Madhya Pradesh Timeline 2010

Date

Incidents

June 2

A group of four Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) set ablaze road construction equipment including two JCB machines and a pick up vehicle near Balaghat. The four were members of Malajkhand dalam (group).

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath urged Union Minister for Home Affairs (MHA) P. Chidambaram to include two more Districts of Madhya Pradesh in the list of those hit by Naxals [Left Wing Extremism]. The list of such Districts is the basis of a programme run by the Road Ministry to provide road connectivity.

Harish Rahgdale (27), a trooper of the Madhya Pradesh Police's Hawk Force (HF), was killed and Kamlesh, another trooper, injured in an ambush by the CPI-Maoist cadres near Sitapala in Balaghat District. Six troopers of the HF, along with Platoon Commander, were heading to Sitapala on motorbikes when the armed Maoists opened fire at the troopers, killing Harish. The HF team retaliated and an exchange of fire ensued during which more than 80 rounds were fired from both sides. However, there was no report of any casualty from the Maoists side. The surviving troopers later entered a village in a nearby forest in search of the extremists. A scuffle broke out between them and the locals, who set ablaze a Police vehicle that had reached the spot after the incident, sources said. Balaghat Inspector General of Police C. B. Muniraju denied the Policemen were assaulted, but admitted that the villagers had set ablaze a Police vehicle.

November 7

The Madhya Pradesh Government demanded before the Union Government to declare five more Districts of the State as Naxal-affected in view of increased CPI-Maoist activities witnessed in these areas. "At present Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori are treated as Naxal-affected Districts by the Centre. But in view of the recent Naxal activities noticed in various other Districts of the State, we have demanded that the Centre declare Sidhi, Singrauli, Shahdol, Umaria and Anuppur too as Naxal-affected," Madhya Pradesh State Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta said. He said he recently raised the issue of Naxal movement being noticed in these Districts in the Zonal Council Meeting in New Delhi, however, the Centre had not yet accepted the demand.