Maharashtra Timeline 2011

Date

Incidents

January 2

A sympathiser of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Sudhir Dhawale was arrested at Wardha railway station in Wardha District.

January 4

Two Maoist cadres identified as Srinivas alias Sachin Ailayya Zumble (27) and Bhaskar alias Akshay alias Sachin Kore (27) were arrested in a Police raid in Saundad village in Gondia District.

January 11

Constable Manikrao Khadse received bullet injury after cadres of the CPI-Maoist fired upon a combined SF from Kasansur Police Station near Punnoor village in Etapalli Tehsil of Gadchiroli District.

Police seized 300 Maoist pamphlets aimed to popularise CPI-Maoist doctrine, letters written in Gondi language, paper clippings about Maoist activities and the Government's efforts to bring the activities under control, banners against the Government and in support of Naxalism (LWE) and incriminatory documents and from the room of one Jeevan Kolhe (30) in Yavatmal District.

January 14

Security Forces and cadres of the CPI-Maoist exchanged fire at Gudekasa forest, around 10 kilometres away from Murumgaon in Gadchiroli District. "It was probably a section of the military dalam.

January 15

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered a low-intensity landmine blast in Yerkad in Dhanora Tehsil in Gadchiroli District. In the blast a Police jeep was damaged and Prashant Muktavaram, the jeep driver, sustained some cuts, Police said.

January 22

SF personnel recovered about 32 kilograms of explosives planted by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Repanpalli-Chhlewada village in Aheri Taluka in Gadchiroli District. Dog squads and a special Police party, deployed in the area, stumbled upon a cable line during a demining operation on the road stretch, which led to recovery of the explosives and 95 metres of wire from the area, the Police said.

February 1

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, made an urgent plea for central assistance for its ongoing modernization of the Police Force in view of the State's rapid urbanization and the terror threats it faces.

February 4

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will recruit 53,200 constables for Central para-military forces through a common recruitment examination, SSC Chairman N K Raghupathy said in Mumbai.

February 5

A group of armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist opened fire at Laheri Police Station, under Bhamragarh division, in Gadchiroli District. The exchange of fire between Police and the Maoists continued for a long time, Police said, adding that no casualty had been reported in the incident so far.

A group of cadres of the CPI-Maoist numbering about 30 to 40 came to the site of under-construction Piperkhari Gauritola Road near Piperkhari village of Deori tehsil in Gondia District and set ablaze a road roller.

February 9

An alleged CPI-Maoist cadre Bhimrao Bhowate alias Bhanu was taken into Police custody for his reported involvement in Left-Wing Extremist activities in Nagpur. Bhowate was arrested along with his wife Sunanda alias Megha and three others by the Gondia Police in December 2010. Maoist literature and other pro-revolutionary material had been recovered from them.

February 10

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist set up a memorial to pay homage to the martyrs of century-old Bhoomkal movement on the side of a highway connecting Maharashtra with Chhattisgarh in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District and put up a stone in the middle of the road and tied a banner that urged the Government to withdraw the Operation Green Hunt. [Bhoomkal movement was launched by the tribals against the British rule.] Teams of Gadchiroli District Police, C-60 commandos and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad rushed to the place after wires were spotted near the memorial. The stuck traffic was released gradually after the Police removed the obstacle.

March 12

A missing youth from Bihar, identified as Santosh Gulab Mishra (25) was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Wangejhari area in Etapalli Taluka of Gadchiroli District. The Police said Mishra was missing from his house in Bihar since the last five months.

March 13

Sadashiv Lengure (45), deputy Sarpanch of Repanpalli gram panchayat and ward member at Chhallewada in Aheri Taluka was suspected to be killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. Lengure, also a Congress party worker had gone to Kamlapur in the morning and on his way back to Chhallewada he was being killed by the suspected cadres, Police said.

March 15

The West Bengal Police took the custody of a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre identified as Akher Abdul Gaffar Mandal (35), who was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Tata Nagar hutments at Govandi on March 10. "Mondal was accused in the Explosives and Arms case in 2003 and the Arms Act case in 2007. With his accomplices, he had attacked Naroliya Anchal panchayat office on December 23 last year and killed the village pradhan using country-made arms and bombs." Rakesh Maria, ADG (ATS), said. "Following the murder, Mandal escaped from West Bengal and took refuge in Pune for some time, before coming to Mumbai. We have informed the West Bengal Police and a team is on its way to take his custody," said Maria.

March 19

The District Police's C-60 commando units engaged the CPI-Maoist cadres led by Dhanora Dalam area commander Dinkar in an encounter in Shivanghat forest in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District. The encounter lasted for around 40-minutes before the Maoists started retreating. "There may not be any confirmation of casualties on the Maoists side but witnesses claimed that a couple of injured were dragged away," ASP, Chandrasekhar Meena said. The Police recovered six pittus (backpacks), one claymore mine, one SLR magazine with 20 live cartridges, around five detonators, about 100-feet wire, two sacks in which weapons and ammunitions are carried and two Maoists dairies including one of Dinkar. Among the materials recovered were posters against the Chhattisgarh Government and its Chief Minister Raman Singh in particular. There were other Maoists literatures too. It referred to the outfit’s ideologies and criticism of the Paramilitary Forces.

March 20

A group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres reportedly killed Keju Damaji Ichami (60) in Jabti-Khandi village in Gadchiroli District. About 20 to 25 armed Maoists, including women, woke up Ichami from his house and forcibly took him to a nearby forest and killed him by attacking with sharp weapons, the Police said adding that the motive of the killing was not immediately known.

March 26

Salwa Judum leader from Chhattisgarh, K Madhukar Rao will undertake a three-day public awareness campaign against CPI-Maoist in Bhamragarh tehsil of Gadchiroli District. Rao, started the Salwa Judum campaign in Chhattisgarh in June 2005, at Karkeli village of Bijapur District, will address rallies of people in Lahiri, Bhamragarh and Bhatpar villages. SP Veeresh Prabhu said, "He sought permission for rallies. So, we made enquiry about him with our counterparts in Bijapur where he belongs. We got positive reports, so we decided to allow him. Rao is going to create awareness among tribals about how Maoists have been throttling development, how they have unleashed a culture of violence and how they don’t follow what they preach."

March 29

Ranchi Police arrested two cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including a dalam ‘commander’ in Shahada tehsil of Nandurbar District. On a tip off, a team of Ranchi Police in collaboration with their Nandurbar counterparts arrested the two cadres identified as Chhotu Singh Munda (25) and Budharam Munda (30), both residents of Baredi village of Tamad tehsil in Ranchi District, the Police said. Besides their suspected involvement in a 2009 landmine blast in Jharkhand in which four Policemen were killed, the two were also wanted in cases of abduction and rape. Police said the Maoists, who had fled from Ranchi, worked in Malkapur of Buldhana District, before adopting fake aliases of Shukva Munda and Barish Munda in a ginning mill in Untavad in Shahada tehsil.

March 30

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted a person from Nehalkal village and killed him on suspicion of him being a Police informer in Korchi tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The dead body of the slain, Budharam Pudo (35), was recovered on Kotgul-Sonepur road on March 31 Sources said that a band of Maoists reached the village during late night hours and summoned Pudo out of his house. They accused him of being a Police informer and took him with them in the forest, killed him and threw his dead body along the road some one-and-a-half kilometer away from Kotgul Police outpost.

April 2

A former CPI-Maoist cadre and three Policemen of SAP (Anti-Maoist Operation) were arrested by the Police in Gadchiroli District. According to Police, surrendered Maoist Raghu alias Jalmasai Sadmake (38) along with three constables identified as Ratan Gorgunda (31), Peta Mara Talandi (30), and Deepak Madhavrao Atram (29) entered the house of local businessman, Manoj Motilal Makhija, in village Kadholi in Kurkheda Tehsil and looted INR 40,000 at gun point. The accused demanded INR One million from Motilal and threatened to blow up his truck, parked outside, before decamping with INR 40,000 cash, the Police said.

April 8

A Police constable, Dhananjay Mhaske was killed in an encounter between Special Operation Squad and CPI-Maoist cadres near Kandoli village in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli District. While three more constables, Shankar Pungati, Prashant Mesharam and Sunil Tore were injured in the incident. Police sources said that a C-60 party was carrying out anti-Maoists operations in the jungle near Kandoli village when lurking Maoists ambushed the troopers at around 4pm, according to The Times of India. The troopers retaliated, and an encounter started between the two sides. ASP, Aheri Ranjan Kumar Sharma confirmed the death of one of the troopers in the encounter with the Maoists.

April 10

The State DGP Ajit Parasnis admitted while talking to reporters in Nagpur, that the Naxals (LWE) too had developed a strong intelligence network parallel to that of the Security Agencies. Parasnis visited Gadchiroli District Police Headquarters along with a team of the senior officers of State Police and Central Paramilitary Forces to pay homage to C-60 trooper Dhananjay Mhaske, killed in an encounter with the cadres of the CPI-Maoist on April 8. "The DGP also had a brief discussion with the senior officials about the compensation package that can be offered to the injured C-60 commando. The top Police Officer had been repeatedly assuring the jawan that he would stand by his family too," said the hospital source. Parasnis, apart from attending a meeting of the personnel to hear their grievances, also took review of the law and order situation in the District. The DGP is learnt to have spent time with the senior officials discussing the details of the security arrangement and anti-Naxal operation tactics. "We had gone for a search operation after there was an input regarding presence of Naxals in that particular area. Like the Police Parties had the input regarding the Naxals, the rebels too had managed to gather information about Police presence," said Parasnis.

Chichgarh squad of Anti-Naxal (LWE) Special Action Force recovered arms and ammunition from CPI-Maoist hideouts between Chichgarh and Maisuli forests in Gondia District. This ammunition was being accumulated here for some future attack in this region. The estimated cost of this ammunition is over INR 16,000. While the Chichgarh anti-Naxal squad was on routine combing operation, it received a tip-off that some ammunition has been stashed away in the forest. The squad recovered the cache that included two stengun magazines, one stengun, 9mm pistols with 56 live rounds and material related to Maoist movement.

Six CRPF troopers were injured in an encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres in the forests of Khobramendha near Malewada village under Wadsa division of Gadchiroli District. One of the injured troopers, identified as Mahendra Singh from Punjab, later died of his injuries. Viresh Prabhu, SP, Gadchiroli said that the encounter started following CRPF troopers getting information about heavy Maoists presence in the Khobramendha forest. "We suspected couple of deaths from the Naxalite (LWE) side as heavy firing witnessed from both the sides," he said. However, the District administration could not find a single body of Naxalite at the site.

The security agencies in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are verifying the death of Mangal Singh Korchami alias Diwakar, 'commander' of the Tippagarh dalam and 'secretary' of the North Gadchiroli division of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee in Nagpur. Diwakar's family in Talwargarh village in North Gadchiroli received the news of the death through a letter supposedly sent by his dalam. Police sources say that Diwakar wanted to start a separate outfit. The Tippagarh dalam was largely responsible for the 51 Police deaths in 2009.

SP Viresh Prabhu confirmed the death of a top CPI-Maoist leader Nagesh alias Shankar Tukka Pungati (38), 'commander-in-chief' of North Gadchiroli-Gondia division, along with two other Maoist cadres on the basis of Maoists pamphlets recovered from Malewada Village in Kurkheda Taluk in Gadchiroli District.

Nagesh had clubbed four different Maoists dalams and had laid ambush on a patrolling party of CRPF in the hilly terrain of Khobramendha jungles.

Mangal Singh Korchami alias Diwakar, a top ranking Naxal (LWE) leader was killed by dalam members of the CPI-Maoist in Nagpur District. Diwakar was the 'commander' of the Tippagarh dalam and 'secretary' of the North Gadchiroli division of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) in Nagpur.

A senior CPI-Maoist couple, identified as 'commander' Surya alias Ramesh Gawde and his wife Jamuna alias Dasri Atram, belonging to the Sironcha dalam, surrendered before the Police in Gadchiroli District. According to the Police, they escaped from their place of posting in Chhattisgarh to reach the Gadchiroli SP office a few days ago. "It is a big surrender. They have been senior cadres in dalams since 2005. While Surya is 26, Jamuna is 20. They contacted me from Chhattisgarh saying they wanted to give up arms since they were feeling suffocated and wronged," SP Veeresh Prabhu said. The couple is involved in at least 10 cases of crimes, including firing on the Police, arson and murders, the SP claimed.

Top Police officials of Gadchiroli District visited Kandholi and other nearby villages and met the locals as part of a drive to boost confidence of villagers in the anti-Naxal (LWE) fight. They engaged the villagers in the discussion to fight the Maoists. A large number of villagers turned up for the meeting and vowed to fight the extremists, the Police said.

The ATS arrested a top cadre of the CPI-Maoist identified as Anjali Sontakke alias Angela, was arrested from Thane District. Anjali is also known by other names like Kavita, Sunita Patil, Iskara and Rama.

The ATS arrested a woman cadre of the CPI-Maoist identified as Sushma Ramteke alias Shraddah Gurav alias Arti (27), from a rented apartment in Talaopali area in Thane District.

Three women CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Mayuri Bhagat alias Jenny (23), Jyoti Chorghe (19) and Anuradha Sonule (23) were arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Pune District.

Maoist cadre identified as Siddharth Bhosale alias Jeeva (24), aide of Sonule was arrested from Chandawa area in Nashik District, ATS Chief Rakesh Maria said. He was produced before a local court on April 29 and was remanded to Police custody till May 3.

61 tribal youths from Gadchiroli District, arrested for reported links with CPI-Maoist, have written a letter to the Chief Minister, on the occasion of 51st anniversary of creation of Maharashtra, threatening to go on a hunger strike to protest their detention without trial.

15 CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'commander', a 'deputy commander' and seven women cadres, surrendered before Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil in Gadchiroli District. The 'commander' was identified as Suryu Ramesh Violla Gawde (26), while the 'deputy commander' was identified as Shekar Duge (26), the Police added.

A landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres killed six persons of a family, including a five-year-old boy, on Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon road near Tavitola village in Dhanora Police Station limit in Gadchiroli District. Gadchiroli SP S Veeresh Prabhu, said, "It is very shocking the way Naxals LWE didn't bother to check on their target before triggering the blast." Naxals are learnt to have followed up the blast with constant firing on the victims.

The deceased were identified as Tarulata Sarkar (70), Pushplata Verma (42), Santosh Verma (45), Aakash Verma (5), Shankari Biswas (30) and driver Rais (28) while the four injured persons were Ishika Das (11), Mita Biswas (40), Mrs Rai (45), and Manoram Sarkar (28).

The Maoist cadres set ablaze construction material at an under construction Government building at Perimili in Aheri tehsil of the District.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered an IED targeting a Police patrol party in the forests at Alapalli-Etapallu road near Tondel village in Gadchiroli District.

The Maharashtra ATS arrested 10 CPI-Maoist cadres hailing from West Midnapore District in West Bengal, from their hideout at Shirur in Pune District.

ATS Chief, Maria said six of the 10 arrested had Police records in West Midnapore and were associated with pro-Maoist Sidhu Kanu Gana Militia of West Bengal.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist reportedly killed Lalsay Chandu Helami (37), accusing him of being a Police informer, in the Gadchiroli District.

Two persons travelling in a pickup tempo carrying groceries were abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres and later their vehicle was set ablaze near Arvel forest in Gadchiroli District. Sources said that trader Vijay Gupta from Allapalli dispatched the vehicle filled with milk, groceries and vegetables meant for Paramilitary Forces camping at various places in Bhairamgarh tehsil. A group of Maoists intercepted the vehicle in the forests of Arvel and reportedly looted everything kept inside it. The tempo diver Anwar and Parag Pandhre were abducted by Maoist cadres and taken into the forest.

Following the arrest of suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist from the Pune District recently, the Pune rural Police have formed a special Anti Naxal and Anti Terrorist Cell to gather intelligence on activities related to Naxalism and terrorism.

Four Police personnel, including two SPOs and over 20 CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in two different encounters in Gadchiroli District. "At around 7.30 a.m. in Nalgonda forest, four C60 commando search parties were ambushed by Naxalites. The ambush and exchange of fire went on for more than 1 hour and 15 minutes. One Police constable, Chinna Gilla Venta (30), was killed and two were injured," Rahul Sheth, Gadchiroli ASP Operations said. Sheth said 12-14 Naxals were killed. "When our Police parties chased the Naxals, they ran away and left behind two bodies. An AK-47 magazine was found on one of the bodies, indicating that the deceased was a senior commander."

In the second encounter, Sheth said two C60 teams on a search operation from Tadgao post in Gadchiroli were attacked by Naxalites. "At around 9.15 a.m., they discovered an IED on the Tadgao-Bhamragad road. When they proceeded to the Bejur hillock to conduct a search operation, the Naxals sitting in ambush attacked them. We lost two SPOs and one constable in that attack which continued for around two hours," he said. "Around eight to 10 Naxals were killed. But their colleagues took away their bodies with them," he added. The Police did not recover any weapon as "the Naxals ran away with all their weapons," Sheth said.

The State ATS, Pune unit, informed a magisterial court that the 10 suspected LWE arrested from the Pune railway station complex belong to the CPI-Maoist, and several others are still being sheltered in Pune region and other parts of the State. DSP Vinod Satav said in the remand plea that the ATS is probing the possibility whether they have recruited locals for Maoist.

In the wake of increased CPI-Maoist activities in the State and surrounding areas, the Maharashtra Government has upgraded the rank of anti-Naxal operations (ANO) chief from the existing DIG to ADGP, to better counter the Maoist threat, an official said.

The new chief VD Misra of State's Naxal operation cell, said that he was ready to face the challenge. He was recently promoted to the rank of ADGP. "I had worked in the Naxal operation cell in 2004. So the Naxal issue is not new to me. I had also worked with the Gadchiroli Police as a young officer," said Misra. He added, "I had worked in the sensitive District as ASP when there were no sophisticated arms and weapons."

A young woman CPI-Maoist cadre surrendered before the authorities in Gadchiroli District. The Maoist, identified as Kalpana Jantri Madavi (24) confessed before the Police that she belonged to Darekasa Dalam and was actively involved in a number of encounters and land mine blasts. She did not carry any weapons at the time of surrender before the Superintendent of Police Gadchiroli, the Police said.

A farm labourer identified as Gilla Gawade (40) was abducted from his home in Burgi village in Etapalli tehsil in Gadchiroli District and was killed on suspicion of being Police informer.

A group of Maoists abducted Bajirao Madavi (44) from Yedaskuhi village in Kurkheda tehsil in Gadchiroli District and shot him dead in a nearby forest on suspicion of being Police informer.

Two suspected Maoists robbed a railway gateman at his post between Bakal and Rajnandgaon railway stations in Nagpur District. The suspected Maoists decamped with cash, mobile phone and bike belonging to the gateman. They also threatened to blow up the railways track which passes through the forest areas considered as a Maoist den.

The CPI-Maoist cadres beheaded two youths abducted from different villages in Chamorshi block of Gadchiroli District. Their dead bodies were found in the forest in Ghot area in the next morning. The victims were identified as Rakesh Kohi of Kadbi Tola village and Sharad Narote of Regdi village. Both the deceased youths were reportedly aspiring to join the Police as SPO. However, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police refuted reports that the youths were planning to become SPOs.

Union Minister of State for Railways, K. H. Muniyappa, said that two important railway projects in the Naxal [Left-Wing Extremist]-affected Gadchiroli and Rotegaon-Puntamba areas of the State will start up soon. A provision has been made in this year's Railway budget for laying new railway-line from Wadsa-Desaigunj to Gadchiroli, he said.

A 24-year-old youth identified as Sundersha Alam was killed by a group of CPI-Maoist cadres in Repanpalli village in Chamorshi taluka in Gadchiroli District, suspecting him to be a Police informer.

A recent report prepared by the office of A. K. Joshi, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force (HoFF), Maharashtra, says Gadchiroli and Gondia Districts are badly affected as far as forestry works are concerned due to activities of the CPI-Maoist. The report says withdrawal of forestry operations like logging, silviculture, bamboo removal, extraction of minor forest produce (MFP) etc. was causing a loss of revenue annually to the tune of over INR 900 million in Gadchiroli District and INR 150 million in Gondia District. The report says the Maoist menace is also causing loss of 3.55 million man-days employment in Gadchiroli and 300,000 man-days in Gondia.

A former deputy sarpanch, also a road contractor, was killed by CPI-Maoist cadres at Murumgaon, bordering Chhattisgarh in Gadchiroli District. According to reports, a group of Maoists stormed the residence of Ramchandra Bahirwar (58) and called him outside to talk. There ensued a heated exchange of words between them that led the Maoists gunning him down.

Suspected Maoists killed a youth identified as Shrikant Telange (32), for allegedly being a Police informer in Ubapli in Dhanora tehsil in the District.

The Naxalism-hit Gadchiroli and Chandrapur Districts are set to receive INR 800 million from the Union Government for development of infrastructure to market agricultural produce. "The government will set up 18 Agriculture Produce Market Committees [APMCs] in these two eastern districts of the state, where farmers can market their produce," state agriculture and marketing minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said.

Two persons were killed by a group of CPI-Maoist cadres in Khobramendha village in Gadchiroli District. The deceased have been identified as Nizam Shah (42) and Ratan Katange (30).

A suspected CPI-Maoist sympathizer, Bandu Gawande, was arrested by Sironcha Police of Gadchiroli District from the premises of Nagpur Central Jail as soon as he was released. Bandu Gawande was taken away to Chamorshi, where he was charged under preventive action.

Three persons were killed allegedly by CPI-Maoist cadres on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in two separate incidents in Gadchiroli District. Punjaram Durve (34) was killed by the Maoists in Kotgul village in Korchi taluka.

Two persons identified as Rakesh Goya (20) and Dalsu Pada (35) were killed by the Maoists on suspicion of being Police informers in Peepli-Boorgi village in Kasansur.

Around 1,020 youth from Vidarbha have been recruited by Army over the last nine months, a senior official said.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a farm labourer at Chichoda village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli District, suspecting him of being a Police informer.

State Home Minister R. R. Patil said that the challenges posed by Naxalites should be taken up nationally.

The teams of the Gadchiroli Police carried out an operation in the forest near Pipli (Burgi) in Gadchiroli District and arrested five Maoist cadres. The Police recovered four manually loading guns and ammunition from their possession. The arrested Maoists are identified as Buccha Pungati (23), Manku Pada (22), Madi Lekami (30), Madi Pungati (40) and Vinod Pada (21), all residents of Pipli (Burgi).

In a raid carried out on the basis of a tip-off in Hedri forest under Etapalli division in Gadchiroli District, a woman Maoist cadre identified as Sunita alias Karuna Katwo (27), of Mudher village, was arrested.

A group of CPI-Maoist cadres reportedly killed three persons including a sarpanch in Korchi Taluka in Gadchiroli District.

The Police rounded up one Manguram Tulavi, at the interstate bus stop at Ganeshpeth in Pune District. He was suspected to have links with the CPI-Maoist but was later released after questioning.

The Pune city Police alerted colleges in the city about Naxalite sleeper cells trying to spread their wings on campuses in a bid to attract students to their ideology.

Two Maoists were arrested by Police from Vengalur in Mulchera taluka of Gadchiroli District in connection with a double murder case. The arrested Maoists are identified as Ramsu Gota (28) and Ramesh Gavade (26). Two persons, Ravindra Sharad Duggaji (27) and Rakesh Koi (28), were allegedly killed by the Maoists on June 9 near Police help centre in Karematola.

Two Naxals, who were arrested by Gadchiroli Police in a joint operation with paramilitary forces, were produced before the court. The arrested duo was identified as Naxal militia 'commander' Chamru Naitam and his aide Mansaram Naorte from village Bhatamnar village in Dhanora tehsil. They were allegedly involved in hijacking a tanker carrying chemicals while it was passing through dense forest area in Dhanora tehsil on March 10, 2010. A week back, six suspected rebels were arrested from village Munjalgondi which led to the arrest of Naitam and Naorte recently.

Two C-60 commando personnel were injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres targeted the tail convoy of the NCPCR team in the jungles of Sawanga in Gadchiroli District. The NCPCR team, led by Chairperson Shantha Sinha had gone to Kamangad in Dhanora tehsil, for inspection of an ashramshala.

A teenage boy, identified as Vishnu Amarsingh Dhanliya (18) from Belgaon village, was injured in an explosion when he tried pulling out a CPI-Maoist banner in Mumgaon at Dhanora taluka in Gadchiroli District.

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan expressed the need for paying immediate attention to the problems of Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and other Naxal affected Districts. He was interacting with the chairman and members of the Vijay Kelkar panel at Raj Bhavan in Pune. The discussion was held to lay stress on balanced regional development. "If attention is not paid to the developmental concerns of these regions, there would be difficulty in maintaining law and order," he said.

State Home Minister and Gadchiroli guardian minister R.R. Patil said he supports a truce with the Naxalites for the sake of the District's development. He said if Naxalites put down their arms for five years the District would definitely see development. He was speaking during the Independence Day celebrations on August at Gadchiroli. Four Naxalites surrendered arms in his presence on the occasion. Patil said violence by Naxalites was the main hurdle in developing Gadchiroli district. "It has rich natural resources, but is deprived of development, leading to Naxal problem," said Patil. Even as he asked Naxalites to lay down arms for development, he maintained that the state was quite capable of dealing with the Naxal menace.

One havildar of State Police and two troopers of the CoBRA were killed when cadres of the CPI-Maoist fired at a patrolling party in Makadchuha village in Gadchiroli District. One woman Maoist dalam commander of the Chatgaon dalam identified as Raneeta alias Ramko Hichami (35) was also killed in retaliatory firing. While Havildar Pardeshi Sukudi Devangaon died in the firing, CoBRA troopers, Chandrashekhar Suresh Kore (28) and Yasin Mohammad, succumbed to their injuries. Another trooper Chandan Nath Shirish Kumar and Police sub-inspector Vitthal Pawar were also injured. Police recovered some Maoist literature, a 303 rifle and 14 live rounds from near the body of Raneeta. Raneeta, had been in the dalam for about two decades, was the wife of Sunil, a cadre of the north-Gadchiroli divisional committee of the CPI-Maoist, which is active in this part.

The Police arrested three CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Barsay Gawde (40), Subhash Gawde (20) and Saku Pada, in the murder case of trader Ramchandra Gaherwar from Gurrekasa village in Gadchiroli District.

The Gadchiroli Police received five new MPVs with improved features for effective anti-Naxalite operations.

The Maharashtra Government has granted the administrative approval of INR 150 million for the Naxal-infested Gadchiroli District for the year 2011-12.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested in Gadchiroli District, in connection with the killing of three Policemen during an encounter in Makadchuha in the District on August 20.

Intelligence agencies reported that contractors are often forced to suspend work due to the fear of CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. "Road and bridge construction work was discontinued at several places after rebels cracked the whip. Pay up or pack up is the unwritten norm," said a security source. Work on a mining project in Gadchiroli was discontinued after Maoists demanded that the work be stopped. Sources said Maoists threatened the company of dire consequences even after a section of the Maoists accepted substantial amounts from project officials. Tendu contractors too have to cough up sizeable sums for collecting the leaves, meant for bidi industry, from the forests in Gadchiroli. "Every contractor of tendu leaves had to pay Rs five lakh to the Naxals in 2011," said a reliable source.

Borra Vidpi (40) was killed by the Maoists at village Gopnar in Bhamragad tehsil. Sources said that Maoists abducted Vidpi suspecting him to be a Police informer. He was shot dead in the nearby forest and his body was thrown on Hedra Road.

Maoist's banners and a bunch of handbills were recovered from Bramhapuri-Wadsa Road near Bramhapuri in Chandrapur. Separately, the Maoists put up banners and distributed pamphlets near the T point in Chichgad Village in Deori Taluk in Gondia District.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed three persons in two separate incidents in Gadchiroli District. The Maoists abducted Ranu alias Kiran Pusali (30) and his wife Jaswanda alias Devli (25) from a relative's house in village Jhari in Dhanora tehsil (revenue unit).

A bandh was observed in Dhanora, Etapalli and Kurkheda tehsils following a call given by the Maoists to mark the 7th foundation day of the CPI-Maoist.

A team of C 60 battalion of the Police exchanged fire with a CPI-Maoist platoon led by 'commander' Dinesh near Msanjhurwa and Lalzhari villages under Duggipar Police Station in Gondia District.

A group of CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze two JCB machines belonging to Border Road Organisation in Wadgham village in Sironcha in Gadchiroli District. Around 100 Maoist cadres reached the village late in the night, woke up two security guards deployed there, poured fuel on the two JCB machines and set those ablaze.

SFs neutralised an intensive training camp of the CPI-Maoist in a major operation carried out in the forest of Gyarapati under Kurkheda Police division in Gadchiroli District. The details of operation were revealed to media on September 28. While several Maoists are suspected to be injured in the encounter, SFs recovered a couple of Bharmar guns and hoard of Naxal material from the camping site. The Police claimed that it was an intensive training camp involving training in firearms, explosives, use of medicine, political agenda and media approach. "We have recovered inflammatory banners, posters, Naxal literature, ration, detonators, wire bundles, two Bharmar guns along with 10 tents. There were black boards scribbled with mathematics, extensive supply of medicines, radio kits etc, giving a sense intensive Naxal training in the dense jungle," an unnamed Police officer said. The gun battle began around 9am, when over 50 Maoists belonging to Khobramenda and Tippagarh dalam fired at approaching SFs. However, they could not face the assault of SFs for long and retreated into the forest.

Somji alias Soma Ayutu Made (30), reported to be a top CPI-Maoist 'commander' from Bastar District in Chhattisgarh, was arrested in an operation in Gadchiroli District.

Four CRPF troopers were injured in an ambush carried out by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Bhiwankojhi village in Kurkheda tehsil in Gadchiroli District. According to sources, a convoy of seven vehicles belonging to CRPF battalion was returning from Gyarapati Police assistance centre to Kotgal, when it was attacked by the Maoists near Bhiwankojhi village in the wee hours. Maoists reportedly carried out the blast to stall the movement of the CRPF convoy and fired indiscriminately on the forces. A clamour mine and a hand grenade left by Maoists were also recovered from the incident site.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed Mahendra Bawankar (35), in Kothi village of Gadchiroli District suspecting him to be a Police informer. Nearly 10-15 Maoist cadres entered Kothi village under Bhamragarh tehsil in the night of October 2 and took away Mahendra.

Six persons were detained up by the Pune ATS of the Crime Branch from Kondhwa for alleged CPI-Maoist links in Pune District. Officers attached to the Crime Branch said the interrogation of some people from Kondhwa was on in connection with their suspected Naxal links, but refused to divulge any more information. The Police were yet to come to a conclusion on the matter of Naxal links.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed an abducted farmer of Tadgaon in Bhamragad of Gadchiroli District, suspecting him to be a Police informer.

A gun battle broke out between the CPI-Maoist cadres and SFs near Bandugaon forest under Salekasa tehsil in Gondia District.

The State Government has asked DGP K Subramaniam whether the Andhra Pradesh model of tackling Naxal menace could be adopted in the State.

Maharashtra Government is planning to acquire an additional helicopter for air-lifting operations in the Naxal-dominated areas of the State. State Home Minister RR Patil said that currently the State had only one, hired helicopter for this purpose.

The fight against the CPI-Maoist is likely to get a significant boost when the Jungle Warfare Training Institute of the Maharashtra Police becomes operational towards the end of the year. The institute is expected to raise a special force, on lines of the elite Andhra Force Greyhound.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed Ramdas Gawde, a Police patil from Yeragadda village in Aheri tehsil of Gadchiroli District. After killing Gawde, the Maoists threw his body on the Allapalli-Sironcha highway.

Police in Chandrapur District arrested five Maoists involved in planting explosives on Ghot-Chamorshi road that was recovered on October 31.

A pro-Telangana message on a board with red ink found near Kasansoor Police Station, indicating the fact that the Maoists in Gadchiroli supported the separatist movement. They have already shown their keen interest in Vidarbha statehood and actively supported the movement.

A local contractor named Madvi was killed by suspected Maoists in Perivalli in Gadchiroli District. After the killing, Police launched an operation in the area during the operation Police exchanged fire with Maoists near the Damrancha Police post and which lasted about half an hour.

The Police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Mangesh Borule (24) and Santosh Kotrange (24), from different places in Rajura tehsil of Chandrapur District. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of C-60 commandos and Rajura Police raided the hideout of suspected Maoist Mangesh from Aheri village in Rajura tehsil. During interrogation, Borule revealed the name of his accomplice Santosh from Temburwahi village. Apart from publicity of Maoist writings, they played the role of couriers and promoters of Maoist ideology and worked mainly among students. Borule was on the watch list of the Police since 2008, when an urban Naxal module was busted in Chandrapur. Both Borule and Kotrange were produced before Rajura court on November 16 and the magistrate sent them in Police remand till November 21.

In a move to beef up Security arrangements in the Naxal-infested areas in Vidarbha, the Centre has agreed to bear the expenses of a helicopter to be deployed for surveillance and rescue operation. A decision to this effect was taken a high level meeting in Mumbai. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. The State Government already has hired one helicopter for rescue operations in Naxal areas. "The Union Government will bear the cost incurred for the second helicopter," the official added.

P Chidambaram asked the Gadchiroli Police to step up area domination to curb Naxal violence against civilians. Sources said that at a review meeting with officials from Naxal-affected Gadchiroli and Gondia in Mumbai, Chidambaram expressed concern about the increasing number of civilian casualties of Naxal violence in Gadchiroli and observed that it showed who is dominating the area. He exhorted the Police officials to increase vigilance and area domination to prevent Naxals from targeting civilians. Over 35 people, suspected to be Police informers, have been killed by Naxals in Gadchiroli so far this year.

Chidambaram also expressed unhappiness over slow progress of construction of infrastructure facilities for CPMF. He also announced at the meeting that funds allocation for the IAP for Naxal-affected Districts from next financial year would be done for blocks as units, not Districts.

The Maoists observed a two-day bandh in Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur in Vidarbha region on. The bandh, however, remained a low-key affair. Several handwritten pamphlets hailing 'martyrdom' of Kishanji and Naxals' vow to avenge his killing were found.

Around 80 cadres of the CPI-Maoist broke into the gram panchayat building in Malewada village under Purada Police Station in Gadchiroli District and set ablaze documents.

A band of around 150 CPI-Maoist cadres barged into the Vairagadh gram panchayat and set ablaze the gram panchayat building in Armori taluka, around 55 kilometres away from Gadchiroli District, leading to a loss of around INR 10 million.

The Maoists took control of the stage at the local drama festival, the famous Jharipatti theatre.

The Maoists are going to observe the PLGA week between December 2 and 9.

Police constable, Manoj Atmaram Binzade (28), was killed while another trooper was injured in the exchange of fire with the CPI-Maoist cadres near Dhamditola forests under Chichgad Police Station in Gondia District.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered a blast and partly destroyed the gram panchayat at Mispri in Gondia District. This was the first Maoist incident at Mispri, located at tri-junction of Gadchiroli-Gondia and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh.

The Maoists set ablaze another gram panchayat at Piparkhari in Deori tehsil in the District.

The Maoists set ablaze an under-construction office of the revenue department at Sironcha and another gram panchayat at Kasansur in Gadchiroli District.

The CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire on the Phulbodi Gatta Police Station in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District. The Maoists also raised slogans against the Police and hailed their martyred leader Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji. SP, Gadchiroli, S Veeresh Prabhu said that the SFs could not spot any one who could be firing upon the post. "We had fired ammunitions which had the capacity to light up a vast area and also there were illuminations from the post but there was no one in the sight. The firing also did not continue for long. It could be one of those occasions when they were merely making their presence felt," said Prabhu.