Maharashtra Timeline 2017

Date

Incidents

January 5

The 'deputy commander' of Kasansur Dalam Jyoti Gawade was killed by Gadchiroli District Police's C-60 Commandos at Boteyjhari and Badhgaon forest in Gadchiroli District. Jyoti is alleged to have led the arson attack at Surjagarh on December 23, 2016. 76 trucks, 3 JCBs and 1 motorcycle were burnt by the Naxals. Shivaji Bodkhe, IG of State ANO, said that Jyoti was trying to break through the Police cordon when she received bullet injuries in retaliatory fire. "Police have also seized Jyoti's .303 rifles," he added. On January 4, the Police had cornered Naxals at Nihalkai forest near Gyarapati from where two .12 bore rifles were seized. After intensifying the search operations, the Police spotted Jyoti's Dalam following which a battled ensued. Jyoti alias Sagobai Narsingh, was earlier 'commander' of Surjagarh LGS which was later amalgamated with Kasansur Dalam.

A surrendered Naxalite was allegedly killed by CPI-Maoist cadres in Dhanora Tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The victim Sukhram Lalchu Wadde (35) was a member of Naxal militia, who had surrendered before the Police in July 2016, a senior Police official said. The Naxals attacked Sukhram at Kehakavi village and murdered him using an axe, he said. "The CPI-Maoist cadres were angry as Sukhram had turned himself in before the police," the official added. Further the officials said last week (December 29, 2016) three villagers were killed allegedly by Naxalites in Aheri and Korchi tehsils in Gadchiroli on the suspicion of they being 'informers'. The victims were identified as Laccha Bande Madavi (36) resident of Rumalkasa, Patali Doge Atram (36), resident of Gurja, and Talwarsha Kunjram, resident of Korchi.

The UMHA flagged the operational efficiency of SFs in the Naxal-affected areas as one of its biggest achievements during a presentation before PM Narendra Modi. The Ministry informed Modi that since the NDA Government came to power in May 2014, there had been a 45 per cent increase in the efficiency of Central Forces (CFs) in operations against the Naxals. In a presentation made by Home Secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi, Modi and other officials were informed that the number of Naxal cadres killed in 2016 had been the highest ever in six years. Eighty-Four cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed in 2015 and in 2016, the number swelled to 218, which was an increase of 160 per cent. There was also an increase in the number of Police encounter from 237 in 2015 to 316 in 2016. UHM Rajnath Singh told in a press conference earlier this week that demonetization had increased the problems of CPI-Maoist and that they had weakened. The EFC has already given the go-ahead for an ambitious road project in the 44 worst Naxal-affected Districts. Under this project, the Government proposes to construct 5,412 km of roads and 126 bridges and it would cost INR 117.25 million. The Government is redrawing the 'Red Corridor' - the area affected by LWE - and may soon take off 20 Districts from the list of Naxal-affected areas. The 106 Districts which span 10 States - Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - constitute the Red Corridor. Of these, 44 Districts are said to be the worst affected. India has a total of 683 Districts.

Two civilians, Ramesh Atala (27) and Manohar Atala (55) were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. The Gadchiroli Police statement said that the Maoists shot the victims claiming they were 'Police informers'. It added that the victims were farmers and provided food to Maoists and travelled with them to nearby villages. The Police claimed that CPI-Maoist fear their influence is reducing in the District as developmental work by the administration has earned the confidence of tribals. A section of the Police has claimed that the latest killing was carried out by Chatgaon LOS which is headed by 'commander' Yogesh.

The State Home Department of Maharashtra Government has allotted two helicopters to the Naxal affected District administration of Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra. The election in Gadchiroli is scheduled from February 16 and February 21. The elections will be conducted in two phases. The aim to allot helicopters is to ensure that the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad elections are conducted smoothly and the election staff, Police officials and electoral machinery is transported to the Naxal affected poll bound city safely.

Irpa Usendi, cousin of South Gadchiroli's Perimili LGS 'commander' Sainath, was arrested in Gadchiroli District. He was finally made co-accused in the December 2016 Surjagarh arson case earlier this week by Etapalli Police after his involvement behind the incident in which the Naxalites had set ablaze around 80 vehicles at mining project site came to fore. Intriguingly, cops had intercepted new currency notes worth INR 400,000 from Irpa.

CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a timber depot at a forest and blocked a road in Gadchiroli District. They (Maoists) blocked the Sironcha-Alapalli road by placing some tree trunks, thus disrupting the vehicular movement.

Delhi University Professor, G N Saibaba and four others were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by Gadchiroli Sessions Court, for their links with CPI-Maoist cadres. The wheelchair-bound English teacher of Ram Lal Anand College in New Delhi, Saibaba (47), with 90 per cent disability, was arrested in May 2014 from his home in Delhi by Maharashtra Police's ANO unit. The court also sentenced to life JNU student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi, Mahesh Tirki, Pandu Narote.

As many as 474 civilians have been killed in Naxal violence in Gadchiroli District since 1982, Maharashtra Police issued a statement giving the statistics. According to the statement, the total number of civilian deaths in Naxal violence till now stood at 474. Also, 312 citizens were injured. As many as 191 Policemen were martyred in line of duty and 511 injured in the Naxal-affected District. Similarly, Government property worth INR 107,030,299 was destroyed, while loss of private assets stood at INR 185,007,016.

A tribal, Lalsu Kundi Atram, was killed by a group of CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. The CPI-Maoist cadres alleged him to be a 'Police informer'. He was abducted from his Bejur village under the Bhamragad Division. According to Police statistics, Atram is the fifth civilian victim of Maoist violence in 2017. The tally for 2016 was 19.

Gadchiroli District will become the first Naxal affected tribal District to have CCTVs in around 25 villages for surveillance on Naxalites. These cameras would make the images of the remote places - from Kamlapur in Aheri taluka to Hedri in Etapalli taluka - available at the local Police Station as well as District Police control room at Gadchiroli, more than 100 kms away. In the first phase, the more sensitive south Gadchiroli is being covered, with distant villages like Challewada, Kodselgudam, Tarigudam and a few more already connected.

The Gadchiroli Police and Chhattisgarh Police in a joint operation arrested three women cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Sandra village in Gadchiroli District. They have been identified as Maini alias Jimo unga Lati (32), Sarita alias Mule Katta Madkam (23) and Pakli alias Kari Budhu Gade (28).

A Police operation was stopped abruptly to save the life of a seven-year-old boy, whose father is 'deputy commander' of Tippagarh Dalam of the CPI-Maoist, in north Gadchiroli District. The SFs, led by SDPO, Dhanora Division, Ajit Tike, ensured that the boy, who suffers from sickle cell, was shifted from the remote Markegaon village near Chhattisgarh border to Gadchiroli District.

A SF Personnel was killed and 19 jawans of Gadchiroli District Police and the 37 battalion of CRPF sustained injuries in two separate incidents under Bhamragarh Taluka in Gadchiroli District. In first incident, two jawans of Gadchiroli Police were injured and one CRPF constable was killed during an exchange of fire with CPI-Maoist cadres in the Koparshi-Pulnar jungle near Koti in Bhamragarh. Later, one of them succumbed to injuries.

A MPV of the C-60 Commandos came under a landmine attack by CPI-Maoist cadres near Kier village injuring at least nine SF personnel. According to Police, the Area Rakshak Dal and Gram Rakshak Dal of the CPI-Maoist triggered the blast by completing the circuit of explosives planted earlier.

The C-60 squad of the Gadchiroli Police arrested three Tendu leaves contractors (leaves which are used in making beedis) with INR 17.6 million when they (contractors) were on their way to hand over cash to the CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. The contractors were identified as Pahadia Tulsiram Tampla (35), Ravi Malya Tankam (45) and Nagraj Samya Putta (37).

Surrendered cadre of the CPI-Maoist, Podiam Panda, in Gadchiroli District revealed that CPI-Maoist cadres celebrated the killing of CRPF jawans with drums and Nagadas. He also told that the preparation was on for a month.

A joint operation force had cornered Maoists in the forest near Darbha village, which is also located in Bhairamgarh tehsil in Gadchiroli District. Dhondraj Police party and CRPF were engaged in the encounter with Maoists who had come to Darbha village for holding a meeting. The exchange of fire took place as the Maoists were busy addressing the villagers. The Maoists however managed to sneak out of the place.

SOS of Gadchiroli Police raided a camp of the CPI-Maoist in the forest of Karkewada on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Bhairamgarh tehsil in Gadchiroli District. The Police recovered substantial literature, medical kits, materials of daily use and such other things belonging to the Maoists. An encounter had ensued in Karkewada where around 25 Maoists were camping. Though there was no casualty reported from either side, Police claimed that they found blood stains on the ground where the Maoists had taken position. This suggested injuries to the Maoists.

Maharashtra Police claimed to have recovered a weapon and some CPI-Maoist material after an encounter with the Maoists in Gadchiroli District. The encounter had taken place in Karwafa forest of Jarawandi area of Gadchiroli.

Gadchiroli Police seized a cache of bomb detonators and other items, a hidden by the cadres of CPI-Maoist, at Kurkheda, Nadikal forests in Gadchiroli District. The explosives and other items were kept in a plastic water tank buried in the ground.

A CPI-Maoist cadre with a reward of INR 1.6 million on his head was arrested by Police in Gadchiroli District. Pawan alias Soma Phoda Weladi (35), resident of Parsengdi, Chhattisgarh, was arrested on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. A press release by the SP, Gadchiroli, said Pawan was a member of Gariabandh divisional committee of Maoists, and was involved in several acts of violence in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in the last 20 years. He had also worked as a bodyguard for senior Naxal leaders, the release said.

Five cadres of the CPI-Maoist surrendered to the police in Gadchiroli District. The surrendered cadres are CPI-Maoist platoon number 14 members identified as Jairam Gawade and Deve Pungati, 'mass team' members Sushila Pungati and Anil Gawade, and Bhamaragad Dalam member Kamlesh Telami. The Maoists included two married couples. "Sushila Pungati is married to Anil Gawade and Deve Pungati is married to Jairam Gawade.

A woman CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter with the Police near Ranwahi village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The encounter happened when the Police had descended on the Ranwahi forest following an intelligence input. "During the search operation, Maoists suddenly opened fire on the police. The police retaliated. After a while the Maoists, feeling the pressure, decamped. A woman Naxalite was found dead on the spot from where the police have also recovered a rifle and a lot of other material," a press note issued by Gadchiroli Police said. The identity of the Naxalite is yet to be established.

Two women CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an anti-Naxal operation in Yengao forest area in Gadchiroli District. A Police team conducting an anti-Naxal operation in Yengao forest came under attack from the Maoists and in the subsequent exchange of fire that followed, two women Maoists were killed. Identity of the slain cadres was yet to be established, Police said. Ration items, including rice and oil, besides a cache of torches and batteries and large amount of weapons were recovered from the site, Police added.

Mangru Portet (48), an 'area committee member' of Aheri Dalam of the CPI-Maoist, was killed during an encounter with C-60 commandos in the forest of Kopewancha near Rajaram Khanla village under Aheri taluka in Gadchiroli District. A press release issued by the Gadchiroli Police stated, during a heavy exchange of fire, the Police team gunned down one Naxalite, identified as Mangru alias Ram Chinna Portet, while others managed to flee the spot. A 12 bore gun and some Naxal literature were also recovered from the spot, said the release. Portet, engaged in the movement for more than two decades, having more than 40 offences against him, had a reward of INR 600,000 on his head. Portet was shifted to Aheri a couple of years ago by the senior brass of rebels so that he can strengthen the base of the party in his home taluka. Gadchiroli DIG, Ankush Shinde said the Naxalites had gathered at the forest between Rajaram Khanla and Damrancha to hold a meeting. "It was their temporary camping site which was raided by the C-60 commandos following concrete information. We feel that more Naxalites could be injured during the exchange of fire," DIG Shinde added.

The villagers of Markegaon village on Gyrapatti-Sawargaon road in Gadchiroli District protested and even burnt the pamphlets and banners of the CPI-Maoist. The official also said that for the last eight years, peoples' approach towards Maoists has changed.

The Maharashtra Police busted a CPI-Maoist camp in Gadchiroli District and recovered weapons and horses. "A special team headed by ASP (operations), Maheshwar Reddy launched an anti-Maoist operation in Abujhmad on the border of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. The encounter near Tundewra and Kupnar village forced the Maoists to flee leaving behind weapons and six horses. Six weapons and other material of daily use were also recovered at the camp site," said the Gadchiroli SP, in a release. This was the first time when horses were found in a Maoist camp. "Senior Maoist leaders like Bhupathi operate in Abujhmad and the horses may have been used for senior leaders," the release added. Senior central committee leader Sonu Bhupati is chief of Dandakaranya range falling in areas of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Police also seized three Bharmar (Muzzle loading) guns, items of daily use, and some Naxal literature from the spot.

The interstate crime conference, discontinued towards the end of last decade, is set to resume as Nagpur Police are taking initiative to organize a mega one-day brainstorming sessions on crime, terrorism and Naxalism. The meeting is schedule to happen on August 28. Officers of the ranks of SP and above from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha, are expected to attend the conference.

A CPI-Maoist leader with a reward of INR 250,000 on his head surrendered before the Police in Gadchiroli District. Gomaji aka Arsu Chaitu Jetti, surrendered before the SP, Gadchiroli.

Maharashtra Police came up with an intense counter-propaganda campaign, in which the 'Police informers' will be rewarded from INR 200,000 to INR 10 million for those giving credible information leading to arrest or encounter of the CPI-Maoist leaders. Maharashtra Police have published advertisements in newspapers to announce the reward scheme. As per the scheme, person(s) giving credible information leading to arrest or encounter of Ganapathy, General Secretary of CPI-Maoist or the Supreme Commander of the Maoists in India, will get a hefty reward of INR 10 million.

Maharashtra Government has decided to buy a new helicopter for anti-Naxal operations. The new chopper will be used for anti-Naxal campaign in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur Districts and also as an air ambulance, told an official from the Chief Minister's Office. At present, the Government has been spending about INR 200 million annually to hire helicopters for Naxal affected areas of Vidarbha.

One Policeman was seriously injured in a CPI-Maoist attack in Korchi division in Gadchiroli District. The Maoists opened fire at Police Constables Manit Harami and Ashish Madavi who were in plain clothes and were travelling to Korchi from Kotgul village on a motorcycle. Madavi was injured in the firing by the Maoists.

The Police killed a woman cadre of the CPI-Maoist, during an encounter in Gadchiroli District. A team of District Police was attacked by the Maoists near Bhendikanhar forest in Pendhari sub-division of Gadchiroli who had taken a position in the forest and opened indiscriminate firing on the Police team. In the ensuing encounter one woman Maoist was killed and rest of the Maoists fled from the spot taking advantage of thick forest. After the encounter, the Police team recovered the body of the woman Maoist along with a weapon, ammunition and Maoist literature from the spot. The woman cadre is yet to be identified.

Hem Mishra, who was convicted by the Gadchiroli District court in March 2017, for his links with cadres of the CPI-Maoist, has been shifted from Nashik jail to Kolhapur jail due to security concerns. The move follows intelligence inputs from the State (Maharashtra) ATS about increased `Maoist movement' around Nashik.

The Mumbai Police is believed to have identified a Naxal link to a well-entrenched marijuana trafficking operation. Officers in the Mumbai Police claimed that they have identified a Naxal "levy manager" who uses the proceeds from the sale of marijuana to fund Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The manager, identified as Narayan Sahu, is still at large, but the ANC arrested his compatriots -- Indrapradhan Laddukishor, Prashant Jena, Kalia Prakash and Narayan Dhanurjay - from Kalyan on September 23 and seized 28 Kilogram of marijuana in their possession. The Police said that Sahu, along with Indrapradhan, was in charge of collection of funds, mostly from cities such as Mumbai. He directed the movement of marijuana from the Naxal-controlled Districts of Malkangiri, Ganjam and Gajapati, in southern Odisha, into Mumbai. Indrapradhan, in turn, arranged for the necessary "human resource requirements" at the delivery end. "Both Indrapradhan and Sahu ensured the supply chain links remained intact until the consignments reached designated targets," said a police officer. Police officials are working out leads to establish if Sahu is related to an active Naxal who is part of the "unofficial administration" responsible for collection and levying of "taxes" on the AOB. According to the Police, Naxals "supervise the cultivation" of marijuana on the AOB.

The ninth Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Lecture to mark 50 years of the 'Naxalbari uprising' was conducted at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in Mumbai. The public lecture series is conducted every year in honour of Anuradha Ghandy, who died of cerebral malaria in 2008 while working with tribal women in Jharkhand, also one of the founders of the CPI-ML. The event features various speakers - often intellectuals and activists from the Left - to speak on socially relevant issues. This year, to mark the half-centenary of the revolutionary Naxalite movement, the lecture was attended by revolutionary poet and writer Vara Vara Rao from Andhra Pradesh and Left-Wing leader Tilak Dasgupta from West Bengal. "Nowhere else in the world will you find a continued class struggle that has lasted so many years," Vara Vara Rao said, speaking at the memorial lecture, while, writer Tilak Dasgupta described the 50-year-old Naxal movement as one that is about the revolutionary seizure of power by the people, and a movement that has brought peasants, workers, Dalits and Adivasis to the forefront of the political arena, as independent actors.

Terming it a successful weapon against the Naxalites, the Maharashtra Government extended its policy facilitating surrender by the Naxalites for two years. The State Home Department recently approved extension of the 'Aatmasamarpan' (surrender) scheme for Naxalites till August 28, 2019. Satish Mathur, the State DGP, had submitted a proposal to this effect in June. Following Mathur's proposal, the Home Department recently issued a Government Resolution (GR) extending the scheme. The GR noted that the policy has proved to be a successful weapon against Naxalites in the Gadchiroli and Gondia Districts of the State. The Naxal surrender scheme was introduced in 2005 with the aim of rehabilitating and absorbing the ultras in the mainstream of society. The scheme was re-launched with some changes in April 2013. Since then the scheme has been very effective in curbing the influence of Naxals, the official said.

A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter with the Gadchiroli Police in Bhamragadh tehsil in the Gadchiroli District on October 2, according to a press release issued by the Police. "An encounter ensued between the police and the Naxals in the forest near Kothi village in Bhamragadh tehsil close to the border of Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh on October 2 between 4.30 and 5,00 pm. The Naxalites fled after the police built intense pressure through retaliatory firing. A search of the spot after the incident revealed the body of a Naxalite, whose identity is yet to be established," the press note said. It also added, "The search also revealed one SLR gun, one air gun, a mobile phone, blasting material and Naxal literature."

A tribal woman, identified as Jaini Parsa, sustained bullet injury after Maoists tried to attack her husband at Laheritola in Bhamragarh tehsil in Gadchiroli District. The rebels had come to her place to eliminate her husband when Jaini had put up a resistance shielding her husband. After she had raised an alarm, the Maoists learnt to have fled from the place.

One Sunil Pawar, a former supporter of the CPI-Maoist, was shot dead at a market at Jhadapapda, which is located around eight kilometers from Pendhri in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District. Two more persons, Sadaram Thakur and Ravindra Kusram, sustained injuries as the Maoists, in civil attires, opened fire at them. Gadchiroli Police said Chatgaon Area committee of the CPI-Maoist outfit has claimed in a pamphlet that they had targeted Pawar as he was helping the Police since 2007. The Maoists have also claimed to have warned Pawar several times. Police said Pawar, requesting for pardoning, had initially tried to flee but was later shot on head from close quarters.

The CPI-Maoist cadres have killed a villager suspecting him to be a 'Police informer' in Sodegaon under Dhanora Tehsil in Gadchiroli District. According to report, the Maoists entered the house of one Suresh Tofa woke him up from the sleep and took him outside the house. Soon after this the Maoists killed him with an axe. The Maoists suspected Suresh was a 'Police informer' and had been informing the Police about their movements. After killing Suresh the Maoists put up as banner in the village which read Suresh as 'informer' and further stated that the persons informing Police will punished in a similar manner.

A Policeman on duty was killed and a policewoman seriously injured when suspected CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a blast in a bustling market place in Gadchiroli District. The incident occurred when the two were on security duty in Kotgul village of Kurkheda region as the weekly market was in full swing with participation of hundreds of tribals and traders from surrounding areas. Suddenly, an IED triggered off by the Maoists exploded, seriously injuring the two security officials, Suresh Gawde and Sonal Khevale, standing close by. While, Gawde succumbed to his injuries Khevale's condition is reported to be stable.

A CRPF jawan, identified as Manjunath Shivaligappa was killed and two others were injured during an encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres in Padiyalmetta forest under Gyarapatti Police Station limits of Gadchiroli District. Three CRPF jawans - Deepak Sharma, Lokesh Kumar and Manjunath Shivaligappa - sustained serious injuries during an encounter which took place when the 113th battalion of the CRPF was carrying out a joint anti-Maoist operation. Later, Shivaligappa succumbed to his injuries.

A sudden surge in Naxal activities in Gadchiroli District, during last ten days, which has resulted in killing of seven persons, including two Policemen, and injuring five others, has prompted top Police Officials to camp and monitor counter-insurgency operations. ADGP, Operations, D Kanakratnam; SIGP, Anti-Naxal Operations, Sharad Shelar; and DIGP, Gadchiroli Range, Ankush Shinde; rushed to Gadchiroli and visited many remote Police outposts, around which recent incidents of Naxal violence were reported. 100 personnel from CoBRA of the CRPF battalion were called from Jagdalpur. The Police have launched intensive combing operation and visited many remote posts in Dhanora and Bhamragad tehsils, said Sharad Shelar, SIGP, Anti-Naxal Operations.

Seven cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including five women cadres, were killed in an encounter with the commandos from the ANS, C-60 of the Maharashtra Police, near Kalled village, 15 kilometres north of Zinganoor Police Station in the Sironcha tehsil of Gadchiroli District. Bodies of the seven uniformed Maoists, along with two SLR rifles, two .303 rifles, two 12 bore guns and one country-made pistol, were recovered from the encounter spot. The deceased CPI-Maoist cadres were identified as Aheri area 'dalam commander' Ashok Pendam aka Aaytu, (34), resident of Lingampalli in Gadchiroli, who carried a head money of INR 800,000; Sironcha 'area assistant commander'; Sunita Kodape and 'assistant commander' Chandu from the Aheri area, both of whom carried rewards of INR 600,000 each; Sarita Kavande from Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, Shaila Pokur from Bhamragarh area in Gadchiroli, and Akhila Kulmethe from Aheri, each with a reward of INR 200,000 on their heads. The identity of one remaining cadre is yet to be ascertained.

Two cadres of CPI-Maoist, identified as Kamla Gavle and Nagesh Madavi, surrendered before the Gadchiroli Police and officers from the Anti-Naxal Operations of Maharashtra Police in Gadchiroli District. Both of them had joined CPI-Maoist since 2011 and were involved in various cases in border areas of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Each of them carried a reward of INR 2, 00,000 on them. According to the report, in 2017 around 19 CPI-Maoist cadres have surrendered, which included some top 'commanders' of PLGA.

An unidentified CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter in the forest between Kamasur and Yelaram hamlets in Sironcha Taluka in Gadchiroli District. The Gadchiroli Police have claimed his body is the eighth retrieved after the encounter near Kalled village, around 12 kilometres from Kamasur, where seven Maoists were killed on December 6. Ankush Shinde, DIG of Police, said the Dechlipetha sub-Police Station and Jimulgatta QRT conducted an intelligence-based operation following which the body was recovered. Gadchiroli, SP, Abhinav Deshmukh said the deceased Naxalite probably belonged to any of the formations of Platoon 14, or LOS of Sironcha, Perimili and Aheri who were present near Kalled. "The firing lasted for around 15 minutes. We have recovered a .303 rifle, a few live rounds and some regular material for daily use," said Deshmukh. The identity of the slain Naxalites is yet to be confirmed, said Deshmukh.

The SFs ensured that the Naxal Bharat bandh call turns out to be a damp squib. The week was observed by the Naxalites between December 6 and 12.

Cadres of CPI-Maoist killed Madhukar Chinna Atram, suspecting him to be a 'Police informer' at Hindbhati village under Etapalli Tehsil in Gadchiroli District.

Maoists have called for a Tehsil Bandh in Aheri and Sironcha Tehsil of south Gadchiroli. CPI-Maoist Pamphlets and letters with a message by cadres were circulated calling for a Bandh on December 20, to protest against encounter on December 6 and reported abduction of CPI-Maoist cadres by Gadchiroli Police.