Jharkhand Timeline 2009

Date

Incidents

January 2

Two Maoist cadres, identified as Suresh Ram and Kameshwar Ram, were arrested and a rifle was recovered from their possession at Sameli village in Garwah District.

Maoists set a crusher machine on fire in Gagaria village in Latehar District.

During a joint operation, a special task force (STF) team and District Police personnel shot dead a 'sub-zonal commander' of CPI-Maoist, identified as Babulal Munda alias Marandi, also known as Raman, and four other cadres in the Baish Resham forest area, nearly 30 kilometres from the Hazaribagh District headquarters. The encounter took place when the Security Forces reached the Baish Resham forest area where the Maoists were holding a meeting. Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj confirmed the exchange of fire and admitted recovery of the body of the killed extremist. Few other bodies, however, were taken away by the extremists who had escaped taking advantage of the poor visibility condition in the evening, Kamboj said.

Mahadeo Oroan, an STF constable, sustained serious injuries during an hour-long encounter at Kusaha forest under Manatu Police Station of Palamau District.

CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Dhanai Kisku, general secretary of Nagrik Suraksha Samiti (NSS), an anti-Maoist body set up by the East Singbhum District Police in 2002-03, near his house at Musabani under the Ghatsila sub-division of the East Singhbhum District. As the two motorcycle-borne Maoists opened indiscriminate fire, two others, including a tea stall owner, were also injured. Subsequently, a man, suspected to be a Maoist, was lynched by a mob while he was fleeing from a check post leaving his motorcycle behind during a Police drive to check vehicles at Tetla village under the Potka Police Station of the District. The killed person was suspected to have been involved in the killing of Dhanai Kisku.

Raju Singh, accused of killing social activist Lalit Kumar Mehta, was shot dead by Maoists near Kelari in the Palamau District. He was one of the five accused in Mehta's murder. Maoists subsequently claimed responsibility for the murder and threatened to kill the others accused in Mehta's murder.

Nearly 25 kilograms of explosives were seized during a special drive against the CPI-Maoist at Parsokhad village in Garwah District. The explosives were found stacked in small containers in a house of one Gopal Yadav during a joint operation by para-military forces and the District Police. Superintendent of Police (SP) Saket Kumar Singh said that the house was abandoned and Yadav had been missing for the last several months, adding no one was arrested.

Bokaro Police decided to distribute thousands of bags on which they have printed ways to curb the Maoist menace in Jharkhand. Bokaro District SP Priya Dubey distributed these bags at a public meeting at Tulbul (Gomia), about 75 kilometers from Bokaro steel city. These bags would be distributed for free in Maoist strongholds such as Jhumra, Gomia, Nawadih, Bokaro thermal, Petarwar, Kasmar and other areas. The Police have also published two phone numbers (06542-242266 and 06542-242299) to help villagers contact the Police in times of emergency and to share vital information.

The Chatra District Police arrested one person from a rented house at Kathotia locality in Chatra town on the charges of extorting money for the CPI-Maoist. INR 200,000 was seized from the house of the arrested person, identified as Vineet Kumar Soni.

CPI-Maoists killed two villagers in the Garwah and Latehar Districts in two separate incidents.

A group of about 40 to 50 CPI-Maoist cadres killed two villagers, identified as Vijay Nayak and Charku Nayak, at Anjan village, about 16 kilometres from the District headquarters of Gumla. Both were members of Shanti Sena, an anti-Maoist body set up three years ago with the help of Police. The Maoists also ransacked the houses of village Shanti Sena chief Satyanarayan Thakur and another Sena member Rampyare and set ablaze a motorcycle.

A CRPF trooper was killed and another sustained injuries in a landmine explosion triggered by the Maoists at Gorabandha in the East Singhbhum District. "Shivpal Singh, a havildar, was killed in the blast at Rajabasa-Kirodari village and a constable, Jitendra Singh, was rushed to Tata Main hospital with critical injuries," Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum, Ravindra Agarwal, told PTI.

Police arrested three cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Bhagirathi Hansda, Moso Tuddu and Budhan Mardi, from Ashthi village in the East Singhbhum District, where the insurgents had planned to kill a school teacher. A pistol and some live cartridges were recovered from them. Superintendent of Police Naveen Kumar Singh said the arrested Maoists are residents of Sakragora village in Mayurbhanj District of Orissa and are members of the Puta Munda squad active in Ghurabandha for the past several months.

Six Policemen were killed in a landmine blast triggered by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in the Latehar District. "The explosion took place around 1.30 pm when the Police personnel were on patrol at Do-Pahani village,'' Inspector General (Police) G. S. N. Pradhan said. While five Policemen died on the spot, one constable succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Police suspect the possibility of Maoists triggering the blast to avenge their 'zonal commander' Sashi Bhuiyan''s arrest in the Gumla District on January 15. The explosion coincided with a bandh (shut down) called by the CPI-Maoist in Gumla, Simdega, Latehar, Lohardaga and Ranchi Districts in protest against Bhuiyan's arrest.

The Bokaro District Police, with help from the Special Task Force, arrested seven senior cadres of the CPI-Maoist along with a large quantity of arms from a passenger train and foiled the Maoists' plan to blow up the Daniya railway Station under Coal India Chord section of the Dhanbad railway division. However, several extremists managed to escape after the Police stopped the train. The arrested Maoists said they were working under the guidance of the newly appointed 'zonal commander' of the "Zilang zone" that comprises Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Girdih, Chatra and Dhanbad. Bhuvneshwar Mahto of Vishnugarh (Hazaribagh) had reportedly trained them and planned the attack.

A general shutdown call given by the CPI-Maoist to protest against rising prices severely disrupted normal life in the State. Factories, shops, offices and all educational institution remained closed as news filtered in about Maoists torching vehicles and destroying mobile phone towers in different parts of the State. Road transportation and train services were also affected badly. Shipment of coal and bauxite from mines was also negatively affected as truck and lorry owners suspended their services. Life in the neighbouring States of Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal was also affected by the shutdown call.

Police recovered 150 kilograms of explosive powder from the Chatra area and arrested one CPI-Maoist sympathiser. Police raided the house of a person, Javed Khan, in Chatra District''s Boura village and seized the explosive powder and arrested him, Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Jha said. A separate Police team arrested a suspected cadre of the People''s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), identified as Asif Kumar Bhagat, from Gumla District''s Kanduatoli village, the Police said. A locally made pistol, cartridges, a mobile phone and PLFI literature were seized from his possession.

The CPI-Maoist hoisted black flags in Palamau, Chatra, Chaibasa and some other parts of the State on Republic Day.

Four CPI-Maoist cadres, including an 'area commander' identified as Kamal Kharia, were arrested from the jungle area under Palkot Police Station in the Gumla District while they were holding a meeting to chalk out strategy to ambush a Police party in the District. Police seized two pistols and live cartridges, among other things, from the arrested Maoists.

Police arrested two cadres of the PLFI, identified as Kuldip Minz and Pradeep, from a jungle area under Basia Police Station. Police seized a pistol, live cartridges and Maoist literature from their possession.

The East Singhbhum Police have chosen street plays to sensitise people about Naxalite (left-wing extremist) activity. 'Bhatke Rahi', a 45-minute play, was staged by artistes from New Delhi, at Ghatshila sub-division.

Four villagers were shot dead by suspected cadres of the PLFI in Chalgi village of Khuti District. "The killing seems to be the outcome of an internal rivalry," said Khuti Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in Ranchi that there was need to "fill the vacancies" in the special branch of the Jharkhand Police. "There is a need to fill the 1,500 vacancies existing in the State special branch. The special branch of the State Government will now interact with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials of Ranchi to share intelligence," Chidambaram told reporters.

Chidambaram clarified that States should formulate a surrender policy for Maoists, who would, however, be rehabilitated by the Centre once they want to join social mainstream. "A national policy is not the need of the hour. A policy evolved by the State, keeping the requirements of its own geographical area in mind, often proves more effective as it is in the case of Andhra Pradesh," he said. Chidambaram also said that 145 Police Stations in the State were Naxalite (left-wing extremism) affected and over 25 blocks did not have Police Stations.

Chidambaram also said he would talk to the West Bengal Government for an inter-State joint operation to curb ultra-Left extremism. "West Bengal does not agree with the hot pursuit policy. So it conducts its operation in its territory and Jharkhand conducts operations in its own area, which cannot be called a joint operation. But I have taken up the matter and will speak to the West Bengal government," Chidambaram said at a press conference at Governor's House.

Residents of Hesalpidi village in the Ranchi District lynched three CPI-Maoist cadres who were trying to abduct a contractor. According to the report, the Maoists in the night of February 1 had made a failed attempt to abduct one Sanjay Mahto, a contractor involved in constructing a panchayat (village-level self-government institution) building from the village. Mahto however, managed to escape and informed the villagers, a Police official said. Later, hundreds of villagers surrounded the Maoists to prevent them from escaping. However, the Maoists in their bid to escape opened fire on the villagers injuring two of them. Angry villagers then lynched three Maoists to death and later informed the Police about the incident.

Eight cadres of the PLFI, earlier known as Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT), were arrested from Duli forest area of Khuti District. The arrested extremists were identified as Jitan, Vineet, Jeeran, Anthony, Palous, Sanjay, Prabhu and Anup. Police also recovered cartridges, uniforms and Naxal (left-wing extremist) literatures from their possession.

A group of 50 Maoist cadres blew up a transmission tower of Airtel situated in the Garo village of Chatra District. More than 13 such towers have been blown up by the Maoists in the State in the last three years.

Three cadres of the PLFI, including an 'area commander' identified as Ramorasad Yadav, were arrested from the Bachau jungle, around 60 kilometers from capital Ranchi. The Police seized two double-barrel rifles, one .303 rifle looted from Police, live cartridges and left-wing extremist literature from the arrested cadres.

Authorities in the East Singhbhum District distributed free mobile phones to villagers to provide information about left-wing extremists. The heads of about 220 villages in the State were provided with a mobile phone each and users was provided with a list of Police numbers to call as part of the latest strategy to fight the Maoist insurgency.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a 30-year-old man in Bokaro's Jhumra hills suspecting him to be a Police informer. About 50 Maoists surrounded the man's house, dragged him out and slit his throat. The Police, however, said Manjhi had been giving shelter to the Maoists and recently fell out with the insurgents.

One of the senior-most CPI-Maoist leaders hailing from Andhra Pradesh, identified as Mohammed Hussain, was arrested in Ranchi by the Jharkhand Police. Hussain, who went by the name of Sudhakar in his party circles, was looking after the trade union activities in north India for the CPI-Maoist. He was one of the founder members of the Singareni Karmika Samakhya (Sikasa), a trade union started by the erstwhile People's War Group. Hussain, a native of Mandamarri in the Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh, was a coal miner and went underground in the early 1980s to build a militant worker's movement.

The 24-hour general shutdown call given by the CPI-Maoist in the Palamau, Garwah, Latehar, Lohardaga, Simdega and Gumla Districts of the State in protest against the recent arrest of two Maoists, impacted rural areas, but did not affect life in urban areas.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decided to sanction a one-time express grant of INR 200 million to the State to beef up its intelligence network dealing with Maoist extremism in and around the State.

Five Police personnel were injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres detonated a landmine near a bridge situated in the Bundu block in the Ranchi District. The injured Police personnel were returning to the Bundu Police Station in an anti-landmine vehicle.

A letter purportedly written by the CPI-Maoist and published in local media invited a Planning Commission team to have an open discussion with them about the problems of the rural people. In an open letter published in some newspapers, the CPI-Maoist regional committee said the security of the Planning Commission members visiting them would rest with the Maoists and they could directly discuss with them about the problems of the rural masses.

More than 100 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up the house of one Chandrashekhar Dagi, an assistant jailer in the Hazaribagh central jail, in the Lembugua village of Chatra District accusing him of torturing Maoists in the jail. The Maoists asked all the people inside to come out before blowing up the house. No one was injured in the incident, though the house was completely destroyed.

The Jharkhand Government announced a rehabilitation package for surrendered cadres of the Maoists in the State. Addressing the media, State Secretary P. K. Jajodia said a zonal committee member on his surrender will get INR 500,000, a sub-zonal committee member INR 300,000 and an area commander will be benefited by INR 200,000. The surrendered cadres will also get insurance, medical benefits, housing, vocational training and security-related jobs, besides a host of other benefits, he added. Each Maoist would get four decimal of the land and INR 50,000 separately for construction of dwellings. Surrenders could be made before a Minister, Legislator, Deputy Commissioner or Police in the rank of Inspector General or Deputy Inspector General or Superintendent of Police. Those surrendering weapons would get more benefits, he added.

Police arrested a CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Uday Sarkar alias Ujjwal, at the Chakulia-Shyamsundarpur border, around Jamua in the East Singhbhum District. Ujjwal originally hails from Jalpaiguri in North Bengal. A Police officer said, "He is involved in the murder of Nagarik Suraksha Samiti (NSS) secretary Dhanai Kisku, landmine blast at Rajbhasa Mines and several other separatist incidents". He is also an active member of the Ghurabanda platoon. Pistol and cartridges were recovered from him.

Police foiled a blast in Khuti District when it recovered a 40-kilograms improvised explosive device planted on a road between Barnghada and Kurkud.

A teacher, Koili Singh, was arrested in the Ranka area of Garwah District on the charge of being a sympathiser of the CPI-Maoist. Koili Singh's name figured in an FIR which had been lodged after a Police encounter with the Maoists several months ago.

The State Government agreed to open 61 new Police Stations in the State. Of the 61 Police Stations, 51 will be of 'A category', six under 'B category', and the rest under 'C category'. The advisory committee of the Governor also approved the creation of 4,608 posts in these Police Stations.

Three suspected Naxalites were lynched by angry villagers at the village market in Gulu in Khunti District when they were allegedly extorting money from shopkeepers.

A group more than 30 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up the Panchayat (village-level local self Government) building in Mahdand village of the Palamau District. However, no one was injured in the incident.

Maoists blew up a Government building in the Lathear District.

The 24-hour shutdown call given by the CPI-Maoist partially affected normal life. The shutdown, which had its impact in the rural areas of Palamau, Latehar, West and East Singhbhum, Gumla, Hazaribag, Chatra, Ranchi rural, Lohardaga and Simdega Districts, affected road transport as most operators withdrew buses from the National Highway.

Four Maoists, including 'political secretary' Sandip alias Motilal Soren alias Sujan, were arrested from Deruwan village in West Singhbhum District. The others were identified as Amrit Hans, Sanjay Besra and Herman Lumga. Sandip, who joined the Maoists' ranks in 2000, was wanted by the Police in 14 Naxalite-related cases and was an accused in the landmine blasts cases at Bitkilsoy, Baliva and Karampada.

The dead body of a person, identified as Nayeem Ansari, was found at a roadside near Pundra village in Chatra District after he was abducted along with his brother Mohammad Ansari by the TPC cadres while they were returning home in the night of March 2.

Two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike killed a shop owner, Anand Tiwari, at Piparwar in Chatra District.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Kailash Chandra Hembrom, a prominent member of the Nagrik Suraksha Samiti (NSS) as well as the block president of Manjhi Pargana Mahal, at Jadugora village in the Dumaria block of East Singhbhum District.

Three cadres of the erstwhile JLT, presently known as the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces at Chatakpur village under Sneha Police Station in the Lohardaga District. However, eight others managed to escape. Two pipe guns, a locally-made carbine and bullets were recovered from the spot.

A gang of CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead one of their associates, Budhadev Singh, at Dahudad-Mungatoli in the Gumla District, for not parting with extortion money. Released on bail in 2008, Singh was arrested on the charge of murdering a village chief in 2001.

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and one civilian were injured in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists near Kanjgiro village in the Bokaro District.

An 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Rajesh Toppo, was shot dead by the Police during an encounter near Karkari river under Tamar block of Ranchi District. Toppo was accused of killing former minister and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator Ramesh Singh Munda in July 2008 besides a dozen Security Force personnel. One pistol and live cartridges were seized from the incident site.

A CPI-Maoist militia of around 60 cadres killed a Government school teacher, Kedar Singh Bhotka, at Gurudih village under Katkamsandi Police Station in the Hazaribag District, suspecting him to be a Police informer and a supporter of the breakaway Maoist outfit, the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee. Kedar Singh Bhotka and his brother Ganesh Singh Bhotka were dragged out of their house at around 2 am. Both were then tied to a tree and beaten up after which Kedar was killed. Ganesh, who was later released, was undergoing treatment at the District hospital.

A cadre of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), earlier known as the JLT, identified as Kanhu Lohra alias Laden, was killed in an encounter with the Police at Kocha village in Khunti District. The encounter occurred when a group of PLFI cadres fired on a Police patrol party. One gun and a pistol were recovered from the incident site.

The CPI-Maoist threatened villagers in the Latehar and Chatra Districts with dire consequences if they take part in the forthcoming general elections, which is scheduled to be held in April.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed after a two-hour-long gun-battle with the Police near Barijharia village under Chainpur Police Station in the Palamau District. Acting on a tip-off, a Police team raided a hideout of the Maoists and asked them to surrender. The Maoists, however, opened fire at the Police and in the retaliatory action, two insurgents were killed. However, some more Maoists, reportedly more than 10 in number, managed to escape along with the bodies of their slain comrades.

More than 20 members of the TPC raided Lawagarh village in the Latehar District and abducted six people who are relatives of two commanders of the CPI-Maoist. The abducted villagers are relatives of Chotu, a 'sub-zonal commander' and Abhishek, an 'area commander' of CPI-Maoist. TPC members also set ablaze four houses and one tractor of the villagers, alleging that they were CPI-Maoist supporters. The abducted villagers are said to have been taken to the nearby jungles. According to Police, the incident is a consequence of the rivalry between the two groups.

A Policeman was killed by cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Bhaliaahi village in the Giridih District. The incident occurred during a raid on a Maoist hideout by the Police on the basis of a tip off. "When security personnel asked the rebels to surrender, the Maoists retaliated. In the gun battle that lasted more than two hours, one constable Surendra was killed," an unnamed Police officer said. The Maoists later managed to escape from the incident site.

Four Maoists were arrested in the Bermo area of Bokaro District. They have been identified as Mohammed Shahid, Mohammed Alam, Mohammed Muslim and Mohammed Minhas. Three bombs, a couple of Police uniforms, daggers and receipt books of levy connection were recovered from them. During interrogation, they revealed to the Police the details of their action plan for the coming Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in April 2009. According to sources, the arrested told the Police that the command to tackle the Security Forces has been handed over to area Naxalite commander and in-charge of Jharkhand, Navin Manjhi, who has roped in the services of the cadres from West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a primary school and a primary health centre at Nitar under Manatu Police Station in Palamu District. Superintendent of Police Ravi Kant Dhan informed the media on March 22 that the walls of both the buildings were badly damaged, while doors, furnitures and other goods were reduced to ashes.

In a raid, 15 kilograms of explosives, attached with a timer device for landmine explosion, was found underneath at Hussainabad-Alipur Road, Dhan said.

Normal life was affected in the State due to the general shutdown call given by the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) to protest against the killing of a 'commander' and some other members of the group.

The Police repelled a CPI-Maoist attack on the Dhurki Police Station in Garwah District after a two-hour gun battle. About 50 to 100 Maoists in four groups launched a simultaneous attack on the Police Station around 2am (IST) firing over 500 bullets, Police said. The Police counter attack forced the Maoists to retreat at around 4am without causing any harm to the Police Station.

Normal life was affected in the Ranchi District due to the daylong shutdown called by the CPI-Maoist. The shutdown was called to protest against alleged harsh Police treatment meted out to the Maoists in prisons. Consequently, bus and train services were badly affected in the District.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead Yakub Kongari, a Jharkhand Party leader, at Domtoli under Kolebira Police Station area in Simdega District. Pamphlets were reportedly strewn around his body reading "Police ke mukhbiro ka yahi hashra hoga (all Police informers will meet the same fate)."

A group of uniformed CPI-Maoist cadres armed with sophisticated weapons blew up an Aircel telecom tower and a house at Daihar village in the Chouparan area of Hazaribagh District. According to the Sub-divisional Police officer (SDPO) of Barhi, Arun Kumar Sinha, the house belonged to one Gopal Singh, who was a member of the Shastra People's Morcha, a breakaway group of the CPI-Maoist. No loss of life was reported from the house as it was abandoned. Before leaving, the Maoists left pamphlets, saying Gopal Singh's house was blown up as he and Shastra People's Morcha were behind the killing of four members of the outfit two months ago in Jori. They also asked the villagers to boycott the election.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up four public buildings at different places in the State. A vacant community hall was blown up at Penk village in the Bokaro District. A separate group of Maoists exploded two buildings housing primary schools in Ghansitola village in the Latehar District. In the third incident, a primary school building in the Banalat area of Gumla District was blown up destroying a portion of the structure. However, no loss of life was reported in any of these incidents.

Life in the Ghatshila sub-division remained paralyzed as a CPI-Maoist-sponsored 24-hour general shutdown call evoked a near-total response in the East Singhbhum District and adjoining Mayurbhanj District of Orissa. State offices, as well as private firms, remained closed in Ghatshila, Musaboni and Bahragora. Schools, colleges and training centres across the sub-division were also shut.

CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's house, a school building and a healthcare centre in the Moktama village of Chatra District, the Police said. About 50 Maoists barged into BJP leader Mahendra Yadav's house and asked his family members to run out, the report added. They then detonated bombs. They also blew up a school building and an anganvadi (mother and child centre) building in the same village. In the last three days, Maoists have reportedly blown up six Government buildings in the State.

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle was badly damaged in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists at a forest area near Bareni village in Latehar District. The vehicle was ferrying luggage of CRPF personnel who were returning to their base after handing over charge to BSF personnel for election duty. The Jharkhand Police spokesperson Inspector General S. N. Pradhan said the CRPF personnel had a miraculous escape as they were walking beside the vehicle when the Maoists triggered the landmine blast.

Left-wing extremists killed four security guards of the Abhijeet Group at the site office of the group's proposed power plant at Chakla village in Latehar District. While three guards died on the spot, another succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital. One injured guard was admitted to a Ranchi hospital. According to officials, the extremists had demanded a levy of INR two million from the company. The Abhijeet Group had apparently refused to pay the amount. "A chit was found on the place of this incident, in which Sanyukta Krantikari Committee (United Revolutionary Committee) is claiming responsibility for the incident. Although we have never heard of this group earlier, this is a serious crime committed by them," said District Superintendent of Police Hemant Toppo.

About 40 cadres of the CPI-Maoists under the leadership of their 'sub-zonal commander' Sanjay Yadav blew up the Project High School at Makka village in Lohardaga District. The Project High School is located less than a kilometre away from the village middle school where paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are reportedly camping these days.

Ranjan Yadav alias Dinkar, a member of the Bihar-Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh special area committee of the CPI-Maoist, was expelled from the outfit for contesting in the general election from Chatra constituency defying the group's poll boycott call, a statement issued by the outfit said. Yadav is contesting as an independent from Chatra. The CPI-Maoist declared Yadav as an anti-revolutionary, who had nothing to do with the outfit.

Two PLFI cadres were killed in a gun battle lasting over three hours with the Police near Salgi village of Gumla District. A carbine and a 9mm pistol were recovered from the slain extremists. According to Police, the PLFI members were holding a meeting to chalk out their strategy for the ensuing parliamentary elections.

An armed squad of the CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze the house of a teacher at Motuda village under Chandil Police Station in Seraikela-Kharsawan District.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a make-shift camp of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Ranpura in Garwah District, but failed to inflict any damage and retreated as the Security Forces retaliated. Nearly 50 Maoists surrounded a middle school, where the CRPF personnel were camping, and fired about 200 rounds from all sides, Police said.

The Police recovered a huge quantity of explosive material, sufficient to manufacture 200 bombs, from a bomb-manufacturing unit which was unearthed during a Police raid at Virajpur village. The Superintendent of Police, Manoj Kaushik, said the unit was found in the house of Ambuj Pandey, a home guard personnel, and Ranjit Pandey, a post master.

A 'commander' of the CPI-Maoist, Krishna Yadav, was killed in a gun battle with cadres of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a breakaway faction of the Maoists, in the forest area of Angarha at Simaria in Chatra District. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Naushad Alam, confirmed the killing and said the Krishna's body has been recovered. Alam said one more member of Krishna's team, Uday Ganjhu, was killed while four others sustained injuries. Krishna was mainly active in the Chatra and Hazaribagh Districts.

One person was killed and four Security Force (SF) Personnel were injured when a bomb exploded near Majholi village in Palamau District. The SF personnel were trying to defuse the bomb when it exploded.

The Police arrested two Maoists, identified as Sita Ram Majhi and Babu Lal Mahto, from Kotaladda village in Dhanbad District, which is considered to be a Maoist-stronghold. Both the cadres admitted their involvement in a SLR snatching case in Katras colliery area ten days ago.

About a dozen armed Maoists blew up the building of the Belhra High School at Bishrampur in the Palamau District, taking the total number of Government buildings destroyed by them to 10 in different Districts within a week. There was no loss of life in the incident. The Maoists left a note at the incident site claiming responsibility for the blast.

The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel repulsed a Maoist attack on their base camp at Furrow under the Bhandarya Police Station in Garhwa District. The Garhwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Saket Kumar Singh said the Maoists opened fire at the BSF camp from a distance in a bid to make their presence felt. However, the insurgents failed to inflict any damage as the camp was beyond their firing range. The Maoists used AK 47, SLRs and 3.3 rifles during the 15-minute attack which was retaliated by the BSF personnel present at the camp, the SP added.

Five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and three others injured when CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire on them inside Jalko forests under Arki Police Station in Khunti District. "It appears the rebels had already taken positions on the hills of the forests," said Inspector General (provision) and State Police spokesman S.N. Pradhan. "While the jawans were passing through, they opened fire," he mentioned. The slain Paramilitary personnel were identified as Hoshiyar Singh, Majhar Ali Khan, Sunil Rai, Sahadilip Singh and N.N. Sharma. "We have recovered a large number of bullets and empty cartridges from the venue. We have also recovered the body of a Naxalite," Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar Singh said over phone from Jalko and added that the CRPF personnel had killed another cadre of the CPI-Maoist, but his dead body was yet to be located.

Security Forces (SFs) recovered seven powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Khunti District. The inter-connected IEDs were planted near a canal on the Salgadih-Baridih path in the District, Deputy Superintendent of Police A. K. Roy said. While one IED weighed 60 kilograms, the other six were of 20 kilograms each and all connected with a 200 metre wire, Roy said. Naxalites (left-wing extremists) had planted the explosives with an aim to target the SFs who are engaged in area domination ahead of the April 16 elections in the Khunti parliamentary constituency.

Normal life was affected in Ranchi because of a day-long shutdown call given by the Maoists to protest against the killing of two commanders of the outfit during an encounter in Chatra District recently.

The Police defused two powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs), each weighing 10 kilograms, planted on the Saryu-Latehar road by Naxals (left-wing extremists) with an aim to target Security Forces, who are engaged in area domination ahead of the first phase polls. Acting on a tip-off, Police recovered the IEDs, from near the road in Pataria Chatak village of Latehar District, Superintendent of Police Hemant Toppo said, adding that both the explosives were defused immediately.

About 30 to 40 Maoists ransacked and set ablaze the election offices of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and an independent candidate at Kundari village under Lesliganj Police Station area in Palamu District. The Maoists also fired indiscriminately during the incident. No loss of life was reported.

Industrial activities in Chandil and Chowka (Seraikela-Kharsawan) remained stalled as CPI-Maoist called a District-wide general shutdown that saw complete response.

The Maoists triggered a landmine blast at Varnia Ghati in the hilly tracts of Barwadi in Latehar District blowing up a bus ferrying CRPF personnel leading to an exchange of fire with the Security Forces in which two CRPF personnel, a civilian driver and five Maoists were killed. Immediately after the blast, 80 CRPF constables, who had earlier alighted from the bus fearing a Maoist attack since a road stretch had a sharp incline slowing down traffic and were walking behind the vehicle, took positions and fired on the extremists, Inspector General of Police (Provisions) S.N. Pradhan said. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in the State in two phases on April 16 and April 23.

In a bid to disrupt the parliamentary elections, cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a paramilitary BSF bus ferrying the BSF personnel from Ladhup to Arah at a place about 125 kilometres from capital Ranchi in Latehar District, killing seven BSF personnel, one helper and the civilian driver of the bus on April 16. The BSF personnel were returning after patrolling. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sarvendu Tathagat, said a helicopter was flown to the spot for rescue operation, adding an encounter is going on.

The 26th battalion of the CRPF averted a major disaster with the recovery of an improvised explosive device weighing 100 kilograms kept under a bridge near Gajandi Nala in Bokaro District. "Today's recovery seems to be part of the explosives looted from the NALCO mine. Further investigations are on in this regard," sources said.

The Security Forces forced a group of Maoists to retreat after heavy gun-fire near Kumudih railway Station in Latehar District.

One BSF trooper was killed and three others were injured in a landmine explosion at Kone village in Latehar District. This was the third such incident in as many days. The BSF personnel and election staff were returning on foot in the morning when the landmine exploded. The explosion occurred after the Security Forces detected two other landmines and defused them.

About a dozen armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a school building in Kiukra village under Pirtand Police Station in Giridih District, days after the Security Forces (SFs) used it as a shelter during combing operations ahead of the second phase of parliamentary elections in Jharkhand on April 23. This was the 15th Government structure to be destroyed by the Maoists in five Districts for housing SF personnel, on anti-Maoist raid, during the last one month.

Villagers spotted CPI-Maoist posters asking people to stay away from voting in the Giridhi parliamentary constituency area. The constituency, having a strong Maoist presence, will go to polls along with seven other seats in the second phase of elections on April 13.

The CPI-Maoist called for a Jharkhand-Bihar general shutdown on April 22, a day before the second phase of parliamentary elections, in protest against the "killing of five villagers" by CRPF personnel at Barhania valley in Latehar District in Jharkhand on April 15. The encounter occurred immediately after a landmine explosion was carried out by the Maoists. The CRPF personnel claimed that the five were Naxalites, but villagers said they were innocent.

A group of over 50 Maoists bombed the Utari Road railway Station and also destroyed a nearby track in the Palamau District late. Police said the militants had planned to target the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, which was to pass through the Station 30 minutes after the blast.

The Maoists blew up a school and health centre in the Narayanpur village of Chatra District.

Security Forces escorting a group of election officials in the West Singhbhum District recovered a powerful bomb at Jalmary. The escort team was proceeding to the polling centre near Porangar village on foot and spotted the explosive planted on the road. The bomb, weighing 30 kilograms, was kept in a drum.

Nearly 200 CPI-Maoist cadres seized the Gomo-Mughalsarai train (number 627) carrying nearly 700 passengers near the Hehegarha Station at 7.30 a.m. in Latehar District and later released it around 11.50am (IST) without causing any harm to the passengers. They later fled the spot after spotting a helicopter.

Maoists attacked a CRPF camp and blew up the Chiyanki railway Station in Palamau District. They also bombed the outer cabin of the railway Station. The cabin man and porter have been missing since the attack.

In West Singhbhum District, Maoists attacked a CRPF camp. A gun battle between the militants and Security Force personnel was still on, officials said.

Police said the Maoists also triggered an explosion on the road between Giridih and Dumri and cut trees to block it.

An Executive Magistrate, Rajendra Prasad, and a Police Constable were wounded when the CPI-Maoist cadres lobbed a bomb at their vehicle near Dadi-Srirampur village in Giridih District.

The Security Forces repulsed a Maoist attempt to disrupt polling at Bansdera in the East Singhbhum District, 165 kilometres from capital Ranchi, after an hour-long gun-battle with the insurgents, the Inspector General of Police S. N. Pradhan said in Ranchi.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a chowkidar (security guard) accompanying a polling party at Kathikund in the Dumka District Four other persons, including two polling officials, a driver and a constable, were injured.

The Maoists fled away with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from a booth at a school at Rajavita in the Godda District.

The State administration ordered an inquiry into the killing of five tribals on April 15, which the CRPF had claimed was an encounter with Maoists. The administration also transferred three senior officials, Latehar Deputy Commissioner Sarvendu Tathagat, SP Hemant Toppo and DIG Nandu Prasad. Governor Syed Sibtey Razi ordered Palamau Deputy Commissioner A K Pandey to probe the allegations. "We've have started the inquiry," said Pandey.

Police recovered a landmine and two can bombs near Chesaribera in Khunti District. The explosives were later defused at a safe place, Police said.

Three suspected cadres of the PLFI, earlier known as JLT, were lynched by villagers of Kumaria in the Gumla District. Rajendra Sahu, Hiralal Sahu and Sanjay Sahu, who allegedly belonged to the PLFI, went to Kumaria, over 200 kilometres from the state capital, Ranchi, in the night and asked some villagers about the whereabouts of a contractor, Badnu Kharia. The trio allegedly assaulted the villagers when they pleaded ignorance. In retaliation, the villagers managed to overpower the insurgents and lynched them, the Police said.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze three vehicles at Kolibera in Simdega District as the 48-hour shutdown called by them in the District and neighbouring Gumla ended. A group of armed Maoists stopped an iron-laden truck and two other vehicles carrying soft drinks and set them ablaze after pouring petrol. The shutdown was called by the Maoists to protest the recent arrest of its self-styled sub-zonal commander Pratap Hinjia.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted three railway officials, including the Station master, of Hendegiri Station in the Latehar District. "A group of armed Maoists raided the Station on Tuesday night and abducted Station master Lalit Prasad, Deputy Station Master Anil Kumar and Assistant Station Master S. K. Tete," Divisional Railway Manager (Dhanbad division) A. K. Gupta said. Three other employees of the railway Station located about 140 kilometres from capital Ranchi were also abducted but later freed, Gupta added.

The Ranchi Police issued advertisements in local newspapers inviting youth from the left-wing extremism affected areas of the District to enroll for a free vocational training course. These courses will help youth get jobs in the Army, Police, Central Paramilitary Forces and also as drivers. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Praveen Kumar, said youths from the Maoist-affected areas, including Bundu, Tamar, Angara, Sonahatu, Bero, Rahe, Lapung, Khelari, Chanho, Silli and Sikidri, will have to get in touch with officers in charge of the respective Police Stations and submit their applications.

Three railway officials, abducted by suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist on May 12, were rescued after an intensive combing operation in the forests of Amjharia in the Hazaribagh District, 140 km from Ranchi. "Station Master Lalit Prasad, Deputy Station Master Sushil Kumar Tete and Assistant Station Master Anil Kumar of Hendigir railway Station of the East-Central Railways have been rescued unharmed," Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Kamboj told journalists. During the combing operation, the kidnappers saw the Police approaching and started firing. After retaliatory action, all of them fled leaving the officials behind, he said. The abductors, who claimed to be Maoists, could belong to either the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC) or TPC, breakaway groups of the CPI-Maoist, the SP said. Three rifles, two country-made revolvers, six live cartridges, four cell phones and explosive materials were recovered from the spot.

A bus conductor was killed and three CRPF personnel injured in two landmine blasts triggered by suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Pomgir village in the West Singhbhum District. The blasts occurred when a joint team of CRPF and Police personnel were on long-range patrolling duty in the Saranda forest under the Bandgaon Police Station. "The security personnel were patrolling on foot while a Police bus moved close-by. When they reached somewhere near Pomgir, two landmines were set off by suspected Maoists," an unnamed official said. The conductor of the bus died on the spot while the three CRPF soldiers sustained injuries in the incident.

The diktat by the CPI-Maoist to tendu leaf (leaves of diospyros melonoxylon used for rolling bidis) traders in Ghatshila sub-divisional villages in East Singhbhum District to pay an enhanced rate has caused economic hardship to the tribals. As the traders are not ready to obey the diktat, tribals, who collect tendu leaves on a daily basis during the season from April to June, are left with no buyers since the Maoists have set ablaze three depots of tendu leaves in the Sukhlara panchayat (village-level local self Government institution) under MGM Police Station, Jhanti Jharna and Karadoba panchayats in the Ghatshila Police Station area.

Ttwo persons, identified as Paswar and Maqsood, were beaten to death by cadres of the CPI-Maoist at Banbar village under Bhandaria Police Station in Garhwa District. According to Garhwa Superintendent Police (SP) Saket Singh, the Maoists first asked Paswar to provide them with a 9-mm pistol. When he pleaded his inability to do so, he was beaten to death with lathis (batons). Maqsood, too, was beaten to death in a similar way. A handbill left by the Maoists at the spot stated that Maqsood used to extort money in the name of their party organisation and that he was also a rapist. "Maqsood was a notorious criminal. He was released from jail about a month ago. But on what basis did the rebels demand a 9mm pistol from Paswar is rather intriguing. Both cases are being investigated," said the SP over phone.

A Maoist was killed and a CRPF personnel was injured in an encounter between the SFs and the Maoists in Hazaribagh District. Acting on a tip-off that the Maoists of Jharkhand and Bihar were holding a meeting in the deep forest in Tetariya More bordering Gaya District of Bihar, a security team was rushed to the area, sources said. When the Maoists saw the Security Forces, they opened fire in which a CRPF personnel, Raj Kumar, received bullet injuries on his shoulder. The SFs retaliated the fire in which a Maoist was killed, sources claimed.

In Chatra District, suspected Maoists blew up two blocks of a middle school building in the Kaura village under Pratapur Police Station. During the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Police had put up camps in these buildings.

Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) cadres set ablaze two dumpers near Hatihar village under Bano Police Station in Simdega District. Sources at the Police headquarters said the incident was an outcome of a dispute over levy amounts.

Cadres of the PLFI set ablaze one earth dredging machine of a road construction company at a construction site in Dulsurma village of Palamu District late in the night. The incident took place after the contractor failed to pay heed to the extortion demands of the extremists, Police said.

SF personnel following an encounter arrested nine CPI-Maoist cadres and recovered three rifles, can bombs, uniforms and urea in the Ulung village under Rania Police Station area of Khunti District. The encounter took place when a joint team of Police and CRPF engaged in a long-range patrolling were fired upon by the Maoists at around 9.30am. The encounter, involving 40 SF personnel and some 200 Maoists, reportedly continued for 45-minutes. According to the SP of Khunti, Prabhat Kumar, "One out of the three rifles seized was a .303-rifle that is used by the Jharkhand Police personnel. Rebels must have looted the gun from a Police outpost. However, we are not sure from where," adding, "three can bombs were recovered but we are yet to count the number of uniforms recovered. Besides, we have also recovered empty canvas kit bags used to carry all the equipment." He also said that "As an exchange began, the rebels were left with little option other than escape into the nearby village (Ulung)." After the Maoists stopped firing, Police cordoned off the village and carried out a search operation that carried on till 5pm in the evening. "Afterwards, we drew out eight persons who were neither Ulung residents nor related to the villagers. After a brief inquiry, we ascertained that they were rebels and then mounted pressure on them to help recover arms, ammunition and uniforms from the area. While returning from the village, we arrested one more, a man who doubled up as an informer," he added.

Two separate encounters took place between the Police and CPI-Maoist cadres under Namkum and Bundu Police Stations in Ranchi District. Police also neutralized a bunker having a capacity of 50 people at Barahatu under Bundu Police Station and recovered four 9-mm pistols along with few AK-47 bullets. While no Policeman was injured in the encounters, Police claimed that a Maoist was shot dead in the 30-minute gun battle. His body, however, was taken away by his associates.

Police arrested 36 CPI-Maoist cadres, including 12 women, belonging to the Banspahari unit of the Police Santras Birodhi Public Committee of West Midnapore in West Bengal while they were taking out a rally in support of the bandh at Chakulia in East Singbhum District in the evening.

The 24-hour nationwide bandh called by the CPI-Maoist to protest the recent killings of their central committee member Sudhakar Reddy and the LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran by Police and Sri Lankan Army respectively affected train service in various parts of the State.

Police is imparting vocational training to the unemployed youth of CPI-Maoist infested regions to enable them earn a livelihood and join the mainstream. About 250 youths from the insurgency-affected areas are presently being trained for recruitment in the army, paramilitary forces and Jharkhand Police. According to the Superintendent of Police in Ranchi, Praveen Kumar, the initiative is sure to break the local support base of the Maoists, who recruit a large number of local youth every year. "Our main concentration was rural areas. Because we know that those living in big cities will get this opportunity anytime because of their geographical location. But those living in villages don''t even have access to newspapers and basic information. There are many unemployed youth who are school outs and are idle. They do not even try or don''t have the right channel to do anything," Kumar said, adding, "According to my personal observation, all this has created a furore among the Maoists because they are aware that this initiative would lead to eradication of their local support base."

Two separate encounters took place between the Police and CPI-Maoist cadres under Namkum and Bundu Police Stations in Ranchi District. Police also neutralized a bunker having a capacity of 50 people at Barahatu under Bundu Police Station and recovered four 9-mm pistols along with few AK-47 bullets. While no Policeman was injured in the encounters, Police claimed that a Maoist was shot dead in the 30-minute gun battle. His body, however, was taken away by his associates.

The 24-hour nationwide bandh (general shut-down) called by the CPI-Maoist on June 1 to protest the recent killings of their central committee member Sudhakar Reddy and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran by Police and Sri Lankan Army respectively affected train service in various parts of the State.

Police arrested 36 CPI-Maoist cadres, including 12 women, belonging to the Banspahari unit of the Police Santras Birodhi Public Committee of West Midnapore in West Bengal while they were taking out a rally in support of the bandh at Chakulia in East Singbhum District in the evening of May 31.

Nine CPI-Maoist cadres, including five women, were arrested by the Police at Jamshedpur. Earlier, Police had detained 20 persons who organised a rally with a plan to declare a State-wide shutdown on June 1. "From the people we had detained, we have found that Geeta, a member of Dasta Maoist outfit and other hard core Maoists who used to work as logistics and work for strengthening the unit. We have identified nine of them and will present them in court," said Superintendent of Police Navin Kumar Singh.

Panic gripped the residents of Chakulia village in East Singhbhum District after the CPI-Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) announced that they would not allow anyone from Jharkhand to enter Bengal. The decision, taken by the Committee at a meeting in Jhargram in West Bengal, close to the Jharkhand-Bengal border, is aimed at exerting pressure on the Jharkhand Police to release the nine suspected Naxalites (left-wing extremists) arrested on May 31. PCPA will block all roads connecting Chakulia, Ghatshila and Dhalbhumgarh with Belpahari in Bengal. East Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Naveen Kumar Singh said that there was no question of releasing the nine suspected Naxalites.

11 Policemen, including a CRPF Inspector, were killed and six others injured when Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres triggered a landmine explosion targeting their vehicle in West Singhbhum District on. A joint team of the CRPF and Jharkhand Police was returning from a two-day long-range patrolling in Saranda forest when the explosion took place between Serengda and Aruanga villages, Director-General of Police V. D. Ram said. The victims also included the Officer in Charge of Goilkera Police Station, Philips Tete, and Assistant Sub-Inspector P. C Hembram besides CRPF inspector P. Parimal. An encounter between the Maoists and the Police followed the blast which was still continuing, CRPF Commandant Sanjay Singh said.

One TPC cadre was killed in a gun battle with Security Forces near Semra village in Palamau District in the morning. Around seven TPC cadres were present when Police raided the village. However, the rest managed to escape. Police seized one revolver and left-wing extremist literature, among other things, from the slain TPC cadre.

At least 13 Security Force (SF) personnel were killed in two separate attacks by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Bokaro District. CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a State Bank of India (SBI) branch near Fusro market of Bokaro town in the afternoon, killing two Jharkhand Police personnel, who foiled their attempt to loot money from the bank. At least 10 people were injured when the Maoists hurled bombs and opened indiscriminate fire in the market area. An encounter took place between SFs and the Maoists in the Bermo Police Station area of Bokaro after the attack.

The CPI-Maoist cadres detonated a landmine in the Nawadih area of the same District, killing at least 11 SF personnel and injuring eight, said the Director General of Police (DGP) V.D. Ram. The slain SF personnel belonged to the Jharkhand Armed Police and Special Armed Force, raised to fight the CPI-Maoist. This is the second major Maoist attack in the last two days.

The Maoists organised a general shutdown on in six States, including in Jharkhand, to protest against the killing of Venkat Reddy, a member of the central committee of the CPI-Maoist, in Andhra Pradesh recently.

Maoists detonated a landmine near Rania in Khunti District injuring 10 Jharkhand Armed Police personnel, five of them critically. The incident, the third in last four days, took place when the Jharkhand Armed Police personnel were returning to the Rania Police camp in a Police van after purchasing diesel. By the time the injured Policemen took position, the Maoists opened indiscriminate firing on them. The Policemen also fired over 100 rounds and mortars. The encounter lasted about half-an-hour following which the Maoists retreated into the nearby jungles. "The landmine was planted on a bridge. The vehicle, which carried diesel containers, was coming from Torpa to the Rania Police camp," Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ashok Kumar Rai said.

One person, identified as Balakram Soren, reportedly a rural medical practitioner, was shot dead by suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist at Panchangora Tola in the West Singhbhum District late in the night.

Four Policemen were killed and five others sustained injuries in an encounter between the Police and cadres of the CPI-Maoist at Manatu Police Station area of Palamu District. The Police personnel were returning after a long range patrolling when the Maoists opened fire on them.

Around 10 to 15 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a panchayat (village level self-Government institution) building in the Chahapur village of Palamau District. However, no casualty was reported as the building was empty at the time. After blowing up the building, Maoist shouted slogans against the Security Forces'' operation in the Lalgarh area of West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Police arrested three Maoists, including a woman, from a nursing home in the Bokaro District. Police also arrested Ratan Lal Manjhi, the owner of the nursing home.

Around 10 cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze a truck laden with iron ore near Bhuiadih village in Khunti District.

Naxalites (Left-wing extremists) killed a villager at Parasi village under Tamar Police Station area in Ranchi District and left behind posters, which hinted that the victim had to pay the price with his life for allegedly committing rape and murder.

In the same District, a criminal, who had recently joined the PLFI, earlier known as JLT, was killed in an encounter with the Police at Prem Nagar under the Nagari Police Outpost. Police confirmed the death of Nand Kishore Nayak in the encounter, saying that they had been on the lookout for the extremist for some time. A 9-mm pistol was recovered from the possession of the slain extremist.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Santosh Sao and Ganesh Sao, were arrested from Lalpania near Jhumra hill in Bokaro District and 200 kilograms of explosives and 100 pieces of detonators were recovered from them. Police described the duo as hard-core cadres of the CPI-Maoist. They were involved in supplying explosives and arms to the ''red squad'' of the outfit.

11 suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist, who were extorting money on the pretext of religious celebrations and warning of a Lalgarh-type situation in the State, were arrested from of Nimdih, about 50 kilomeres from Jamshedpur in East Singhbhum District. Police said the men, aged between 20 and 24 years, were residents of Koira village in the Patamda block of the District. They were detained at the weekly haat (market) at Chaliama village in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan's Nimdih Police Station area. Though no arms or explosives were found from them, some Maoist literature was recovered.

The Centre indicated that Jharkhand should fill-up vacant posts in the Police department. "I think the state has lot of vacancies in its own posts. And as you have seen everywhere the Centre will give adequate forces, but the primary responsibility lies with the state government," said Gopal Pillay, who takes over as the new Union Home Secretary from June 30, told the media in capital Ranchi. He was responding to a query as to whether Jharkhand has adequate central forces to deal with the Maoist insurgency.

A CPI-Maoist leader, identified as Nathuni Mistry alias Prem alias Premnath, was sentenced by a local court to seven years of imprisonment for attacking a Police patrol in Balurmath in Latehar District in 2000. A resident of Mandanpur in the Aurangabad District of Bihar, Mistry was arrested from Ranchi in June 2002. Terming it as a major success, Jharkhand Police spokesperson and Inspector General of Police (provisions), S. N. Pradhan, said it was a major success for the Police in terms of prosecution, Times of India reported. "More than 15 cases are pending against him in Bihar and Jharkhand," said Pradhan.

A hardcore cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Somnath, was killed in an encounter with the Police at Koramba forest in the Ramgarh block of Dumka District. Acting on a tip-off, a Police team reached Koramba to flush out the Maoists but the Maoists started firing at the Police party, Superintendent of Police Arun Kumar Singh said. Somnath was killed in retaliatory action. An SLR rifle was found from the incident site.

S.N. Pradhan, the Inspector-General of Police (Operations), said the Jharkhand Police will soon have, among other things, assault rifles with night vision in its armoury to take on Maoists as part of the ongoing Police modernisation programme.

The sub-zonal 'platoon commander' of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), Sanjay Yadav, parted ways with the outfit along with his trusted lieutenants. Sources claimed that Sanjay quit the PLGA due to his growing differences with the outfit's 'zonal commander' Nakul Yadav. However, he has not yet announced his decision to either form a separate outfit or join hands with any other outfit.

A dozen Maoists, who had allegedly planned to blow up the Bishnugarh Police picket at Dudhmania in Hazaribag District, were arrested. After a tip-off, Security Forces rushed to the NH-100 and arrested them, District Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj said. The Maoists, who had deployed teenage villagers, asked them to keep a watch on Police movement while the seniors execute their plot by laying landmines near the Police picket, he said. "To divert Police attention, the Maoists also decided to loot the SBI [State bank of India] Banaso branch on the same route," he said.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead one CRPF trooper, Pitambar Kumar Singh, in his house at Ninder the Latehar District. Singh, who was posted at the Ghatsila sub-division in East Singhbhum District, was reportedly on leave.

Two Maoist sympathisers were arrested from the Gandhi Nagar area of capital Ranchi following a raid conducted by the Special Task Force (STF). The duo, identified as Sanjay Kumar Singh alias Manoj Kumar Singh and his wife Uma Minz, stayed in a rented house. Singh, who posed as a transporter, used to give shelter to Maoists and his guests included sub-zonal 'commander' Uday Ganjhu. The STF recovered a huge quantity of ammunition, explosives, left-wing extremist literature, films, compact discs, a computer, chargeable battery, blank audio cassettes and two multi-utility vehicles during the raid. The seized explosives included four kilograms of ammonium nitrate and 403 live cartridges. Police sources said the couple admitted during interrogation that the house in which they had been staying for the last one and a half years was taken on rent by Ganjhu.

Kalijit Ganjhu alias SP, chief of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a breakaway Maoist faction, was arrested at a check-post at Sila on the National Highway 100 (Hazaribagh-Chatra Road) in Chatra District. Kalijit was sitting on the pillion of a two wheeler en route to the jungle when he was arrested. The outfit, mainly operating in the Hazaribagh and Chatra Districts, had been making extortion demands to contractors engaged in the construction of the KodermaHazaribagh-Barkakana-Ranchi railway line of the East Central Railway.

A 13-year-old sympathiser of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Baburm Kisku, was arrested on an unspecified date from Khadimba village in the Dumka District.

The CPI-Maoist launched a poster campaign at Chakulia town in the Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum District on triggering a fresh panic among residents. Posters were seen in the heart of Chakulia town, on walls of a temple and the panchayat office. More than issuing warnings, the posters reportedly appealed to owners of rice mills and detergent factories to pay up a minimum wage of INR 100 to daily-wage labourers.

A CPI-Maoist squad led by Madan Mahto, which was active in Lalgarh in bordering West Midnapore District of West Bengal, crossed over to Ghatshila in East Singhbhum District. Intelligence sources revealed that the 16-member squad is operating within 20 kilometres radius of Ghatshila town. The Maoists, mostly hailing from Belpahari area in West Midnapore's Jhargram sub-division are reported to have taken shelter in villages like Jhanti Jharna, Basadera and Dainmari - all in dense forest without any motorable road - under Ghatshila Police Station area near the Bengal border.

Three persons, identified as Babban Pandey, Yamuna Prasad and Ashwini Kumar, were arrested from Fusro in the Bokaro District for selling arms and explosives to the CPI-Maoist. According to Police, Babban Pandey was arrested at Fusro railway Station in the morning when he arrived from Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, and 2,000 pieces of components for hand grenades were seized from him. Acting on information revealed by him, the others were arrested from Fusro market. Police said the three men were working for CPI-Maoist leader Navin Majhi.

Over 40 Maoists attacked Jogibigha village under Pratappur Police Station area in Chatra District on the Jharkhand-Bihar border and seriously injured one Moinuddin Khan. Chatra Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendar Kumar Singh said the Maoists surrounded the village and pulled out Khan from his house and shot him in the leg. According to sources, the Maoists attacked the village and shot at Khan who was luckily saved after the villagers retaliated with traditional weapons. No one else was injured as the Maoists retreated after the villagers retaliated, the sources said.

The Jharkhand Government which adopted an aggressive strategy to promote tourism has said the Maoist problem in the State has been blown out of proportion and tourists were not harmed by the leftwing extremists. "It has been made out as if entire Jharkhand is infested with Maoists. Not all the tourist destinations in the state are affected by the menace. A negative image has been sought to be created about Jharkhand. Tourists have not been harmed by the ultras," Jharkhand Tourism Secretary Arun Kumarr Singh told newsmen in Kolkata.

Police seized a consignment of sophisticated communication devices, binoculars and bullet-proof jackets which were to be delivered to the CPI-Maoist cadres operating in Bihar and Jharkhand was seized from Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand,. Two persons were arrested in this connection from Daltonganj (Jharkhand) and the national capital New Delhi. The communication gadgets were transhipped from Delhi by Air India cargo, booked by a Jharkhand-based contractor, Naresh Sharma, against the name of his staff. The consignment was to be received from the Air India office at Pradhan Tower on Mahatma Gandhi road in Ranchi. While Naresh was arrested from Daltonganj in Palamu District, the supplier of the devices, identified as Praveen Sharma, was arrested in Delhi by the Special Cell of Delhi Police based on information provided by Ranchi Police. Police also seized a bullet-proof jacket from Naresh''s possession. The jacket along with the consignment was to be delivered to the CPI-Maoist central committee member Sandeepji. The seized items include 60 Motorolla walkie talkie sets, 60 headphones, chargers, 3.6 volt 54 batteries, 10 Sony compact transistors, two world radio transistors, six mini cassette recorders most of them made in Japan and China.

A hardcore cadre of the banned CPI-Maoist, identified as Suresh Oraon, who is active in Chhattisgarh, was arrested from Chainpur Chowk in Gumla District. In Suresh Oraon's possession, Police found 10 mobile chargers, one mobile set, one FM radio set, a long list of telephone numbers of 700 persons, including those of Maoist 'commanders' and arms suppliers. He had joined the CPI-Maoist in 2004.

A 'commander' of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a breakaway faction of the banned CPI-Maoist, identified as Raman, was arrested from Burkunda area of Ramgarh District. Raman had come to the Burkunda area to extort money, Police said. Incriminating documents, including Maoist literature, were recovered from Raman, Police added. Raman was wanted in more than a dozen cases.

Concerned over the rise in Naxalite (Left Wing Extremism) activities in East Singhbhum District, the Police have decided to improve the security infrastructure at six Police Stations in the Ghatshila sub-division and Patamda. New well-equipped buildings would come up at Patamda, Dhalbhumgarh, Ghatshila, Dumaria, Baharagora and Jadugora Police Stations, in addition to the existing buildings that were primitive and dilapidated. The new buildings would house barracks, interrogation rooms, computers and wireless rooms, besides watchtowers, a generator room and rooms for accommodating senior Police officials.

Police recovered landmine, weighing 20-kilograms, which was planted by the CPI-Maoist cadres under a bridge on the outskirts of capital Ranchi. According to Police, a search team was sent to the spot following an intelligence tip-off and it found the landmine near the Ganghat railway Station, around 30 kilometres from Ranchi. The bomb disposal team later successfully defused the landmine.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed two persons in two separate incidents in Giridih and Gumla Districts after branding them as Police informers, Police said. According to Police, the CPI-Maoist cadres killed Manoj Sao by slitting his throat. Manoj reportedly ran a shop and hotel at Pirtand block of Giridih District. A pamphlet branding Manoj as Police informer and a rapist was left near his body found in the morning of July 18 near Chachondo village of Giridih District, around 190 kilometers from capital Ranchi. In Gumla District, the CPI-Maoist cadres killed a teacher by crushing his head with heavy stones. He was also accused of being a Police informer.

Police in capital Ranchi arrested Firdaus, a 40-year-old resident of Hindpiri, in the evening of July 18 along with a 9-mm pistol, two mobile phones, four SIM cards and INR 2,400. The Superintendent of Police (city), A. Vijayalaxmi, said Firdaus had confessed to his association with cadres of the CPI-Maoist and had provided the Police vital clues on explosives stored in Giridih. "Firdaus is an explosives supplier active in the Bundu and Tamar areas of the District. Besides explosives, he also supplied shoes and uniforms purchased from city stores," she added.

Suspected cadres beheaded a man and took away his head leaving the body near Koleng Nawadih village of Gumla District, Police said. The body was later found by the villagers.

A Special Task Force recovered a huge cache of explosives from the storeroom of a construction firm in Giridih District on information provided by one Firdaus. Referring to the incident, the Giridih Superintendent of Police, A.V. Minz, said the raid, conducted in the night of July 18 at Progressive Construction Limited (PCL) in Bagoder, yielded 1,964 kilograms of gelatin and 15,000 meters of fuse wire. An unnamed Bagoder Police Station officer said the explosives were stored in more than 50 boxes inside the room. The storekeeper, identified as Mahesh Madela, was arrested in this connection. "PCL officials said the explosives were to be used for making roads. But they could furnish papers for just 450 kilograms of gelatin and 1,500 metres fuse wire. They also showed four invoices of the same date," Minz said. A.V. Minz added that Firduas had confessed his links with the Kundan Pahan squad.

Eight Naxalites (left-wing extremists) were arrested at three places in Jharkhand Police said. Four Naxalites belonging to the PLFI, earlier known as JLT, were arrested in Ramgarh District following a tip-off. Those arrested include two 'area commanders' of the PLFI, using the aliases of Cobra and Tiger, who were wanted in more than a dozen cases, Police added. Police also seized two revolvers, live cartridges, computers, three mobile phones and Maoist literature from the arrested cadres. In addition, three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from the Latehar District. In Gumla, Police arrested Chhota Gope, an 'area commander' of the PLFI, along with a revolver.

A gun-battle was reported between Police and cadres of JPC, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, in the forests near Chirudih village of Barkagaon, some 47 kilometers from the Hazaribagh District headquarters. Though no casualty was reported the Police recovered a wireless set, five mobile phones, 143 cartridges and files containing names of persons who had paid 'levy' to the JPC. The extremists, however, reportedly managed to escape. According to sources, the Barkagaon Police had received a tip-off regarding JPC members holding a meeting inside the Chirudih forests after dark. Accordingly, a team led by officer in charge of the Barkagaon Police Station, Gopal Krishna, and assistant sub-inspectors K.K. Pathak and J.P. Marandi, reached the spot around 12.30 am. Sources said the extremists became aware of the Police presence and began to fire indiscriminately. Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj said the Police fired 10 rounds and the insurgents 15 rounds before the encounter ended. "There were about 10 to 15 rebels at the spot. They managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Otherwise, we would have surely managed to kill or arrest them," Kamboj added.

The Maoists have called a 24-hour bandh (shutdown) in Jharkhand from the midnight of July 21 in protest against price rise. The CPI-Maoist Jharkhand State Central Committee gave the bandh call in a faxed message to the media late in the night of July 20.

The Jharkhand unit of the outlawed CPI-Maoist has warned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram and the ruling UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi against ''dreaming to wipe out Naxalites from the country'', saying if they don't give up on their bid, all three would be eliminated.

The threat was issued through a letter originating in Garhwa District and is now in circulation in State capital Ranchi. Dated July 20 and numbered 25, the letter is signed by one Anupji "on behalf of Ghatshila sub-zonal committee." The letter-head reads, "CPI (Maoist), Jharkhand State Central Committee" and is not addressed to anyone in particular. "Chidambaram says Naxalites would be wiped out... He should stop daydreaming or else he would be given death punishment," the letter reads and dares him to come to the "land of Jharkhand" and see that "Naxalites are not clay toys." The letter also threatens Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, saying, "Both the PM and Sonia Gandhi will meet a fate like former prime minister, late Rajiv Gandhi." It asked all Congress legislators, both from the Parliament and Assembly, to quit within a week or face "death warrants."

However, the Superintendent of Police in East Singhbhum District, Navin Kumar Singh, said "I have not come across such a committee as of now," when asked whether Anupji operated in Ghatsilla sub-division which falls under East Singhbhum. "The letter could be fictitious and was found by someone in Balumath in Latehar District and was released in Garwah District in Jharkhand," he added. "The CPI (Maoist) is desperate after it was termed as a terrorist outfit. It just wants to gain mileage by issuing such press releases," another Police official involved in anti-Maoist operation in Jharkhand said.

Police claimed that six CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces that led to neutralizing of three CPI-Maoist camps in the Simdega District. The encounter began in the morning as personnel of the newly formed Jharkhand Jaguar Force (JJF) led by Kolibira Police Station in-charge N. K. Sinha raided three Maoist camps near Khareganja village, about 90 kilometers from State capital Ranchi. The JJF personnel observed six Naxalites falling to their bullets and the extremists dragging them away, Simdega Superintendent of Police (SP), Abhishek Kumar, told reporters. He said a Naxalite was also arrested after the encounter, but no dead body was recovered from the incident site. Police recovered eight guns, a pistol, nine detonators, including one electric detonator, eight mobile handsets, seven rucksacks, a gas cylinder and several cartridges from the camps. "The encounter began at 1.30pm and continued till 3pm. As many as 1,000 rounds was fired from both sides. Fortunately, no personnel were injured. We recovered five 0.315 rifle, three double-barrel guns, one Police pistol, 150 rounds of cartridges, a detonator, a magnetic compass, a walkie-talkie and seven mobile phones, besides crockery and a map of Jharkhand from the spot," the SP was quoted as saying by Telegraph.

The bandh (shutdown) called by the CPI-Maoist against price rise evoked mixed response in rural Jharkhand. In the Latehar, Palamau, Khunti, East and West Singhbhum Districts, the bandh was reported to be total while the shutdown call had no effect in the Santhal Pargana region comprising six Districts. Mineral transport was affected as truckers went off the road. While life in urban areas remained normal, it came to standstill in the Maoist-dominated rural areas of Giridih, Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar and Chatra Districts.

The Padma Police raided the house of one Sunil Kumar Mehta in the Chameli forest and seized a large quantity of explosives. Briefing the media, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Naushad Alam, said the seized explosives include 10 pieces of power gel, 15 pieces of electric detonator, a 100-metre safety fuse and about 15 kilograms of ammonium nitrate. The raid was conducted under the leadership of Padma Police Station officer in-charge Devdas Yadav, he added. Alam said that Mehta did not have any licence for possessing the explosives. He also said that anti-social elements purchase explosive materials for carrying out illegal mining in stone quarries and pass on the same to the CPI-Maoist who are quite active in the Padma forest. Alam also said that the Police had seized a large amount of explosives during the 2009 parliamentary elections. These materials were supposed to be used by the Maoists to create disturbances during the elections, he added.

Naxalites (left-wing extremists) extort funds meant for the development of schools in Jharkhand. According to the report, Naxalites are demanding money from schools from the grants received by them from the Government. In Latehar, they demanded INR 50000 as 'levy' from a school and threatened dire consequences in case they were not paid the demanded amount. The Naxalites reportedly want to get a share of the INR 6.3 million funds allocated for construction and development of the school by the Government. The principal and members of the village education committee have been threatened not to spend funds. "A letter ordering closure of the school has been written to the Head, President and Headmaster of the school. Besides they have been directed to send INR 50,000 (to Naxalites)," said the headmistress of the Government Secondary School, Sinjo, in Latehar.

Police and paramilitary forces have intensified long-range patrolling (LRP) at Nimdih and Chandil after Police found CPI-Maoist posters declaring death to those found selling liquor and marijuana at these two places in Seraikela-Kharsawan. Police began LRP at Chaliama and Fadengda forests that borders the Purulia District of West Bengal, the report said, adding, six posters were found on the walls of primary schools and post offices in Chaliama and Fadengda while the Police were conducting a combing operation in these two areas. The Seraikela-Kharsawan SP Sheetal Oraon confirmed reports of the fresh poster campaign at Chaliama and Fadenga villages. "In the posters rebels have threatened those who sell liquor and marijuana to quit the practice or face death. We are conducting a probe into the matter and are trying to ensure that no harm comes to the people," she said. She added that the LRP have been intensified at most places sensing that Maoists must be keeping a vigil on the villagers. Three months ago, the Maoists had killed a man in Fadengda suspecting him to be a Police informer.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze the house of a farmer, Amiruddin Ansari, at Hriday Toli village under the Kisko Police Station in the Lohardaga District at around 4am (IST). Villagers, however, doused the fire which gutted fodder kept in two rooms of the house. "No one saw who set the house on fire. But we have reasons to suspect MCC's hand in the incident," Amiruddin said. He said that about 15 days ago, the Maoist Communist Centre had sent him a letter demanding a sum of INR 2 lakh and five SIM cards. Besides, the extremists also sought a monthly payment of INR 5000. He also received several threat calls from a number 9504097082. The caller even inquired about his son's Naushad Hussain's arrival. He said that his son, who is in Army, had recently come home on leave. Amiruddin said that the caller had asked him to deposit the levy and the SIM cards in the village school. The caller had also informed him about two fellow villagers who make a monthly payment of INR 5000 to the outfit through the school. Kisko Police Station in-charge Sunil Kumar Tiwari, however, said Police is scanning the contents of the letter, adding, "It seems that the letter has been issued either by some enemies of Amiruddin or by the local criminals."

About a dozen armed cadres of the JPC, a breakaway faction of CPI-Maoist abducted one Aditya Sahu (30) from Champi village under the Kuru Police Station in the Lohardaga District at around 8pm. Sources said the armed JPC cadres led by "commander" Pradeep Ganjhu abducted Aditya from his grocery shop at Champi Chowk. Sources said one Mukesh Sahu was actually the target of the JPC men, but as he managed to escape the militants abducted Aditya instead. This is the second incident of abduction within six days at Champi village. On July 23, a teacher Savitri Kumari's son Manoj Chaoudhury alias Mannu was abducted from his residence. However he was rescued by the Police within three days.

High alert has been sounded across the State following intelligence inputs suggesting major strikes by the Maoists during "martyrs' week" that began on July 28. Banners and posters were spotted in different Districts of the State, including East and West Singhbhum, Bokaro, Latehar, Gumla and Simdega, asking the people to observe "martyrs' week" and remember the sacrifices of Maoist leaders. "These posters and banners have come to our notice. They could be a trap...The Maoists can ambush Police parties when they go to remove the them," said Jharkhand Police spokesperson and Inspector General (provision) S. N. Pradhan. The IG said Police have received inputs on Maoist mobilization in some areas and their plans to carry out big attacks there. "We are trying to thwart any major strike by the Maoists and for that, every SP is being instructed to act accordingly," said Pradhan. Fear of Maoist attacks during martyrs' week" has crippled mineral transportation in the State. Every year, the rebels observe Martyrs' Week from July 28 to August 3.

The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Maken, informed the Rajya Sabha that Jharkhand alone accounts for over one third of the Naxalite violence witnessed by the country in 2009. In a written reply to the Upper House, Maken said as many as 395 incidents of CPI-Maoist attacks were reported from Jharkhand till July 23, 2009, while in 2008, the number was 484. The country has witnessed a total of 1,217 incidents of Maoist violence so far in 2009, claiming 508 lives, including that of 233 Security Force personnel. A total of 107 insurgents were killed in the same period. Maken also said the state had, from time to time, appealed to the Maoists to abjure violence and hold talks with the administration on any issue that are of concern to them. "However, the Centre does not have any information whether the State is now engaged in any talks with the rebels," he added. The Union Minister also said no proposal of holding direct talks with the Maoists is under consideration of the Central Government.

A self-styled 'sub-zonal commander' of the little known Jharkhand People' Liberation Elam (JPLE), a breakaway faction of the PLFI which was earlier known as JLT, was arrested from a village in the Burmu Police Station area. The SP, Anand T. Mathew, said Police intercepted the Sanjay Yadav at Belwari around 7am (IST) while he was returning with a levy of INR 5000 from a contractor, Batu Mahto. A locally-made pistol and cartridges were also recovered from Sanjay's possession. Mathew said Sanjay Yadav, active in Burmu, Chanho, Mandar, Peeparwar and adjoining areas, was collecting levy from the colliery contractors. He had also been arrested in connection with a murder case in 2007, but released on bail from the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi a year ago. "We had been looking for Yadav. He had fire on contractor Batu Mahto on July 26 and on the Police at Taranga village in Chanho the next night," the SP said. The JPLE was formed seven months ago with 10-12 former PLFI members, the report added.

CPI-M cadres set ablaze two vegetable trucks coming from West Bengal to mark the second and last day of their Jharkhand bandh (general shut down), prompting Security Forces to engage the extremists in an encounter at Bhadodih near Patamda about 15 kilometers from Jamshedpur. The encounter was on when the reports last came in.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a senior central committee leader of the JMM and wounded one of his associates at Patamda off Jamshedpur in the East Singhbhum District. Doren Singh Munda (48) was a close aide of former State land revenue minister Dulal Bhuiyan and had an active role in the movement for creation of Jharkhand as a separate State in 2000. Police said four motorcycle-borne militants raided Patamda village around 8.30am (IST), saw Munda and his assistant sitting outside the leader's house and started firing indiscriminately from their automatic weapons. Munda died on the spot.

The CPI-Maoist has put up posters in various villages warning people against joining the India Reserve Battalion, NDTV reported on August 7. The handwritten poster asks young people to boycott the recruitment. Meanwhile, the Police are trying to assure people that adequate security arrangements have been made to protect recruits. "The superintendent of Police has made adequate arrangements, all those who have applied should not have any problems," Police said.

The Hazaribag Police neutralised a gang and arrested four CPI-M sympathisers from the Jama Masjid area, which regularly supplied explosive materials to CPI-M "zonal commander" Navin Manjhi who is active in Giridih, Hazaribag and Bokaro Districts of Jharkhand. The Hazaribag Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Kamboj, said Police surrounded the Jama Masjid area and arrested one Samsuddin Ansari alias Guddu and seized several pieces of detonators, dynamites, gelatin sticks from his possession. Kamboj said Ansani, during interrogation, told Police that he had procured the explosive materials from one Maqbool alias Uncle, a resident of Nawada District in Bihar. Ansari, a resident of Golabar village under the Vishnugarh Police Station in Hazaribag District, said he had been meeting the explosive requirement of CPI-M for manufacturing various types of bombs and also for laying mines for the last five years. Police later raided Maqbool's residence and arrested him. A cache of explosives including 41 detonators and dynamite caps, gelatins sticks, grenade pins and huge quantity of cable wire, 400 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, four kilograms fuse wire, a mobile phone SIM card and a motor cycle were also recovered from his residence.

Four CPI-Maoist cadres beheaded their former comrade, Baldeo Besra at a location between Nagi and Chano panchayats (village level local self government institutions) of Bishnugarh Police Station in the Hazaribag District, said Hazaribag Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Kamboj. The Maoists then escaped with his head, which Police are yet to recover. In the note attached to the dead body, thrown on the Nagi-Chano road, the Maoists have accused Besra of being an informer and also warned others of meeting with the same fate if they dared to follow Besra.

With SF personnel carrying out counter-insurgency operations during the last one month, a decline in the number of Maoist attacks in Jharkhand has been observed in comparison to the same period at this time in 2008, ANI reported on August 9. "Maoist infested State of Jharkhand has seen a fall in number of attacks as compared to the last year. There has been a decline in Maoist violence in Jharkhand state," said S. N. Pradhan, the Inspector General of Police in Jharkhand. According to Police statistics, there have been 228 Maoist attacks till the end of July 2009, as compared to 245 incidents recorded in 2008 in the same period. Police said that as many as 20 most-wanted Maoists have been killed in 61 encounters besides 261 Maoists being arrested till July 2009. "The success against the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a result of credible intelligence," he added. "We have got some big success owing to the intelligence information. The inputs provided to us were accurate about people and places. Action based on the intelligence helped us to get success against Maoists," added Pradhan. The Jharkhand Police, along with armed constabulary and paramilitary forces, have launched operations to flush out the Maoists flush out from their bastions. They claim to have foiled many attacks of the 'Red Army.' "To be on the safer side, we deploy more security personnel in places which are more prone to Maoist attacks such as government offices, railways or main highways. At the same time, we deploy them in remote Maoist areas. This has helped us to understand the strategy Maoists follow in attacking and the kind of places they target. However, we are very careful as Maoists change their strategy frequently and we have to adapt accordingly," the Police official stated.

Two Police personnel were shot dead by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Dhanbad District. The Policemen from Dhanbad District, which is around 260 kilometers from State capital Ranchi, went to the local market in the night where the extremists fired towards them killing the duo. The victims were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Nirmal Kumar and Constable Deepak Bawari.

Police arrested the PLFI 'regional commander', Santosh Yadav, in Ranchi. Police also seized three locally-made pistols, cartridges, five cell phones and over a dozen SIM cards from his possession. Yadav was reportedly responsible for the outfit's operations in Ranchi, Latehar, Chatra, Lohardaga and parts of Hazaribag Districts. Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said Yadav was wanted in over two dozen cases of extortion, murder and burning of mine vehicles, trucks and machinery in the mining areas.

Over 700 Police personnel led by three SP have reportedly launched a three-pronged combing operation to flush out Maoist leaders from the hilly forests nestled between Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Giridih. The exercise, said to be one of the largest in recent times, is being monitored by two Inspectors-General and the Director-General of Police V.D. Ram, with the objective of arresting CPI-Maoist leaders like Navin Manjhi, Prabal Manjhi, Ranvir and Kundan Pahan, all of whom were said to be hiding in the area. Launched on August 10, the combing operation is being led from three sides by Bokaro SP Laxman Singh, Hazaribagh SP Pankaj Kamboj and Giridih SP Asim Vikrant Minj along with the Central Reserve Police Force's 26th battalion Commandant V.S. Sharma. Sources said that while the Hazaribagh Police entered the Bokaro zone from Vishnugarh, Girdih Police entered the zone through the Nimia Ghat route. The Bokaro Police entered the Maoist bastion from Penk, Nawadih, Suarbasua, Chotki Kuri even as the CRPF battalion entered the forests through Joramana. Earlier, four persons were arrested from Nawadih after they were caught with arms allegedly meant for Maoists. Three others were detained for questioning in Gomia.

The Jharkhand Government, in a meeting of Advisory Council to the Governor, decided to set up three counter-insurgency schools. These are to be set up in the Neterhaat, Latehar and Hazaribag Districts. The Council, in its 30th meeting, approved an expenditure of INR 3 crore (INR 1 crore each for the three schools). It also approved setting up ultra modern Police lines in the Koderma and Giridih Districts. The establishment of Police lines in the Districts would cost INR 68.94 crore to the State exchequer. The Council also sanctioned 289 posts of Sub-Inspectors of Police to man Police Stations across Jharkhand.

Police personnel in the morning of August 12 rescued one of their injured colleagues, attacked by the CPI-Maoist cadres on August 11, from a maize field. The Police also detained three persons, including one Shibu Tudu, in front of whose house the Policemen were attacked. The report also said that Maoists had left two posters near the dead bodies of the Policemen, demanding withdrawal of the 44-member Maniadih Police picket from the area and had asked the Policemen to stop torturing villagers. As reported earlier, two Police personnel were shot dead by Maoists in the Dhanbad District on August 11.

The East Singhbhum District Police have decided to distribute bicycles among students of middle schools in the extremist's pockets of Ghatshila sub-division to guard them against extremist influence. Initially 500 bicycles will be distributed in 15 schools in the five Naxalite (left wing extremist)-infested blocks of Ghatshila, Dumaria, Musaboni, Ghurabandha and Dhalbhumgarh, said East Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Naveen Kumar Singh. He said the bicycle gift was a means to urge students in the tribal sub-division to study further and not leave school midway. "Only higher studies can keep them away from rebel ideologies," he said, adding that the drive would be launched next week. According to a recent survey conducted by the Police, the percentage of dropouts in high schools is around 60. Many teenagers after dropping out of school reportedly become soft targets for the Maoist recruitment. "Most members in rebel leader Kanhu Munda's squad are in the age group of 15-18 years. They also hail from Ghurabandha and Dumaria," Singh said.

A transit camp of the CPI-Maoist was neutralized by the SFs in a two-hour encounter at Lotekocha jungle in the foothills of Dalma, 30 kilometers from Jamshedpur.

Police arrested a 'zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Mahendra Singh Khirwar, along with three of his associates from the Shahpur-Chainpur village of Palamu District. The arrestees were identified as Anil Saw of Kerso, Rameshwar Singh of Jamuniat and Mahendra Singh of Chinia.

The Seraikela-Kharsawan District administration has decided to provide security in schools during Independence Day (August 15) celebrations. "We are ready to deploy paramilitary forces in schools located in Naxalite dominated areas," said Seraikela-Kharsawan SP Sheetal Oraon.

Police and paramilitary forces intensified long range patrolling in the jungles of Ghatshila sub-division and also Chandil-Chowka-Nimdih, after Maoists threatened to observe Independence Day as 'black day'. Maoists have resorted to poster-campaigning at a number of villages in extremist-dominated areas of East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan Districts. At Dampara and Karadoba villages under the Ghatshila Police Station area and Matkumdih, Chaliama and Farenga villages under Nimdih block, the Naxalites have out up posters, urging villagers not to celebrate Independence Day.

The SFs aborted the three-pronged combing operation in the hilly forests nestled between Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Giridih in the night of August 11. The operation was launched on August 10 to arrest wanted Naxalite (left wing extremists) commanders Navin Majhi, Prabal Manji and Ranvir who had been spotted in these three Districts. Majhi, one of the most elusive extremist leaders, is believed to have fled the area through the Narki foothills of Jhumra in Bokaro soon after the Police in Ranchi called off the flush out operation. It is learnt that soon after a posse of 700 armed Policemen swooped on the forests, Navin Majhi sent an SOS to his men seeking help.

The Maoists who had given a call to boycott Independence Day (August 15) celebrations hoisted black flags at a number of places, especially in schools, in the East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan Districts. The targeted areas were Karadoba and Jhanti-Jharna panchayats (village level local self Government institutions) under Ghatshila block and Chandil, Chowka and Nimdih blocks in the Seraikela-Kharsawan. Black flags were also reportedly hoisted at Government buildings and market places in Chowka and Chandil.

A 10-year-old girl, identified as Gayatri Kumari, a resident of Ulilohor village in Ranchi, was among two persons killed in an attack by the CPI-Maoist on a passenger vehicle on the National Highway-33 near Tamar, 70 kilometers from capital Ranchi. Four others, including the driver of a truck caught in the firing, sustained injuries. The Bundu Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anand Joseph Tigga said around 9am (IST), a group of six motorcycle borne Maoists, armed with self-loading rifles (SLR) and explosives, emerged from the forests flanking the highway and targeted a jeep carrying eight persons and a truck between Duwarsini and Rangaon in the Tamar area.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze two vehicles and assaulted employees of the Indal Bauxite Mining Company inside the dense forest of Tewarpat under Bishunpur Police Station in Gumla, in the Netarhat plateau region which is rich with bauxite deposits. Reports.

Police seized 400 locally-made bombs, 30 mobile phones, 26 chargers and INR 7800 among other things from the Garwah District prison during a raid, officials said, adding that the prisoners might have been planning an escape. Many hardened criminals and about half dozen Maoists are lodged in the Garwah jail. Following subsequent raids conducted by the Hazaribag Police, 374 bags of ammonium nitrate concealed in two storehouses at Ichak More on the National Highway-33 and Nagwan village under the Ichak and Sadar Police Stations respectively were seized on an unspecified date. Two persons were arrested in this connection. Disclosing this on August 17, the Hazaribag Superintendent of Police (SP), Pankaj Kamboj, said that during the last two months the Police have arrested several persons for supplying explosives to the extremist groups, including the CPI-Maoist.

The State Government has decided to set up an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that will have its units in all major cities to tackle any emergency, said Governor K. Sankaranarayanan during the chief ministers' conference on internal security. (Jharkhand is presently under President's rule). ATS units will act as quick response team (QRT) and would be equipped with latest gadgets, dog squads and bomb detection and disposal squads. At present, a special anti-Naxalite force of the Jharkhand Jaguar has the responsibility of QRT from all the critical centres. Sankaranarayanan said the ATS would function under the Crime Investigation Department.

Suspected Naxalites abducted 10 employees, including an engineer, of the HINDALCO Industries Limited from the company's Kujam mines area of Bishunpur block in the Gumla District. A squad of 20-30 armed extremists descended on the bauxite reserve on Netarhat-Kujam road and kidnapped engineer Vijay Kumar, a resident of Jodhpur (Rajasthan), three supervisors, five contractors and a driver. 12 hours later, around 9pm (IST), they returned to set ablaze 12 heavy equipment and vehicles on the mine premises. The South Chhotanagpur DIG, R.K. Mallick, said that though the CPI-Maoist was not involved in the abduction, it could be the handiwork of some new extremist faction which was trying to make its presence felt in the area. The Gumla Deputy Commissioner Rahul Sharma, too, suspected the involvement of a breakaway Maoist faction.

A major offensive to be launched in Jharkhand under the direct supervision of the MHA in September 2009 will be coordinated by senior officers of the Indian Army. The decision was taken at a meeting of Chief Ministers of seven Maoist-affected States held with the Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram. [Governor K. Sankaranarayanan represented Jharkhand as it is currently under President's rule]. The State will be divided into different sectors and the CPI-Maoist stronghold is to be attacked from all sides. Air power will also be used to corner the insurgents incase they take shelter in a difficult terrain. During the meeting, it was also agreed that the Centre would provide need-based additional CPMF during the operation. The number of CPMF companies would be need-based as similar operations are to be launched in other States, including West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, which borders Jharkhand, said an unnamed officer. It is expected that at least 50 companies (5000) will be provided to Jharkhand till the operation is over, the official added. The Jharkhand Police have launched limited operations in different sectors of the State to check its preparedness before the final offensive. The operations have been launched in parts of Bokaro and East Singhbhum. Jharkhand Police spokesperson Inspector General of Police, S.N. Pradhan, said the State Police launched operations at strategic locations to flush out the Maoists.

The Bokaro Police seized more than 600 tonne of smuggled coal during raids in the CPI-Maoist infested areas and arrested five persons. The coal was recovered from the Maoist hideouts of Kanjkiro in Nawadih block, Mahuatand in the Gomia block and the Bokaro thermal zone, in raids led by the Bokaro District SP Laxman Singh in the last 48 hours. Among those arrested was Doman Sah, said to be a kingpin and close confidant of the Maoists. Police also registered First Information Report against 70 people at Nawadih and Mahuatand and a search is on for them.

All 10 abducted employees of the HINDALCO Industries Limited were released from captivity after 52 hours from the Belwari forest under Mahuadarn Police Station in the Latehar District in the afternoon of August 19. Gumla Superintendent of Police, Upendra Kumar, said the SFs had intensified combing operations in the dense forests of the region following abduction of the employees by the Naxalites on August 17, adding, when the SFs encircled the Belwari forest, the kidnappers opened fire which was retaliated by the SFs. But realising that they had been encircled in from all sides, the Naxalites let the captives off and disappeared deep into the forest, he added. Sources said the CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander' Sanjay Yadav, who had parted ways with the outfit along with his trusted lieutenants and a cache of sophisticated arms two months ago, is believed to have carried out the abduction.

The Lohardaga District Police arrested three sympathizers of the CPI-Maoist and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition. On the basis of a tip-off, the Police conducted raids in different parts of the town and its outskirts and arrested Sandeep Yadav of Raghunandan Lane near Gudri Bazaar, Moise Khan of Kharki Bala Toli, and Amit Singh of Khwas Ambava. A cache of arms and ammunition, including two Chinese and Italian-make pistols, one locally-made revolver, six empty pistol magazines and cartridges of different bore, were recovered from the houses of the three and the residence of Ashok Singh, who, however, managed to escape. A cellular phone and a car belonging to Sandeep were also seized by the Police.

A villager was shot dead while a couple of houses were damaged by suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist at Jamua village in the Ghatsila sub-divison of East Singhbhum District.

Six CPI-Maoist cadres, disguised as pilgrims, were arrested along with 1,100 SLR cartridges after a brief encounter near Silli village on the Silli-Gola road at around 2.30am (IST) on August 23. Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said the breakthrough had come after someone tipped them about the ammunition supply. "I have informed my Munger counterpart who is conducting raids to arrest the supplier," Kumar added, saying seven rounds of firing took place before the six persons could be arrested. Those arrested were identified as Bholo Shaw alias David, Pradeep Mahto, Rajesh Kumar Mahto, Prafulla Kumar Mahto, Mandal Das and Murari Hussian. The cartridges, supposed to be handed over to Maoist 'sub-zonal' commander Kundan Pahan were carried from Munger in Bihar in a car escorted by a motorcycle. Kundan Pahan's 'area commander' Budhram Lohra was arrested and a 10 kilograms can bomb was recovered from Barigarha village under Bundu Police Station at around 3pm.

The CPI-Maoist has called for a two-day bandh (shutdown), beginning from the midnight of August 23, in the States of Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh to protest against the arrest of its politburo member Anil and central committee member Kartik. Party leader Kishanji told media that the duo was arrested on August 19 while they were traveling in a train from Ranchi to Patna, the capital of Bihar. "We don't know their whereabouts as they have not been produced in court by the Police till now," Kishanji said. However, denying the arrest of the extremists, the Director General of Police (Jharkhand) V.D. Ram said, "This is not the first time we are facing a meaningless bandh. We will take all precautions taken during rebel-sponsored bandhs. If we had such a big breakthrough, we would have informed everyone."

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a railway track in the Latehar District. Train services were, consequently, disrupted between the Barwadih-Barkakana route following the incident. About 20 insurgents exploded the track between Kumundi and Hehegarha railway Stations, about 150 kilometers from capital Ranchi, the Latehar Railway Station Master P.N. Tiwari said. The blast occurred at 6.30am after the Rajdhani Express crossed the spot at 5.30am. Latehar Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Diwedi, however, said the blast was not targeted at any train.

The Maoists bombed and destroyed two towers in the Palamau District. They blew up a mobile tower. About 50 armed insurgents reached the site of the tower situated on Aurangabad-Medininagar route in the District, stuffed it with explosives before blowing it up, Deputy Superintendent of Police Brajmohan Paswan said in Latehar. The blast left a big crater on the spot, about 200 kilometers from Ranchi, he added.

The bandh evoked a good response in the Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum District and parts of Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum Districts on August 24. Though no untoward incident was reported, life remained paralysed. Zee News adds that while the shutdown had some impact in the Chatra, East and West Singhbhum Districts, Simdega, Khunti, Gumla, Latehar, Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Bokaro and Giridih were also affected in a small way, officials said.

The Union Home Ministry has asked all Maoist insurgency-affected States to tighten security and intensify vigil against possible strikes by the insurgents on important installations. The alert was sounded within hours of the Maoists' attacks in Jharkhand. There were intelligence inputs to suggest that the Maoists might try to target some important installations like railway property, telecom, roads and power Stations, said an unnamed home ministry official, adding that these inputs had been shared with the concerned State Governments.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a mobile tower in the Latehar District. The extremists went to Lali village, packed explosives inside the tower and triggered the blast, Police said. This is the third mobile tower to be blown up by the Maoists in two days.

The insurgents set ablaze four trucks on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur National Highway, Police said on August 25, adds IANS. One truck driver was also injured. As reported earlier, the CPI-Maoist has called for a two-day bandh (shutdown) in five States, including Jharkhand, to protest the arrest of Anil Kumar, a CPI-Maoist politburo member, and Kartik, a central committee member from Patna, the capital of Bihar. The bandh began August 24.

Maoists blew up railway tracks between Goelkera and Sonua Stations under the Chakradharpur division at around 10.30pm (IST). Though the explosion did not cause much damage, it affected the movement of trains.

Two Policemen were injured in an encounter with the Maoists who set ablaze four trucks near Taimara Ghati on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur road. Senior Superintendent of Police (Ranchi) Praveen Kumar said the trucks were attacked by a Maoist squad that included women. An anti-landmine vehicle carrying 10 personnel of the District Armed Police then reached the spot from Bundu. The extremists opened fire injuring driver Satish Kumar Ohdar. Constable Sukra Oroan returned fire, but was also injured in the shootout.

Maoists in Latehar assaulted the owner of the land on which the Airtel tower, which the Maoists had exploded on August 25, existed when the latter offered resistance. "The rebels branded Santosh Thakur and his son, Sanjay, Police informers to justify the punishment," a source said on August 26.

The CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire at a make shift CRPF camp at Bundu, killing a villager and injuring one CRPF trooper. Armed Maoists attacked the camp located in a school, about 50 kilometres from Ranchi, at around 11pm (IST), Deputy Inspector General of Police, R.K. Mullick, said.

Maoists set ablaze a truck at Manjhidih village between Tamar and Khunti, 70 kilometers from Ranchi.

The CPI-Maoist launched a poster campaign in the Sonua area of West Singhbhum District. The Maoists have demanded an unconditional release of two of their senior leaders - Amitabh Bagchi and Tauhid Mulla. They also demanded that atrocities on the innocent in the name of conducting an anti-insurgency operation in Lalgarh be stopped. Posters were found on the walls of a community hall in Sonua and also on trees in the area.

A local court on August 26 awarded death sentence to two Maoists in the Chatra District in connection with the killing of two Policemen and looting their firearms in 1998. District and Session judge Srikant Rai pronounced the verdict after convicting Krishna Ganju and Ramdeo Mahato of attacking a Police van and killing two Policemen on November 24, 1998 at Atampur village under Simaria Police Station in the Chatra District. The duo had also burnt the van and looted their rifles. A son of a night guard was also killed in the incident.

Maoists ambushed a van carrying unarmed personnel of the Special Security Force (SAF) to Netarhat, killing one and injuring another in the Latehar District, Police said on August 27. Six SAF personnel had been to Commander Balvinder Singh's house to pick him back to the camp on August 26 when Maoists fired randomly on them on Netarhat-Mahuatand road near Charmunda Valley, SP Kuldeep Dwiwedi said.

The joint Police team of Gumla, Ghaghra and Lohardaga's Senha Police Station seized arms, ammunition and several other incriminating items after an encounter with PLFI activists at Hapamuni village situated in bordering areas of both the Districts under Ghaghra Police Station.

Four persons, including a 12-year-old girl and a woman, were killed and another injured by the CPI-Maoist cadres who raided a civilian's home on the outskirts of Ranchi.

JLT cadres abducted a Government official from the Palamau District and demanded a ransom of INR 2000000, Police said on September 1. About 20 JLT cadres abducted Alok Kumar at gunpoint from the Kekargarh village, 190 kilometres from State capital Ranchi, in the evening of August 31. Kumar, a Circle Officer of Paki block, was abducted when he went there for selecting the Aganwadi (Government sponsored child-care and mother-care center) members. The extremists alleged that Kumar had already selected the Aganwadi members after taking bribe and was just completing formalities by visiting the village, a Police officer said. An operation has been launched to rescue Kumar, the officer added.

Two PLFI cadres, identified as Benjamin Baghwar (27) and Augustus Baghwar (28), were killed in an hour-long encounter with the Police in the Surang forests of Gumla District, about 100 kilometers from the State capital Ranchi. The Superintendent of Police (SP) Upendra Kumar said three other cadres managed to escape. A DBBL gun and a country-made gun were recovered from the incident site, Police sources said.

Two PLFI cadres, identified as Narayan Oroan (32) and Bandhnu Oraon (36), were lynched by some youths of Patlo village in the Lohardaga District for attacking the headmaster of a local school.

An encounter took place between the Police and Maoists at Kalrabera forest under Ghurabandha Police Station in the Ghatshila sub-division. The East Singhbhum However, no casualty was reported from either side.

Alok Kumar, Circle Officer of the Paki block in Palamau District, who was abducted by the PLFI on August 31, was reportedly rescued, Police said on September 2. He was rescued from the forest of Manatu block in the same District on September 1 at around 11.45pm, an unnamed Police officer said. According to sources, the extremists had demanded a ransom of INR 20 lakh.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed a village guard in the Pachmo village under the Mahuatand Police Station in Bokaro District. Police sources said the Maoists killed Ramdhani Ganju suspecting him to be a Police informer. The incident occurred when Ganju was attending a function in his village on the occasion of Karma Puja (religious worship). Approximately 100 armed Maoists held Ganju captive and took him to a nearby community building and later chopped off his neck. The Maoists also left behind pamphlets at the spot which said, "Jo mukhbiri karega, uska yehi halat hoga (Police informers would be dealt in a similar manner)." Police later recovered Ganju's body from the incident site.

Villagers lynched a cadre of the PLFI at Konatoli village in the Gumla District. He was a resident of Atariya village under Gumla town Police Station. Villagers attacked Dhoni with stone boulders and lynched him at Konatoli. No arms were found from the incident site, Police said. The identity of the deceased was ascertained in the afternoon of September 3 when two youths from his village identified him as Bhikhma Oraon alias Dhoni. The Police said his name figured in a number of cases, including that of murder, extortion and looting, in the Gumla and Ghaghra Police Station areas of the District.

Seven Naxalites were arrested after the Police overpowered them following an encounter at Matoli village in the Garwah District, Police said. "During the two-hour gun-battle with the Naxalites of the TPC, 200 rounds were fired from both sides. There was no casualty on either side," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Saket Kumar Singh. Getting a tip-off that a group of TPC activists had congregated near the village, the Police team rushed to the spot around 4pm (IST), triggering the exchange of firing. 11 guns were recovered from their possession, the SP said. The TPC, a breakaway group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), has been engaged in extortion and loot in the area, the SP said.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the Police in the Ranchi District. A gun battle ensued between the two sides when the Maoists opened fire towards a Police picket at Baruhatu forest in the Bundu Police Station area around 1.30am (IST). At least 700 rounds of bullets were fired from automatic and semi-automatic weapons during the encounter that continued for nearly three hours.

An armed squad of the Maoists attacked an abandoned Police picket at Maniadih in the Tundi block (administrative unit), some 40 kilometers from the Dhanbad District headquarters. The insurgents planted two powerful can bombs around 1am, destroying a major portion of the picket. They also opened fire and reportedly shouted slogans against the Police and the administration before leaving the spot. However, no one was injured in the incident.

Returning from Maniadih, the extremists also attacked the Pokharia Police picket, engaging the Police in a 10-minute encounter before disappearing into the dense forests.

Five villagers were shot dead by the CPI-Maoist at Pundigiri under Tamar block, 45 kilometers from Ranchi, Police said on September 7. According to the Police, the Maoists raided Pundigiri village in the night of September 6 and abducted the five villagers and took them to a forest where they were shot dead. "Five people were abducted by the Maoist rebels late Sunday night and were shot dead," Jharkhand Police spokesperson S. N. Pradhan said. The bodies were recovered on September 7. "The killed people had Maoist background. The activists killed them on suspicion of passing information about their movement to Police," added Pradhan. The victims include two students.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed two persons, Sajjad Khan and Dinesh Dusadh, at Chutwag village in the Latehar District.

Three extremists of the JPC were arrested after an encounter with the Police at Churugarha, about 70 kilometers from capital Ranchi, the Police said on September 8. The Police reached the spot after getting a tip-off that a group of JPC cadres had assembled at Churugarha to plot a crime in the night of September 7. The JPC cadres started firing as soon as they spotted the Police, triggering a two-hour long gun-battle before the Naxalites tried to flee. The Police, however, chased and arrested three of them. Three rifles and some ammunition were seized from their possession, Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said. "One of the three arrested Naxalites, identified as Raj Kumar Ganju, is a big catch for the Police," he added. Ganju was allegedly involved in a number of cases.

The fast-track court II of Awdhesh Mal found a CPI-Maoist leader, Shyam Sinku, guilty in an arms case and sentenced him to five years' rigorous imprisonment. Sinku, an 'area commander' of the Ghurabandha region in the Ghatshila sub-division of the East Singhbhum District, was arrested from the same Police Station area on June 26, 2006.

Intelligence sources said that a large number of armed Naxalites have taken shelter in the Ghatshila sub-division. The Naxalites, reportedly from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, have assembled on the hills of Ghurabandha to attend a training camp in Jamshedpur. According to intelligence inputs, about 80 armed extremists were taking shelter at Pawadapahar, which is strategically located and is also considered a safe haven for Naxalites.

The Jharkhand Government will undertake a pilot project to construct helipads at Police Stations in two Districts worst affected by the CPI-Maoist violence. "Under the project, helipads will be constructed at Police Stations in Palamau and Chatra Districts. These will be used for anti-Maoist operations," S.N. Pradhan, Jharkhand Police spokesperson, told IANS.

A landmine weighing 30 kilograms was recovered by the Police from Lipta village in the Chatra District. "The landmine was recovered in a Police operation against Maoist rebels in Chatra District. Maoist rebels had planted the landmine to detonate Police vehicles," an unnamed Police officer said.

A CPI-Maoist 'area commander', identified as Bheem Singh Korwa alias Dukha Korwa alias Bheem Jee (30), was arrested from a maize field at Gasedaag under Barwadih Police Station in the Latehar District. Two bombs of 15 kilograms each and seven of 10 kilograms each, besides 25 live cartridges, 100 metres of electric wire and a poster bearing slogans against recruitment of villagers in India Reserve Battalion were recovered from his possession. Latehar Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Dwivedi said.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Nandu Ganju, Suresh Ganju and Mukesh Paswan, were arrested by the Jharkhand Police from the Konka forest of Mccluskieganj. Police also recovered a single barrel locally-made rifle, a locally-made pistol, Maoist literature, mobile phones and few live cartridges from them. The arrestees were involved in several cases of loot, extortion and murder at different Police Stations in the State.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres assaulted five farmers for cultivating their land at Kada village in the Palamau District. The extremists also destroyed paddy and pulse which the farmers had planted. The Maoists had branded the five farmers as Police informers two years ago and ordered them not to cultivate the land located near the Sone river, Superintendent of Police Saket Kumar Singh said. Since then the farmers, who together own about 10 acres of land, did not dare to visit their land for fear of a Maoist attack, sources in the Husseinabad Police Station said. However, they resumed ploughing following last week's rains in the face of severe drought in Jharkhand, sources added.

Two Naxalites were lynched by villagers at Itki, situated on the outskirts of State capital Ranchi. Amit Gope and Aryan, PLFI cadres, had been demanding extortion from a postmaster, the Deputy Inspector General of Police R. K. Mullick, said. When the duo again demanded extortion money from him on September 16, a group of villagers collected at the spot and lynched them.

A CPI-Maoist cadre was lynched when he and a colleague went to a village to extort money and threaten residents in the Segaisai village of West Singhbhum District. While one of them managed to escape, the other was lynched, Police said.

2,000 detonators were recovered and three suspected CPI-Maoist sympathisers were arrested from different places in the Hazaribagh and Koderma Districts.

CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a major portion of a community hall in the Burger Bazaar locality of Bhandaria block in Garhwa District. However, no casualty was reported.

The house of a local Rashtriya Janata Dal party leader was blown up at Chatra and a passenger van was set ablaze by the extremists in Khunti District. Reports said five PLFI cadres intercepted a jeep near Chamri village, forced the passengers to alight and set ablaze the vehicle.

Four trucks were set ablaze by the PLFI cadres at Aara Ghati in Khunti District. The PLFI cadres stopped the trucks carrying coal tar and iron equipment and set them ablaze, Superintendent of Police Jatin Narwal said. The extremists did do for violating the outfit's 24-hour shutdown call in Palamu Division beginning August 19-midnight demanding the release of their 'sub-zonal commander' Laxmanji.

A 'sub-zonal commander' of the PLFI, Shankar Yadav, who was the prime accused in the August 31 abduction of Alok Kumar, circle officer of Panki in the Latehar District, was arrested during a search operation in the District, Superintendent of Police Kuldip Dwivedi told reporters. He said that Kumar was later set free by the extremists on September 2. Dwivedi added that a semi-automatic 9-mm pistol, magazines and live cartridges, two mobile sets and one motorcycle were seized from his possession. Yadav was wanted in at least eight other cases, including murder and arson.

Three TPC cadres were killed and three others arrested during an encounter between the Police and extremists in the Kumbha Begwari village of Hazaribagh District. The arrested were identified by Ram Kumar Ganju, Binay Munda and Rajesh Munda. The slain extremists, however, were not identified.

Police Constable Ajay Kumar Singh was shot dead by the PLFI on board the Jharsuguda - Ranchi passenger train at Bakatpur Station in Khunti District.

Seven prisoners, including a CPI-Maoist 'commander', escaped from a court lockup from Khunti District. Around 20 prisoners were brought to the court premises for hearing in different cases and seven broke the window panes of the lockup and managed to escape, taking advantage of the heavy rainfall in the District. According to a Police official, the Policemen responsible for security were trying to shelter from the rainfall and the seven took advantage of this to escape. The Maoist 'commander' who managed to escape faces charges of murder and other serious crimes. Police have launched operations to re-arrest the escaped prisoners.

A newly floated armed extremist outfit, Shashtra Kranti Committee (SKC), raided a railway construction site in the Chatra District and set ablaze equipment worth more than INR 10000000. A Kolkata (West Bengal)-based firm, Khazana Construction Company, has been entrusted with the task of laying railway tracks at Kahalari Pilara in the Simaria area of the District. Around 10pm (IST), a group of six gun-wielding men surrounded the site and asked employees to cease work. When the manager Hem Yadav protested, they overpowered him and tied his hands. Five workers were held at gunpoint. The extremists then emptied the petrol tank of a machine at the construction site and set ablaze several other equipments worth INR 1.25 crore. Before Escaping, they issued a warning and said no construction work should be carried on at the site without the permission of the SKC. Villagers, meanwhile, said that the newly formed SKC had recently launched a poster campaign in Simaria. The messages warned local residents against paying levy to other extremist organisations operating in the area.

An encounter occurred between the SFs and Naxalites at Pandabir village in the West Singhbhum District when the SFs were returning after attending a meeting with the Gram Raksha Dal (village protection unit). Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Jha said that the SFs conducted raids in the village following a tip-off that a number of extremists had assembled there. The Naxalites started firing at the SF personnel, who retaliated. The extremists, however, managed to escape. The encounter lasted for a brief period and no report of any casualty or seizure was made, he added.

Naxalites attacked five separate locations in Bihar and Jharkhand in a span of four hours, targeting communication towers, Government vehicles and railway Stations in a bid to bring the State machinery to a complete halt, Times Now reported on September 23.

A woman cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Sukarmani, was arrested by the Goilkera Police in the same District.

Seven Naxalites, including a 'zonal commander', were arrested from the capital Ranchi and Bokaro District. Three extremists were arrested from Tamrana forest under Tamar Police Station area on the outskirts of Ranchi after a nightlong operation by the SFs. They were identified as Mahadeo Munda, the chief of Krantikari Kisan Committee, and his two aides Shanker Munda and Umesh Munda. The three were part of an 18-member Naxalite squad present in the forest. The other extremists reportedly manage to escape. They are members of Ram Mohan Singh Munda squad, Police said. Two firearms, seven rounds of live cartridges, 25 kilograms of power gel, a high-end explosive used for preparation of land mines and 10 detonators were recovered from the three extremists. On their information, Police found a landmine at a point between Lugtu and Taimara. Three more extremists were arrested from Mahuatand village in the Gomia block, 70 kilometres from Bokaro steel city. They were identified as Kanchan Mahto, Reva Mahto and Maanjhu Mahto. Another extremist, identified as Manjkhu, was arrested from Chatdiha village in the same block.

A security guard was shot dead by suspected Naxalites at Sindri village in the Khunti District. "Chowkidar (guard) Rajendra Mirdha was on duty near Grameen Bank when five Maoists shot him dead and fled the spot," Superintendent of Police, Jatin Narwal told reporters. The dead body of the victim was found on the bank premises with a pamphlet lying next to him. In the pamphlet it was allegedly written that Mirdha was killed as he had helped Police in their operation against Naxalites in the Arki area.

Four PLFI cadres, including an 'area commander', were killed in a clash with the CPI-Maoist in the Gumla District, Police said on September 28. The four PLFI cadres were killed in an encounter at Nawatoli village in the night of September 26, Superintendent of Police Upendra Kumar said. "All the bodies were recovered on Monday morning. One of the deceased was identified as Jayram Gop alias Bhavaniji, a self-styled area commander of PLFI," he said. A rifle and over hundred cartridges were recovered from the spot. The PLFI is having a running feud with the CPI-Maoist in the Gumla, Simdega, Khunti and a part of Ranchi District.

Maoists set ablaze a dumper and a road roller of a construction company at Jaldega village in the Simdega District in the night. According to Police, the Maoists set ablaze the equipments after their levy demand was denied.

Five Naxalites, including two top leaders, were arrested from two Districts. Four PLFI cadres were arrested in the night of September 28 from the Semara forest, which falls under Palkot Police Station of Gumla District, around 145 kilometers from State capital Ranchi. The arrestees include Pahindra Gope, 'sub-zonal commander' of the group. Police also seized one double barrel gun, two country made pistols and live cartridges from the possession of the arrestees.

In the Lathear District, Police arrested Ajay Ganju, 'sub-zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist.

Six CPI-Maoist cadres abducted Police Inspector (Special Branch) Francis Induwar, posted in the Khunti District, when he had gone to a local market at around 5.30pm (IST) to make house-hold purchases. The Khunti District Superintendent of Police, Jatin Marwal, who confirmed the incident, said six extremists, some of them posing as villagers, were involved in the operation. "We gathered from eyewitnesses that the rebels, who were carrying no weapons, surrounded him instantaneously. They then caught hold of him and dragged him away from the market place," Marwal said.

Two persons were killed by the Naxalites in the Patamda Block of East Singhbhum District over the past 24 hours. They victims were identified as Amar Singh Sardar and Bhola Singh, in the Koira and Kokhra villages of Patamda Block. According to information, the Naxalites first shot dead Amar Singh in the night of September 30 and Bhola, brother of Supal Sardar, the vegetable vendor killed by the Naxalites months back, on October 1. The deceased were reportedly killed by the Naxalites allegedly for being Police informers.

Birbal Oraon, a 'Deputy Section Commander' of the CPI-Maoist operating in Latehar, was arrested from a place in Latehar. During interrogation, Oraon confessed to blowing up two buildings housing a school and a health centre in April 2009. Oraon was allegedly part of a guerrilla squad that shot dead five Policemen on July 29. "Oraon also admitted that he had made an abortive attempt to target a Police van when he fitted a 100-kg bomb under a culvert at Podialana on March 19, 2009," a Police officer said.

The CPI-Maoist blew up a railway track in the West Singhbhum District at the Jharkhand-West Bengal border. The extremists blew up the railway track near Maharesal railway Station under Chakradhapur railway division at around 4.30am (IST). The Maoists have called for a nationwide strike on October 3 to protest the arrests of senior leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chhatradhar Mahato.

Two Policemen were wounded in a two-hour encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres in the forest of Bundu Block, 45 kilometers from State capital Ranchi, Police said on October 4. An encounter took place at Madhukamdih village under Tamar Police Station in the Ranchi District on October 3 during a search operation launched to rescue the abducted Special Branch Inspector Francis Induwar. Over 500 rounds of fire were exchanged between the two sides. The SFs had rushed to the village on specific information that a Maoist squad had assembled near the native place of the CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander', Kundan Pahan. The Inspector General of Police, S. N. Pradhan, said a combing operation was launched on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area. "The security forces ultimately forced the Maoists to retreat," he added.

The Maoists have demanded release of their senior leaders, including Kobad Ghandy, as a condition for freeing the abducted Special Branch Inspector Francis Induwar, local media reports said. Samarji, claiming to be 'secretary' of South Chhotanagpur Committee of Jharkhand, called local Hindi newspapers late in the night of October 3 and said, "The abducted Police official of the intelligence department is in our custody. He is safe. He will be released after the arrested leaders - Kobad Ghandy, Chhatradhar Mahto and Chandra Bhushan Yadav - are released." "Do not torture relatives of Kundan Pahan and other people otherwise we will abduct family members of government officials," he added. Police suspect the role of the Kundan Pahan group - active in the border areas of Ranchi, Khuti and Jamshedpur Districts - in the abduction.

Naxalites (left-wing extremists) killed a civilian in the East Singhbhum District. A Naxalite group led by 'area commander' Kanhu Munda allegedly shot dead Dukhia Hembram (30) at Harian village under Ghurabandha Police Station. A resident of Mahespur, Dukhia was returning from his brother's house at Ghurabandha Police Station where he is posted as a constable. The East Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Naveen Kumar Singh said the Naxalites killed Dukhia suspecting him to be a Police informer like they killed villager Amar Singh Sardar at Koira hamlet five days ago. "The rebels are in an offensive mood and so are targeting innocent people. We have started combing operation," he said. Meanwhile, Police and paramilitary forces in the morning of October 5 launched a joint combing operation in the Naxalite-infested Ghurabandha and Dumaria blocks of the Ghatshila sub-division in the District.

Police claimed to have arrested a woman CPI-Maoist 'commander' in capital Ranchi. The arrestee, whose identity the Police did not disclose immediately, was arrested from a colony situated under Sukhdeonagar Police Station. Police said a Self-Loading Rifle and live cartridges were recovered from her possession.

The Jharkhand Police said they had found the decapitated dead body of the abducted Police Inspector Francis Enduwar. The Deputy Inspector General of Police, R. K. Malik, said Enduwar's headless body was found at around 9.15am on the Jamshedpur-Ranchi Highway with a note from the Maoists saying that they could expect more of the same treatment if their demands were not met. They claimed full responsibility for the killing of Enduwar. He confirmed that the Maoists had been demanding the release of two of their prominent leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chatrodhar Mahato, who have been arrested by security agencies in Delhi and West Bengal respectively. As reported earlier, the Police official was abducted on September 30. He said that the Maoists had offered to handover three of their cadres in exchange for the release of Enduwar. Enduwar's execution was carried out after the Government refused to release Ghandy.

The CPI-Maoist called for a two-day shutdown in Bihar and Jharkhand from October 12 in protest against what it alleged was the Centre's effort to put down its campaign using paramilitary forces. The announcement was made through a press release by the spokesman of the Bihar-Jharkhand-Orissa-Chhattisgarh Special Committee, Gopal. The outfit has also been observing a protest-week from October 7 to 13, the release said.

The CPI-Maoist acknowledged that their cadres carried out the beheading of Police Inspector Francis Induwar in Jharkhand on October 6. Speaking to Times Now, the CPI-Maoist Politburo member Kishenji admitted that his operatives on the ground beheaded Induwar, adding, that they will behead all their real enemies.

The Ranchi SSP, Praveen Kumar, said that people's support to the Maoists in the Bundu and Tamar areas of Ranchi District was emerging as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to anti-Naxalite (left wing extremists) operations. "Whether it is out of fear or otherwise, the support of villagers that the sub-zonal commander, Kundan Pahan, enjoys in the area, has made him almost invincible," he added. As a result, Pahan's intelligence network, comprising villagers, had become quite strong. "Whenever Police are about to conduct raids in the area, Pahan invariably gets wind of it," said the SSP. "We were close to the squad two days ago and an encounter took place in which two of their members were shot. But the bodies were taken away by the other members of the group," said Kumar. Pahan is the prime suspect in the killing of Francis Indwar and Police have launched a massive hunt for him.

CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a stretch of railway track and set ablaze three trucks in Jharkhand. "They (Maoists) blew up a stretch of railway track around 2.30 am at Jharandih in the Coal belt Industrial Chord section in Dhanbad," Senior Public Relations Officer of the Dhanbad Rail Division, Amrendra Das, told PTI in Dhanbad. The Shaktipunj Express was held up due to blast, he added.

About 12 armed Maoists set ablaze three trucks at around 1am in the Isri area of Giridih District and cut down trees to block road traffic on the Dumri-Giridih road, said the Giridih SP Ravi Kant Dhan. They also partially damaged a road bridge, which connects Dumri to the Grand Trunk Road, using explosives, the SP added.

Hazaribagh SP Pankaj Kamboj said the Maoists partially damaged a road with explosives at Sardalo, bordering Bokaro District.

The Maoists enforced the closure of hundreds of stone mining and crusher units situated in the vast stretch under Shikaripara block of Dumka District by putting up posters at various places in the Pindargarhia and Haripur Chowk, They warned the owners of the stone mine and crusher units to support the shut down failing which they would have to face dire consequences.

As part of the Government's move to fight Maoists on a different plank, Jharkhand - which has been under President's rule since January - has withdrawn over one lakh petty cases slapped on tribals under Forest Conservation Act. The move is aimed at winning the confidence of locals who provide massive support base for the Maoists. "The tribals are running from pillar to post in connection with these cases. So we reviewed the issue with the state government and advised it to withdraw the cases and they did it accordingly," said a senior home ministry official, adding, "We hope that by withdrawing the cases, we would be able to win the goodwill of the tribals and they will help us in the fight against the Naxals." He added, "… This is part of our strategy to deal with the Naxal problem by making the presence of governance felt at the ground level and thereby weeding out Maoist sympathisers who were drawn towards the extremists due to non-governance in several Naxal-affected states." Sources said that other Naxal-affected States had also been asked to withdraw similar cases slapped against tribals. While some of the states had done so, others appeared to be willing to do so when the subject was broached with them during consultation meetings, they added.

A Police Sub-Inspector, Habil Bara, allegedly tried to commit suicide inside his Police Station while being interrogated for his alleged links with Shyam Mahto, an 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist, in the Kuchai area of Seraikela-Kharsawan District. The Police had earlier in the day arrested two Maoists, identified as Feroj Singh Munda and Lakhan Sardar, from Kuchai. The Police had also seized a pair of whistles, rifle springs and Maoist literature from the two, who were on their way to hand them over to Mahto in Kuchai. During their interrogation, the duo had alleged that Habil Bara had links with Shyam Mahto and he was known to the other Maoists also. Bara was also privy to various "underhand dealings" with them, the duo added. The Seraikela-Kharsawan District Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek said, "When we summoned the sub-inspector to the Police Station and began interrogating him about his (Maoist) links, he fell sick suddenly. Later, he had to be admitted to hospital," Abhishek said, refusing to confirm or deny that it was a suicide attempt. The SP admitted the allegation that Bara, a resident of Roshanpur village in Sisai in Gumla, used to help the Maoists of Kuchai was serious.

The CPI-Maoist blew up a school building in the Chatra District. "A group of armed Maoists packed dynamites inside the Nawadih Middle School and triggered the blast, damaging its three rooms," SP, D. B. Sharma, told reporters in Chatra.

Two coal company officers of Amrapara in the Pakur District were shot dead by the CPI-Maoist cadres, while they had gone for a morning walk.

CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire on a pilgrims' bus on G.T. Road at Isri in the Giridih District, injuring 12 passengers. The extremists also lobbed a bomb on the bus which was on way from Kolkata (capital of West Bengal) to Ajmer in Rajasthan.

Maoists blew up a section of the rail track between Jogeshwar Bihar and Dania which resulted in damage to the overhead equipment. According to railway sources, a night patrolman had noticed a three-foot hole, presumably dug for planting explosives, in the down track near the Karmabad Station. Further, in the afternoon, a freight train was derailed near Mahua Milan in the Latehar District.

The State Government approved the raising of 20 additional companies of the Jharkhand Jaguar, a special force of the Jharkhand Police constituted to tackle the Maoist insurgency. The decision to raise additional companies was approved by the Advisory Council to Governor K. Sankaranarayanan as the State is under President's rule since January 19, 2009. Principal Secretary Aditya Swaroop said the Advisory Council approved recruitment of 22 officers each in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Inspector and Sub-Inspector. Besides, the force will have 53 assistant Sub-Inspectors, 145 junior Sub-Inspectors, 351 head Constables and 1,258 Constables. The Advisory Council also extended the age limit of woman Constable aspirants in the Jharkhand Police from 28 years to 30 years. As many as 20 companies of the Jharkhand Jaguar are currently deployed in the insurgency-affected areas of the State.

A 'commander' of the PLFI, identified as Bhaiaram Oraon, who was undergoing treatment at the Gurunanak Hospital in State capital Ranchi under a fake name, was arrested. "Bhaiaram Oran was getting treatment in name of Budhua Oraon. According to doctors, he is suffering from malaria. He was admitted on Tuesday. His associates managed to escape, a Police official told IANS.

The CPI-Maoist put up posters claiming responsibility for the killings of Dina Nath Saran, Executive Director of the Panem Coal Mine Project, and Senior Manager Sital Prasad while they were out on a walk on October 13. The posters appeared in the Paharpur area under Amrapara and in the Gummamore and Kuscheera hamlets in Pakur and Gopikander administrative divisions in the Dumka District. The Pakur SP Mohammed Neehal said the posters claimed the duo was killed because of their hostility towards villagers and the anti-people attitude of the Panem Coal Mines at Amrapara. The posters also asked villagers to keep away from the company.

Two Maoists, allegedly involved in the killing of Special Branch Inspector Francis Indwar, were arrested by the Ranchi Police. Vikesh Das alias Vikeshji (22) and Sudhakarji (40) of Haramlohar under Tamar Police Station were arrested on their way home. The SSP, Praveen Kumar, said the duo has revealed the number of Maoists and the group involved in murdering the officer. "During interrogation, they have revealed that the group of Kishore Munda and six Maoists had brought Indwar to Raisa More by tractor and beheaded him at the order of their commander Kundan Pahan," he added. "Vital clues have been received by the arrest of the two active members of the squad, including the list of supporters and informers, especially those who played an important role in the kidnapping and murder of the slain cop," the SSP further said, adding, "Both the Maoists were named accused in the encounter that took place during the search for the slain inspector and the one that took place after the killing and they have even confirmed that two of their senior comrades have been shot. They have revealed that as Police had launched an intensive combing-cum-search operation in the area to rescue the slain Policeman, these Maoists were continuously getting information about the movement from their sympathizers in each village and kept shifting their hostage from one place to another."

A makeshift structure, once used by the state irrigation department, was blown up by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Bansua village near Sonua block (administrative division) in the West Singhbhum District. Confirming the incident, West Singhbhum SP Akhilesh Kumar Jha said the structure had been put up six years ago, but was abandoned later. "The incident took place past midnight, but we only got to know of it early this morning. We immediately started long-range patrolling in Sonua and Goelkera jungles as well as combing operations in Bansua village to apprehend the rebels responsible," Jha added. He also said that Police or paramilitary forces had never used the structure for anti-insurgency operations in Saranda or Sonua. He said the extremists might have blown up the structure anticipating its use by the Police in future. Further, an intelligence source said, "Right from the time the Naxalites entered Saranda forest nine years ago, they have blown up each and every forest guesthouse in the area. They wanted to ensure that the Police or paramilitary forces did not use forest guesthouses or lodges to take shelter."

A self styled 'sub-zonal commander' of the JPC, identified as Pradeep Ganju, was killed in a two-hour long clash with the rival group TPC in Latehar District. The Latehar SP, Kuldeep Diwedi, said Police received information about a clash between the two groups in the forests of Bodha Viharjanga under Chandwa Police Station. "Forces were rushed to the spot early in the morning. The Police recovered a body from the encounter site which the villagers identified as that of Pradeep Ganju. Empty cartridges were also recovered from the spot," Diwedi said. Two JPC extremists were also hurt in the incident. "We have launched an intensive combing operation in the area and efforts are being made to arrest the members of the two groups," Diwedi added. The two groups possibly clashed to claim supremacy in the area for collecting levy and extorting businessmen and contractors, he added. Ganju, who headed a squad of around 20 armed cadres, was active in the bordering areas of Latehar and Lohardaga Districts. He was wanted in about 20 cases related to extortion, kidnapping and murder under different Police Stations of the two Districts.

Three persons were killed and six others critically injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres attacked Rajpur village in the Chatra District. The dead, identified as Umesh Mali, head of a SPM, a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, Umesh Singh Bhokta, a local leader of the Lokjanshakti Party, and Ranjit Rajjak, were watching a cultural programme near Rajpur Middle School at around 2am (IST), when a group of armed Maoists fired on them, District Superintendent of Police Deo Bihari Sharma said. The condition of all the injured, including a Police driver, is stated to be critical, he said. Samay Live, however, put the death toll at four.

A joint Police team of Dumka and Pakur Districts arrested six persons in connection with the Maoist posters put up recently claiming the responsibility of killing two top-ranking officials of the Panem coal mine. In the posters put up at different places in the Amrapara and Gopikandar block (administrative division) areas a couple of days after the incident, the Maoists had taken the responsibility of killing the two Panem officials for their alleged role in exploiting the displaced persons where the coal mine is situated. The arrested persons were identified as Nandlal Bhagat, Bablu Bhagat and Gopin Murmu of Kuschira village under the Gopikandar Police Station of the District and Sunil Bhagat, Ganpati Rajak and Vrindavan Pandit of Amrapara. As reported earlier, the executive director of the Panem coal mine, D Saran, and assistant mining manager Sheetal Prasad, shot dead by the suspected Maoists on October 12 while they went for a morning walk.

A businessman, identified as Mahendra Prasad Mittal, was killed by a Naxalite (left wing extremist) leader in Lohardaga District. Police said on October 20 that the man who killed businessman Mahendra Prasad Mittal in Lohardaga on October 19 was Manjitji, an 'area commander' of the recently formed Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand Simant Committee (CJSC) - a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) - and a close aide of the CJSC chief Sanjay Yadav. "Mittal was shot dead by Manjit at his office. His brother Narendra said he did not have any threat to his life. But investigation has revealed that Mittal had been threatened a number of times by Manjit and his group," said Subodh Prasad, Lohardaga Superintendent of Police, adding, that Mittal and his business associates had never taken Police into confidence on such issues.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze two vehicles of a local Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader at Kurund village in Latehar District, Police said on October 20, according to PTI. A group of armed Maoists reached the house of JMM's Latehar District youth President Amrit Joi Kujur in the night of October 19 and used inflammable substance to set ablaze his tractor. Kujur, however, was not at home. The Maoists also took away his jeep to Gumla where they set it ablaze, sources said.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres abducted and killed two former cadres of a rival outfit, TPC, at Chando village of Palamau District. Sources said that about 20 suspected Maoists abducted Pappu Singh and Mohammad Ansari from their houses and shot them on the outskirts of the village. The bodies were recovered this morning, Police said, adding a note left by the killers accused the duo of working as Police informers. Refuting the allegations, Police said Singh and Ansari were earlier cadres of another Naxal outfit, the TPC. The CPI-Maoist is engaged with a turf war with the TPC.

A 50-years-old tribal woman, identified as Mukhi Munda, was killed by the Naxalites at Jamua village in East Singhbhum District, Ranchi Express reported on October 23. The Naxals had asked the woman and family members to withdraw cases filed against some Naxals, who killed her son, allegedly a Police informer, some months back.

Four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed and three others arrested during an encounter with the SFs at Jonha, about 40 kilometres from capital Ranchi, Police said. Following a tip off about Maoists' movement taking place towards Purulia District in the neighbouring State of West Bengal, the SFs laid a trap by putting blockades at various places. "We had placed blockades at six places which were there continuously for the past 2 days. We were successful near Jonha area where following an encounter four Maoists were killed, though we have only found one body. The search operation is on to find rest of the Maoists. We have found three rifles, backpacks, their vehicle, a motorcycle and lot of ammunitions," said Praveen Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (Ranchi). Police also confirmed of having arrested three Maoists.

The prime suspect behind the beheading of Special Intelligence branch inspector Francis Induwar, Kundan Pahan, might be among the four CPI-Maoist, cadres injured in an encounter near Jonha, about 35 kilometres from State capital Ranchi. "As per our information, Kundan Pahan is among the Maoists who were injured during the encounter that took place at Jonha near Angara yesterday," Senior Superintendent of Police, Praveen Kumar said on October 26. Pahan managed to escape, he said, adding he and his associates were trying to cross over borders when they were spotted. As many as four companies of paramilitary and Police forces are scouring the forests of Ranchi and Khunti Districts to trace the injured or dead Maoists, Kumar added.

Maoists blew up two schools in the Giridih District. The Maoists packed explosives inside Upgraded Haridih School and Upgraded Dharpahari School, damaging the structures, Police said. There was no loss of life in the incident.

Suspected cadres of the TPC, a rival faction of the CPI-Maoist, abducted a Government official from Hazaribgah District. According to Police, suspected TPC cadres abducted Nirmal Toppo, circle officer of Keredari block (administrative division) of Hazaribgah District, when he had gone to inspect development work in a rural area. "Keradari block circle officer Nirmal Toppo was returning to Hazaribagh after his office hours when a group of armed men stopped his vehicle between Keradari and Barkakana and abducted him and his driver. The driver was later freed," said Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj.

Ranchi Express reported on October 27 that personnel from Piparwar Police Station arrested two cadres of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee who were going to collect levy money from a man. The Police also seized INR 70000 in cash, three mobiles and a Bajaj CT 100 motorcycle from them.

Two Naxalites, identified as Mamta Kumari alias Preeti and Prahalad Mahto, who were going to collect levy money were arrested by the Namkum Police. Police also seized one pistol, two cartridges and two mobile phones from them. Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar told journalists that Preeti and Prahlad were collecting levy money for 'Commando' Chand and the Marshal Group.

An indefinite shutdown called by a pro-Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) organisation affected normal life in five Districts of Jharkhand on October 27. The shutdown was effective in Ranchi, Ramgarh, Gumla and Simdoga Districts. Vehicular traffic and the rail traffic were particularly affected.

A bomb was found on the railway tracks in the Simdega District, disrupting train services, Police said. The five kilograms bomb was discovered near Bano railway Station in Simdega, nearly 200 kilometres from State capital Ranchi, by railway authorities. Consequently, two trains were halted at Bano and two trains were cancelled.

CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze the house of a cadre for breaking away, the Latehar Police said on October 29. Armed Maoists went to the house of Chetanji at Gurgu village under Latehar Police Station and asked his family members to leave, before setting it ablaze in the night of October 28, the Police said. Chetanji was the 'sub-zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist before joining the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh Simant Committee, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist. The Latehar District Superintendent of Police (SP), Kuldeep Dwivedi, said that Jharkhand Chhattisgarh Seemant Prastuti Committee was commanded by a former CPI-Maoist cadre, adds Telegraph. "The outfit is active in the bordering area of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. It has been constituted by Sanjay Yadav, who left CPI-Maoist with his supporters six months ago," Dwivedi added.

Police arrested an 'area commander' of the PLFI, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, from Dugduga village under the Basia Police Station of the Gumla District in the night of October 28. The Police also recovered a locally-made pistol and two cartridges of .303 bore from his possession. The Gumla District SP, N. K. Singh, said on October 29 that a joint team of the Basia and Kamdara Police Stations arrested the insurgent, identified as Vijay Tete alias Vishalji, after being tipped off that he had visited his wife's home in the same village. Tete, who belongs to Dugduga village, had joined the outfit about three years ago and was a confidant of the PLFI chief Dinesh Gope. Tete was elevated to the rank of a 'sub-zonal commander' after the Basia Police arrested his predecessor Bhaiyaram Oraon from capital Ranchi recently. His area of operation extended up to Basia and Kamdara in Gumla, Karra in Khunti and Lapung in Ranchi District, the SP said, adding that Tete's squad was also active in some parts of Bihar, including Gaya. The SP said that Tete disclosed the names of his squad members during interrogation. Besides, the arrested PLFI cadre also gave an account of the weapons, which include two rifles, a semi-rifle, a gun and two pistols, possessed by his squad. The SP claimed that the PLFI is now on the verge of extinction with many of its top leaders already arrested.

West Singhbhum Police arrested two CPI-Maoist involved in looting explosives from bordering Orissa's Sundergarh District in July 2009 and defused a bomb they had planted on a road used by the SFs combing the Saranda forest. The two extremists were arrested in the night of October 29 from Thalkobad, around 80 kilometres from the District headquarters of Chaibasa, by the Police and Central Reserve Police Force who were on long range patrolling. The two later confessed they were members of the outlawed CPI-Maoist and were in platoon No. 22 of the outfit that was active in Saranda. The duo then took the Police to a spot on Karampada-Thalkobad Road in Jamboiburu where they had planted a powerful can bomb. The Police later defused the bomb.

Following the arrest, the Police also recovered the cell-phone of sub-inspector Ajit Bardhan who was killed by Maoists when they ambushed the Police party escorting the truck carrying the explosives in July 2009. Confirming the arrests made after the two were brought to Jamboiburu in Saranda's Manoharpur Police Station area, the West Singhbhum District Superintendent of Police (SP), Akhilesh Kumar Jha, said, "After Bardhan's mobile phone was recovered, we interrogated the duo. They confessed to being involved in looting the explosives-laden truck in Rourkela." However, they could not reveal where the explosives had been taken by the Maoists. The SP said the Police believed the two arrested extremists, Gopal Munda and Etewa Oraon, could provide information about Maoists hiding in Saranda and elsewhere in West Singhbhum.

Maoist leader Ajay Kanu, who was the mastermind of 2005 Jehanabad jail break, was brought to Hazaribgah and produced in the court of chief judicial magistrate B.N. Pandey in an arms and ammunition case. He was forwarded to Hazaribgah Central Jail.

A villager was injured when a stray bullet hit him during an exchange of fire between Police and the Maoists at Daniya village situated on the foothill of Jhumra under Gomia block of the Bokaro District. The Bokaro SP, Saket Singh, said the Police are trying to ascertain whether Argaria is a villager or a Maoist. He said that the victim's presence at the spot has raised suspicion against him. The SP said that Security Force personnel from the District Police and the Central Reserve Police Force were conducting a search operation in the nearby forests when Maoists suddenly opened fire on them. "In retaliation, the security personnel opened 15 rounds of fire. The gun battle did not last for long as the Maoists retreated in haste," he added.

Another group of the CPI-Maoist cadres went to Sanjay Yadav's house, asked his family members to vacate the house, doused it with inflammable substance before setting it ablaze, reported Outlook. Yadav, who was not at home, had recently broken away from the CPI-Maoist to join the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh Simant Committee.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a person and set ablaze a house in separate incidents in the Latehar District, Police said. The Police recovered the bullet-riddled dead body of Surendra Nagasia from Mahuadand village in the morning. The armed insurgents forcibly took away Nagasia from his home to Bota Chowk near the village at around 10.30pm on October 31 and fired two shots in his head, Police said. They left a note in which they accused Nagasia of raping a woman recently.

Police claimed to have killed several Maoists in a five-hour encounter in the dense forests of Sarwaha in Hazaribgah in the night of October 31. The Security Forces are tracking blood stains to reach the fleeing Maoists, the SP Pankaj Kamboj said on November 1.

The Police arrested five Naxalites, including a 'sub-zonal commander' of the TPC, a rival group of the CPI-Maoist, at Manjariyatoli village under Dumri Police Station in the Gumla District in the night of November 1. A cache of arms and ammunition were also seized during the raid. One of those arrested was identified as Vishwanath Gaunjhu alias Bisheshanji, a TPC 'sub-zonal commander' of Lohardaga and a resident of Heshawar village in Latehar District. Gaunjhu was involved in as many as 10 criminal cases, including six cases lodged with the Balumath Police Station. The others were identified as armed squad members of the TPS, Mohamed Israfil Alam, Johnson Ekka, Sanjana Minz and Abhas Ekka, the Gumla SP Narendra Kumar Singh said on November 2. The SP said on getting a tip-off that the TPC members had arrived at Manjariyatoli to collect levy from someone, a Police team rushed to the village in the night of November 1 and laid a trap. All five TPC members were arrested without any encounter, the SP added. Police also recovered two .315 rifles, two country made pistols, some live cartridges, TPC letter pads, a diary containing the names of TPC members and other vital information about the outfit, mobile sets, pamphlets and other documents during the raid. Gaunjhu was involved in as many as 10 criminal cases, including six cases lodged with the Balumath Police Station, the SP said. Meanwhile, sources said that the TPC is trying to establish its network in Latehar, particularly in the Chainpur-Dumri area.

Maoists put up posters in the Latehar District calling upon people to spurn the initiatives of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. The posters, that had CP-Maoist written below, also asked the people to stay away from the democratic process. "We did not see who pasted these posters. The posters read 'push back Sonia Gandhi and other leaders'," said Virendra, a local villager. The he first phase of the elections for the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is scheduled to begin from November 25.

Maheshwar Oraon, an 'area commander' of the Peoples' Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a rival faction of the CPI-Maoist, who was active in the eastern zone of Gumla Sadar Police Station was killed by villagers.

The Police of Bundu Police Station seized a car near Nawadeh in which three persons were travelling with huge quantity of explosive materials. The arrestees were identified as Jubour alias Muna Singh of Khunti, Gudu and Hemant of Siwan (Bihar). The seized explosives were reportedly for supply to the Kundan Pahan group of the CPI-Maoist.

Adequate security deployment would be made during the five-phase Legislative Assembly elections in Jharkhand beginning on November 25, the Chief Election Commissioner Navin B. Chawla said in capital Ranchi. "They (security personnel) are in adequate number," Chawla told a press conference when asked about the security arrangements during elections in the Maoist insurgency-affected Districts.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead an activist of JPC, a rival group of the CPI-Maoist, on the Panki-Balumath road in Palamau District, the Police said on November 4. In the night of November 3, about 30 Maoists went to the house of Bhagat Yadav, an alleged activist of the JPC, and took him to the road before firing two shots, killing him on the spot, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, N. K. Lal, said. He also said that the dead body was recovered in the morning of November 4 and the Maoists had left a note claiming responsibility.

Police arrested three persons in Ranchi District for supplying lethal arms and ammunition to the Maoists. During a search operation in the jurisdiction of Namkum Police Station, the Police personnel came to know about an inter-state gang working with links in West Bengal. The explosives seized included ammonium nitrate and detonators that could be used by the Maoists for attacks on the State machinery. Praveen Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, said, "A group which used to supply explosives has been identified and the leader of the group Mohammed Zubaid and other two arms suppliers named Mohammed Guddu and Hemant Kumar, both of them the residents of Asansol, have also been arrested." The arrested persons with Maoist links were involved in a series of incidents and other acts of sabotage directed against the local and central Government, Police said.

The CPI-Maoist expelled 10 of its cadres over poll participation in Jharkhand. A spokesperson of the party's Bihar Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh Area Sub-Committee, Gopal, said that 10 cadres have been expelled for indulging in anti-organizational work as well as for taking a keen interest in the upcoming election, which the Maoists have been opposing and boycotting altogether. Sources said this is the first ever occasion when the expulsion of as many as 10 Maoists has been announced.

The CPI-Maoist cadres rebels blew up a school building in the Chatra District, Police said on November 6. The extremists blew up a middle school building at Asona village of Chatra late in the night of November 5. Around 20 to 25 Maoists blew up the school building by using detonators and explosives, an unnamed Police officer said. The officer said the insurgents blew up the building to prevent stay of Security Force personnel during the assembly polls scheduled this month and the next. The Maoists have blown up more than 30 school buildings in Jharkhand in the last five years, the report added.

The Lohardaga Police were engaged in three gun battles with the Naxalites at three different places along the District's border with Latehar under the Kisko Police Station. The Lohardaga SP Subodh Prasad, who led the Police in taking on cadres of the JCSC, a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), said the extremists were led by Sanjay Yadav. The SP said Police recovered three Motorola walkie-talkie sets and a transistor-type device whose function was not known. "After a Maoist-related incident at Navagarh village in the neighbouring Latehar District two days back, we despatched a team of District Armed Police and CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force] personnel to the area led by Senha and Kisko Police Stations officer-in-charges - Police Constable Deogam and Sunil Kumar Tiwari - respectively. It was a preventive step to check the rebels from entering Lohardaga District. The Police team detected rebels led by Sanjay Yadav trying enter the District near Siram village of Kisko block which resulted in the first encounter at Siram around noon," the SP added. It was then the joint CRPF and Police team informed nearest Police pickets at Makka and Richughuta and asked help of additional forces to surround the escaping Maoists. "I requested Latehar SP Kuldeep Dwiwedi to send his nearest forces and rushed towards the spot. I joined the Police team from Richughuta Police picket who had by then engaged the Maoists in the second encounter near Makka, while the third encounter with forces from the Makka Police picket took place at a place between Makka and Peshrar," the SP further said. He said Police forces from both Lohardaga and Latehar were conducting search operations in their respective areas to arrest the Maoists who were on the run. There was no casualty on either side, the SP added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a school building at Banbirua in the Latehar District, the SP, Kuldip Diwedi, said on November 10. A group of armed Maoists stuffed dynamite and triggered the blast late in the night of November 9 in the school at Banbirua, the SP added. There is no loss of life in the incident, he added. Maoists blew up the structure to prevent the Security Forces from making it a make-shift camp during the ensuing 5-phase Legislative Assembly elections starting on November 25, the Police added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a school building at Kona village in the Latehar District, Police said on November 10. The school was blown up in the night of November 9 using detonators and explosives, a Police official said. As reported earlier another school was blown up in the Banbirua village in the same night. The extremists left behind pamphlets saying the buildings had been blown up to prevent the Security Forces from using them as make-shift camps during the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections. The five-phase poll begins on November 25.

Bihar Police personnel seized 30,000 live cartridges of .315 bore, two AK-47 rifles, four INSAS rifles and huge quantity of explosives from a house in Bokaro, Bihar Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) U. S. Dutta said. Acting on a tip-off, the State Police sought help from the Jharkhand Police and raided a house in Sector 12 Bokaro and recovered the firearms and explosive, Dutta said.

Armed Naxalites set three earth-movers on fire at Kodaiburu forest in the West Singhbhum District. About 25 extremists barged into the godown of a road construction department and set ablaze the vehicles after holding the workers captive at a room in the godown. Eyewitnesses said the insurgents shouted slogans and left a handwritten paper on the spot before disappearing in the Kodaiburu forest. West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Jha said the incident took place at 12.30am. He added, "A few days ago, the rebels demanded levy from Ashok Pradhan, the constructor of 12 kilometres road between Kedaiburu-Raghusai. Following the incident, Pradhan lodged an FIR with Sonua Police Station and this incident was the fallout."

Three labourers, including one Munshi, engaged in construction of Government building were abducted by suspected Naxalites in the night from Karuakala village in Garhwa. In this case hand of Maoists is suspected.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Ramchandra Singh, who was a member of the last Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, was abducted by a group of 25 CPI-Maoist cadres at Manika in the Latehar District, Police sources said. Singh, accompanied by six of his supporters, was returning home after attending a function when he was intercepted by his abductors. Police sources suspect that Maoists from the neighbouring State of Chhattisgarh abducted the RJD leader.

The Lohardaga District Police arrested a PLFI activist, Santosh Pradhan, along with a locally-made pistol and four cartridges following a gun battle with the insurgents near Kalhepath village. The PLFI activists were led by Surendra Oraon, charged in dozens of cases, including those of abduction and loot. A few years back, he had fled from Lohardaga prison. The SP Subodh Prasad said Senha Police had received a tip-off that PLFI cadres would go to collect levy from a brick kiln owner at Kalhepath. The PLFI activists opened fire on the cops. The Police retaliated but in order to save civilians in the way failed to arrest at least three insurgents, including Surendra Oraon. However, Santosh Pradhan of Senha was arrested.

Police neutralised a base camp of the Maoists at Sarjamurmu forest located on the border of Angara and Namkum Police Stations in Ranchi District. The Maoists had, however, deserted the camp two days ago. The Police recovered some camouflaged fatigues, medicine packets, Maoist literature, books on jungle warfare tactics and a few maps from the camp located on a hillock about 40 metres in height. Earlier in the evening of November 13, the Police had arrested two women Maoists and a sympathizer who supplied provisions to the insurgents at their base camp. The supplier, Goverdhan Munda, was coming from the base camp along with the two women cadres, Sulochana Munda and Sangeeta Munda, when they were arrested. The three persons, who were on their way to Angara, told the Police that about 80 Maoists stayed at the base camp. Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Praveen Kumar said," Sulochana Munda is the wife of Sanjay Pramanik alias Doctorji, the third-in-command of Platoon-39 of the CPI-Maoist. On the basis of revelations made by the arrested persons, the Police raided the base camp on Saturday." He added that Pramanik, who led a local guerrilla squad, a sub-group of Platoon-39, was wanted in connection with several high-profile cases executed by the CPI-Maoist in the past couple of years. "Pramanik earned the sobriquet of Doctorji since he was a para-medical staff and had been running a clinic at Bundu for the past two-and-a-half year. Later, he became an active member of the guerrilla squad," the SSP said. The SSP said that the arrested women cadres have given vital information to the Police about the whereabouts of the members of the guerrilla squad, adding, "We hope to make more arrests soon." Talking about the whereabouts of guerrilla squad leader Kundan Pahan, the SSP said that he (Pahan) managed to escape under the cover of darkness following a fierce encounter with the Police at Angara on October 25.

The Maoists attacked a security camp at Khudisar under Dumri Police Station, where the SFs were Stationed for election duty. About 200 Maoists attacked the security camp and exchanged fire with the SFs. However, no one was injured. Vehicles of two election campaigners were also attacked and glass panes were damaged. The tyres of the cars were also punctured.

An armed squad of the CPI-Maoist shot dead one of their fellow cadres after calling him out from his home at Barudih village in the Nimdih block of Seraikela-Kharsawan District. Sources said at 1.30am, about 12 Maoists turned up at 35-year old Shivraj Singh Sardar's house and called him outside. Subsequently, two Maoists opened fire at him before escaping into nearby forests. Sardar is reported to have died on the spot. According to sources, Shivraj Singh Sardar was killed because of a dispute over levy collection. The Seraikela-Kharsawan District Superintendent of Police (SP), Abhishek, said the killing was carried out by the CPI-Maoist 'area commander' Arup Mochi's squad that is active in Dalma, Patamda and Nimdih. "It is the same squad that had killed Naxalite leader and former MCC [Maoist Communist Centre] area commander Bhola Singh Sardar," the SP said. A case against Mochi and others has been filed.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a school building at Taliya near Barwadda Police Station of Dhanbad District and forced the teachers and students to leave the premises. The school was a temporary accommodation for Security Forces (SFs) during the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections. According to Police, Maoists entered Taliya Vansthali High School at 11.30pm and assaulted the night guard and cook of the hostel. They also assaulted a school teacher for allowing the SFs to take shelter for the election. The Maoists later put up posters asking people to boycott the elections and not allow the SFs to stay in the schools and colleges. Elections are farce, the posters said.

The insurgents attacked another school building - Kendedih Middle School at Topchanci - in Dhanbad District and put up anti-election posters.

The Maoists have issued an election boycott call at several places in and around the Dhanbad and Giridih Districts despite the fact that six Maoists leaders are contesting the Legislative Assembly elections, according to Times of India. They are also not allowing other candidates to campaign at Rajganj and Dumri in Dhanbad and Giridih Districts, respectively. Armed Maoists have issued a call to boycott the elections at Tealiya, Palma, Jatipur, Nawda, Bagaro, Harladih and Maniyadih villages of Dhanbad. The Maoist posters have demanded punishment to the Police officers committing atrocities on tribals and alleged that the Police provoke violence in many parts of Jharkhand. They also talked of corruption in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes in villages and asked the people to boycott the election.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel deployed on election duty in Jharkhand for tackling Maoist subversion have been asked not to consume water from wells and ponds as it could be laced with poison, reports Zee News. "We have specific intelligence inputs that water bodies might be poisoned by the ultras to cause harm to the para-military forces. Hence, we have asked our jawans to avoid drinking water from such points and be extra cautious," a RPF source said. About 40 companies of the RPF and Railway Special Protection Force personnel have been deployed for checking Maoist activities in Jharkhand. About 25,000 para-military personnel will be deployed for the five-phase Assembly elections in Jharkhand which are scheduled to be held in November and December 2009.

Four suspected Maoists, one of whom is stated be an expert in bomb-making, were arrested in the Latehar District. "Subhas Sao of the CPI-Maoist is an expert in making can bombs. The Police caught him at Hutar village along with two cans, pencil batteries and two plastic jars required to make explosives," Superintendent of Police Kuldip Dwivedi told reporters in Latehar. A separate Police team arrested three activists of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee under Barwadih Police Station, he said, adding, that two guns and cartridges were seized from their possession.

At least 20 residents of a village in West Singhbhum District were reported missing since November 19-night, official sources said. Block Development Officer Arvind Kumar Lal said the residents of Durgasahi village in the Goilkera Police Station area were all members of the Gram Raksha Samiti (village guard committee) which guards the village from Maoist attacks. Intelligence sources said the persons were abducted by the Maoists.

Two passengers were killed and over 47 others injured when eight bogies of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train derailed after the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres blew up railway tracks in the night of November 19 in West Singhbhum District. Railway minister Mamata Banerjee said that the train comprised 10 coaches of which five derailed and three toppled over as also the engine. She said two bodies were found in a overturned bogie, while 47 passengers were injured. Six passengers were trapped in another capsized bogie. Three passengers have been rescued so far as rescuers were using gas cutters to gain entry to the coaches, three of which were badly damaged, Banerjee added.

The blast occurred between Manohar and Posoita railway Stations just in front of the engine of the train, some 20 minutes after a pilot engine had passed. Banerjee said, "Maoists blew up a portion of a railway track which caused the derailment. There were also three to four blasts nearby to deter rescuers."

Superintendent of Police (rail) A. B. Homker said in Ranchi, "Railway staff and rescue teams have reached the spot, and are cutting open the bogies to rescue the injured passengers."

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a ration dealer in the Latehar District. Latehar Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashwini Kumar said about 20 armed Maoists took the ration dealer Kedar Baitha, whom they suspected to be a Police informer, to Maruhao village and killed him.

Six Policemen, including the officer-in-charge (OC) of Gurabandha Police Station, were injured in a landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist at Bhakad in East Singhbhum District. The Policemen were returning to the Police Station on an anti-landmine vehicle following regular patrolling in Naxal-hit areas when the landmine exploded injuring six of them, including Gurabandha Police Station OC Indu Bhusan Kumar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Ghatsila) Anup Birtheray said.

The Maoist bandh (shut down) reportedly paralysed rural life in the State. The shut down was called by the Maoists in protest against the recent arrest of their leader Ashok Mahato and upcoming assembly polls in the State. Jharkhand Police spokesperson and Inspector General (Human Rights) V. H. Deshmukh said the bandh was by and large peaceful except for the incidents that occurred before the bandh began.

Following November 19 attack on a passenger train in Ghagra, the Maoists apologised saying it was carried out by ''overzealous new recruits''. Samarji, 'secretary' of the Bihar-Jharkhand-Orissa regional committee of the CPI-Maoist, said on November 20, ''Why should we kill the common man for no reason? They are our assets as we bank on them for our movement and the movement is also meant for them only.'' The party will ensure that common man is not targeted in future, he added. Talking to Times of India, Samarji said there was no plan to blow up the railway tracks initially and it was carried out by ''overzealous'' new recruits against whom the party would take appropriate action. As reported earlier, two passengers were killed and over 47 others injured when eight bogies of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train derailed after the CPI-Maoist cadres blew up railway tracks in the night of November 19 in West Singhbhum District.

Maoists blew up a house of their former colleague at Charkakala village in the Chatra District, Police said on November 21. A group of Maoists went to the residence of Nehal Khan, asked his family members to vacate the house and triggered a dynamite blast in the night of November 20, Superintendent of Police (SP) D. B. Sharma said. Khan was not at his house when the incident occurred. A note left by Maoists accused Khan of running away with their money.

Police seized a huge cache of explosives from an area under Pratappur Police Station. The Chatra SP D. B. Sharma said that the seizure was made when Police, during long-range patrolling, came across three persons carrying sacks and wires at a jungle near Kalhibar village. When the Police personnel asked the men to stop, they escaped while leaving behind the sacks and wires, he said. On checking the sacks, Police recovered 10 kilograms ammonium nitrate, 110 detonators, 40-metres of fuse wire, 10 metres of electric wire and other equipment used for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Police had tip-off of that Maoists plan to create disturbances during the poll and intensive search and combing operations was launched in the area ahead of the polls, the SP added.

The Lohardaga District Police arrested a Maoist, identified as Vardan Minz (45), son of one Tiyus Minz and resident of Narauli village under Bhandra Police Station. The Lohardaga SP Subodh Prasad said Minz was wanted in about a dozen Maoist-related cases in the District and adjoining areas. At least eight cases, including the killing of a chowkidar (guard) on January 25, 2001, have pending against him at the Bhandra Police Station. One case each was reported to be pending against him in Lohardaga town and Sisai Police Station of Gumla District. The SP said Minz had shifted his base to Kolkata and was working there. "Acting on a tip off, we managed to arrest him when he came to meet his family," the SP added.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said 27 new Police Stations will come up in the State soon at the cost of INR 30 crore. He further said as policy matter the Government had decided to obtain only useless land for construction of buildings for para-military forces in the States.

Two CRPF personnel and a Police driver were killed and six others injured in a twin landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist near Lapung village under Bishunpur Police Station of Gumla District. Sources said the landmines, connected in series, exploded simultaneously completely damaging the anti-landmine vehicle in which the Security Force personnel were travelling. While head constable Pramod Kumar Singh and Constable Arvind Sarkar of the CRPF (D-41 Battalion) died on the spot, District Police driver Prakash Minz, who was driving the anti-landmine vehicle, succumbed to his injuries later. The CRPF Deputy Inspector General Alok Raj said the blasts occurred when the CRPF personnel were on their way from Gumla town to Jorri village under Bishunpur Police Station following the blowing up of a primary health centre (PHC) at the village by Maoists late the night of November 21. "It appears that the Maoists lay in wait to ambush the security personnel after damaging the PHC," Raj added.

A total of 14 security personnel, including the Police driver, were travelling in the vehicle when Maoist triggered the blasts. The intensity of the blasts were such that it threw the CRPF vehicle 10-feet in the air and created a huge crater at the spot. "Though security personnel were wearing protection gear, the impact of the explosions led to the death of three securitymen," Jharkhand Police spokesperson and Inspector General (human rights) V. H. Deshmukh said. "The Maoists are trying to disrupt the poll process and even announced to boycott the polls. We have information that Maoists could disrupt the poll process and hence intensive anti-Maoist operations are being launched," he added. The D-41 battalion was earlier Stationed in Bhopal had been deployed in Gumla District on November 16 for conduct of assembly elections scheduled on December 2. Assembly polls would be held in the State in five phases from November 27 to December 18.

Police arrested Mohammed Irshad, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Bundu block president and his two associates, Sukhdeo Swansi and Haradhan Lohra, under the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act, for supply of goods to the Maoists. They were allegedly involved in supplying explosives to the CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander' Kundan Pahan, whose area of influence lies in Bundu and Tamar block of Ranchi District. After a tip off, a Police team intercepted a Bolero (JH01R-4724) and took Irshad, Swansi and Lohra into custody after the search carried out by it led to recovery of goods including 20 flash guns of camera, one bundle of wire, two soldering equipments, more than two dozen Durocell batteries and one charger which were used in manufacturing of the land mines. According to the report the supplier was based in Ranchi. "We have already traced him and hope to arrest him soon," a Police official said. "There is a large plan by terrorists to plant landmines…They use camera flashes, wires, switches, holders, batteries in landmines and then exploding them. There are also a large number of woollen clothes and shoes. An accomplice of terrorists along with his colleagues was taking the entire material to Bundu from Ranchi," said Praveen Kumar, Superintendent of Police (Ranchi), adds ANI. Assembly elections are being held in Jharkhand in five phases beginning November 25.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up three schools in Palamu and one in Giridih District. Maoists used dynamite to blow up a Government middle school and an aided high school at Dhakchha village in the Hariharganj block (administrative division) and a Government middle school at Koo-koo Kalan village in the Chhatarpur block of Palamu District. The Manjhladih Middle School at Dumri in the Giridih District was also blown up.

Armed Maoists set ablaze an election vehicle of All Jharkhand Students' Union candidate Vinod Kumar at Jashpur, 15 kilometres from Giridih town, in the morning after asking the occupants to run away and not to come again in the area.

Four of their Maoist sympathisers were arrested on the border of Chatra and Hazaribgah for carrying arms and ammunition in the last 24 hours. Hazaribgah Sadar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naushad Alam said the insurgents, arrested from Garukhurha village, near Itkhori, had four rifles and live cartridges in their possession. The consignment was meant for 'sub-zonal commanders' of the little-known Jharkhand Sanyukta Morcha, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist. The group was travelling in an SUV that had a tampered number plate. DSP (rural) Sangeeta Kumari said Morcha chief Rampati Ganjhu had been arrested in Ranchi two years ago and sent to Chatra prison. Reorganising a team even from behind bars, Ganjhu ordered his men to supply arms to 'sub-zonal commanders' Nageshwar Ganjhu alias Nagji and Chamra Munda alias Sudhirji. Three of the arrested insurgents - identified as Ram Nandan Prasad, Sanjay Kumar and Awadh Kumar, all residents of Gaya - confessed that they had supplied bullets to Nagji and Sudhirji in the past, too. The DSP (rural) said the SUV belonged to the fourth, Santosh Kumar, who pleaded innocent.

The CPI-Maoist cadres carried out five powerful bomb blasts at Niro Madanpur hillocks in the Topchanchi block under the Tundi Assembly constituency of Dhanbad District. Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar said that no one was injured in the blasts that occurred in a hilly area, about two kilometres from residential areas, at around 1pm (IST). Dhanbad Superintendent of Police Suman Gupta added that it was a desperate attempt by the Maoists to disrupt the poll process. But they failed to do so.

The Maoists in the night blew up a middle school, Anant Madhya Vidyala, at Pratappur in the Chatra District after placing dynamite in the rooms. The school was one of a cluster where voting was to take place on December 18 for the Assembly polls, the Police said. This was the fourth school in three days to have been blown up by the Maoists in Jharkhand. On November 24 they had demolished two schools in Palamau District and one in Giridih District.

The CPI-Maoist blew up a Police jeep, killing a Policeman and injuring four others at Jaranga village in the Khunti District. The Inspector-General of Police, V. Deshmukh, said the jeep overturned under the impact of the blast. He, however, ruled out landmine causing the blast. The jeep was escorting a bus full of Security Force personnel when the incident occurred at around 9am (IST). The bus was on its way to Arki from Tamar ahead of the second phase of polls in the Khunti Assembly constituency scheduled for December 2. Khunti Superintendent of Police (SP) A. V. Minz said the jeep was badly damaged. "The intensity of the blast was such that the vehicle was thrown several feet into the air and landed upside down in the jungle. The blast site is located about four km from the Arki Police Station," he added.

Police recovered a landmine weighing 20 kilograms from a Maoist-hit region near the Tetair-More at Lapu village under the Bishunpur Police Station of Gumla District. The landmine was later deactivated. The Police recovered the landmine during a long-range patrol in a particular area where the Maoists had triggered a landmine blast a few days ago, Gumla SP N. K. Singh said. The landmine was recovered from a place located about 18-19 kilometres away from the Bishunpur Police Station on the Jori-Jamti road, the SP added.

After the peaceful first phase elections in Jharkhand, the Maoists renewed their call for poll boycott of the remaining four phases in the State. A press release to the effect was issued here by Gopal, the self-styled spokesman of the CPI-Maoist Jharkhand-Bihar-Chhattisgarh area committee. Posters calling for poll boycott were also found in Chatra's Pratappur area. The first phase of polls in Jharkhand was held on November 25 and the subsequent phases will be held on December 2, 8, 12 and 18. Polls for Latehar, Palamu and Chatra will be held in the last phase as per the schedule.

The CPI-Maoist called for a 48-hour Jharkhand bandh (shut down) from November 29 in protest against alleged atrocities inflicted by the Government on their sympathizers. The Chotanagpur Zonal Committee spokesman of the Maoists, Samarji, appealed to public and private entrepreneurs to suspend business operations for these days. The Maoist leader has also 'advised' people not to travel and use public transport. The spokesman also asked SAIL to either suspend all its business during the strike period or face consequences. He warned, "Our men, including Virendra alias Ashok, were picked up by Angaad and Salaki Police in West Singhbhum on October 23. 33 days have passed since, but we don't know where he is. The Government must come clean. If it doesn't, it should be ready for trouble.

West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Jha said, "Since the bandh has been called during the elections, we are taking extra measures to ensure safety and security of men and material."

Hours before a 48-hour bandh (general shut down) called by the CPI-Maoist in Jharkhand, the Maoists blew up a panchayat (village-level local self Government institution) hall and a school building in the Palamau District.

The Maoists demolished two school buildings in the Palamu District in the night.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken expressed dissatisfaction over the intelligence network in Maoist-infested Jharkhand and renewed the Centre's call to the Maoists to sit for a dialogue. "There are loopholes in intelligence network in Jharkhand. It should get more strength. The Centre will provide whatever needed to put in place a strong network," Maken told reporters. Stating that the Centre had directed that Policemen posted in interior areas be given incentives, he said the fight against the Maoists was not an overnight affair. Calling upon the Maoists to prefer ballot to bullet, he said "ballot brings lasting solutions while bullets only give a handful persons to impose their ideas on others. We have asked the state governments to initiate dialogue process if the rebels give up violence."

Three villagers were killed and six others injured in an IED blast near Amjhore village under the Bodam Police Station in East Singhbhum District. When villagers, engaged by paramilitary forces to remove three trees on a road, were on the job, an IED fitted on a tree went off, killing three persons and injuring six. Among the injured, one lost a hand and another one a leg. The incident occurred near a Central reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp. The villagers complained to the Police that they were forced to remove the trees by the CRPF personnel.

Maoists blew up a room of the Mahubuang Railway Station in Simdega District. In addition, Maoists blew up the railway track between the Jageswar and Dania Stations in Bokaro District.

In the Chatra District, the Maoists blew up the house of RJD leader Chandrika Yadav in the Basisthnagar Police Station area at Jodi at around 11pm. About 100 armed Maoists surrounded the house and asked the family members to vacate the house, Superintendent of Police Jatin Narwal told reporters. The Maoists then packed dynamites in every room before triggering the blast, he said. The Maoists left notes warning against participation in the ensuing elections.

In Palamau District, the Maoists destroyed two schools late in the night at Kharagpur and Bhavwar villages, Police said. Maoists have blown up seven schools in the District over the weekend. They blew up five schools, besides a panchayat bhavan (building) on in the night of November 28. Separately, the Maoists disrupted movement of vehicles on the Daltonganj-Aurangabad Main Road from 10pm on November 29 to 10am on November 30 by felling three trees at Kanda. Also, during intensive patrolling, Security Forces recovered two landmines on November 29, each weighing 20 kilograms, planted beneath the Medininagar-Panki Road in Palamau, Police said.

On the second day of the CPI-Maoist bandh (general shut down), Chatra Additional Superintendent of Police Sunil Bhaskar escaped unhurt even as a series of attacks rocked several other Districts. Two among Bhaskar's four bodyguards and a Police driver sustained injuries when the insurgents triggered a landmine blast at Kharwanari village under Hunterganj Police Station area of Chatra District at around 8.30am (IST). Bhaskar was on his way to Hunterganj from Pratappur. Sources said the Maoists took advantage of dense forest cover near the village, around 10 kilometres from Pratappur. Bhaskar survived the attack, as he was not reportedly in the vehicle that he usually used. "Bhaskar was sitting in an ordinary vehicle with his two bodyguards and a driver. He also asked the driver of the landmine-protected vehicle to follow him. He deputed two bodyguards in the landmine-protected vehicle. His strategy yielded result, as the extremists detonated the mines only after the ordinary vehicle crossed the danger zone," a Police officer said. "The anti-landmine vehicle driver, Mashi Kachhap, and my two bodyguards, Mukesh Mishra and Vikash Paswan, sustained injuries. They were airlifted and admitted to a private hospital in Ranchi," Bhaskar said.

The Maoists blew up a culvert near Kasaribera village under Arki Police Station area in Khunti District at around 1.30am. In another incident in Khunti, Maoists blew up a school building at Sowde village under Rania Police Station area.

Maoists shot at and injured two persons, blew up a culvert and set ablaze four vehicles at Chatra as they ended their two-day Jharkhand shutdown in the night. The Maoists opened fire on a truck injuring the driver and his helper at Bhuiandih in the Chatra District a little before their shut-down ended, Superintendent of Police, D B Sharma, said. The insurgents also used explosives to blow up a culvert in the same village, disrupting traffic on the Chatra-Gaya route, besides setting ablaze four vehicles. The Maoists, who indulged in massive destruction of public property during the shutdown, were demanding production of their cadre Ashok Mahato before a court. The Police, however, have denied arresting any person by that name.

A Policeman was killed in a landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist in the Giridh District. Maoists triggered the landmine at Teliabahiar when Policemen were on a foot patrol, Deputy Commissioner, Vandana Dadil, said.

The Maoists blew up a culvert at Matiobera in the same District.

The Security Forces (SFs) recovered a landmine planted beneath a culvert at Zarzari village under Bishnugarh Police Station of Hazaribgah District. Briefing the media, Deputy Commissioner-cum District Returning Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said that the SFs recovered the landmine weighing 50 kilograms while patrolling the Bishnugarh-Gomia road. The officer said that the SF personnel, who were patrolling the area on foot, heard the sound of an explosion and saw smoke billowing out of the culvert. Subsequently, they conducted a thorough search of the culvert and found the landmine lying underneath it. A bomb squad, which accompanied the SFs, immediately deactivated the landmine, he added. Choubey said that the SFs also recovered a pair of shoes and slippers from the spot which the Communist party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) had probably left behind after planting the landmine. "A major mishap seems to have been averted as polling personnel were supposed to return from the same route along with electronic voting machines (EVMs) after the commencement of polls," he added. He said that polling personnel and SFs, who were supposed to cross the Maoist-hit areas under the Bishnugarh Police Station of the District, were advised to move on foot as a precautionary measure. The Police have launched a massive combing operation in the area, he added.

The Maoists threatened candidates with dire consequences if they open election offices in Palamu District, Police said. The Maoists also set ablaze the house of one of the supporters of Chhaterpur Congress nominee Radha Krishna Kishore recently to show their commitment to the cause. They have also pasted posters in the District warning electorates to stay away from the polls. Palamu Superintendent of Police Jatin Narwal, however, claimed that the Police would foil the ulterior designs of Maoists.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blocked a street in the Chakuliya area of East Singhbhum District in the morning bringing the traffic movement on the street to a standstill for hours. The local Police and the paramilitary forces removed the blockade at around 2pm (IST) after which the normal traffic resumed on the road. "The Maoists had blocked the Seeshakundh-Chakuliya link road by placing a felled tree in the midst of the street at Zoram. They had also laid some 100-odd bricks on the street," Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Ghatsila Anup Virtherey said. In the morning, the Police received information that suspected Maoists had blocked a street in Chakuliya. The Police rushed to the spot immediately. Later, the local Police and some Central reserve Police Force personnel removed the blockade with ease, Virtherey said. "The motive behind the blockade appears to instil fear among villagers so that they do not take part in the poll exercise. This assumption gains credence since the Maoists left behind posters warning people not to take part in polling," the SDPO said.

The Maoists set ablaze the party flags of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and left behind some posters asking villagers to boycott the polls in the Ghatsila subdivision. The security agencies in the subdivision are trying their best to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in the subdivision ahead of the fourth phase polls scheduled for December 12, he added.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a guard in the East Singhbhum District. The activists arrived at the house of Tejlal Singh (40) in the night and dragged him out about a kilometre away before killing him in Chotachidka village under Bodam Police Station. The exact cause behind the killing could not be ascertained, they said.

Maoists blew up a vacant school building in Latehar District. About 20 Maoists went to the middle school and packed explosives before triggering the blast at Newari village. There was no casualty in the blast, which took place on the eve of the third of the five-phase elections in Jharkhand on December 8.

Handwritten posters were put up by the Maoists urging people to boycott the Assembly polls. The Maoists also challenged the Police administrations and threatened leaders of political parties, besides creating panic in the tribal-dominated villages of Bhandaria block of Garhwa District in the last 24 hours. The Maoists, in fact, have threatened people and political leaders with dire consequences if they opposed the poll boycott call.

Two BSF personnel were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the third phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections. The elections for 11 seats in the 81-member House registered a turnout of 55 per cent. Maoists, who had given a call for poll boycott, fired at a BSF patrol party near the Sarasdangal forest in Dumka District, killing head constable Dharamvir Singh and constable Dinesh Sharma, Inspector-General of Police V. H. Desmukh said. The BSF personnel, on a road-opening mission for the passage of polling personnel, returned the fire, he said. The fourth phase is scheduled for December 12 and the fifth and final round on December 18. The results will be announced on December 23.

Security Forces killed two CPI-Maoist cadres in a fierce gun battle in Ranchi District. The SFs fired 500 rounds of bullets and also lobbed grenades. A huge cache of arms and ammunition including 200 kilograms of explosives, 100 detonators and 30 kilograms can bombs were also recovered. However, Times of India reported that Police busted a Maoist camp killing one extremist and injuring three others. The incident occurred at Anteorda village at the tri-junction of Ranchi, Seraikela and West Singhbhum Districts. "Police fired around 500 rounds, used four high explosives, 14 hand grenades in which one Maoist was killed while three were reportedly injured and the camp was busted by Police," Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar. "Around 70 Maoists took advantage of the low visibility and managed to flee through a small stream. But local people confirmed that Maoists were spotted taking their injured counterparts with them," he added. "Police recovered two single-barrel guns, one double-barrel gun, 200 kg ammonium nitrate, 200 kg semi-liquid explosive gel, two landmines weighing 30 kg, 200 detonators, 50 metre codex wire, 100 Duracell batteries, 25 camera flashes," said Kumar. Among other things recovered by Police were several kilograms of food grain meant for nearly 70 people, cooked food, 15 rucksacks of medicines for cerebral malaria, first aid kits and 200 soap cases to be used for making country-made bombs and two large barbed wire cutters. "The IAF helicopter was largely used during a recce mission to guide the movement of security men through the thick jungle," said Kumar, adding that a company of Security Forces will move into the forest in the morning of December 12 (today). "Looking at the recoveries, it appears that Maoists were planning a major attack during the ongoing election or attack Police pickets or a camp of security forces," he added.

A top Maoist was arrested and three landmines were recovered from different areas of Jharkhand, Police said. The Maoist, identified as Joseph, was arrested from a village in Gumla District during a combing operation by the SFs, they said, adding he was an expert in making IEDs.

SF personnel recovered three powerful landmines from Bidir village of Latehar District, which were later defused.

In another incident, about 30 Maoists stuffed explosives inside a primary school at Rorad in the Lohardaga District before triggering the blast, Police said.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a Policeman in the Chatra District, Police said on December 15. The Policeman was killed in a gruesome act by the Maoists who descended on his house at Meral village, dragged him out and slit his throat and cut off his left hand in front of his family members in the night of December 14, said Chatra Superintendent of Police D. B. Sharma. The body was found on December 15 in the village along with a note by Maoists saying he was killed for being a Police informer, Sharma said.

The CPI-Maoist has announced Police Pratirodh Divas (Police Resistance Day) on December 27 and 28 in protest against the death of villagers in a blast that was targeted at Security Force personnel in Amjore village, Patamda, last month. The Maoists on December 15 launched a poster campaign at Nimdih and Patamda in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum Districts, accusing the Police and Central reserve Police Force (CRPF) of forcing villagers to run errands for them. The posters also demanded INR 10 lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased, besides an unconditional public apology. As reported earlier, on November 27, the Maoists had planted a pressure bomb under the felled trunk of a tree in Amjore to blow up a security convoy. But a team of CRPF personnel and Policemen - returning to their Jamshedpur base camp after the first phase of election in Patamda - forced a group of villagers to clear the road. As soon as they lifted the tree trunk, the IED went off, killing three. The same day East Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Naveen Kumar Singh declared a compensation of INR 1 lakh and Government job for the kin of the deceased. Cheques were handed over the next day while Singh said job would be provided at the earliest. Intelligence sources said that by demanding 10 times the compensation given by the administration, the Maoists were trying to gain foothold in pockets where it had no or little influence. The Seraikela-Kharsawan Superintendent of Police Abhishek said

"We are keeping close watch. No rebel programme will be allowed in Seraikela-Kharsawan."

A Maoist ideologue who has been associated with the Maoist movement in Jharkhand for 30 long years admits there are acute differences within the party. While the young cadres endorse armed action, the Maoist leadership is contemplating "whether entering the political mainstream and working in social sectors in the villages will help draw more people" into the CPI-Maoist fold, the leader told IANS. This is particularly so because the Indian Government has threatened a crackdown on the Maoists, and the Police and Army have already stepped up anti-Maoist operations. The leader, originally from West Bengal, who spoke to IANS near Ghatshila in the East Singhbhum District, is attached to the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML), which gave up violence for electoral politics in the early 1980s. "A new revolution is not possible at this stage - neither nationally nor internationally," he said, adding, "This is making the young armed insurrectionists in the state a little frustrated, impatient and restive. The dialectical debate has also forced a section of the Maoist leaders to surrender and join mainstream politics this time. The trend actually began a couple of years ago."

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a villager in the Angadda area, a remote area in the Simaria constituency, in the Chatra District. One Sushil Oraon was dragged out from his home in the night of December 16 and killed. A Maoist poster recovered from near his dead body claimed that he had been punished for being an informer of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a rival faction of the CPI-Maoist.

The Kisko Police lodged three separate First Information Reports (FIRs) against Maoist 'zonal commander' Nakul Yadav and 300 unidentified cadres hailing from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. The extremists have been accused of creating law and order problem in the Kekrang, Chandalgi and Rorad villages in the Lohardaga District in the past three days. Two FIRs were lodged by the owner and driver of two buses while the Police lodged a third FIR against Maoists for killing two Policemen of the motorcycle squad. Kisko Police Station in-charge Sunil Kumar Tiwari said that the Police lodged an FIR (case no. 74/09) against Maoists under the various Sections of the IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substance Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act. On December 14, the Maoists killed two Policemen of the motorcycle squad and later blew up a bus and a school building. They also set two buses ablaze in the early hours of December 15.

In the past three days, Security Forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force, were airlifted to other places. Even personnel manning the Peshraar Police Picket were replaced by Jharkhand Armed Police personnel. The Superintendent of Police (SP) Subodh Prasad said the Police are keeping vigil on Maoist activities and even recovered landmines planted at certain places in Kekrang area. He said the State Police headquarters have been requested to send additional forces to combat Maoists who are present in the area in strong numbers. Besides, the rebels have also planted landmines at several places in the region. "The Maoists have outnumbered Security Forces in the District. We are waiting for additional forces to arrive from the Police headquarters in Ranchi," the SP said. Though the District has at its disposal one company of Indian Reserve Battalion, the Police are waiting for more forces from the State Police headquarters before launching any operation against Maoists, who have captured the Kekrang area.

Times Now has accessed to a Maoists training session that promises to do all they can to disrupt the polling process in Jharkhand. In Palamu, around 200 Maoists can be seen at a meeting preparing for more violence. One of the Maoist leaders who spoke to Times Now said they would target schools and hospitals because they believe the buildings are being used as a cover for Police camps. They also said any political leader part of the polling process would also need to face their wrath. Prasenjit, a CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander', said, "All leaders who are part of the elections are our targets. We will also target schools and hospitals. That's because those buildings are being used as Police camps." Meanwhile, Jatin Narwal, SP, Palamu, said, "Our Police force is equipped and well prepared to fight the Naxals."

Six cadres deserted the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter faction of the CPI-Maoist, to re-join the CPI- Maoist group in Jharkhand. Defying writ of local administration, Police and paramilitary forces, hundreds of CPI-Maoist cadres brandishing automatic rifles and villagers attended the ceremony deep in the forests of Manatu in Palamau District.

The Maoists abducted the Nawjavan Sangharsh Morcha candidate from Garhwa, Rajesh Kumar, from Siroikala village under Ranka Police Station area. Eight suspected Maoists abducted Kumar at gunpoint at 11am (IST) on December 17. The incident took place at the same spot where the Maoists had targeted a convoy of Rashtriya Janta Dal candidate and sitting Member of Legislative Assembly, Girinath Singh, on December 16.

A Government high school at Tiskopi under Gomia Police Station in Bokaro District was blown up. Though 10 rooms of the school were damaged, there were no casualties reported. As many as seven blasts were triggered by the Maoists to demolish the school building. Sources said Maoists had earlier threatened the school management to stop allowing Security Force (SF) personnel, who used the school as camps during the anti-Maoist operations, to stay there. Still, the SFs again camped at the school for the third phase of the Assembly election that concluded on December 8. After they left the building a couple of days back, 50 armed Maoists came to the school at around 11pm (IST) and detonated the landmines. Before leaving, they put up posters on the walls of the school, describing the explosion as revenge taken by them against Police personnel using schools as a camp. Another school was blown up in the Kawal village of Palamau District. Maoists also blew up a small bridge near Kahkula and Seriyar villages in the same District.

Two Policemen were killed and two others injured in landmine blasts triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the West Singhbhum and Palamau Districts. A landmine, triggered at Mahur in the Hussainabad constituency of Palamau District, killed a Policeman and injured two others, Superintendent of Police Jatin Narwal said.

In addition, a Central Reserve Police Force trooper was killed in the blast at Titlighat in the Saranda forest, under the Jagannathpur constituency, in West Singhbhum District.

Police claimed to have neutralised a Maoist plan to cause disturbances during polling at Palamu and Chatra assembly seats with the recovery of a cell phone and charger from the high-security Hazaribagh Central Jail, where over 100 Maoists were lodged. The devices were recovered from a cell during a search following a tip-off that top Maoists, lodged in the jail, were conspiring with their counterparts in Palamau and Chatra to create disturbances during December 18 polling and to trap the SF personnel, Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kamboj said.

A trooper of the of Bihar Military Police (BMP) was killed and two others sustained injuries in a gunfight with CPI-Maoist near Kanda Ghati in the Bisrampur Police Station area of Palamu District, the Police said on December 19. The Superintendent of Police, Jatin Narwal, said that a BMP trooper, Pultas Sharma, was killed in the encounter that lasted for about four hours in the night of December 18. The encounter ensued after Maoists attacked a cluster centre at Nawa, the Police said.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a community building in Bokaro District as it was used by the Security Force personnel in the recently concluded elections, Police said on December 21. The Maoists attacked the building in Palamau village under Nawadih block of Bokaro District on December 20. No one was injured in the incident, a Police officer said. "Maoists left a pamphlet saying that the community building was blown up as it was used by the security forces during the polls," the officer said.

A Police team seized bombs and explosive materials during a combing operation at the CPI-Maoist-hit Rengo forest in the Manoharpur area near Jamshedpur. "Seventy-five gelatin sticks, a can bomb weighing 25 kg and other bomb making explosive materials were found during the operation," Manoharpur Police Station officer-in-charge Ranjit Minz said. No Maoist was arrested during the raid, he added.

Only one of the six former CPI-Maoist cadres who contested the five-phased Jharkhand Assembly polls from November 25 to December 18 managed to pull off a victory. Polush Surin, a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) nominee from Torpa, won the election by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Koche Munda by over 16,000 votes. Surin, currently in jail, was a cadre of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a break away faction of the CPI-Maoist.

The five others - Ugal Pal, Satish Kumar, Masi Charan Munda, Kuldeep Ganjhu and Ranjan Yadav - all lost their respective electoral battles. While Kumar and Munda were formerly associated with the PLFI, the remaining three were members of the CPI-Maoist. All except Kumar are in jail. Pal was defeated by Congress nominee Chandrashekhar Dubey. Kumar lost to Krishnanand Tripathy of Congress and Munda was defeated by BJP nominee Nilkanth Singh Munda. Ganju, an All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) nominee, was defeated by Jai Prakash Singh Bhokta of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P).Rashtriya Janata Dal nominee Yadav was defeated by independent nominee Videsh Singh. Except Charan all were on fourth or fifth positions in their respective constituencies. Charan lost by just 600 votes.

The CPI-Maoist cadres have started threatening gram pradhans (village heads) and chowkidars (guards) with dire consequences if any member of the CPI-Maoist outfit is arrested or if Police raid their hideouts. The Maoists through posters put up at several villages under Shikaripara block (administrative division) of Dumka District, have threatened that village heads and chowkidars would be killed under the above-mentioned circumstances for being Police informers. Maoist posters were seen at various places in the three villages of Haripur, Maluti and Pinargarhia, which are considered to be Maoist strongholds. The CP-Maoist move to declare punitive action against the village heads and chowkidars is being viewed here as its modus operandi to persuade them to convince the common villagers being in regular touch to refrain from being Police informers by holding them directly responsible in case of an arrest or any other move by Police against it.

A couple was burnt alive by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in the Palamau District due to their land dispute with a Maoist 'commander', Police said. "Divesh Singh and his wife, Devbrati Devi were burnt alive at Saraidih village by suspected Maoist rebels," Palamau's Superintendent of PoliceJatin Narwal told IANS. Around 10 to 15 extremists raided the Saraidih village, 180 kilometers from Ranchi in the night of December 26 and set Divesh's house on fire. The couple who were sleeping at the time were burnt alive. The extremists left a pamphlet at the spot, terming the couple "Police informers". According to Narwal, Divesh had a land dispute with Mahendra Bhuiya, an 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist.

Soren told Telegraph that talks are the "only solution" to Naxalism. "Naxalism is a big issue and, in my opinion, talks are the only solution to this socio-economic problem. I am in favour of initiating a dialogue with the rebels to try and find out what they want," Soren said. Soren said his Government would hold talks with the Maoists within six months. "I know of several channels through which talks can be initiated with the rebels," he said.

Making a fresh offer of talks with the CPI-Maoist, the Jharkhand Government said that the State's Naxal (Left wing Extremism) policy would be reviewed. "We are ready for talks. They should shun violence and tell us what they want. Do they want to run the government? If so, how? They should come forward for talks," Soren told a joint press conference with cabinet ministers Raghuvar Das and Sudesh Mahto. Mahto, who had introduced a Naxal policy when he was the Home Minister in the Arjun Munda Government in 2005, said the government would review it.