News Analysis India

Tag: Maoists

  • Maoist leader carrying Rs 8 lakh bounty surrenders in Chhattisgarh 

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Senior cadre of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Sodi Muya, who was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, surrendered before the Sukma police and the CRPF DIG in south Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

    “Sodi Muya, secretary of Kerlapal Area Committee was active in the Maoist organisation for the past 15 years and there are around 20 cases registered against him in different police stations of the district. He decided to surrender after realizing hollow anti-development and anti-tribal ideology of Maoists”, said Sunil Sharma, Sukma SP.

    He will be entitled to all the assistance given under the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state government, the SP added.

    Muya renounced the banned organisation under the ongoing ‘Puna Narkom’ campaign (in local tribal Gondi dialect meaning ‘New Dawn’) launched by the Sukma police.

    Sukma is among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar.

  • Maoist responsible for killing 11 Bihar policemen arrested after 18 years

    By PTI

    DEHRI-ON-SONE: A Maoist, wanted in the 2003 killing of 11 Bihar Police personnel, was nabbed from Rohtas district on Friday, officials said.

    Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided Yadunathpur area and arrested Sanjhawan Cheron, Superintendent of Police Aashish Bharti said.

    He was on the run for around 18 years, the officer said.

    A police vehicle with 11 personnel in it was blown up by the Maoists in the Nawhatta police station area in 2003.

    “All 11 police personnel died on the spot. Cheron was the mastermind of the attack. He is also wanted in several cases pertaining to Naxal attacks in Uttar Pradesh,” the officer said.

    “The arrest of Cheron is a major achievement for the state police, the credit for which goes to the local police officers. All police personnel, who were part of the team that arrested Cheron, will be rewarded. Initial interrogation has revealed that he was still very active in the area,” he said.

  • Chhattisgarh: 12 civilians injured in IED blast set-up by Maoists

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Twelve civilians were injured after the vehicle they were onboard was hit by a powerful improvised explosion device (IED), triggered by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) at Ghotiya in the strife-torn Dantewada district on Thursday morning.

    “There were 12 persons in the ill-fated Bolero jeep, which was on its way to Dantewada from Narayanpur district. The security forces reached the spot to assist the injured taken to the district hospital. The condition of two injured are stated to be critical,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada, district Superintendent of Police.

    The district police led by Pallava reached the spot to lend the helping hand to the injured in reaching the hospital.

    Dantewada and Narayanpur are among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.

  • Naxal couple with Rs 8 lakh bounty surrenders in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district

    By PTI
    NAGPUR: A Naxal couple, carrying a collective cash reward of Rs 8 lakh on their heads and with multiple criminal cases registered against them, surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, police said on Friday.

    They have been identified as Vinod alias Maniram Boga (32) and his wife Kavita alias Satto Kovachi (33), police said. Boga is a resident of Botezari in Gadchiroli. He was an area committee member of Korchi Dalam of Maoists and used to work as a doctor in that unit.

    He was wanted in 13 cases of murder and 21 cases of police-Naxal encounters, among others, and was carrying a prize reward of Rs 6 lakh, they said. His wife was a member of Tipagarh Dalam and was carrying prize reward of Rs 2 lakh on her head.

    She was named in five police-Maoist encounter cases and one case of arson, among others. They surrendered in the presence of Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Ankit Goyal. According to police, 43 Naxals have so far surrendered in Gadchiroli between 2019 and 2021.

    These surrendered cadres included two dalam commanders, three deputy dalam commanders, 33 dalam members and 1 jan militia member.

  • Maoists release all seven villagers abducted in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma 

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Seven people, who were allegedly abducted by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district a few days back, have been released and they have safely returned to their village, police said on Wednesday.

    Before releasing them, the rebels warned the villagers “not to support police or development works” in the area, the police said.

    “These people reached their village Kunded under Jagargunda police station limits on Tuesday night and all of them are safe,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

    On July 18, Maoists had forcefully taken the seven people along with them towards Puvarti village, the native place of dreaded Maoist commander Hidma, and allegedly kept them in captivity, he said.

    When they did not return, a group of villagers from the area went into the forest in search of them.

    After being alerted, the police swung into action and launched a search for these people, the official said.

    Meanwhile, local representatives of tribal communities were also contacted and they issued an appeal in the media, asking the ultras to release the abducted villagers, he said.

    “With the growing pressure from police and appeals made by local tribal leaders, Naxals had to set them free,” the official said.

    The police will record statements of the abducted villagers, he added.

  • Chhattisgarh: Three Maoists killed in gun-battle with security forces

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Security forces on Thursday gunned down three cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in an exchange of fire at Bhairamgarh in an edgy district of Dantewada, about 450 km south of Raipur.

    “Based on the intelligence inputs about the movement of Maoists in the region, a team of District Reserve Guards (DRG) left on a search operation. There was an encounter at around 6 pm at the hilly terrain of Dholkal and Pedapal. Three Maoists were killed. The bodies have been identified”, said Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava.

    Two of the three rebels killed were carrying a bounty of Rs one lakh. 

    The forces also recovered three country made weapons, three kg IED and other items of daily use, the SP added.

    There was however no report of any injury or casualty sustained by the forces.

    Dantewada in south Bastar is among the 14 Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh. 

  • Villager guiding cops killed after IED planted by Maoists explodes in Jharkhand’s Gumla

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: A day after a Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) jawan was critically injured when an IED, planted by Maoists to prevent security forces from tracing them, exploded in the jungles of Marwa in Gumla, a villager was killed in a similar incident early on Wednesday. According to police, the villager was accompanying the security forces to guide them during a search operation being conducted to locate the Maoists when he stepped on an IED and was killed.

    “A villager, Rameshwar Munda, got injured in the IED blast and was evacuated immediately from there, but succumbed to his injuries before he was taken to a doctor. Being a local, he was taken along by the security forces to guide them in the dense forests,” said Gumla SP Hurdeep P Janardhanan.

    The squads of Maoist Zonal Commander Budheshwar Oraon and Ravindra Ganjhu have planted several IEDs in the Marwa jungles of Gumla and these often blow up when security forces are on search operations or when villagers go into the jungles to graze their animals.

    ALSO READ: ‘Surrender and get medical facilities’: Jharkhand Police to Covid-hit Maoists

    This is the sixth such incident of a landmine blast within a year in the Marwa jungles.

    In February this year, a CRPF jawan had lost both his legs in a similar blast while a villager Mahender Mahto also got seriously injured in another IED blast that occurred in the Marwa Karagani jungles under Kurumgarh police station in Gumla.

    According to villagers, they have been warned by the Maoists not to enter the jungles as the land mines planted by them might explode claiming their lives or they may get critically injured. As per the message given to the villagers, the Maoists have planted hundreds of landmines in the jungles of Gumla to prevent the entry of security forces.

    “The message was spread among the people in more than 40 small and big villages under Kurumgarh police station warning us to enter the jungles at our own risk as they have planted landmines there. Since then, we have not entered the jungles,” said a villager Budhan Munda. But it is very difficult to survive without the jungles as most of the day to day activities of the villagers are dependent on it, he added.

    Admitting that a network of IEDs has been planted in the Marwa jungles, the Gumla SP said that regular operations are being conducted in the region to neutralise the IEDs and the Maoists as well. All efforts are being made to neutralise the squads of Budheshwar Oraon and Ravindra Ganjhu, which are active in the region, said the Jharkhand Police spokesperson.

  • NIA, NHRC, Modi govt and judicial system executed plot against Stan Swamy: Maoists

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: The Maoists on Tuesday alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) framed Stan Swamy in a fake case and demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in the Bhima Koregaon case. 

    The CPI (Maoists) also demanded the withdrawal of all the cases filed against them and appealed to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to support them.

    According to a press note released by the spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee, Stan Swamy was framed by NIA in the Bhima Koregoan case. “CPI (Maoist) announces that the death of Stan Swamy was a conspiracy. It has also been opined by the activists, intellectuals, democratic intelligentsia, human rights activists, and chief ministers of various states such as Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Undoubtedly, the conspiracy has been executed by the NIA, NHRC, BJP Government at the centre and the judiciary as well,” stated the press note issued by CPI (Maoists). 

    Giving voice to the demand of immediate release of all the social and political activists and withdrawal of all cases related to the Bhima Koregaon case without any conditions would be a true tribute to Stan Swamy, it added.

    CPI (Maoist) also made an appeal to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to come forward for defeating the “anti-people” forces in the country, which is being used for denying the basic rights of the common people.

    Stan Swamy, 84, who worked for the rights of Adivasis and other underprivileged people in Jharkhand for more than three decades, passed away at a Mumbai Hospital on July 5. 

    Swamy had been languishing in jail since October 8, last year after NIA arrested him in the Bhima Koregaon case — the violence which erupted at an event to mark 100 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on January 1 in 2018, leaving one dead and several others injured. People close to Swamy, however, termed his death as an “institutional murder” saying that he was arrested on fake charges only to be killed in jail.

  • ‘Surrender and get medical facilities’: Jharkhand Police to Covid-hit Maoists

    By Express News Service
    RANCHI: Amid reports that many of the Maoists died of Covid in Jharkhand and other states, Jharkhand Police has made an offer to the ailing Maoists that they will get all medical facilities after they surrender. They can also get Covid jabs easily, police said.

    “Again I appeal, especially, to those who have lost track and joined Maoist cadres that if they have any kind of medical problem or any complication related to Covid, they must inform the local SP or police station and surrender. Their treatment will be done by the police department,” said IG (Operations) Jharkhand Police spokesperson AV Homkar. 

    “It has been our effort that if anybody comes to us with their problem or ailment, all facilities is provided to them including medical care,” said Homkar.

    The offer was apparently made after reports that many Maoist cadres were infected with Covid but due to lack of resources, they were not able to get proper treatment. Moreover, they were also forced to get treated by the local quacks due to the fear of getting caught.

    According to an official release from the Central Committee of CPI (Maoists), as many as 160 cadres all over the Country died in the last year due to various reasons including Covid.

    “We are trying to confirm the figures from various agencies about the damage caused by Covid to the Maoist cadres in Jharkhand,” said the spokesperson.

    More than 900 of the 1000 Maoists lodged in different jails of Jharkhand have already been vaccinated, Homkar added.

  • Aadhaar more than 12 digits for ex-Reds

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR:  For surrendered CPI-Maoist cadres, Aadhaar is just not merely 12 digits. It means a new life. The document establishes their identity as bonafide citizens — something which was not possible during their days as outlaws.

    Under the special initiative Lon Varratu-2, the former rebels are enrolled for Aadhaar by the Dantewada police and district administration, to facilitate them avail the benefits of ration card, bank account, smart health card, voter identity card among others. It does not end there. They are now being administered Covid vaccines, thanks to their Aadhaar.

    Former Maoist cadres are handedAadhaar at an event | eXPRESSIn Dantewada district, 375 Maoists had surrendered after seeing the success of ‘Lon Varratu’ (in local tribal Gondi dialect meaning return to your home/village) campaign which was launched a year ago. There are 454 surrendered rebels listed in the district since 2019 to be covered under the ongoing Lon Varratu-2.

    “It gives a feel of being a part of the mainstream and living a dignified life. We are now entitled to receive government benefits too,” said Sukhnath Potam, a resident of Narayanpur and former Maoist who got his first vaccine dose. 

    “Now, my family has MNREGS job card, thanks to Aadhaar,” said Mata Kawasi from Bijapur. The project apparently works on the dictum that with the Aadhaar card issued by UIDAI, no one should be deprived of the benefits associated with it.

    “Based in the conflict zone, their situation is different from among the millions of Indians who initially didn’t have any reliable or recognised identity documentation. Aadhaar is the first form of legitimate identity which the surrendered rebels will now acquire under Lon Varratu-2,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada district police chief.

    A few months ago, Dantewada police carried out a feedback survey from the surrendered Maoists in the villages. “We found not even 25 of the 454 rebels who surrendered since 2019 had Aadhaar. They remain deprived of various beneficial services and welfare programmes. So we launched Lon Varratu-2 from May 31,” the SP added.  

    The ongoing initiative so far has facilitated 139 Aadhaar cards, 100 ration cards, 135 voter identity cards and 129 bank accounts for the surrendered Maoists. The Bastar police hope such initiatives will encourage other Maoists to surrender and help them return to  the mainstream.