: The killing of Mahendra Karma earlier this year by Left Wing Extremists proved costly for Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh as Congress bagged 8 of the 12 seats in worst-hit Naxal areas spread over six districts. The region saw Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi campaigning aggressively as this part of the state is always considered as key to power. BJP had won 11 seats from these districts last time. The wife of slain Karma, Devati, won from Dantewada Assembly seat defeating his BJP rival Bhimaram Mandavi by a margin of 5,987 votes. Her husband, who was killed on May 25, along with 25 others which included Pradesh Congress Chief Nand Kumar Patel, had contested unsuccessfully from this constituency and stood third while the BJP's Mandavi bagged the seat by defeating Manish Kunjam of CPI. BJP could manage to retain only four seats -- Antagarh, Jagdalpur, Bijapur and Narainpur -- where all the four sitting MLAs Vikram Usendi, Santosh Bafla, Mahesh Gadda and Kedar Nath Kashyap respectively won. However, the winning margin for the four BJP candidates fell considerably this time. Bastar constituency saw Lakeshwar Bagel emerging as winner unseating Subahoo Kashyap of BJP by a margin of 19,168 votes. The results in 2008 elections were exactly opposite with Kashyap defeating Bagel by a margin 1,201. Konta seat was retained by sitting Congress MLA Lakhma Kawasi who defeated Dhani Ram Barse by a margin of 5,786 votes. Kawasi had barely managed to win it last time by 192 votes. Congress also recorded its win in Bhanupratappur, Keshkal and Kondagaon. (Hindustan Times 8/12/13) 10 Naxals surrender in Bijapur (12) Raipur: Ten hardcore Naxals have surrendered to Bijapur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal apparently after being rather impressed by the Government’s rehabilitation policy, informed SP here on Tuesday. The Naxals said that the leaders from Andhra Pradesh have discriminated against the

Chhattisgarh Naxals. They narrated various incidents of violence against women, assault, anti-development approach, killing of innocents by the Naxal leaders. Agrawal said each of the ten surrendered Naxals have been given a sum of Rs10,000 and will be given benefits of Government schemes. He appealed to the Naxals that they shun the part of violence and work toward Bastar’s development. According to the police sources, they surrendered after they were disillusioned and hurt by the approach of Naxal leaders in the camp. Those surrendered are Sonu Korsa, wife Bodhi Korsa, Joga Madkam, Budhri Madkam, Budhram Hapka, Arjun Telam, Kosa Korsa, Mahadev Gawde, Vijay Majji, Deva Midiyam. (Pioneer 11/12/13) Bastar journalists decide to boycott Maoists (12) BASAGUDA (BIJAPUR): In response to the December 6 killing of journalist Sai Reddy, about 200 journalists, mostly from the seven districts of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, have decided to boycott news related to Maoists. They convened a protest meeting on Saturday and unanimously decided to stop publishing and broadcasting Maoist press releases, unless the outlawed CPI(Maoists) clarified its position in respect of the death of Reddy, 51, at Basaguda market, 500 km south of Raipur. While the police and the journalists claim that he was killed by the Maoists, the rebels are yet to own responsibility. Maoists normally accept responsibility for killing anyone important. The journalists demanded an explanation from the Maoists. “A few months ago, when another journalist Nemichand Jain was killed, Maoists accepted responsibility. They said they would not attack or assassinate journalists any more. They have violated the agreement, and we must stop releasing their publicity materials immediately,” said Ganesh Mishra, one of the conveners of the meeting The meeting was organised within a few hundred metres of the spot where Mr. Reddy, who reported for a Hindi daily from Bijapur district, was hacked to death. The market is within a hundred yards of the police station and the battalion camp of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Journalists were surprised that security personnel were reluctant to fire even blanks from the watchtowers manned round the clock. They also questioned the unethical business practices of media houses in the State. “Bastar journalists are not paid properly and exploited by their organisations. Now, they do not even have any security…Maoists are killing them without any warning, and no one cares, including the management,” said Anil Mishra, a senior journalist from Raipur. Many other journalists later said lack of support from the employers was jeopardising the lives of those reporting from the partially Maoist controlled areas of south Chhattisgarh. “It is often said journalists take favours from the local administration to write reports. While it is true, let me also ask why newspapers or television channels never pay salaries to their employees in Bastar,” a senior said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The journalists demanded that both the Union and State governments play an active role in safeguarding the “salary and security” of journalists working in the conflict areas of Bastar. As a follow-up action, the journalists are expected to arrange for a meeting between Reddy’s family and the Chhattisgarh Governor within a week. (The Hindu 15/12/13) Two C-60 jawans hurt as firefight erupts with Naxal s (12) NAGPUR: Two Commando-60 jawans were hurt, one of them through a bullet, during an exchange of fire between police force and Naxalites in the outskirts of Rengawahi village of Etapalli division on Monday in south Gadchiroli. Dasru Pungati, piloting the C-60 squad, suffered the bullet injury on his left knee while commander of the unit Koko Narote suffered a fall and hurt his left elbow in the gun-battle. It has come to fore that a C-60 squad, leaving Etapalli police station, was heading towards Rengawahi village after learning about presence of a sizable group of Naxals in the adjoining forested regions.Deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam stated operations were already underway in Etapalli and adjoining localities for the last four days. "Police force had been fanning out in the jungles and villages of the entire region in the last few days . The latest encounter was fallout of a specific intelligence input," he said. Kadam said that the encounter was not an ambush laid by the Naxals but more of an unexpected meeting of rival sides. Pungati and Narote were flown to Nagpur by a chopper and rushed to Kunal

Hospital. Dr Shishir Shrivastava informed TOI that Pungati had been already operated upon. "The jawans are out of danger," he said. Sources from Gadchiroli police stated that C-60 jawans had left the village and were also in the process of crossing a hillock when the exchange of fire took place. The jawans were heading up when the Naxals opened fire spotting the advancing cops. Pungati was first to get hit while Narote received injuries after suffering a fall while taking position. The jawans were rushed back to Etapalli police station after firing ceased from both the sides. DIG Kadam said Naxals were better positioned due to their location on the upper side of the hillock. "The formation of the Naxals that attacked the jawans is yet to be identified but we feel it could be the Kasansoor Local Organization Squad (LOS)," said Kadam. Superintendent of Poilice of Gadchiroli Mohammad Suvez Haque is learnt to be camping near the place of the encounter where he had reached with other senior officers. Gadchiroli Police is slated to launch a search operation in the adjoining areas to look for any materials left behind by the Naxals or any blood stains. (Times of India 24/12/13) Naxals focusing on strengthening cadre in Bastar (1 2) RAIPUR: Naxals have focused more on strengthening their cadres instead of consolidating base in the Bastar region comprising seven districts of Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Narayanpur, Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma this year, according to experts. Spread around 40,000 sq km, tribal-dominated Bastar has witnessed a string of deadly attacks in past 10 years that has left about 2093 people including 710 security personnel dead, but the well-planned May 25 attack on the Congress convoy reflected a new strategy of rebels who were apparently enraged over frequent visits of politicians to their stronghold. The current phase is also marked by a conscious attempt to militarize the armed component of the party - the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)- with a view to launch attacks on the state apparatus, they said. Like every year in the recent past, the human loss due to Naxal-related incidents in Chhattisgarh reached close to the three digit mark in 2013. Till November, 97 people including 41 security personnel, two assistant constables, a homeguard and 53 civilians, were killed in Naxal-related incidents, as per official statistics. In 2012, the causalities were 108 including 41 security personnel, four assistant constables, a homeguard and 62 civilians. On the other hand, 32 left wing guerrillas were killed in 138 encounters between security forces and Maoists this year in comparison to the previous year number of only 37. This year began with a setback for the state police when a court on January 7 acquitted for lack of evidence, all the 10 arrested accused in the 2010 Tadmetla Maoist attack case in which 75 CRPF personnel and a police jawan were killed in Dantewada district. Maoists also attempted to execute a major incident by unleashing a bullet attack on Indian Air Force helicopter, when it was on a casualty evacuation mission in restive Sukma forest. A wireless operator was injured in the incident. Then April brought success in an anti-insurgency operation when the joint team of security forces from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh gunned down ten Naxals in Sukma district. (Times of India 26/12/13) Maoists blow up a bridge in Malkangiri (12) Berhampur: Armed Maoists blew up portions of a bridge in the Kalimela police station area of Malkangiri district, south Odisha early on Saturday. armed Maoists and their supporters reached the spot at around 2.30 a.m., and planted explosives on the bridge. They also left behind a handwritten poster at the spot which claimed that it was their mark of protest against continuing anti-Maoist operations in the district as well as the encounter in September 2012, in which around 13 Maoists were killed. Speaking to The Hindu, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP) Akhileswar Singh said this bridge was on the Poteru river. Mr. Singh said that these acts of naxalite violence were being conducted by a group of over 100 Maoists from Chhattisgarh who have infiltrated the area. After major setbacks in the district this year through a series of arrests, surrenders and successful encounters, the Maoists are alleged to have deputed these ultras from outside to re-establish themselves. In another development, a group of armed Maoists also raided the house of a Special Police Officer (SPO) at Sangel village under Kalimela police station on Friday night. The ultras are alleged to have looted the valuables from the house of the SPO.

On Dec 25, armed Maoists had used explosives to destroy the block office building at Padia, Malkangiri. Malkangiri district, in December alone has seen kidnappings, killing of civilians and torching of passenger buses by Maoists. Meanwhile, security personnel including the Border Security Force (BSF) have been rushed to the areas where blasts occurred and SPO’s house to intensify combing operation to track down the ultras. (The Hindu 28/12/13) Efforts to check activities of Maoists have paid of f, says Vizag SP (12) VISAKHAPATNAM: Years of hard work by the police in containing Maoists has resulted in the Panchayat elections in Visakha Agency area recording 70 per cent polling which was a kind of watershed in controlling Maoists, Superintendent of Police Vikram Jeet Duggal said while giving details of the district police’s performance during this year, at a press conference here on Saturday. Though the Maoists had snatched away nomination papers at six places during the election process, the Girijans turned up in large numbers for polling and when this made them jittery, the Maoists committed some offences and killed four persons. Before the elections, they conducted four famine raids and looted property of four families. Maoists killed seven persons, including a former Home Guard, during this year and injured 20. While no policeman was killed one Maoist was killed in the two exchanges of fire that took place. The police arrested 67 cadres like dalam members, area committee members and militia members while 58 had surrendered. There were 39 underground cadre of the CPI (Maoist) in the district and seven of them were from outside the district. In addition there were 25 militia members who were as active as the underground cadres. There were also 542 militia members or sympathisers of the party and they were in different categories. Movement of companies (each consisting of 30 to 45) of Maoists was witnessed only before the panchayat elections. As many as 293 combing operations were done so far during this year compared to 133 during last year, Mr. Duggal said. The major task for the district police in the New Year was ensuring smooth conduct of the general elections, he said. Plans were already being drawn and ground work commenced. Mr. Duggal felt that if controlling the flow of illicit liquor was started now, it would have a major impact in this area. Explaining through figures, the SP said that the number of accidents, grace offences, rioting, etc. has come down during this year. “Registration of FIRs without delay has its effect in some areas as the number of cases in excise, illegal activities, controlling anti-social elements, offences against women, drive against ganja transport, illicit liquor has gone up,” he said. Additional SP (administration) D.N. Kishore and OSD (Narsipatnam) A.R. Damodhar were present. Compensation given Compensation was handed over to families of three Girijans of Saagulu village who were killed by Maoists at Lakkavaram village in G.K. Veedhi mandal on February 19, here on Saturday. SP Vikram Jeet Duggal handed over cheques for Rs.5 lakh each to the wives of Adapa Balayya Padal and Bavuda Pandayya, and mother of Vanjari Hanumantha Rao at the AR Complex, Kailasagiri. The three were killed at the meeting convened by the Maoists at Lakkavaram. (The Hindu 29/12/13) Women in naxal-affected village show the way (12) UDUPI: Usharaj from Udayanagara in Jadkal gram panchayat under Kundapur taluk is all smiles. Reason: She has a job at an eco-friendly industry. As a bonus, her place of work is just a stone's throw distance from her residence. Likewise, Sharle Jeeji of Gundinahole, about 3 km from Jadkal, expressed her contentment. She said 70 women working under one roof as one family helps her share her joys and sorrows with her co-workers. "It is better than staying at home without work,'' she said. This is largely due to the initiative of the Karnataka State Coir Development Corporation Limited (KSCDC), department of commerce and industry, Udupi district, and Udupi District Industries Centre: they opened a coir training-cum-production centre at the naxal-affected village Mudur in Jadkal gram panchayat. These 70 women from this village who were earlier jobless now have learnt the skill of twisting bristle fiber from the husk and manufacture coir mattresses at a tiny building in the village. They got training of four months. They start working in the unit from 9 am to 4 pm and produce 20 to 30 mattresses per day. The women earn about Rs 150 per day. What impresses one is that Koraga (tribal community) women too have joined the

training centre and have engaged in production of coir products since October this year. Gracy Joseph, president of Jadkal gram panchayat, said she is happy that women are earning now, thanks to the coir unit. Lissy Varghese and Soumya Saji are happy that they are self-reliant and help supplement the family's income. H K Rajshekara, regional manager of the corporation, said these women from the naxal-hit-village have shown the way to others in being self-reliant. P Nagesh, joint director, Udupi District Industries Centre, said they spent Rs 6.50 lakh on the training of the women, Rs 1.85 lakh was borne by the department of commerce and industry and the remaining amount of Rs 4.65 lakh was availed through the Coir corporation. KSCDC markets the products. He said the deputy commissioner has sanctioned one acre of land to commence 'Common Facilitation Centre' in Mudur to make coir mattresses under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI). (Times of India 30/12/13) Naxal attack: Cong leaders want NIA report to be ma de public (12) Raipur: Congress leaders, who were injured in Chhattisgarh’s Jiram valley Naxal attack in May this year, today staged a dharna here demanding that the NIA report into the incident be made public and culprits be punished at the earliest. “The Prime Minister had immediately ordered National Investigation Agency’s probe into the Darbha Naxal attack but we are sorry to say that the report has neither been kept in public domain nor the guilty have been punished so far,” Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) secretary Anjay Shukla told reporters here at the demonstration site. Similarly, the probe report of the state government’s constituted judicial commission into the attack is also awaited, he said. Pointing out lapses in the security that led to Darbha tragedy, Shukla said if no action has been taken after such a major attack on prominent political leaders, then who will take the guarantee of security of common men. In a memorandum to Governor Shekhar Dutt, the injured victims of the attack asked to bring both the NIA and judicial commission reports in public domain and take stern action against the culprits following its recommendations, he added. On May 25, heavily-armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress’ Parivartan Yatra in Jiram valley of Bastar district when it was returning after holding a public meeting in restive Sukma. Nearly 32 people, including PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma and ex-MLA Uday Mudaliyar, were killed in the attack. Admitting security lapses on the part of his government that led to such a major tragedy, Chief Minister Raman Singh had ordered a judicial inquiry into it. The Centre had also roped in NIA to probe the incident. (Pioneer 31/12/13)