Incidents involving Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) 2008

Andhra Pradesh

January 2: Three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as ‘district committee member Gunaganti Yadaiah alias Shyam (carrying head money of INR 300000), Nakka Raju alias Shekar and Boddu Kishtamma alias Shoba, both dalam (squad) members carrying head money of INR 20000 each, surrendered along with their weapons before the Superintendent of Police, Charu Sinha, at Mahabubnagar district headquarters. All the three extremists were accused of killing the Amangal mandal (administrative division) parishad president, R. Panthu Naik, in the district. Shyam was also reportedly involved in over 33 crimes, including the killing of Maktal Member of Legislative Assembly Chittem Narsi Reddy.

January 4: A squad member of the CPI-Maoist, identified as D. Srinu alias Vikram, who planned to extort INR One milion from businessmen in the Rangareddy district was arrested from Vanasthalipuram locality in the capital city of Hyderabad. Cyberabad Police Commissioner, S. Prabhakar Reddy, told that Srinu had earlier collected INR 10,000 from the businessman in Vanasthalipuram in December 2007. He approached the same businessman again with a fresh demand for INR One million but was caught by the police. The police also recovered an AK-47 rifle with 50 bullets from his possession.

January 8: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed D. Ramaswamy, a leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) party, at Baavurugonda village in the Koththaguda mandal of Warangal district. The group of Maoists was led by Yellandu-Koththagudem area committee secretary Marri Ravi alias Sudhakar. The insurgents also left a letter in the name of Sudhakar alleging that Ramaswamy was responsible for the encounters in the Koththaguda agency area.

January 9: The Devarakonda police unearthed a dump reportedly planted by the CPI-Maoist near a remote Kambalapally village in the Nalgonda district and recovered two plastic drums. "There are about 50 books in one of the drums," said the Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Srinivas. Apart from 125 electric detonators, a grenade launcher, about twenty four .22 bullets, a plastic cover, eight pairs of shoes, revolutionary literature was also recovered in the dump.

January 10: In a joint statement, the CPI-Maoist ‘North Telangana Special Zone Committee’ secretary, Chandranna, and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) Janashakthi group, "Godavari Valley Area Committee" secretary, Bharat, criticized the Congress Party for its decision to constitute a second States’ Reorganisation Commission (SRC). They accused the Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) of working for the interests of the rich people from Andhra Pradesh.

January 11: Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist set ablaze a road construction machinery between Vanpalli and Garjanapalli villages of Yellareddypet mandal in the Karimnagar district.

Ramagundam police arrested two Maoist cadres and recovered a tapancha (country made fire arm) from their possession in the Karimnagar district.

January 13: A CPI-Maoist couple, identified as Thalandi Motiram alias Akash, a former deputy commander of Mangi dalam, and his wife Shaikh Haseena alias Saroja, also a former member of the same dalam, surrendered to the Adilabad district police. The Maoist couple, carrying a reward of INR 10000, were involved in nine and three cases respectively and citied health reasons and disillusionment with party ideology for surrendering. Motiram had joined the extremist outfit on October 2001 as Mangi dalam member and was a member of the North Telangana Special Zone Committee, till 2004. Later he worked as commander of a special guerrilla squad till 2006. Haseena joined the Mangi dalam on 2005. At present they were working in Dandakaranya area in Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh State since December 2006.

A deputy commander of Galikonda platoon of the CPI-Maoist, identified as P. Chinnabbai alias Ramakrishna, surrendered before the East Godavari Superintendent of Police B. Sreenivasulu at Kakinada. Ramakrishna, a native of Cheedigunta village of G.K. Veedhi mandal in the Visakhapatnam district, had joined the outfit in 2002 as a courier.

January 14: Five CPI-Maoist cadres of the Galikonda dalam, including three women, surrendered before the Superintendent of Police Akun Sabharwal in Visakhapatnam. The three were identified as G. Mohan Rao alias Jambri, a commander in the Galikonda Platoon and his wife Korra Kavitha alias Kamala, an area committee member, Korra Lakshmi, Korra Bonju Babu, and Vanthala Balamma, a militia member.

January 15: A Maoist couple was killed in an exchange of fire with the police in a forest area in the Govindraopet sub-division of Warangal district. The slain extremists were identified as Satayya alias Suresh Anna, Secretary of Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam district units of the CPI-ML Praja Pratighatna group, and his wife Rani, who was a commander of the party's armed squad. The police recovered a spring loading rifle, a pistol and two kit bags from them.

January 17: Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the police in Buruguvada village of Vararamachandrapuram sub-division in Khammam district. The deceased extremists were identified as Aithu alias Bhagat, 25, and Madakam Kosa, 26. They were suspected to be the commander and deputy commander, respectively, of the Bhadrachalam local organisational squad.

An activist of the ruling Congress party, Payam Lakhmaiah, was stabbed to death by CPI-Maoist cadres in the Sampathnagar village of Khammam district. The police said that a six-member action team of the CPI-Maoist from Kothaguda (Warangal district) struck at his house at 10 p.m. and killed him in the presence of his family members. Extremists of the Sudhakar dalam, which is said to have carried out the killing also left behind a letter branding him a police informer.

January 18: A civilian, Samireddy Ganeshwar Rao of Beram village, was hacked to death by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Pulumamidi village in the G. Madugula sub-division of Visakhapatnam district. In a letter found near Rao’s body, the Maoists held him responsible for the Amidela police encounter (September 24, 2007) wherein four Maoists were killed.

Police arrested three extremists working for the Sudhakar dalam of the CPI-Maoist in the Yellandu area in the Khammam district. They were identified as Punem Narasimha, Menchu Mallaiah and Joga Rama Rao.

January 19: The Hindu reported that the CPI-Maoist, as part of a major redeployment exercise, has drafted cadres from the neighbouring State of Chhattisgarh for stepping up its presence in its strategically important strongholds of Khammam district. Members trained in guerrilla warfare were deputed in large numbers to the region and a majority of them were closely associated with the operations spearheaded by Maoist squads in the Bhadrachalam and Yellandu areas. Members from Chhattisgarh have joined the Sabari area committee operating in the Bhadrachalam division.

January 21: A CPI-Maoist ‘deputy commander’, Korra Rama Rao alias Manoj, surrendered before the Visakhapatnam district Superintendent of Police Akun Sabharwal. Rao joined as a member of the Galikonda special dalam in 2002 and gradually rose to the position of ‘deputy commander’ of Palakajeedi dalam. He was shifted as ‘deputy commander’ of Galikonda platoon, after the Palakajeedi dalam was banned. He was involved in more than 10 exchanges of fire with the police and a murder at Peddavalasa.

January 22: Maoists called for building a militant movement for achieving statehood for the Telangana region. In a statement issued, the CPI-Maoist spokesman in Andhra Pradesh, Janardhan, said political leaders from the Telangana region were now being forced to speak in favour of carving out a separate State in view of the growing aspirations among the people of Telangana region.

January 26: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead three persons, accusing them of being police informers, at Borlagunda village in the Karimnagar district. According to the police, a group of 15 Maoists entered the village at around 2 am (IST), picked up the three from their homes and gunned them down. The three had been associated with the Maoist outfit in the past.

January 29: According to a statement issued by the District Police, Muvvala Vannama alias Vara, a 20-year old member of the Galikonda dalam of the CPI-Maoist surrendered to the G.K. Veedhi Police in Visakhapatnam district. A native of Pedapadu village of G.K. Veedhi sub-division, she joined the squad in 2005 and worked for about one-and-a-half years in it.

January 30: Guntur district police recovered arms and ammunition from two dumps belonging to the CPI-Maoist at Bollapalli and Papayapalem reserve forest areas. The seizure included two .303 rifles, a .38 rifle, .8 mm rifle, country made revolver, a S.B.B.L gun, revolver rounds and .38 rifle spare magazines. Police also recovered two landmines weighing 10 kilograms and three kilograms respectively, and 100 books of revolutionary literature.

February 2: The CPI-Maoist Central Committee member Lanka Papi Reddy Ranganna surrendered before the State Home Minister K. Jana Reddy in the Hyderabad Secretariat. Papi Reddy served the banned outfit in various capacities in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh before being made in-charge of Haryana, a position he held till the surrender.

February 3: A CPI-Maoist cadre identified as Thummala Bhagavanthu alias Narsimha was arrested in Mahabubnagar district. A 303 rifle, 55 live rounds and INR 20,000 in cash were recovered from his possession. Narsimha was the ‘commander’ of Kalwakurthy dalam and was active in the Nallamala forest. He had joined the naxal movement in 1989 and was involved in over 90 offences, including murders, police sources said.

February 5: Three CPI-Maoist cadres from Chhattisgarh were arrested by the police in the Kothagudem area. The arrested included ‘commander of the Konta platoon Section –C’ Madakam Posa alias Ganga, the dalam members Deva and Sanna. Unspecified quantity of explosives were seized from them.

February 6: The CPI-Maoist ‘Protection platoon commander’ of North Telangana special zone committee (NTSZC) Ambir Kistaiah alias Krishna and his wife and NTSZC special guerrilla squad ‘deputy commander’ Alam Laxmi alias Sumalatha surrendered before Superintendent of Police Y. Gangadhar in the presence of OSD Harikrishna in Karimnagar. Kistaiah was involved in the Asarelli police station attack in Maharashtra in 2000 and where he took away 20 SLRs, four .303 rifles, one revolver. He revealed that the Maoists are planning to comeback with a vengeance in its erstwhile stronghold of Dandakaranya in the north Telangana region by committing major offences to make their presence felt. The protection platoon of NTSZC is moving in groups of 25 to 30 members to commit a major offence and regain their lost ground. Later, the platoon committee members would split into smaller groups and move separately to commit offences on individual targets. He also said that the NTSZC meeting was held in November 2007 and it discussed about the economic support and strengthening of the dalams. He said that there were about 50 Maoists in entire NTSZC including 28 in KKW (Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal districts).

February 14: A cadre of the CPI-Maoist was killed during an encounter with a police party at Lovavalasa in the Vizianagaram district. He was identified as Rukdar alias Sudheer, the Malkangiri divisional committee member in Orissa. According to police sources, rest of the Maoists belonging to the Koraput dalam managed to escape from the incident site.

February 22: Police neutralized a CPI-Maoist arms dump at the Reddypalem forest area in Karampudi police station limits of Guntur district. The recovery was done on the basis of information provided by some of the arrested Maoists. The recovered arms included 10 claymore mines, four country made grenades and piped grenades, 50 detonators, a .303 rifle and a tapancha (country made fire arm) and some revolutionary books.

February 28: Seven CPI-Maoist cadres including some teenagers surrendered in the Visakhapatnam district.

A teenaged female cadre of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Gundu Uppamma alias Radhakka, surrendered before the Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar at the district headquarters in Nalgonda.

Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed an activist of the ruling Congress party, identified as G. Prakash, in the outskirts of Baleru village in the Srikakulam district. The extremists also left a letter stating that Prakash was killed because he was working as a police informer in the village.

March 1: CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze teakwood worth INR two million at Pusuguppa village in the Cherla mandal of Khammam district. Some non-tribals in the name of tribals had taken permission from the Forest Department and cut down teakwood trees. Having learnt that the non-tribals were trying to enjoy the forest produce, the Maoists set the wood on fire.

March 5: Five Maoists, including three ‘commanders’ and a cadre of the CPI-Maoist and a ‘zonal committee secretary’ of the Prathighatana group, surrendered to the district police at Warangal in the presence of Superintendent of Police Soumya Mishra. The surrendered included Kukunoor Local Organising Squad (LOS) ‘commander’, P. Sammaiah alias Naveen (carrying a head money of INR 200000) and his wife M. Pushpa, Narsampet LOS ‘commander’ Kadari Bhaskar alias Ramesh, and ‘commander’ P. Lakshmi alias Pushpa of the CPI-Maoist and Peddapalli zonal committee secretary of the Prathighatana group, K. Chinni Krishna alias Anil.

March 10: The CPI-Maoist and the Janashakti group of the naxalites called for a State-wide bandh (general strike) on March 14, protesting against the visit of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi to the State. A joint statement whose signatories were Chandranna, Maoist North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC) secretary, and Bharath, secretary of the Janashakti Godavari Valley Regional Committee, branded Sonia Gandhi an "American agent" and called upon people to observe bandh to protest against her visit. The statement also blamed the ruling Congress party for not taking up any developmental projects for Telangana region and for abandoning its promise of forming a separate State.

March 11: Two CPI-Maoist cadres, including a member of the Andhra Pradesh- Orissa Border (AOB) Special Zone Committee identified as Chokkari Gangaram alias Jagabandhu alias Kommu, were killed in an exchange of fire with police between Kedaripuram and Elvispeta under Elvispeta police station limits of Vizianagaram district.

March 12: G. Sampath, a cadre of the CPI-Maoist, was killed in an encounter with the police personnel near Peddavagu between Nimmagudem and Pegadapalli villages in the Karimnagar district. He has been identified as a key action team member of the Mahadevpur area.

March 16: Four suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a former coal mine worker identified as Pittala Sankaraiah, at his home in the Kanagarthi village of Peddapalli mandal in the Karimnagar district. The son of the slain person had also been killed by the Maoists on suspicion of the former being a police informer.

March 19: A CPI-Maoist deputy commander, Dasarapu Radha alias Swapna, carrying a head money of INR 50,000 surrendered before the police in the Warangal district. Superintendent of Police (SP) Soumya Mishra said that Radha hailing from Ramakrishnapur in the Chityal mandal had joined the Chityal dalam in 2003 and worked with top Maoist leaders such as Chettiraja Papaiah alias Somanna and D.V.K. Swamy alias Yadanna. She was working with the newly formed Chennur squad in Adilabad district since 2007.

March 24: A bandh called by the CPI-Maoist in the Visakha agency to protest the killing of its cadres in police encounters in the recent past, partially affected general life in some places and failed to evoke a response in some other areas. State run bus services to interior areas were suspended. In areas including Paderu, Hukumpeta and Dumbriguda mandals, shops were closed. However, in Chintapalli and the tourism centre of Araku Valley, the strike had no impact.

Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zone Committee East Division Action Team Commander and Galikonda Platoon ‘A’ section member Velusuri Srinivas alias Prasad alias Chinni Vijay (22) surrendered before the East Godavari district Superintendent of Police B. Srinivasulu.

March 25: CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a bomb blast at the Gumada Railway station in the Vizianagaram district. A group of seven Maoists, including three women, planted gelatin sticks at the station after forcing the railway staff on night duty to come out from the station. The signal system was badly damaged due to the blast and traffic between Vizianagaram and Orissa was disrupted following the explosion.

March 29: Kursinge Kousalya Bai alias Kamalakka, a CPI-Maoist woman cadre, surrendered before the Adilabad district police. Kamalakka hails from Lothera in the Jannaram mandal and had participated in the attack on a police camp at Rani-Bodli in the Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh in which 55 policemen were killed.

April 2: A senior CPI-Maoist leader, identified as Gajerla Saraiah a.k.a. Azad a.k.a. Bhaskar, was killed in an encounter with the police near Kanthanpalli in the Rampur forest area of Warangal district. Azad’s wife and another Maoist B. Aruna alias Rama too were killed during the encounter. Azad was a central committee member of the outfit and was in-charge of its central military commission. Four Maoists, however, managed to escape from the incident site fro where a pistol, a revolver, one 30 mm carbine and three kitbags were recovered.

The Eturu Nagaram Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) ‘commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, Purushotham Tirupathi alias Naresh, surrendered before the Karimnagar district Superintendent of Police Y. Gangadhar. Purushotham, a native of Nandi Medaram village, joined the Maoist group in 2001 and had worked in the Peddapalli dalam and Eturu Nagaram dalam before being promoted as dalam ‘commander’ of Eturu Nagaram LGS in 2005. He was involved in five exchanges of fire and four murders.

April 12: The lone woman member of the CPI-Maoist Central Committee, 54-year old Anuradha Ghandy, also known as Narmada and Rama, died of cerebral malaria, a release by the outfit’s Central Committee spokesman Azad said. Anuradha had joined the Naxalites in the early 1970s and was the founding member of the CPI-ML in Maharashtra. She also served as a member of the Vidarbha regional committee and the Maharashtra State Committee and was elected to the Central Committee of the CPI-Maoist in January 2007.

April 25: Two CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested at Kinchuru in Peda Bayalu mandal in the Visakhapatnam district. Identified as Vandalam Chinna (20) and Poibu Machi Raju (22), the arrested Maoists were planning to plant two land mines. Two land mines and some quantity of explosives were seized from them.

April 29: CPI-Maoist State committee member, M.A. Srinivasan, surrendered before the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission. Haling from the Sangareddy district, Srinivasan had joined the left-wing extremist movement in 1985 and was operating in north India since 1993.

May 2: CPI-Maoist Maddedu divisional committee member of the Dandakaranya region, Velpula Rajesh Kumar alias Tirupati and area committee member, local organizing squad (LOS) commander and his wife Chunchu Rama Devi alias Sharada surrendered before Karimnagar Superintendent of Police Y Gangadhar. Tirupati, a native of Khammampalli in Manthani Mutharam mandal of former Assembly Speaker D. Sripada Rao at Dubbalapadu in Manthani division of Karimnagar district. He had joined the left-wing extremism in 1993 as dalam member.

May 5: Five CPI-Maoist cadres surrendered in Warangal. They were identified as Khammam district committee member CP Koppula Bathakaiah alias Naveen of Tadvai mandal, Chennur Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) commander, Dudapaka Sampath alias Kondanna of Chityal, Chilpur LGS commander Velmala Bhemavva alias Nirmala of Khanapur in Adilabad, and Khammam district committee member Vajja Samba Rao alias Ashok of Govindraopet mandal.

May 11: The CPI-Maoist claimed to have killed Gabba Chander Rao, one of the two tribal youths abducted from the Tippapuram village in Charla mandal in the Khammam district. A statement issued by the outfit said that it was forced to punish him for his covert operation which resulted in the killing of 14 leaders and activists of the outfit and four civilians in an encounter at Kanchala in the Pamedu area of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on March 18.

May 19: Four persons, including a sarpanch (head of village level self-government institution) were abducted by cadres of the CPI-Maoist cadres from tribal villages in the Bhadrachalam division of Khammam district. The sub-divisional police officer of Bhadrachalam, Shashidhar Raj, said that Khanithi Narsaiah, sarpanch of Kurnavalli village, Karam Kannaiah from Erraboru village and Sunnam Venkat Rao and Sunnam Rambabu from Bathinapalli village were taken away from their home by the Maoists at around midnight. Unofficial sources, however, maintained that the total number of abducted persons was 11 and they were abducted by Maoist dalams which came from the neighbouring forests pockets of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh.

May 29: A Police constable was killed and three others were injured when the Maoists opened fire on a Police party consisting of anti-Maoist Greyhounds personnel in the Gudem Kotha Veedhi mandal on the Andhra-Orissa border in Visakhapatnam district. Police said that the Maoists, who triggered a landmine explosion, exchanged fire with the Police party, which was combing the area.

May 30: At least four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the Andhra Pradesh Police near Gunupurai village in the Visakhapatnam district. Among those killed were Jhansi, a woman ‘Dalam (squad) commander’ of the Korukonda area. Unofficial sources said that Police have arrested three more Maoists during the incident. Police sources, however, did not confirm the arrests.

May 31: The Hindu reports that Maoists have imposed a ban on the use of mobile phones in the tribal habitations in the Bhadrachalam division. At some places in these areas, mobile phones have been taken away by the Maoists. In the past one week, an unspecified number of persons have also been abducted by the Maoists from the villages in the vicinity of Charla on the suspicion of being Police informants. They were reportedly assaulted by the Maoists who also robbed them off their mobile phones and motorcycles.

June 1: The Visakhapatnam district Police arrested four CPI-Maoist cadres belonging to the Korukonda dalam at Velamjuni village. Two directional mines and an equal number of grenades and a battery for use in blasting were recovered from their possession.

June 5: CPI-Maoist cadres killed an auto rickshaw driver, Thati Bhaskar, suspecting him to be a Police informer at Pusuguppa, a village close to the Chhattisgarh border in the Khammam district. The killed person was accosted on the village outskirts and taken to the nearby jungle where he was shot dead at a close range. The Khammam district committee of the CPI-Maoist left a letter at the spot owning up the killing.

June 18: A group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres along with about 40 overground workers of the outfit looted the house of Panchayat Sarpanch of Pedabayalu village, Jambu Balaraju of the Congress party, in the Visakhapatnam district. Maoists took away INR 200,000 in cash, gold ornaments, several bags of rice, utensils, DVD player and home theatre and also two cows and 16 goats from the house.

June 22: Maoists killed a trader, Balaram, on suspicion that he was a police informer at Neelavadi village under Parvathipuram police sub-division in the Vizianagaram district.

July 2: CPI-Maoist cadres abducted two tribals from Chennapuram village in Cherla mandal in the Khammam district bordering Chhattisgarh. According to police sources, former sarpanch of Pedamidisileru village N Tirupati and his brother Moteru, both natives of Tippapuram village, had gone went to Chennapuram to attend the marriage of their relatives, from where they were abducted.

CPI-Maoist threatened to step up attacks on the police, especially the elite Greyhounds personnel and leaders of the Congress party, if the police resorted to attacks against people to avenge the Chitrakonda ambush in Orissa which left 35 Greyhounds personnel dead. In a statement issued in Hyderabad, the Maoist spokesman in Andhra Pradesh, Janardhan, said that the statements of Chief Minsiter Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Home Minister K. Jana Reddy on the Chitrakonda incident spoke of the government’s plan to unleash repression and target people believed to be Maoist sympathisers. The spokesperson termed the Chitrakonda ambush as a ‘fitting lesson’ to the Greyhounds personnel who had become a law unto themselves. He further said that the success of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) in carrying out the ambush only proved false the claims that the Maoist movement was wiped out from the State.

July 5: The CPI-Maoist turned down the offer of talks by Home Minister K Jana Reddy after the ambush of the Greyhounds in the Sileru-Balimela reservoir on the Andhra Pradesh-Orissa border recently. The outfit, in a statement on July 5 said that it would not repeat its mistake of parleying with the Government. The statement by the outfit’s central military commission chief Basavraj and central committee spokesperson Azad, said, "We assure the people of AP and India that we will not make the mistake of going in for talks with these double-dealers (Congressmen)."

July 8: One person was killed and another suffered serious injuries after suspected CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire at them at Marikal village in the Mahabubnagar district. The victims, identified as Azeem and Niranjan were attending a function in the village.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian and injured another at Marikal village of Pedda Kothapally mandal in the Mahabubnagar district. Maoists came to the house of a registered medical practitioner, identified as Niranjan, looking for his son-in-law Azim. In the ensuing scuffle, Azim was killed and Niranjan was injured. Over six months back, the Andhra Pradesh Police had declared the district as "Maoist-free".

July 10: Police arrested four CPI-Maoist couriers from the Yellandu town of Khammam district. Vasam Chandraiahm, Vattam Kannaiah, Vepa Ramakrishna and Made Veera Bhadram were arrested while buying vegetables and provisions for supplying to the Sudhakar dalam (squad) of the outfit near the new bus station of Yellandu. Police sources said that the arrested persons have been working for the Maoists for the past two years.

July 23: Damayanti alias Aruna, area coordinator of the Nagavali dalam of the CPI-Maoist, was arrested from a house at Piridi village in the Bobbili division of Vizianagaram district. Her accomplice Emanapalli Santosh alias Kishore, who is also an area coordinator, is reported to have surrendered before the police after Damayanti's arrest.

July 28: A CPI-Maoist cadre Jajjeri Sammakka of Gangaram village surrendered to the Warangal police. She had gone underground in 1994 and worked in various capacities. She was district committee member, National Park area of Chhattisgarh State and was involved in 12 crimes.

August 13: Police, combing the Annavaram-Kannavaram forest of Koyyuru mandal in the Visakhapatnam district found a Maoist dump. Seven detonators, three claymore mines, three directional mines and three electrical wire bundles were stored in a drum and buried underground.

The Andhra Pradesh State Government renewed the ban on the CPI-Maoist for a period of one year with effect from August 17. Through the Government Order No. 515 the Government declared the outfit as an unlawful association under AP Public Security Act, 1992. The Order said that the outfit was continuing to indulge in unlawful activities and that if such activities were not stopped, they would constitute a serious danger and menace to public order, peace and tranquility. The CPI-Maoist was banned in the State on August 17, 2005 and the proscription is being renewed every year.

August 14: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian belonging to the tribal community at his native village Kondilovagondi in G. K. Veedhi mandal in the Visakhapatnam district.

The CPI-Maoist, in its information bulletin, attributed their recent successes in ‘counter offensive actions’ against security forces in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to support from people. In the bulletin, Bhaskar alias Modem Balakrishna, Secretary of the Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the outfit has said that the Balimela attack of June 29 and also the subsequent landmine attack in Malkangiri district that killed 15 Orissa police personnel travelling on a Mine Protected Vehicle have proved the supremacy of guerrilla tactics and the ‘constant flow’ of information on police movement.

August 19: CPI-Maoist cadres looted a provisions store and beat up the guards of a coffee plantation run by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) in Teemulabanda village of GK Veedhi mandal area in the Visakhapatnam district. Police sources said that a group of 20 armed Maoists along with nearly 70 sympathisers looted rice and essential commodities from the provisions store owned by a non-tribal, Pula Reddy, and also decamped with his TV, some cash and other articles from his house. Later, they entered the Teemulabanda and Marripakala Coffee Plantation and beat up the guards for not having heeded their warning last year that non-tribals should not enter the plantation. The Maoists had earlier threatened that the 50 acres belonging to the corporation would be distributed to the tribals, and non-tribals entering the area would be killed.

August 26: CPI-Maoist Nagavali area committee member Madangi Papa Rao alias Vijay, a native of Balesu village in G.L. Puram mandal of Vizianagaram district surrendered before Parvathipuram Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) B. Sudershana Rao. The SDPO told that Vijay was involved in eight offences, including attack on Udayagiri police station, blasting of Kurupam Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO) Office and panel board at Cooneru Railway Station.

September 4: Nine left-wing extremists belonging to different factions were arrested from the Warangal district. Police recovered 16 weapons and 1,200 bullets from the arrested extremists, identified as Pavrala Bikshapathi, Ramkoti and Challa Seetharamulu of the Praja Prathighatana faction of the CPI-ML, K. Buyya, Kunti Swamy, K Sadaiah and Uppula Raju of Prathighatana faction of the CPI-ML, Prabhakar of the CPI-Maoist and Mohammed Khasim of the Rythu Coolie Sangham.

September 5: CPI-Maoist leader Bashapaka Yakaiah alias Santhosh alias Sujith alias Mahesh, responsible for the Dantewada jailbreak surrendered to the Warangal police. Yakaiah had joined the outfit due to a family dispute in 2002. He worked in Chityal area and Yellandu in Khammam district before being shifted to Chhattisgarh in 2004. He was involved in exchanges of fire in 2005 at Andugulameedhi in Venkatapur mandal (administrative division) of Warangal district, at the National Park area in 2005 and at Pamedu in Chhattisgarh in 2005.

September 13: A CPI-Maoist cadre belonging to the Galikonda dalam surrendered at G K Veedhi mandal in the Visakhapatnam district. The extremist, Muvvala Bhaskar Rao, a native of Mangalapalem village used to work from his home and had been active in the outfit from 2000 to 2006, police sources said.

September 23: Member of a CPI-Maoist action team Chikkudu Chinna Rao alias Sudheer and another sympathiser of the outfit Pongi Bhaskara Rao were arrested near Mangabanda in Pedabayalu mandal in the Visakhapatnam district. Both were charged with attempting to murder a jeweller at Paderu on the night of September 18. Another action team member Korra Rambabu, who also participated in the attack, is still at large. The jeweller M.C. Reddy was injured in the attack.

Potturi Ramulamma alias Geeta, wife of CPI-Maoist leader Bisai Kamaraju alias Ranadev, who was killed in the Gunkuravyi encounter a few months ago, surrendered before Superintendent of Police Akun Sabharwal in Visakhapatnam. The 27-year-old Geeta, ‘B’ platoon commander cadre of the outfit was considered a ‘doctor’ and was treating the sick and injured Maoists. Ill health (malaria) was the reason for her to surrender, Geeta said.

October 8: Eight persons, including seven tribal youths, were abducted by CPI-Maoist cadres from four forest-villages (Dongala Jaggaram, Narsingapeta, Alliguidem and Bandigumpu) under Chintur police station of Khammam district, all located close to the inter-State border with Chhattisgarh. A large tribal group comprising mainly the kin of the abducted persons embarked upon a massive search in the Bastar forests in the neighbouring Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh. This group was reportedly prevented by militants from entering some villages in Gollapalli police station limits -- a pocket considered to be the Maoist heartland. Members of sanghams had assured them of the safe return of all those abducted. However, none were released. The tribals, however, have declined to take the help of police fearing a Maoist backlash.

October 21: CPI-Maoist cadres abducted a tribal leader and sarpanch of Kurnavelli gram panchayat, Kaniti Narsaiah from Bodhanelli village in Charla mandal in the Khammam district. Maoists had tried to abduct another tribal leader who, however, managed to escape. The Kurnavelli sarpanch is in the custody of the Maoists for the second time in this year. He had been abducted by the Venkatapuram area committee of the CPI-Maoist on May 18 last and was let off on May 22 following the intervention of tribal organisations. Maoists had asked him to quit the post of sarpanch, which he had declined to obey.

Jharkhand

January 1: A police constable, identified as Sunil Kumar, was killed and three others wounded when armed CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a police outpost at Bansjore in the Simdega district. "Nearly 500 Maoist rebels surrounded the outpost and hurled petrol bombs before firing indiscriminately around midnight last night. Policemen retaliated and the gunfight lasted till three in the morning," said Sergeant Major J.K. Jha. Police have claimed some fatality on the Maoists side on the basis of bloodstains found at the encounter site. A civilian was also injured in the attack.

An explosion targeting the Simdega Superintendent of Police, D.B. Sharma, who was rushing with police re-enforcement to the encounter site, and a brief exchange of fire between the police and extremists occurred at Keriaghati. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

January 3: A joint team comprising police personnel of Palamau and Garwah districts raided Obra village under Bishrampur police station in the Palamau district and arrested five alleged CPI-Maoist supporters. Five guns were recovered from their possession.

The Garhwa district Superintendent of Police, Saket Singh, suspended a police constable, identified as Mukesh Kumar Singh, on the charges of passing information to the Maoists. Police sources said that the conduct of Mukesh was under the scanner since he was posted with Majhiaon police station. Recently, the police found strong evidence showing his indulgence in passing vital information to the Maoists in the area.

January 5: A CPI-Maoist senior cadre, Ashok Yadav alias Ashokji, a resident of Arwal village in the Jehanabad district, was arrested by the Special Task Force personnel near Danua village in the Giridih district. Ashokji was wanted in 13 cases of murder, arms loot and ransom. A pistol, five live cartridges, two cell phones and a diary were recovered from his possession.

January 6: Police arrested Vineeta alias Simppi, the women wing ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, from Bardari village in the Garwah district. She was wanted in 22 murder cases and 37 cases of encounter with the police. During her interrogation, Vineeta reportedly admitted that she was a part of the CPI-Maoist squad, which had planted a landmine which killed six police personnel at Saro valley in the district on September 12, 2007 and looted 185 rifles from a police barrack in Giridih on July 14, 2007.

January 8: Around 200 armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided Muktma village under Simaria police station in the Chatra district and abducted three persons. Subsequently, two of the abducted persons were killed in a nearby forest area while the third one was released.

Jharkhand Police indicates that the CPI-Maoist unit in the state recently gave compensation to families of their cadres who died during the anti-Maoist operations by the police. The families of some of the cadres killed in the Latehar and Chatra areas were the first beneficiaries of the scheme. Jharkhand Police spokesperson, R K Mallik, confirmed the introduction of compensation by Maoists. In some cases, the Maoists have also taken over the responsibility of school-going children of their dead cadres, he said.

January 12: Three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a ‘zonal commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, Mahendra Karwa, were killed in a three hour gun battle with security forces in Chainpur hills of the Palamau district. The gunfight took place when patrolling Jharkhand police and CRPF personnel spotted 10 Maoists on January 11-night. Two rifles, live cartridges and explosives were recovered from the slain cadres.

February 8: Two CRPF personnel were killed and four others injured during an encounter with cadres of the CPI-Maoist in Giridih district. The encounter followed an ambush by the Maoists on a police patrol in the Madhuban forest area and it reportedly continued for over 12 hours. Police sources claimed that over a dozen Maoists were killed, but their colleagues managed to take away the bodies. Maoists also triggered seven landmine blasts during the encounter.

February 14: Seven CPI-Maoist cadres, including Vikash, an accused in the killing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Member of Parliament Sunil Mahto, were killed in an encounter with security forces at Phuljore in the East Singhbhum district. Deputy Inspector General of Police Manoj Mishra stated that two women cadres were among the slain Maoists. The encounter followed an exchange of fire between the Maoists and the Nagarik Suraksha Samiti (NSS), a vigilance organisation formed by villagers with support of the district police, in which two Maoists were killed. When a joint team of the CRPF and local police personnel rushed to the area to assist the NSS, an encounter took place with the Maoists in which five extremists were killed. Eight weapons and some live cartridges were recovered from the encounter site.

February 19: The CPI-Maoist called a 24-hour State-wide strike on February 21 against the killing of seven of its cadres on February 14.

February 23: Two cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including a self-styled ‘zonal commander’, were killed by the security forces at Dhenkua in the Garwah district.

February 25: A ‘sub-zonal commander’ of the CPI-Maoist was killed in an encounter with the police while another ‘sub-zonal ‘commander’ of the outfit was arrested at Madanpur village in the Palamau district. The incident occurred after the Maoists opened fire on a police patrolling party.

February 28: The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked three strategic positions of the Jharkhand Police - Netarhat police station, Special Task Force camp at Vivah Mandap and Jharkhand Armed Police camp - in the Netarhat forest area of Latehar district. However, no loss of life or injury was reported. "No one sustained injury in the incident as the rebels fled under the cover of darkness," police spokesperson R.K. Mallick said. "Around 500 rebels attacked to loot arms and ammunition," an unnamed police officer said. "While the rebels fired 800 rounds on the camps, we fired 500 rounds on them in the two-hour face-off," said another police official at Netarhat.

March 5: Police destroyed large amounts of poppy cultivation allegedly grown by the CPI-Maoist in the Ghaghra area of Gumla district. "It cannot be said very clearly, but of late, cases of opium farming have come from the militancy-hit areas. It cannot be denied that it is the rebels who benefit from opium plantations," said Vinod Kumar, Station House Officer in Ghaghra-Gumla station.

March 10: CPI-Maoist cadres attacked three Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) personnel using chilly powder at Chowka under Chandil police station jurisdiction in the Seraikela-Kharsawan district and snatched two INSAS and one self-loading rifle from them. The extremists then reportedly fled into the forests in Dinai hills near Urmal, about five kilometers from Chowka police station, where an exchange of fire between the police and extremists was reported.

April 1: Joint teams of the Jharkhand Police and the CRPF personnel in an encounter killed eight CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman and a ‘sub zonal commander’ of the outfit, at Bandu village under Ranka Police Station in the Garhwa district. The Director General of Police (DGP), V. D. Ram, told, "We had received a tip off about the movement of Maoists. One SLR, four 303 rifles, three 315 rifles, one sten-gun, one DBBL gun, one country made revolver and large number of live cartridges besides naxal literatures and belongings of the Maoists were recovered." Of the eight slain Maoists, one was identified as Basant Yadav, a ‘sub-zonal commander’, while two others are suspected to be Rajesh Paswan and Lallan Thakur, both ‘area commanders’.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed four civilians at Poradih-Chenpur village in the Khunti district. Dead bodies of the victims whose throats were slit were recovered on April 2. A hand-written note left behind by the Maoists claimed the four persons were being ‘punished’ for indulging in robbery. The Maoists also claimed to have taken away a hand-made pistol and three motorbikes from the slain villagers.

April 2: 13 security force personnel and a two-and-a-half-year-old girl were injured in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists in the Banasu village in the Hazaribagh district. The SF personnel were conducting a joint patrolling in the area, about 35-kilometres from the district headquarters.

April 5: Ranchi police arrested a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre, Jeetan Marandi, from the from Sukhdeonagar locality in the Ranchi city. The arrested Maoist is suspected to have led an attack in October 2007 that led to the killing of 19 people, including the son of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi.

April 8: Nine persons were killed and two others injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres fired on a vehicle and subsequently set it ablaze in the Semra forest area under Palkot police station of Gumla district. Among the victims were Bhado Singh, a member of Shanti Sena (Peace Force), a police backed resistance force, and his family members. Singh and his family members were proceeding to Palkot from Bhagina village.

April 14: A group of five CPI-Maoist cadres killed the brother of a civil contractor at Bamnatora village in the East Singhbhum district. The contractor, Bholanath Mohanty, was not present at the site of an under-construction check-dam when the Maoists were looking for him. Not finding him, Maoists killed his brother, Sashinath, who was supervising the construction work.

April 16: The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a two-metre stretch of railway track between Hazaribagh Road and Parasnath railway stations in the Giridih district. The blast affected rail traffic in the Grand Chord section of Jharkhand, the main line that connects eastern and northern India.

April 19: Two civilians were killed as CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire on moving trucks at Karamdih under Chandil police station in the Saraikela-Kharswan district. The outfit had called for a 24-hour general strike in Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal in protest against price rise. Superintendent of Police Laxman Prasad Singh said that a group of 15 Maoists fired at the trucks plying on the Tata-Ranchi highway killing two persons aboard two separate trucks. Another truck fell into a roadside ditch after its driver, in an attempt to escape the gunfire, lost control over the vehicle. The Maoists subsequently set ablaze the truck.

April 26: Three policemen and two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter in Dumka.

Two Maoists were arrested during a combing operation near Parasnath in the Giridih district. A landmine and some detonators were recovered from the Maoists, identified as Manoj Chaudhary and H. Singh. The duo was involved in several extremist activities, including looting of police weapons in Madhupur.

April 27: Five CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an encounter with the security forces near the Dilwa railway station. Police sources said that a group of 100 Maoists were planning to blow up the nearby Koderma railway station when the SFs intervened, leading to the encounter. The SF personnel recovered an unspecified number of rifles and cartridges from the incident site.

April 28: A group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian in the Dolh Gaon village of the Garwah district branding him a police informer.

A group of Maoists set ablaze five houses in the Nathpur village of Gumla district. The Superintendent of Police, Baljeet Singh, said that the Maoist action followed after the villagers allegedly continued to give shelter to one Manoj Yadav, who snapped links with the CPI-Maoist to join the JLT a month ago. Household articles of four of the five houses were destroyed in the fire.

April 29: CPI-Maoist cadres triggered an explosion damaging an under-construction Government building at Madhuban in the Giridih district. A group of 20 Maoists reportedly reached the vacant building site and packed it with explosives before triggering the blast. In February 2007, the same building being built for the tourists by the Government had been destroyed by the militants.

May 7: A wireless supervisor of the police was killed and three other police personnel were wounded in an attack by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Holong Ghati near Hazaribagh. The Hazaribagh district Superintendent of Police told that a vehicle carrying five police personnel from Giridih was attacked by a group of 50 Maoists, who opened fire and lobbed explosives targeting the vehicle, thus, killing the police wireless officer Oliver Purti. Later, the Maoists blocked the Hazaribagh-Dhanbad road via Bishnugarh and Bagodar on National Highway (NH) No. 100 resulting in a traffic jam for six hours on the route.

May 10: Bokaro Superintendent of Police (SP) Priya Dubey survived a Maoist bomb attack on her convoy while on a midnight anti-Maoist mission. The SP’s convoy was ambushed while going to a village bordering Vishnugarh in the Hazaribagh district where the Maoists had taken shelter for the past few days. No injury was reported among the police personnel.

May 11: The officer in charge of Charhi police station and a CRPF trooper were killed and three security force personnel were injured during an encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Dahudaag forest area of Charhi of Hazaribag district. A mortar fired by the SFs hit a house in a nearby village injuring a seven-year-old girl and four other villagers.

Police arrested a senior CPI-Maoist leader Pramod Mishra from Dhanbad. The arrested Maoist is a member of the outfit’s Politburo.

May 15: Three women CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested following an encounter in the Chatra district. The Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh Kumar Jha, said that a ‘firing squad’ of the CPI-Maoist confronted security forces at Gheighat village in the Chatra district and both sides exchanged fire for half an hour. He also said, "some Maoists fled the area following the strong retaliatory action, but three women extremists of the firing squad were overpowered and apprehended along with two rifles, 42 bullets and INR 10,000 in cash."

May 17: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, identified as Mahadeo Sahu, President of Senah block (administrative division), was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Lohardagga district. The BJP leader was abducted by the Maoists along with and two others on May 16-night. While the Maoists released the other two, they killed Sahu and left pamphlets at the spot alleging that he was a Police informer.

May 21: The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead three persons and injured another at Kotam village in the Gumla district. The Superintendent of Police Baljit said that among the dead were two brothers, identified as Nijamul Ansari and Ajmul Ansari. A group of six Maoists opened fire on a shop owned by the brothers killing them and a customer Mahesh Mahto. Police suspect extortion could be the motive behind the attack.

Suspected Maoists looted a currency van of the ICICI bank carrying INR 50 million and one kilogram of gold near Tamar area in the capital Ranchi on May 21. The currency was being transferred from the Jamshedpur branch of the bank to Ranchi. Police said that the bank had not informed the police about its currency movement and no security was provided.

May 23: Ramashankar Mahto, a resident of Gorga village in the Dhanbad district was hacked to death by the Maoists.

May 24: Cadres of CPI-Maoist killed a Nagarik Suraksha Samity (NSS) activist, Sushen Murmu, at Mucchrisole village in the Ghatshila sub-division of Jamshedpur district. Reports said that at around 2am (IST), about 70 Maoists came to Muchhrisole village and raided Murmu’s house taking hostage his father as he was sleeping outside. Subsequently, they entered the house and dragged the 26-year-old youth to an open field and slit his throat.

May 25: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a bomb blast near Tamar on the National Highway No. 33 between Ranchi and Jamshedpur in an abortive attempt to booby-trap police personnel patrolling the highway. No one was injured in the incident. Police personnel subsequently recovered and defused another explosive device in the area.

June 1: Four CPI-Maoist cadres, including a ‘sub-zonal commander’ and a woman extremist, were killed in an encounter with the police at Sundermahto village in the Hazaribag district. A tip off by an arrested Maoist, identified as Arjun Yadav, reportedly led to the encounter in which three Maoists and the former were killed. Police sources said that Arjun was killed while trying to escape. Police recovered two guns, one pistol and a landmine weighing 30-kilograms were recovered from the possession of the slain Maoists.

June 2: CPI-Maoist cadres killed three villagers near the capital Ranchi for allegedly collecting money in the name of the outfit. Police said the three people were abducted from Parasi village in Tamar block, around 70 kilometres from Ranchi, on June 1 and their bodies were recovered the next day from the forest area of Tamar. Pamphlets left near the bodies said, "Anyone who will extort money in the name of our organization will meet the same fate."

June 4: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an encounter with the security forces near Bhopadih village in the Chatra district. The slain Maoists include Ganesh Ganju, a ‘sub-zonal commander’ of the outfit. Police also arrested two Maoists. The encounter occurred when the Police personnel carried out a raid in the village after receiving information of a Maoist meeting there. The Maoists retaliated with gun fire when the SFs asked them to surrender. One carbine, one pistol, explosives and Maoist literature were recovered from the encounter site.

June 6: Police in the East Singhbhum district confirmed the arrest of the veteran cadre of the CPI-Maoist Tireng Kedia alias Mahabir. Mahabir, hailing from Chakaduba village in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, was arrested from Kuiani village under Patamda police station along with a country-made pistol and 16 live cartridges from him. East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh said Mahabir was a member of the Dalma zonal committee of CPI-Maoist and used to operate in areas such as Nimdih, Patamda, Dalma and Chandil.

June 10: The 12-hour general strike call given by the CPI-Maoist in the districts bordering West Bengal passed off peacefully. The call evoked partial response in Maoist-affected areas of East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts. Long distance buses did not ply, trucks and trailers remained off the National Highway no. 33. Petrol pumps and other business establishments in Ghatshila remained closed.

June 16: CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a portion of a road bridge near Tundi between Dhanbad and Giridih, in the Dhanbad district. Maoists had called for a 24-hour general strike in the North Chottanagpur area in the State in protest against the killing of four of their activists in Hazaribagh last month. The general strike call reportedly evoked no response in Hazaribagh, Giridih and Koderma districts.

June 21: Two persons, identified as Pankaj Singh alias Pintu and Bhuvaneshwar Ganjhu, were taken hostage and subsequently killed in an attack by around 70 CPI-Maoist on a school classroom, a cluster resource centre and four rooms of a Jain dharamsala at Vashisth Nagar in the Chatra district. The Maoists also left pamphlets on the spot labelling the victims as police informers and warning others of similar consequences. The dharamsala’s caretaker, Nemichand Jain, was also assaulted.

June 26: The Jharkhand Police arrested five CPI-Maoist cadres from the districts of Ranchi and Palamau. Four members of Maoists were arrested from Parastoli area of Ranchi district. "We have arrested four Maoist rebels on a tip off. The arrested rebels were involved in spreading of the organization in the city and rural areas of the state," M.S. Bhatia, Senior Superintendent of Police of Ranchi, told. The police also seized three revolvers, three mobile phones, Maoist literature and INR 50,000 in cash from the arrestees. One more Maoist was arrested from Manatu block of Palamau district with INR 170,000 allegedly extorted from a contractor.

June 30: A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and four constables were killed in a landmine blast triggered by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres at Pundigiri village in the Bundu area, 50-kilometres from State capital Ranchi. While the DSP and two constables were killed on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries when they were being shifted to the hospital. Another critically injured police personnel was admitted to the hospital. The police personnel were returning to the headquarters after conducting raids in the Bundu area. Jharkhand police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) RK Mallik said, "The Maoists had planted a landmine on the return route of the police party and set it off when the vehicle passed through that point."

July 1: Maoists blocked the Hazaribag-Bagodar NH-100 for three hours asking drivers and shop keepers to support the shutdown.

July 2: CPI-Maoist opened fire on a truck at Topchanchi in the Dhanbad district injuring the driver. Dhanbad Superintendent of Police Sheetal Oraon said that the Maoists also fired on another truck carrying livestock in the same area resulting in its engine catching fire. The driver and the livestock were unharmed.

Police arrested CPI-Maoist ‘zonal commander’ Manoj Nagesia with his six associates at Gumla and recovered 100 detonators, two can bombs, two rifles, SLR and ammunition. Police sources said Nagesia is associated with more than 35 cases of loot and robbery registered at Gumla and Simdega districts.

An exchange of fire between the Maoists and Police personnel was reported from at Muchadih in Giridih district. Maoists blew up a community building at Pipra village in the Palamau district. No one was injured in the incident.

July 6: CPI-Maoist cadres killed two persons in the Latehar district branding them as police informers. According to the police, both people were abducted on July 5 night from a nearby village and were shot dead near Demo railway station. In a pamphlet left near the bodies, the CPI-Maoist owned responsibility for the killing.

July 8: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead a MLA belonging to the Janata Dal-United, Ramesh Singh Munda, along with his two bodyguards and a teenaged boy at the sub-divisional town of Bundu in the Ranchi district. The MLA was distributing prizes to students at the S. S. College when the incident occurred. Maoists, numbering around 12, first killed one of the three security guards, Shiv Nath Minj, outside the hall where the ceremony was under way. They then barged in and fired bullets killing Munda and his other bodyguard Khurshid Alam. A student was caught in the firing and died after being hit by a bullet. Munda's third bodyguard, Shesh Nath Singh, who survived, said that the entire attack was over within 10 minutes.

July 10: Five CPI-Maoist cadres, including two hardcore extremists, were arrested from the Hazaribagh bus stand following a tip off. The arrested cadres include Nageshwar Dangi and Ramu Yadav, who were suffering from ‘brain malaria’ and were going to the capital Ranchi for treatment.

July 12: The CPI-Maoist claimed responsibility for killing the former minister and JD-U legislator Ramesh Singh Munda at Bundu. A press statement by the outfit said the legislator was "deceiving the people of the state and has been punished." The outfit also apologised to the family of the student who was killed during the attack on Munda.

July 29: Three hardcore Maoists, including two women cadres, were killed in an encounter in the Tilaya forest area under Vishnugarh police station in the Hazaribagh district. The slain insurgents were identified as a 'zonal commander' Niranjan Da alias Chandru Manjhi and two women cadres Anita alias Vinita and Mamta. Hazaribagh district Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar Singh said that some injured extremists managed to escape from the incident site. The SFs also recovered one self-loading rifle, two regular rifles (303) both looted from police, 150 rounds of ammunition which included live cartridges for 303 rifles, a large quantity of Maoist literatures, diaries containing the names and amount of levies realised, names of newly recruited members along with receipt books and one Motorola brand walkie-talkie and other materials from the spot. Approximately 100 Maoists had reportedly assembled at Tilaya forest area near Narki village to celebrate their 'martyr week' along with Niranjan Da and dozens of women cadres.

August 6: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up the block office building at Dandai in Garwah district. Police sources said that a group of Maoists assembled near the vacated building and blasted it with explosives. The extent of the damage to the building however, is not yet known due to the remote location of the office.

August 7: Two security force personnel belonging to the CRPF were killed during an encounter with the CPI-Maoist in Laxmantola in the Giridih district. The Maoists who had called for a 24-hour bandh in the Chhotanagpur area fired at a police patrolling team. In the ensuing encounter that lasted over two hours, two SF personnel were killed. There was no casualty on the Maoist side. The bandh had been called in the Chhotanagpur region by the Maoists in protest against the killing of three Maoists during an encounter in Hazaribag district.

August 8: A 40-member team of the CRPF and East Singhbhum district police neutralised a Maoist camp at Kia Jharna area. Two revolvers, one pistol, two can bombs, a Chinese walkie-talkie and detailed blueprint of training of the firing squad were recovered from the camp located on a hilly terrain on the Jharkhand-Bengal border.

August 10: The Jharkhand Police along with their counterparts in Delhi arrested a CPI-Maoist leader from his hideout in the national capital New Delhi. The arrested leader, identified as Alokji, is one of the founder members of left-wing extremism movement in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Police sources said that the Maoist leader was taking shelter at the residence of an acquaintance when he was arrested in a joint operation of the Jharkhand and Delhi Police. Alokji is believed to be behind the planning and execution of the Jehanabad jailbreak in Bihar and the Giridih arms loot in Jharkhand.

August 14: One Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) trooper was killed and a sub-inspector injured when suspected CPI-Maoist cadres fired at them at Chak in the Palamu district. According to the report, three motorcycle-borne Maoists fired from AK-47 rifles and nine mm pistol at a group of six JAP personnel, including sub-inspector Sunil Chetri killing Ramesh Chetri, hailing from Padma in Nepal.

August 18: Maoists blew up a petrol pump building and set fire to four vehicles in Chatrapur police station of Palamau district. Police sources said that a group of 20 to 25 Maoists surrounded the petrol pump, evacuated the building, blasted it and damaged the fuel refilling machines. The Maoist rebels then burnt four vehicles parked near the petrol pump. They also set a crusher machine on fire.

August 19: Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the police in the Batuka forest area under Keradari police station of Hazaribag district. Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar Singh told, "While one body of a Maoist was found, the other one was taken away by the Maoists after the encounter late last night". Police sources said that the Maoists had called for a general strike in Jharkhand on that day. The Maoist group was being led by Maoist zonal commander, Krishna Yadav when the encounter occurred. A self-loading rifle, one .303 rifle, some ammunition and INR 171000 were recovered from the encounter site.

August 26: A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter with the police in a forest close to Matiari village under Bero police station of the Ranchi district. The slain extremist, Charku Oroan, worked under the outfit’s sub-zonal commander Uday Oraon. The Inspector General of Police, S.N. Pradhan, said the police seized a carbine, a rifle, a pistol, a can bomb, magazines, 23 live cartridges and Maoist literature from the encounter site.

August 30: 12 police personnel were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was blown up in a landmine blast in the East Singhbhum district. Deputy Superintendent of Police Madhusudan Bari told that the policemen led by sub-inspector Ravi Kant, in-charge of the Digha police picket, were on a long range patrol when the landmine planted by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres exploded near Burudih dam. All the 12 occupants of the vehicle died on the spot.

The Jharkhand police, which launched a combing operation few hours within the attack arrested a Maoist, identified as Karan Singh Sardar, from an area near Chaliama picket under the Nimdih police station in Saraikela-Kharsawan district.

August 31: Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren invited the CPI-Maoist for talks. Speaking to the press, after paying homage to 11 policemen killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in East Singhbhum district on August 30, the Chief Minister said, "I want an end to the bloodbath and the government is ready for talks. If the Maoists have any grievance against the system they should come forward for talks. The government will talk with them even if they want to come via any agency of their choice."

September 2: IANS reports that the CPI-Maoist for the past 15 days have imposed an economic blockade in Chak village of Palamau District of Jharkhand as an act of opposition to the setting up of a police picket in the hamlet. After the establishment of the picket, Maoists put up posters across the village, ordering the people to shut their shops till the time the police picket is not removed from the village. Maoists have also warned nearby villages against having any dealing with the people of Chak village. Closure of the shops has affected life in the village adversely.

September 2: Jharkhand Police claimed that the CPI-Maoist cadres are being trained in guerrilla and jungle warfare by former Army personnel. Following the arrest of hardcore Maoist sub-zonal ‘commander’ Shankar Bhuiyan alias Sanjay Ram, at Latehar on August 28, Police recovered a training manual of Maoists. The 200-page book divided into two sections contained minute details of planning and assault strategy in different terrains. Jharkhand Police spokesperson S. N. Pradhan said, "After going through the books and documents it can be said with certainty that experts having years of experience in military warfare are training the rebel cadre. Because no one can make such a meticulous training programme."

September 17: Three cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed in an encounter near Ghamapahari in the Chatra district. The 90-minute encounter occurred after a special task force of police and CRPF personnel carried out a raid on a tip off about a Maoist gathering. Superintendent of Police, Hazaribagh, Praveen Kumar Singh said while the body of Jeetendra, believed to be the section commander of the action squad of Maoists has been recovered, Maoists managed to escape with bodies of two of their colleagues. An SLR and a .303 rifle, both looted from the police armoury earlier were recovered from the encounter site. Other recovered items include ten bags, 450 live cartridges, four electronic detonators, INR 19,000, posters in Hindi and jewelleries.

September 28: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a school building in the Palamau district. Police sources said that a group of 20 to 30 Maoists surrounded a middle school in the Manatu block, around 190 kilometres from State capital Ranchi and blasted the building using detonators. No person has been injured in the blast. The school building was used by the security force personnel while launching combing operations against the Maoists.

October 3: CPI-Maoist blew up the control room of a mobile phone tower in Palamau district. Police sources said that a group of 20-30 Maoists surrounded the control room of the mobile operator Reliance India and asked the employees to vacate it. Subsequently, detonators were used to blast the control room. They also set a generator on fire.

October 10: Two persons, including a TPC commander were killed by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres at Kundu village in the Chatra district, 280 kilometres from state capital Patna. The Maoists struck around 3am when a cultural event was in progress at the village, a kilometre away from the Kundu police station. The TPC activist, identified as Nilesh alias Kariman Ganju, was watching the event when about 50 suspected Maoists stormed the venue and shot him dead. The other person killed has been identified as Deolal

A group of CPI-Maoist cadres carried out a raid on the Mahadevsaal railway station in the West Singhbhum district, assaulting its assistant station master and disrupting train services on the Rourkela-Chakradharpur section. Maoists numbering 12, dragged the assistant station master Y.C. Sawaiya out of his cabin along with a porter and assaulted him with iron rods. The official is undergoing treatment with serious head injuries. The Maoists left the spot when they saw a train approaching the station.

Rajendra Singh Kharwar, a Maoist zonal commander, was arrested from Udaypur village under Ranka block in the Garhwa district. A huge amount of explosives, apart from three rifles and three guns, were recovered from him. Garhwa superintendent of police Saket Kumar Singh said Rajendra was wanted in several cases of murder and Maoist attacks in the area.

Oct 14: Jharkhand police arrested four CPI-Maoist cadres from Parasnath hills of Giridih district, around 290 km from state capital Ranchi. A cache of arms, hidden in a water tank, was recovered subsequent to the arrest. The cache included two land mines, one bag full of detonators, five quintals of gelatin sticks, 25 live cartridges, 50 bundles of fuse wires and two rifles. The combing operation had been launched on October 11.

October 15: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead two persons at Bundu of Ranchi district. This was the third Maoist-sponsored incident in Bundu, claiming four lives within the past four days.

October 17: A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in a gunfight between the outfit and cadres of its breakaway group, the TPC near Baruda village.

October 18: A para-military trooper of the CRPF was killed and two more were injured in an exchange of fire between the CRPF personnel and the CPI-Maoist cadres in Chatra district. The incident took place when a vehicle carrying the CRPF personnel on a LRP near Bora Sarif village was ambushed by the Maoists. The exchange of fire between the CRPF personnel and the Maoists lasted for over two hours.

About 20 suspected Maoists set afire the house of a local RJD leader and assaulted 12 civilians in the Latehar district on October 18 night. RJD leader Suresh Yadav, and his family members were not present in the house during the raid. Maoists also set a four-wheeler on fire before retreating.

October 20: The CPI-Maoist, in order to resurrect their image as social reformers, has started anti-liquor campaign at Chandil in Seraikela-Kharsawan district and Tamar-Bundu region of Ranchi. Anti-liquor consumption posters have been pasted by the cadres of the outfit with the tag of CPI-Maoist on them. Ranchi DIG Narendra Prasad Singh confirmed the poster campaign was started by the Maoists in Bundu, Tamar and Chandil. He said: "This was a new ploy of the rebels to influence the common masses."

October 21: At least two CPI-Maoist cadres were injured in an encounter with the Police in the Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum district, about 70km from state capital Ranchi. The encounter occurred an ambush attempt by a group of 30 Maoists targeting a team of Jharkhand Armed Police, the Special Task Force and the para-military CRPF who were carrying out an anti-insurgency operation in the Bonadungri forest of Ghurabandha area. Subsequent to an hour long encounter, which began around 7.30 am, empty rifle cartridges and two haversacks containing dry food, medicines and clothes were recovered. "Since we found two haversacks, we suspect two of the rebels were injured. The others helped them flee," Police officials said.

Bihar

January 1: At least four policemen were killed and another sustained injuries in an attack by the CPI-Maoist cadres on Bariapur police post in the Munger district. More than 100 Maoists attacked the police post, which was keeping a vigil over a picnic spot in Rishikund, where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate the New Year. According to sources, the Maoists did not disturb the tourists and opened indiscriminate fire on policemen killing four on the spot.

January 6: The CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Naresh Das, the husband of Pancha Devi, village head of Nazari panchayat (village level local administration body) under Lakhmipur block in the Jamui district. Police claimed that the Maoists killed Das because he had refused to pay them protection money.

January 13: Police claimed to have killed six cadres of the CPI-Maoist in an encounter at Bangudwa Naktaia hills in the Gaya district. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Balram Kumar Choudhry, said that dead bodies of the slain Maoists could not be recovered from the encounter site as these were taken away by their colleagues. The encounter is reported to have occurred following a police raid on a Maoist hideout. The encircled Maoists, instead of laying down their arms, opened fire on the raiding party forcing the police to return fire in which six Maoists were killed.

A team of the Gaya district police and Maoists numbering several dozens exchanged heavy fire near Domchuan village on the Bihar-Jharkhand border. Gaya Superintendent of Police Amit Jain said that as the police team reached an area close to Domchuan village following a tip-off that a large number of heavily armed Maoists had congregated, Maoists opened fire from sophisticated weapons, including LMGs. Jain also stated that at least two Maoists were injured in the exchange of fire but were carried away by their comrades.

January 21: Armed CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze four tractors and a machine of a private firm engaged in the construction of the building of Piro railway station in Bihar's Bhojpur district. Non-payment of money demanded by the Maoists from the firm management is suspected to be the reason behind the attack, police sources said.

January 27: A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from a CPI-Maoist hideout in the Gaya district during a raid. The hideout was located near a forest under Fatehpur block in Gaya, around 100 kilometres from State capital Patna. However, no arrests were made.

January 29: CPI-Maoist cadres dragged out two businessmen from their houses and shot them dead in the Jamui district of Bihar. The victims, identified as Vishnudeo and Sukdeo, were killed on January 28-night at Bamdah Bazaar under Chandramandi police station in Jamui, about 150 km from the State capital Patna. "Over 100 armed Maoists stormed Bamdah Bazaar locality and surrounded the houses of Vishnudeo and Sukdeo. They were then dragged out and shot dead," the police said. Jamui, which is located close to the border with Jharkhand, is considered to be a stronghold of the CPI-Maoist.

January 30: CPI-Maoist cadres detonated a dynamite destroying a Forest department rest house at Sonarwa village in Kharagpur sub-division of Munger district. They also set ablaze the furniture in the rest house. No one, however, was injured in the incident as the rest house was lying abandoned.

February 13: An encounter between cadres of the CPI-Maoist and police personnel lasting over five hours was reported from Chouraha village in the Gaya district. Further details of the encounter were not available.

Police claimed to have recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from cadres of the CPI-Maoist following an encounter with them at Jhalar village in Gaya district on the Bihar-Jharkhand border. Amit Kumar Jain, the Superintendent of Police, told, "We have recovered two regular police rifles, about 54 live rounds in a charger and magazines." He also said that the Maoists had escaped from the encounter site and a search was under way to find them.

February 19: A joint team of police and excise department officials destroyed poppy crops allegedly grown by the CPI-Maoist in the Imamganj police station area of Gaya district. "We have destroyed the crops grown on 24 acres of land under Imamganj police station area," Omprakash Singh, a senior excise department official said. Imamganj and its adjoining areas in Gaya are considered as strongholds of the CPI-Maoist. Singh further said that the extremists cultivate poppy to fund their illegal activities.

February 21: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead three farmers at Pipra village under the jurisdiction of the Darpa police Station in the East Champaran district. Heavily armed Maoists attacked the village around midnight and shot dead three persons said to be farmers, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) A. K. Singh said. However, Times of India quoted the Raxaul DSP Santosh Kumar Gupta as saying that it was not a Maoist attack, rather it was the result of the clash between Community Party of India- Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) and the late landlord's Harendra Singh’s henchmen. The report said that the deceased, identified as Pandit (60), Mahendra Ray (36) and Ram Ekbal Majhi (40), all of Pipara village, were activists of the CPI-ML and were gunned down by an armed group of 25 persons at around 10pm (IST) on February 21 while they were sitting around a bonfire. The family members of the three CPI-ML men alleged that the killers were henchmen of late Harendra Singh, a landlord of the area.

The-24 hour bandh (general strike) called by the CPI-Maoist in Jharkhand partially affected train movement particularly in the Dhanbad, Mughalsarai and Danapur divisions of the East Central Railway (ECR). Movement of several passenger trains was cancelled due to the bandh as a precautionary measure. However, no untoward incident has been reported from any part of ECR divisions. The strike in Jharkhand was peaceful but it affected business and other activities in the rural areas.

February 22: Two villagers were killed in a shootout with armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist who raided a village in the Khagaria district. Three to four Maoists were reportedly injured in the incident.

February 23: Police arrested seven cadres of the CPI-Maoist from a van near Makhor village under Akbarpur police station of the Nawada district. According to the Inspector General of Police (Operations), S K Bharadwaj 40,000 gelatin sticks, 8,640 detonators and 23 bundles of high explosive wires, were recovered from a truck travelling along with the van. Those arrested confessed before the police that the consignment was on way from Guna in Madhya Pradesh to Maoist groups active in Sheikhpura, Jamui, Lakhisarai and Munger districts of Bihar.

The Jamui district police arrested an ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Sanjay Hembrom, from Chandramandi police station area. Sanjay was involved in the Chilkaridih massacre that claimed 20 lives, including that of Anup Marandi, youngest son of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Prajatantrik party chief and former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Babulal Marandi, on October 28, 2007.

February 26: An engineer, identified as Sanjay Singh and a supervisor, identified as Dharmendra Singh, of a Jharkhand-based Vijeta Construction Company were abducted by armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist who raided their camp office at Chhotki Chenari under the Sheosagar police station of Rohtas district. The Construction Company was engaged in the construction of Shivsagar-Chenari road in the district. According to police sources, the company received a ransom call from the abductors for safe release of the officials.

A zonal ‘commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Nandu Mahato (carrying head money of INR 25000) was arrested from a hideout at Chauhuar village in the Gaya district. Police said that he was involved in several incidents of murder and abduction in the district.

February 28: An engineer and a supervisor of a private road construction company abducted by the CPI-Maoist in Rohtas district on February 26-night from their camp office at Chhotki Chenari, were rescued from Belao village in the neighbouring Kaimur district. The Additional Superintendent of Police, P Kannan, told that four persons were detained for interrogation. The Maoists had abducted the duo after the company refused to pay extortion demanded by the outfit.

February 29: An ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist , identified as Basudev, surrendered at Banke Bazaar police station in the Gaya district along with one automatic rifle, one regular rifle and large number of cartridges. Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Jain stated that Basudev was involved in several incidents of murder and criminal activities in the district.

March 9: A joint team comprising CRPF and Special Task Force (STF) personnel raided Akurauni forest area in the Gaya district and neutralised a bunker of the CPI-Maoist. The raid was conducted on the basis of information provided by the Maoist leader Chandu Das who was arrested from Jhallar village in the district in the early hours on the same day. The team found a big water container inside the bunker and seized arms and 10,000 rounds of ammunition of several regular weapons, including INSAS rifles, 100 magazines of carbines and more than 100 hand grenades, said Superintendent of Police Amit Jain. Hundreds of police uniforms, hand grenade-making equipments, one .9mm pistol and regular rifles were also recovered from the bunker. A suspected Maoist was arrested during the search.

March 10: The Gaya police arrested Karoo Yadav, an ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist from Ithari village under the Mohanpur police station area. Superintendent of Police, Amit Jain said that Karoo was involved in an encounter between the Maoists and the police in Mohanpur area. On the basis of information provided by Karoo Yadav, the police raided Ragrej village under Bodh Gaya police station and recovered two police rifles, from the possession of one Janardan Ravidas who was later arrested by police. The rifles were earlier looted by the extremists in one of its dozens of operations against the police in Bihar and Jharkhand.

March 13: 16 CPI-Maoist cadres surrendered to the police in Muzaffarpur. Of those who surrendered, five were wanted in several criminal cases, the Muzaffarpur District Superintendent of Police Ratna Sanjay said. The Maoists also deposited over 50 kilograms of explosives, six detonators, two landmines, seven pistols, four rifles, two guns and several rounds of ammunition.

March 26: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the Pakhtaul village of Begusarai district. The leader identified as Ram Pukar Mahto was a member of the Begusarai district committee of the CPI-M.

March 28: Two security force personnel were injured and 18 CPI-Maoist cadres, including six women, were arrested following an encounter at Saraunja village under Birpur police station area in the Begusarai district. District Superintendent of Police Amit Lodha told "A constable of Bihar Military Police (BMP) 7th battalion Harendra Kumar Rai and Ganesh Rai of Special Auxiliary Police (SAP), a force comprising ex-servicemen raised to tackle Naxalite violence, were injured in the gunfight". Four country-made rifles, a musket, a revolver, a pistol, a crude bomb, more than 100 bullets and several police uniforms were recovered from the possession of the arrested Maoists.

April 2: Over 200 CPI-Maoist cadres attacked the house of a member of the State Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Kala Pahar village of Aurangabad district. They set ablaze three vehicles being used by the MLA’s construction company and abducted four labourers. The MLA, Vijay Kumar Singh alias Dabloo Singh of the Lok Janshakti Party, was not present at his residence during the attack. Police suspect that the Maoist attack is linked to an extortion demand on the construction company.

April 4: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres abducted three employees of a private contractor engaged in road construction in the Maheshwari village of Jamui district for not paying extortion amount. Contractor Pawan Kumar Singh said that the Maoists had demanded levy for continuation of road construction work and threatened him with dire consequences unless the amount was paid.

April 10: CPI-Maoist cadres killed six persons belonging to the Sashastra People’s Morcha (SSM) in the Tardih forest of Rohtas district. The slain persons, natives of Barachatti and Mohanpur blocks of Gaya district, were former members of the CPI-Maoist and had formed the SSM to assist the police. Maoist pamphlets charging the slain persons with "betraying the parent organisation and serving as police informers", were found at the incident site.

April 13: Six persons, including five security force personnel and a porter, were killed in an attack by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Jhajha railway station in the Jamui district. A group of 200 Maoists attacked the crowded railway station, and looted 27 3.15 rifles, six self-loading rifles, two carbines and 898 rounds of ammunition from the GRP armoury. The Maoists also damaged an ATM of the State Bank of India in an attempt to loot cash, but had failed. They had also made an unsuccessful attempt to loot cash from a locker in the railway station.

April 14: Police arrested two suspected CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, who had taken part in the April 13 attack on the Jhajha railway station in the Jamui district.

April 17: The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a railway track near Nathganj railway station on Gaya-Kodrama rail section. The blast affected rail traffic for over six hours. Maoists also abducted six railway staff but released them later.

April 18: The CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a petrol station at Kahudag on National Highway-II in the Gaya district. According to police sources, over 200 heavily armed Maoists attacked the petrol station, belonging to the former Gaya district board chairman Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav, and abducted its two employees. Later they triggered a dynamite blast, blowing up the pump equipment and the building. Both the employees were released after the blast.

April 27: Armed CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian, working for a contractor who was assigned the job of mining sand close to the embankment of a river, near Roshan Ganj police station in the Gaya district. Police sources said that the contractor had been asked by the Maoists to stop collecting royalty from the people and he had not obeyed the diktat.

April 29: The CPI-Maoist cadres destroyed houses of four persons whom they described as police informers in the Nawada district. Police sources said that an armed squad of nearly 200 Maoists raided Jamunia village and asked the occupants of the four houses to come out before using dynamites to destroy the houses.

April 30: A fast track court in the capital Patna framed charges against the senior CPI-Maoist leader Ajay Kanu and five others for their alleged involvement in the killing of a policeman in 2002 at Kandak village in Patna rural district.

May 9: Rampravesh Baitha, the CPI-Maoist’s secretary of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand special area committee, was arrested from Golghar under Gandhi Maidan police station in the capital Patna. Baitha’s colleagues, however, managed to escape. No weapons were recovered from the arrested extremist leader. Baitha, who hails from Kuria village in the East Champaran district, is wanted in 34 cases of extremist violence.

May 13: Four suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested near Kotwali police station in the capital Patna. They were identified as Saroj Ravidas, Birendra Das, Sanjay Yadav and Kuldip Yadav, all active members of the CPI-Maoist. Senior Superintendent of Police (Patna), Amit Kumar, said that the arrested Maoists were involved in cases of criminal activity and wanted by the police. An unnamed police official said, "They were active in Gaya, Arwal and Aurangabad districts.

May 14: Six CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the police at Nawada on the Bihar-Jharkhand border. Police received a tip-off about a meeting of the Maoists at Mahari village to plan an operation in the area and subsequently rushed to the village. Six Maoists were killed and four policemen were injured in the encounter. Police also seized three assault rifles, one carbine, hundreds of live cartridges and eight bombs from the incident site.

A ‘Zonal Commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, Raghu Chamar, was arrested from his residence at Jhari village in the Aurangabad district.

May 15: Two persons were killed by CPI-Maoist cadres during the 24-hour general strike called by the outfit to protest against the arrest of their leader Pramod Kumar Mishra. The duo was killed on the Bihar-Jharkhand border in the Aurangabad district of Bihar.

CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a railway line near Jaimurtinagar railway station on the Sitamarhi-Raxual section in the West Champaran district of Bihar. Armed Maoists detonated dynamites and blew up tracks in a 15 feet stretch near the station.

May 26: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a watchman in Batwari village under Dharhara police station of Munger district accusing him of being a police informer. According to the report, about 100 Maoists stormed the residence of the slain watchman, tied his limbs, dragged him out to the street and slit his throat in public.

May 27: Maoists detonated explosion targeting the twin rail track on the Jamalpur-Malda section near Masudan station halting traffic for several hours.

June 1: The CPI-Maoist called a 24-hour general strike in five districts of Bihar to protest the recent arrest of their five hardcore cadres in Lakhisarai. A pamphlet to this effect was circulated to the media on behalf of the Jamui, Munger, Banka, Bhagalpur and Lakhisarai zonal committee of the outfit.

Maoists blasted two rooms of the Sub-Divisional Officer of the Kharagpur sub-division of Munger district with dynamites destroying property and records. They also looted sacks of food-grain from the Food Corporation of India storeroom located in the vicinity.

June 2: CPI-Maoist cadres triggered explosions targeting railway tracks between the Narganjo and Ghorparan stations in Jamui district leading to the derailment of the cargo van of the Poorvanchal Express train, besides bringing to a halt the movement of trains on the Howrah-Delhi route for several hours.

June 9: A fast track court sentenced two CPI-Maoist cadres, Surendra Manjhi and Saryu Manjhi, to death in connection with the attack on the Chhabilapur police station in Bihar's Nalanda district on August 11, 2005. Two persons including a constable and a person lodged in the lock-were killed in that attack. After the police contingent surrendered, the extremists had looted seven rifles, two carbines and 213 rounds of ammunition from them. They had also set ablaze the newly constructed police station building nearby before retreating. Of the 13 persons named accused in the case, seven were acquitted for want of evidence, while four others were being tried separately.

June 15: Armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided a work site of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) near Barki Murhari village under Pali police station in the Jehanabad district. The Maoists set ablaze a number of road construction machinery including two JVC tractors and three tractor-trolleys. They also left a note behind saying that the at the work site stating that the attack was carried out to protest the constructor's refusal to pay levy. The manager of the Patna-based M/s Mother India Construction Company Private Limited said that they were working on this three kilometre stretch of rural link road under the PMGSY at an estimated cost of INR 7.8 millions and the Maoists were demanding 10 percent of the total estimated cost by way of levy.

June 19: Police recovered the dead body of Bigan Mahto, a hardcore extremist belonging to the Tritiya Prastuti Committee, who was suspected to have been killed by CPI-Maoist cadres near a school at Dumaria under Dumaria police station of the Gaya district.

June 24: A CPI-Maoist leader, Devendra Sahni alias Ratnakar, was arrested from a hideout at Lakhminia village under Shyampur-Bhatta police station in the Sheohar district. While other Maoist cadres managed to escape, INR 10,500 was recovered from Devendra.

June 26: CPI-Moist cadres killed two people, including a village head, at a ‘jan adalat’ (kangaroo court) in Jamui district after finding them "guilty" of helping the Police. Reports said that a group of armed Maoists killed Babuli village head Ashok Das and his close associate Mohammad Mustafa. "Their throat was slit by Maoists to send a message of harsh punishment to others," informed the Police.

July 1: CPI-Maoist cadres blew up house of a suspected police informer and abducted his brother in the Gaya district. According to the report, nearly 100 Maoists used dynamites to blow up the house of one Shivbachan Yadav and abducted his brother Bindeshwar Yadav as Shivbachan was not present there at the time of attack. The Maoists also looted valuables worth over INR 100,000.

July 2: CPI-Maoist cadres blew up rail tracks in the Saran and Muzaffarpur districts during their 24-hour general strike called across the country. The line between Badagopal and Avtar Nagar stations under Sonepur division of East Central Railway was damaged around 6.30 am (IST), affecting train services on the Delhi-Guwahati route, railway sources said. The Maoists also planted a bomb on the track which did not explode and was later defused. Railway sources said the engine of the Muzaffarpur-Narkatiaganj passenger train was derailed after the Maoists blew up a two-metre portion of the tracks between Mehsi and Mahwal stations in the Muzaffarpur district. No casualty was reported in these incidents.

July 5: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up a government office in Bihar’s East Champaran district. No casualties were reported in the incident that took place at Chitriya block office near district headquarter Motihari. An unidentified Police official said, "The Maoist rebels first attacked the office and later blew it up to create panic among local administrative officials and villagers."

July 11: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up railway tracks and a portion of the Government complex housing the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) in Bihar's Jamui district. Maoists triggered explosions destroying the track between Narganjo and Ghorparan stations under the Eastern Railway disrupting movement of trains on the Patna-Howrah route. They also exploded a bomb on the track near Ghoghi-Bariarpur village in the Munger district damaging the line and disrupting railway traffic. Another explosive planted on the track did not explode and was defused. Separately, Maoists attacked a Government complex at Lakshmipur in the Jamui district housing the offices of the BDO, Circle Officer and the local police station around the same time. However, resistance put up by the police made the Maoists retreat after blasting a portion of the BDO’s office. The Maoists had called for a 24-hour bandh in five East Bihar districts - Jamui, Munger, Bhagalpur, Lakhisarai and Banka - to protest the arrest and alleged custodial torture of an ‘area commander' of the outfit, Kamlesh alias Deepak, on July 6.

August 21: Six policemen, two CPI-Maoist cadres and a civilian were killed in an exchange of fire after Maoists carried out an attack on the policemen who had come for a routine inspection of a branch of the Punjab National Bank at the Raniganj village in the Gaya district. The Maoists, numbering nearly 12, also looted five self-loading rifles of the policemen. Five of the slain policemen belonged to the Special Auxiliary Police, a special force comprising ex-Army personnel created by the Bihar Government to combat the left-wing extremists.. Magadh range Deputy Inspector General of Police Praveen Bashist said the extremists had positioned themselves at strategic points near the bank and opened fire on the policemen the moment they got down from the jeep, giving them little time to react. The Maoists left behind one of the motorcycles used in the operation. They also left behind a handwritten leaflet, saying the operation was aimed at police to avenge atrocities by them.

August 22: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead two persons at Enma village in the Jehanabad district. A dozen Maoist rebels came to the village and killed Lala Yadav and his uncle-in-law Lallu Yadav. The exact reason behind the killing was not known.

August 24: A doctor R. S. Gupta and his three assistants were arrested in the Aurangabad district after they were found treating a Maoist leader Binay Kumar Prajapati. Superintendent of Police of Aurangabad, Ganesh Kumar, said Gupta was arrested following a raid on his nursing home in Aurangabad town. Another Maoist, Lav Kumar, was also arrested during the raid.

August 25: A CRPF personnel was killed and three others were injured in an encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres at Patthar Lautia village in the Gaya district. The report said that CRPF Havildar B P Singh was abducted and later shot dead during an encounter close to the Jharkhand border. Another CRPF sub-inspector is reported to be missing. The Maoists managed to decamp with the rifle of an injured Police personnel belonging to the Special Task Force of the Bihar police.

August 28: Armed CPI-Maoist cadres killed a villager and abducted another at Itwachapachrukhi village in the Munger district. According to Police sources, more than 40 Maoists wearing police uniform carried out a raid on the village, killed Fantoosh Yadav and abducted Kamleshwari Yadav. Both Fantoosh and Kameshwari had close links with a criminal gang headed by Vinodi Yadav operating in the district. The Vinodi Yadav gang was responsible for the killing of Kabir Koda, the village headman of Bangalwa panchayat, who was a Maoist sympathiser.

September 3: Two CPI-Maoist cadres were injured in an encounter with the police on Kaimur hills at Soli village under the Nauhatta police station of Rohtas district. The encounter occurred after police came to know of a medical camp being organised by the Maoists in a residential Adivasi high school at Soli. A suspected Maoist, identified as Mandey Urawn, of nearby Nagatoli village was arrested from the area following the encounter. The police also recovered two rifles looted earlier from the police personnel, 60 live cartridges, walkie talkie sets and medicine in huge quantity from the area.

September 12: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed two persons and seriously injured two others in Ghoswar village of Vaishali district of Bihar. Police sources said that a group of Maoists killed Subodh Kumar Singh and his brother Sudhanshu Kumar Singh and their relatives Pinki Devi and Anil Kumar.

September 24: A Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) trooper was killed and three others were injured in an ambush by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in the Rohtas district. The Maoists exploded a landmine near Koriarighat in Kaimur Hills when the SAP contingent comprising ex-servicemen was returning after an encounter with the Maoists. The blast badly damaged the vehicle carrying the personnel. Before the security personnel could take position, the Maoists opened fire on the security forces killing constable Kanhaiya Singh on the spot.

Police recovered a huge quantity of explosives, including a powerful landmine and several detonators, following after an encounter with the Maoists in the Budhua village of Rohtas district. Acting on an intelligence tip-off that hundreds of Maoists had assembled at Budhua village on the occasion of the foundation day of the outfit, a patrol party raided the village, leading to the exchange of fire between the two sides. After a five-hour-long battle, the Maoists managed to escape and the police recovered a 75-kilogram powerful landmine and several detonators from the spot.

September 28: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blasted two towers of Reliance Communications at Bishunpur and Manjhaulia villages in the Gaya district. Another communication tower belonging to Airtel was also blasted at Chaugain village under Roshanganj police station limits in the same district.

Separately, armed Maoists set on fire a generator set at a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) tower at Maigra village under Dumaria police station in the Gaya district. Deputy Inspector General (Magadh range) Pravin Vashisht told "The mobile phone network is proving to be a great headache for the naxalites as these give away vital information about their location and movements. Their action is apparently aimed at destructing this network to facilitate smooth conduct of their nefarious operations."

September 28: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blasted two towers of Reliance Communications at Bishunpur and Manjhaulia villages in the Gaya district. Another communication tower belonging to Airtel was also blasted at Chaugain village under Roshanganj police station limits in the same district.

Separately, armed Maoists set on fire a generator set at a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) tower at Maigra village under Dumaria police station in the Gaya district. Deputy Inspector General (Magadh range) Pravin Vashisht told "The mobile phone network is proving to be a great headache for the naxalites as these give away vital information about their location and movements. Their action is apparently aimed at destructing this network to facilitate smooth conduct of their nefarious operations."

October 2: CPI-Maoist cadres detonated explosions targeting two towers of Cellular Phone Service Operators at Erauri and Ketki areas of in Aurangabad district. Superintendent of police Ganesh Kumar told over 75 armed Maoists detonated cane and petrol bombs to blow up one tower each of Reliance and Airtel at both the places. Fifteen villagers were injured in clash with the Maoists when they resisted their attempt to blow up the towers.

October 4: A policeman was killed and six others were injured by the CPI-Maoist cadres during an encounter at Karma village under Sahibganj police station area in the Muazaffarpur district.

October 6: Police foiled a plan by the CPI-Maoist to hold a training camp on the border of Rohtas and Kaimur districts. A special operation, Operation ‘Vidhwansha’, in which six CRPF companies, three STF units and police personnel of the two districts were engaged in resulted in the destruction of the training camp. No encounter took place as the Maoists escaped into nearby forest areas. Three landmines were recovered from encounter site. The raiding team destroyed bunker-like structures and some other temporary structures, constructed for imparting training in gun battle. Police sources said that around 400 CPI-Maoist cadres had gathered in villages falling under Nauhatta and Sasaram blocks of Rohtas district and Adhaura block of Kaimur district to take part in the training programme. Subsequently, Police arrested two Maoists.

October 19: A former Army officer who had been recruited into the SAP, created to tackle left-wing extremists was killed in an encounter with the extremists near Jhatpahri village under the Dumaria police station area in Gaya district. SP Mallar Vizhi said that the encounter took place after a combined team of SAP, STF, CRPF, the district Police and the BMP raided a hideout of the CPI-Maoist on information of a meeting of the sub-zonal committee of the outfit. Three country-made revolvers were recovered from the encounter site.

October 21: Police recovered a huge cache of arms hidden by the suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist in the Bhalua forest area of Gaya District. The arms cache which included 200 detonators, 126 tiffin bombs, timers and few wires was hidden inside a 250-litres tank.

October 22: CPI-Maoist cadres blew up the mobile tower of a private telecom company at Mungia village in the Aurangabad district. Police sources said that a group of 100 Maoists used a landmine to blow up the tower and also assaulted the security guard manning the tower.

Chhattisgarh

January 3: Police neutralized a CPI-Maoist camp following an encounter with the Maoists near Kotrapal village under Bhairamgarh police station limits in the Bijapur district. No causality was reported. Police recovered explosives, detonators, radio, Maoist literature and daily use material from the camp.

January 5: The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked police personnel engaged in a combing operation near Cherpal in the Bijapur district. Another group of Maoists attacked police personnel near Kotrapal. No casualty was reported in either of these incidents.

January 7: Police in the Kanker district claimed to have killed seven hardcore CPI-Maoist cadres following a raid on a camp of the outfit in a forested area under Koyalibera police station. Pawan Deo, Deputy Iinspector General of Police (Kanker range) told, "We found heavy blood stains at the encounter site and enough evidence that rebels' bodies have been carried deep inside the forest during the 90-minute fierce gun battle." The police recovered three rifles, 36 detonators, four bundles of wires used for landmine blasts, pipe bombs, tiffin bombs, Maoist uniform and literature.

The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked two vehicles of police personnel near Narsampuram in the Dantewada district. However, no causality was reported.

January 7: Police arrest a CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Kumada, near Hadeli village under Mardapal police station limits of Bastar district. The Maoist, carrying head money of INR 3000, was involved in several incidents in the Bastar region.

January 9: One CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Bako Maso, was killed during an exchange of fire between police personnel and the extremists in the forest near Dalmer village under Bhairamgarh police station limits of Bijapur district. The Maoists attacked the police personnel who were combing the area and fled as police opened fire. Police subsequently recovered the dead body of the Maoist along with a 12.bore rifle, one tiffin bomb and explosives from the encounter site.

January 10: A CPI-Maoist cadre of the Dhoudai dalam, identified as Mahettar alias Murali, was arrested by police from Kondagaon town in the Bastar district. The Maoist who was involved in several cases of violence in the district was in the town to buy some daily use materials for Maoists. Police recovered some Maoists banner and other daily use materials from a bag carried by the arrested Maoist.

January 14: Five CRPF personnel were wounded in an ambush by armed Maoists in a forest in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. About 150 Maoists attacked a joint police party of the CRPF and district forces when the security force personnel were on a de-mining and area dominance operation in the Jharghati jungle, about 350 kilometers from State capital Raipur, the District Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said.

January 18: Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Bhagat and Kosa, were killed during an encounter between police personnel and the Maoists in the forest area in the Konta village of Dantewada district along the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border. Police recovered one rifle, one 12 bore rifle and a cartridge from the encounter site.

January 21:The STF and the CRPF personnel raided a Maoist hideout in Dantewada's Kirandul area and subsequent to an encounter recovered a huge cache of explosives. The Inspector General of Police Girdhari Nayak said, "STF and CRPF fought a fierce battle with the Leftist insurgents for at least 30 minutes in a forest bastion of the ultras. The rebels fled, leaving a stock of explosives, literature and uniforms."

January 22: Malti, a top ‘commander’ of the CPI-Maoist and wife of the spokesman of the outfit Gudsa Usendi, was arrested from Farid Nagar locality in the Supela area of Durg district along with two of her associates. Nine pistols, five locally made firearms, one wireless set, INR 600,000 in currency notes and 11 mobile phones were recovered from the house, in which she was reportedly staying for the past two years. Police have also detained a freelance journalist from the Bhilai area for his alleged connection with the arrested Maoists.

January 23: A Kolkata-based publisher Asit Sengupta was arrested in Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, for his alleged links with the CPI-Maoist. A senior police official told, "A publisher from Kolkata, Asit Sen Gupta was arrested after huge amount of literature related to the banned Naxal organisation CPI-Maoist and other things were recovered from his house from Tikrapara area of Raipur."

January 28: Indian Express reported that Bastar in Chhattisgarh is emerging as the new training ground for CPI-Maoist cadres from across the country. The People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) is running four camps in the forests of the region where cadres from several states are being given "on the job" training in carrying out attacks and planting explosives. Intelligence reports and documents seized by the Chhattisgarh Police indicate that Bastar is the new epicentre for Maoist extremism and officials suspect that 1,500-2,000 cadres are present in these camps at any given time.

Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwaranjan stated that while three of the camps were located in the jungles of Bijapur and Dantewara districts, one camp is believed to be located in the Abujhmarh forests. "According to intelligence inputs received by us, apart from locally recruited cadres, Maoist extremists from other states, including Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, are also being given training," he said. Apart from 8,000-10,000 armed PLGA and Jan militia in the region, there are also 25,000-35,000 Maoist sympathisers or Sangham members.

January 30: At least nine villagers were abducted by a group of CPI-Maoist cadres in the Bijapur district, police sources said. About 70 Maoists, including armed rebels, stopped a jeep carrying the villagers near Bhogamguda village and asked for each one’s identity. Subsequently, nine villagers were taken away to a forest area.

CPI-Maoist cadres abducted four Special Police Officers (SPOs) and five villagers while they were travelling in a jeep from Bijapur to Gangaloor in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Inspector General of Police (Bastar) R K Vij told, "The Maoists stopped the jeep by felling a tree on the road. The SPOs and villagers were taken into nearby jungles."

January 31: Chhattisgarh Police arrested 15 CPI-Maoist cadres from Kanker district and recovered explosive material and firearms from them. The Maoists were holding a meeting with villagers at Jamdi when police raided the place. Further details on the recovery were not available.

February 2: Four CRPF personnel, including a Sub-Inspector, were killed by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist in an ambush in the Narayanpur district.

February 12: Security force personnel averted an attempt by the CPI-Maoist cadres to ambush the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, Mahendra Karma, in the Dantewada district. Karma, who tops the hit-list of the CPI-Maoist, was reportedly returning to Dantewada from Aranpur when his convoy came under attack near Potali. Retaliation by the SFs forced the Maoists to flee. Subsequently, SF personnel recovered and later defused a landmine, packed with about three kilograms of explosive, planted on the road.

February 13: A combined team of the Bijapur district police and CRPF Force personnel raided a CPI-Maoist camp in the forest area of Bansaguda police station and killed two Maoists, identified as Modyami and Awalam Dalla. Police also recovered some bombs, detonators, medicines and daily use material from the incident site.

February 18: 13 cadres of the CPI-Maoist and six CRPF personnel were killed in two separate encounters in the Bijapur district. In the first encounter, the STF personnel shot dead 10 Maoists inside Adesmetta forest under Gangalur police station in the district after they came were attacked by the Maoists who used landmines and automatic gunfire. Three CRPF head constables and an equal number of constables were killed in an encounter with the Maoists in Tadkel hill of Mirtur police station area, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range), Rajinder Kumar Vij, said. Three Maoists were also killed during the encounter, which began when a group of 60 CRPF personnel on a search mission were attacked by the Maoists with landmine blasts and machinegun fire in the area. "There were about 300 ultras," Vij said. Maoists escaped with the guns of the slain CRPF soldiers, he added.

February 13: One CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Lakhmu alias Surjuram, was arrested by police along with a rifle at Banskot village under Badhgaon police station limits of the Kanker district. He was wanted in four incidents in the Pakhanjur and Badhgaon police station area. Another Maoist, identified as Mangruram, was arrested along with a rifle during a raid conducted by Aamaguda police at Matla village in the same district.

February 14: Seven CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested by a combined team of police and the Central Reserve police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Dantewada district. The arrested cadres were accused of destroying school buildings in the Sameli, Burgum and Potali villages. They are also accused in an attack on the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, Mahendra Karma, on February 12.

The Narayanpur district police arrested three Maoists from the forest area of Uchacoat. They were reportedly involved in the setting ablaze of a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) vehicle in Bharanda road in between Narayanpur and Antagarh.

February 17: Police recovered a 10 kilogram pipe bomb from the encounter site after an exchange of fire with the Maoists near Kristaram police station in the Dantewada district.

February 21: The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked the convoy of the Collector and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Narayanpur district near Rainar village. "One of the bullets hit the third vehicle from the car of the SP and the Collector and broke its window pane," a police official said, adding that no one was injured in the incident. Both the officials were returning to the district headquarter Narayanpur after attending a grievance redressal meeting in Rainar village when the incident occurred.

February 23: Around 10-12 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist killed a civilian, identified as Samsai, in the Sode village of Kanker district. The Maoists have alleged that the victim was a police informer.

Police arrested three Maoists, identified as Isha alias Yusuf Ansari, Amjad alias Aazad and Anmol Tirkey, from a forest area near Nagara village in the Balrampur police district during a search operation. The police also recovered one .9-mm automatic machinegun, one country made firearm and two cartridges from their possession. They were reportedly involved in setting ablaze six tractors and abducting three workers of a contractor in Nagara village on February 1-night.

February 25: Police arrested three CPI-Maoist cadres in separate incidents in the Koriya district. In the first incident one Maoist, identified as Chhotu alias Laxaman, was arrested in the Sonhat police station area along with one .315 rifle and five cartridges. Separately, two more Maoists, identified as Shiva Pratap Singh alias Chhotkan (carrying head money of INR 2000) and Rajpati Singh alias Lalla alias Rashtrapati (carrying head money of INR 3000), were arrested from the Kotadol police station area. Both the Maoists are wanted in several criminal activities in the Koriya and Surajpur police districts.

February 26: Around 50-60 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked the Bande police station in the Kanker district. However, the attack was foiled by the security force personnel and no causality was reported.

February 27: Police arrested two Maoists, identified as Mangal and Mansaram, from Patkalbeda village under Antagarh police station in the Kanker district along with two rifles.

February 29: Police during a search operation arrested five CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, identified as Mehattar Ram, Baisakhuram Daro, Ganguram, Anand Sore and Nirgo Bai alias Hirgobai alias Kavita, from Petargudam forest area under Badgaon police station of Kanker district.

March 1: Four Sangham (a group of hardcore over-ground cadres) member of the CPI-Maoist were arrested by a combined team of forest guards and the Special Police Officers near Chinka village under Bhairamgarh police station in the Bijapur district .

March 4: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian, identified as Sodhi Darra, in the Chintalnar police station area of Dantewada district. A pamphlet recovered from the incident site allegedly branded the victim as a police informer.

Maoists set ablaze two tractors engaged in road construction work near Kakerbeda under Chhote Dongar police station in the Narayanpur district and warned workers to stop the ongoing road construction work.

March 15: An attack by a group of heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres on a Special Police Officer (SPO) camp in the Dantewada district was repulsed by alert SPOs. Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said a group of around 24 Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on the Chitalanka camp, but had to retreat when the SPOs retaliated. The camp housing about 20-25 SPOs is located two kilometres from district headquarters Dantewada town and is very close to the official residence of the District Collector and Superintendent of Police.

March 18: Joint security forces of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh killed 17 CPI-Maoist cadres, including seven women inside the Darelli forest under Pamedu police station in the Bijapur district. The encounter followed an aerial survey that revealed an ongoing plenum of the Maoists attended by 60 cadres. Khammam Superintendent of Police D.S. Chauhan confirmed that those killed in the encounter were mostly from Khammam district. Weapons including an AK-47, three Self Loading Rifles (SLRs), landmines and many single shot weapons were recovered following two spells of the ambushes by the SFs. Police sources said more than 500 shots were fired by both sides in two spells — one at 9 AM and another four hours later. While 13 Maoists were killed in the first spell of encounter, four others were killed during the second assault.

March 20: Three Salwa Judum activists were killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in a forested stretch in southern Chhattisgarh. Maoists reportedly abducted the deceased from a relief camp at Mathwara village in the Bijapur district and three days later killed them by slitting their throats.

March 24: The District Collector (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kanker in the Bastar district escaped unhurt even as two policemen were wounded when Maoists triggered landmine blast targeting their vehicle. The incident occurred when the DC, K. R. Pisda, and SP, Ratan Lal Dangi, were returning to the district headquarters Kanker. Although both the senior officials escaped, the tail vehicle, carrying policemen to provide security to them, were hit by the explosion.

March 26: A day-long general strike called by the CPI-Maoist to protest against killings of 17 of their colleagues last week in southern Chhattisgarh affected normal life. The transport operators kept passenger vehicles off the road. Shops and business establishment in the forested areas of Bastar remained closed and passenger buses did not ply on the National Highway 221 in Dantewada district and on National Highway 16 in Bijapur district.

March 27: A group of 55 armed CPI-Maoist cadres raided the Mahamaya iron ore plant of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Gajurao village of Durg district. They fled with 200 bags of pottassium nitrate explosive after loading them onto six trucks parked at the plant. The Maoists also abducted the manager of the unit and seven other staff members.

A policeman and five personnel of the bomb disposal squad of Chhattisgarh police were injured in a land mine blast triggered by CPI-Maoist near Sendhawadi village in Rajnandgaon district.

March 28: CPI-Maoist cadres on March 28 released all the eight officials and employees they had abducted from Durg district on March 27. Durg District Superintendent of Police Dinapshu Kabra said that all the released persons were unharmed.

CPI-Maoist cadres damaged five electricity polls in the Bastar district disrupting power supply to over 150 villages. "The entire Usur block and some areas of Bhopalpatnam block are facing a blackout since Friday night. We fear the rebels may use the opportunity to attack either police or civilians installations," said Ankit Garg, the Bastar district Superintendent of Police. The supply of electricity remained disrupted till April 1.

March 31: CPI-Maoist called for a bandh in the Dandakaranya region to protest killing of 17 of their cadres in Bastar area on March 18 by the Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh police in a joint operation.

April 20: CPI-Maoist cadres killed two Salwa Judum members in the Gayatapara village of Bijapur district. Ankit Garg, District Superintendent of Police (Bijapur), said that both the victims, settlers of the Gangloor relief camp, had gone back to their village for personal work when they were attacked by a group of 20 armed Maoists.

April 24: CPI-Maoist cadres set fire to 47 vehicles of a private company, Essar Steels at Korandul in the Dantewada district. The vehicles burnt included 33 dumpers, four earth moving equipment, two diesel tankers and one bus. Some 400 Maoists including over 100 women stormed into the company premises at Kadampal locality in the town around 11.30 p.m, doused the vehicles with diesel and set them afire by keeping the guards and drivers away at gun point. Maoists subsequently fled the scene leaving behind a pamphlet issued in the name of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee of the outfit. The pamphlet warned the Essar Steels and another private company against continuing their operations in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

May 8: Three policemen were killed when the CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast and opened fire at a police party near Chhindpal village in the Kanker district. The slain police personnel were identified as platoon commander Sangram Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector Shayamlal Ambali and Constable Mahulal. Police sources said that the attack by an estimated 150 Maoists occurred when a police party comprising 26 personnel were visiting the site to clear a tree felled by the Maoists to block the road.

May 20: CPI-Maoist cadres killed two special police officers in the Narayanpur district. Pawan Deo, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Kanker range), said, "Two bodies were found at a roadside in a forested stretch in Narayanpur district Wednesday (May 21) morning. Maoists probably killed them overnight and dumped their bodies early morning".

May 22: A tribal woman was killed and another injured when a bomb planted by the Maoists exploded in a forested area on Narayanpur-Orchha road in the Narayanpur district.

May 31: The Hindu reports that Maoists have imposed a ban on the use of mobile phones in the tribal habitations of the Bastar region.

June 2: CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze two private buses on the Nerli ghat road and torched four tippers at Bachali area in the Dantewada district. Dantewada Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said that 50 armed Maoists stopped the buses travelling on the Raipur- Kirandul route, asked the passengers to alight and then torched the vehicles. Before fleeing under the cover of darkness, the Maoists also fired upon the Police, who had rushed to the area. At Bachali, 25-kilometres from Dantewada, a group of 40 Maoists burnt down the tippers engaged in civil works. Maoists have also pasted posters and distributed pamphlets in the tribal villages asking them to leave their places.

June 3: CPI-Maoist cadres pulled down 14 electricity poles in the southern Bastar region affecting supply of the electricity to at least 50 villages of Narayanpur district. Pawan Deo, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Kanker range), said, "The police presence has been boosted in and around Government installations located in villages where there is a blackout. Patrolling has been intensified with police and para-military troopers being put on high alert."

CPI-Maoist cadres killed three tribals and set ablaze six vehicles in the Dantewada district as part of their Jana Chaitanyam (Public Awareness) campaign. The killed persons include, businessman N. Ramakrishna and his associates T. Laxmaiah and S. Nagaraju, all residents of Chintakunta village in the Charla mandal, had left for Kondapalli on a two-wheeler on June 2. Their dead bodies were dug out near the Basavagu area.

June 6: CPI-Maoist cadres blasted a high tension 220-KV power supply tower in the forested Bastar region. Security forces who scanned the forests from helicopters located the tower. Hundreds of villages in the Jagdalpur, Bijapur, Dantewada and Narayanpur districts in the southern districts of the state have plunged into darkness as a result. Electricity could only be restored on June 12.

June 7: Three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, were killed during a gunfight with the Police in the Bijapur district. The incident took place near the forests of Bhairamgarh, about 480-km south of Raipur. "A team of District Force backed by Special Police Officers fought a gun battle with armed rebels and the 45-minute fight ended with three ultras, including a female commander, being killed," Girdhari Nayak, Inspector General of Police. Nayak also said that two Maoists surrendered before the Police with 12 bore guns and a claymore mine in the Surguja district on the same day.

June 8: Three Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including a sub-inspector, were killed and two others injured in an attack by the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Durg district. Police sources said that a group of Maoists blew up a jeep of CISF personnel using an IED near Mahamaya mines area under Dallirajehra Police station of the district, leading to the killings and the injuries. The Maoists were reported to have decamped with the arms of the killed and injured personnel.

June 9: CPI-Maoist cadres set 22 tipper trucks of Essar Steel plant and removed a stretch of the Kirandole rail line in the Dantewada district, resulting in the derailment of two engines. A group of 200 armed Maoists stormed the industrial pocket at Bacheli village near Kirandole and burnt the trucks meant for transporting iron-ore. The attack continued till late in the night and the loss was said to be quite extensive. Maoists were observing an anti-oppression week in response to the call given by the Dandakaranya special zonal committee and the Orissa-Chhattisgarh border zonal committee of the outfit to protest against the Salwa Judum. The Maoists reportedly had been holding meetings since a week and distributing pamphlets and publicity material in the forest villages on the Konta-Dantewada highway urging the local people to support their cause.

June 12: An attack by the CPI-Maoist cadres on a visiting team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was repulsed in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. Officials at state police headquarters in Raipur said their personnel escorting the NHRC probe team fought an hour-long gun battle with the extremists following which the Maoists fled. The NHRC team was on its way to Konta area from Dantewada town.

June 15: Security forces raided a Maoist hideout near Uppelmeta under Errabore police station in the Dantewada district. A woman Maoist was killed during an encounter that followed the raid.

June 14: Maoists abducted three traders when they were on their way to Badgaon from a weekly market in the Kanker district. The Maoists initially held 30 traders captive, but later released 27 of them. The rebels also set ablaze a truck owned by the traders. One of the traders was later killed and other two let off.

June 16: The CPI-Maoist cadres stormed a marriage function and killed the bridegroom by slitting his throat before the guests at Koder village in the Bijapur district. The Maoists fled from the scene after killing Laxman Parlipal, who used to assist security forces at the Cherpal relief camp.

June 17: A CRPF trooper was killed and three other troopers were seriously injured in a remote forested stretch of Kanker district when the CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a combing team. Pawan Deo, Deputy Inspector General of Police in Kanker said that the 48-member combing team of the CRPF and the District Force came under attack by the Maoists who used grenades and guns. Following an hour-long gun battle, the CRPF troopers found abandoned shoes and blood marks at the site suggesting that the Maoists too had suffered injuries.

The CRPF personnel and the Maoists were engaged in a two-hour long encounter near Kondagaon in the Kanker district. The encounter followed after two CRPF platoons, on their way to a nearby village following information that the Maoists had killed a trader, came under attacks by the extremists. CRPF head constable Devidas was killed in the encounter while another head constable Shatrughan Singh Yadav and constable Grijashankar sustained serious injuries.

June 18: A constable was killed and eight SPOs went missing after armed Maoists attacked them at a forested stretch near village Murligura, close to the Andhra Pradesh border, in the Dantewada district. "Armed insurgents, who were waiting for the eight-member SPO team led by a police constable, opened indiscriminate fire at the team. The constable was killed on the spot," Dantewada district Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma told.

Maoists set ablaze an earth moving machine engaged in road construction at Lakshmipura under Pakhanjur police station in the Kanker district.

June 19: Three SPOs were killed by CPI-Maoist in Banda police station limits of Dantewada district. The SPOs were abducted by the Maoists along with five other civilian police following an encounter in the forests, seven kilometers away from Konta town on June 18. The SPOs were taken to a Maoist camp in the forests blind-folded where they were asked to distance themselves from the Salwa Judum and the police. Five of them were then let off and three others – Gopal, Bhadru and Lakshmaiah, were shot dead and their bodies abandoned near Banda village.

June 22: A constable of the Mizo battalion was critically injured when CPI-Maoist cadres chopped off his hand, injured another security personnel and looted two AK-47 assault rifles from both of them at Gadiras weekly market in the Dantewada district. District Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said the incident took place in the morning when two constables got separated from other security personnel during patrol duty at the weekly market. Soon, the Maoists attacked them with an axe, chopping off a hand of constable Piyang. The extremists then fled with their weapons.

June 25: Three policemen were killed in a CPI-Maoist ambush in Narayanpur district on June 25. Those killed included two Chhattisgarh Armed Forces' men and another from the district force of the state police. "Heavily armed insurgents, who were waiting on a hilly point in Narayanpur district, triggered a blast and then opened indiscriminate firing Wednesday night that killed three cops," Pawan Deo, Deputy Inspector General of Police. The Maoists also took away the weapons of the slain policemen.

June 29: Security force personnel and the Maoists engaged in an encounter near Belgaon village, 12 kilometres from Bairamgarh in the Bijapur district. A Maoist was killed during the encounter. Tiffin bombs weighing 10 kilograms and four hand grenades were recovered from the encounter site.

June 30: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed three activists of the Salwa Judum in the Bijapur district. The killed included two elected Panchayat members. The dead bodies were recovered near a village on the Amapalli-Ilmchi road. The three killed men had left for district headquarter Jagdalpur three days ago and but had not reached the destination.

July 8: 11 wagons of an iron-ore laden goods train were derailed at a stretch between Dantewada and Kamaloor railway stations in the Dantewada district after suspected CPI-Maoist cadres uprooted the rail tracks. The wagons of the train bound for Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh came down from a small bridge. The derailment has totally stooped iron ore transportation from Dantewada’s Kirandul base to the Andhra Pradesh port city.

July 7: Two persons who were abducted by the CPI-Maoist cadres one week back for acting as police informers, were found dead in a forest in the Bastar region. Police said both men were killed two days ago and their bodies were found in separate places in a thick forest while police teams were conducting a combing operation. While 55-year-year-old Patri Baloji's body was found in a forest in Bijapur, the body of Barsa Buddu, 50, was recovered from Dantewada. Police confirmed that both victims were police informers.

July 19: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a leader of the ruling BJP, who was also a sarpanch at Bastnar, 40 kilometres from the Bastar district headquarter in Jagdalpur, reports Indian Express. Maoists stormed into the house of Ganguram Kashyap, set ablaze his tractor, looted cash and food grains from the house and walked away with his cattle after shooting him dead. This was the first incident of a Maoist attack in this area. It is believed that the extremists are a part of the newly formed Bastnar division of the CPI-Maoist which is trying to spread their base into this area.

Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee member Avdesh Kumar Gautam had a narrow escape near Nakulnar weekly market in the Dantewada district when Maoists opened fire on him but missed their target. Gautam, who is on the hit list of Maoists because of his close association with Salwa Judum leaders.

July 27: Maoists killed a former village chief in Mainpur on the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border, accusing him of working as a police informer. "Former sarpanch Niram Singh Dhruv was forcefully taken away from his house by Maoists on Sunday and tied to an electricity pole in village square at Amagaon, about 225 km from the State capital [Raipur], and was shot in the chest," Mainpur police station sources said. A Maoist commander Gopanna was reportedly arrested from Dhruv's house on May 4, 2007 and the insurgents had subsequently accused Dhruv of informing the police about the commander's presence. However, the Superintendent of Police in Raipur, Amit Kumar, said "But Dhruv was not our informer and Maoists wrongly killed him."

August 5: CPI-Maoist cadres killed four people in two separate attacks in Chhattisgarh. While two persons were killed in the Sitagaon village of Rajnandgaon district, two more were killed in Kotapalli village of Bijapur district. Senior officials at the police headquarters in capital Raipur said all the four were killed on charges of spying for the police.

August 8: Security forces searching for a missing helicopter came under fire from the Maoists in the Gangalur area of the Bastar forest region. A two hour encounter did not result in any casualty on either side. The private helicopter which took off from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh on August 3-afternoon, was to stop at Jagdalpur for refuelling before heading for Raipur, state capital of Chhattisgarh. But it disappeared while flying over the Bastar forest.

August 11: The Chhattisgarh Police raided a training camp of the CPI-Maoist at Awapalli forest area in the Dantewada district and killed three insurgents. Girdhari Nayak, the Additional Director General of Police, claimed that the Maoists suffered more casualties but only three bodies were recovered. Awapalli, some 500 kilometres south of capital Raipur near the Andhra Pradesh border, is considered a Maoist stronghold.

August 12: The Chhattisgarh Police killed a CPI-Maoist cadre during an encounter near Jagargunda area of Dantewada district.

August 13: A Member of the Parliament (MP) from the Bastar region belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Baliram Kashyap, escaped a landmine attack triggered by the CPI-Maoist, Police sources told. Giridhari Nayak, the Additional Director General of Police, said, "Insurgents exploded a landmine to hit Kashyap's vehicle in a forested stretch of Narayanpur district but he escaped unhurt while the blast hit a jeep following his convoy." A policeman and an assistant sub-inspector were injured in the attack while the rear portion of the jeep was severely damaged.

August 29: Six CRPF personnel, including an inspector identified as R S Kang, were killed in a landmine explosion triggered by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in the Narayanpur district. The incident occurred on a state highway when the CRPF team was proceeding on an anti-Maoist operation from Konda to Narayanpur at around 11 AM, CRPF spokesman Ajay Chaturvedi said. The vehicle carrying the team was blown up in the explosion.

August 30: A CPI-Maoist cadre managed to decamp with one assault rifle and two grenades from the Durgkondal police station in the Kanker district. The 27-year old Maoist Guddu alias Gadwa had come to the police station two weeks ago and claimed that he had broken ranks with the outfit and hence, faced a threat to his life from his former colleagues. The police officers kept him in ‘protective custody’ on the condition that he would disclose information about the outfit. Abhisek Pathak, Kanker district superintendent of police, said, "We will probe the matter and action will surely be taken against the police officers of the Durgkondal police station because now it looks like the rebel had a staged drama of having broken ranks with the terror outfit to fool the police."

September 4: Five security force personnel, including three CRPF soldiers, were killed and five others injured in an attack by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in the forests near village Chunchuna Pundagh of Sarguja district. The area is close to the inter-state border with Jharkhand. Director General of Police Vishwaranjan said the extremists ambushed the SF personnel, who were patrolling the area and started firing indiscriminately at them.

September 12: CPI-Maoist cadres killed two of the eight villagers whom they had abducted on September 4 from Palamargu village in the Dantewada district. Dornapal sub-divisional police officer O P Sharma said, "Police had killed three rebels in an encounter last month. The Maoists killed the two villagers suspecting that they were police informers." He said a group of about 50-60 armed Maoists had abducted eight persons from the village and had released six of them. Mutilated bodies of two villagers, Panjam Podia and Hemla Nanda were subsequently recovered by the Police.

September 18: At least two CRPF personnel were injured in an ambush by the suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in a forested area of Bijapur district. Pawan Deo, Deputy Inspector General said that Maoists opened fire on a road opening party consisting of the CRPF personnel.

September 29: Four CRPF personnel including a deputy commandant were killed in a landmine explosion on a road leading to Chitrakoot in the Bastar region. The blast is suspected to have been triggered by the CPI-Maoist. Official sources said that the blast took place when two jeeps of a road opening party carrying 12 CRPF personnel were heading towards Chitrakoot. While Diwakar Mahapatra, a deputy commandant of the CRPF, and the driver of the vehicle died on the spot, two of the injured personnel succumbed to injuries in the government hospital in Bastar. The condition of the three others was reported to be critical. President Pratibha Patil was visiting the Bastar region at the time of the incident.

October 7: A CPI-Maoist commander was killed by a joint team of the Chhattisgarh police and the paramilitary CRPF in a forest area in the Bijapur district. District Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg informed that the encounter took place after a security force combing team was fired upon by the Maoists. A dozen of the Maoists managed to escape after security forces retaliated. The security forces later recovered the body of the slain Maoist along with four 12-bore guns and a tiffin bomb.

October 8: CPI-Maoist cadres fired a few rounds at the Maraiguda police station in the Dantewada district. Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said that the Maoists fled after Police opened retaliatory fire. This police station located on the interstate border with Andhra Pradesh had previously been attacked by the Maoists in April 2007.

October 20: 12 Para-military personnel belonging to the CRPF were killed and six others injured in an ambush by the CPI-Maoist extremists near a forest village between Modupal and Kompalli in the Bijapur district. Bijapur SP Ankit Garg said the incident took place around 1.30 pm when CRPF men patrolling the area were moving towards the Modupal base camp. They were attacked by large number of Maoists who first set off an explosion and then opened fire. Police sources said three security personnel were killed in the blast while nine others were killed in the firing that followed. A Maoist was killed when the CRPF personnel returned fire. Maoists also escaped with weapons of the dead and injured personnel, including an Ak-47 assault rifle, two SLRs, a light machine gun and INSAS rifles.

Maharashtra

January 6: The Chandrapur district police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Manoj Maroti Sonule and Vinayak Sonule, from Ramnagar. Police said that both are suspected to be members of the ‘Chandrapur Area Committee’ of the outfit. A hi-tech Chinese carbine gun, ammunition magazines and 135 live cartridges (9-mm) along with a large quantity of Maoist literature were recovered from the arrested Maoists.

January 11: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from Ballarpur. Police also neutralized a firearms production factory and a printing press, operating in Ballarpur in the Chandra district by the Maoists during the last few days. Maoist literature, sensitive diaries and CDs have been seized along with sophisticated firearms and electronic devices during the raids conducted in various towns in the district.

According to Hitavada, a CPI-Maoist cadre was arrested from Ballarpur in the same district. Some Maoist literature and two guns has been reportedly recovered form the house. The raids were conducted on the basis of the information obtained from the recently arrested Maoist duo, Manoj and Vinayak Sonule.

February 19: At least four Maoists were injured in an encounter with the Special Anti-Naxal Squad of Gadchiroli district police in the forest area near Potegaon village. The encounter started when the Maoists opened fire towards the police conducting combing operations in the area. During subsequent search operation, the police recovered a 410 musket rifle, two locally-made rifles, one grenade, four backpacks, three water bags, one live cartridge and other material from the incident site.

March 17: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed two surrendered extremists from Kondawahi village under the Jaravandi police station in the Gadchiroli district.

March 18: Daily News and Analysis reported that 56 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Maharashtra are raising funds for the Maoists. "We have concrete information that these 56 NGOs work for naxalites [Maoists] and are raising funds and recruiting people at various levels. The funds so raised are channelled through various conduits that they have created over a period of time", a senior police official said. According to the report, NGOs based in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur have been under the scanner for quite some time now. All of them work under the umbrella of the Tactical United Front (TUF) and the All India People’s Resistance Forum (AIPRF) — a conglomerate of groups sympathising with the Maoist cause. The officer added, "Run by educated people, these NGOs are instrumental in conducting brainwash sessions of the new recruits, who are primarily locals and tribals from Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara, and Yavatmal districts."

March 19: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a surrendered extremist in the Jaravandi police station area of Gadchiroli district.

April 7: Police recovered arms and ammunition stolen by two surrendered CPI-Maoist cadres who were working as informers for the Police. Working on a tip-off, a joint search team of the Gadchiroli and Gondia district police recovered two AK-47 rifles, a hand-grenade and seven magazines dumped under a paddy stack in Gadchiroli district’s Khursipar village.

May 22: Five CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from village Kosmi in the Gadchiroli district. A cache of arms and explosives was recovered from their possession. Police public relations officer T.G. Deshmukh said, "Based on intelligence that Maoists were camping in the village, the police laid siege around it and challenged them to come out." Following an exchange of fire, "When the Maoists, some of them injured, tried to flee, the police gave chase and nabbed five of them," she said. Previously on May 18, the Maoists had attacked a police constable’s house in village Hiranje and also looted some food grain.

July 5: Police arrested two Maoists from Machli Toal village in the Chamorshi Tehsil (revenue division) of Gadchiroli district. The arrested extremists were identified as Santosh alias Namdeo Chaitu Atram (22) and his wife Vimla Zure (20), residents of Modugudam in Aheri Tehsil. They were active in the Maoist dalams for the last two years.

July 28: Three Maoists were arrested from Wadsa Desaiganj in the Gadchiroli district. The three, initially mistaken as burglars, had recently shifted from Nagpur where they worked at a hotel. Suresh alias Suron Bairagi, charge sheeted towards the end of 2007 for his Maoist activities, was among the three arrested from a bus stand in Wadsa. Police seized some Maoist literature and pamphlets, apart from some explosive materials and nickel rods from his possession. The others were identified as Rajkumar Bihari and Sagar Thakur.

August 26: A divisional committee member of the CPI-Maoist, Suresh alias Jairam Harami, surrendered before the Gadchiroli district police along with a dalam commander, a deputy dalam commander and two dalam members. The surrendered divisional committee member had joined the extremist movement in the early ‘90s. Additional Director General of Police Pankaj Gupta said, "We will present their case for surrender benefits before the District Collector’s panel after due verification of further details." "We are expecting more surrenders in future," he added. With this, 287 left-wing extremists have so far surrendered in Gadchiroli district and 11 in Gondia district.

October 26: CPI-Maoist cadres ambushed a police party and killed four personnel near Korepalli village under Rajaram Khanla police station in Aheri tehsil in the Gadchiroli district. The 23-member Police party, a C-60 commando unit with four officers, was on a routine patrol in the area. The killed policemen have been identified as provisional sub-inspector S R Parekar and constables Vinod Uike, Ajay Maste and Vasant Madavi.

Orissa

January 2: A policeman was injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a police outpost at Baunsajhar in the Biramitrapur police station area of Sundergarh district.

January 4: A group of 20 Maoists, including two women, attacked a forest range office at Badrama in the Sambalpur district, assaulted six forest guards and locked them up in a room before ransacking the premises and setting it ablaze. Seven jeeps and four motorbikes parked in the premises were also set ablaze. Files and documents of the range office were destroyed in the fire. The Maoists also attacked the residence of a forest official, K C Nath, and took away cash, ornaments and mobile handsets.

January 5: Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Raj and Kalia Mirdha, were killed during an encounter between police personnel and the extremists in the forests near Badibahal village under Jamankira Police Station of Sambalpur district. Police recovered their dead bodies on January 6-morning from the encounter site. However, several other Maoists injured in the encounter managed to escape. The police claimed to recovered three SLRs that the Maoists had looted from the police in the past and one .315 rifle that the Maoists had taken away when they attacked the Forest Range Office at the nearby Badrama Ghat on January 4-night.

January 10: Two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Madi Soma and Madkami Simha, were arrested by police during a raid near Mangipalli village in the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri Superintendent of Police, S.K. Gajbhiye, said that the SOG commandoes raided the forest adjacent to Mangipalli near MV 79 village on the information that a group of Maoists were camping in the area. The SOG team arrested the two, while the rest of the cadres escaped. The duo were members of the Motu dalam and were involved in several cases of murder, landmine explosion, extortion and looting in the district. Explosives including gelatine sticks, detonators, wires, switching devices and grenades, and Maoist posters were recovered from their possession.

January 16: One local trader, Bijay Kumar Degul, was stabbed to death by a group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres in front of his father, Dinabandhu, at Sanpalmanda village in the Bandhugaon block of Koraput district.

January 17: Five Maoist sympathisers were arrested from different places in the Sambalpur district. The sympathisers, Prashant Rout of Kusupur village under Balikuda police limits in Jagatsinghpur, Ramesh Bag of Pathargarh village, Phuljain Soren of Gadpati village, Buthi Mirdha and Tarani Mirdha of Basupali village under Sambalpur police limits had helped in shifting a Maoist who was injured in the January 5 encounter in Gadpati forest range under Jamankira police limits.

January 21: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from a forest area in Motu in the Malkangiri district. Police sources said that the arrested extremists were planning a major attack in the district ahead of the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. The Maoists were identified as Salbam Mukta of Konta Naxal dalam in Chhattisgarh and Kotam Malla and Modumu Rama of Motu Naxal dalam in Malkangiri. Superintendent of Police, S. K. Gajbhiye, said that Mukta, a hardcore extremist wanted in many cases including several killings, was mobilising the cadres in the area. A locally-made gun, landmines, explosive materials, 50 gelatin sticks and two detonators, publicity material including CDs were recovered from the arrested Maoists.

January 28: Maoists used landmines to blast newly built houses for police officials in the Malkangiri district. CPI-Maoist cadres exploded landmines at the empty houses which are part of a jail complex being built in MV 79 village. A district police official said the Maoists ran into a nearby forest after destroying the houses.

January 28: Maoists triggered a bomb blast at a new jail building which was under construction at MV-79 village in the Malkangiri district, causing substantial damage to it. There was no injury due to the explosion as the building was still under construction, Superintendent of Police S. K. Gajbhiye said. There was nobody inside the structure when the blast occurred in the early hours.

January 29: Ashok, ‘commander’ of the Motu People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), was injured in an exchange of fire with the police near Kondapali forests under Motu police station in the Malkangiri district. Police stated that 20 other Maoists sustained injuries during the two-hour encounter. All of the injured, however, managed to escape.

January 30: The CPI-Maoist cadres belonging to Koraput area committee killed Nalla Markanda Choudhury, a former sarpanch (village head), with an axe at Nangalbeda in the Koraput district, reports Statesman. A 40-member Maoist squad had rounded up the village and assaulted five businessmen before killing the former Sarpanch. The Maoists also asked the businessmen not to sell liquor to the tribals in the region and to hand over the land which they had acquired from them. Before leaving the village, the Maoists pasted posters and also cut down trees to delay the movement of police.

January 30: The Jajpur district police arrested three suspected Maoists in capital Bhubaneswar while they were attending on a 21-year-old girl at a private hospital. The girl has been identified as Nanika Jamda, said to be a companion of Anna Reddy, the suspected Orissa chief of the Janashakthi faction of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML). Police is yet to reveal the identity of the arrested Maoists although one of the arrested is suspected to be Anna Reddy.

January 31: Five CPI-Maoist cadres including Dhanu Dehuri and Bimba Kuanr were arrested from Dhama in the Sambalpur district. Dhanu is reportedly one of the founder members of the outfit in Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Deogarh districts. Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar, however, confirmed the arrest of only one Maoist and said that his identity is yet to be established.

February 5: Eight Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel escaped unhurt when landmines planted by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist exploded just after their vehicles passed the spot at Jamapani in the Mayurbhanj district. The explosion took place soon after the SOG personnel on four motor-cycles travelled along the place where the Maoists had planted the landmines on the hilly road at Gorumahisani, Superintendent of Police Dayal Gangwar said. The insurgents present in the surrounding areas opened fire at the SOG personnel, after which the security men retaliated, triggering a gun battle which continued for over half-an-hour, he added. However, no casualties were reported.

February 8: The district voluntary force, a wing of the Malkangiri district police, arrested six cadres of the CPI-Maoist from Kondapalli forest area under the Motu police station limits. The arrested include a Maoist doctor and an expert in writing Maoist literature. The arrested have been identified as Marian Mukta Madiam, Sariam Rama, Rama Prasad Sana, Dr Sujay Dafatar, Ranjit Sarkar and Karam Sita. Police recovered six detonators, 26 gelatin sticks, 100 meter wire, gun powder and some life-saving drugs from the arrested Maoists. Superintendent of Police Satish Kumar Gajbhiye said that the arrested Maoists were acting as couriers for Maoist leaders like Ashok and Jaga, attended Maoist meetings and extended logistics support to the movement.

An encounter was reported between cadres of the CPI-Maoist and SOG personnel inside the Khichilingi forest in the Gajapati district. Superintendent of Police Satyabrata Bhoi told that a group of ten to 15 Maoists attacked about 20 SOG members who were returning home from duty. The SOG personnel retaliated and following a half-an-hour long encounter, the Maoists fled to the forest. No injuries were reported in the incident. Subsequently, police seized a locally made gun from the spot.

February 9: An encounter was reported between the CRPF personnel and the CPI-Maoist cadres at Kutub under Jamankira police station limits in the Sambalpur district. The encounter occurred as a small group of Maoists attacked the CRPF camp located in the Badibahal Forest under Badrama Reserve Forest area. The Maoists later fled as the CRPF soldiers opened retaliatory fire. There was no report of any casualty in the incident.

February 15: 14 police personnel and a civilian were killed and four policemen were wounded when around 500 heavily armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a Police Training School (PTS), the district armoury and district police station in co-ordinated attacks near Daspalla in the Nayagarh district at around 10:45pm (IST). They also took away a cache of arms and ammunition in a bus they had hijacked in the district, about 100-km from State capital Bhubaneswar. Police sources claimed that three Maoists were also killed in the incident. However, their bodies have not been recovered and it is suspected that the Maoists before fleeing took away the bodies of their slain comrades. Before launching the attack, the Maoists, speaking in Hindi and Telugu, and suspected to be from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, announced that they would not harm the public as their target was the police. The police suspect it to be the handy work of Sabyasachi Panda, the CPI-Maoist Andhra-Orissa ‘secretary’. Meanwhile, a red alert has been sounded in the State and the police have started combing operations in the neighbouring districts of Phulbani, Gajapati, Rayagada and Malkangiri in Orissa. The attack was the first of its kind in coastal Orissa. The district armoury and PTS were virtually emptied by the Maoists, the police said.

February 17: At least 20 cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including some women cadres, were killed during the ongoing combing operation by security forces in the border area of Nayagarh-Ganjam-Kandhamal districts. SFs, however, lost three of their personnel in the combing operation launched on a massive scale in different sensitive pockets in Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Rayagada districts. The combing operations were started on February 16 after hundreds of Maoists raided the police establishments in Nayagarh district, killing 15 persons, including 13 policemen, and decamping with huge quantities of arms and ammunition on February 15-night. "We have information about killing of 20 Maoists and three SOG jawans during the combing operation," Home Secretary T. K. Mishra said. Without disclosing the exact location where the Maoists were killed by security forces, he said "reports are received from different places including the Gansar Hills". Mishra said sophisticated equipment like night (vision) binoculars, global positioning system (GPS) and other gadgets were being used to monitor movement of the extremists inside the dense forests. Two choppers were being used for movement of personnel in order to coordinate the operation, Mishra added.

February 20: One more Orissa Police personnel wounded during the February 15 attack by the CPI-Maoist in Nayagarh, succumbed to his injuries, taking the death toll in the attack to 16.

Security forces arrested two Maoists, identified as Reena alias Manjulata Muduli and Pratap Kambata, during the ongoing combing operations in forest areas along the borders of the Kandhmal and Ganjam districts. A 9 mm pistol, looted from the Nayagarh district armoury, was recovered from their possession. Police sources said Reena joined the extremist movement six years ago and was an active member of the Sambalpur-Deogarh committee of the CPI-Maoist. She was also involved in at least ten murders and the looting of the Deogarh armoury.

February 21: The Special Operating Group (SOG) personnel recovered leaflets, banners and Tother material of the CPI-Maoist in the forest area of Mayurbhanj district. Recently, villagers of Sergoda, Kangkadabadh, Paktia and Chadahipahadi under Gorumohisani police station jurisdiction had reported to the district police about the movement of some uniformed people in the surrounding forest area.

February 24: The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze a vehicle at Maijariguda in the Narayanapatna block of Koraput district. Before setting ablaze the vehicle, Maoists who were in civil dress had asked the passengers to alight from the vehicle. They also accused the driver of carrying Central Reserve Police Force personnel to Borgi from Narayanpatna on a regular basis.

Suspected Maoists looted the houses of Narasingh Choudhury of Ullu Badi in Langalabeda panchayat (local self-government body) and Giridhar Sahu of Maijariguda in Borgi panchayat in the Koraput district after causing damage to the buildings.

February 25: A group of CPI-Maoist laid siege to a camp of a contractor engaged in road construction activities under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojna (village road construction project) and demanded an extortion amount of INR 200,000 from him. According to the report, a group of armed Maoists seized the camp for four hours at Bhuka under Harichandanpur police station in the Keonjhar district and threatened the supervisor and contractor.

February 26: A group of eight to ten armed Maoists threatened a group of construction workers within the Ravenshaw College campus in Cuttack and asked them to join the rank of the Maoists. Subsequent search operation by the city police, however, did not lead to any arrest.

March 1: Six villagers, including a Sarpanch (village head), were abducted by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres from Janatapai village in the Malkangiri district suspecting them to be police informers. A cangaroo court (people’s court) was conducted by the extremists and all the six were found guilty, sources said adding that the villagers were assaulted and released on March 3 with a warning that the incident should not be informed to the police.

March 4: The Sambalpur district police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Bhagaban Jhankar and Govind Jal, who were involved in several incidents of murder and kidnapping besides setting ablaze government properties. Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said that the arrest occurred a few days earlier, adding that the duo had also carried out a surveillance for a possible attack on the Bargarh district armoury.

A policeman of the Special Operation Group (SOG), identified as Rabindra Patra, sustained injuries during a gunfight with the CPI-Maoist cadres in the Malkangiri district. The Maoists attacked SOG personnel when they were combing the forests near Biliguda, Urbelguda and Kandapali villages of MV 79 area. During a subsequent search operation, the SOG personnel recovered Maoist uniforms and literature as well as food items from the encounter site.

March 6: Three cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Madhi Desa alias Rama alias Damodar, Madhi Lachha alias Nagraj and Madhi Dula alias Durga and one sangham (a group of hardcore over-ground cadres) member of the outfit, identified as Madhi Kanta alias Kosa, were arrested by police at Sankelguda village under Motu police station in the Malkangiri district,. Superintendent of Police, Satish Kumar Gajbhiye informed that Madhi Desa was involved in the killing of former Motu police station in-charge, D Mishra. A large number of Maoist posters, literature, and a manual displaying operation of rocket launcher, bomb and landmine, an attendance register with daily routine work of Maoists were seized from their possession. Some primary school text books were also recovered from the incident site.

March 28: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres burnt a youth alive after tying him to a tree with an iron chain in Nuasahi village of Angul district. The identity of the youth, apparently in his late 20s, was not known.

April 4: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a villager in the Ragadpali village of Malkangiri district accusing him of being a police informer. The victim was attending a wedding when four Maoists accosted him and shot him dead.

April 9: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a village head at Peta village under Motu police station area in the Malkangiri district. The Sub-Divisional Police Officer Sanjiv Arora said Madkami Kanha was dragged out of his house in dense forest by a group of armed Maoists and shot four bullets from behind as he tried to escape. Kanha died on the way to a local hospital. This was the 10th incident in the last two years where Maoists had killed village chiefs.

Two Maoists surrendered along with their locally-made guns in the Dhenkanal district. Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Kaushal said 14-year-old Bajaye Hembram and 12-year-old Babuli Tarai surrendered before the District Collector Jameel Ahmad Khan in the presence of their fathers. The boys had joined the Maoist fold group led by Anna Reddy in January 2006, and had confessed to witnessing the killing of forest guards at Kankadahad forest on January 31, 2007, he said. The boys did menial jobs and were used as informers by the Maoists.

April 17: A CPI-Maoist cadre, Kandara Darai, surrendered before the Superintendent of Police Sanjaya Kumar Kausal and District Collector Jamil Ahmed Khan at Kamakhyanagar in the Dhenkanal district.

April 18: At least five CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from Goshma forest located on the border of the Kandhamal and Ganjam districts.

April 19: Pioneer reported that the CPI-Maoist is targeting teenaged tribal youths for recruitment in the Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal and Sundargarh districts. The Maoists' over-ground supporters are luring the youths for jobs with a monthly payment of INR 3,000. The job of the preliminary recruits is to carry leaflets and distribute them among the innocent public.

April 24: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civilian accusing him of being a police informer in the Telrai village of Malkangiri district. Police sources said that the victim is yet to be identified.

April 26: Three Maoists were arrested during a combing operation by the Police in the MV-79 area of Malkangiri district. Orissa Police sources said that the arrests followed a brief exchange of fire. A gun, some Maoist posters, banners and an unspecified quantity of explosives were recovered from the arrested extremists.

April 30: A civilian, identified as Bhaskar from the Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh, was killed by the Maoists near MV70 village under Kalimela police station in the Malkangiri district. A letter left near the dead body described the victim as a police informer. Meanwhile, one Central Reserve Police Force personnel, travelling to the area where the dead body was found, was injured after his motorbike hit a landmine at Badijhata village.

May 1: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a liquor trader by slitting his throat in the Koraput district. Villagers found the body of the trader, Nala Brundaban in his liquor shop at Karli village on May 2. A hand written letter recovered near the body said that the Maoists had killed the trader suspecting him to be a police informer. Brundaban had been earlier been asked by the Maoists not to carry on with his liquor trade as it was affecting the tribal population. This was the third incident in two months in which a liquor trader was killed by the Maoists in Orissa.

May 7: A CPI-Maoist woman cadre was killed during an encounter in the Alamanda forest area on Andhra-Orissa border of Koraput district. Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Mann said that the killed Maoist is yet to be identified.

May 16: Two CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter between the Maoists and police at Bompet forests near Motu in the Malkangiri district. Acting on a tip-off, police raided the Maoist training camp in the forest where about 30 Maoists were present at that time. Police said that "Most of the cadres were speaking in Telegu and probably belonged to Andhra Pradesh," adding that, Motu Dalam Commandant, Ashok, was present in the camp but managed to escape. Police also recovered four SLR bullets, one grenade, one AK-47 bullet cartridge and two double barrel guns from the camp.

Maoists shot dead a contractor, Rajendra Sahu, of Gothalpadar village under Gunupur block in the Rayagada district on May 15-night alleging him to be a police informer.

May 19: The Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel arrested a senior leader of the CPI-Maoist KK Sethi alias Mantu from inside the jungles of Gudari in the Rayagada district. The arrested Maoist, who is believed to be a close associate of the Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda functioned as the ‘deputy commander’ of the Meenajhola dalam. Police also arrested a female Maoist cadre, Sujata alias Chandra Kukuruka. She was active in Ganguri dalam under Vamsadhara Division.

Prasant Rout of Erasama, who had joined Maoist ranks in Jharkhand surrendered to the police in Jagatsinghpur on May 19. This is the first instance of a Maoist surrender in a coastal Orissa district. Police sources said that the Maoist sympathisers in areas such as Balikuda and Erasama have been used as informers, translators and at times for the purpose of distributing leaflets and other such literature by the Maoists. Police has a list of 40 to 50 young girls and boys who are suspected to be Maoist sympathisers in the area.

May 22: The CPI-Maoist warned the Orissa Government not to deploy Greyhounds personnel of Andhra Pradesh for anti-Maoist operation in any part of the State. An unofficial communication was sent in this regard by the Malkangiri Divisional Committee of CPI-Maoist to Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP) Satish K Gajbhiye. "They have also demanded to stop Police action, withdraw Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and strongly opposed police encounter of their two comrades", the SP said.

May 24: CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine explosion on the last day of their four-day general strike in the Malkangiri district against alleged police excesses. Police sources said that no injury was reported in the explosion that occurred at Kosalkkonda on the state highway in Kalimela area. The Maoists also resorted to road blockades in several places in the Malkangiri district in a bid to enforce the strike by digging roads, cutting trees and placing boulders, affecting movement of vehicles and public transport on important routes. Banners and posters put up by the Maoists were found at some places.

May 27: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a local leader of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the Malkangiri district. The killed politician BJD district president Prabir Kumar Mohanty had been abducted by the Maoists from MV-79 village when he was on his way to the market on May 26 night.

June 6: Police arrested a Maoist sympathiser from MV-79 area of the Malkangiri district for his alleged involvement in the May 26 murder of a local lawyer and local BJD leader Prabir Mohanty. Superintendent of Police Satish Kumar Gajbhiye said that the arrested person Raghunath Majhi is a native of Kalahandi district who had been living in Malkangiri district for nearly two decades and has strong links with the extremists.

June 7: CPI-Maoist cadres killed a leader of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader in Sorupali village under Bandhugaon block in the Koraput district. The victim, Jana Bidika, was the president of Bandhugaon Block unit of the BJD.

CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze three road-laying machines engaged in the Union Government’s road connectivity programme – Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna -- in the Malkangiri district. Police sources said that the incident took place at Kongulkunda village under Kalimela Police station area when a road to MPV-22 village was being laid under the scheme.

June 7: The CPI-Maoist issued a threat to attack the Bhanjanagar police station of Berhampur district. In a letter, addressed to the officer-in-charge (OIC) that reached the Police station by post, Maoists said that attack would be carried out within 10 days targeting all important offices and Police stations in the district. The authenticity of the letter could not be ascertained.

June 11: The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked the office of Viswagrama Chetana Samaj, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) at Anlapada village under Ghasipura block in the Keonjhar district. More than 10 persons were injured in the attack that occurred at midnight. A group of 20 extremists who participated in the attack set the official records of the organisation on fire and asked those present to wind up their operation and leave the place. The voluntary organisation has been working for protection of environment in the area for nearly two decades. Police sources, however, said the attackers might not be Maoists, but locals masquerading as Maoists in their effort to oppose the NGO's operations.

June 29: 35 security force (SF) personnel belonging to the Greyhounds from Andhra Pradesh were killed in an attack carried out by the CPI-Maoist cadres on a 68-member Andhra Pradesh-Orissa police party in the Chitrakonda reservoir of Malkangiri district, close to the Andhra Pradesh border. The SF personnel were returning after conducting combing operations, after getting information that the Maoists were holding a conclave there. Maoists opened fire using sophisticated weapons at the motorised boat in which the SF personnel were travelling. The boat capsized drowning most SF personnel. Others who swam ashore were reportedly ambushed by the Maoists.

July 2: Life in the southern districts of Orissa was affected during the 24-hour general strike call given by the CPI-Maoist, on the last day of their ‘anti-repression week’. Vehicular traffic was disrupted on the State high way connecting Berhampur, Rayagada and Koraput. Maoists had cut down trees at several places in Rayagada and Gajapati districts to block the road. Several large trees had been felled near Birikote in the Gajapati district near the Rayagada district border and on the stretch of the road between Rayagada and Gumuda. In the Koraput district the Maoists targeted the mobile tower of a private telecom company and damaged the maintenance room of the mobile tower at remote Jaguguda village of Bandhugaon block. Maoists burnt down files at forest and commercial check gates at Sidibalsa on the Andhra-Orissa border in Koraput district.

In the Malkangiri district the Maoists burnt down an excavator used for digging ponds at MV-70 village under Kalimela police station. They also disrupted road traffic between Malkangiri and Motu by felling trees at many places. Due to fear of landmines passenger vehicles remained off the road in Malkangiri district.

July 5: A CPI-Maoist was killed in an exchange of fire with police personnel near MV 81 village in the Malkangiri district. The encounter occurred inside dense forests when police personnel were conducting a routine combing operation. Superintendent of Police S K Gajbhiye said that Maoists might have suffered more casualties and a search was continuing in the area.

July 15: Around 100 armed Maoists along with 500 supporters had carried out an attack on the house of a contractor and local BJP leader at the MV-41 village of Malkangiri district. They had also blocked the roads leading to the village by felling trees at MV-126 and MV-96 villages. The contractor’s house was ransacked, his relatives assaulted and a jeep, a tractor and two bikes owned by him were set ablaze. The contractor was saved as he was away and could not return back due to the road blockade by Maoists.

July 16: CPI-Maoist cadres killed 17 personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Orissa Police in a landmine blast in the Malkangiri district. The blast occurred at 4 pm (IST) in the MV-126 area when an anti-landmine van carrying the police team was returning to the district headquarters town of Malkangiri. The personnel had gone to MPV-41 village, where a contractor’s house was attacked by Maoists on July 15-night. A majority of the SOG personnel were in the anti-landmine vehicle and the remaining were on motorcycles. Soon after the blast, the Maoists, hiding in the nearby forest, opened fire on the policemen.

July 28: The Maoists issued death warrants against police informers and those who try to sell and purchase land cultivated by tribals in the region in general and specifically between Pandratala and Mukundapur under Kolnora block in the Rayagada district. While asking for recognizing the land captured by the tribals in the Praja movement of 2002 in the region, the Srikakulam divisional committee of the CPI- Maoist, through leaflets distributed in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks of Koraput district, warned non-tribals against trying to take their possession. Further, while justifying the killing of Kondagiri Anant, the village chief of Rekhapadar in April 2008, the Maoists said in the leaflet that he was given warning not to harass common people by joining hands with the police. The Maoists also asked the police informers to come out in public and apologise for their links with the police or else face death sentence. They have also asked the police to release all the innocent people from their custody.

July 30: The Maoists targeted a cellular phone tower of the Reliance Telecom at Narayanpatna in the Koraput district. According to sources, around 25 armed insurgents reached the mobile tower at block headquarter town, Narayanpatna, at around 11 pm and subsequently burnt down the battery room. But they could not cause any damage to the tower. Maoists left some posters and banners which claimed that this action was taken to protest against alleged inhuman action of the police.

August 8: Orissa police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres including a member of Orissa State Committee of the outfit. Prasanna Pal of Ersama area in the Jagatsinghpur district, is believed to be one of the 12 core committee members of "Ropeway Operation", the mobile attack on Nayagarh district headquarter police in February 2008. Police sources said four members of the Orissa State committee had been arrested so far. The other arrested Maoist was identified as Ranjan Rout from Jagatsinghpur district, the deputy commander of Deogarh-Samabalpur-Sundargarh region of the CPI-Maoist.

August 13: Police arrested a woman CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Pratima Das alias Prachi, from the Kalinga Nagar area of Jajpur district. She was being accompanied by an US national David Pheug who was later released after he claimed to be a research scholar working on displacement issues. Since there was no case pending against Pratima Das in Jajapur district, she was handed over to police of Jagatsinghpur district where a case pertaining to waging war against State was registered in her name.

August 14: Police in Jajpur arrested a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Shantilata Hansdah from city-based Hitech Medical College Hospital. Hansdah was admitted in the hospital following kidney related complicacies.

August 23: Five persons including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Lakshmanananda and four disciples, including a woman, were killed in an attack by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres on an ashram at Jalespata in the Kandhamal district. The armed extremists opened fire and hurled bombs after entering the ashram (hermitage) run by Swami Lakshmanananda at 8.30 p.m during a religious celebration. Orissa Director-General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda told, "We suspect that the assailants could be Maoists."

August 29: The CPI-Maoist claimed responsibility for the killing of the VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in the Kandhamal district. Azad, spokesperson of the CPI-Maoist, in an interview to an Oriya daily, said, "We killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati to avenge his villainous role in Kandhmal". Azad said ever since the December 2007 riots in Kandhmal, Laxmanananda and VHP Secretary General Pravin Togadia portrayed Christians as Maoists and attempted to defeat the revolutionary movement. "Laxmanananda was taking the lead in Hindu fascist activities", Azad said.

August 31: The CPI-Maoist warned the VHP of more punishment "if it continued violence against religious minorities in the country". A press release by the outfit said that it had killed the VHP leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati as he was "anti-people and fanatical" and was engaged in "endless persecution" of religious minorities. The release said, Saraswati was a "rabid anti-Christian ideologue and persecutor of innocent Christians and was responsible for the burning down of over 400 churches in Khandamal."

September 8: The CPI-Maoist claimed the responsibility for killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati. In a letter signed by Sunil of CPI-Maoist circulated amongst select journalists staked claim to the brutal killing of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati. In that letter the Maoist told that "PLGA has carried out the death sentence it had passed against Swami Laxmanananda on 23 August for inflicting torture and misery on a large number of tribal and dalit people in the name of Hinduism".

September 12: The Chief Minister’s Office in Bhubaneswar received a threat letter from suspected left-wing extremists. Confirming the news, home secretary T.K. Mishra said the name of the sender was written as "Maoist Association, Western Orissa". He, however, refused to divulge the detailed content of the letter.

September 22: A left-wing extremist Sayun Bilung alias Sambit was arrested from Lankeswari village in the Sambalpur district. He had joined the CPI-Maoist as a sleeper cell member in 2006 and had undergone training in Saranda forest in neighbouring Jharkhand.

September 25: Four suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested and 170 rounds of live cartridges were seized from them at Biramitrapur, 30 kilometres from Rourkela. According to the report, the arrested Maoists, identified as Ajit Rai of Maharashtra, S Kuma Uke of Chhattisgarh, Rajbahadur Singh and Ramesh Kumar Singh of Bihar of were travelling in a vehicle bearing Chhatisgarh registration number which was detained by the Police.

Police recovered three landmines from the Handiakacha forest area under Jahrapokharia Police station limits in the Mayurbhanj district.

September 28: Mayurbhanj district Police arrested three suspected CPI-Maoist cadres, involved in a spate of crimes in Orissa and Jharkhand. The three - Ranjan Majhi, Sanjay Gop and Uday Majhi - were part of a bank robbery at Seragada in January 2007. Three pistols, including one of Italian make, were recovered from their possession. Their role is also suspected in the killing of a forester in the Mayurbhanj district.

October 4: The Orissa State committee of the CPI-Maoist claimed responsibility for the killing of VHP leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati in the Kandhamal district on August 23. Speaking to a team of journalists from Bhubaneswar in a forest in Kandhamal, the spokesperson of the outfit's Orissa unit, Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil, said it became necessary to eliminate the Swami as he was forcing tribals and Dalit Christians in Kandhamal to convert to Hinduism. "After the December 2007 communal violence in Kandhamal, we threatened to kill him if he and his supporters did not refrain from harassing tribals and Dalit Christians to change their religion", Panda said. Panda claimed that the members of the People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) who took part in killing them Swami had left two letters at the spot at Jalaspata ashram, claiming responsibility for the killing. "The government, however, suppressed the letters to help rioters continue with their attacks on the minority community," Panda added.

October 6: Three members of a CPI-Maoist-trained "militia" group, two of them Christians, were arrested from Baliguda police station area on October 6 in connection with the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district. Two guns were recovered from the arrested persons identified as Duryodhan Sunamajhi, Mundabeda Majhi and Sanatan Majhi of Kotgarh area. Police also seized two black masks and four black shirts used during the crime. Police sources said that the arrested have confessed to their crime. Inspector General (IG) of Police, Crime Branch, Arun Ray said that the arrested trio belonged to the 150-strong militia group formed by Maoists to execute the killing.

October 10: Orissa Police killed two CPI-Maoist cadres including a hardcore woman cadre, in the forested region of Koraput district. A joint team of the Andhra Pradesh Police’s STF and the Orissa Police carrying out a combing operation in the Almonda area of the district under Narayanpatna police station on the Andhra Pradesh-Orissa border killed the two Maoists, part of a three-member team. The woman, identified as Jyoti (25) was a member of the Koraput Divisional Committee (KDC) of the PLGA. A native of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, Jyoti took part in several high-profile attacks including the one on the Nayagarh police training school in February this year. The identity of the other deceased Maoist is not known. The third member of the group, Raju, the area commander of the KDC, however, escaped with some injury.

October 16: The Crime Branch of Orissa Police confirmed that the CPI-Maoist had killed VHP leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati in the Kandhamal district on August 23 by involving some local armed groups. the decision to eliminate the VHP leader was taken by the Central Committee of the CPI-Maoist about seven months ago, and a group of about six hardcore extremists killed the VHP leader at the Jalespata ashram (hermitage) in Kandhamal. The extremists who committed the crime were armed with automatic weapons, including AK-47 rifles, Police sources said. The local youths also took part in the crime and stood guard around the ashram when the Maoists executed their plan. The youths belonged to about four different groups from nearby villages. Three youths belonging to the local groups have been arrested so far. They were produced before a court at Baliguda in Kandhamal. The court remanded them to judicial custody.

October 24: 11 Maoist posters appeared at different places of Gudari under Gunupur subdivision of Rayagada district. The posters asked Congress party leader Raghunath Patro to restore the adivasi (tribal) lands he is alleged to have possessed and return INR 700,000 he is said to have amassed during elections. The Maoists threatened to punish him with death unless he complies with directives. Some posters also asked the newly-elected NAC chairman Ladi Someswar Rao to resign from his post and return lands to adivasis. Posters indicated that unless he complies with the demand, he would be "meted with the same punishment they gave to Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati." Four posters appeared at NAC office, four at block office, two at daily market and one at a shop.

Karnataka

May 15: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead two civilians near Hebri in the Udupi district on. A six-member gang of Maoists intruded into the house of a school teacher, Bhoja Shetty, and fired indiscriminately, killing him on the spot. Maoists also shot his brother-in-law, Suresh Shetty, who succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

West Bengal

January 1: Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a local level leader of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) at Besra village in the Purulia district.

The headless body of Sisir Chatterjee, a zonal committee member of ruling CPI-M, was recovered from the Mangalkot area of Burdwan district. Police claimed that the Maoists are involved in the killing.

A group of 20 Maoists raided the house of Abinash Kumar, a ration dealer at Jugidihi village in the Purulia district, and took away a double-barrel gun, a motorbike and a cell phone. The Maoists then raided two more houses before setting ablaze the house of a local committee member of the ruling CPI-M in an adjoining village.

January 2: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Ramprasad Mondal, a CPI-M local committee member and a primary teacher, in Madhabpur village under Chapra police station of Nadia district. "The murder is the handiwork of Maoists. Police movement is difficult in the area because of poor road links. The Maoists are taking advantage of that to strengthen their base in Chapra," Nadia district Superintendent of Police, H.K. Kusumakar, said. Around 50 printed leaflets found at the incident site warned villagers against testifying in cases pending against the Maoists. Some posters also warned the villagers against co-operating with the police.

February 15: A group of three CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead one of their colleagues, identified as Mangal Mahato, in the West Midnapore district. The killing was reportedly the result of the slain cadre "betraying" the organisation.

February 17: Maoists opened fire at a police patrol party in the Belpaharai area of the same district. However, no causality was reported in the incident.

February 21: The CPI-Maoist cadres set ablaze three trucks, two laden with potatoes and carrying rice, at Bhimpur in the Kotwali area of Nadia district.

February 22: Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a teacher while he was conducting classes in Majkadna village under Belpahari area of the West Midnapore district. The victim, Karam Chand Singh was also a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) local committee member. Maoists alleged that he had earlier left the outfit and had joined CPI-M.

February 24: The ‘secretary’ of the West Bengal State committee of the CPI-Maoist, Somen, and one of his associates was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from Hridaypur railway station in the North 24-Parganas district. "His arrest is a major breakthrough in our fight against the Maoists," said Bhupinder Singh, Additional Director-General of Police (CID). Somen is suspected to have masterminded Maoists operations in the State and also involved in subversive activities in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. One of the charges levelled against him is "waging war against the State." The police are also investigating whether he was linked to the February 15 Maoist attack in Orissa’s Nayagarh district.

February 26: The first day of the CPI-Maoist sponsored four-day bandh in Purulia district passed off peacefully without any untoward incident.

The CPI-Maoist has called for a bandh in the Nadia and Murshidabad districts on February 28 protesting against the arrest of the CPI-Maoist‘s State Secretary Himadri Sen Roy alias Somen on February 24. Some Maoist leaflets informing about the bandh in the two districts read: "Under the leadership of Rajiv Kumar, a police officer and an eminent follower of the CPI-M party, Tathagata, Pallab, Koushik, Arijit and Joy have formed a special anti-naxalite force to demolish our party. They are spending a lot of money to know our whereabouts and then are attacking our party members. We strongly oppose these activities of the administration." The leaflets found in Nadia also read: "The CPI-M government does not have the courage to ban our party in this state. They have arrested our leader and have harassed him both physically and mentally. We strongly protest against these tarnished activities of the police and CPI-M government." Few posters were also found in Purulia town.

February 27: The CPI-Maoist cadres put up some posters on the boundary wall of the residence of Superintendent of Police at Barasat, the district headquarter of North-24 Parganas, demanding the release of their leader Somen, who was arrested in the district on February 24.

Police sources claimed that some Maoist hideouts exist in and around Barasat in North-24 Parganas district. "We are keeping a close watch and have requested people to inform us if they spot anyone moving suspiciously in the area," an unnamed police officer said.

February 29: An activist of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), identified as Subhas Mahato, was shot dead by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Chhurimari in the Belpahari block of Midnapore West district.

March 9: Buddhadeb Pathak, a local leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), youth wing of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres at Gosaidanga village in Lalgarh block of West Midnapore district. The victim was called out of his residence by a group of Maoists and taken away to a nearby field where he was shot dead. The dead body was recovered the next day, police said.

March 12: Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead Gandhi Mahato, leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, youth wing of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), at Angarkuria in the West Midnapore district. Police sources said that Mahato was killed on suspicion of being a police informer.

March 24: Four civilians, including a child, were injured as CPI-Maoist cadres opened fire on a group of villagers on a night patrol at Tehatta village in the Murshidabad district. The villagers then chased the Maoists and caught one of them. The captured Maoist Swapan Sutradhar is wanted by police in connection with at least five criminal cases, including murder. Later, two more Maoists involved in the incident were arrested.

Five women CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested when pasting posters seeking the release of arrested Maoist leader Somen at the Bagha Jatin railway station in capital Kolkata. Inspector General of Police Raj Kanojia told "The arrests will help in curbing the recent spurt in Maoist activities in West Bengal."

April 4: 14 suspected CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, were arrested in the Nadia district. Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Raj Kanojia, said, "This is the most important arrest after that of Somen [State secretary of the CPI-Maoist]." Police sources added that the arrest of a ‘commander’ of the outfit’s ‘action squad’ led to the arrest of 13 more cadres from the Kotwali area of Nadia district. Some arms believed to have been earlier snatched from the police were seized from those arrested.

April 13: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed three CPI-M activists in the Salboni area of West Midnapore district. The CPI-M zonal committee later said that one of the slain persons was the party’s local leader and the other two were supporters of the party. The killed persons were among the eight persons supervising earth-digging work under the rural employment programme when they were abducted by the Maoists. While five persons were later released, bodies of the three persons were recovered from a nearby forest.

April 22: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a leader of the ruling CPI-M in the Rajnagar area of Birbhum district. The victim, Sridam Das, was a school teacher by profession and was a former secretary of the CPI-M local committee. He was on his way to school when he was shot by a group of three Maoists.

April 28: A CPI-M activist was killed by suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist in the Midnapore district.

May 4: Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres killed a leader of the ruling CPI-M and injured another in the Bhomaragarh area of the Purulia district. The slain member of the CPI-M zonal committee, Ganapati Bhadra, was shot several times in the stomach with a pistol, while travelling on a motorcycle. Rampada Mandi who was riding pillion on Ganapati’s motorcycle, was also shot, but he managed escape.

May 11: The CPI-Maoist cadres detonated a landmine targeting a BSF vehicle escorting panchayat polling personnel on the road between Gangarampur and Sirka in the Bandwan district, killing a BSF trooper and injuring 11 others. The Purulia district Magistrate, Dipak Ranjan Kar, said that an encounter was continuing with the Maoists, believed to have come into the area from neighbouring Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, till last reports came in. The Maoists had earlier asked villagers to boycott the panchayat poll in the West Midnapore and Purulia districts.

May 26: CPI-Maoist cadres ambushed a security patrol team on the outskirts of Jhargram town in the West Midnapore district killing a personnel of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR). Two others, including a police officer, were also injured in the attack. The extremists decamped with the rifle of the killed EFR personnel, Diltosh Kharka and service revolver of the injured police officer. District police sources said that the Maoists who had come in three motorcycles probably had entered the state from neighbouring Jharkhand.

July 3: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ruled out a ban on the CPI-Maoist saying that the government would prefer to tackle them "administratively and politically". "We have decided not to ban the Maoists. I had made that clear a few months ago during a meeting of chief ministers at the Prime Minister’s residence," Bhattacharjee said. Pointing out that mere bans were not enough to isolate the Maoists from common people, he added, "Not a single Naxalite can be spotted today in the Naxalbari area of the Siliguri sub-division because of our concerted political campaign against them." The chief minister said the Maoist strongholds were in Bengal bordering Jharkhand, which provided them a safe haven. "After committing crimes in our state, they flee to Jharkhand, making it difficult for us to arrest them", he said. He further said that co-ordinating with Jharkhand in dealing with the Maoists has not yielded "much results".

September 22: A CPI-M zonal committee member, Nandalal Mistri was killed by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres at Rajnagar in the Birbhum district. Mistri, the headmaster of Agayabandh Primary School, was on his way to school when three youths fired three rounds at him from close range near Mohisapuri forests, killing him on the spot. Police recovered a few Maoist posters, printed at Burdwan, strewn around the body. Laxmi Narayan Meena, Superintendent of Police (SP) Birbhum aid, "Following the incident, the police have sealed the district’s border with Jharkhand. A relative of the deceased has lodged a complaint at the local police station. Investigations are on but no one has been arrested so far."

October 22: Three persons, including a doctor of the West Bengal Health Department, were killed in a landmine blast set off by suspected CPI-Maoist in the West Midnapore district. The health department team was returning to Belpahari after conducting a health camp in a remote area. State Home Secretary Asoke Mohan Chakrabarti said four landmines exploded at Chaukisol, about two kilometres from Jharkhand border. Dhoni Ram Mandi, a doctor, Bharati Maji, a nurse, and Bapi Mishir, the driver of the vehicle, were killed on the spot. Villagers claimed that they had informed the police in the morning that "wires were lying on the road and that a landmine could have been planted, but no action was taken.

Tamil Nadu

April 19: A team of Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) killed a Maoist, identified as Ravin Prasad, in the Kodaikanal forest area of Teni district. Three other Maoists, however, managed to escape. Police sources said that the slain Maoist had received arms training at Dharmapuri and was an expert in handling various sophisticated arms.

April 19: A team of Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) killed a Maoist, identified as Ravin Prasad, in the Kodaikanal forest area of Teni district. Three other Maoists, however, managed to escape. Police sources said that the slain Maoist had received arms training at Dharmapuri and was an expert in handling various sophisticated arms.

Uttar Pradesh

February 17: A CPI-Maoist leader, identified as Satendra Kushwaha, was arrested in the Sonebhadra district. He is one of the prime accused in an attack on a police station in the Rohtas district of Bihar recently and figured prominently in the wanted list of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh police. The report further said that the arrest followed Intelligence inputs regarding left-wing extremists using Uttar Pradesh’s cities and Bundelkhand forests as save havens after executing attacks on police stations in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand.

February 25: A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Munnoo Pal, carrying a head money of INR 20,000, was arrested from his hideout at Chopan area in the Sonebhadra district. The arrested Maoist was active in the area for many years and involved in several criminal acts. Some arms and explosives were also recovered from his possession.

March 13: Babita, the Uttar Pradesh unit chief of the Women Guerrilla Squad of the CPI-Maoist carrying a head money of INR 20,000, was arrested from Mau village near the Vijaygarh Fort by the Sonebhadra district police. A .9 mm pistol of American make and six cartridges were recovered from her possession. With the arrest, Police claimed to have exposed some Maoist plans, including the one to blow up the Sasaram Jail in Bihar. Ram Kumar, the district Superintendent of Police, said, "Babita, who joined the extremist movement five years ago, was wanted for murder, dacoity and robbery. The cash reward on her head was announced from Lucknow in 2006."

Delhi

January 29: According to Indian Express, the Delhi Police has identified 16 police stations as prone to "Maoist infiltration". 12 of these stations reportedly fall in the north-west police district. The threat has forced the security apparatus to plan for an anti-Naxalite cell in the city, said Intelligence sources. Sources in Delhi Police said senior officers are in touch with their counterparts in the Maoist -affected States such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. "The arrangement is essentially for intelligence sharing to check the spread of ultra-Left extremism in Delhi," a police source said. About the proposed anti-Naxalite cell, sources said it has been planned on the lines of the anti-terror unit of Special Cell. Sources stated that "Unlike the Special Cell, which attempts to thwart terrorist activities in general, the focus of this cell would entirely be on containing Maoist extremism." Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal neither confirmed nor denied the proposal of forming an anti-Naxalite cell but said that the city police are looking into Naxalite menace with "seriousness".

August 10: The Jharkhand Police along with their counterparts in Delhi arrested a CPI-Maoist leader from his hideout in the national capital New Delhi. The arrested leader, identified as Alokji, is one of the founder members of left-wing extremism movement in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Police sources said that the Maoist leader was taking shelter at the residence of an acquaintance when he was arrested in a joint operation of the Jharkhand and Delhi Police. Alokji is believed to be behind the planning and execution of the Jehanabad jailbreak in Bihar and the Giridih arms loot in Jharkhand.

October 23: Two suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist were arrested along with 40 detonators and two country-made pistols in Maidhi village of Chandauli district, 270 kilometres from state capital Lucknow. Police officials told that the arrested Maoists belong to Bihar and were planning explosions in Uttar Pradesh. Documents about forthcoming Maoist meetings in Uttar Pradesh were recovered from them.

Kerala

February 14: The People’s March magazine, which is suspected to be the unofficial mouthpiece of the CPI-Maoist, has been banned by the Ernakulam district administration in Kerala. The District Collector banned People’s March following a report given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Thrikkakara) in this regard. The Additional District Magistrate has reportedly also written to the Registrar of Newspapers (India) requesting for an all-India ban on the magazine.