Bihar Timeline 2010

Date

Incidents

January 3

After receiving intelligence reports that cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) are planning to blow up railway installations, security has been tightened in Bihar.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) activist at Manfar village in the Gaya District.

Police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres after an encounter in the Kachwar village of Rohtas District.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a Bihar Military Police (BMP) camp in the Bhagalpur District and injured four BMP personnel before looting arms and ammunition.

To counter Naxalites (left wing extremists) in Bihar, the State Government is planning to set up a special cell in its Police headquarters for ensuring better coordination among the Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs), District Police personnel and intelligence agencies.

The CPI-Maoist set ablaze several bridges construction machines at Chamotola in the East Champaran District.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres suspected to have been involved in an attack on a BMP camp were arrested from Munger District.

Four CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested and as many bunkers demolished during an encounter between the extremists and Police in a forest under Belhar Police Station of Banka District.

Around 1,250 detonators were seized by the Police in the Aurangabad District.

The special operations group of the STF arrested a top Maoist and member of the CPI-Maoist zonal committee Subodh Singh alias Anandji alias Divendu Kumar Singh from a house in the Kankerbagh area of Patna.

The Maoists carried out attacks at four places in Gaya and Aurangabad Districts in the night of January 17. Besides setting ablaze a truck on Grand Trunk Road, near Amas, they set ablaze railway property at Rafiganj and blew cell phone towers under Gaya's Gurua and Guraru Police Stations. The extremists also fired several dozen rounds on the national highway. According to reports, heavily armed Maoists raided the PWI store of the railways near Rafiganj station and set ablaze wooden sleepers.

Two top Maoists were arrested from Belhar in Banka District.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, Ram Chatur Manjhi and Shankar Manjhi, were arrested based on information revealed by the CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander' of Darbhanga and Madhubani Districts, Rajendra Sadai, who was arrested in the night of January 16.

Over 100 CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a railway track near Nadaul railway station in the Jehanabad District. The Maoists were enforcing a one-day strike on January 18 in their strongholds to protest the arrest of their senior leader Subodhji alias Anand, police said.

Huge cache of explosives and firearms, including 33 bags of high quality explosive materials, 10 grenades, equal number of magazines of Insas rifles, the CPI-Maoist literature and Police uniform and equipment used for making landmine, were recovered by the Police during a combing operation from a hideout at Kandini village in Munger District.

The CPI-Maoist blew up railway tracks to enforce their 72-hour bandh (general shut down) near Rajla station on Jhaja-Jasidih section of East Central Railway in Jamui District. The blast damaged railway tracks up to a stretch of about four metres on the down line and two metres on the up line. The train movement was consequently paralyzed completely for about 10-12 hours.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up the Howrah-Delhi railway track at Narganjo railway station in Jamui. The Maoists blew up a track in the same area just two days ago.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set two vehicles ablaze, to enforce its call for north Bihar bandh (shutdown) but none was injured. The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a jeep at Samhouti village and a sand laden truck at Aaatkali village during the bandh, which was called to protest the rape of a woman. The woman is said to be a CPI-Maoist supporter and was allegedly raped in East Champaran District recently.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested at Bagwans in Banka District. A looted Police rifle, 30 rounds of cartridge and eight mobile chargers were recovered from their possession.

The STF and local Police recovered firearms and ammunition from hideouts of the CPI-Maoist at Chormara village in Bheembandh forest area of Munger and Jamui Districts.

Two Maoist sisters, Geeta Murmu and Anju Murmu, arrested earlier in Banka, said they were sexually exploited in the Maoist camps.

Three cadres of the CPI-Maoist and a Police officer were killed in an encounter at Manjhiawan village under the Konch Police station of Gaya District. The killed Police officer, Mithilesh Prasad, was the officer-in-charge of Tekari Police Station.

Four cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested from two separate places. While three Maoists were arrested from Mahuar village under Haspura Police station in Aurangabad District, the fourth Maoist, a 'zonal commander', was arrested from a village under Bikram Police station in Patna District.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while commenting on the Maoist attack at Shilda in West Bengal said, "Maoists cannot be countered by force. All round development and launching of welfare measures can bring the ultras back to the mainstream."

At least 12 villagers, including three women and one child, were killed when nearly 150 heavily-armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked Phulwariya village in Jamui District. Four of a family was charred to death while others were shot dead. Those killed were Kora tribals and the attack was in retaliation of the alleged killing of eight Maoists by the Koras on January 31 at the instigation of one Lakhan Kora, suspected by the Maoists of being a Police informer. The Maoists triggered explosions and also set 30 houses ablaze. The whereabouts of Lakhan are not known. While the Police say he survived the attack, this could not be confirmed from local sources.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a state-run school building at Maheshwari village in Jamui District.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed Basudeo Singh (55), a farmer of Hasanpur village under Rajepur Police station in Motihari District, suspecting him to be a Police informer. Police recovered four posters, 12 empty cartridges of 9 mm pistol, two live cartridges and one live cartridge of a Self Loading Rifle (SLR) from the spot.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze two vehicles and equipment of two private construction companies engaged in road construction at Mauar Khaira and Hawai villages in Aurangabad District, apparently for not meeting extortion demand.

Maoists slit the throat of one Rajo Hansda at Bagdhasba village under Belhar block (administrative division) in the Banka District, suspecting him to be a Police informer.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a village guard and a villager, identified as Kameswar Mandal and Kailash Pundit respectively, at Goghaldiha village in Kharagpur Police Station of Munger District, suspecting them to be Police informers.

Maoists attacked a brick kiln in Bheldi Police Station area of Saran District and set two tractors ablaze.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to send 2,000 more Paramilitary Force personnel, trained in jungle warfare, to Bihar and Jharkhand to help the Police counter the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) violence.

The State Minister for Water Resources Development Brijendra Prasad Yadav told the State assembly that Bihar Government will provide INR 150, 000 as compensation to the family of the 11 villagers killed by the Communist Party of India- Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres at Phulwari- Korsai village in Jamui District on February 18.

The Security Forces (SFs) neutralised a CPI-Maoist bunker at Birma area in Banka District. However, the CPI-Maoist cadres managed to escape. But they left behind two rifles which they had looted from the Police, one 9-mm foreign made regular pistol, 100 cartridges of different bores, three country-made pistols and ammunition, one cane-bomb weighing 20 kilograms and Maoist literature.

Altogether 160 civilians and 77 Police personnel were killed in 338 Naxal (left wing extremist) strikes during the past four years in Bihar, the State Government informed the Assembly. Replying to a query, Minister in charge of Home Affairs Brijendra Prasad Yadav said out of the 40 Districts in the State, 33 are Naxal-affected and a total of 160 civilians and 77 Policemen were killed in 338 Maoist attacks during the past four years.

While 49 civilians and eight Policemen were killed in 63 Naxal attacks in 2006, 39 people and 23 Policemen were killed in 73 attacks by the Naxals in 2007, the Minister told the House. The Naxals killed 43 civilians and 21 Policemen in 79 attacks during 2008 and in 2009 the insurgents killed 29 people and 25 Police personnel in 123 attacks.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to stop communicating with the Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) via the media.

CRPF patrol party escaped a landmine explosion on a road near Rajhania in Jamui District. Sukar Yadav, a passer-by, was critically injured in the blast.

Suspected cadres the CPI-Maoist set ablaze a JCB machine and one tractor of a road construction company at Dumraon in Buxar District.

Heavily-armed personnel of the Revolutionary Communist Centre (RCC), a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, raided the office of a private road construction firm, burnt a machine and kidnapped an engineer, Sudip Ghosh, from Banahi village of Gaya District. The engineer was released in Sherghati forest in the morning of March 15.

An official of the State Government said that the number of people killed in Maoist violence in Bihar declined in 2006-09 as compared to previous years.

Intensifying anti-Naxal operations, Bihar Government raised cash rewards for those providing information leading to arrests of CPI-Maoist leaders who have been evading arrest for long.

The Bihar Government has agreed to support Union Government's anti-Naxal offensive. Bihar DGP Neelmani said the State was "very much in favour of supporting Operation Greenhunt as and when the Centre decided to do so."

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered an explosion on the railway tracks between Kasta and Paraiya stations in Gaya District during 48-hour bandh (shutdown). This resulted into derailing of seven coaches and engine of the 2445 up Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. There was no casualty or serious injury.

Around 200 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a Government toll plaza at Mahapur in Gaya District and shot dead a private security guard, identified as Wakil Singh, and a truck driver identified as Krishna Kant. They also looted 25 weapons including rifles, carbines and ammunition.

Six Policemen including five Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) constables and Station House Officer (SHO) Virendra Yadav, were injured when the Maoists exchanged fire with the Police at a market in Belsand of Sitamarhi District. Superintendent of Police (SP) Anwar Hussain said that 500 armed Maoists arrived at Belsand Bazaar and asked shopkeepers to pull down shutters. The Police rushed to the spot, and in the exchange of fire, six Policemen were injured while the Maoists managed to escape.

Around 80 Maoists attacked Jamunia village in Nawada District and injured two persons with gun shots.

The Maoists ransacked the LPG godown of a Parliamentarian, Anwarul Haque, at Belsand in Sitamarhi District and looted INR 172,000. Belsand Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawal Kishore Singh said the Maoists also fired on the Police party and the Police returned 10 rounds of fire. Police arrested one Suresh Ram and detained Mohd Ali Sher in this connection.

A Police jeep was set ablaze by the Maoists in Sheohar District.

Sahdeo Das, a leader of the TPC, a Maoist splinter group, was arrested from Menka village under Imamganj Police station of Gaya District. Earlier associated with the erstwhile Maoist Communist Centre, he remained an active cadre of the CPI-Maoist till 2006.

Over 50 armed Maoists destroyed an under construction Police station building by triggering dynamite blast at Bhelbi in Saran District. The Maoists also opened fire indiscriminately and left behind a handbill demanding the State Government to immediately halt 'Operation Green Hunt' and release its top leaders lodged in jails. No casualty was reported in the incident.

Badri Yadav, a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre was arrested and six others were detained from Paraiya Police station area in Gaya District for interrogation in connection with blast leading to the derailment of Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express near Gaya Railway station on March 22.

Over 100 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a newly constructed Police station building and a block office with dynamites and later on burnt 12 trucks at Tilauthar in Rohtas District. They also looted cash and mobiles from the truck drivers.

Police demolished a bunker of Maoists and recovered 67 detonators, 300 rounds of ammunition of self-loading rifles, timer devices and 700 uniforms of the Maoists at Dhakpahari village in Gaya District.

A Maoist, who was injured during an encounter with the Police at Charpokhari village, was arrested in Jamui District. A rifle was recovered from the encounter-site.

Police destroyed eight bunkers of the LWEs and seized about 50 kilograms explosives besides LWE literature during anti-Naxal operation on Dhakpahari hill in Aurangabad District. Two rifles, one pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, equipment and explosives for making detonators, 24 Police uniforms and some cane bombs were recovered from the incident site.

ADG (headquarters) P. K. Thakur said Police busted a Maoist camp at Dhakanchua forest in Gaya District near the State's border with Jharkhand and seized 50 kilograms of explosives, one rifle, one pistol, 10 detonators, 250 bullets of SLRs, besides explosives and fuse wire.

Over 200 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up two school buildings at Duddha village in Kaimur District.

Director General of Police (DGP) Neelmani informed that Bihar Government will raise the insurance cover of Policemen and Home Guard personnel posted in 15 Maoist-affected Districts from INR 1,200,000 now to INR 1,375,000. The Districts identified are Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Nawada, Jehanabad, Arwal, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Kaimur, Bhagalpur, Sitamarhi, East and West Champaran, Munger and Jamui.

13 cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested and three cane bombs and several Police uniforms were recovered during two separate raids in Jamui District.

The East Central Railway (ECR) cancelled four trains, changed the routes of two trains and imposed a speed restriction for Rajdhani Express trains, due to the CPI-Maoist shutdown to protest the Operation Green Hunt.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a doctor, Dinesh Prasad, at Nauhatta in Sasaram, the headquarter town of Rohtas District.

Over 100 heavily armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a base camp of CRPF 47 Battalion and its Special Armed Force (SAF) inside Lootwa forest in Gaya District. No casualties were reported.

Around six heavily-armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided the office of Jagdamba Construction, confined the labourers in a room and set ablaze a road construction machine near Paharpura village in Aurangabad District.

A huge cache of explosives was seized and a man, suspected to be a Naxalite, was arrested from Dayalbigha village Rohtas District.

Around 50 cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted Sitaram Rai, headman of Usri village in Darbhanga District.

Cadres of the Rautia Communist Centre (RCC), a splinter group of CPI-Maoist, set ablaze a road construction machine hired by a sub-contractor's sub-contractor under Tekari Police station in Gaya District shortly before midnight.

About 100 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a person, identified as Badan Singh, and his son Visambhar in Kenar-Khurd village under Chenari Police Station in Rohtas District.

Eleven suspected Maoists, including an 'area-commander', identified as Sheotahal Sahni, were arrested in separate raids from Belsand area of Sitamarhi District.

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a school, a community hall and two health centres at Sarodag village in Kaimur District.

Five suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested and a huge quantity of explosive was seized by the Police from Fatehpurmore in Nawada District.

Suspected Maoists threatened to kill a former army officer, Umesh Sharma and his family at Madhu Chapra village in Muzaffarpur District village if he failed to pay them INR 1.5 million.

The CPI-Maoist cadres abducted and hacked to death two persons at Rajaun village in Jamui District. They were identified as panchayat samiti (block level local self Government institution) member Arjun Paswan, and Rajaun village chief of Poorest Areas Civil Society programme Vishnudeo Yadav.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze several trucks and machines of two road construction companies in Vaishali and Aurangabad Districts. Two earth moving machines, a tractor, truck and dumpers were set ablaze at Madarna in Vaishali District while three trucks of a construction company were burnt at Seema village in Aurangabad District.

Two Special Auxiliary Police commandos were injured in an ambush on a Police patrol by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Azad Bigha village in Gaya District.

A father-son duo, identified as Rajiv Mahto and his son Pawan, suspected to be involved in supplying arms to CPI-Maoist, were arrested and ten bombs and 275 grams of heroin were recovered from them at Batauna in Madhubani District.

Over 50-60 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up with dynamite two buildings housing the additional health sub-centre and the training centre for blanket and carpet industries at Bangalwa in Munger District.

An arms supplier to the CPI-Maoist, identified as Shrawan Das, was arrested from Madhaul village in Muzaffarpur District. A Special Task Force (STF) team seized one regular double barrel gun, one rifle, nine live cartridges and one kilogram of explosive materials from his possession.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze two buses near a village under Maker Police station in Saran District. No casualty was reported in the incident.

The CPI-Maoist cadres damaged railway tracks in Muzaffarpur District to enforce their 48-hour north Bihar bandh (shutdown). Two sleepers were damaged and at least 25 clippers removed between Kurahni and Turki stations on Muzaffarpur- Hajipur section of the East Central Railway affecting rail traffic.

Chandan, an 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist was arrested from a place under Paroo Police station in Muzaffarpur District. Maoist literature, 243 detonators and fuse wire were seized from the place. The documents recovered from him revealed that Maoists had a definite plan to blast the house of BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Chhapra shortly.

The CPI-Maoist cadres caused derailment of four bogies of Sealdah-Balia Express (3105) near Chaksikandar on the Hajipur-Barauni section in Samastipur District.

Five suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested by the Police in Sitamarhi District.

The Ara civil court sentenced three persons to death and 20 to life imprisonment for the infamous 1996 Bathani Tola carnage in Bihar in which 21 Dalits were slaughtered by upper-caste landowners belonging to the Ranvir Sena (a private militia of landlords).

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze two dumpers and as many rollers of a road construction company near Sherghati in Gaya District.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, Dwarika Prasad, was arrested by the CRPF from Barachatti in Gaya District. 25 live cartridges, some explosive material and INR 10,000 in cash were recovered from his possession.

An 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist Rajgrihi Ram, was arrested by Police from Pithiao village in Rohtas District.

Around 50 armed Maoists set ablaze five tractors at Jogiya village of Khairabind panchayat (village level self governing body) under Muffassil Police station in Aurangabad District.

Villagers repulsed the attacked of the Maoists on a brick kiln at Jagdishpur village in Saran District.

More than 12 heavily armed Maoists planted two can bombs weighing more than 5 kilograms each on the railway tracks at level crossing between Guraru and Ismailpur stations in Gaya. Subsequently, they assaulted Basu Deo Yadav, the gangman present there, and also put up posters nearby. Undeterred by the assault, the gangman alerted senior officials and the bombs were removed.

Around 200 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up the railway line with dynamites at Chintamani village between Dighwara and Pipra stations in West Champaran District causing derailment and burning of fourteen oil tankers of the goods train.

Over 200 cadres of the CPI-Maoist laid a siege on Ramban village and killed five villagers in Sheohar District. While Siya Ram Rai (55), Bhagwan Rai (50), Bhola Rai (21) and Manohar Thakur (20) were shot dead, 25-year-old Visheshwar Thakur's throat was slit. Another villager, Subodh Kumar Rao, was injured.

The Police arrested Bablu Kumar Rai and Pintu Kumar for supplying arms to the Maoists and seized 40 quintals Ammonium Nitrate, packed in 80 sacks, and 300 detonators from Amartalab hill area of Rohtas District.

About 60 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist cadres killed Mukesh Yadav (30) and his mother at Pachpan village in Masaudhi region in Patna District.

Three Maoists, identified as Santosh, Bhagirath and Ungar Ram, were arrested by the Police from Khurja Toja village in Sheohar District.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashish Chandra got injured after a suspected Left Wing Extremist woman attacked him with chair at her house at Sobhana Chak area in Munger District when Chandra had gone to the house to investigate a case.

A Left Wing Extremist identified as Tarzan Ravidas, was arrested from Sampatpur in Patna District.

A cadre of the CPI-Maoist was allegedly killed by his associates for working against the outfit near Banvarsha village in Munger District.

Two cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed during an encounter with the Police and CRPF at Baghail forest under Bhim sanctuary in Munger District. The encounter that lasted for seven hours took place after the Security Forces (SFs) combed the area on receiving a tip-off that about 50 Maoists were hiding there and had planned to sabotage Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's proposed June 5 visit to Kaira in the District.

Sunil Thakur, alleged to have supplied arms and ammunitions to the CPI-Maoist, surrendered at Sanghwara Police station in Darbhanga District. One locally-made pistol, two rifles and 22 rounds of ammunition were recovered from him.

The Bihar Police arrested Rajendra Paswan alias Paras, zonal commander of the CPI-Maoist from Alpa village under the Konch Police Station in Gaya District.

Suspected Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) set ablaze three dumpers of a road construction firm and a motorcycle of an employee at Panchan Bazar in Gaya District. LWEs also snatched eight mobile sets before leaving the spot.

Three top leaders of the CPI-Maoist were arrested in the State capital Patna by Special Task Force (STF) of Bihar Police. They were identified as Subodhji alias Lambuji, Arjun Kumar and Sonu Kumar. They were top leaders of the Bihar-Jharkhand 'Special Area Committee' of the CPI-Maoist. Six mobile sets, four chargers, Maoist literature and INR 771,000 in cash were recovered from them.

Three suspected Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) were arrested by the Security Forces near Pirma forest in Banka District. They were identified as Jai Paswan, Ravi Paswan and Kailash Murmu. Nearly 600 bullets were recovered from them.

Over 200 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked Islampur railway station in Gaya District and abducted the station master and two other railway employees.

About 200 armed CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire at a Police Station in Rohtas District. The Special Forces deployed in the area countered the gunfire.

The Maoists called a 48-hour bandh (shut down) in Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

Acting on a specific intelligence input, Security Forces neutralised a suspected Maoist hideout in the Lohwar area of Gaya District and found a cache of bombs and explosive material. The recoveries included nine can bombs of five kilograms each, two bags containing 50 kilograms of ammonium nitrate explosive, electric wires, 28 electronic detonators and a country-made pistol.

Over 50 armed Maoists blew up Khadi Gram branch of State Bank of India (SBI) with dynamite and looted INR 92,000 from it in Jamui District.

Two Maoists were arrested and explosives recovered after an encounter in the Bhalua forest area of Gaya District. The seizure included nine can bombs.

The interrogation of a senior Maoist leader, Shambhu, a member of the Maoist 'Central Military Commission', arrested by the Security Forces in Bihar revealed a link between them and insurgent groups in the Northeast. Shambhu is believed to have been active in Bihar and Jharkhand.

The Government of Bihar has cleared an INR 924 million Police modernisation plan for the current fiscal. "The proposal is being sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for its formal approval," State Director General of Police (DGP) Neelmani said.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided the office of a private road construction firm and set ablaze several machines at Dulhin Bazaar locality, under the Paliganj subdivision in Patna District.

The chief of proscribed Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) outfit Shastra Pratirodh Manch (SPM), Ajai Ujjwal alias Chandal was arrested along with his three associates from Sherghati area of Gaya District. DGP Neelmani in Patna said the SPM members were engaged in collecting levy from private companies engaged in road construction work.

Four suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist carrying 300 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in manufacturing explosives, were arrested from Chakai in Jamui District. The chemical was probably being taken to Charka Pathar in Jharkhand for the Maoists, sources said. Of the four, Nageswar Das and Bideshi Paswan were known Maoists while others could be their associates, the sources said.

Police arrested Budhan Sada, a prime accused in the 2009 Amausi massacre in which 16 people were killed in Khagaria District, from Saura village. Sada was carrying a reward of INR 50,000 on his head, they said.

Gupteshwar, sub-zonal commander of the Revolutionary Communist Centre (RCC), a Left-Wing Extremist group, was arrested and a locally made pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

Two cadres of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), identified as Chenari Yadav and Kailash Yadav, were arrested from Jogia village in Gaya District.

Police seized 200 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 120 detonators and five packets of gelatine, besides four pistols and live cartridges in Munger District. Police said it raided a house in Sakarpur village following a tip-off and found the explosives, possibly stockpiled there for the CPI-Maoist.

The CPI-Maoist cadres on Munger-Jamui Road stopped a jeep, abducted the driver and chopped off his head for daring to defy their bandh call and carry a wedding party. As reported earlier, the Maoists have called for a 48-hour-bandh (shut down) in five States - Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

Dukhit Ram, an accused in the case of Jehanabad jail break by the Maoists in November 13, 2005, was arrested from Arwal District, Police said. Acting on a tip-off, Police raided a house at Baljory Bigha village and arrested Ram.

Maoists-sponsored bandh has become a regular feature in Bihar with as many as 19 bandhs called by the Maoists in the State in 2010 alone. These exclude the 48-hour bandh called by them from June 29-midnight against "anti-people policies of the Central government".

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze a mobile telephone tower at Chiraiya in East Champaran District. Around 50 Maoists raided Mirpur village, sprayed petrol and burnt the generator room adjacent to the tower. The tower was partially damaged.

Four cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested by Special Task Force of Bihar Police from Gaya railway station. The arrested Maoists were identified as Vijay Ram alias Varun, a self-styled 'zonal commander' of Rajgir sub-zone, Alakhdeo Rajbansi alias Saddam, Vinod alias Bablu kumar, self-styled 'area commanders' and Naresh Das, Magadh zone member of the outfit.

A cadre of the CPI-Maoist, Pradyuman Sharma, known for his ruthless methods of fund-raising for the organisation through extortion, was arrested from his native village Rustampur under the Hulasganj Police station in Jehanabad District. Sharma is believed to be a zonal rank functionary of the CPI-Maoist.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed a former colleague, identified as Umesh Mehta (20), a native of Burma village under Kutumba Police station in Aurangabad District for extracting money in the name of their organisation.

A group of 60 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted 11 villagers from Loda village in Kaimur District and also took away their licensed weapons.

Raghubir Tanti, secretary of the north-central committee of the CPI-Maoist was arrested at Bakhatpur in Begusarai District. Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar said Tanti was an arms and ammunition supplier to the Maoists and organised the 'red army' gatherings in the District.

The Maoists released nine of the 11 villagers, whom they had abducted from Kaimur District.

The Maoists freed the remaining two of the 11 villagers abducted by them from Kaimur District.

Describing Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) as "a part of our society," Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar warned that "enforcement action alone" would not do. He said such an approach would only lead to "wider alienation" of such elements "making heroes out of the leaders of the extremist organisations and leading to only symptomatic treatment, leaving the underlying disease to reappear in a more virulent form." He pressed for an integrated approach to deal with the problem.

The Mirzapur (District in Uttar Pradesh) Police arrested a Naxal (left wing extremist), identified as Dinesh Ram, a resident of Rohtas District, wanted in eight criminal cases from Rohtas District of Bihar. The Police recovered a .12 bore single barrel gun and cartridges from the possession of the accused. According to Police, Dinesh is involved in the Naxal attacks in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Bihar will get two Indian Air Force (IAF) MI-17 helicopters exclusively for keeping a tab on the activities of the CPI-Maoist in the State. A decision to the effect was taken at a meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai in New Delhi. One chopper will be deployed in Gaya and Rohtas Districts while the other one will be used in Jamui, Munger and Lakhisarai Districts.

The DGP informed that the Centre has included five more extremist-hit Districts of Bihar in the list of Districts to be covered by Union Home Ministry's security-related expenditure (SRE) scheme. The scheme earlier covered the State's 15 Districts, and the newly-included Districts are Lakhisarai, Banka, Sheohar, Vaishali and Begusarai.

The DGP said a counter-insurgency training centre has become functional at Bodh Gaya while two others at Dehri and Dumraon are likely to start functioning from next month. Hundred personnel of Bihar Military Police and another 100 of District armed Police would be trained at each of these centres in each batch. They would be trained in fighting Maoists by Army men, including Colonel-rank officials, Neelmani said.

A Patna Police team arrested Chandrashekhar Azad alias Commander and two of his associates, identified as Sudhir Kumar and Vijay Kumar Tanti, near Mahavir Temple in Patna. Though the arrested persons denied selling arms and ammunition to Naxalite (Left Wing Extremist) outfits, Police believes there is possibility that they might have supplied arms to some Naxalite outfits.

Over 40 armed cadres of CPI-Maoist raided Tendua village in Rohtas District and abducted four villagers at gunpoint over a land dispute. They released one person later.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Noor Alam and Nake Mohammed, were arrested by a Special Task Force of the Bihar Police in East Champaran District.

Two cadres of CPI-Maoist, identified as Suresh Yadav and Ram Vilas Yadav, were arrested in a Police raid at Ramkeriya village in Gaya District. Three country-made carbines, a country-made rifle, two country-made pistols and five bullets were also recovered from them.

Railway authorities cancelled five train services and diverted the routes of six others as a precautionary measure in view of the shut down called by the CPI-Maoist in Bihar and four other States.

The State Government approved creation of the post of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), operation, in eight Naxal [Left Wing Extremist]-infested Districts. They are Patna, Nalanda, Kaimur, Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Arwal, West Champaran and Bagaha. Last year, the post of ASP was created in eight other Districts.

The State Government allotted INR 11.2 million to all the 38 Districts of the State as advance money for all the Police Stations of the State for its self-sufficiency and contingent expenditure. DGP Neelmani said, "All the 872 police stations in the state, including around 300 which falls under Naxal-belt, have been allotted money to meet their contigency expenditure which includes among others, money needed for conducting post-mortem, stationary purchase and other expenses".

Police arrested Krishna Sharma and Prabhu Tiwari and seized 12,000 detonators from them with a dumper truck at Rajapul under Sherghati Police Station in Naxal [Left Wing Extremism]-affected Gaya District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a place where the dumper truck was parked said Superintendent of Police Daljit Singh.

The CPI-Maoist cadres organized a daylight kangaroo court on the Chatra District side of the Bihar-Jharkhand border to try Lakhan Lal Verma, a Bihar assembly staff working as Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary's aide. Verma was abducted by the Maoists from a place under the Dumaria Police Station in the District on August 12. The Police sources confirmed reports about the holding of a 'jan adalat (people's court)' by the Maoists.

Students of Dumaria-based Magra High School in Gaya District pulled down the black flag hoisted by the CPI-Maoist cadres on the school premises, and re-hoisted a Tricolour. The students including girls also raised anti-Maoist slogans forcing the half-a-dozen Maoists to beat a hasty retreat. According to reports, as soon as Magra High School officiating principal Deena Nath Verma hoisted the Tricolour, a group of half-a-dozen motorcycle-borne armed Maoists arrived at the school, pulled down the Tricolour and hoisted a black flag in its place.

Some suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead an unidentified person in Munger District. The dead body of the slain person was found near a Government office at Haweli-Kharagpur which is considered a stronghold of Maoists, a Police officer said.

Ashok Singh, a BJP MLA in Bihar, received an extortion demand of INR 5 million from the CPI-Maoist. The Maoists called Singh on his cell phone few days ago and demanded the amount for the protection of his relatives who have been executing a road project between Karza to Warsaliganj in Muzaffarpur District. The INR 55 million road project was part of the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) power plant in the District.

Four top cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including a 'zonal commander' identified as Satyendra Singh alias Shekhar, were overpowered by villagers who later handed them over to Police in the forest area of Nauhatta in Rohtas District. The other Maoists were identified were Shiv, Mohan and Bishun Oraon. One rifle, two guns, hand grenades, besides some live cartridges was recovered from them, the Police said.

The Maoist (Bihar and Jharkhand) spokesperson Samar Singh told over phone that they have banned State Legislative Assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Chowdhary from entering his assembly constituency Imamganj of Gaya District. The Maoists have also put the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MP from Aurangabad, Sushil Kumar Singh, on their hit-list and threatened to eliminate him. Samar Singh not only directed his ire against political leaders, but also targeted the media persons and accused them of hobnobbing with the administrative machinery.

A group of five armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted a villager from Gurari area in Gaya District and killed him. The Police recovered the body from adjoining Guruwa Police Station area.

Protesting over the arrest of Musafir Sahni, the Maoists gave a call for Bihar bandh (general shut down) on August 28. As reported earlier, Musafir Sahni, was arrested by Vaishali Police in Kolkata on August 21.

ADG, (Headquarters) P. K. Thakur claimed that several top cadres of the CPI-Maoist were either killed or arrested during the 30 encounters the Police had with Maoists and criminals in different parts of the State till July 2010. Thakur said that, in all, 174 Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists] were arrested in 2010. Apart from bombs, explosives, arms and ammunition, the Police also seized foreign currencies of Iran, Japan, Bangladesh and Nepal in huge quantities from both Maoists and criminals.

A Naxalite, Sanjiv Sharma, was killed during encounter at Konch in Gaya District and his associate, Shashibhushan Sharma, was later arrested by the Police. Other Maoists who were killed in encounters were Jitendra Kumar in Nawada and Phulen Singh and Uden Singh, both in Jamui District. Those who were arrested include - Baiju Yadav, carrying an unspecified amount of head money, was arrested in Belhar Police Station area of Banka District; Subodh Singh alias Devendra Kumar Singh was arrested in the Patrakarnagar area of Patna in January along with over INR 18 lakh in cash, besides walkie-talkie, 11 detonators, flashguns and mobile phone; 'area commander' of Jehanabad jail break Ramesh Yadav was arrested after an encounter with the Police; Musafir Sahni was arrested by Vaishali Police in Kolkata.

In 2008 and 2009, the Police engaged Maoists and criminals in encounters on 46 and 40 occasions respectively.

Maoists set ablaze an earthmoving machine of a road construction company at Sonho village in Chapra District in the night. Around 400 Maoists attacked the office of JKM constructions and without harming any of the staff members, who were held as hostages, the Maoists set ablaze the vehicles used for road construction.

At least six SF personnel were killed and seven others injured in a gunfight with around 100 cadres of the CPI-Maoist in the forests of Ghoghraghat Kanimoh in Lakhisarai District. The Maoists also looted 30 rifles from the SF personnel. Those killed include Kavaiyah outpost officer-in-charge Bhulan Yadav. "More than 150 armed Maoists attacked search teams of the Bihar police that were combing the area after intelligence reports of Maoists' presence in the forest," a Police official said.

Manoj Singh, a Block Development Officer, was abducted by armed Maoists from Ladhoura village in Sheohar District. Singh had gone to the village in his official vehicle to supervise preparation of Electors Photo Identity Card cards, state Director General of Police Neelmani said in Patna.

SFs arrested Mantoo Kher, a Maoist 'sub-zonal commander' from Ramsarai village of Banka District. A Chinese and two local-made pistols have been recovered from Kher.

The death toll of Security Forces (SFs) in the August 29 fierce encounter between SFs and the CPI-Maoist cadres in the forests of Kajra Hills of Lakhisarai District was confirmed as seven. Four SF personnel were still missing.

SFs injured in the encounter with Maoists blamed CRPF for the casualties. "The CRPF men did not back us when the Maoists ambushed us," said the injured Policemen. However, a CRPF officer said that In order to take the credit, the State Police kept them in dark.

The Maoists freed Tariyani Block Development Officer Manoj Kumar Singh two days after he was abducted from Sheohar District where he had gone for an official visit, according to the Police.

The CPI-Maoist reportedly demanded the release of their eight cadres lodged in various jails of Bihar by the evening failing which they would kill the four policemen 'abducted' during the Lakhisarai encounter on August 29 in which seven Policemen were killed. The Maoists also want the State Government to immediately remove Police deployment from Kodasi hills. One Avinash, who claimed to be the Maoist spokesperson for Lakhisarai-Munger-Jamui, called up local news channels over the last 24 hours and demanded immediate release of their eight commanders, including Jaipaswan, Vijay Chourasia, Prem Bhuiyan and Pramod Barnwal, by 4pm. Avinash also confirmed the death of one of their 'commanders', Ratan Yadav, in the encounter, and claimed to have taken away 35 Police weapons. Avinash, also said, "Sunday's [August 29] action was a fitting reply to the Operation Green Hunt launched by the Union Government in neighbouring States." He warned of more such actions, if "Police continue to hunt us''. Avinash said the CPI-Maoists have fixed a deadline of 36 hours for the Government to stop the combing operation in Lakhisarai. "We do not want to kill the hostages but...,'' he said and also appealed to the hostages' family members to exert pressure on the Government to concede their demands.

Bihar Police spokesperson Additional Director General of Police (DGP) P. K. Thakur confirmed that four Policemen - sub-inspectors Abhay Prasad Yadav and Rupesh Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai District Police, Civil Jamadar Lucas Tete and Havildar Ehsan Ahmed from Bihar Military Police -10 - had not yet returned from the Lakhisarai jungles to the base camp after the operations. Thakur, however, said no senior Police officer monitoring the combing operations have yet got any call from the Maoists.

The Maoists identified eight of their jailed comrades whom they want to be freed in exchange of the four Policemen held hostage by them. While Arju Koda, Rattu Koda, Prem Bhuiyan, Ramesh Tirkey alias Ajay Tirkey and Ram Vilas Tanti alias Guru Tanti are lodged in the Jamui jail, Jay Paswan alias Ashok Paswan is in the Banka jail. Bijay Chaurasia is detained in the Gaya jail and Pram Barnwal in the Bhagalpur jail. Police said Jay Paswan and Ram Vilas Tanti were involved in big attacks on SFs. Jay, who was in-charge of the Jamui region, had reportedly carried out armed operations against the Police. On the other hand, Tanti was wanted in at least a dozen cases.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar invited Maoists for talks to end the four-day hostage crisis. "We are ready for dialogue. Those who want to come to the negotiating table are welcome. There will be no Police action against them. They will be given safe passage," Nitish said.

The Police recovered the bullet-riddled body of Policeman Lukas Tete, one of the four Policemen held hostage by the CPI-Maoist cadres, on a road at Simratalli Korasi under Chanan Police Station in Lakhisarai District in the early morning. ADG (Headquarters) P.K. Thakur said Tete, who hailed from Simdega District of Jharkhand, was shot in the chest in the night of September 2. A leaflet found near the site said he was killed as the Government did not comply with the Maoists' demand for release of eight jailed Maoist leaders. The Maoists also threatened to kill the other captives if the Government failed to act soon. Earlier on September 2, Avinash, a self-proclaimed Maoist spokesperson, told the local media that Maoists had killed Sub-Inspector Abhay Yadav and dumped the body near the Abhaypur Police Station. But the Police could not find Yadav's body.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar conducted at least three "emergency review" meetings in the day and called for an all-party meeting. Sources in the Police and the Government said the meetings focussed on intensified action against the Maoists. CRPF and Special Action Force (SAF) units were pressed into service, and two helicopters, provided by the BSF and the MHA, were deployed for intensive search operations in the forests of Dharhara, Kajra and Bhimbandh in the Jamui-Munger-Lakhisarai belt.

Sources in Lakhisarai said 300 Maoists from Chhattisgarh's Dantewada District were said to be present in the Dharhara range in Lakhisarai. They hinted that Security Forces had surrounded the Maoists on three sides.

The Bihar Police arrested the two senior Maoist leaders in an encounter in a combing operation near the forests of Lakhisarai in the morning and claimed that one of them is the mastermind behind the abduction of four Bihar Policemen. The alleged mastermind was identified as Pramod. The other leader's identity is yet to be established.

The MHA sent additional reinforcement to Bihar to help State Police in ongoing operation to locate the three Policemen who are still in Maoist custody.

During the intensified search operation by SFs to locate the three Policemen being held hostage by the CPI-Maoist, seven Maoist cadres were arrested in Munger District. Those arrested have been identified as Suresh Marandi, Rajendra Hembrom, Vinod Marandi, Tanik Lal Tutu, Shatrughan Koda, Sanjay Kumar Ram and Kapil Koda, Deputy Superintendent of Police A.K. Chandra said.

The three Policemen - Abhay Prasad Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehshan Khan, who were taken hostage on August 29, were released by the CPI-Maoist in Lakhisarai District in the morning 6.30 am [IST]. The Policemen were found in a Tata Safari and reported to have reached the Lakhisarai Police Station.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist had planned to replicate the 2005 Jehanabad jailbreak in Jamui District in August to free their 51 cadres lodged in the jail, Police said. Arrested Maoist Baro Koda, suspected of killing Civil Jamadar Lucas Tete, revealed the Police during interrogation that Maoists had decided to replicate Jehanabad jailbreak by raiding Jamui jail to free their cadres. A Police Official said Baro Koda disclosed that lack of sophisticated arms and ammunition like mortars, hand grenades and rocket launchers delayed the plan by three days that led to a surprise six-hour gunfight in Lakhisarai District August 29, in which seven Policemen were killed and 10 injured. Koda told Police that about 150 heavily armed Maoists and hundreds of men from the PLGA assembled in forest area in Lakhisarai and were ready for the attack on Jamui jail.

Three Maoists were shifted to Bhagalpur jail from the Motihari central jail following reports that their escape might be orchestrated by their cadres. The three Maoists are Musafir Sahni, secretary of Maoist's north Bihar zonal committee, Jai Mangal Thakur and Ram Parvesh Baitha.

Two villagers were killed in a gun battle between 150 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist and the residents of Dugha and Bandha villages in the nearby forest area in Kaimur District. "Village head Satyanarayan Singh and another villager were killed in the encounter and the casualty on the part of the Maoists was not immediately known," Superintendent of Police P. K. Srivastava said. The expelled BSP MLA Ram Chandra Singh Yadav claimed that 26 villagers were surrounded by the Maoists.

Police found the dead bodies of Kundan Ravidas and Bahadur Yadav, both cadres of the CPI-Maoist from Kharik village in Jamui District. The two Maoists were killed by their colleagues. Ravidas is said to be a former 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist, while Yadav is believed to be a hardcore member of the outfit.

Intelligence sources said that Sanjeev Yadav alias Vijay, a top Maoist leader and regional committee member having considerable influence in the Magadh region, is trying to get a ticket for his wife, "preferably from Janata Dal-United (JD-U) because of the bigger winning potential" from Gurua (Gaya) assembly seat to contest in the forthcoming state general election.

The Bhagalpur Police arrested Amlesh Singh alias Amlesh Rana, an 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist of Bhimbandh area in Munger District, from a private nursing home at Patal Babu road in Bhagalpur. Amlesh was later handed over to the Lakhisarai Police as he was wanted there for his alleged involvement in the Lakhisarai encounter on August 29. His wife Nilam Devi and Bikram Koda (14), a member of Bal Dasta (children squad) of the CPI-Maoist, were also arrested along with him.

Two more Maoist cadres, identified as Gopal Hembrom and Rajesh Murmu, were arrested by the Lakhisarai Police, from Kajra area in the District.

October 1

About 60 armed Maoists ‘attached’ the moveable property of four farmers for supporting Shanti Sena, a private army formed by a former bandit king Ram Bachan Yadav, allegedly to take on the Maoists at Dhansa village in Rohtas District.

October 3

DGP Neelmani said that a top cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Bechan Das, one of the suspects in the encounter with Police near Ramtalnagar village in Lakhisarai District on August 29, was arrested.

SSP Amit Lodha said that the chief of Revolutionary Communist Centre (RCC), a splinter group of CPI-Maoist, Rajendra Mahto and his associate Vikas, were arrested from under Amas Police Station area of Gaya District.

The Police on intelligence inputs raided the Motihari Central jail in East Champaran District and seized a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, five Mobile chargers, several daggers and other sharp edged weapons. There was information that the cadres of the CPI-Maoist were planning a jail break, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Town) S. K. Saroj said. Security of the jail premises had been augmented after receiving the information as several hardened criminals and Maoists were lodged there. Altogether 28 Maoists were lodged here out of which 8 hard core ones were shifted to Bhagalpur and other central jails due to security reasons recently, Saroj said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Mohammad Nehaluddin was abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres from Laltenganj village in Aurangabad District and was released at Ketki in neighbouring Gaya District after three hours. The MLA was abducted while campaigning in the Madanpur block, along with his four supporters. Bihar DGP Neelmani, who initially said the Maoists abducted the MLA and his men and took them to the nearby hills, later, told reporters that the Maoists detained the MLA for a few hours. They also damaged windowpanes of three vehicles, which were part of the RJD legislator's convoy.

October 14

Police arrested three cadres of the UCPN-M, identified as Bali Ram Tharu, Jit Bahadur Chaudhary and Kabindra Chaudhary of Prasauni-3 of Nawalparasi District were arrested in Bihar, suspecting that they were supporting the CPI-Maoist. Sources said that they were carrying leaflets of the CPI-Maoist.

October 15

Four persons, including two CPI-Maoist cadres, were arrested from Lakhisarai District. The two Maoists were identified as Nandu Thakur, a resident of Khudiban, and Gaurav Raj, from Ghatwari village under Dharhara Police Station in Munger District. The two other persons are suspected to be Maoists but their identities are yet to be ascertained. They were putting up a poster at a polling station at Khudiban village calling for boycott of the coming assembly polls due on November 9, 2010.

October 20

CPI-Maoist posters calling for boycott of the coming Bihar assembly polls scheduled to be held from October 21 to November 20 were found pasted at several places in Munger District.

October 22

Five Police personnel were killed on the spot and another injured when the cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered a landmine blast at Jhitkahi Bridge under Shyampur Bhataha Police Station in Sheohar District at around 8.45pm [IST]. The victims include the SHO of Shyampur Bhataha Police Station, Praveen Kumar Singh and four SAP troopers. The incident occurred only 36 hours prior to Sheohar going to the polls in the second round of the Bihar Assembly Elections on October 24.

The dead body of one Govardhan Yadav was found in Gobaria forest at Barachatti area in Gaya District. Maoist cadres had abducted Govardhan Yadav from Chando village along with Mohamed Kaiser from Jaigir village in the night of October 21. Where-abouts of Kaiser is not known.

October 24

More than 60 cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up the house of a sarpanch, Guddu Sharma, using dynamite at Mahipalpur village under Maker Police Station in Saran District. Saran SP A. K. Satyarthi said that there was no report of any casualty, adding, "Only a portion of Sharma's house was blown up." Later, a fierce gun battle broke out between the Maoists and Police. According to reports, over 100 Maoists were present at the location and engaged with the Police personnel.

Heavily-armed Maoists raided booth No. 166 in Runnisyedpur Assembly constituency in Sitamarhi District and set ablaze an electronic voting machine and other poll material, SP Rakesh Kumar Rathi said. Three poll personnel were reportedly went missing after the incident, but the SP ruled out their abduction by the Maoists.

In Muzaffarpur District, vehicles of State Minister and JD-U leader Dinesh Prasad Kushawaha and BJP nominee Veena Devi were attacked by Maoists at two different places in their constituencies, Minapur and Gayghat respectively. While the minister escaped unhurt, his bodyguard suffered injuries in the attack.

Defying Maoist boycott call, Bihar recorded 52.55% voter turnout — about 9% more than 2009 Parliamentary elections — in the second round of the Bihar assembly polls for 45 constituencies.

October 25

Mohammad Salim Hasan, an Assistant Sub-Inspector, posted as a reader in the confidential section of the Munger District SP M Sunil Naik’s residential office, was arrested for leaking his superior's movements to the cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Munger District. Salim was supplying information about the actions and movements of the SP to Maoists for long, Naik said. "Hasan also gave information about the then SP K C Surendra Babu who was killed in a landmine blast by Maoists in 2005," Naik added.

October 26

Over 45 heavily-armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze three campaign vehicles at Badakihathiya in Munger District. The Maoists stopped the vehicles belonging to RJD, Congress and Janvadi Samajwadi Party in a forest area, pulled the occupants out and assaulted them before setting ablaze the vehicles. The vehicles were used for campaigning by party candidates for Tarapur Assembly constituency in Bihar, which would go to poll in the fourth phase on November 1.

The Maoists have issued new threat with dire consequences to the people of Gaya District to boycott the six-phase on-going Assembly polls in the State.

October 28

An IED exploded while it was being defused near the Jordi school building under Madanpur Police Station in Aurangabad District. One Police constable was injured in the explosion. The bomb disposal squad had been called in after four bombs were found planted in the school by cadres of the CPI-Maoist. The other three bombs were defused.

Bihar recorded 54% voter turnout in the third phase of the Bihar Assembly polls in 48 constituencies spread over six Districts in the north-western part.

October 31

Police arrested six LWEs, including Deep Singh alias Vikram, said to be the sub zonal ‘commander’ of RCC, a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist floated by the followers of Sagar Chatterjee, from different parts of Gaya District. Chatterjee, a Maoist leader, was killed in a Police encounter in Aurangabad about a decade back. Gaya SSP Amit Lodha said Vikram was wanted by Police in connection with nearly a dozen cases of extortion and arson, including an attack on construction company Gammon India. The other arrested LWEs were identified as Baua Panda, Neeraj, Randhir Kumar, Krishna Paswan and Munna Mehto.

November 1

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered a blast near a bridge on the Chakai-Jamui main road in Betia forest in Jamui District. However, none was injured in the incident.

November 3

Four containers, earlier suspected to be bombs planted by the CPI-Maoist at a proposed polling station in a school under Kutumba Assembly constituency in Aurangabad District, had no explosives in them, Police said. "After a seven-hour-long effort, the bomb disposal squad could open the containers recovered from Ketaki High School in the wee hours. However, those were filled with cow dung," Director General of Police Neelmani told reporters at Patna.

Eighteen Maoists have been made named accused along with another around two dozen unnamed Maoists in the FIR lodged in connection with planting of a bomb at a middle school at Madanpur in Aurangabad District on October 28. A Bihar Military Police (BMP) trooper was injured while assisting in diffusing the bomb. The Maoists had also placed three landmines on the road leading to the village.

November 5

Over 30 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked Baratand village in Banka District and fired several rounds killing two villagers on the spot and injuring two others.

November 7

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed abducted JD-U party worker Amrendra Prasad in Barwadih village under Dumaria Police Station in Gaya District. Heavily-armed Maoists had abducted Amrendra Prasad along with Uday Prasad, the Dumaria Block JD-U president, during an election campaign in the night of November 5. Earlier, the Maoists had freed Uday Prasad on November 6.

November 8

Ten wagons of a goods train got derailed when a group of over 50 Maoists triggered a dynamite blast blowing up the railway track near Kurhani railway station in Hajipur-Muzaffarpur section of East-Central Railway in Muzaffarpur District.

The Maoists attacked a Central forces camp in Magra village, which falls under Dumaria police station of the District. The encounter began on late night of November 7 and continued for several hours. Police sources said that while there was heavy retaliation from both sides, there were no reports of any casualties.

Two personnel from a bomb disposal squad, identified as Vijay Kumar and Jai Chand Prasad were killed while defusing a powerful can bomb planted by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist on the premises of Banke bazaar block in Gaya District. Two SAP personnel and two members of a local television news channel were also injured in the incident.

A 15 kilogram cane bomb was recovered from Deochand Dih village in the Dumaria Police Station area in the District. DGP Neelmani said acting on an intelligence input, CRPF personnel raided a place and recovered the cane bomb kept by suspected Maoists in a garbage pile-up.

The Maoists set ablaze four trucks in the early hours of the day in the District.

The Maoists blew up two mobile towers at Madanpur and Rafiganj in Aurangabad District.

Over 50 heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres surrounded a bus, pulled out the driver and helper from the bus and set it ablaze at Nagma village in Gaya District.

Over 50 armed CPI-Maoist cadres attacked and set ablaze a makeshift party office of RJD under Tekari Assembly constituency at Mathurapur under Guraru Police Station in Gaya District. No casualty was reported. Some Maoist leaflets asking the people to stay away from voting on that day were also found from the incident site. Tekari will go to polls on November 20, the sixth and final phase of Assembly Elections in the State.

Acting on a tip-off, Police arrested Umesh alias Radheshyam Yadav and Laldas Mochi alias Mukesh, both cadres of the CPI-Maoist during a raid in Chandpur Bela locality from their hideout in Patna District. Acting on the revelations made by the arrested Maoists, the Police team carried out a fresh raid and seized INR 165, 000, six cell phones, three carbines, five remote control triggers, 5,420 cartridges of different makes including those of AK-47, 25,000 detonators, 38 INSAS magazines, four magazines of .303 make, one SLR magazine, 200 flash lights for landmines, two bundles of fuse wire, nine carbine magazines, Police clothes and four walkie-talkies, 11 timer circuit devices, 11 landmine batteries, one pipe-fitting landmine, 50 springs, one pressure device, one tonne explosive powder, 500 rifle ceilings, 20 revolver holsters, 10 timer devices, 10 boxes of Maoist literature and two fake driving licenses, among other things. Senior Superintendent of Police Bachchu Singh Meena said the arrested Maoists were wanted in connection with the Jehanabad jailbreak in 2005, Mauri (Paliganj) massacre and other Maoist violence cases.

Suspected cadres of the Maoists set ablaze the campaign vehicle of Anil Kumar, a Janata Dal-United candidate from Tekari Assembly seat, in Laxman Bigha village under Konch Police Station area in Gaya District.

About ten Maoists intercepted Rajendra Singh, an independent candidate from Guruwa Assembly seat, in a location between Vishunpur and Dhanauti village in the District and poured kerosene before setting ablaze his campaign vehicle, SSP Amit Lodha said. However, the Maoists left six supporters of Singh unharmed by allowing them to get out of the vehicle before setting it ablaze, Lodha said. Tekari and Guruwa are two of the 26 seats that will go to polls on November 20 in the sixth and final phase of Bihar Assembly Elections. Police recovered leaflets and posters from the incident site asking people to boycott the polls.

BSF personnel escaped a landmine blast that was triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres, at Saliya village in Gaya District. The landmine exploded barely a couple of minutes before the BSF personnel passed over it. The driver of the BSF vehicle had stopped the vehicle before the blast suspecting the presence of the landmine, Police said. Saliya village is in Imamganj Assembly constituency, which goes to the polls in the sixth and final phase in Bihar on November 20.

One person, suspected to be a CPI-Maoist cadre, was killed as Maoists blasted a culvert at Boulia under Nauhatta police station in Rohtas District of Bihar. Over 75 CPI-Maoist cadres gathered at the spot and triggered a landmine blast in which the culvert was blown up. The blast site is under Chenari assembly constituency going to polls in the sixth and final phase of assembly election on November 20.

Four top cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Dharo, resident of Lakhisarai, Sunna and Sunial alias Sanjay, residents of Munger and Anil Yadav, a resident of Jamui were arrested by the Police in Gobra hills in Munger District. The arrested Maoists were reportedly involved in the August 29 operation in Kajra forest in Lakhisarai District and also involved in Sangrampur block blast, setting ablaze of election campaign vehicle in Kharagpur recently besides several others cases.

A fast track court, sentenced a Maoist leader, identified as Arvind Kumar Yadav alias Raju Da Yadav to 10 years imprisonment and also slapped a fine of INR 50, 000 for looting four rifles and ten cartridges from Policemen Turki More in Banka District on November 23, 2007. The looted arms were later recovered from Chirauta village under Belhar Police Station area, according to the prosecution.

Police arrested two cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Sudarshan Yadav alias Fidayak, resident of Roshanganj block and Parshuram, during a Police raid in Gaya District. Sudarshan belonged to the Maoist group headed by Sheetal Yadav. Police recovered a country made sten gun from Parshuram.

Six Maoist cadres, who are yet to be identified, were arrested from Nauhatta-Yadunathpur Road in Sasaram in Rohtas District. Some landmine-making equipment, two pistols and as many motorcycles were seized from them.

A BMP constable and a home guard were killed and nine others, including three journalists of private TV channels, injured when a landmine went off while it was being defused near Londa village in Imamganj Assembly constituency in Gaya District.

Security Forces recovered some fake bombs planted at three booths in Kasma Police Station area in Aurangabad District and at Ghatera booth under Guraru Police Station in Gaya District, Director General of Police, Neelmani said.

Eight persons, including five children, were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb planted by cadres of the CPI-Maoist exploded in Pachokhar village in Aurangabad District. The bomb planted by the Maoists during the sixth and final phase of assembly elections was found on November 20 by a Police team, which left it in a field for follow up action in the absence of a bomb disposal squad. However, when the villagers went to the field in the morning, the bomb suddenly exploded.

November 25

Four armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead two employees of Narayanpur princely estate, identified as Ranjit Sah and Arun Sah, in East Champaran District. The Maoists left a note at the site taking responsibility for the murder, Superintendent of Police Paras Nath said.

Over 50 armed Maoists raided the construction site of a proposed plant and set ablaze several equipment including four dumpers, three hydra cranes and mixer machine at Nabinagar in Aurangabad District. Superintendent of Police Vivek Raj Singh said the railway and NTPC are jointly setting up the proposed 2000 MW power plant at Surar village in Nabinagar. A combing operation has been launched to track down the Maoists, Singh added.

November 27

Two top cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested from Tetaria village in Aurangabad District. The Maoists, who are yet to be identified, were involved in a blast at Pachokhar in the District on November 21 in which eight persons, mostly children, were killed, the Police said.

10 CPI-Maoist cadres and two villagers were killed in a fierce exchange of fire between a group of criminals and Maoists near the confluence of river Ganga-Gandak in Hiranman diara (riverine) area in Munger District, Superintendent of Police (SP) M Sunil Naik said on December 1. Four bodies - one of Murari Bind, a villager, and his nephew, besides two of the Maoists - were recovered so far, the SP said. He said the bodies of the Maoists who were killed during the fire were later cut into pieces and dumped in river Gandak by the criminals, he said, adding divers were engaged to trace rest of the bodies. According to intelligence inputs, the locals were fed up with the "rude and violent" behaviour of the Maoists in the area, Naik said. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll in the clash at around 25. Earlier it was reported that three Maoists were killed in the incident.

More than 50 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked the office of a private road construction firm and set ablaze construction equipments, a mixer machine and a water tanker at Salempur Lodi Road under the Pali Police Station in Jehanabad District. The Maoists left behind leaflets, threatening the contractor with a fresh attack if extortion money was not paid, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Kumar said.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist blasted three feet of railway track using dynamite near Tilrath railway station in Begusarai District. The Rail traffic was disrupted in the Barauni-Katihar section of the East Central Railway (ECR) for over six hours, ECR's Chief Public Relation Officer Dilip Kumar told PTI. After the blast, they gave a leaflet to the gang man Ram Naresh Yadav posted at railway crossing no 53 claiming responsibility, Kumar said.

The Maoists triggered a bomb blast on a railway line near Kursela station in Khagaria District. Fortunately, the explosion did not damage the lines, Kumar said. Leaflets left behind by the Maoists claimed that the blasts were in retaliation for the death of ten colleagues in a gun battle with criminals near the confluence of river Ganga-Gandak in Hiranman diara area in Munger District on November 29-30.

Four Maoist cadres, including a woman, were arrested in a search operation in the Belhar forest area of Banka District conducted jointly by State Police and CRPF. One of the arrested Maoists, Taro Mandal alias Tarkeshwar Mandal, is an 'area commander' was wanted in over two- dozen cases of violence in various Districts of Bihar. He was reportedly involved in former Munger Superintendent of Police (SP) KC Surendra Babu's killing (January 2005), Jhajha railway station attack, attack on Akbarnagar Police camp, blast in several Government buildings and nearly 35 incidents of Maoist violence, Police said. "A notorious Maoist Taro Mandal alias Tarkeshwar Mandal alias Shankar Rai, a resident of Chilki Khand village in Charka Pathar District has been arrested. Along with him Ranjeet Rai alias Suresh Rai from Kharagpur District has been arrested. Taro Mandal has been a wanted in more than two dozen cases," Banka SP, Shyam Kumar said. Two firearms, 45 live cartridges of bullets, cash a motorcycle and pamphlets related to Maoist activities were seized from them, Police said. However, no information was available about the other two arrestees.

December 7

Two top cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Munil Kumar Rai and Sunil Kumar Patel, were arrested during a raid conducted by the Police at a hideout in Badhichak Baghakol village in Saran District. The arrested Maoists have confessed their involvement in the landmine blast of a vehicle of a block pramukh (block chief) Guddu Sharma in which two persons were killed recently, Superintendent of Police AK Satyarthi said.

December 7–8

Around 20-25 armed cadres of TPC, a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, set ablaze a bus near Mathurapur under Mali Police Station in Aurangabad District. The Maoists asked the passengers to get down the bus before setting it ablaze.

December 8

Six cadres of the CPI-Maoist wanted in connection with setting ablaze a helicopter, used by the then BJP national president Venkaiah Naidu for campaigning in November 2005 Bihar Assembly polls, were arrested from the Barachatti Police Station area of Gaya District. They were identified as Paras Yadav, Dashrath Yadav, Bhola Yadav, Mahesh Yadav, Kedar Yadav and Kailash Yadav. A computer, a printer, a CPU and Maoist literature were seized from them.

December 10

Bihar Police searched a vehicle and arrested four cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Dharamvir Mahta alias Badalji, Bigan Mochi, Mahesh Kumar and Nirbhay Kumar near Mangila area of Patna District. At least 30 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 24 detonators, one bomb and a few kilograms of other explosive material was seized from them.

December 11

A top cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Munna Pandey, a close associate of the Maoist ‘commander’ Punit Sharma, was arrested by Police from Mokar village in Jehanabad District. One pistol, a rifle, a country-made rifle and 14 live cartridges were seized from him, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramnihora Thakur said.

The Bihar Government will recruit 50,000 Police Officers in the next five years, an official said. As many as 5,000 Sub-Inspectors and 45,000 Constables will be appointed. The State Government will appoint 9,000 Constables and 1,000 Sub-Inspectors annually for the next five years.

Acting on a tip off, Bihar STF personnel raided a house and seized 22 bags containing 50 kilograms of explosive each from Kishanpur village under Amba Police Station in Aurangabad District and arrested two persons in this connection. Two persons, including the house owner, were arrested from the village, DGP Neelmani said. The house owner was identified as Upendra Singh while the other arrestee was yet to be identified.

In another raid the STF men found 28 bags, containing altogether 1400 kilograms of explosives and arrested two persons at Sarai village under Nagar Police Station, Neelmani added.

Four CPI-Maoist cadres, Shivam, Sudhir, Vikas and Khuglesh, were arrested from Pirmukam village in Katihar District of Bihar. Some Maoist literature, banners and posters were also recovered from the possession of the arrested cadres. The four were wanted in connection with a blast.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a village guard at Tilokhar village in Rohtas District. The village guard was abducted by a group of about 10 Maoists from neighbouring Panduka village in the night of December 16, DIG (Sahabad range) S. K. Khopade said. A dispute over a piece of land was believed to be the reason behind the incident, the Police added.

December 21

Five cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including a self-styled ‘zonal commander’, identified as Chandradeo Paswan alias Roshan were arrested by the Police from Orwa village under Barachatti Police Station in Gaya District. Confirming the arrests, Sherghati SDPO Mahindra Prasad said one of the arrestees, identified as Satya Dev Yadav is said to be an expert in the art of laying landmines and three more persons, yet to be identified have been detained for their suspected involvement in Maoist activities in the District. The Maoists were wanted in connection with several criminal offences, Police said. One cylinder bomb and Maoist literature was also recovered from the possession of the arrested Maoists, the SDPO said.

December 22

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a farmer at Itwa village in Aurangabad District. Over 10 cadres caught hold of Ramaslok Sharma when he was working in a field and shot him dead, Police said.

December 23

The Bihar Police HQ has drawn up a comprehensive strategy to strengthen its hitherto depleted Police force in the next five years. The focus of the Bihar State Police HQ is to augment Police personnel in Police Stations in CPI-Maoist-affected Districts along the 735-kilometres long Indo-Nepal border and river Police Stations.

December 24

A self-styled CPI-Maoist commander was arrested from Aurangabad District. Acting on a tip-off, Police arrested Janeswar Yadav wanted in several cases while he was standing near a shop, SP Vivek Raj Singh said. One pistol and half-a-dozen cartridges were seized from Janeswar, the SP said.

The Bihar Police are planning to introduce pre-fabricated underground bunkers in the State to intensify its counter-offensive against the CPI-Maoist. "The Jharkhand Police is also planning such bunkers. We will introduce bullet-proof bunkers to counter the Maoists as well as to protect our own Policemen," Bihar DGP Neelmani said. The DGP added that apart from having the adequate number of STF, SAP, home guards and other troopers positioned in the Maoist-affected regions, these bullet-proof underground bunkers will be pre-fabricated huts which can be piled onto trucks and moved as and when the need arises. Bihar, incidentally, has 16 Maoist-affected Districts including Patna. The other Maoist-hit Districts are Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya, Jehanabad, Arwal, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Kaimur, Bhojpur, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Munger, Jamui and Bhagalpur.

The Bihar Government plans to set up 410 model schools and upgrade 750 primary schools to secondary level. According to the State Human Resources Department (HRD), this would be done under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched 2009 for which the Centre would allocate around INR 20 billion to Bihar. HRD Principal Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said the Centre would provide about INR 13 billion for opening 410 model secondary schools, each costing INR 30.7 million. Singh said INR three million each would be spent on upgrading primary schools to secondary schools. For this, the State would need a minimum of 8,100 teachers, which would cost another INR one billion per year.

December 25

On getting information that cadres of the CPI-Maoist have planned to attack the divisional jail, the State Police raided several places and arrested six Maoists from Rampur area in Gaya District.

Altogether 51 senior cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) have been arrested by Bihar Police up to November 2010, according to official sources. These included seven 'zonal commanders', 10 'sub-zonal commanders' and 13 'area commanders'. The Police also seized 17,995 kilograms of explosive, 1.96 lakh detonators, 83 landmines and several bombs besides INR.3.525 million in cash during operations against the Maoists, officials sources added. Security men also recovered 130 weapons, 12 of them looted from Policemen, and over 8,200 different kinds of ammunition from the cadres. Altogether 166 Maoist-related incidents occurred in Bihar up to November, 2010 and the Police were engaged in encounters with Maoists at 21 places. Eight Maoist bunkers were also neutralised. A total of 14 Maoists surrendered before the Security personnel during the encounter. Maoists have also blasted 15 government buildings including Police posts, community centres, schools and block offices in 2010, the sources added.

CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead one, Ram Karan Mahto, at Maida Babhangama village under Birpur Police Station in Begusarai District. The CPI-Maoist called Mahto outside his house and as soon as he got out, they opened fire killing him on the spot.