Maoist Major Incidents 2012

January 2: Three top CPI-Maoist cadres identified as 'area commander' Kashi Kaul (28) of Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Guddu Singh alias Prasadji (30) of Chandauli District in UP and Santosh Yadav (28) of Garhwa District in Jharkhand, were killed and another injured Maoist identified as Sushil Choudhury, a resident of Madhukutia village under the Nauhatta Police Station area in Rohtas District, was arrested during the encounter with STF personnel assisted by CoBRA near Matiyaon village under Chutia Police Station in Rohtas District in Bihar. Police recovered one SLR, one looted Police rifle, one automatic semi-rifle, one 315 bore rifle, one walkie-talkie, several detonators and live cartridges from the encounter site.

January 5: Three constables of the Odisha Police were killed and as many injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast at Badarpanga village in the Kotagarh area in Kandhamal District in Odisha.

January 21: 13 troopers of VII battalion of JAP were killed when as many as 50 - 60 armed CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast and blew up an armoured vehicle, in a forest of Garhwa District in Jharkhand. The Maoists took away 11 INSAS rifles, one SLR and two AK 47 rifles from the Security Forces.

February 1: Three Policemen, including an ASI, were killed and five others got injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast near an under-construction diversion on National Highway-99 close to Balumath Police Station in Latehar District in Jharkhand.

February 10: Four BSF personnel, including a commandant were killed in an ambush by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Malkangiri District in Odisha. Two other BSF personnel and two officials of the Irrigation Department were also injured in the attack.

March 27: Twelve CRPF troopers belonging to the CRPF's 192nd Battalion were killed and 28 injured when suspected CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast at Pushtola village under Dhanora Police Station in Gadchiroli District in Maharashtra.

Assam

May 9: Four CPI-Maoist cadres, including Siddhartha Buragohain, the 'second-in-command' of the armed wing of the CPI-Maoist in the State, were killed and one Police commando got injured in an encounter at Deupani Borgura Mising Baskati gaon (Village) in Sadiya Sub-division in Tinsukia District. Two other Maoists managed to escape. The Police recovered two AK-47 rifles, an AK-57 rifle, three hand grenades, five mobile handsets, several SIM cards and a huge amount of ammunition from the encounter site.

Bihar

January 2: Three top CPI-Maoist cadres were killed and another got injured in an encounter with STF personnel assisted by CoBRA near Matiyaon village under Chutia Police Station in Rohtas District in Bihar. The recovered dead bodies of the slain Maoists were identified as 'area commander' Kashi Kaul (28) of Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Guddu Singh alias Prasadji (30) of Chandauli District in UP and Santosh Yadav (28) of Garhwa District in Jharkhand. The injured Maoist, identified as Sushil Choudhury, a resident of Madhukutia village under the Nauhatta Police Station area in Rohtas District, was arrested during the encounter. Police recovered one SLR, one looted Police rifle, one automatic semi-rifle, one 315 bore rifle, one walkie-talkie, several detonators and live cartridges from the encounter site.

Chhattisgarh

April 20: Three persons, including two BJP local leaders, were killed when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a powerful landmine blast on the convoy of BJP MLA Mahesh Gagda in Bijapur District in Chhattisgarh. The Maoists blew up one of the eight vehicles of the convoy in a forested area in Pegrapalli in the District resulting in the killing of Purshottam Thakur, the BJP District unit vice president, Mahesh Pujari, another key local BJP leader and Ashwani Sharma, the vehicle driver. One person is also reported to be seriously injured in the attack.

April 30: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed three villagers whom they had abducted a week back from Tadkoli village in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. The Maoists accused them of being Salwa Judum members.

May 13: Six CISF troopers and a civilian driver were killed near the NMDC iron ore mine at Kirandul town in Dantewada District in Chhattisgarh when Maoists attacked their vehicle. The Maoists decamped with five INSAS rifles and a Kalashnikov.

Jharkhand

January 21: As many as 50 - 60 armed CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast and blew up an armoured vehicle, killing 13 Police personnel on board in a forest of Garhwa District in Jharkhand. Led by OIC of Bhandaria Police Station Rajbali Chowdhary, troopers of VII battalion of JAP were accompanying local BDO Vasudev Prasad and Garhwa zilla parishad chairperson Shushma Mehta, who were on way to Bargarh village in separate cars to resolve a dispute over a health centre due to which villagers were observing a shutdown. Vasudev, whose vehicle was ahead of the armoured van carrying the Policemen, survived the attack. "Thirteen Policemen, including Officer-in Charge of Bhandaria Police Station, have died. The rebels took away 11 INSAS rifles, one SLR and two AK 47 rifles from the Security Forces," said State Police spokesperson and IG (Provision) RK Mallick. According to information as many as 50 - 60 armed Maoists were involved in the attack that lasted for nearly 30 minutes. CM Arjun Munda, who was in Gumla, said the Maoists attack was an act of cowardice. "They killed innocent Policemen by planning an ambush. So far reports of 13 deaths have been confirmed," he said.

February 1: Three Policemen, including an ASI, were killed and five others got injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast near an under-construction diversion on National Highway-99 close to Balumath Police Station in Latehar District in Jharkhand. The Policemen were going in two jeeps from Chandwa to Balumath, around 75 kilometres from Ranchi. Since it was dark and the Maoists continued to fire at regular intervals it was difficult for the SFs to launch a rescue operation. The condition of one of the injured is said to be serious.

Maharashtra

March 27: Twelve CRPF troopers belonging to the CRPF's 192nd Battalion were killed and 28 injured when suspected CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast at Pushtola village under Dhanora Police Station in Gadchiroli District in Maharashtra.

Odisha

January 5: Three constables of the Odisha Police were killed and as many injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast at Badarpanga village in the Kotagarh area in Kandhamal District in Odisha. The landmine went off when the team with two trained dogs was proceeding in a vehicle on Kotagarh-Srirampur road to the site of the blast that had taken place on January 4 in the area, State Home Secretary UN Behera said. The blast came on the second day of the two-day bandh called by the Maoists to protest the recent Police arrests and attacks on Maoists during Operation Saranda to flush them out of the forests on the Odisha-Jharkhand border. The deceased are identified as Sunasir Mohanty, Umakant Jani and Sangram Lenka. The three injured were identified as Noha Panda, Basanta Behera and Padmanav Dehuri.

February 10: Four personnel of the BSF including a commandant were killed in an ambush by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Malkangiri District in Odisha. Two other BSF personnel and two officials of the Irrigation Department were also injured in the attack, which came a day before the first phase polls of the panchayat elections. According to the District Police, the BSF personnel were on their way to Chitrakonda from the BSF camp at Balimela. They were travelling in a SUV to oversee security arrangements for the polls. At 1 p.m., their vehicle overturned in a landmine blast about nine kilometres from Balimela. No one was seriously injured or killed, but the personnel fell victim to indiscriminate firing by Maoists hiding in the nearby dense forest.