After 38 years, kin of naxal violence victim seeks help

• 
  
  

P. SridharBHADRADRI-KOTHAGUDEM 31 DECEMBER 2020 22:35 IST

UPDATED: 31 DECEMBER 2020 22:36 IST

    

Ryot seeks MBBS seat for son under Central pool

Exactly 38 years after his father was allegedly killed by People's War Group (PWG) naxalites at Anjubaka in Dummugudem mandal, Mullapudi Gangadhar Rao, a 49-year-old farmer of Laxminagaram is pinning his hopes on the State government's help to enable his son M Satya Sai Vardhan, 19, to get an MBBS seat under the central pool quota for spouse and children of civilian victims of terrorism.

M V V Satyanarayana, father of Gangadhar Rao, was allegedly hacked to death by PWG naxals in his paddy field at Anjubaka village in Dummugudem mandal on November 14, 1982.

A case was registered (18/1982) in this regard at the Dummugudem police station the same year. Gangadhar Rao was eight years old then.

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The family of the deceased had neither availed financial assistance nor got a job to date, sources said.

Though the family was offered ₹5 lakh ex gratia a couple of years later, it refused to take the amount, official sources said.

Gangadhar Rao's application dated February 22, 2010, for a government job on compassionate grounds was rejected by the district administration for the reason that he had crossed the age limit.

Rao's son Satya Sai Vardhan, who passed Intermediate with 97.3 % in 2019, secured 493 marks (93.2 percentile) in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-2020).

In November this year, Rao approached the district administration seeking its help to ensure nomination of his son for allocation of MBBS seat from the central pool for spouse and children of the victim. The district authorities sent a report to the State authorities for clarification.

"Our family struggled a lot after losing our main breadwinner when I was eight year old," said Gangadhar Rao.

Talking to The Hindu, he said, "Neither I nor my family members availed any financial assistance or employment from the government."

"I appeal to the State government to help my son get an MBBS seat under the central pool to enable him to become a doctor and serve the needy," he said

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/after-38-years-kin-of-naxal-violence-victim-seeks-help/article33466131.ece

Bihar: Three Maoists arrested for planning to attack Aurangabad politician during private visit to Gaya

Debashish Karmakar | TNN | Updated: Dec 31, 2020, 21:24 IST

TNN

Representative image.

PATNA: Three suspected Maoists including an area commander were forwarded to 

judicial custody

 on Thursday in Aurangabad after being arrested allegedly for planning to attack a politician of hailing from the district and to target brick kiln owners for levy.

Police said all three were nabbed hiding inside the residence of one 

Yogendra Rajak

 alias 

Chotu Rajak

 at 

Kauwakhap village

 under Rafiganj police station area of Aurangabad on Wednesday night.

Though police confirmed about their plans for extorting levy from brick kiln owners in Aurangabad but denied that they were planning to attack a politician.

However sources said that the politician, who was on target of these Maoists, cancelled his private programme of visiting Pathra in 

Gaya

 on Wednesday soon after being alerted about the plan.

Sources said that the attack on the politician was to take place on his way to Pathra from Aurangabad and Maoist had accurate information about his movement plans.

Sources said that the crackdown on Maoists took place after the central agencies shared the intelligence input urgently with state police which had originated from Gaya.

They said a meeting of a group of Maoists had took place in Gaya on December 28 in which some of the reds had reached from Jharkhand. They also that attack was planned in this meeting.

Rafiganj police station SHO Anand Kumar Gupta on Thursday said arrested Maoists were identified as Sunil Ji alias Sunil Lal Khatri (40), Ravi Ranjan Paswan (27) and Bhuwaneshwar Yadav (55).

He said two single shot sten-gun and two live cartridges of 9mm along with a cellphone and Maoist literatures were seized from their possession.

He said Ravi identified himself as area commander of Goh in Aurangabad and is accused in five cases of Maoist violence. Gupta said he was wanted in a case registered with Konch police station in Gaya.

“Sunil is accused in 12 and Bhuwaneshwar is accused in six cases of Maoist violence. They had already distributed pamphlets to kiln owners for paying levy and had reached to collect money,” he said.

Meanwhile in Arwal, police were yet to identify the Maoists who had pasted at least three posters demanding Rs 20 lakh extortion as levy from a BJP leader Deepak Kumar Sharma.

Maoists had threatened him to pay money or face dire consequences within three months. Sharma lives in Bambhai village under Karpi police station area in district.

Sharma, who had unsuccessfully contested in this year’s assembly election, lodged FIR against unknown Maoists with Mehendia police station on Wednesday.

Mehendia police station SHO (in-charge) Ramnaresh Rai on Thursday said that posters were pasted Uridih Bazaar that were spotted on Wednesday after which Sharma was informed.

“The BJP leader had not received any such threat earlier. Investigation was going on to identity and arrest the accused persons,” he added

Kothagudem ASP appeals to Maoists to quit violence

In a statement here, he said the naxals, in the guise of Maoist ideology, have been exploiting tribals and putting their lives at risk

   

By AuthorTelanganaToday  |  Published: 31st Dec 2020  9:34 pm

Kothagudem: Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations), V Tirupathi on Thursday appealed to activists of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Party to surrender to the police and join the mainstream.

In a statement here, he said the naxals, in the guise of Maoist ideology, have been exploiting tribals and putting their lives at risk. Adivasis and their hamlets were now witnessing development, but at many places because of naxal activities the development works were being affected.

Tirupathi told the Maoists that they have achieved nothing with their armed struggle so far and they would not achieve anything in the future either. Hence, the naxals should quit violence and join their family members who were waiting for them, he said.

The State government would extend required support to surrendered Maoists and would withdraw criminal cases booked against them, the official noted.

Meanwhile, police arrested a Maoist militia member at Parnasala area near Bhadrachalam on Thursday. According to Sub-Inspector of Police (SI) S Ravi Kumar, a police team on patrolling duty spotted a person moving suspiciously and took him into custody.

During questioning, he revealed his identity as Ravva Ungaiah of Cherla in the district and confessed that he was working as the militia member since 2017. Following the orders from Maoist leaders he came to Parnasala to display Maoist posters

https://telanganatoday.com/kothagudem-asp-appeals-to-maoists-to-quit-violence

Educating tribals, youth to keep Maoists at bay: Kothagudem SP

In view of its geographic location, both the police and Maoists lay their focus on the district, with the former making all efforts to eliminate LWE from the district while the latter intends to gain a foothold here.

   

By AuthorJames Edwin  |  Published: 31st Dec 2020  12:22 am

Bhadradri Kothagudem district is one of the eight Telangana districts in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) list of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). The district shares borders with Chhattisgarh which has become a shelter zone for top Maoist leaders of Telangana.

In view of its geographic location, both the police and Maoists lay their focus on the district, with the former making all efforts to eliminate LWE from the district while the latter intends to gain a foothold here.

Kothagudem Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt spoke to Telangana Today giving an insight into the district police’s efforts to curb Maoist activities in the district.

With the Maoists making all-out efforts to re-enter Telangana, what is the district police’s approach to stopping them?

As per intelligence inputs, the CPI (Maoist) Party leadership in a 2019 resolution decided to come into the State from Chhattisgarh to gain ground here and to resort to subversive activities.
We have a multi-pronged strategy involving security-related measures, reaching out to the tribal communities, especially the youth. With regard to security measures, massive and intensive combing operations have been taken up in the forests on the State borders and in agency villages.

Our well-trained forces are on the ground for nearly 270 days in a year virtually covering every bit of the forests that are usually accessed by Maoists to come into the district. We have put in place a strong information network and we know their movements.

How do you describe the year 2020 has been for the district police in terms of restraining the Maoist activities?

This year has been challenging and we succeeded in making the Maoists run away from the district. We had fully demolished CPI (ML) New Democracy underground cadre network. Six important Naxals have been eliminated and a huge number of Maoists, their militia members and sympathisers surrendered to the police.

I ask top Maoist leaders like Haribhushan, Azad and others to lay down the arms and join mainstream life.

Can you explain how the police are reaching out to the tribals?

Our Station Head Officers (CIs) of police stations in agency areas have constantly been maintaining contact with the villagers addressing their issues, extending support and community policing. For instance, as many as 15,000 solar lanterns have been distributed to the residents in remote villages.

Activities like organising free medical camps and distribution of medicines, conducting sports tournaments and distributing sports kits to tribal youths are going on, on a regular basis. ‘We have won the hearts and minds of the tribals. The tribals are not willing to support Maoists anymore’.

Is the district police making any special efforts to discourage youths from joining hands with Maoists?

Yes, as the State government announced a recruitment drive in the police department, we plan to run coaching classes at the beginning of 2021 for the educated youths to prepare them for the recruitment. In the past also, we organised such classes and the response was good

https://telanganatoday.com/educating-tribals-youth-to-keep-maoists-at-bay-kothagudem-sp

Maoist couple surrenders to cops in Warangal

Shiva Kumar Pinna | TNN | Dec 31, 2020, 04:47 IST

Warangal: The communication in charge of the CPI (Maoists) party, his wife—who is also a member of the state communication wing—have surrendered before Warangal commissioner of police P Pramod Kumar, on Wednesday, reports Shiva Kumar Pinna.

Speaking to the media, CP Pramod Kumar said the 

Maoist

 party communication in-charge Yalam Narender alias Sampath went underground in 2005. In 2019, he married Podiyam Devi, who also worked in communication wing and was a dalam member. Devi was daily wage labour in the Mulugu district.

Vexed by the recent incidents, the couple decided to to surrender. Narender was given a reward of Rs 4 lakh and Devi was given Rs 1 lakh

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/hyderabad/maoist-couple-surrenders-to-cops-in-warangal/amp_articleshow/80035507.cms

Chhattigarh: CAF jawan injured in pressure IED blast by Naxals

Constable Ritesh Patel, belonging to CAF's 19th battalion, sustained injuries in the explosion and was shifted to a hospital.

• By: PTI | Bijapur |
• December 30, 2020 12:59:59 pm

During the operation, two more IEDs were recovered from the area. (Representational Image)

A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawan was on Wednesday injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxals, exploded while it was being defused by security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said.

The incident occurred around 8.20 am in the forest near Pusnar village under Gangaloor police station area when separate joint teams of security forces were out on a road security and area domination operation, a police official said.

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The personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), CAF and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the operation, he said.

“While one of the patrol teams was cordoning off the forests between Burji and Pusnar, it spotted an IED placed beneath the ground. When they were engaged in defusing the explosive, it suddenly went off,” the official said.

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Constable Ritesh Patel, belonging to CAF’s 19th battalion, sustained injuries in the explosion and was shifted to a hospital, the official said adding that he will be airlifted to Raipur for further treatment.

During the operation, two more IEDs were recovered from the area, he added

Chhattisgarh: Two women Naxals killed in Dantewada dist

ANI | Updated: Dec 29, 2020 04:32 IST

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 29 (ANI): Chhattisgarh police on Monday killed two women Naxalites in an encounter in Dantewada, and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession.
As per P Sundarraj, Inspector General (IG), Bastar, "Two women Naxals dead bodies have been recovered after an exchange of fire between District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Naxals in the forests between Kalepal and Kakari villages under Kuakonda police station limits."
He added that one pistol and one muzzleloading rifle has been recovered from the encounter site.
The two Naxals are identified as Ayte Mandavi who was a member and military intelligence head Malangir area and Vijje Markam who was a military intelligence member in the Malangir area. (ANI)

Chatra police recovers dead body of CPI (Maoist)'s zonal commander

The commander carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head was found dead under mysterious circumstances

Police recovered the dead body of Paramjeet alias Sonu Das, zonal commander of Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist) from Tikda village on Tuesday

Representational picture by Shutterstock

Vishvendu Jaipuriar

---

• Chatra
 
• Published 29.12.20, 10:40 PM

The police recovered the dead body of Paramjeet alias Sonu Das, zonal commander of Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist) from Tikda village which falls under the Lawalong police station.

According to police officials, Das had been murdered but they are yet to understand whether extremists or criminals were involved in this killing. He had a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

Significantly, Das had recently formed another outfit called the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), which was functional in Chatra.

Police sources maintained that they had rushed to the spot immediately after being informed about the murder on Tuesday afternoon. As an active Maoist zonal commander, Das had soured his relationship with many in the area.

The police, after a primary investigation had concluded that Das had been murdered in some other place following which his body had been dumped in Tikda village.

Superintendent of police Rishav Kumar Jha confirmed the news of the murder and recovery of his dead body. He said, “We will do a thorough investigation to solve the murder case and understand the motive behind the murdered and who is behind this killing.” The dead body has been sent to Chatra Sadar Hospital for postmortem.

His killing has once again highlighted the issue of gun battles between the rival outfits. However, the officials refuted this claim and said regular operations are on in a bid to contain all extremist activities in the district.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/chatra-police-recovers-dead-body-of-cpi-maoists-zonal-commander/cid/1802016

Maoist ops go up this year, but arrests drop

Siva G and Nalla.Babu | TNN | Updated: Dec 30, 2020, 14:28 IST

TNN

Representative image.

VISAKHAPATNAM: 

Maoist

 activities saw a rise in 

Andhra Pradesh

 in 2020 with 27 incidents being reported even as the 

Visakhapatnam

 rural police arrested 65 members of the 

Maoist party

 and 15 members surrendered. 

The 27 operations by members of the CPI (Maoist) are the highest in the last three years. While 13 operations could be linked to the Maoists in 2019, 20 could be linked to the group in 2018.

Cadre of the Maoist party is alleged to have been involved in two murders and two deaths due to a landmine blast. There were three incidents of exchange of fire with security forces.

Even as Maoist operations increased this year, the number of arrests came down by half. The Visakhapatnam rural police had arrested 127 Maoists in 2019. The number came down to 65 this year. The number of surrenders by Maoists too decreased significantly, from 33 last year to only 14 this year.

Visakhapatnam rural SP B 

Krishna Rao

 said that Maoists are losing ground in the tribal area, and are therefore indulging in murders of tribals by branding them as informers.

“They killed two civilians in an IED blast and two others by branding them as informers,” the SP said. He added, “But the year saw better coordination and a sustained effort between both AP and Odisha on tackling the Maoist menace.”

Police outreach programmes saw increased participation of tribals this year. Programmes such as Yuvaho, Darshini, Prerana, Sankalpam, Spoorthi, Janamytrri meetings, Giri Karshaka Mitra, Cheruva and Cheyuta helped bridge the gap between tribals and the police.

Police officials said that recruitment of cadre by Maoists has stopped in Andhra Pradesh and the red rebels have been limited to recruiting from their strongholds in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Maoists have failed to attract the youth with their age-old ideology and people have lost their faith in Maoists, they added

Many Maoist sympathisers surrender to police in Bhadrachalam Agency in 2020

Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy and Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt launching police firing range at Kothagudem of Bhadradri Kothagudem district. | Photo Credit: By Arrangement

P. SridharBHADRADRI-KOTHAGUDEM 29 DECEMBER 2020 19:30 IST

UPDATED: 29 DECEMBER 2020 19:30 IST

    

Two key Maoists were killed in ‘exchange of fire’ in the year that passed; police focus on improving infrastructure

As many as 39 Maoist militia and village committee members surrendered before the district police this year as against four Maoists, who gave themselves up before the police last year.

In May this year, six members of the Revolutionary People’s Committee (RPC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) from the interior Kurnapalli village turned themselves in before the Charla police.

A total of 33 militia and village committee members of the banned organisation surrendered before Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt in the district headquarters town of Kothagudem in November this year, police said. They hailed from two border villages Battinapalli and Kistarampadu in Charla mandal.

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They were allegedly involved in separate incidents of Maoist violence, including blasting of a road and torching of road construction equipment in the Agency mandal, police added. Police claimed that they quit the violent path “disillusioned” with the Maoist ideology.

Since September this year, as many as six Maoists were killed in five separate incidents of “exchange of fire” (EoFs) with the police in the district, police added.

Two key Maoists, including Dudi Devalu alias Shankar of the rank of the area committee member (ACM) and the Charla Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) commander Sodi Jogaiah, were among those killed in the “EoFs” in Gundala and Charla mandals in September this year.

Last year, two Maoists were killed in two separate “EoFs” in the district.

As many as 106 persons including Maoists, the alleged couriers and sympathisers of the banned outfit were arrested in various parts of the district this year.

The forest areas along the inter-district border with Chhattisgarh saw escalation of tension in the fag-end of the year following the renewed attempts by the Maoists to gain a foothold in the forested region of Bhadrachalam Agency and the stepped up anti-Maoist operations by the police.

In October, Maoists allegedly killed a villager from neighbouring Mulugu district identified as Eshwar by branding him as a “police informer” at Gorukonda in Charla mandal. The rebels also blasted a road at Pedamidisileru and set ablaze a road roller and a dozer at Battinapalli in Charla mandal in July this year.

The district police launched a poster campaign in the interior tribal pockets accusing Maoists of unleashing “mindless violence” and “obstructing” development in the remote tribal areas of the district.

The rebels too put up wall posters in the far flung areas of Bhadrachalam Agency condemning what they termed as “fake encounters” in Agency areas.

The inauguration of a firing range, battle obstacle and assault course (BOAC) track by Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy at the district police headquarters in Kothagudem over a week ago marked the Police department’s renewed focus on strengthening the anti-Maoist operations training infrastructure in the border district

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/many-maoist-sympathisers-surrender-to-police-in-bhadrachalam-agency-in-2020/article33446603.ece

Man Shot Dead By Maoists On Suspicion Of Being Police Informer: Chhattisgarh Cops

A police team was rushed to the spot and the body was sent for post-mortem, Rajnandgaon senior police official Jaiprakash Barhai said.

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PTI 

taUpdated : December 30, 2020 2:10 am IST

Senior police official says the police are probing all possible angles (Representationa

• 

Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh: 

A 30-year-old man was allegedly gunned down by Maoists on suspicion of being a police informer in an insurgency-hit area of Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, police said on Tuesday.

Mahesh Kachlame was found dead near Tumdikasa village under Manpur police station area, located around 170 km away from capital Raipur, on Tuesday morning, an official said.

A police team was rushed to the spot and the body was sent for post-mortem, Rajnandgaon senior police official Jaiprakash Barhai said.

The man's body bore bullet wounds and a Maoist pamphlet was recovered from the spot, in which he was accused of being a police informer, Mr Barhai said, ruling out the victim's association with the police.

Kachlame, a native of Aundhi area of the district, had been living in Manpur area.

"Although, prima facie it seems to be the handiwork of Maoists, the police are probing all possible angles," he added

Security forces in Jharkhand foil Maoist ambush, neutralize 22 IEDs

The bomb detection and disposal squad of the Jharkhand Jaguar, a special anti-Maoist force neutralized the IEDs that were laid in a series.

Updated: Dec 28, 2020, 19:57 IST

By Debashish Sarkar, HIndustan Times Jamshedpur

The IEDs were planted along a jungle track that used by both security forces and villagers. (HT PHOTO)

A joint team of district police and CRPF battalions and Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ), a special anti-Maoist police force foiled an ambush by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) extremists on Monday after they detected and neutralized 22 IEDs planted along a jungle track in Jharkhand’s in West Singhbhum district, police said.

“We had credible information that the CPI (Maoist) extremists had planted 22 IEDs in the jungles around Regarbera and Arahasa under Goilkera PS area. During the search a joint team of district police, CRPF Battalions 60 and 157 and JJ bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) detected 22 IEDs planted in a series connected with codex wire on Regarbera-Arahas jungle track, covering 120 meters of area. Each of the IEDs weighed 8-10 kg,” Ajay Linda, West Singhbhum superintendent of police (SP), said this evening.

The incident happened in the afternoon. The SP said this track was used by both the security forces and the local villagers.

“The Maoists had planted these IEDs to inflict serious damage and harm the security forces. It could have led to loss of lives of the innocent villagers as well. The JJ bomb detection and disposal squad recovered all the IEDs and defused and destroyed them at a safe location,” said Linda

https://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/security-forces-in-jharkhand-foil-maoist-ambush-neutralize-22-ieds/story-LPUnszO6FFPGBIrhHCSS5M_amp.html

Jharkhand: Maoist wanted for killing SP among six hardcore rebels arrested

Express News Service | Published: 28th December 2020 09:09 PM

  

For representational purposes

RANCHI: In a major achievement, a joint team of Jharkhand Police and CRPF arrested six Maoists including three rebels with a bounty of Rs 10 lakh each on their heads. 

According to Police, one of the arrested Maoists was also wanted for killing the then Pakur SP Amarjeet Balihar in an attack in 2013.

The arrested Maoists are Prashant Da alias Chutka Manjhi, Prabha Di alias Prabha Soren, Sudheer alias Sulaiman Kisku, Ranjeet Tudu, Chote Lal Hansda, and Ujjwal Ganjhu. Prashant Da, Prabha Di and Sudheer had a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on their heads.

Police sources informed that Sudheer was involved in the killing of SP Amarjeet Balihar and several other Maoist incidents in Santhal Pargana.

“The arrests were done during a search operation conducted in Banaso and Manjira villages under Pirtand police station in Giridih following a tip-off that some suspicious elements were spotted there,” said SP Amit Renu.

The SP further added that a huge cache of arms and ammunition have also been recovered on the basis of information provided by arrested Maoists.

There are 32 cases against Prashant and three against Prabha Soren. Sudhir Kisku has 23 cases registered against him

Telangana Police go all out to keep naxals at bay

Telangana, once considered a hotbed of naxal activity, has been relatively free of Left extremism in the past decade

   

By AuthorTelanganaToday  |  Published: 28th Dec 2020  11:31 pmUpdated: 29th Dec 2020  12:46 am

Kothagudem/Warangal/KBA: The Telangana Police did a commendable job in thwarting the efforts of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoists) from gaining a foothold in the State in 2020. Telangana, once considered a hotbed of naxal activity, has been relatively free of Left extremism in the past decade, and though there were apprehensions in some quarters about the Maoists resurfacing after Telangana achieved Statehood in 2014, the State police have successfully stopped them in their tracks.

At least 144 Maoists and their sympathisers and couriers were arrested during the year in the border districts of Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Bhupalpalli, Mulugu, Warangal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad. Responding to the State government’s appeal to the Maoists to return to the social mainstream with the promise of help in rehabilitation, 41 members of the party surrendered before the police in these districts, while 10 of them were killed in the exchange of fire with the police.

Kothagudem topped the list in arrests with 106 Maoists taken into custody followed by Warangal and Mulugu where 28 extremists were arrested. A total of 39 Maoists surrendered before the police in Kothagudem while in Warangal, top Maoist leader Gandrakoti Mallesham (35) and his wife Chintha Srilatha (34) surrendered before the Warangal police commissioner in March, 2020.

Kothagudem also accounted for the highest number of Maoists killings – six – in exchange of fire during the year followed by two each in Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Mulugu districts.

Bhadradri-Kothagudem Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt told Telangana Today that several senior ranked Maoists like Maoist militia commander Hemla Joga of Peddabodikal village in Sukma district, Manugur Area Committee local guerrilla squad (LGS) commander Madavi Mangalu alias Jilalu of Nendra Village in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state were among those arrested by the police in Kothagudem.

Besides the Maoists, the police have also been tracking common public aiding the Maoists. A sarpanch, Karam Kanna Rao of Tippapuram in Cherla mandal was arrested for working as the courier Maoists.

Telangana government has got the best rehabilitation policy for Maoists which led to the surrender of 39 Maoists during the year including the major surrender of 33 militia members and village committee members of the party, he said.

A reward of Rs 13 lakh offered by the State government was distributed to the surrendered Maoists to help them rebuild their lives. Besides, the police have also been extending all possible support to the surrendered Maoists to lead a normal life.

As aspired by DGP M Mahender Reddy, all measures required to make Bhadradri Kothagudem a Maoist-free district were being taken. Intensive combing operations were being conducted on Telangana-Chhattisgarh borders.

“We are always watchful. Modern technology combined with well-trained special party police are being deployed to track Maoists movements and to contain them”, Dutt said.

As many as six Maoists of different ranks were killed in exchange of fire with the police in the district this year. On September 3, the guard of top Maoist leader Haribhushan, Dudi Devalu alias Shakar (25) of Chhattisgarh was killed in Gundala mandal.

In Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, however, Mailarepu Adellu alias Bhaskar, state committee member and Varghese Koya or Mangulu, area committee member and three others managed to escape from the multiple police parties in July. The police were carrying out combing operations in Gundala area in Tiryani mandal, following specific inputs.

On June 29, extremists again had a close shave with policemen twice and disappeared from a spot where police parties had arrested a sympathizer for supplying food to the five at Nimmaguda village in Asifabad mandal.

The Maoists killed a fertiliser dealer Maduri Bheemeshwara Rao at Alubaka village of Venkatapuram (Nugur) mandal in Mulugu district branding him as a police informer, and two Maoists were killed in encounter in Mangapet forest in Mulugu district in October 2020

https://telanganatoday.com/telangana-police-go-all-out-to-keep-naxals-at-bay

Security forces recover consignment of weapons from naxal hideouts in Jharkhand

ANI | Updated: Dec 28, 2020 16:19 IST

Dumka (Jharkhand) [India], December 28 (ANI): Acting on the information obtained from two arrested Naxalites who were earlier active in the Santhal Pargana area of the state, Jharkhand Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have recovered a consignment of explosives and weapons from different Naxal-affected areas in Dumka district in a joint operation.
The arrested Naxalites have been identified as Prashant alias Suraj and Sudhir alias Suleman Kisku.
"CRPF, SSB and Jharkhand Police conducted a joint operation on the information received from both the arrested Naxalites," Santhal Pargana zone's Inspector General of Police Sudarshan Mandal informed the media at a press conference here.
The seized consignment includes 1 USA-manufactured rifle, 1000 detonators, 135 bullets of SLR, 50 bullets of INSAS rifles, 18 magazine chargers and other weapons, Mandal informed. (ANI)

Naxalite nail traps |

Naxalite nail traps   |India Today Insight

As security forces push deeper into Maoist strongholds, they have to deal with a new and deadly trap  

• • Sandeep Unnithan
• Delhi
• December 27, 2020
• UPDATED: December 27, 2020 22:51 IST

A CPRF jawan holds up a nail-studded wooden board in the Maoist-infested jungles of Chhattisgarh

Harmless looking wooden boards studded with long nails have been giving the CRPF serious cause for worry in the Maoist-infested jungles of Chhattisgarh. Over the past few months, several troopers have had their feet impaled by 3-4 inch long nails. The boards are buried in holes roughly a foot deep dug along jungle trails used by the Maoists in their jungle strongholds. Troopers stumbling into these traps find rusted nails slicing through the rubber soles of their light jungle shoes, and through muscle and ligaments of their feet.

“The wounds inflicted do not kill but spreads fear among the troopers, immobilises them and slows down operations,” says a source. The Indian Army has had experience of these ‘punji sticks’--sharpened bamboos or stakes concealed in holes and ditches--for decades. The CRPF, confronted with it more recently, simply call them spikes. Injuries are aggravated by the added weight of backpacks, and the arms and ammunition carried by the troopers. The exact number of such cases is not known but are believed to be in the hundreds over the past three years. A dozen such ambushes have been reported from the CRPF’s counter-guerrilla COBRA units over the past year.

The increase in these traps mirrors the surge in counter-Maoist operations launched by the security forces since 2017 in the core areas occupied by the extremists. On February 4, 2020, minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy told the Lok Sabha about the “sustained offensive intelligence-based operations that were being continuously executed” as part of Operation Prahar in the core Maoist areas of the Bastar range, southern Chhattisgarh, since 2017.

Close to 40 CRPF battalions have been engaged in counter-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh. Many of these battalions are operating near the core areas, regions believed to shelter the political and military leadership of the banned CPI (Maoist). IED ambushes are not unknown—one COBRA officer was killed and seven others injured in an IED attack on November 27 in Sukma. But these are few and far between. Nail board traps offer a far cheaper and plentiful solution for impeding the security forces.

Such traps shot to prominence during the Vietnam War (1955-75) where they were among the various non-explosive improvised booby traps and punjis planted by Vietcong guerrilla forces. India’s Maoists have woken up only recently to using such traps.

“The security forces should keep their eyes and ears open-- they should be moving along ridgelines and not on roads and jungle paths. Sniffer dogs can also be used for clearing tracks,” says Brigadier B.K. Ponwar (retired), director of the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker, Chhattisgarh.

Last December, the CRPF put out a challenge for indigenously developed ‘shoes against spikes’ on the startupindia.gov.in website run by the Department for Promotion of Trade and Internal Industry (DPIIT). The CRPF’s problem statement called for the development of terrain agnostic shoes to protect against hidden iron/ bamboo spikes causing fatal injuries to troops. The CRPF and Startup India shortlisted 16 start-ups to solve what it calls the ‘core challenges’ in the security sector. Besides the shoes against spikes, the CRPF has identified start-ups to provide solutions for medical kits to control blood loss and effective utilisation of drones. Different products from 10 companies were tested over the past year (shoes and inserts) but they failed the field trials. A Delhi-based start-up, Tactical Design Labs, has now passed field trials for the anti-spike shoes conducted by the CRPF and Chhattisgarh state police this December. An indigenous solution seems to be at hand

https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/naxalite-nail-traps-1753646-2020-12-27

COVID and intensified combing hit Maoists hard in AOB region

Greyhound constables of Andhra Pradesh Police at Jerrela, an interior tribal village in Visakhapatnam district, during their combing operation against Maoists. | Photo Credit: C_V_SUBRAHMANYAM

Sumit BhattacharjeeSUMIT BHATTACHARJEE 27 DECEMBER 2020 01:07 IST

UPDATED: 27 DECEMBER 2020 01:07 IST

    

They kill two tribals in the month to gain lost ground

The banned CPI (Maoist) in the Andhra-Odisha Border region has been facing a tough task to keep their movement afloat, as the COVID-19 pandemic and intensified combing by the security forces of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, have hit them hard.

During the initial days of the pandemic, they were forced to lie low and in April the Left Wing Extremists (LWE), even circulated a letter declaring an informal ceasefire.

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But this was violated by them, when in July during the Martyrs Week, they placed landmines near Chintalaveedhi village in Pedabayalu mandal, and two innocent tribals were killed, when they accidentally stepped on them.

On the other hand, joint operations, aided by intelligence sharing, by the security forces of A.P., Odisha and Chhattisgarh, have pushed them on the back foot.

As a result of the joint operations, security forces of Odisha and A.P. had gunned down about 18 Maoists, including a couple of ACM and DCM ranked leaders, in the cut-off region of AOB. Odisha alone contributed close to 16 hits.

Both A.P. and Odisha have gained considerable foothold in the AOB region by setting up a number of Company Operating Bases and Armed Outposts, as deep as Jantapayi and Gurasethu on the Odisha side of the cut-off area.

This has pushed them back to a small tract of land in the Gumma region on the Odisha side and a few villages in Pedabayalu mandal on the A.P. side, said a senior officer from AP-SIB.

Waning support

There is a feeling that the popular support base is waning in the AOB region, with tribals coming forward for development activities such as construction of roads, PHCs, school and mobile towers.

Tribals had come out openly in many villages such as in Vakapalli, Balapam and Busuputtu which were once Maoist strongholds, supporting the development agenda of the government. This practically dried up the recruitment base, and to gain some lost ground through the element of fear, the Maoists in this month killed two tribals, Gemmeli Krishna in Vakapalli and Chikkudu Satish in Chintagaruvu in Pedabayalu, after branding them as police informers.

To beef up their depleting cadre strength, they have been importing manpower from Chhattisgarh, which again has become a problematic affair for the leaders in the AOB. “It is learnt that the Chhattisgarh cadres are not able to adjust to the terrain and are facing cultural issues with the local tribals. There are issues over acceptance and many of the imported cadres are opting to go back,” said a senior officer engaged in anti-Maoist operations.

The Galikonda Area Committee, which has been suffering setbacks since last couple years, was hit further in this year with a number of surrenders and arrests of hardcore cadres and militia members. In total, there were about 104 surrenders and arrests, with majority of them from Galikonda area.

From a point of time, when the Maoists boasted of maintaining companies in AOB with over 30 cadres in each company, they are now left with a few platoons with 15-odd men in each, said Superintendent of Police, Visakhapatnam, B. Krishna Rao.

Another area of concern is lack of tribal leadership in the AOB region. After the deaths of tribal leaders such as Bakkuri Venkataramana, Kudumula Ravi and Jambri, who were worshipped as heroes, there has been a dearth of tribal leaders. Now it is left to Kakuri Pandana alias Jagan, Sudheer and Kora Nageswara Rao, who do not enjoy that status as the former

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/covid-and-intensified-combing-hit-maoists-hard-in-aob-region/article33427653.ece

80% of Maoist hotbed 'Swabhiman Anchal' under police cover: Odisha DGP

By Press Trust of India | Bhubaneswar | Last Updated at December 28 2020 06:40 IST

Topics Odisha  | Maoist | Naveen Patnaik

File photo of vehicles set ablaze by Maoists

Odisha Director General of

Police (DGP) Abhay on Sunday claimed that the state police has brought over 80 per cent area of Maoist hotbed 'Swabhiman Anchal' in Malkangiri district under police cover.

He said the police has neutralised 17 Maoist leaders and 34 red rebels have surrendered this year.

Abhay, while addressing the inaugural session of the 62nd Senior Police Officers' Conference in Cuttack, asked the police force to continue with their ongoing operations and to remain prepared for any situation as the nature of Left-wing Extremism keeps changing.

Due to the improvement in the situation, the state government has written to the Centre to keep the five districts of Angul, Boudh, Deogarh, Nayagarh and Sambalpur out of the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, he said.

Three company operating bases at Hantalguda, Jodambo and Gurasetu and a police station at Jodamba have been operationalised in Swabhiman Anchal after the inauguration of Gurupriya Setu, linking the cut-off area with the mainland.

The DGP said over 1,200 quintals of ganja and 34 kg of brown sugar have been seized this year and over 18,000 acres of illegal cannabis cultivation have been destroyed this year.

Praising the police personnel for performing their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said 47 policemen have laid down their lives in the line of duty and over 900 have donated plasma for the treatment of critical patients

After Giving Up Arms, We Saw Damage We Had Done': Chhattisgarh Maoists Rebuild School They Demolished

The school is situated in Masapara which is around 10 km from Dantewada and was demolished twice, in 2008 and 2015, by a group of Maoists inhabiting the area. It reportedly lay abandoned since then.

The Logical Indian Crew

Update: 2020-12-23 13:31 GMT

Writer : Palak Agrawal | Editor : Prateek Gautam | Creatives : Palak Agrawal

A school that was reduced to rubble by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district was seen teeming with fresh paints of yellow, pink and green— to welcome students. Interestingly, the premises were rebuilt by the guilt-ridden rebellers.

According to a report by The Times of India,  the school is situated in Masapara which is around 10 km from Dantewada and was demolished twice, in 2008 and 2015, by a group of Maoists inhabiting the area. It reportedly lay abandoned since then.

However, after surrendering, the Maoists took it upon themselves to repair the damage they had caused to society. As a first step symbolising their changed mindset, they repaired and painted the school building to ensure the children get access to education to improve their lives. The next undertaking is to rebuild roads to ensure connectivity.

"After giving up arms, we saw the damage we had done. But we were overwhelmed when we realised the villagers were with us in the plan to reconstruct the building," said Santu Kunjam, one of the surrendered Maoists.

An elated Kunjam also stated that they had received support from the district administration and toiled hard for three months for the reconstruction activities. He is thrilled to be able to send their children to schools.

" We felt there is a dire need for roads here. Children need education and youth need jobs. Steadily, all these developments will be done with our contribution," he added.

Describing the situation, Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallava said that a group of 18 members including women, from Bhansi and Kamaloor area committees, had surrendered on July 1 under the Lon Varratu ('Return Home') initiative. 

"They said they realise the need for educating their children. They admitted to razing this school building twice, and volunteered to rebuild it," said the officer.

Reports further added that this group of Maoists who had surrendered had destroyed railway tracks, damage roads and blown-up school building and bridges. Now, they have vowed and volunteered to rebuild them.

"We aim to give a better way of life to surrender Maoists and over 200 of them have given up arms under Lon Varratu campaign," said Dantewada collector Dipak Soni.

https://thelogicalindian.com/amp/education/chhattisgarh-maoist-rebuild-school-25642