Bihar Timeline 2011

Date

Incidents

January 9

The STF arrested four top cadres of the CPI-Maoist from near Dihuri canal in Aurangabad District. They were identified as Vikas Kumar ‘sub-zonal commander’, Ram Narayan Yadav, Karpuri Thakur and Ravi Ranjan Paswan, DSP, Daudnagar, Mazhar Hussain said.

January 13

A self-styled ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist was arrested from Nefti village under Mufassil Police Station in Aurangabad District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a place and arrested Jaggu Paswan, wanted in connection with several criminal cases. A carbine and several rounds of ammunition were seized from him, Police said.

January 15

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar speaking at the golden jubilee function of Bihar Police Annual Award, organised by the State Crime Investigation Department at the Gandhi Maidan, said the State would recruit 10,000 constables and 1,000 sub-inspectors every year till the Police: Public Ratio in the State matches the National Average. "We would clear the backlog of recruitments," he added. Director General of Police (DGP) Neelmani enumerated Police's achievements. "People have now started feeling that Police are for them," he said and added that the people are also helping the Police with intelligence inputs.

A CRPF constable was killed and two other troopers were injured as the cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered three powerful land mine blasts in quick succession to thwart an anti-Naxal (LWE) operation in Gaya District.

A self-proclaimed 'sub-zonal area commander' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Srinath Ram was arrested in Rohtas District of Bihar. DGP Neelmani told reporters in Patna that Srinath, a resident of Gamharia village under Karakat Police Station of the District was arrested while he was waiting to receive the 'levy' amount. Police recovered a country made pistol from his possession.

January 21

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar visited the Maoist-affected Sikaria village in Jehanabad District, to inaugurate a hospital and assured further developments in the region.

January 23

Five cadres of the CPI-Maoist surrendered before the SSP, M.R. Naik, in Darbhanga District.

January 25

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided Kathor village in Munger District and set ablaze a thatched house, ASP S. B. Lande said, adding no one was injured in the incident. They later hoisted a black flag at the school under Dharhara Police Station, Lande added.

January 26

The Maoists, who had called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations, hoisted black flags in several Districts in the State.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a village sarpanch, identified as Shivji Singh alias Shivchandra Prasad Singh, at Jihuli panchayat under Patahi block in East Champaran District.

February 1

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided Jagdishpur-Kodari village in Jamui District and injured three villagers in the wee hours. Over 200 armed cadres attacked the village and fired several rounds to intimidate the villagers. Three villagers were assaulted and injured by the Maoists, who observed 'Sahadat Diwas' at the village to protest the killing of eight of their cadres in an encounter with the Police and locals on January 30, the sources said.

February 2

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up the house of one Bharat Singh of Prithwipur village under the Panapur Police Station area of Saran District. They also set ablaze a vehicle parked outside the house.

February 3

The Lakhisarai Police arrested a Maoist, identified as Prithwiraj Hembrom alias Pouluce Hembrom, from Bhalua village under Chandramandi Police Station of Jamui District. The arrested Maoist had also contested the 2010 assembly election from Chakai assembly constituency on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket.

Another Maoist, identified as K K Mishra alias Ramashish Mishra alias Ashish Mahato, was arrested in Lakhisarai District.

February 4

Five top ranking CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'self-styled commander', was arrested at Chapra in Saran District.

February 7

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked Sohail Police picket under the Kothi Police Station of Gaya District. However, the Maoists retreated when Police opened retaliatory firing. Gaya SSP Amit Lodha said about 200 heavily armed Maoists attacked the Police picket around midnight. No casualty has been reported from either side, the SSP said.

Maoist spokesperson Paramjeet said the Maoist outfit would renew its attacks on school buildings and blow them up over alleged conversion of several schools in Dumaria-Imamganj area into Police camps. The Maoist spokesperson alleged that schools at Barha village under Dumaria Police Station and Khajuria village under the Banke Bazar Police Station have been converted into Police camps. The Magra School of Dumaria Police Station was already under Police occupation, the Maoist spokesperson alleged. The Maoist spokesperson conceded that his organisation was running several parallel schools in the District to educate the deprived children. He refused to divulge details saying that such disclosures will be counter-productive and amount to open invitation to the Security Police to clamp down on such schools, Paramjeet said.

February 10

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze six vehicles, including five trucks and a pick-up van, in two separate incidents at Rewaghat under Saraiya Police Station and at Tengrari village under Shivaipatti Police Station in Muzaffarpur District in protest against the recent arrest of Nakul, a Maoist 'zonal commander'.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up railway tracks between Kurhni and Turkey Railway stations in Muzaffarpur District. "Over 50 Maoist cadres triggered a mini cylinder blast badly damaging the tracks at a place between Kurhni and Turkey railway stations late last night," ADG (Rail) S. K. Bhardwaj said. RK Agarwal, Divisional Railway manager, Sonepur, said, the Maoists had called a 24-hour bandh on February 10, in Tirhut area in North Bihar in protest against the recent arrest of Nakul, a Maoist 'zonal commander' in Saran District on February 4.

The Maoists set ablaze a private bus in Muzaffarpur District. There were no casualties, Police said.

February 13

A top ranking cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Bibhishan Pandit, resident of Gogladih village under the Kharagpur police station in Munger District, suspected to be involved in the landmine blast that killed the then Munger SP K C Surendra Babu, his bodyguard and four other Policemen in January, 2005, was arrested by the Police from Teliakumri panchayat locality under Belhar Police Station in Banka District.

February 14

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a State-run school building at Barhara in Chakkarbandha forest in Gaya District. Over 50 armed Maoists surrounded the school, commanded the villagers watching a cultural programme to leave the premises and detonated dynamites and blew up the building. The building was earlier being used as a CRPF camp, the Police said.

Hundreds of students of a school in Muzaffarpur District have appealed to the Maoists and the District administration to help them resume classes which were stopped after the Maoists assaulted two teachers earlier this month.

February 17

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Gopal Sharma alias Punitji and Deepak Sharma alias Deepu, were arrested by the Masaurhi Police in Patna District. Both of them are native of Moka village under Masaurhi subdivision in Patna District. Police recovered two pistols besides two cartridges from their possession.

Over 30 heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided a construction site of Gammon India, and set ablaze one dumper truck and one road construction machine belonging to the company in Raghunathpur village under the Gurua Police Station of Gaya District.

The Maoist made an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the middle school building at Tilaiya Khurd village under the Barachatti Police Station area of the District. The Maoists planted an IED to blow up the school building, but the device did not explode.

February 18

The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up the house of Pushpapal, a former village sarpanch in Saran District. Over 50 armed Maoist cadres raided the house of Pushpapal at Chitwan village and triggered the blast, SP A.K. Satyarthy said. Nobody was present inside the house at the time. The Police recovered three landmines from near the house, Satyarthy added.

February 26

Six cadres of the CPI-Maoist were reportedly killed by SFs during an encounter that lasted over five hours in Majidih village in Banka District. According to Police sources, around 12 heavily armed Maoists, who were holed up in a house in the village, opened fire on STF troopers after being asked to surrender. The SFs retaliated by killing six of the Maoists, DGP Neelmani said.

Suspected cadres of the PLGA, military wing of the CPI-Maoist, attacked two construction companies after the firms failed to pay levy demanded by the PLGA cadres in Bhabua city of Kaimur District. The 60-member squad of PLGA cadres attacked the construction of a siphon-bridge of Durgawati Reservoir Project on Hundari hills, assaulted workers and forced them to stop work until the contractor paid them 10 percent of the cost of the work. Later, in the night the cadres again attacked the camp of the road construction company and set ablaze machines worth INR 5 million, Police said. "The Maoists had planted landmines on the approach roads making the operation difficult," Shahabad DIG Sushil Khopde said.

February 28

Three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested by the Police from Patnbigha village in Islampur Police Station of Nalanda District on. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a place and arrested the three Maoists, including a ‘zonal commander’ of the Maoists Arvind alias Verma, besides top cadre Srikant Paswan alias Naga Paswan and Narsingh Yadav. Two rifles and one SLR looted from the Police and 16 live cartridges and INR 7200 in cash were also recovered from them, sources said. They were wanted in connection with several criminal cases.

March 1

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up two control rooms of telecom towers in Jamui District. About 50 armed Maoists came to the control rooms of private telecom operators and blew up the facilities detonating dynamites at Mahugayen village under Sonu Police Station area, SP R N Singh said. The Maoists triggered the blast in apparent protest against the killing of six Maoists during an encounter with the Police at Majidih village under Katoria Police Station area in neighbouring Banka District on February 26.

Armed Maoists abducted two members of a family and later released them near Aureya village in Rohtas District, the Police said. Twenty Maoists abducted Dinesh Yadav and his nephew Omprakash, when they were returning to the village after offering prayers at a nearby temple and took them away to an unknown place, SP P. Manu Maharaj said. Hours later, the abductors released the two men after the Police conducted raids in several places to trace them, the SP added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze three jeeps of the irrigation department and damaged a school building and an inspection bungalow of the water resources department at Garhi village under the Khaira Police Station in Jamui District. According to locals, a group of over 100 Maoists, including women, raided the village around 8.30pm and asked shopkeepers to down their shutters and leave the place immediately. Soon thereafter, the Maoists demolished the Government and school buildings with the help of four JCB machines of a private road construction firm and bulldozed the buildings, they added. Jamui SP Ramnarayan Singh said the Maoists set ablaze the three vehicles of the water resources department, which were parked near the office at Garhi village. The SP said the Maoists might have driven away a few JCB machines from project work sites in the area to use them for damaging the buildings.

March 4

Over 50 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a private construction firm engaged in construction of a bridge over river Gandak and set ablaze a tractor, two JCB machines, a pump set besides a generator at Raghuvi village under Shivaipatti Police Station in Muzaffarpur District. They also destroyed 1,000 bags of cement of the construction firm, for the failure of the construction company to pay a levy of INR 10 million to the Maoists. The Maoists assaulted labourers engaged in the construction work and even poured kerosene on the construction supervisor Pankaj Kumar. An employee of the construction firm identified as Uday Kumar said that the Maoists collected the mobile phones and locked the employees in one room before setting ablaze the machines and vehicles.

March 5

Three persons were arrested and about 2,000 kilograms of explosives and detonators were recovered by the Aurangabad Police from two vans in an area falling under Madanpur block in Aurangabad District. DGP Neelmani said the explosives were on way to Rafiganj from Allahabad. He suspected that the consignment could have been diverted for illegal mining in Jharkhand or meant to be supplied to Maoists. The DIG (Magadha range) has been asked to probe the matter, he added. Neelmani said three occupants of the vans have been arrested in this connection as they were not carrying any valid document.

The Police arrested a Maoist ‘commander’, wanted in several incidents of crime, from Goralia hilly area in Rohtas District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided the area and arrested Brishketu Kumar alias Bishnu Singh, SP Manu Maharaj said. A rifle looted earlier from the Police and 12 rounds of ammunition were recovered from him. Bishnu Singh is one of the founder members of the Maoists outfit in South Bihar and is active in the area since early 80s. He was mastermind of almost all major incidents in the region, the Police said.

March 7

A cadre of the CPI-Maoist was killed in an encounter between the SFs and Maoists at Panchrukhiya hill in Aurangabad District. The encounter, began on the intervening night of March 6 – 7, and lasted about six hours. The SFs neutralised a Maoist training camp atop the hill located in Madanpur Block of the District. The dead Maoist has been identified as one Karu Singh Bhokta of Petawar village under the Banke Bazar Police Station under Lutwa Panchayat of the District. The SFs recovered some explosive materials, two petrol bombs, battery chargers, Maoist literatures, cooked food and utensils from the site. The SFs also neutralised two bunkers at the site, ADG (HQs) Rajvardhan Sharma said. Six persons, including five women of Lutwa panchayat, were detained by the Police in this connection. The women were later released after interrogation while one was arrested, Sharma said.

March 8

The STF of Bihar Police arrested two top ranking cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Khagaria District. Acting on a tip-off, the STF personnel carried out raids and arrested Yogi Singh, ‘secretary’ of the North Bihar Central Zone, carrying cash reward of INR 25,000 on his head, and O P Yadav, armed squad member of the Maoist outfit, DGP Neelmani said.

March 10

Five top ranking cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested by STF of Bihar Police from near an over bridge at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a place near the over bridge and arrested the CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Sriram Yadav, Vijay Yadav, Vishal Kumar, Chandan Kumar and Vilas Kumar, wanted in connection with several operations carried out by the outfit in the State. The STF personnel recovered two pistols, one motorcycle, one jeep, 25 rounds of SLR ammunition, besides some live cartridges from them, sources added.

Acting on the inputs provided by the arrested five Maoists in course of interrogation, the STF team raided Dulhar village in neighbouring Munger District and neutralised a mini-gun factory. The STF arrested three more persons, including Subodh Rai, from the spot, the sources said. The identity of the other two is yet to be ascertained. Two pistols, several semi-finished weapons, gun - manufacturing equipment and a machine were also recovered during the operation.

The Police destroyed standing crop of opium spread over 10-acre land in Langurahi hillock under Madanpur Police Station in Aurangabad District. Acting on a tip off that the cadres of the CPI-Maoist had planted opium in forest land to raise funds, the Police visited the place and destroyed the crop, the SP Vivek Kumar said.

March 13

Six cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed and one SAP personnel identified as Shiv Sharan Yadav was injured in an encounter between the SFs and the Maoists in Dharmaha village under the Kalyanpur Police Station in East Champaran District. East Champaran SP Ganesh Kumar led the joint forces comprising BMP, SAP, CRPF and STF troopers following information that a group of over 100 Maoists had assembled at the village, sources said. The over 12-hour-long encounter ended at 4:00 am on Monday [March 14], DGP Neelmani said. The bodies of all the six CPI-Maoist have been recovered while eight other CPI-Maoists, including three women, have been arrested. SFs have also recovered 14 weapons comprising five SLRs, eight Police rifles and one .315 rifle, besides explosives and ammunition from the spot, the DGP added.

Two CPI-Maoists were arrested after a three-hour gunfight in another encounter with another group of CPI-Maoist in Kakudih locality in Kaimur hills in Rohtas District. SP Manu Maharaj said the SFs and Maoists were locked in a fierce encounter during which over 500 rounds of ammunition were fired from both sides. The arrested duos were identified as Ranjeet Ram and Baleshwar Thakur, the SP said.

March 14

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up two mobile towers and burnt a generator room near Dumaria Police Station in Gaya District. Over 50 CPI-Maoist triggered dynamite blasts to blow up the towers of BSNL and a private telecom operator near the Police Station late last night. They also burnt the generator room of a private telecom firm there, the Police said.

Following the arrest of two CPI-Maoists on March 13, Police arrested 10 more CPI-Maoist, including three women, and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition during the encounter in Rohtas District. DGP Neelmani said: "We arrested 10 ultras, including three women, and seized 14 weapons, including five SLRs and eight police rifles." The Police, he added, also recovered a huge amount of explosives and detonators.

March 15

The Maoists had called for a 24-hour bandh in Magadh division, comprising of Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Jehanabad and Arwal Districts, ADG (Headquarters) Rajvardhan Sharma said.

March 16

Over 50 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a State-run school building using dynamite at Khajurahi village under Banke Bazar Police Station in Gaya District.

The Maoists set ablaze a control room of the BSNL tower at Lakhua village under Imamganj Police Station in the District, the Police said. Raids were conducted in the area to arrest the Maoists involved in the act.

March 17

The CPI-Maoist cadres assaulted and broke the limbs of Janardan Rai, a close political aide of State Legislative Assembly Speaker Udai Narain Chaudhary, at Bodhibigha village under the Dumaria Police Station area of Gaya District. According to the Police, at least 100 armed Maoist cadres descended on the village and encircled the house of Rai, a JD (U) activist. Accusing him of being a Police informer, the Maoists looted the victim's movable belongings, including household utensils, a jeep and a motorcycle, and then demolished the house with the help of explosives. The jeep and motorcycle were subsequently set ablaze about six kilometers away, near the Bihar-Jharkhand border.

The Police recovered three landmines, apparently laid by the Maoists on the route to Bodhibigha to ambush Police Parties in the District. The Maoists also left behind a handwritten note, asking the Government to stop Operation Green Hunt. The note said the Bodhibigha incident is just a "jhanki", or trailer, and more such operations would be used in Dumaria, Imamganj and Banke Bazar areas.

The Maoists set ablaze the solar system installed at the house of Anuj Singh, Member of the Bihar Legislative Council under the Dumaria Police Station area in the District.

March 20

Two persons were killed by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist at Kanaudha village in Gaya District. According to SP Ratnamati Sanjeev, three persons were abducted by the Maoists from the village in the night of March 19. Bullet-ridden bodies of two persons, including the son of the village Panchayat head and some Maoist literature were found near a drain, the SP said. The Police are yet to trace the whereabouts of the third person.

March 21

A wanted CPI-Maoist cadre, carrying a reward of INR 25, 000 on his head, was arrested from Ibrahimpur village in Bhojpur District. Acting on a tip off, the Police raided a hideout in the village and held Shatrughan Ram, SP, M R Naik, said. Ram was wanted in connection with the murder of the then Tarari Police Station SHO Raj Kishore Sah in 2005, besides six other criminal cases, he said.

March 22

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze Airtel mobile tower at Marpa village in East Champaran District. According to Police more than two dozen Maoist cadre in number, stormed Puri Tola in the village and set ablaze the mobile tower. The Maoists raised slogans to justify their ideology while escaping. The service of Airtel was disrupted in the District as the controlling unit at the tower stopped functioning after the mobile tower was set ablaze, the Police added.

March 24

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a State-run school building in Tetrain village under Deo Police Station area in Aurangabad District. Over 50 Maoist cadres surrounded the school building in the village and triggered the dynamite blast and blew up the school building. Three rooms of the school building were destroyed in the blast, the Police said.

A powerful bomb planted by the Maoists was recovered by the Police from the adjoining Yadupur village in the District. Police raided the area to locate the Maoists involved in the act.

March 25

Three top Maoist cadres, including their self-styled ‘area commander’ Arvind Paswan were arrested at Bhikhanpura in Muzaffarpur District. "Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a house in the village and the three Maoist cadres - Arvind Paswan, Vinay Paswan and Ajay Paswan - who were wanted in connection with several cases were arrested," SSP Rajesh Kumar said.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a school building at Tilaiya Khurd in Gaya District. Over 70 Maoist cadres surrounded the school and triggered a dynamite blast to blow up the State-run school building last night, the Police said. Three school rooms were badly damaged in the blast, the Police said adding the Maoists later set ablaze a house in the village before fleeing into the nearby forests.

Bindeshwari Yadav alias Bindi Yadav, a member of the RJD party has been arrested and around 4000 rounds of ammunition and cash has been seized from his possession in the District. A team of Police officers intercepted the vehicle of Yadav and during the search, ammunition for sophisticated weapons like SLRs and AK-47 were seized which were to be supplied to the Maoists to be used during the village council elections to be held in the State.

March 28

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a dumper of Bihar State Bridge Corporation and assaulted labourers at Piprahighat in Sitamarhi District. Over 25 Maoist cadres surrounded the place where work was in progress, sprayed kerosene and petrol to set ablaze the dumper, sources said. They also beat up the labourers when they resisted, they said adding a combing operation has been launched to arrest the Maoists.

March 31

One villager was killed and four top CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested following an encounter between the Maoists and SFs that lasted for six hours in the forest at Hasikol in Jamui District. The encounter occurred when a group of Maoists saw SF personnel carrying out combing operation in the area, DGP Neelmani said. The villager, identified as Dudha Murmu, was killed after he was hit by a stray bullet during the encounter while he was collecting fruits from the forest, SP Rajnarayan Singh said. The SFs arrested four top Maoists after the encounter Singh said, adding one mobile phone, two explosives, four battery, two solar charging sets, besides one stabiliser, plastic table and a medical kit were seized from the spot.

The SFs, comprising the DAP, CRPF, STF and SAP, used rocket launchers and explosive launchers over the 100 rounds of firing on the Maoists, Singh added.

April 2

The Police arrested Subhash Mandal, reported to be an ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist from Gaya District. A Police rifle was recovered from the possession of Mandal. "We are verifying records to ascertain from where the recovered Police rifle was looted," SSP Vinay Kumar said. Maoists have looted at least 500 Police rifles and other weapons during their operations in Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand in recent years, the SSP added.

April 4

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist assaulted and injured five labourers and set ablaze two road construction machines of a private firm at Kanaudha village in Aurangabad District. Over 25 Maoist cadres raided the village and assaulted the labourers and injured them. The Maoists, demanded money from the owner of the company failing to which they set ablaze its machines used in construction of road under PMGSY besides some furniture at the work site, the Police said.

A recent intelligence report sent to the MHA has warned that nearly half-a-dozen Maoists lodged in prison may pose a serious threat to the security of Motihari District jail. The East Champaran SP, Ganesh Kumar, has issued stern directions to all SHOs and asked them to keep a strict vigil in the areas. According to another intelligence report, the Maoists are contemplating the abduction of bureaucrats. The depot of Indian Oil Corporation at Raxaul town and other Government offices in the East Champaran District are also on the target of the Maoists, the report said. DIG, Champaran Range, Pankaj Darar said the Police are keeping a constant watch on the situation.

Acting on a tip off, the Police arrested three CPI-Maoist cadres with arms and ammunition from Mehdi Hasan chowk area in Muzaffarpur District. SSP Rajesh Kumar said the Maoists were wanted in several violent activities in the District and adjoining areas. The identity of the arrested Maoist cadres is yet to be ascertained.

Two suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested from Sikandarpur in Muzaffarpur District. The arrested duo identified as Anil Sahni and Shekhar Kumar were preparing to commit a major crime in the town. They were arrested by the Police along with their arms and ammunitions. A motorcycle and some looted articles were recovered from Sahni.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from Kathkur and Kachanur villages in Aurangabad District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided the villages and arrested the Maoists wanted in connection with several criminal offences, official sources said. The Police recovered two regular rifles, six country-made rifles, two country-made pistols, 95 rounds of ammunition, ten uniforms and as many bags from their possession. Several posters pasted by the Maoists asking the people to boycott the upcoming Panchayat elections in the area were also recovered, sources said.

All 682 candidates for various posts in the ensuing Panchayat polls in nine Panchayats under Dumaria block in Gaya District withdrew their nomination apparently giving in to the Maoists call for poll boycott, official sources said. The candidates have withdrawn their nomination on their own free will, Dumaria's BDO Anil Kumar said. He, however, could not explain the reason behind withdrawal of all candidates from the forthcoming Panchayat polls in the Panchayats under Dumaria block. The candidates, who withdrew their candidature, included 218 for the post of panchs, 248 for ward members, 133 for Panchayat Samiti and 83 for mukhias. While all 682 candidates in fray for various posts in nine Panchayats have withdrawn their candidature, no candidate had filed nomination for any post in two Panchayats - Sahchar and Mangia - under Dumaria block. It may be mentioned that the Maoists, has given a boycott call of the Panchayat polls and has put up banners and posters at several places to remind the people and prospective candidates about its diktats. Incidentally, the area is represented in the State Assembly by Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhury.

The STF troopers arrested a top leader identified as Baidyanath Tiwari alias Tula Nand Tiwari alias Binod Mahto alias Sameerji alias Bhagwan Dada, of the CPI-Maoist from Samukhiya Mor village in Banka District. Acting on a tip off, the Police team headed by the STF DSP Neeraj Kumar raided a hide out and arrested Tiwari, the ADG (HQs) Rajvardhan Sharma said. Tiwari is secretary of the BJSAC of the Maoists. The Police recovered a pistol, six live ammunition, 11 mobile phones, a laptop and a large quantity of Naxal (LWE) literature from the possession of Tiwari who was wanted in at least 25 cases of Maoist operations in Bihar, the ADG said. Tiwari, a native of Jokityabad village in Giridih District of Jharkhand, was wanted in connection with at least 25 Naxalite activities, including the murder case of the then Munger SP KC Suresh Babu in 2005 and abduction of four cops from Kajra forests in Lakhisarai District of Bihar in 2010, ADG Sharma added.

About 1,000 candidates withdrew their nominations and many other aspirants did not file nomination papers at all in two southern Districts in the Panchayat polls to be held on April 20, for the fear of CPI-Maoist, after the Maoists threatened of dire consequences if they participated in the democratic exercise. "People certainly want to stay alive instead of getting killed for trying to contest in an election. The security situation here does not give us confidence," said Mahendra Prasad of Sherghati in Gaya District. Prasad withdrew his name a few days after filing his nomination papers for the election of mukhia. "We had assured the people that full security measures would be in place to ensure peaceful polls. We had asked the candidates to complain against any pressure from anywhere. But nobody complained so far," said Gaya SSP Vinay Kumar. DGP Neelmani, however, said Security Forces were ready to ensure peaceful and fair polls.

At a Press conference in Ranchi, the Minister of Health of Bihar, Aswani Kumar Chaubey asked the Jharkhand Government to form a joint strategy to fight Naxal (LWE) menace. Chaubey said "Both Bihar and Jharkhand are facing similar problem of Naxalism. We need to fight this problem together." Speaking on the development in Bihar, he said that the NDA Government has accelerated the pace of development. But Jharkhand with unstable Government in the past one decade has lagged in terms of development, he added. He expressed hope that the BJP led coalition Government headed by Arjun Munda will usher in development.

The Maoists had given a 24 hour bandh call from Sunday midnight [April 17], to protest the arrest of their 'commander' of BJSAC, Sameer Das, in Banka District on April 14.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a villager in Dayaldih village in Jamui District. According to the Police, the Maoist cadres arrived at Dayaldih village on bikes and set ablaze to the BSNL and Reliance towers after ordering some villagers, who were sleeping nearby, to leave. When a villager identified as Bhim Thakur raised an alarm the Maoist cadres shot him dead and also fired a few shots to scare away the people.

Five passenger vehicles were set ablaze by armed Maoist cadres at Nari village under Kharagpur Police Station area in Munger District. The Maoist cadres asked passengers to get out of the passenger vehicles and beat up the drivers before setting ablaze to the vehicles, the Police said.

Day to day life came to a near halt under three blocks under Sherghati subdivision in Gaya District namely Dumaria, Imamganj and Banke Bazar due to the bandh call, given by the local committee of the Maoists to register its protest against recent Police operations in the area and the arrest of its cadres.

The Maoist cadres have issued black warrants to eliminate the SPOs, for the casualties, arrests and continuous counter-attacks from the Police in the eastern Districts of the State. The spokesperson of the Jamui-Bhagalpur committee of the Maoists, Avinash, has blamed the Police for forming groups of such informers, in a similar pattern as was followed in Jharkhand. "These SPOs mostly comprise villagers who have been threatened or allured by the Police to work against us and pass key information. There have been many incidents in the recent past where the Police have either killed or arrested our men on the basis of information they received," he said. Intelligence reports have also confirmed the black warrants against SPOs. The Maoists recently issued death warrants against Bhola Koda, Ashok Koda, Jogeshwar Koda and Bidesh Sah, natives of Munger District, for working as Police informers. "The documents said these SPOs had a major role to play in the killing of Avdesh Yadav, a Maoist sympathiser, and in the gang rape of Bindu Kumari, another Maoist sympathiser. The Naxalites (LWE) have taken a decision to eliminate such agents and have issued death warrants," the Police said. The documents recovered at Majidih also revealed that the Maoists were annoyed with the former SP, Munger, M. Sunil Naik for appointing a large number of SPOs in the District that led to the death of a number of their cadres.

A CRPF trooper was killed in a gun battle with CPI-Maoist cadres at Navigaarh in Pananwa Tand area in Gaya District. While a Maoist was also arrested, the Police recovered three guns from the encounter site.

Nearly 2,500 Police officials and constables have left for different places under Maoist-affected Madhuban (Bhagalpur District), Phenhara (Champaran District) and Tetariya (Nawada District) blocks, which will go for panchayat polls on today.

One woman and a Police officer were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres who were opposing the Panchayat elections in Ramsinghdih Panchayat under Laxmipur block in Jamui District. Three Maoists, who had queued up before a booth at Ramsinghdih Panchayat, opened fire killing ASI Rajendra Jha on the incident site, the Police said.

The Maoists later demanded a matchbox from a woman, identified as Aisa Khatoon, to set ablaze a tractor near the booth. As the woman refused, they fired at her, killing her and injuring two other villagers, the sources said.

A bomb explosion was reported from the house of a candidate for village sarpanch in the District, but it was not known if there was any casualty, they said. The 10-phase polls will end on May 28.

The Police recovered a landmine from Lalganj-Purnaini road near Purnaini in Vaishali District, DGP Neelmani said. Based on information provided by a villager, the Policemen searched a place and found the powerful landmine suspected to be planted by CPI-Maoist cadres, Neelmani said. "We have decided to give a reward of INR 25,000 to the villager," he added.

Two persons have been arrested following a case lodged by the Railway Police for issuing threat call that the CPI-Maoist will blow up the Narkatiaganj Railway Station in West Champaran District, Muzaffarpur SRP, Sheo Kumar Jha, said.

The Police recovered explosives in 50 bags from an abandoned CPI-Maoist bunker during an anti-Maoist operation at Madhubani village under Banke Bazar Police Station in Gaya District.

Three persons were abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres from Barcha village in Rohtas District. "A group of Maoists raided the village last night and picked (abducted) three people, identified as Amit Chaube, Phulendra Chaube and Suresh Sah," SP Manu Maharaj said.

The Bihar Police during the course of the day-long operation jointly executed by a STF team headed by SP Sudhir Kumar and the Katihar Police headed by DSP Gopal Paswan arrested seven Maoist cadres, including three top Central Committee members of the CPI-Maoists from a village in Ganesh Tola under Barsoi Police Station in Katihar District.

The others were identified by the Police as Abhimanyu alias Umesh Yadav alias Rajendra (47), 'secretary' of the UU (Uttar Bihar-Uttar Pradesh) regional bureau who hails from Kursela in Katihar, Nokhe Lal Chowdhary alias Suraj alias Bakraf (30), a North Bihar Eastern Zonal Committee (NBEZC) member and Shyamji Rishi, another member of NBEZC.

May 2

Five Policemen, including the SHO of Rajepur Police Station in East Champaran District, were injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast under the jeep they were travelling in near Dera Chowk at Ramnagar village under the Shivaipatti Police Station in Muzaffarpur District. Muzaffarpur SSP Rajesh Kumar said the incident occurred when a Police party from East Champaran District entered the village in the District to arrest some absconding criminals.

May 3

Three persons, earlier abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres, were released at Yadunath village in Rohtas District. The three persons identified as Amit Chaube, Phulendra Chaube and Suresh Sah were abducted from Barcha village in the District on April 29.

May 5

A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Arjun Yadav, was arrested at Islampur in Nalanda District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided a hideout at from Kudumpur village and arrested Yadav, SP Jitendra Rana said. Yadav was wanted by the Police for his involvement in over a dozen cases of Maoist activities in the District, he added.

Two CPI-Maoist cadres, including a self-styled zonal 'commander', were arrested from Piro in Bhojpur District. Bhojpur SP M R Nayak said that acting on secret information, a Police team carried out a raid and arrested the 'zonal commander', identified as Vinay alias Pankaj, and his associate Manish.

The CPI-Maoist cadres abducted four farmers from Pararya village in Chutiya Police Station area of Rohtas District. Over 40 armed Maoists raided the village and abducted four farmers to an unknown place at gunpoint, the Police said. The farmers were identified as Vibhishan Tiwari, Jaidurak Tiwari, Dhiraj Tiwari and Rajgrih Tiwari.

As the voting for the ninth phase of Bihar Panchayat polls began two polling officials were killed and two critically injured in a landmine blast triggered by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Jamui District. "Maoists targeted a Police vehicle in which polling officials were going to conduct polls in a village in Jamui," ADGP Rajwardhan Sharma said.

One person was killed and another injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists near Chhurchuriya village in the District, DGP Neelmani said. "The poll personnel were going to Chhurchuriya booth on a tractor when the landmine planted by Maoists went off," Neelmani said. The driver of the tractor Arun Mandal died on the spot and one poll personnel who is a local teacher was seriously injured in the blast, the DGP added.

The CPI-Maoist cadres, who abducted four farmers from Pararya village in Chutiya Police Station area of Rohtas District on May 13, released three of them unharmed. The Maoists freed Jaidurak Tiwari, Dhiraj Tiwari and Rajgrih Tiwari following fervent appeal from the villagers, sources said. Another farmer Vibhishan Tiwari was still in captivity.

The CPI-Maoist cadres released all seven poll personnel, who were abducted by the Maoists after triggering a landmine blast in Jamui District on May 15, at Janamsthan in Nawada District. "All the seven poll personnel held captive by the Maoists have been released as a result of massive joint operation conducted by DAP, BMP, SAP, STF, CRPF," DGP Neelmani said in Patna. The polling team members who were released were Naresh Kumar Sao, Nageshwar Mehta, Dheeraj Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Kapildeo Kumar, Shyam Deo Verma and Om Prakash Thakur. Later, the freed poll personnel reported the matter to Jamui District Magistrate Manish Kumar.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist released two abducted railway employees at an isolated place away from the Chakant railway halt in Gaya District. Lever man Suresh Ram and Dhanraj Paswan were abducted in the night of May 21.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze an excavator near Rauna village in Belaganj area in Gaya District. "The incident occurred near a river in Rauna village. The labourers and the machine owners had gone to eat food and when they returned they saw the machines were set on fire," said Tej Narayan Singh, Belaganj Police Station in-charge. Maoists had left a red cloth and a note claiming responsibility for the act.

A Maoist 'zonal commander' was arrested from a hideout in the District. Acting on a tip off, a Police team raided the hide out and arrested the Maoist. The arrested Maoist is wanted in connection with 24 cases in the District.

Cadres the CPI-Maoist assaulted the employees and set ablaze road construction equipment, besides tractors of a private firm at Dihuri village in Aurangabad District, Police sources said. Over 24 heavily-armed Maoists surrounded the office of the private firm, MBL Construction Company, held the supervisor and drivers captive, beat them up before setting ablaze the road construction equipment, the sources said. The Maoist attack was believed to have taken place as the firm did not heed the demand for extortion, the sources said.

Over 50 heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres descended on Parchha village under Chutia Police Station in Rohtas District and of blew up a school building. Three of the seven rooms of the school were damaged in the incident. However, there was no report of any casualty. After triggering the blast, the Maoists shouted slogans against the Government machinery for using the school buildings and other installations for housing the Security Forces for anti-Maoist operations. Earlier, the Maoists had attempted to blow up the school building on May 17 on the eve of the 10th phase of panchayat polls. They, however, failed in their mission, as the explosive used for blowing up the building was sub-standard.

A Government school teacher, Ajit Mishra, was arrested for helping the CPI-Maoist who blew up his school at Parchha village in Rohtas District on May 31, Police said. Police suspected that Mishra, who was posted at that school, was involved in supplying explosives, remote control devices, fuse wires and other equipment to the Maoists that was used in several explosions in Rohtas and neighbouring Districts. Rohtas SP Manu Maharaj said: "Police have been interrogating Mishra after he was arrested from his native village Tiara Kala following continuous electronic surveillance and intelligence inputs."

Maoists organised a 'Kangaroo Court' and brutally beat up two people with heavy wooden stick on the pretext of them being Police informers in the outskirts of Gaya District. According to the Maoists, both the suspects - Shyam Sundar Yadav and Vinod Yadav - were constantly leaking vital information about Maoists' whereabouts and activities to the local Police. Pleading for mercy, one of the victims Shyam Sundar Yadav promised not to leak information ever again in life and is willing to abide by the rules and regulations set by Maoists.

CPI-Maoist cadres who had abducted two villagers, killed one of them and released the other at Pararia village in Rohtas District, SP Manu Maharaj said. Heavily-armed Maoists had abducted two persons Shatrughan Mahato and Shashi Mahato from Pararia village a day earlier, the SP said. The Maoists killed Shatrughan Mahato and threw his body on road near the village. The Maoists, however, released Shashi who returned home safe. The Maoists were suspecting that the two were passing information to the Police about their activities in the area, sources said.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres abducted two persons in Gaya District. Over 50 Maoists raided Silwalia village and Bela village under Dumaria Police Station and abducted Shohail Ansari, Nehal Ansari and Nagvir Yadav for working as "Police informers", City SP Ratnamani Sanjeev said. Ansari was, however, released later on. The Maoists also beat up some villagers when they resisted, he said adding that raids are being carried out in the area to ensure safe release of the villagers and arrest the Maoists, he said.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided Jagdishpur village in Aurangabad District and killed one villager, identified as Bihari Yadav, Police said. An old enmity was stated to be the reason behind the killing, they said.

Two wanted Maoists were arrested from Dhangai in Gaya District, City SP, Ratna Sanjeev, said.

The Police raided the house of one Rajesh Kumar at Chauher village in Arwal District and seized three rifles, one pistol, 18 rounds of ammunition, ASP Manoj Kumar said. Ganja pouches and liquor bottles were also found in the possession of Kumar, who could have links with the CPI-Maoist, the ASP said.

Youngsters in Maoist affected areas of Bihar are being imparted training in martial arts and handling of arms to counter the Maoists. The CRPF, in cooperation with the State Police and a voluntary forum named Jan Jagran Sansthan, has taken this initiative of training these youngsters in Gaya region of the State.

The Bihar Police arrested Jagdish Yadav, a top politburo member of the CPI-Maoist, from a clinic at Guraru Bazaar in Gaya District. Yadav was being treated in the clinic. Known by aliases such as Jagdish Master, Akhileshji and Prabhatji, 70-year-old Yadav was a member of the Maoist Central Committee between 1996 and 2004 and had been a politburo member since then, overseeing major operations in Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Police sources said Yadav was a big fish in the Maoist pecking order, ranking just below Ganapathy and Kishan. An absconder since 1972, he was wanted for a landlord's murder in Aurangabad after a class war ensued between two factions. Carrying a reward of INR 300,000 on his head, Yadav has been involved in several major Naxal operations in Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The sources said he was wanted in two cases by the Andhra Pradesh Police, eight by the Jharkhand Police and 14 cases by the Bihar Police, including the Lakhisarai Police hostage case of 2010. A resident of Gamhariya village in Aurangabad District, Yadav played a key role in overseeing the merger of the PWG and the MCC in October 2004.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a villager, identified as Javed Ansari (32), whom they had abducted from Nimatand village on June 11, and dumped the body at Salaiya village in Jamui District. The Police recovered a leaflet near the body in which Maoists claimed responsibility of the killing for his reported involvement in seeking extortion in the name of Maoists.

Ramswaroop Yadav alias Vikas Yadav, 'sub-zonal commander' of the Maoists, was arrested by the Police from Pachokhar village under Dev block in Aurangabad District. Yadav was involved in five dozen cases of Maoist violence in the State, including an incident of bomb explosion where eight persons (seven of them children) were killed at Pachokhar village under Deo Police Station during State Assembly election 2010. He was also involved in an attack on Central Reserve Police Force base camp at Madanpur, besides being involved in bomb blasts at different schools in the District. Yadav was carrying a reward of INR 50,000 on his head. Five kilograms of explosive, a country-made pistol and several Maoists literature were recovered from him, DIG, Magadh Range Umesh Kumar said.

A group of 70 CPI-Maoist cadres blew up four cell towers in Imamganj area, one in Banke Bazaar and one in the Dobhi block in Gaya District.

Police sources said that the Maoists destroyed a cell tower in Aurangabad District in the State.

Around 100 armed Maoists attacked the Kothi Police Station in Gaya District where one company each of the Bihar Military Police, District Armed Police and Special Auxiliary Force were stationed, City SP Ratnamani Sanjeev said.

A contingent of 40/50 armed Maoists attacked the Nadaul railway station and set ablaze a part of the railway station in Jehanabad District on the Patna-Gaya route, disrupting rail traffic, during a bandh (general shutdown) called in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, protesting against the arrest of politburo member Jagdish Yadav alias Jagdish Master, who was arrested in Gaya District in the night of June 12. In addition, the Maoists took hostage Rajesh Kumar, the station master for a few hours, ransacked the station, and set ablaze the booking counter and the panel room, and damaged the documents stored in there.

Police raided a place in Khagaria District and arrested CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander' Rameshwar Yadav, alias Subhash alias Lamboo, and his associate Sandeep Yadav. One pistol, 24 rounds of ammunition, two mobile phones besides INR 26,000 in cash and two diaries with Maoist writing were seized from them.

The State Police headquarters has approved the proposal of setting up 152 base trans-receiver stations (BTSs) in Maoist-affected Districts of the State for better communication network during operations against the Maoists. BSNL would carry out the task.

Three Maoists were arrested from Sojanna village in Nalanda District. ASP Saurabh Kumar Sah said Police raided the village and arrested Sobhi Yadav, Karu Yadav and Mani Yadav. The three arrestees were reportedly involved in several operations carried out by the Maoists in Bihar and Jharkhand, the ASP said.

Six heavily armed motorcycle-borne cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed Arvind Kumar, a former sarpanch of the Sewra panchayat in Magra village under Dumaria Police Station in Gaya District. Angry villagers upset over the alleged failure of the Central Reserve Police Force to make instant response and follow the motorcycle-borne Maoists, set ablaze a pay loader engaged in road construction work in the area. The villagers also forced shopkeepers to down their shutters and blocked traffic on the State Highway linking the Dumaria block with the District Headquarters.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze mixing plant of a construction company at Chorwa village in East Champaran District. Tyres of truck, dumper, AC wiring and other equipment worth INR one million were destroyed in the incident. The Maoists left some literature citing the company's failure to pay 'levy' to the local (CPI-Maoist) as the reason behind the arson, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Kumar said.

A 'zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist was arrested from Pathra village under Dhibra Police Station in Aurangabad District. "Acting on a tip-off, Police captured Sudarshan Bhuiyan alias Guptaji, said to be zonal commander of Shahabad range of ultra left outfit," SP VR Singh said. He was wanted in connection with several operations carried out by Maoists in Bihar and Jharkhand.

A young researcher studying the Naxal movement in Bihar has gone missing with her guide from the Jamui District, Police officials said. Juhi Kumari, who hails from Bangalore, went missing along with her aide Pradip Dass, when on the way to the Jamui Railway Station to catch a train for Bangalore, said Jamui SP Raj Narain Singh.

Nearly 50 armed CPI-Maoist cadres stormed Bangalwa Kareli village in Munger District and killed six people and abducted seven others, Police said. "Five people were killed on the spot while one sustained serious injuries and died later in a hospital," an unnamed Police officer said.

A Maoist 'zonal commander' and another LWE were killed in a factional clash at Baulia village under Chutia Police Station area in Rohtas District. DGP Neelmani said the LWE factions clashed in which Birendra Rana (Yadav), Maoist 'zonal commander', Sone-Vidhyachal zone, and another LWE Vishnu Yadav were killed. The dead bodies were recovered by the Police, he said, adding one AK-56 rifle was seized from them.

STF personnel arrested Avinash, the spokesperson of east Bihar and north Jharkhand zonal committee of CPI-Maoist, from a place near Belhar-Jamui border in Banka District, reports Telegraph. Though senior CRPF officers have confirmed the arrest, Police is silent over it.

CPI-Maoist cadres released all the 11 villagers they had abducted from Kareli village in Munger District where they had shot dead six people. A villager had earlier managed to flee. The abducted were released in Basraha-Chormara forest near the village. According to the released villagers, a message sent on cell phone from Kareli by a Maoist cadre in the midnight to 'commander' Arvind Yadav that the villagers were preparing to attack them at their hideouts, compelled the Maoists to free them. The abducted were told to go back to their homes with a warning not to help Police in any operation against them. Earlier, in the afternoon a BSF chopper was pressed into service on the retreat route of Maoists.

Maoists attacked the house of Dwarika Yadav of Chando village in Barachatti area of Gaya District and set it ablaze. However, Dwarika Yadav and his family managed to escape.

An 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist of Shahabad range, Surendra Rai alias Ajayji, was killed by his colleagues under Maoist-infested Nabinagar block in Aurangabad District. Rai was looking after the organization's work in Rohtas District. Pamphlets found beside his body dubbed him as a cheater not loyal to the organization and was accused of working for its rival faction, TPC.

Two suspected Maoists were arrested in Munger District for allegedly killing six villagers on July 3. ADGP Rajwardhan Sharma said the Maoists are being interrogated to collect more information on the massacre.

One villager was abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres from Ghoskotand village under Khaira Police limits in Jamui District. Around 30-40 Maoists raided the village and abducted Basudev Rai, a sympathiser of Munna Shah Squad of the outfit. Sources added that wife of Rai was elected as the panch member in the Panchayat election.

Three Maoists were arrested from the Bangalwa forest area in Munger District, in connection with the killing of six villagers on July 3, of Kereili village in the District. Acting on a tip-off, Police raided the forest and arrested Rakesh Yadav, Rajaram, Yadav and Dhiro Yadav.

CPI-Maoist conducted a Kangaroo Court in Manjhar village in Gaya District, and punished Ranjit Malakar, a school teacher for reportedly molesting a girl student of 7th standard of his school. The victim's mother told media persons that she was satisfied with the punishment ruled out to the tainted teacher and that she will prefer going to the Maoists for help than approaching to the Police.

The State Government decided to recruit more SPOs to counter CPI-Maoist attacks in all its 31 Naxal-affected Districts.

Nine Maoist cadres, including two self-styled 'area commanders', surrendered before the Police in Sasaram in Rohtas District.

An encounter took place between the Police and CPI-Maoist cadres in Sakaul forest of Munger District.

Some Maoists posters were found in Karaili, Mahangama, Govindpur and Tarpar villages under Dharhara Police Station area in the District warning against posting of SPOs to carry out search operation against the Maoists.

A 'sub-zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist was arrested from a place under town Police Station in Aurangabad District.

The Police uncovered a mini-gun factory at Varna Dihri village in Rohtas District.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze road construction machines and two dumpers at Saraun village in Jamui District.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from the Gerua and Khasia forests during a search operation by SF personnel in Banka District.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres slit the throat of a villager and killed him at Bharpurva village in East Champaran District.

Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted by the Police in Naga Road locality close to the border under direct surveillance of the DSP Rajeev Ranjan and a cache of explosives, including detonators, fuse wires and timer watch used in making crude bombs were recovered in East Champaran District.

Eight CPI-Maoist cadres, including a self-styled 'area commander' Sanjay Thakur, and a woman cadre, were arrested from Bashathpur village under Tariyani Police Station in Sheohar District.

The CPI-Maoist called for a bandh on July 27, protesting against the arrests of three of their cadres in the evening of July 17 in Bashathpur in Sheohar District. General Secretary of the CPI-Maoist, Prahar issued a notice saying the bandh would be a protest against the arrests of their cadres.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist blew up a telecom tower and control room of a private telecom operator (Aircel) at Sonebersa village in Saran District.

The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead three villagers belonging to Kharwar tribe at Banda village under Nauhatta Police Station in Rohtas District. Bodies of the victims were recovered on July 31. Sasaram SP Manu Maharaj said that three and not five villagers, as reported earlier, were killed in the attack. Over 100 Maoists took part in the attack that targeted former village headman Sugriva Kharbar, who heads an anti-Naxal group called Kaimuranchal Vikas Morcha (Kaimur Area Development Forum).

The Maoists shot dead two persons, identified as Lekhu Yadav and his nephew Manoj Yadav, at Phulhara village, adjacent to dense Karmatand-Hathia Jharna forest area in Banka District. An armed group of 10-12 Maoists abducted five persons from a paddy field. They reportedly released three of the villagers before killing Lekhu and Manoj. Sources said Lekhu was a former Maoist whom they suspected to be a Police informer.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi admits Maoists are collecting money to let the road projects continue. "The Government does not deny levy collection but construction companies have to tell us so we can provide them security cover. We have already given security guards at some places," he says. Several area commanders arrested in Aurangabad and Gaya have admitted to charging levy up to 7-10 per cent of the project cost. "If the quality of work is poor (correspondingly the profit margin of company will be higher), Maoists even bargain for up to 20 per cent levy of the project cost," said a Police officer in Aurangabad.

Around 400 residents of at least six villages in Rohtas District fled for their safety as Maoists threatened to eliminate them for not supporting them. Three days after five people were killed by Maoists at Banda village, residents of Banda and neighbouring villages Pandav, Auraia, Udarga, Bhurunda and Shivsagar fled their homes to safer places. They were later lodged at a camp in Chenari block of the District.

Over 40 cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided the Bariarpur village under Barhat Police Station area in Jamui District and blew up a part of the house of Sumitra Devi, the village head.

The Maoists also blew up the house of a villager, identified as Ashok Yadav, at Karman tola in the same Police Station area, Police said.

SFs of Bihar, neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand launched a joint operation 'Vishwas' (belief) to apprehend CPI-Maoist cadres in the wake of hundreds of people in Rohtas District having escaped from their villages in fear of the Maoists. The operation was being carried out by the STF, the CoBRA and the Police units of three States with helicopter assistance in the contagious forest areas, ranging from Kaimur and Rohtas Districts in Bihar, Palamau District in Jharkhand and Robertsganj District in Uttar Pradesh, Rohtas SP Manu Maharaj said.

Bihar Police will spend INR 300 million for the purchase of bulletproof prefabricated barracks, which are currently being used by CPOs engaged in forward areas and a few States, including Chhattisgarh. According to a senior Police officer, around 50 such barracks would be installed in 15 Districts.

Heavily-armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided Ramban village under Shyampur Bhatta Police Station in Sheohar District and set ablaze the house of a village head Subodh Rai. Rai was not present at his house at the time of the incident.

Police arrested seven CPI-Maoist cadres, including 'area commander' Hemant Ram alias Ashutosh from Nazipur village in Muzaffarpur District. Hemant was wanted in connection with the killing of the then Munger SP K.C. Surendra Babu on January 5, 2005. Police said the Maoists had assembled in the house of one Suresh Ram to give final touches to their preparations to observe the Independence Day as 'black day' against alleged Police repression. Muzaffarpur SSP, Rajesh Kumar said a 9mm regular pistol, eight cartridges, Maoist literature, banners and posters were seized from them. This is for the first time that women Maoists have been arrested from Muzaffarpur District. Police identified them as Shalini alias Renu Kumari (22), daughter of Ram Ishwar Sahni of Olipur village in Sitamarhi District, and Rekha Devi (35), wife of Maoist Dhirendra Bhagat of Paigambarpur village in Muzaffarpur District.

Claiming that quality catch of the Bihar Police is very high DGP Neelmani said, "We are targeting top Maoist leaders and prepare the strategy after getting intelligence input." "We never believe in random search as it leads to nowhere," he added. Mentioning about that the State Police have limited resources, he said "We never got what we had requested for. We are working with minimum force in the state." He added that if more force was provided to the State, the Police would have worked more effectively against the Naxalites. According to the data available in the State headquarters, as many as 3,687 Maoist cadres were arrested in Bihar from 2001 to 2010. The arrests Maoists included several 'area commanders'. As many as 46 'area commanders' and senior Maoists were arrested in the State in 2011. In 2010, the figure was 59 while in 2009, the arrest figure stood to 33.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Satyendra Rajvanshi, was arrested with arms and explosives from the forests near Ajaynagar village under Roh Police Station in Nawada District following an encounter. Two carbines, a country-made pistol, two rifles, explosives, besides a diary and Naxal literature were seized from him, SP Ravish Kumar said.

Heavily armed Maoists raided Parsawan village under the Raushanganj Police Station and abducted four villagers, three of them activists of the Sangharsh Samiti formed for the construction of a bridge over river Morhar, in Gaya District. The abducted men are Umesh Prasad, Manoj Prasad, Manoj Kumar and Chandrika Prajapat. Maoists are opposed to the bridge construction as it will facilitate faster Police movement in the area.

Rohtas District administration provided an assistance of about INR 150,000 each to nine former CPI-Maoist cadres who surrendered recently under the Central rehabilitation scheme for self-employment.

About 50 inhabitants of the Government camp at Chenari in Rohtas District have fallen sick in the past one week because of poor sanitation and inhuman living conditions.

Maoist cadres fired about a dozen shots on Indradeo Prasad, a farmer near Narayanpur Bazar, under Rajepur Police Station area in East Champaran District killing him on the spot.

Bihar Police arrested a CPI-Maoist cadre while raids were on arrest about a dozen more Maoists in connection with the murder of two poor farmers belonging to Manuchak and Uzilpur villages under Rajepur Police Station in East Champaran District.

Urmila Devi Kharwar, a resident of Banda village in Rohtas District, blamed both the District administrative officials as well as the Maoists for the death of her child.

A formal complaint was lodged with Dehri Police Station in Rohtas District in connection with alleged threat to an RTI activist Ashok Paswan.

More than 50 armed CPI-Maoist cadres clad in Police uniform raided Phoolwaria Kodasi hamlet under Sikendra in Jamui District and forced the villagers to attend a jan adalat (kangaroo court) at the foothills of Latchuar hills, on the outskirts of the village.

The Centre cleared several roadblocks to give a fillip to the State's rural development by agreeing to release the money needed for the construction of rural roads next month, and it also pointed out that the road construction works would also be taken up in the State's Maoist-hit seven Districts in a big way.

SP, Shivdeep Lade of Patna had received a death-threat local-area commander of the CPI-Maoist, in which he was threatened with being blown up into smithereens within the next 24 hours. He was advised not to make any further investigations into the Kundan Singh affair.

CPI-Maoist cadres abducted two villagers in Jamui District who had been allegedly extorting money and spreading fear in the area in the name and guise of the Maoists without having any link with the outfit.

The Police, with the help of CRPF troopers, rescued 10 boys who were on their way to join the Maoists to earn a livelihood.

The DGP-designate Abhayanand took over charge from the outgoing DGP, Neelmani, promising to check crime.

The CPI-Maoist has initiated large-scale recruitment of young village boys and girls and training camps for the new cadres in inaccessible terrains of eastern Bihar Districts and neighbouring parts of Jharkhand.

Two CPI-Maoist commanders were arrested from their hideouts at Bodh Gaya and Atari in Gaya District.

One villager was killed while two others were injured as more than 150 suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided Ghaghrizore hamlet under Barabasini panchayat under Katoria block in Banka District.

DGP Abhayanand said that a composite move by the Police is needed to check Maoist violence in the State. He said that the problems related to Naxal terror are multi-dimensional and for this an effective strategy would be chalked out.

The Maoists are set to make some policy and organisational changes by the end of this year (2011).

The very first day of taking office of the DGP, Abhayanand, issued a directive that all SPs would take permission from the IG, Operations for deploying the SAP for anti-Maoist operations.

A top cadre of the CPI-Maoist, Radhe Mahto, who used to operate in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, East Champaran, Sitamarhi and Sheohar Districts in north Bihar, was arrested.

A hardcore CPI-Maoist cadre was arrested in connection with the killing of SP, Surender Babu in Munger District six years back, Police said.

Two cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested from Rohtas District. Two pistols and eight rounds of ammunition were recovered from them at a place under Rohtas Police Station area, SP Manu Maharaj said. The two arrested Maoists were identified as Mahender Choudhary and Rahul Kharwar.

A CPI-Maoist cadre was arrested from Budhua Ahara village in Munger District and a pistol and 10 rounds of ammunition were recovered from him, Police said.

Two Maoists, identified as Mahendra Choudhary and Rahul Kharbar, were arrested during a combing operation in Taradih village on Kaimur plateau in Rohtas District. Two country-made pistols and eight live cartridges were seized from them.

The Police arrested three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'sub-zonal commander' of the outfit, from Aurangabad and Patna Districts. Acting on a tip-off, the Police intercepted a speeding motorcycle in Aurangabad District, and arrested the CPI-Maoist 'sub-zonal commander', Nawal Bhuyian, and his unidentified associate while they were trying to escape to a safer place.

Abhayanand, DGP of the State, mentioned that the problem related to the CPI-Maoist terror is multi-dimensional.

The Railway Police arrested a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre, Shiv Kumar Bind, from Bhagwanganj locality in Patna District. Patna SP- Railways, Suresh Choudhary said Bind was an accused in a case relating to the setting ablaze of Nadaul railway station in Jehanabad District on June 16, 2011.

CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead an Ayurvedic doctor near Shiekhpura market under the Pakaridayal Police Station area in East Champaran District. According to reports, nearly 12 Maoists raided the doctor's clinic around 11pm when he was sleeping. They dragged him to a nearby paddy field and shot him at point-blank range. The victim, Rajesh Kumar, had enjoyed the company of the Maoists and had been their confidante for a long time.

Top CPI-Maoist leaders have been found investing money collected as levy from road contractors, businessmen and others in the equity market to make more profits. Maoists are said to be collecting around INR 20 billion as levy from across the country annually. Their "lust for lucre" was amply exposed when a Bihar Police team recovered share investment papers worth INR 820,000 from the hideout of a top Maoist leader, Birbal Murmu, alias Birbalda, during a raid at Chaupalwa village in the Laxmipur Police Station area of Jamui District on September 11.

CPI-Maoist cadres have shown keen interest in rural welfare projects in the districts of eastern Bihar, have blocked the progress of an ambitious health project in Lakhisarai District. The District administration was forced to stop the National Health Insurance Project (NHIP) in a number of villages after the Maoists abducted five employees of Financial Information Network and Operations Limited (FINO) from the Maoist affected Tali Kodasi village under Piri Bazaar Police Station of Lakhisarai District. The abducted employees were released after two hours with a warning "do not return".

CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a farmer at Kadma village in East Champaran District.

Bihar Police was striving hard to tackle CPI-Maoist insurgency in the State with optimum use of resources, DGP Abhayanand said. "The State Police is doing its best to tackle Maoist insurgency in Bihar with the resources at its disposal," he added.

A hardcore Maoist and three others were arrested from Piprahi in Sheohar District, Police sources said.

A cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Ramesh Yadav was arrested near a bus stand in Tiwari Bigaha village in Aurangabad District, a Police officer said. A native of Mahmudpur village under Atari Police Station area in Gaya District, Yadav was wanted in several incidents of Maoist violence.

Five cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including two Maoist 'area commanders', were arrested from the Districts of Bihar.

CPI-Maoist's eastern Bihar and Jharkhand regional committee put up posters in a number of villages of Jankidhi panchayat under Chanan Police Station in Lakhisarai District, accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union home minister P. Chidambaram and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi of curbing the voice of the common man.

A mutilated body, suspected to be of Chhattu Yadav, a CPI-Maoist 'area commander' operating in Bihar and Jharkhand, was recovered from the Didarganj area of Patna City.

The Police arrested a Maoist, identified as Sanjay Soren, from Lalmatia village in Munger District. Sanjay, wanted in connection with over 12 cases, was arrested along with a pistol, ammunition, a Police uniform, dry fruits and ultra-left literature.

A self-styled 'area commander' of the CPI-Maoist was arrested from East Champaran District. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided Raghunathpur village and arrested the Maoist, identified as Nanhak Paswan, SP Ganesh Kumar said. An American made pistol and 66 live cartridges were seized from him. The arrested Maoist leader was wanted in connection with several operations executed by Maoists in Bihar and Jharkhand.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, Rajendra Yadav, was arrested from Chutia Police Station area of Rohtas District. Rohtas SP Manu Maharaj said Yadav was involved in collecting levy and supply of arms to the outfit.

Panchu Khera, the 'sub-zonal commander' of the CPI-Maoist, was arrested from an abandoned brick-kiln located inside the Pipratilha forest under Belhar Police Station in Banka District.

Around 50 CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a private construction company site and assaulted the labourers on duty and subsequently set ablaze a machine engaged in construction of a bridge at Domuhan Bridge under Risiyap Police Station in Aurangabad District.

A Police team recovered a land-mine from Sakhaul village in Munger District while it was going for a raid following information about CPI-Maoist cadres.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead former Samata Party District president and JD-U leader, Santan Singh (65) at Barem village under Nabinagar block of Aurangabad District.

Four traders of Giridih were abducted by suspected Maoists in Nawada District. Karu Shaw, Hira Shaw, Meghan Shaw and Ajay Choudhary had gone to Kauakol in Nawada District when the Maoists abducted them.

Armed Maoists set ablaze a JCB machine of private road-construction company at Jardeji village in Gaya District. Over 25 armed Maoists raided the office of Magadh Construction Private Ltd engaged in construction of roads and burnt the machine, sources said. They later managed to flee.

Four top CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested during raids at Teliadih village by Jhajha Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel in Jamui District. The arrested cadres were identified as Anil Ravida, Fago Ravidas, Raghuvir Ravidas and Anil Ravidas.

Dozens of heavily armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a person, identified as Santosh Yadav, at Bagodar village under the Kothi Police Station in Gaya District. Santosh is said to be a cadre of the TPC, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, which is active in the Sherghati sub-division of Gaya District. On that day the Maoists raided his house, dragged out the inmates, looted valuables, including food-grains and other household items, and set the house on fire. While retreating, the Maoists abducted Santosh and subsequently killed him. The body was dumped on the Jharkhand side of the inter-state border. Sherghati SDPO, Mahindra Prasad, said Santosh's body had been sent for post-mortem examination.

A panchayat teacher of a primary school in Nasirchak village under Mohanpur block in Gaya District has been sacked from his job following the order of the District Magistrate due to his alleged links with the CPI-Maoist. The teacher, Rambali Paswan alias Gandhi, has been named accused under different sections of the IPC for his alleged involvement in murder, illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Seven Maoists, including a "commander", were arrested during raids from two places in Rohtas District. While Maoist 'commander', Sudarashan Ram alias Firoj, and his four accomplices were near an under-construction bridge over Sone river in the Dehri-on Sone two Maoists were arrested from Chutia area.

Raiding a house at Bangalwa village under Dharhara Police Station area Munger District, Police arrested a Maoist, identified as Bablu Yadav.

Raiding Nakardawa Sareh under Rajepur Police Station area in East Champaran District, Police arrested two Maoists - Sujit Sahni and Ram Sagar Thakur. A country-made pistol, three cartridges and INR 4,150 were seized from them.

SF's destroyed two Maoist bunkers and seized about 5000 rounds of ammunition besides explosives from a training camp in Kubra hills in Gaya District.

Over three dozen armed Maoists abducted 15 labourers from Balthara village in Jamui District. Police said the labourers were engaged in constructing a bridge when they were forcibly taken away.

Union Home secretary R. K. Singh assured the Sate Government to provide three more battalions of the Central Forces and a helicopter for intensive operations against the Maoists operating in the State. Singh said the Centre would provide one battalion of the Central Forces immediately while the two more battalions would reach later.

Over 50 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist bull-dozed two school buildings at Dhangain and Haiya Sari villages in Barachatti Police Station area of Gaya District. Reports said that the Maoists used JCB machines of a construction company engaged in the construction work in the area to bulldoze the school buildings.

Police arrested six cadres of the CPI-Maoist after a gun-battle and seized arms, explosives and other materials used for making weapons in Suarmanwa forests in Rohtas District. Police seized two rifles, including an American semi-automatic rifle, one country-made rifle and a country- made pistol, besides 25 detonators, five litres of liquid explosives, 25 live cartridges, three magazines and other materials from the Maoists.

Police destroyed an illicit gun factory being run by the Maoists near Banskhoh area in the Kaimur plateau of the District.

Police arrested two TPC cadres, identified as Deepak Rajwar alias Ranjit and Dharmendra Ram, from Baluara Tola in Naur village under Nabinagar block of Aurangabad District. One 9 mm pistol, seven live cartridges and one magazine were seized from them.

Bharosha Ram, a former self-styled area commander of the CPI-Maoist-Leninist was arrested from Sahar Police Station area in Bhojpur District. Bharosha Ram was allegedly involved in five cases of carnage, between 1996-2000 in Bhojpur, Nalanda, Nawada and Aurangabad Districts.

The Bihar Government has sanctioned INR 810 million for anti-Maoist operations in the State. It has decided to purchase 51 mine-protected vehicles, 95 bullet-proof vehicles, 50 bullet-proof troop-carriers and 100 troop-carriers aimed at strengthening the anti-Maoist operations.

A senior Maoist leader identified as Jageshwar Yadav alias Jago Yadav was arrested from his home at Lariyatand village in Munger District. Yadav was a named accused in the July 2, 2011 Karaili massacre.

A former CPI-Maoist leader, Gaurishankar Jha (55), was killed by a gang of armed criminals at his home at Dostiyan village under Purnahiya Police Station in Sheohar District. His wife and daughter also suffered bullet injuries.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, Shankar Das alias Bhagwanji, was arrested from Phulkaha village in Bhatha Police Station area in Sheohar District, SDPO, S M Vakil Ahmed said. The Maoist was wanted in connection with several incidents of violence in the State, he said.

A squad of around 20 cadres of the CPI-Maoist destroyed the mobile tower of a private operator by triggering an explosion at Kanuali under Konch Police Station in Gaya District. According to Police, the Maoists took the step apparently after they were not given money by the operator.

A top CPI-Maoist cadre was arrested from Bara Bishunpur village in East Champaran District. Acting on a tip off, the Police arrested Vijay Prasad, while he was going somewhere on a bike, SP Ganesh Kumar said.

The authorities recovered mobile phones and sim cards among other articles from the central prison in East Champaran District, a Police official said.

The Maoists demolished a mobile tower of a private operator and abducted its two security guards at Chain in Jamui District. About 30-40 armed Maoists raided the village and used explosives to destroy the tower before abducting the guards identified as Mahendra Singh and Babulal Singh.

Heavily armed Maoists attacked a camp of the CoBRA in Dumaria Police Station in Gaya District. There was no report of injuries or casualties from either side, Magadh range DIG, N Hasnain Khan said.

Vinay Singh alias Manan Singh, husband of Dharfari panchayat sarpanch Kamini Singh, was shot dead by a group of about 30 CPI-Maoist cadres who attacked the village under the Paroo block in Muzaffarpur District, to enforce the Bharat Bandh called by the Maoists. The Maoists also shouted pro-Maoist slogans and left behind a large number of leaflets.

As the two-day Bharat bandh called by the Maoists began, the Maoists set ablaze a cell phone tower in Aurangabad District. A large number of Maoists stormed Suhi village under the Kutumba Police Station and set ablaze the cell phone tower of private operator Airtel, the Police said.

The Police arrested two Maoists, Preman Kahar alias Preman Ram and Bharosa Mistri alias Doman Mistri, from their hideouts located at Hawsapur and Karium Bela villages respectively in Patna District.

A fierce gun battle started between the Police and CPI-Maoist cadres after more than 50 heavily armed Maoists attacked Tandwa Police Station in Aurangabad District, the concluding day of two-day 'Bharat bandh' called by the Maoists.

The Maoists set ablaze a three-wheeler near Arauri village under the Konch Police Station in Gaya District for violating their diktat to observe two-day bandh.

A suspected Maoist cadre involved in the attack on the camp of the CoBRA in Dumaria Police Station was arrested outside the CoBRA camp under Dumaria Police Station area in the District. The suspected Maoist is believed to have been hit by a bullet in the encounter.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist exchanged fire with Police near Dhivra Police Station in Aurangabad District. Hundreds of armed Maoists fired at the premises of Dhivra Police Station prompting the policemen to return fire, SP Sidharth Kumar Jain said. There was no report of casualty from either side, Jain said.

The Maoists set ablaze a mobile tower of a private telecommunication company at Maduaha village under Sakra Police Station in Muzaffarpur District.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres abducted seven workers from two construction sites in Pakri village in Jamui District. Some 50 heavily-armed Maoists, the Police claimed, reached a makeshift workshop of a construction company which is engaged in construction of a bridge over Kiul River and abducted four labourers.

Intelligence sources said Ravikant, a tribal cadre of the CPI-Maoist, was appointed as the new 'commander' of the Sone-Ganga-Vindhyachal zone last week, replacing Munna Vishwakarma, who was made commander after the death of Birendra Yadav alias Rana, in Rohtas District in July 1, 2011.

CPI-Maoist cadres released all the seven labourers after they were abducted on December 9 from Pakari village in Jamui District. The labourers were set free at a hillock near Rajaun Bishanpur village, SP R N Singh said.

A group of CPI-Maoist cadres destroyed a school by razing it down to the ground in Gaya District. Residents say around 100 armed Maoists stormed into Barachatti village with a bulldozer and demolished the building.

Six cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including two women, identified as Rudal Sahni, Sanjay Manjhi, Rajesh Singh (of Patahi), and Santa Paswan (of Shikarganj village) besides two 22-year-old women Kanchan and Bipasha, residents of Tariyani village in Sheohar District were arrested during a joint operation conducted by the STF and the local Police from a house in Mahmada Mushahar Toli under the Pathai Police Station in East Champaran District. IG-operations Rajesh Chanra said two pistols, 22 cartridges and Maoist literature were also recovered from their possessions.

CPI-Maoist cadres blew up the building of an upgraded Government middle school at Sarkanda village under Tankuppa block in Gaya District.

The Maoists demolished the building of another upgraded middle school at Chananwar village under Khaira block in Jamui District. The school had 14 rooms. A JCB machine was found near the destroyed school.

The Police neutralised an illegal arms and ammunition factory operated by the CPI-Maoist from a rented house in the Kanholi area under Mithanpura Police Station in Muzaffarpur District. A Police team recovered a stock of 900 cartridges and equipment that the Maoists used to make pistols and other firearms. Two Maoists, identified as Srikant Singh and Bipin Kumar, who were working at the factory near Bela Industrial Estate, were arrested. The Police also arrested the owner of the house, Nagendra Singh, who had rented out the accommodation to the Maoists. Muzaffarpur SSP Rajesh Kumar said the cartridges made at the arms factory were being supplied to the wings of the CPI-Maoist operating in north Bihar Districts. The Police also found three mobile phones at the factory. The SSP added that the Police have recovered raw materials used in making cartridges and some empty packets of cartridges as well.

Over 40 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided the camp office of a road construction firm and set ablaze three machines of the firm at Bario Bishunpur village in Barhat Police Station in Jamui District.

SFs arrested a CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Ganesh alias Sanjay, while planting landmines at Ziura village under the Barachatti Police Station in Gaya District. The Maoist was overpowered and Police found two landmines from his possession.

Acting on a tip off, the Police raided a hideout and arrested a self-styled area commander of CPI-Maoist, identified as Inkesh Yadav, from Hiranman Diara under Mufassil Police Station area in Munger District. Yadav was the 'area commander' of Khagaria, Saharsa, Begusarai and Munger Districts and was wanted in at least 12 cases of murder, mostly related to Maoists violence.

The Maoists will organise a fair at Giddha village in Sitamarhi District next week for the second consecutive year in the memory of Mainuddin alias Ravi, a 'zonal commander' of the outfit, killed in an encounter with the CRPF personnel near Betaura village in East Champaran in 2007. "We are organising the fair on a large scale for the first time. Though it was held for the first time last year, the event was a low-key affair," said Prakash, who identified himself as a spokesperson of the CPI-Maoist.

Armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze two saw machines at Salaiya village in Gaya District. Over 100 Maoists surrounded the machines and set ablaze the two machines charging the owners with supporting a rival faction, City SP Satyavir Singh said.

Dhanara village resident Ashok Sinha, accused of collecting levy from contractors and providing medical assistance to CPI-Maoist cadres, was arrested from Chaminia Tola under Shyampur Bhatha Police Station in Sheohar District. Sheohar SP Natash Gudia said Singh was arrested while he was planning to collect levy on behalf of the Maoists from some contractors.

The Bihar Police and the CRPF arrested four Maoists during search operations based on intelligence reports to counter Maoist activities in Gaya District. One of the arrested is 'sub-zonal commander' Neeru Yadav who was fairly active in the area. A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from them. The arrested Maoists are accused of carrying out several attacks on schools, roads and bridges in the region.

The Maoists threatened to eliminate the Araria DM M Saravanan and SP Shivdeep Waman Lande, if their cadres incarcerated in the Araria jail are not released. In separate letters sent by registered post to the two officials, Maoist 'area commander' Krishna Yadav said his organization would trigger bombs on the premises of the DM and SP to kill them.

One CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Pancham Paswan, was killed and a gun was recovered during an encounter with armed Maoists and the Police at a village under Atri Police Station in Gaya District. Acting on secret information that Maoists have assembled at the village, a Police team reached the place, leading to an encounter. One gun and four live cartridges were recovered from the encounter-site, City Superintendent of Police Satyavir Singh said adding the Maoists later managed to flee.

The Patna Police team along with STF personnel arrested sub zonal committee member of north region of the CPI-Maoist, Gore Lal alias Shyamdeo Mochi along with his associate Surendra Ravidas from Masaurhi in Patna District.

A group of Maoists set ablaze hot mixing plant of a road construction company in Maniari village under Nagar Police Station in Sitamarhi District. The Maoists left behind a hand-written leaflet on the spot before making good their escape, Nagar Police Station's OIC Niranjan Prasad said.

The CRPF recovered 207 detonators and other explosive materials belonging to CPI-Maoist from Viraj village in Gaya District and detained two suspected Maoists. CRPF commandant Sanjeev Kumar said the para-military force acting on a tip off raided several houses in the village and recovered 50 m of fuse wire, six batteries, one kilogram explosive powder and Maoist literatures, besides the detonators.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a pressure roller of a private firm engaged in construction of a road at Parta village under Amba Police Station in Aurangabad District. Over 25 Maoists raided the office of Ajay Engineering Company and set ablaze the pressure roller standing there in the evening, the Police said. The owner of the firm was former Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) MLA Vijay Kumar Singh alias Dabloo Singh.

Three persons were arrested with pistols and a country-made rifle meant for the CPI-Maoist from Mohraun village in Rohtas District. "Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided the village and arrested Rashid Ansari alias Pillu, Mahaboob Ansari and Multan Ansari," Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said.

Ignoring boycott call by the CPI-Maoist against his visit, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar undertook Seva Yatra and visited Maoist-infested Amba and Kutubagarh areas in Aurangabad District to inspect the development works being carried out by the authorities. Ahead of the CM's visit, the Maoists had pasted posters in schools and government buildings asking the people to boycott his programmes in the District.

The Maoists raided Kanaudi village in Jamui District and killed three villagers. The victims were identified as Mumtaz Ansari, Fakruddin and Samimul.

Bullet-riddled bodies of four villagers abducted by CPI-Maoist cadres have been recovered from a pond in Behrar village in Banka District, Police said. The victims - Mansoor Ansari, Kallu Ansari, Kashim Ansari and Sahadat Ansari - were abducted from Kanaudi village in Jamui District on December 29.

Suresh Yadav alias Nagendra, a Maoist 'area commander', was arrested by Banka and Jamui Police near Khasia village under Belhar Police Station in Banka District.