Chhattisgarh Timeline 2009

Date

Incidents

January 3

Five tribals were killed in separate attacks by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the forested stretches of Bijapur District. The dead bodies were found dumped on roadsides along the national highways connecting Bijapur-Bhopalpattanam and Bijapur-Geedam in the Dantewada District. "All the deceased are male and tribals. They were killed with sharp edged weapons," said Ankit Garg, Bijapur District Superintendent of Police (SP).

The Director General of Police (DGP), Vishwa Ranjan said that the State Government has planned to raise an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) by training 1,000 Policemen to tackle terrorists. "We have decided to convert State Police's third battalion into an ATS that will be purely used to tackle terror attacks," he said, adding, "The ATS commandos will be kept ready purely for anti-terror operations and to be employed in operations against Maoists only in emergency cases." The DGP also said that the ATS commandos, selected from Policemen below 30 years, will be given "tough training in a phased manner in the State, and then the central Government will be requested to arrange their highly specialised commando training".

The Para-military personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with the District Police force and Special Police Officers (SPOs) launched a combing operation in the District to track down the extremists.

The Chhattisgarh Governor, E. S. L. Narasimhan, said that the State Government would set up an ATS and also take a slew of other measures to strengthen the Security apparatus to effectively fight terror and the Maoist threat. Addressing the first session of the newly-elected State Legislative Assembly, he termed terrorism and left-wing extremism as the worst internal Security problems being faced by the country today. He also said the proposed ATS, which would consist of highly trained commandos, would be deployed at the State as well as the District headquarters. He also said the State Government had decided to convert a Chhattisgarh Armed Forces battalion into a Commando unit. Narasimhan said the Government would also establish Anti-Terrorist Control Rooms and Analysis Group at the State and District headquarters to compile, analyse and share information relating to terror elements with the Security Forces (SFs) of neighbouring States and Central agencies.

Reviewing the progress of the Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY, Prime Minister's Village Road Construction Scheme), the Minister for Panchayat (village-level self-Government institution) and Rural Development, Ram Vichar Netam, said in capital Raipur the State Government is facing difficulties in implementing the PMGSY in the CPI-Maoist affected areas, leading to delay in taking up construction of 441 roads in the State. "Construction of roads in remote Naxalite (left-wing extremist) areas has to be taken up on a priority basis. We will seek the help of Police and para-military personnel to provide Security cover, wherever necessary," Netam said. More than INR 3.09 billion has been earmarked for the construction of these 441 roads under the PMGSY in the Maoist affected areas but the work either did not begin, or had to be abandoned at some places following threat from the insurgents.

A passenger bus was set ablaze by cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Maddedu forests of Dantewada District. Maoists stopped the bus by barricading the road some 100 km away from the Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh border and forced the passengers to get down before setting it on fire. Maoists had earlier warned against operation of the inter-State bus service along the forest route.

Speaking in favour of the Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist vigilante movement) campaign, Chief Minister Raman Singh said the State Government would continue giving protection to tribals who were involved in the "anti-Maoist" movement in the State.

In two separate incidents, four persons, including three SPOs, were killed by the Maoists in Bijapur District. SP J.S. Watti said suspected left-wing extremists had killed three persons, including two SPOs, in Aramangi village and one SPO in the Belchar village. According to him, the CPI-Maoist cadres are increasingly targeting Policemen and SPOs in Bijapur District "out of desperation." He added "They are selectively killing Police and SPOs to create a reign of terror in the District as we have eliminated 11 hardcore Naxalites in recent months."

15 cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed and three SPOs were injured during an encounter in the forest areas of Gollapalli of Dantewada District. The encounter took place when the SFs opened fire on a group of armed Maoists during a search operation. "It's a big success. The Police are trying to capture several rebels alive who received bullet wounds in the gun battle and are attempting to run away under the cover of darkness," said Rahul Sharma, the District SP. The Police also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from the encounter site.

Another Maoist was shot dead by the Police in the Mankedi forest area of Bijapur District.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh, speaking on the vote of thanks on the Governor's speech in the State Legislative Assembly, said that Salwa Judum is the answer to get rid of the CPI-Maoist menace in the State. He further said that Salwa Judum began as the people of Bastar region wanted to stop Maoist atrocities and this movement would continue till the menace is eradicated.

A cadre belonging to the Jan Militia of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Nanda, committed suicide by hanging himself in the CRPF custody in Aranpur village of Dantewada District.

A Legislator of the opposition Congress party from the Konta constituency, Kawasi Lakhma, said that "since early 2005, neither Police nor Government officials nor I myself have dared to visit the 60 villages where insurgents have total monopoly. People's life in my segment is like hell they have nothing to eat. About 50,000 innocent tribals in my constituency alone have migrated to neighbouring Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh since June 2005 when the fight between Salwa Judum cadres and Maoists began. Due to fights between Salwa Judum cadres and the rebels, the local weekly market system, which was a lifeline for the entire Dantewada District, has almost become non-existent."

The DGP of Chhattisgarh, Vishawa Ranjan, said that commandos of the ATS of Chhattisgarh, which came into existence on January 10, will not only tackle terrorist attacks like those witnessed in Mumbai, but will also be employed for anti-Maoist insurgency operations during any emergency. He said, "ATS came into existence January 10. The ATS commandos are now ready to respond to any terror challenge at very short notice," adding, "tough training" will be provided by the State Government to the commandos in a phased manner. In addition, the central Government will be requested to provide their "highly specialised commando training". Commandos up to the age of 30 years will be employed in the ATS. "Anti-terrorist control rooms have also been set up in all the 18 Districts to deal with possible terror attacks and Maoists," said home department officials.

The CPI-Maoist has decided to strengthen the Maoist's influence in Maharashtra by merging of its Maharashtra operations with that of the larger and stronger Dandkarenya committee, active in Chhattisgarh, at a recent meeting in the jungles of Gadhchiroli District in Maharashtra. As of now, left-wing extremism in Maharashtra is confined to only 4-5 Districts, comprising of Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia and Gadhchiroli, and the Maoists did not pose much of a challenge to the State Police due to their limited operational capabilities. By the merger of Maharashtra operations with the more powerful Dandkaranya committee - which is successfully engaging counter-Naxal forces in south Chhattisgarh, including the Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and the Commando Battalions for Resolute Action battalion - the CPI-Maoist cadres hoped to carry over the operational successes in Dandkarenya to the adjoining Districts of Maharashtra. This would also further facilitate the inter-State operations of the Maoists.

The Chhattisgarh Police has discovered documents exposing the CPI-Maoist's latest strategy to identify and target Police informers in the villages and also hit at soft targets in a bid to lay traps for the Police.

Two Policemen were killed and a woman Police constable went missing after the CPI-Maoist cadres opened indiscriminate fire on a Police team in a thickly forested area of Pakhanjoor in the Kanker District. According to Police sources, the Maoists opened fire on six Policemen riding motorcycles in a hilly stretch killing a Policeman on the spot, while another succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. One woman Police constable went missing following the incident. Three other Policemen returned to a Police Station. The attack occurred almost an hour before the Forest Minister Vikram Usendi was scheduled to cross the area.

The Chhattisgarh Police has said the CPI-Maoist cadres are recruiting minor girls as part of a stepped-up drive to get members for the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh, a women's wing of the CPI-Maoist. "Maoist militants are now on a stepped-up drive to recruit minors, mainly female adolescents, because it's easier to brainwash them. The forced recruitment drive in the Bastar hinterland is now basically to fill up hundreds of slots vacated due to mass desertion of the CPI-Maoist cadres due to relentless Police pressure and exposure of the myth of Maoist ideology," Pawan Deo, a senior Special Intelligence Branch officer said. The Director General of Police, Vishwa Ranjan, stated that, "some 30 percent or 15,000 of a total of 50,000 armed rebels are female insurgents who actively participate in carrying out major strikes against civilians and Police forces."

Meanwhile, taking in view of the Government official's reluctance to join posting in the CPI-Maoist affected areas, the Chhattisgarh Government is considering a proposal to divide the State into three administrative zones for transfer and posting purposes and make three-year posting in each of them mandatory for all officers and employees. "Either you work in one zone now or three years later but you cannot escape transfer from one region to another after three-year period. People who have been posted in various places of the affected regions for long have grown weary of working in the tense situation and therefore their replacement and new posting in their place is a must for among other things the implementation of the scheme in a time-bound manner in Bastar region," said an unnamed Government source. The move is aimed at accelerating the development work in areas known for a strong Maoist presence like Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and other Districts, the report added.

More than 150 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze a bus after looting the passengers on board at Manikanta village in Dantewada District. "The Naxals asked the passengers to disembark the bus and looted valuables from them," said Rahul Sharma, the District SP. Before leaving, the Maoists broke the fuel tank of the vehicle and set it on fire. The Maoists also left a note saying the incident was in retaliation to the Police action against them in Singavaram on January 8, he added.

The Andhra Pradesh Police with the help of the Army and the Arunachal Pradesh Police arrested two commandants, who had deserted the Kondabaridi area committee of the Srikakulam Division of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Biddika Paintho and his wife Biddika Parvathi, from the Yankiyang area of Arunachal Pradesh on January 22. Paintho and Parvathi carried a head money of INR 300,000 and INR 200,000 respectively. Paintho was an offender in a series of 17 cases.

At least five CPI-Maoist cadres were shot dead by the Police during an encounter in the Bijapur District under Bastar Division. According to Police sources, a huge cache of arms and explosives was also recovered from the encounter site.

An abducted woman constable, identified as Kiran Usendi, was set free by the CPI-Maoist in the Pakhanjoor forest stretch of Kanker District. She went missing when the Maoists attacked a Police team in which two Policemen were killed on January 14.

More than 400 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist barged into a vehicle garage of a contractor, K.A. Papachand, and set ablaze 24 vehicles after threatening the workers of dire consequences if they raised any alarm at Kirandul in the Dantewada District.

More than 30 armed Maoists set ablaze four machines of a construction company engaged in road work between Bhanupratappur and Antagarh in the Kanker District. They also abducted the vehicle drivers but released them later.

Three abducted Policemen, identified as Lakhan Netam, Chandrasekhar Thakur and Ramprakahs Tiwari of Amabeda Police Station, were released by the CPI-Maoist in the Kanker District. The released Policemen said they were abducted when they had gone to Sode village under Amabeda Police Station to make telephone calls to their homes. The extremists also took their mobile handsets and two motor cycles. According to the Police, the Maoists had taken them deep into the forest, tied them to trees and threatened them to quit the Police service.

Over 4,500 kilograms of marijuana worth nearly INR 10 million and INR 46,000 were recovered from three people during a search operation conducted by the CRPF personnel in the Maoist infested Khammam District.

The chief of Badgaon village, identified as Lakhmaram Gaode, was abducted and later killed by cadres of the CPI-Maoist as they suspected him of being a Police informer in the Kanker District. Gaode, who was abducted on January 26, was found dead near Bhanupratappur Road, about seven kilometres from Badgaon.

The CPI-Maoist killed 241 people, including Policemen, in Chhattisgarh between January 1, 2008 and January 12, 2009, said the Home Minister of Chhattisgarh, Nankiram Kanwar, in a written reply to the State Legislative Assembly. Kanwar also said the Police killed 82 Maoists during the same period and arrested 164 insurgents besides 431 village level cadres called `Sangham members'.

While perusing the Action Taken Report filed by the Chhattisgarh Government, the Supreme Court said that the Government cannot arm common men or those associated with the Salwa Judum to curb violence perpetrated by the CPI-Maoist. "We do not underestimate the enormity of the problem (Naxalism). But State should not encourage the common man by arming them to fight Naxalites," a Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam observed. The Bench said, "...arming common men will create a dangerous situation... unless legal powers are vested, you can't arm people. Common men are under dilemma whether to support the Government or Naxalites." The Bench was of the view that instead of arming common men, the State Governments should properly utilise the funds granted to them under schemes sponsored by the Centre for the economic upliftment of the villagers and tribals.

As many as 400 COBRA personnel have reached a camp of the CRPF in the Masgaon of Bastar District on February 5 to join the anti-Naxalite operations. The rest of 657 personnel of the battalion are expected to be in Bastar by April 2009, official sources said. The Centre has agreed to provide two COBRA battalions to tackle the growing Maoist threat.

The State Government allocated INR 9.41 billion, a hike of 22 percent from the 2008 allocation, for the modernization of the Police force to tackle the threat posed by the CPI-Maoist. "The Government is committed to combat Maoist or Naxalite violence. The steep budgetary hike of 22 percent for the Police is made with special focus on security related infrastructure needs in the worst affected District of Bijapur and Dantewada," said Chef Minister Raman Singh after presenting the budget in the State Legislative Assembly. "Now the cops strength at each Police outpost will go up to 27 as against the earlier figure of just eight and at Police Stations the number will touch 65 as against the existing set up of 32," he added.

Addressing the State Legislative Assembly the State Home Minister, Nankuram Kanwar, said that about 480 people have been killed in 1,190 incidents of violence involving the CPI-Maoist between April 2007 and January 15, 2009 in Chhattisgarh. "277 civilians, 49 SPOs and 154 Policemen were killed in incidents of CPI-Maoist violence during the period," Kanwar said. During the current financial year till January 15, 2009, there had been 556 Maoist related violence in the State, in which 54 Policemen have been killed, he added. In a written reply to a question, he said there had been 450 incidents in Bijapur, 72 in Bastar, 174 in Narayanpur, 262 in Dantewada, 160 in Kanker, 29 in Rajnandgaon, 22 in Balrampur, six each in Raipur and Durg Districts, four in Surajpur, two in Koriya and one in Jashpur District.

A woman 'section commander' belonging to the Milita dalam of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Rame alias Ranjita, was arrested by the Police near a bus stop in the Dhanmtari District. She is wanted in several cases, including the attack on the Rani Bodli camp on March 15, 2007, in which 55 SF personnel were killed, besides the killing of SF personnel in Gadchairoli in Maharashtra and Kanker, Dantewada and Narayapur in the past. The Superintendent of Police of Dhanmtari, Neha Champawat, said. "Rame, who is the wife of Bandu Mandavi of Dornapal village in Dantewada District, had come for some medical treatment to Dhamtari.'' The Police also recovered a diary containing vital information about Maoist incidents and INR 1000 from her possession.

Chief Minister Raman Singh has asked the Maoists to shun the path of violence and come forward for talks. "The channel of talks was never shut. We have been asking Naxalites to shun the path of violence and come forward for talks. Now, as there was a reported talk offer by them, the Government is ready to reciprocate," Singh said, adding, "I have no objection to anybody mediating in the talks. It will be the Government officials, may be the Director General of Police who could represent the Government at the initial level of talk, if at all it happens, so that we could measure the real intention of the Naxalites. If anything positive comes out from this, then the political class would be involved in the talk."

Around 20 armed CPI-Maoist cadres in an attempt to block communication between villagers and Police looted the BSNL cellular and WLL phones from residents of Churhatpat village under Samri Police Station in the Balrampur District. Two villagers, identified as Sagar Yadav and Bandhan Ram, were assaulted for having given land to the BSNL to erect mobile towers. The land owners were asked to take their land back from the BSNL, Police said. Subsequently, the Maoists set ablaze the BSNL generator by using the diesel in its fuel tank at Sabagh village nearby.

The Police arrested two persons, identified as Bhola Bagh and his wife Ruchi alias Sunita, for their involvement in the CPI-Maoist related activities from Bhilai in the Durg District. According to Police sources, the couple was involved in several Maoist related activities in the State, including providing shelter to Maoists in their residence at Maroda in Bhilai. The Police were searching for them ever since an arrested CPI-Maoist cadre, Rama, had given vital information about the logistic support she had got in Bhilai.

Three CRPF personnel were killed and nine others injured in an ambush carried out by the CPI-Maoist cadres when the CRPF team was patrolling at village Mankapal under Koilibeda Police Station in the Kanker District. The Maoists first detonated a powerful landmine targeting the Security Forces who narrowly managed to escape the blast. Subsequently, the Maoists opened indiscriminate fire targeting the CRPF personnel killing three of them while injuring nine others.

Seven CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested by the Security Force personnel when they were on their way to the famous local festival Mauli Mela in the Narayanpur District. "During the interrogation, they admitted to their involvement in several encounters and bombing incidents in the District, following which they were formally arrested today," said Superintendent of Police of Narayanpur District Amresh Mishra.

In two separate incidents, the Police arrested seven CPI-Maoist cadres in the Kanker District. While four Maoists, carrying a head money of INR 5000 each, identified as Kanglu, Sukalu, Satte and Kunjuram, were arrested at Koylibeda, three others, Sadhuram, Binsar and Khemraj, were arrested from Antagad.

In the wake of Maoists attacking a railway Station in the neighboring Orissa and the 24-hour general shutdown call by the CPI-Maoist in five States, the Chhattisgarh Government has stepped up security arrangements within the State. Security at Chhattisgarh's borders with Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand has been tightened while additional forces have been deployed in railway lines, border and railway Police Stations, said the Deputy Inspector General Pavan Dev.

Police arrested a CPI-Maoist 'area commander', identified as Krishna Singh Khairwar, while many others managed to escape during a search operation in the Balrampur District. The arrested extremist was involved in several cases, including an attempt to kill an Inspector General of Police of Sarguja range, B. S. Maravi, in which he was seriously injured. Two locally made pistols and cartridges were also recovered from the arrested Maoist.

Two women cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed and another was arrested by the Police during an encounter at Badgai village in the Bastar District. Police also recovered some unspecified number of arms and ammunition from the encounter site.

One person, identified as Pradeep Amla, a Government school teacher, was killed when cadres of the CPI-Maoist opened indiscriminate fire on a passenger bus in the Bijapur District. Two others persons were injured in the incident.

A Special Police Officer, identified as Ramaram Mincham, who was living in a Salwa Judum camp along with his family members for safety reasons, was stabbed to death by CPI-Maoist cadres at a weekly market in Chindawar village in the Dantewada District.

Five tons of explosives and ammunition, including 17,500 rounds of rifle ammunition and 1550 bullets, was recovered by the Police from a truck during a search operation at a check post on the Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand border in Jashpur District. The Police suspect the explosives were meant for the CPI-Maoist which is planning to disrupt the Parliament elections in the State.

A class nine student, identified as Surju Nareti, son of a Special Police Officer who was killed in 2008, was shot at and then stabbed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the presence of teachers and fellow students in the forested interiors of Koyalibeda in the Kanker District. The Maoists suspected him to be a Police informer. "Nareti was surrounded by three Maoists clad in civil dress when he completed his exam and came out of the school complex. Fearing for his life, he ran back into the school and the Maoists chased him and shot him dead," said Ajay Yadav, the District Superintendent of Police.

Police identified 33 villages on the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border as being highly Maoist-affected and consequently needing special attention during the forthcoming election. The decision was taken in a co-ordination meeting of the Superintendent of Police of the Maoist affected Districts of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh at Kothagudem in the Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh. While, 20 of the villages were identified in Khammam District, 13 others were in the Dantewada and Bijapur Districts of Chhattisgarh.

The CPI-Maoist cadres abducted and later killed four tribals, suspecting them as Police informers, in the Bijapur District. "The rebels had abducted four men, all aged around 30, late Sunday from Tarlaguda village. Their bodies were recovered on Monday from a hilly area," said Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg.

A constable, identified as Ashwani Kumar, was killed and two other Policemen were injured in an hour-long encounter which followed a bomb blast by the CPI-Maoist cadres during a combing operation in a forested stretch of Narayanpur District. According to Police sources, the encounter occurred in the early morning when a 75-member Police squad was on its way to neutralise a Maoist hideout. "Armed guerrillas carried out a flash attack, but the search squad retaliated immediately. The guerrillas had to run for cover in the nearby forests," said Pawan Deo, the Deputy Inspector General of Police.

The CPI-Maoist cadres abducted four persons from Bhupalapatnam village in the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, took them into the forest between Dharma Tallagudem and Bhupalapatnam, and subsequently crossed the inter-State border to enter Chhattisgarh, where, after branding them as Police informers, the Maoists killed them. The victims were identified as Jangam Jagdish, A. Srinu, Kurasam Sudhakar and P. Rajasekhar of Dharma Tallagudem in the Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh. According to Police sources, the youth had gone to Bhupalapatnam, close to the border of Chhattisgarh, and were captured by the Maoists on their way back late in the evening.

An encounter took place between the CRPF personnel and the CPI-Maoist cadres when the Maoists attacked a CRPF convoy on the National Highway 221 in Dantewada District. "Militants opened fire on the convoy and CRPF personnel retaliated. No casualty was reported from any side," said the DIG of Police Pawan Deo. The District Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said that the CRPF DIG Sahi, who was leading the convoy, and some 40 of his colleagues escaped unhurt in the attack.

The CPI-Maoist cadres are planning to target important political figures during the coming Parliamentary election in Chhattisgarh in April, media reports indicated.

Police recovered a 70-kilogram landmine buried in between the Chintagufa and Pollampalli forested stretch in Dantewada District, just before a contingent of the para-military Central Reserve Police Force and the Chhattisgarh Police was to cross the area.

Three motorcycle-borne CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a Salwa Judum activist, Chhannu Karma, outside Dantewada town. He was the nephew of senior Congress party leader Mahendra Karma, who launched the Salwa Judum movement. Chhannu was attacked when he was on his way to the town riding a motorcycle.

A woman commander of the CPI-Maoist was killed in an encounter when a joint party of the CRPF and the Police neutralized a Maoist hideout during a search operation in the Narayanpur District. An unspecified number of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the hideout.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a bullet-proof Police van by detonating a landmine, killing two Policemen and injuring five others in the Bijapur District. However, the District Superintendent of Police, Ankit Garg, escaped unhurt as his vehicle crossed the site minutes before the blast. "Rebels had targeted the District Police chief, but missed," said Pawan Deo, the Deputy Inspector General of Police. According to Deo, Police personnel led by Garg were on en route to Bhopalapatnam in the Bastar District for a search operation when they were ambushed while passing through a mountain pass, some five kilometres from the Bijapur District headquarters. While a constable Nand Kishore Sori died on the spot, another constable, Nohruram Netam, succumbed to injuries on the way to a hospital in Bijapur.

A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an exchange of fire with the Police in the Narayanpur District. The incident occurred in the Kodenar jungle area after Maoists opened fire targeting a Police patrol party, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pavan Dev, told. Three 'tiffin bombs', a hand grenade, a detonator and a pistol was recovered from the incident site, the District Superintendent of Police Amresh Kumar said.

10 CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant, and three suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an encounter near Minta village under Chintagufa Police Station in Dantewada District. Deputy Commandant Diwakar Tiwari, a sub-inspector, four head constables and four constables were killed in the encounter, while 11 others, including an Assistant Commandant, were injured, an unnamed CRPF officer said in New Delhi. The incident occurred in the forests of Kotampalli when troops of the 55th battalion of the CRPF, who were on a patrol in the area, walked into an ambush set by the CPI-Maoist leading to a gun battle. One AK-47 rifle and a few wireless sets were also recovered from the encounter site. Times of India adds that the two-hour encounter started around 1 pm when the CRPF personnel were returning to their camps in two batches after a routine patrol, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (anti-Naxalite operations) Pawan Deo.

10 persons, including six CPI-Maoist cadres and two SF personnel, were killed in three separate incidents. Four people, including one CRPF personnel and one Police personnel, were killed and another injured in a landmine explosion triggered by the CPI-Maoist when a joint patrolling team of CRPF and local Police was on clearance duty for the elections near the National Highway-16 at Gorla Nala area of Bijapur District. The patrolling team was on its way from Maded Police Station to Bhopalpatnam in the District when the incident occurred. The victims were identified as Mohammad Hussain, a constable belonging to the 170th battalion of the CRPF, Dontay Nag of the local Police and a civilian Kurtam Shankar. However, the identity of the fourth victim has not been ascertained.

Three Maoists were killed in an encounter during a search operation by the Police in the forests of Hiroli in the Dantewada District. The encounter occurred when the CPI-Maoist cadres started firing at the Police team.

The 65^th battalion of the CRPF personnel killed three Maoists in a two hour long encounter in the Sarandi area of Kanker District. 11 weapons, including assault guns, were recovered from their possession.

CRPF claimed to have killed nearly 30 CPI-Maoist cadres during the April 10 encounter in which 10 CRPF personnel were killed in the Dantewada District. According to the CRPF official sources, the assessment on the CPI-Maoist cadres killed based on what the personnel saw during the operation and the drag marks in the forests. "Our team on the ground in Dantewada informed the Director General A S Gill that more than 30 Naxals were killed in the encounter that took place on Friday. Though only three bodies were recovered, the rest were dragged back into the forests by the Naxals," said CRPF spokesperson Ajay Chaturvedi in NewDelhi.

Five SF personnel were injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast targeting the bus on which the SF personnel were traveling on a poll duty near Bhusa Ghati under Gadiras Police Station in Dantewada District. The Maoists fled from the spot when the SFs opened retaliatory fire, said Deputy Inspector General (Naxal) Pawan Dev.

Five poll officials, including a zonal officer identified as A.K. Acharya, were killed and many others injured when CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a van ferrying election officials by triggering a landmine blast at Phulwera village in the Rajnandgaon District, said Additional Director General Police Girdhari Nayak.

Two CRPF personnel were killed and five others injured when the Maoists attacked a polling Station in the Marocci area of Bastar District.

In two separate incidents, armed CPI-Maoist cadres attacked polling booths by triggering improvised explosive device (IED) blasts and exchanging fire with the Security Forces in the Dantewada and Narainpur Districts. The attacks took place at Maroki, Mangnar and Jangampal in Dantewada District and in Nernar, Sonapal and Karmari in the Narainpur District. The Superintendent of Police in Dantewada, Rahul Sharma, said the CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire at two polling booths - Marokhi and Mangnar in Maoist-hit Dantewada Parliamentary constituency. In Narainpur District, the Maoists exploded IEDs in Sonapal and Kokaneta regions but there was no danger to the polling officials, said Narainpur Superintendent of Police Ambresh Mishra. Parliamentary elections are being held in the State.

Maoist also attacked polling Stations in Nernar, Sonapal and Karmari areas of Narainpur District. However, no casualties were reported. Girdhari Nayak said the Maoists carried out blasts at nearly a dozen places while 12 landmines were recovered by the Security Forces.

Around 51 percent of the electorate in Chhattisgarh exercised their franchise for the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) elections on April 16 despite widespread Maoist violence. There are 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Chhattisgarh. Electoral Officer S. K. Kujur said Durg, Korba and Raigarh recorded the highest average of 55% each, followed by Bilaspur (53%), Rajnandgaon (52%), Mahasamund (51%) and Jangir (50%). Bastar, the worst hit by Maoists, recorded 46%. Surguja, which too faces Red threat, recorded the lowest turnout at 45%. Only 47% voters turned up in capital Raipur.

The Chhattisgarh Government announced the extension of a ban on the CPI-Maoist and its six frontal organisations for one more year, under sub-section one of section three of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. In a notification issued by the Home Department, the ban on the CPI-Maoist and its six affiliates - the Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Balak Sangh, Krantikari Kisan Committee, Mahila Mukti Manch and Janathana Sarkar - was extended till April 12, 2010. The CPI-Maoist was first banned in the State in April 2006.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up an electricity supply tower at Bodli village in the Bijapur District, 550 kilometres south of State capital Raipur. As the supply was disrupted after the tower collapsed, more than 700 villages in the area were plunged into darkness. Bijapur Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg said, "The damage was not serious and hence, the power company officials managed to erect it in the day."

Two CRPF personnel were injured in a landmine explosion carried out by CPI-Maoist in the Dantewada District. The CRPF personnel were travelling from Palner village towards Kuwangkoda in a Police convoy when the blast occurred. The Maoists subsequently opened fire on the convoy. Police managed to arrest four Maoists while they were escaping in the nearby forest areas.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed Darbar Singh Mandawi, a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at an unspecified location in Rajnandgaon District.

11 persons, including four civilians and seven SF personnel, were killed in an ambush by the suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist on a special Police party. The incident occurred three kilometres from the Vinjaram base camp in the Dantewada District. The killed SF personnel included five SPOs and two CRPF personnel. The Maoists managed to flee with the weapons of the dead SF personnel. The Police party was on its way back after delivering a consignment of monthly ration at a Police camp at Bhejji, when the Maoists triggered a land mine blast.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed a Police officer at Pharsgaon village in Narayanpur District of the southern Bastar region. The Police officer Abdul Wahid Khan, in charge of the Pharasgaon Police Station had gone to the weekly market when the Maoists hit him with a heavy stick from behind and then slit his throat, Police sources said.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed four persons, including two SPO, at a forested hamlet near Pharsegarh in the Bijapur District. According to the report, the extremists opened fire on workers engaged in constructing a road and the Police team that was escorting them. Two other SPOs were injured in the attack. Maoists set ablaze four vehicles engaged for the construction work before leaving.

A Policeman was killed and two others, including a SPO, were injured in a landmine explosion near Kandhari village in the Narayanpur District. The Policemen were on a regular patrol in the area when the explosion took place killing Special Task Force trooper Alam Dharmaiya.

The Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar has ruled out negotiations with the left-wing extremists. Speaking to Press Trust of India in State capital Raipur, he said, "When Naxals had offered to hold a dialogue with the State Government, we had said that if they stop the attacks we can think about having the parleys. But the Naxals continued with their attacks. Violence and talks cannot go hand-in-hand." "Naxalism is not just troubling Chhattisgarh but it is a national problem and the rebels should hold talks with the Centre", he added.

12 Policemen and a civilian were killed and six persons sustained injuries after 150 heavily armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist ambushed a 41-member Police force in hillside Risgaon village of Dhamtari District. The Policemen were part of the Kanker District Force search convoy and were travelling in three vehicles. Girdhari Nayak, the Additional Director General of Police, said, "The heavily armed rebels first triggered multiple (landmine) blasts and then opened indiscriminate fire from hilltops on SF personnel. Ten constables, one hawaldar, one SPO and a civilian, who was the driver of one of the vehicles, were killed." He further said local Police authorities were unsure whether the Maoists had walked away with arms of the slain Policemen. This was the first ever attack by the Maoists in Dhamtari District.

A Police constable, identified as Laxmi Narayan Dhurv, was killed and another injured when Maoists opened fire at a helicopter and at the Security Forces who were guarding the helipad at Kistaram village in Dantewada District. However, the pilot managed to take off the helicopter from the incident site.

11 persons, including eight CPI-Maoist cadres and three SPOs, were killed in an encounter during a search operation at Neelamdagu village in the Kistaram forest area of Dantewada District.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres abducted an unarmed CRPF trooper who was travelling in a bus along with six other colleagues near Manikonta in Dantewada District. Although some sources in Chhattisgarh said three CRPF personnel had been kidnapped, CRPF officials have denied this. "It isn't correct that three of them have been abducted. Only one jawan was kidnapped. We are trying to secure his release," said the CRPF Director General A.S. Gill.

The two day bandh called by the CPI-Maoist affected normal life in the interiors and brought transportation of iron ore to a halt in the Bastar region on May 20, Police said. Maoists have reportedly put heavy wooden logs on the National Highway 221 in Dantewada District and National Highway 16 in Bijapur District and the various State highways. The railway authorities have cancelled for three days the goods train that transports iron ore from the National Mineral Development Corporation's Bailadilla mines in Dantewada District to Visakhapatnam in the State of Andhra Pradesh. "Security in all vulnerable areas, mostly the Government facilities, and Police posts in forests have been beefed up,' said Pawan Deo, DIG, adding, "We are taking all precautionary measures to deal with the strike but it has affected life in Bastar and road and rail traffic are the worst-hit."

A CRPF constable belonging to the 85th battalion, identified as T. Rajendra, who was abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres from Dantewada on May 16, was set free.

Chhattisgarh Government has asked for a financial assistance of nearly INR 160 billion from the Finance Commission to fight the insurgency and work for the development of the State. The demand was made by Chief Minister Raman Singh at a meeting with the Chairman of the 13th Finance Commission, Dr Vijay Kelkar. Raising the issue of Maoist insurgency prevalent across the State, the Chief Minister said there is a need for more Police Stations in the affected areas. More barracks are needed for the safety of Police personnel on duty, Singh said and demanded grants for fighting the insurgency.

Mahesh Gagda, a Member of Legislative Assembly from the Maoist-affected Bijapur constituency, has alleged that Maoists are forcibly taking away children from villages and using them as human shields against Security Forces. "Maoists are forcibly picking up boys and girls from their houses and schools in the interiors to use them as shields in the war against (security) forces," said Gagda. He also said "Maoists have completely halted development in about 100 villages out of 272 villages that form Bijapur constituency. Kids in Bijapur are carrying arms, even AK-47s. Maoists deliberately put arms on children's body and then cover these with a school dress or other simple clothes to dodge Police security and frisking. Maoist leaders always keep armed kids around themselves and whenever they want to kill anyone, they use the weapon being carried by the kid," adding "The Maoist menace has reached its flashpoint in Bijapur. They are forcibly recruiting boys and girls in their rank and file and generally girls are also sexually exploited."

The Supreme Court granted bail to Binayak Sen, vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, who has been in detention since May 2007 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his reported association with the left-wing extremist movement in Chhattisgarh. A vacation Bench consisting of Justices Markandey Katju and Deepak Verma ordered Sen's release on bail on his furnishing a personal bond to the satisfaction of the court.

Police arrested 10 suspected CPI-Maoist cadres at village Risgaon in Dhamtari District for their alleged role in an ambush on a Police team on May 10, in which 12 Policemen and a civilian were killed. "The insurgents, mostly active members of the village committee of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), were arrested for their role in killing of Policemen early this month," said District SP Neha Champawat. She also said that Police recovered Maoist literature from the suspects' houses during the search operation.

A 'commander' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Mukesh alias Ramesh Baruar, was killed in an encounter during a search operation by the Police at Traka village in Sarguja District. Mukesh, who was carrying a head money of INR 25,000, was wanted in over 20 criminal cases. Police recovered a 315 bore rifle and 17 live cartridges from the encounter site. Police said three associates of Mukesh, however, managed to escape into the forest.

To provide specialised training to Security Forces to check the CPI-Maoist violence, the Union Government planned to set up two counter-insurgency and jungle warfare training institutes in the State. "I have discussed with the Home Minister the issue of setting up of two jungle warfare training institutes in our State," Raman Singh told reporters after a meeting with the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi. The State already has one such institute at Kanker which imparts specialised training to personnel of the State Police forces as well as paramilitary forces dealing with the Maoists.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a father and son duo, identified as Kamruddin and his son, who were abducted on June 1 suspecting them of being Police informers in Basaguda area in Bijapur District.

Maoists killed a former headman of Hirapur village of the same District, identified as Punem Hunga, who was abducted on June 2. Meanwhile, whereabouts of another individual, identified as Jhari Nagesh, a panchayat (village level local self-Government institution) secretary of Mallepalli village who was abducted along with Hunga, has not been ascertained.

A civilian, identified as Kunjam Balram, was killed by Maoists in Garel village in the same District.

CPI-Maoist cadres, in the guise of locals, attacked the villagers who had gathered at the weekly market in Benur in Naryanpur District and killed Sub-Inspector J. L. Lakhda deployed there.

A group of 12 Maoists killed a Special Police Officer, identified as Rajman, in Madpnar village in the same District by slitting his throat.

The State Government plans to use cultural programmes, i.e. songs, street plays and other media, to make villagers aware of the development works being undertaken by the State and the role of the left-wing extremists in derailing such projects. The Social Welfare Department personnel will travel from village to village and make the people aware of the Government's projects and also about "who are proving as obstacles to development," unnamed officials said.

Around a dozen armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist picked up two brothers, identified as Sundru and Mangauram, from Padbeda village in Kanker District in the night of June 7 and beat them to death suspecting them to be Police informers. The Police recovered their dead bodies in the night of June 8.

A constable of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was killed and seven Policemen, including an Assistant Commandant of the CRPF, were injured in two separate attacks by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Bastar region. Constable Santosh Verma was killed early in the morning when Maoists opened indiscriminate fire at the CAF camp at Dhanora in Narayanpur District. CRPF Assistant Commander P Singh, two head constables and three Special Police Officers were injured when Maoists ambushed a CRPF party at Pavnar village in Bijapur District at around 10 am, leading to an encounter between the two sides.

Nine CRPF personnel were injured in a landmine explosion triggered by the Maoists in Bijapur District. The incident took place when the Maoists blew up a Police vehicle carrying the CRPF personnel near Bijapur valley, 450 kilometres from the State capital Bijapur, the District Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg said.

An Assistant Commandant of the CRPF, Rajpal Singh, was killed and five other CRPF personnel were injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a Police patrolling team in the forests of Karchuli village of Bijapur District. Rajpal Singh succumbed to injuries en route to the hospital, Deputy Director General (Naxal operations) Pawan Dev said.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in separate encounters with Security Forces in the Bastar region, Police said. Officials at the Police headquarters said that two Maoists were killed in a brief gun-battle in Dantewada District's Jagargunda forested stretch, while another Maoist was shot dead in Bijapur District's Jungla locality.

CPI-Maoist cadres, who had abducted two personnel of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF), Ram Bhuwan Patel and Dhanjay Verma, from a hilly stretch in Bijapur District on June 17, killed them and dumped the bodies on a roadside in a forested area. Police said the victims' throats were slit with sharp edged weapons.

Maoists killed a man, Vimal Meshram, in a busy weekly market near Lohandiguda village in Bastar District for his support of a mega Tata Steel project. Meshram, an influential tribal leader, was the president of Lohandiguda janpad panchayat (village council).

12 CRPF personnel were killed in the landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Tonagapal in Dantewada District in the evening. About a dozen CRPF troopers sustained multiple injuries in the incident. The attack was meticulously planned, as the CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a few trucks of a private contractor in Tongpal village, about 100 kilometers from Dantewada in the same morning. The CRPF personnel along with State Police personnel left for Tongpal. After patrolling the area, the Security Force (SF) personnel were returning to Dantewada when they were trapped into the Maoist ambush near Kokanara village in the evening. The Maoists allowed jeeps to pass and targeted the mini-truck, carrying 20 SF personnel, which was last on the row to inflict maximum casualty. The Maoists also opened fire at the ambushed patrol, but the troopers instantly retaliated, killing seven insurgents. The bodies of seven insurgents were recovered.

The Maoists shot dead a senior divisional officer of the State Government in Bijapur District after he was abducted, an official statement said. The bullet-ridden body of M.D. Gandhi, a sub-divisional officer with the water resource department, was found in a forested area in the District, the statement said. Gandhi was adducted at gun point by the Maoists on June 20 when he was en route to Bhopalpatnam area on a motorcycle.

The State Police recovered about 270 cartridges from a pond in the Charoda village of Durg District. "The cartridges are of 12 and 315 bore rifles, which are largely used by Maoists," the Durg District Superintendent of Police Deepanshu Kabra said.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a Salwa Judam (an anti-Maoist vigilante group) activist, identified as Somulu, when he was on his way home from a CRPF camp near Pinkoda village in Bijapur District.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed Pando Bhima, an activist of the Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist vigilante group), in Dantewada District. Pando Bhima, who lived at a relief camp in Dornapal village, was killed while he was going to his village in the forest interiors, some 4 kilometers away from the camp, Police said.

Six Maoists were arrested from a forested stretch in Narayanpur District when a joint team of the District Police and the Special Task Force encircled a meeting venue of the Maoists, Deputy Inspector General of Police Pawan Deo said. Police recovered two guns, six detonators, a huge stock of wires being used in making landmines and some Maoist uniforms.

Two cadres of the CPI-Maoist were shot dead in an encounter with the Police in Narayanpur District. "Two Naxalites including their commander Jairam were killed in an encounter near Chinari village of Narayanpur District," the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pawan Dev, said. He added that pipe bombs, weapons, and detonators were recovered from the slain Maoists.

A 'commander' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Rajdev alias Chattan Singh, committed suicide by consuming poison in his house at his native village Manpur in the Surguja District.

Two persons, including a serving Special Police Officer (SPO), were killed by cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Bijapur District. "Mukesh Kudiyam, serving Special Police Officer and former SPO Suresh Chapdi were killed by the Naxals with a sharp-edged weapon at Usoor village in the District," the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pawan Dev, said. Kudiyam of Usoor Police Station went to Chapdi''s house when the extremists attacked them and slit their throat with a sharp-edged weapon, Dev added.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed 30 Police personnel, including a Superintendent of Police (SP), in two incidents in the Rajnandgaon District. An encounter in a third place, Sitagaon, was still going on. While the bodies of 36 Police personnel, including that of SP Vinod Kumar Chaubey have been found, the Security Forces' toll could rise once search operations resume. ''There was heavy firing on the Police party,'' said Inspector General of Police Mukesh Gupta. ''The firing occurred in two phases. First, they killed Policemen in a senior Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Kerkatta village and then, they targeted the SP when he arrived with reinforcements. We are finding bodies everywhere. The more we look, the more bodies we see." Rajnandgaon (Kawardha), which happens to be Chief Minister Raman Singh's Legislative Assembly constituency, is 68 kilometers from Raipur, the State capital.

The Union Government is reported to have rushed additional troops to Rajnandgaon. "A battalion strength (around 1,000 men) of the force is being sent to the spot to begin combing operations and sanitise the area. Six companies (comprising 600 men) have been sent initially," a senior CRPF officer said.

In a bid to counter Left-wing extremism in an effective manner, the Chhattisgarh Government has appointed senior Police officer Ramnivas as the Additional Inspector General of Police (Naxal Operations), official sources said. The Government created this new post after the Maoist attack in Rajnandgaon.

29 Policemen have been suspended in Chhattisgarh for refusing jungle warfare training, an official said. The suspended Policemen - all constables - were posted in Janjgir-Champa District and had been ordered to go for training at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker District.

Five CRPF personnel, including a SI, were killed and three others injured in a landmine explosion triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Dantewada District, Police said. "The incident occurred when the CRPF jawans were returning to Barsur village from routine patrolling during the weekly market at Geedam village," the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pawan Dev, told PTI. The Maoists blew up the Police van in which the troopers were travelling, he added. Of the five killed, one is a Sub-Inspector (SI) and the rest are Constables. While two of the victims were identified as SI Naresh Kumar Yadav and Constable Jayant Rai, the remaining constables are yet to be identified, Dev added.

Over 26 Policemen escaped any untoward incident when they got off a truck carrying their belongings and weekly ration before the CPI-Maoist cadres intercepted it at Polampalli village near Konta in the Dantewada District.

The Maoists were reportedly felling trees in some areas of Bastar and digging up roads in the Rajnandgaon District.

Indian Express reports that the death toll in the July 26 landmine attack triggered by the CPI-Maoist in the Dantewada District has risen to six with one more constable succumbing to injuries on July 27, Police said.

Heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres fired several rounds on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post in the Bastar region in the night of July 29, Police sources said. The Maoists fired several rounds twice at the checkpost at Keshkutul village under Bhairamgarh locality in the Bijapur District at around 9pm. The CRPF personnel returned fire. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

Two persons, including a Special Police Officer (SPO), were killed in attacks by the CPI-Maoist in Bijapur District, Police said on July 31. The Maoists killed SPO Padam Sarju and a villager, Varge Munna, using sharp weapons in separate incidents on July 30, the DIG of Police Pavan Dev said. Sarju, who was visiting Muchler village under Farsegadh Station area, was attacked by a group of 10 armed Maoists after they learnt about his whereabouts. In another incident, the insurgents hacked Munna to death when he went to his village Koter for some personal work, the DIG added. Munna was reportedly living in the Cherpal rescue camp.

In the wake of a spate of Maoist attacks in the recent months, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said that new Police Stations and check posts will be created at several places and personnel will be given modern arms and equipment. Special attention will be given on the modernisation of the Police with the help of information and technology, the Chief Minister said. Apart from raising the confidence level among the SF personnel, they will be provided with additional night vision binoculars, bulletproof jackets and other equipment, Raman Singh told reporters after a meeting with the State's Home Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar and senior officials at the Police headquarters in Raipur. Announcing more recruitment of Police officers in the ranks of Sub Divisional Police Officer and Station House Officer, the Chief Minister said officials have been instructed to work with better coordination with those SF personnel deployed in the insurgency-affected areas.

Five CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested along with explosive material from the Dantewada District, Police said. The District Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra told that acting on a tip-off a Police team raided a hideout in the Kuakonda area where the insurgents were holding a meeting. The arrested Maoists were identified as Khorami Mulla, Sodhi Masa, Miryami Mahesh, Miryami Deva and Sodhi Joga. Detonators and wires besides Maoist banners and posters were recovered from the incident site, he added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed two civilians in the Manpur area of Rajnandgaon District, some 175 kilometers from State capital Raipur, Police said. Maoists killed a local contractor named Deepak and a civilian, Ramswaroop, on suspicion that they were Police informers, F.J. Tigga, a Police official from Manpur told IANS.

Six heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres were killed after a 20-hour encounter with the SFs in the Dantewada District. Police and paramilitary teams from the Dantewada and Bijapur Districts shot dead the insurgents in the Kirandul area of Dantewada, 400 kilometers south of capital Raipur. "We basically hit a Maoist camp, our heavily armed Policemen assisted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) put the militants under heavy fire throughout Monday and early morning on Tuesday. We finally killed six militants and recovered their arms," Superintendent of Police (Dantewada) Amresh Mishra told IANS.

The Chhattisgarh Government is reportedly moving heavy contingents of Security Forces into Kanker District to investigate the report that eight members of a family- including two children aged two and four- were assaulted to death and their dead bodies burnt following failed negotiations over a property dispute, according to The Hindu. "The place has a very high presence of Maoists as it is near Abuz Maad. Our forces are moving very cautiously anticipating Maoist attacks", Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwa Ranjan said.

The reported massacre of eight members of a family, including two minor girls, over a property dispute in the remote Koilibeda area of Kanker District was a fake complaint, intended to lure SFs into a CPI-Maoist ambush, Police said. "None of the eight people of a family was killed, we confirmed earlier. A man narrated a pathetic story about how and where Maoists wiped out his entire family Tuesday in an interior village of Kanker District and then also cremated their bodies," the DGP Vishwa Rranjan told reporters. He said Police reached the village on August 14 and found four members of the family and took two of them to a local Police Station, where they were interrogated. It was found that the whole massacre story was fabricated to make Policemen rush to the crime scene so that Maoists could ambush them. Ajay Yadav, the Kanker District Superintendent of Police, said Police would have suffered heavy casualties if they had reacted to massacre complaint urgently, as it was intended to take the troops to forests where Maoists were probably waiting to ambush them. The incident was reported on August 12 by one Ramain Vishwakarma who claimed that eight of his family members were killed by the Maoists as he defied their diktat to settle a family land dispute. Vishwakarma, whom the Police are now suspecting to be a Maoist informer, belongs to Kesikodi village that comes under the Maoist-controlled Abujhmad region, known as headquarters of the CPI-Maoist.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from the Kanker District, Police said. Acting on a tip-off, a Police team arrested Ramsai and Rateram from Koilebeda area, District Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said. The two, hailing from Narayanpur District, have been accused of indulging in violent activities during the recently parliamentary elections, he said.

Chhattisgarh has been put on high alert after the Maoists asked people to stay away from Independence Day celebrations on August 15. The Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwaranjan told IANS, "The entire state has been put on high alert in wake of possible Maoist attacks and their call for a boycott of Independence Day." He said security has been tightened at all Government installations in 18 Districts of the State and patrolling has been intensified in sensitive areas like the 40,000-sq kilometres of Bastar region.

About 15 Policemen were suspended in Chhattisgarh after they refused to take part in anti-Maoist operations, DGP Vishwaranjan told IANS. "We have made groups of 100 Policemen in insurgency-hit areas to launch anti-Maoist operations but 15 constables were reluctant to join the drive and were thus suspended. I can't tolerate indiscipline," he said. The suspended Policemen were posted in Rajnandgaon District. On July 15, 29 constables were suspended in Janjgir-Champa District after they refused to go for a 15-day orientation course at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker District before being deployed for four-month long postings in areas affected by Maoist insurgency.

Chief Minister Raman Singh asked the people to take a pledge to free the State from the Maoists and announced an INR 2060-crore plan to create jobs through the rural employment generation scheme. He said, "I salute the brave tribal brothers and sisters who created a movement against Maoist terrorism through Salwa Judum. I also salute the common people and security personnel who laid down their lives in the fight against Maoists. I appeal to you all people to take a pledge to free the state from Naxalites (Maoists)." "Naxalism has become a threat to the country's security and sovereignty. They are maintaining a hold in inaccessible areas on the strength of violence and suppression," said the Chief Minister.

Accusing a "section of media" of "eulogising naxalism (left wing extremism)," the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh asked the Centre to evolve a multi-pronged media strategy to counter such propaganda at the national and international level. In his speech at the Chief Ministers' conference on internal security, he said that "some people from Delhi and abroad come to Raipur and stage protests against our anti-Naxal operations." He also said the local media in Chhattisgarh have been "far more sensitive to this issue and have done objective reporting" but others "eulogise naxalism without knowing [the] true character and nature of [the] Naxal movement."

Four CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested in the Dantewada District. Acting on a tip-off about Maoist activities at Musaras village, Police raided the area and arrested Barse Manjhi, Sodhi Hunga, Kudami Ganga and Kavasi Deva and seized some arms from them, the Dantewada Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said. The recovered items also included Maoist literature, a locally-made revolver and five cartridges. Several cases of murder and attempt to murder are lodged against them in various Police Stations of the Dantewada District, Mishra added.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, surrendered in the Bastar District. "Deputy Naxal Commander (Baarda Dalam) Mukesh (25) and a woman Naxal, Jasaun (16) surrendered before the Police last evening," Inspector General of Police R.K. Vij told PTI. Both the extremists took the decision to join the mainstream after being dissatisfied with the Maoist ideology, he said. According to Mukesh, he was forcibly picked up Maoists from his village in the Kadakda area in 2005 and given weapons training at the Maoist camps. The teenager girl was also pushed into the Maoist stream and was trained in carrying out blasts and other criminal and destructive activities, Mukesh said.

The Chhattisgarh Government dismissed 13 Policemen for refusing to fight the Maoists. "We can't tolerate indiscipline, the 13 cops had openly refused to go to Madanwara in Rajnandgaon District where Maoists killed 29 Policemen in coordinated attacks on July 12 in which we lost a brave SP (Superintendent of Police) V.K. Choubey as well," R.K. Vij told IANS. The 13 Policemen of constable rank had recently completed a specialised training course at the Counter-Insurgency Training and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC) in the Bastar region's Kanker town. The college had been set up by the State Government in 2005 to provide training to Policemen. In July 2009, 29 constables were suspended in the Janjgir-Champa District after they refused to go for a 15-day orientation course at the CTJWC.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a person in the Rajnandgaon District for extorting money from traders in their name, Police said. "Maoists raided the house of 35-year-old Jailal Kanwar and took him to an open ground and shot him dead," Bharat Notyia, Station in-charge of Baghnadi, where the incident took place, told IANS. "As per preliminary investigations, the rebels killed Kanwar for extorting money from small traders by posing as a Maoist leader," he added.

Two villagers were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Rajnandgaon District, accusing them of being Police informers, Police said. Some 50 extremists, including several women, came to Bijepar village and killed the two villagers, in their late 20s, in front of the other people, Superintendent of Police Praveer Das said. Some villagers who tried to intervene were assaulted, he said, adding that Police have launched a drive in the forested stretches around the village to arrest the Maoists.

The Chhattisgarh Government placed a demand for grant of INR 94.22 crore from the Central Government to develop educational facilities in the CPI-Maoist-affected areas. According to State Government sources, Chief Minister Raman Singh put the demand before the Union Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria. He also submitted details of assistance anticipated by the State Government to Bhuria, sources added. Singh informed Bhuria that Chhattisgarh needed central assistance mainly for construction of some 218 ashram schools (residential schools where all needs of the students will be looked after by the State Government), sources further added. Maoists have reportedly attacked many of the ashram schools in the Bastar region in the past claiming that they blow up the school complexes because they provided shelter to the forces involved in anti-Maoist operations. State Government is also reportedly looking for assistance to the programmes of job-oriented training to the unemployed tribal youths and constructing houses for the tribals.

Bodies of four villagers killed by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were recovered from a forest in the Aaded village of Bijapur District. The extremists had attacked Kandulnar, Gudipal and Aaded villages in the District on September 2 and had abducted four villagers, Anganpally Lakshmayya, Vasamchandru, Anganpally Buccha and Anganpally Jeetu, the Superintendent of Police Avinash Mohanty said. Villagers found their bodies in the forest and later reportedly informed the Police. While Buccha and Jeetu were shot dead, other bodies were found with throats slit. "Police had arrested two top Maoists from this area two months ago. The rebels suspected that the four were responsible for tipping the Police off which led to the arrests," said Avinash Mohanty, adds Times of India.

Raju, the 'deputy commander' of the Bhansi guerilla squad, was killed by the Police during an operation near Raja Bangla village in Dantewada District, Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said. Four other Maoists, including a school student, were arrested during the operation. Police arrested Deva, Bheema, Radhe and Vinod. According to Mishra, Vinod is a school student, who was allegedly abducted from Jangla village by the Maoists.

Two CRPF personnel were injured when they walked over a bomb planted by the CPI-Maoist cadres in a thickly forested area of Jagargunda in the Bijapur District, about 450 kilometers south of capital Raipur.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, were killed in an encounter with the Police in Dantewada District. SFs shot dead the insurgents during an encounter in the forests of Banjepalli village, the Dantewada District Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said.

A youth was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Tunder village after he refused to go along with them. "Maoists went to Tunder village and forced the village boys to go with them. They could take two boys with them but the third one, Manglu, resisted. He did not want to go with them. In retaliation, the Maoists punished him by shooting at him. They took the rest of the boys for training," said Bastar District Superintendent of Police P. Sundar Raj. "We appeal to villagers that if Maoists forcefully take their boys with them, the villagers must resist this collectively. We are starting a campaign to create awareness on this," Raj added.

Two suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an overnight encounter with the SFs in the dense forest of Bijapur District. Acting on a tip off, the CRPF personnel in the night of September 16 launched a search operation in the forest under Dharampur Police Station area where some Maoists were scheduled to meet. "Seeing the CRPF jawans (personnel), they started firing which was retaliated by the security personnel. In the ensuing gun battle, which lasted till this morning (September 17), two Naxalites have been killed," an unnamed senior CRPF official said.

In its maiden offensive operation, the elite anti-Maoist force CoBRA neutralised a Maoist arms factory besides shooting down an armed activist in the Dantewada District. Nine guns which were under production in the makeshift arms factory were recovered.

The Bijapur District Police arrested a female CPI-Maoist cadre who is wanted for several attacks on the Police in recent months.

A combined team of CoBRA and the Chhattisgarh Police killed at least 24 CPI-Maoist cadres in the Dantewada District on September 18. An Assistant Commandant of CoBRA, Manoranjan Singh, was also killed in the attack launched by the SFs on September 17-night. 10 dead bodies of the Maoists were recovered. While four SF personnel sustained injuries, five others were said to be missing. The SF personnel later on September 19 recovered the bodies of five of its missing personnel, including Assistant Commandant Rakesh Chaurasia. The Operation Green Hunt lasted for 48 hours.

At least 12 CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an encounter between the Chhattisgarh Police and insurgents in the Bijapur District. Though the Police could not locate the dead bodies of the slain extremists as they were carried away by their fellow cadres, they arrested two Maoists.

Chhattisgarh Police sources told Express Buzz that 600 Police personnel from Dantewada set off for the Maoist stronghold of Isulnar village in Bijapur two days ago on specific information about the presence of at least 200 Maoists (a company of the Maoists besides local militia). "We fired around 2,000 rounds in reply to an almost equal number of rounds fired by the enemy," Police sources said. "We saw nine bodies being carried away but the number of deaths on their side could be more," sources added. The Police suspect that among those killed could be a 'section commander'. The report added that the Maoists used two-inch mortars which are normally available with the Police or paramilitary forces. Two Maoists, identified as Kursam Budru (35) and Kursum Mura (30), were arrested from the encounter site. PTI quoted the Additional Director General of Police Ram Nivas as saying that there is possibility that nearly 12 Maoists were killed in the four-hour long encounter near Isulnar village.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire at the two sons of the BJP Member of Parliament and tribal leader Baliram Kashyap from Bastar District, leaving one of them dead. The victim's brother sustained injuries in the shoulder when the Maoists fired at them in their ancestral village where the two siblings had gone to celebrate Durga Puja (religious festival). While Tansen succumbed to head injuries sustained in the attack in Pairaguda village, his bother Dinesh was wounded in the shoulder, said Inspector-General of Police R. K. Vij.

Chhattisgarh Police shot dead two CPI-Maoist cadres in the Nalkathong forest area of Dantewada District. "The dead bodies of both the guerrillas were recovered from the encounter site along with 12 bore guns," Amresh Mishra, Superintendent of Police (Dantewada), told IANS. He also said that nine people were detained from the area.

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh reiterated the commitment of his Government to neutralise the Maoists and informed that a fresh operation against them would be launched from November 1 after successful completion of Operation Green Hunt. However, he stressed the need to launch a co-ordinated offensive against the insurgents by the affected States, including Orissa, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. He said the matter has been taken up with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a strategy would be worked out soon.

Nine CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from the Bastar District, Police said on October 16. The arrests were made late in the night of October 15 at Babri Kokaobhata and Chamai villages of Bastar. "The arrested people were active members of the banned CPI-Maoist. We have recovered four pistols and Maoist literature from them," the Superintendent of Police (Bastar), P. Sundaraj, told reporters. He said the Police were interrogating them for their alleged role in several killings and robberies in the area. Police claim that the forested Bastar region spanning about 40,000 square kilometers is home to nearly 10,000 Maoist insurgents, who have access to rocket launchers and mortars apart from smaller firearms.

The CPI-Maoist have held up construction work at more than 350 road sites in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, an official said. "At least 350 road construction projects under Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme were held up in Maoist violence-hit Bastar region, mainly in Dantewada, Bijapur and Kanker Districts. It is difficult to continue the work due to violence," an official in the panchayat (village-level local self Government institution) and rural development department told IANS. The projects amounted to INR 10 billion. The contractors had told District Police authorities that they were finding it difficult to carry on construction work due to Maoist intervention. According to Police, the Maoists have set ablaze at least 65 vehicles in 2009 alone in Bastar that were engaged in road construction projects. Several officials and workers who were carrying out construction work were abducted by the extremists and set free only after they guaranteed not to return to work.

In a bid to strengthen the intelligence network in the insurgency-affected regions of the State, the Chhattisgarh Government has decided to include Gram Chowkidars (village guards) as informers. The Gram Chowkidars in each village will be given a register wherein they would be required to note details of people coming from outside the State and incidents happening in the region, including theft and fraud. The Chowkidars will be required to submit the register to the nearest Police Station on a weekly basis.

Suspected Maoists have damaged scores of school buildings in Narayanpur. "Under Narayanpur District around 77 concrete buildings were either damaged or demolished. We are continuing schools in alternative buildings made of tin-shades," said H. R. Gourela, Deputy Commissioner of the Scheduled Tribe Welfare and Development Department of Narayanpur District. Maoists frequently made demand on the education department authorities to put with a percentage of resources given to them to improve the infrastructure of the schools, the report added.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze two vehicles in a forested hamlet of Korchatola in Rajnandgaon District bordering Maharashtra, Police said. The vehicles belonged to a private contractor who was building a road under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme.

The CPI-Maoist is forcibly conscripting children in southern Chhattisgarh and exhorting villagers to provide five boys or girls from every village to be recruited into their ranks, the MHA said. "The information reveals the real face of Naxals (Maoists), who not only kill children but also put them in great danger by recruiting them in their armed squads to carry out their violent activities," a ministry statement said, adding, "The government condemns this despicable act on the part of Naxals and reiterates its commitment to control their diabolical activities."

Police arrested five Naxalites from the Bijapur District. "Acting on a tip off, we have arrested Naxalites from Maddeed, Bhopalpatnam and Jangla villages in the District," Superintendent of Police, Avinash Mohanty, said in Raipur. He added that ammunition and landmines were also recovered from the possession of the arrestees.

Five CPI-Maoist cadres and four Security Force personnel were killed in separate attacks in three Districts of the Bastar region in southern Chhattisgarh.

Four CISF personnel were killed and two critically injured in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists in a hilly terrain in the Dantewada District. The Dantewada Police officials said the CISF personnel were travelling in a jeep when the insurgents detonated a landmine killing a sub-inspector, two head constables and a constable on the spot. The CISF personnel were deployed in Dantewada to guard a public sector unit and premier mining company, the National Mineral Development Corporation, from Maoist attacks.

In two separate encounters in the forested terrain of Bijapur District, about 400 kilometres south of State capital Raipur, the Police shot dead at least four Maoists. The Bijapur Superintendent of Police, Avinash Mohanty, told Hindustan Times that a fierce gun-battle continued till the evening and the casualties suffered by the Maoists would be high. "We have recovered four bodies of Maoists so far. Two bullet-riddled bodies were dragged out from Basaguda and two from the Usoor area. There is no report of any casualty or injury inflicted on the cops," Mohanty said, adding, "It was due to the timely retaliation by the cops that we succeeded in killing the rebels." The Police also recovered some firearms and explosives.

In Kanker District, a woman Maoist was killed by the Police.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a local trader in the interiors of Chhattisgarh, accusing him of being a Police informer, officials said on October 27. The incident took place in the Bhopalpattanam area, more than 500 kilometers from State capital Raipur, in Bijapur District late in the night of October 26. A local hosiery shop owner, Sheikh Ahmed, 44, was abducted early this month and his dead body was recovered alongside a road in Bhopalpattanam area, Police officials told IANS. Police found some pamphlets at the incident site where the body was dumped which stated the trader was acting as a Police informer for several years. The deceased originally belonged to Sironcha locality in Maharashtra that shares a border with Bhopalpattanam. Police claim that cases of civilians being killed by Maoists on charges of being Police informers have been on the rise in Chhattisgarh in the recent months.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office-bearer Jaisingh Manjhi, 40, and his two relatives in Dantewada District. According to the Police, approximately 60 heavily-armed extremists entered Manjhi's home in the Chindgarh village at midnight. The extremists allegedly took Manjhi, his brother and nephew to a nearby field. "The rebels, it seems, slit the throats of Manji, his brother, Pileshwar, 37, and nephew Livir," said an unnamed Police officer in Dantewada. The villagers discovered the bodies in the field early in the morning of October 30. Pileshwar was a panchayat (village level local self Government institution) secretary in Kirkirpal village panchayat. Manji's wife Jamuna is the vice-chairperson of Janpad panchayat and was in New Delhi for official work. "Guerrillas stormed into a village in Kikirpal under Sukma block (administrative division) and butchered three middle-aged people with sharp edged weapons,' S. L. Baghel, Additional Superintendent of Police (Dantewada) told IANS.

A Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed by cadres of the CPI-Maoist in the Rajnandgaon District, Police said. The SPO, Bisru Ram, was shot dead near a shop in Khadgaon. The shopkeeper was also injured in the incident, the Police added.

Two tribals were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Bastar region after branding them as Police informers. The Police on November 4 found the dead bodies of Marvi Bheema and Marvi Chhanna along a roadside in a forested area of Dantewada District. "The civilians were killed Tuesday night with sharp edged weapons and their bodies were dumped on the roadside," the Superintendent of Police (SP, Dantewada) Amresh Mishra told IANS. Around 20 Maoists reached Puswada village and attacked the duo, the SP said, adds PTI. The Maoists then took both of them to a village crossroad and slit their throats using sharp weapons, he added.

Police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres following an encounter in the Bijapur District. The insurgents opened fire at a patrol party in the forested area near Kamkanar village, Avinash Mohanty, Superintendent of Police (Bijapur) told PTI. With the Police retaliating, the extremists escaped from the incident site and were subsequently arrested. Some Naxal literature was also recovered, the Police added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a primary school building in the Dantewada District, Police said. Some 80-100 Maoists set explosives inside a primary school building in Phulpar village in the night of November 6 and destroyed a major portion, officials at the Police headquarters in Raipur said. Education department officials said that Maoists over the past two years had set ablaze 80 school buildings in Dantewada and Bijapur Districts. Police said they have recovered leaflets from Maoist dominated areas in recent months in which the insurgents said they are targeting school and hospital buildings in Bastar region as these provide shelter to Security Force personnel for anti-Maoist operations.

Seven CPI-Maoist cadres were killed and a Policeman was seriously injured in an encounter in the forests of Tetemdagu, about 18 kilometers from Kistaram in the Dantewada District. The Dantewada Superintendent of Police, Amresh Kumar Mishra, told Telegraph that the encounter took place at around 9am (IST) He added, "The jawans (personnel) of District Police and special Police officers were on a regular patrol and search operation in and around the area when the rebels camping in the thickly-forested pocket opened fire. The number of rebels is not known," adding, the SF personnel retaliated killing seven insurgents. The slain extremists who were in uniform were not identified yet, the officer added. Two rifles, locally-made pistols, Maoist uniforms and a large quantity of explosives and detonators were recovered from the incident site. The SF personnel were returning after a three-day anti-Maoist operation in the area.

As many as 16 suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested in the Narayanpur District Police said. The village level cadres, who are bracketed as 'Sangham members', were picked up from two different locations in Narayanpur District, officials at the Police headquarters said.

The Chhattisgarh Police killed a CPI-Maoist cadre and arrested eight others. The Maoist was killed in the Markanar village of Kanker District in an encounter, Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said, adding that some Maoist literature was recovered from the incident site.

Police arrested eight Maoists from Gadamalli forests in the Bijapur District. The arrested Maoists had allegedly set ablaze five trucks engaged in development work in the District, Superintendent of Police Avinash Mohanty said.

At least 30 kilograms of improvised explosive devices buried by suspected Maoists were recovered from Madanwara forest in the Rajnandgaon District, Police said. "We suspect that more such bombs are buried in the area with a purpose to hit Policemen. Our search parties are combing the area with the help of experts to recover such bombs," Praveer Das, the Rajnandgaon District Superintendent of Police, told IANS.

Chief Minister Raman Singh criticised the CPI-Maoist for spreading rumours in the Bastar region that the Police would target all those who failed to produce photo-identity cards. "I appeal to people not to fall prey to such Maoist tactics and no one needs to panic about photo I-cards," he stated. The Chief Minister was reacting to reports that panic-stricken tribals in the Bastar region have been frantically reaching photo studios as they believe they will be branded as Maoists and killed by the Security Forces unless they produce photo-identity cards.

Three persons were killed and two others injured in a bomb blast at a village in the Rajnandgaon District. A group of five villagers were going to a paddy field when they found a container on the way. As they tried to open it, the explosion took place, leaving three of them dead, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rajnandgaon range), A. D. Gautam, told PTI over phone. Gautam did not rule out the possibility of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) behind the blast.

Chhattisgarh Police is not prepared to face the guerrilla war waged by the CPI-Maoist, Chief Minister Raman Singh said and emphasized the need for two-pronged integrated action plan to tackle the menace in the country. The Chhattisgarh Government has started a training college for the State Police, he added. "The integrated action plan should be formulated jointly by the Centre and the Maoist-hit states and besides combing operations, it should include all-round development including improvement of infrastructure in the areas badly hit by the menace", he further said. The Government should provide land to villagers, develop it for agriculture and provide facilities, he said, adding a surrender policy should also be formed to bring the Maoists back into the mainstream of the society.

A search team of CRPF and Special Police Officers killed a CPI-Maoist cadre in the Bijapur District. Police recovered some ammunition and Maoist literature from the hideout where the insurgent was killed.

A CRPF trooper was critically injured in a bomb blast in the Dantewada District. The trooper, who was member of a Police combing team, was injured when he stepped on a pressure bomb planted in a thickly forested pocket, some 500 kilometers south of State capital Raipur.

A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed and seven others arrested after a gun battle with the Security Forces in the Dantewada District. A team of paramilitary CRPF and State Police exchanged gunfire with Maoists at Hiroli in which one extremist was killed and seven arrested Dantewada Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said. Police also recovered one 12 bore gun, three landmines and Maoist literature from the arrested insurgents.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a deputy forest ranger after abducting him in the night from Deobhog in Raipur District. According to Police sources, the victim had been identified as Gokul Tandi, who was posted in Indagaon forest range of Deobhog development block. Around 11.30pm (IST), he received a phone call that a group was illegally cutting trees in the forests. Tandi, along with four forest guards, started for the spot. "As they entered the forests, about 12-15 armed Maoists intercepted them and took them into custody," Deobhog Police Officer T.R. Nagwanshi said. They released the guards after threatening not to inform the Police and took the official into dense forest. Local villagers, Nagwanshi said, in the morning of November 28 discovered the body in the forest and informed the Police. Since the Police feared ambush, a team of forest employees and villagers were sent to the spot to bring the body. The body bore severe assault mark, as the insurgents brutally bashed the forest official with guns and lathis till he succumbed to his injuries. No bullet mark was found, he added.

A day-long shutdown called by the CPI-Maoist in Dhamtari and Raipur Districts hit normal life as people preferred to stay at home fearing violence, officials said. The strike was called to protest arrest of two Maoist leaders in the State November 8. The insurgents put wooden logs on roads in forested areas of Mainpur, Gariaband, Devbhog in Raipur District and Nagri and Sihaba areas in Dhamtari District to block vehicles. All schools, banks, hospitals and Government offices in the interiors of these two Districts were shut, officials added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed two of their cadre, accusing them of spying for Police. The incident took place in Gangloor area in Bijapur District of the Bastar region. The youths - Ramu and Ramesh - whom Police had arrested last week but later managed to escape from custody, were killed by Maoists in a forested area, officials at Police headquarters said.

A CRPF trooper was critically injured in a bomb blast in the Dantewada District. The trooper, who was member of a Police combing team, was injured when he stepped on a pressure bomb planted in a thickly forested pocket, some 500 kilometers south of State capital Raipur.

A villager was assaulted to death and another hanged by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Bijapur District. Anil was hanged in the Daglipura village by the extremists in front of the residents, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Avinash Mohanty said. He was abducted by the extremists on November 23 and was subsequently hanged by the Maoists, who accused him of being a Police informer, Mohanty said. Anil, who was earlier working with the Police department, had later joined the Maoists, the Police official said. He, however, returned to the mainstream recently which infuriated the Maoists leading to his brutal killing, Mohanty added.

A villager was assaulted to death by Maoists using lathis and rods in Pidiya village, Police said.

Another person was killed and an under-construction Police barrack was destroyed allegedly by Maoists in two separate incidents in the Kanker District, Police said. Accusing one Najuk Ram Koracha of being a Police informer, the Maoists dragged him out of his home in Thudhud village in the night of November 29, Inspector General of Police R. K. Vij said. His body was recovered by villagers the next day with his throat slit, he added.

The Maoists destroyed a Police barrack in PV-34 village after learning about its construction, Vij said.

Normal life was hit hard in the interiors of Chhattisgarh, the first day of the weeklong anniversary celebrations of the PLGA the military wing of the CPI-Maoist. Passenger buses were off the road and shops were shut in Rajnandgaon District bordering Maharashtra State and in the entire Bastar region comprising of five Districts - Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Dantewada and Bastar - due to the fear of Maoist attack. The State Government has already sounded a high alert after Police recovered a number of leaflets from Bastar, in which the insurgents had asked people to observe the ninth anniversary of the PLGA between December 2-8. In the leaflets in Gondi language, the Maoists have also appealed to people to become members of the CPI-Maoist and get recruited as PLGA fighters.

The Government launched a major offensive codenamed Operation Green Hunt against the CPI-Maoist in Chhattisgarh. The assault Green Hunt was launched against insurgents in Chhattisgarh--the epicentre of violence between Maoist fighters, Security Forces and pro-government militias since 2005. Officials said there was least resistance from some of the Maoist strongholds, which could be a ploy. "We are handling the Operation Green Hunt in a more decisive way. And as on today the operation is on in Districts like Bijapur and Dantewada. According to the information that we have, the Police are not facing any resistance in the interior areas of the Maoist strongholds. It maybe an operational tactics of Maoists; we are still discussing this issue with our officers," said S. R. P. Killuri, Deputy Inspector General (Police).

Four civilians were killed when suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a truck in a landmine blast in the Dantewada District, Police said. The Maoist blew up the truck near Keralapal village in the District, killing all the four persons travelling in the vehicle on the spot, Superintendent of Police (Dantewada) Amresh Singh said. The truck had left Doranapal village in the District for Sukama with truck's owner Surya Narayan Raju and three labourers. As it reached near Keralapal village on NH-221, the Maoists triggered landmine blast, he added, saying, Police was trying to ascertain the identity of victims.

About 50 armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided Thema village in the Kanker District of Bastar region and shot dead two brothers allegedly on charges of spying, Police said on December 9. The incident took place in the night of December 8. "Guerrillas raided the village and took away two brothers- Rakesh, 30, and Rajuram, 25, into a nearby forested area and shot them dead on charges of being Police informers," Vishwa Ranjan, Director General of Police told IANS over the phone. He said the extremists shot at another civilian of the same village, Chabilal Markam. The villagers said Markam was taken to a Government hospital and was in a critical condition.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a senior official of the Small Forest Produce Cooperative Committee in the Raigarh District, Police said on December 11. Brijlal Yadav, manager of the committee, was stabbed to death in village Kindhra, Special Divisional Police Officer G. N. Baghel said. The assailants, who had come in a jeep, abducted Yadav from his residence in the village in the night of December 9 and his dead body was found in the evening of December 10 in a nearby forest, he said.

Seven CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an exchange of fire with the Police in the Dantewada District, the Police said on December 11. The operation led by the District Police force took place in the Aranpur forests of Jangargunda area on December 11, Inspector General (Bastar range) R. K. Vij said. Weapons, including .303 rifles, grenades and IEDs were recovered from the possession of the slain Maoists, he added.

Two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed in a gun battle with the Security Forces in a thickly forested village of Surakhera in the Bijapur District. The Maoists opened fire on a Police team and the Policemen returned fire and killed two Maoists. The gun battle continued for about 90 minutes. Some Maoists were reported to have received bullet injuries but they were dragged inside the forest by other cadres, the Police added. Police also recovered a loaded gun, some tiffin bombs and Maoist literature from the site of the gun battle.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a local businessman in the Bastar region, Police said. "Rammanohar, a small businessman based in Bijapur District was killed by Maoists with a sharp edged weapon late Wednesday [December 15] in Bijapur District," said Inspector General of Police T.J. Longkumer. Police recovered the disfigured dead body and his charred motor-cycle from the interiors of Bijapur District. Local Police officials said they suspect the businessman was killed because he was allegedly a Police informer.

The over 2,000 Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel protecting State Government-run Salwa Judum camps in Chhattisgarh are likely to be replaced by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel for better coordination of operations ahead of the all out offensive against Naxals (left wing extremists) in the country. The two SSB battalions will be shifted to Assam for counter-insurgency and internal security duties. The SSB already has five companies (about 500 men) deployed in the State, official sources said. The SSB personnel have been protecting around ten Salwa Judum camps, comprising 2,000 people in the two Districts of Bijapur and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh since April 2008. The force which will replace SSB could be the CRPF, they said. The Home Ministry had ordered the replacement and the movement of the troops will take place now as it was held back for sometime due to elections in few States. The move has been initiated to achieve a streamlined and focused output of operations and administration, sources said. The SSB has spent an approximately INR 16 lakh for civic action works in 2008 in these camps, an SSB officer said.

A Police officer was killed and another critically injured in an encounter with the CPI-Maoist in the Bijapur District. Assistant Sub-Inspector Baldev Patel died and Constable Jairam Nag was seriously injured in the encounter at Tumnar village under Bangapal Police Station, Bijapur Police Superintendent Avinash Mohanty said.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in a gun battle with the Security Force personnel, while an equal number of extremists were arrested in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh, Police officials said on December 23. The Maoists killed in Bijapur District on December 22 were part of a group that had killed Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Baldev Patel during a gunfight on December 19.

Three Maoists, including a woman, were arrested from the Dantewada District after a brief exchange of fire with the Police, the officials said.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blocked a National Highway in the Dantewada region in protest against the Operation 'Green Hunt' launched by the Security Forces. The extremists felled down trees and dug up the roads at several places on the NH-221. The road blockade crippled traffic, leaving several trucks and buses stranded. The Maoists also pasted several bills warning the Police.

As per the figures by Police department 235 persons fell victim to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) violence between January and November 2009. They include 99 Policemen, two under cover Police, 11 Government officials, 21 Special Police Officers and 102 commoners.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed by the Police, while three others were arrested in separate incidents in Bijapur District, officials said. Police department spokesman Inspector General R. K. Vij told PTI that two Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with the Police in jungles near Bechapal village, while others managed to escape taking advantage of the thick forest cover. Arms and explosives were also seized from the spot, he added.

In the other incident, three extremists were arrested after a chase by the Police near Tumnar village, Vij said. The arrested Maoists are facing several criminal cases, including that of murder and attempt to murder, the Police officer said.