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Insurgent & Secessionist movements in India

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Bihar alerts legislators, officials in 33 Maoist-hit districts

Patna, April 22, 2012, (IANS)
In the wake of audacious abductions by Maoists in Odisha and Chattisgarh, the Bihar government has asked legislators and top officials in the state's 33 insurgency-hit districts to step-up their security and avoid late night travel, officials said Sunday.

An official in chief minister's office here said the state police headquarters has alerted them to take their security seriously following abductions of BJD legislator Jhina Hikaka from a hilly area in Odisha and Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon in Chhattisgarh.
As many as 33 of Bihar's 38 districts are Maoist-affected.

"The government had requested legislators and district officials, particularly district magistrates, posted in Maoist-affected districts to take their security seriously during their visits to rural areas," an official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Legislators of Maoist-affected districts - including Gaya, Aurangabad, Arwal, Jehanabad, Banka and Jamui - have been asked to inform local police stations before their visits and avoid late night travel, officials said.

All officials, particularly district magistrates and divisional commissioners, were asked not to visit rural areas without proper security.

An official in the state's intellgence department said that Maoists may abduct legislators or top officials in Bihar to create trouble for the state government. "Maoists are desperate to free their leaders lodged in different jails across the state. They could strike in the manner they did in Odisha and Chattishgarh to bargain," the official said.
"The district magistrates have to assess their security needs during visits to rural areas. It is for them to decide upon their own security," the official added.

He pointed that the Maoists' abducted Chattishgarh collector due to lack of proper number of security forces with him during his visit to an interior part of the district.
The government has asked them to avoid unpaved roads and use anti-landmine vehicles in vulnerable areas.

Bihar alerts legislators, officials in 33 Maoist-hit districts
 
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Maoists abduct IAS officer


Raipur, April 21: Suspected Maoists today abducted the collector of Chhattisgarh's Sukma district from the middle of a daylight meeting with villagers after killing his two security officers.
Alex Paul Menon, 32, an IAS officer of the 2006 batch, had ridden a motorbike to Manjhipara village to hold a meeting as part of the state's anti-Maoist Gram Suraj campaign, which the rebels want withdrawn.
Around 4.30pm, about 20 guerrillas arrived on motorbikes, shot the two PSOs, and took Menon into the nearby forests, police said. Sub-divisional magistrate S.K. Vaidya was spared.
So far, the Maoists have not established contact with the government or conveyed any demand. Intelligence inputs had warned that the Maoists might attempt to abduct Menon, the first collector of the newly formed district. The officer, whose wife is expecting their first child, had been advised about a month ago not to venture out without adequate security.

Maoists abduct IAS officer - Yahoo! News India
 
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Maoists kidnap govt official in central India


RAIPUR: Maoist rebels in India have taken a government official hostage and killed his two bodyguards in the central state of Chhattisgarh, police said Sunday, in the latest of a series of kidnappings.

The guerrillas shot the two guards dead when capturing Alex Paul Menon on Saturday as he toured a village in Sukma district, 320 kilometres from the state capital Raipur, police said.

Menon, 32, is Sukma’s district collector, a role that makes him the most senior civil servant in the area.

“It is a very unfortunate incident, and the government will do everything to secure the release of the collector,” Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh told reporters.

Menon’s kidnapping comes 10 days after Maoists in the neighbouring state of Orissa released an Italian tour guide whom they had held hostage for nearly a month.

A state assembly lawmaker also remains in captivity after being kidnapped in Orissa last month.

The Maoists have in the past kidnapped government officials and police officers to raise ransom payments and negotiate other demands.

Most hostages have been released unharmed, but some have been killed.

Chhattisgarh is one of several states where Maoist guerrillas, who claim to be fighting for the rights of poor tribals and farmers, have waged a decades-long battle to overthrow state and national authorities.

The government describes the Maoist movement, which often targets police and soldiers with deadly roadside mine ambushes, as India’s biggest internal security threat.

The insurgency, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption, and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.

Maoists kidnap govt official in central India | DAWN.COM
 
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India Maoist rebels set conditions to free official
By Salman Ravi
BBC Hindi, Raipur
Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh have demanded the release of some cadres and withdrawal of security forces in exchange for freeing a senior official.

The rebels abducted Alex Paul Menon after killing his two guards in Sukma district on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Menon was holding a meeting with local tribal people when the incident happened.

Maoist rebels have a strong presence in Chhattisgarh and neighbouring Orissa.

The rebels have said their demands of releasing some of the their top cadres from prison and withdrawing security forces from the restive Bastar region of Chhattisgarh will have to be met by Wednesday in exchange for Mr Menon.

In a pre-recorded statement issued to the BBC, Vijay, identified as secretary of the South Bastar divisional committee of the CPI (Maoist), alleged that excesses were being committed against tribal people by security forces in the name of counter insurgency operations.

Mr Menon, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, is the senior-most official - district magistrate - of Sukma district, which is located in the Bastar region.

Appeal
Authorities said Mr Menon had gone to Manjhipara village to attend a meeting of local tribal villagers when Maoist insurgents surrounded the area and opened fire.

District official, SP Vaidya, who was present at the spot, told the BBC by telephone that even as Mr Menon was interacting with the villagers, the insurgents first targeted his bodyguard.

"Then they asked who the district magistrate was. Mr Menon came forward and told them that he was the person they were looking for. Later, they forced him to accompany them into the deep woods," Mr Vaidya said.

Mr Menon's wife Asha Menon has appealed to the rebels to release her husband on "humanitarian grounds".

She told the BBC that Mr Menon was suffering from asthma and needed medical care.

A group of eminent citizens, led by historian Ramachandra Guha, has condemned the kidnapping.

"By killing the innocent security guards who were on duty and kidnapping Mr Menon, the Maoists have betrayed their lack of respect for human rights and democratic processes," a statement issued by the group said.

Saturday's incident came barely 24 hours after another district magistrate and a local legislator came under attack by rebels who triggered off a powerful landmine blast in nearby Bijapur.

While district magistrate Rajat Kumar and politician Mahesh Ghaghra escaped unhurt, a vehicle behind them was ripped apart by the blast.

Two leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state were killed in the incident.

In neighbouring Orissa state, legislator Jhina Hikaka, who was seized on 23 March by another group of Maoists, remains in custody.

Earlier this month Italian hostage Paolo Bosusco was freed by rebels in Orissa after nearly a month in captivity.

Mr Bosusco, 54, was abducted on 14 March, along with fellow Italian Claudio Colangelo, 61, while trekking in a tribal area of Orissa state. Mr Colangelo was released on 25 March.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoists as India's biggest internal security threat.

The rebels say they are fighting for a communist state and for the rights of tribal people and the rural poor.
BBC News - India Maoist rebels set conditions to free official
 
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SPO found dead under mysterious circumstances in Doda
Jammu, Apr 23 (PTI)
A Special Police Officer (SPO) was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said today.

The body of SPO Naresh Kumar was found in Bargi Nallah in Gandoh belt of Doda district late last night, they said.

A case has been registered in this regard and further investigations are on.

SPO found dead under mysterious circumstances in Doda
 
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Intelligence agencies sense Maoist infiltration


A series of incidents involving the banned Communist Party of India (Maoists) in recent weeks, including the abduction of Alex Paul Menon, District Collector of Sukma in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, are a wake-up call for the State government to the threat posed by the Left extremists infiltrating from neighbouring States, intelligence agencies say.

Sources in the intelligence agencies told The Hindu here on Sunday that Maoists from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu had been using the border areas of Kerala and Karnataka as a hideout ever since the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched what is called “Operation Green Hunt” against the Naxalites. Most of these fugitives had slowly moved to the jungles of the Western Ghats.

The sources said a tri-junction of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, comprising Gudalur, Wayanad, Nilambur, Kodaikanal, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada, had already developed into a “perspective area” for the CPI (Maoists) for building its organisational base. Plans were afoot to set up a “Dalam” (guerrilla squad) in Mananthavady after infiltrating the local populace and subsequently organising training camps.

The South India regional committee of the CPI (Maoists) started functioning at this tri-junction following the disbandment of its State units of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Now several camps operated in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts in Karnataka. In March, the anti-Naxalite force of the Karnataka Police recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in Dakshina Kannada. Maoist literature in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu was found from some of the abandoned camps.

Officials engaged in counterinsurgency operations said that Kerala was yet to constitute an elite force police led by an officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police especially to tackle any Naxalite problem. The commando wing of the State police could be used only in clandestine and destructive raiding.

Maoist-type operations required specific long-term solutions.

Sensing this, the Karnataka government has mooted that its anti-Naxalite unit get similar training given to the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), a paramilitary unit of the CRPF, for tackling Maoists groups.

Kerala needs to train a special police force in guerrilla warfare to be ready if at all the “Dalams” will develop and engage in a hit-and-run offensive against law-enforcing agencies and government officials.

The State police had cut a sorry figure when activists of the Ayyankkali Pada stormed the Palakkad Collectorate and held District Collector W.R. Reddy hostage for 10 hours in October 1996.

Such incidents cannot be ruled out as the Maoist strategy is to build its activities slowly from jungles to villages and urban areas, the sources said.

The Hindu : States / Kerala : Intelligence agencies sense Maoist infiltration
 
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Naxal violence claimed 137 lives this year

New Delhi: A total of 137 people have been killed in 461 incidents of Naxal violence this year, the government said on Tuesday. The maximum number of causalities have been reported in Jharkhand - 68, followed by Chhattisgarh - 22, Maharashtra - 20, Odisha - 16, Bihar - 10 and Andhra Pradesh 1, till April 15.

"The number of incidents of (naxal-related) violence has declined, whereas the number of consequential deaths has remained almost at par with the corresponding period of 2011," Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

During the same period in 2011, Maoist violence had claimed 136 lives.
A total of 461 incidents of Naxal violence, as compared to 538 in 2011, were reported during the same period in the nine Naxal-affected states which also include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Mr Singh, in a separate reply, also said that a total of 75 battalions (about 75,000 personnel) of central security forces have been deployed in these states in this regard.

"During last six months (from November 2011 to April 15), 74 soldiers of security forces were killed by CPI (Maoist) in the country, out of which 14 were killed in Maharashtra," Mr Singh added.

Naxal violence claimed 137 lives this year: Govt
 
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Violent clashes, arson mark shutdown in Bengal's Terai, Dooars


Darjeeling, April 23 — Violent clashes and arson marked the indefinite shutdown in northern West Bengal's Terai and Dooars regions called from Monday by a faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) and supported by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

The shutdown called by the John Barla-led faction of the ABAVP evoked a mixed response, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed for restraint and maintenance of peace and order in the region.

Vehicular movement on national highways (NH) in areas under Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district, especially NH 31 - the gateway to the northeastern states - was negligible.

Train movement in the Dooars-Terai section also was affected, with many long-distance trains either cancelled or diverted.

Shutdown supporters in some places put up road blocks, which were later removed by police.

Clashes between supporters and opponents of the shutdown were reported in some areas, resulting in injuries to some. More than 80 arrests were made from Siliguri and adjoining areas of Darjeeling district.

In Naxalbari, several buses were damaged and a few vehicles were put on fire by those enforcing the shutdown.

In Oodlabari and Banarhat in Jalpaiguri district, several people were injured and police had to fire teargas shells following clashes between supporters and opponents of the shutdown.

'Situation in Banarhat and adjoining areas continue to be tense but is under control. Sufficient number of policemen has been deployed and we are all prepared to prevent any untoward incident,' Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri Daman Kumar Karmakar said.

The indefinite shutdown was called after the state government refused permission for a joint rally by the Barla faction and the GJM at Jalpaiguri's Nagrakata. Both outfits have also called for a boycott of all future meetings called by Banerjee.

'We want to hold public rallies in Terai and Dooars so that we can put our views before the public here. What does the state government wants to prove by denying us that opportunity?' GJM leader Roshan Giri said.

'We are peace loving people and want peace here. We are not to be blamed for the violence. It is the state government which is to be blamed which unnecessarily and without any reason denied us the permission to hold a rally here,' Barla said.

The Barla-led faction of the ABAVP supports the GJM demand for inclusion of 398 mouzas (area less than a sub-division) -- 196 from Dooars, 199 in Terai and three in Rajganj -- in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body to run the administration in Darjeeling.

The rival faction of the ABAVP which opposes inclusion of the Terai and Dooars areas in the GTA, had Sunday called a 12-hour shutdown.

Meanwhile, following reports of clashes, the state government Monday urged the rival factions to show restraint.

'People in the Terai (plains of Darjeeling district) and Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas, mainly in Jalpaiguri district) have one view while those in the hills have a different view. There is a lack of political understanding between the two rival factions. The administration urges both the factions to show restraint and maintain peace and order,' Banerjee said in Kolkata.

The opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist accused the state government of 'bringing violence from the hills to the plains'.


Violent clashes, arson mark shutdown in Bengal's Terai, Dooars - NY Daily News
 
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Policeman injured in Naxal attack in Maharashtra

Nagpur, Apr 24 (PTI) A police constable was injured when a group of Naxalites opened fire on a patrolling party near Lahiri in Bhamragad taluka of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra this afternoon, police said.

The injured constable identified as Raju Hanumante Sidam is attached to C-60 team of Gadchiroli police, police said.

The Naxals immediately fled from the spot after the police launched a retaliatory attack, the sources said.

According to police, Sidam was airlifted by helicopter and taken to district HQ for treatment and later admitted to the General Hospital here.
 
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Maoists kill 2 villagers, abduct 10 in Maharashtra - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Hours after Maoists released Odisha BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka, they have struck again. This time in Maharashtra.

According to TV reports, Maoists have killed 2 villagers and abducted another 10 in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district.

The Maoists have demanded the withdrawal of CRPF forces from the area and a halt to combing operations, say TV reports.

The state govt has rushed police to the spot for verification of news.
 
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Naxals kill 2, abduct 10 in Maharashtra
Mumbai, April 26, 2012
Maoists on Wednesday night reportedly killed two police informers and abducted 10 villagers from the storm-stricken and rain-riddled Marke hamlet in Dhanora taluka of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.

Police officials from the region refused to confirm the abduction and also evaded replying query pertaining to the killings. Local media from Gadchiroli stated that the hamlet is 25 kms away from the local police beat chowkie.

According to sources, security forces a fortnight ago had swooped on Marke hamlet, taking away some tribals on grounds that they were “Naxal sympathisers.” While the fate of those people rounded up as “suspects,” was not known, it is believed that Thursday’s rumoured killing was an outcome of the police raid.

The violence from both the warring sides have intensified in the past few months with the latest killing reported on Tuesday. Juru Kowse, a local leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and sarpanch of Wangeturi Gram Panchayat were assassinated in the incident in Todgatta village, located just near the Chattisgarh border.

Naxals kill 2, abduct 10 in Maharashtra
 
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Naxals kill another politician


CHANDRAPUR: Naxalites killed another politician, this time in Gardewada village under Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli, on Sunday evening. Sources claimed that the Naxalites abducted sarpanch Chamur Joi (40) of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and shot him dead. His body was recovered on Gardewada-Mardakuhi road, 10km from Gatta police outpost.

Confirming the incident subdivisional police officer of Etapalli Vivek Masal said, "Joi was shot from close a range. A single bullet injury has been found on his body."


Naxalites in recent days have started targeting politicians in rural areas of Gadchiroli. It is third incident of politician's killing in Gadchiroli this month. Earlier on April 13, Naxalites had assassinated ex-zilla parishad member Kewal Atkamwar in Etapalli. Later they killed Pawankumar Bhalavi, former Naxalite and husband of ex-panchayat samiti chairperson in Arewada village under Bhamragad tehsil on April 20.

In another incident, Maoists burned a forest vehicle and thrashed the forest labourers in jungle close to Allapalli in Aheri tehsil on Monday evening. Sources claimed that Naxalites reached the spot in the jungle where labourers were busy loading vehicles with wood. They thrashed the labourers and burned the vehicle with its fuel.

Police officials in Gadchiroli however denied of any knowledge of the incident.

Naxals kill another politician - Times Of India
 
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Anti-Naxal ops: CRPF to terminate over two dozen ex-Army men

New Delhi, Apr 29, 2012, (PTI)
The CRPF has decided to terminate the services of over two dozen ex-Army men it had recently hired for carrying out special counter-landmine operations in Naxal hotbeds, after their performance was found to be ''below standard'' in neutralising the explosive devices.

The force, which recently created a new institute in Pune to train its men in identifying, neutralising and combating Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and landmines under the tutelage of the experts from the Army-run College of Military Training (CME), found that these hired personnel, in various operations, were not able to provide the kind of results that they were expected to.

A number of CRPF commanders who are undertaking anti-Naxal operations in various states have reported to the force leadership that these personnel should be taken off and replaced by those young force troopers who are being trained at the Institute of IED Management in Pune.

"About 200 ex-Army men were recently hired on contract in the force after an advertisement was circulated in this regard. The CRPF did not possess hands-on expertise to counter IEDs in Naxal areas which are cleverly hidden beneath roads, sometimes at a depth of even 15-feets.

"The ex-Army were being hired for the same reason for sometime but the results were not found satisfactory and are below standard. Hence, it has been decided to terminate the services of over two dozen hired personnel," a senior official said.

The CRPF, thick in action in Naxal affected zones of the country had last year called for a total of 2,012 retired Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and others on hire to enhance its capabilities to undertake counter-IED operations in Maoist-hit areas of the country where it has deployed more than 70,000 troops.

The paramilitary force has lost more than 130 personnel in the last five years due to IED explosions alone while many have been maimed or handicapped.

On March 27, 13 men were killed in Gadchiroli when an IED explosion ripped apart a force vehicle.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is now banking upon the talent pool of its freshly trained troopers who have been tutored by Army experts in Pune.

The force had undertaken the initiative to hire ex-Army men for the first time in its 71-year-old history but the results do not look encouraging, at least at present.
The ex-Army men were expected not only to help the CRPF patrols in combating IEDs but also in imparting commando training to regular units during their tenure with the force.

Anti-Naxal ops: CRPF to terminate over two dozen ex-Army men
 
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PCPA leader shot dead in West Bengal

A leader of the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), a frontal organisation of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the West Midnapore District on April 23, reports The Hindu. The bullet- ridden body of Mangal Mahato was found in the morning near Banstala railway station in the Jhargram sub-division of the District. According to the Police, Mahato had been charged with murder, abduction and sedition. He was arrested in April 2010 and was later granted bail in October 2011. After his release he was not actively involved in any ultra left activity but Police sources said that he was a Maoist link- man.





Maoists kill Intelligence Cop in Andhra Pradesh

News Desk: The Maoists have struck in Andhra Pradesh, by killing an intelligence cop Pangi Appanna in Paderu in Visakhapatnam district last evening.

Appanna was on duty near Paderu Junior College, when the naxals fired two rounds at him. The incident occurred at around 5:30 PM. His four-year-old son was sitting with him when the attack took place.

The Maoists fled from the spot after the attack. Appanna died on the spot. He is survived by two wives and three children.

Maoists kill Intelligence Cop in Andhra Pradesh
 
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