Chhattisgarh (Maoist Insurgency): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2022

As many as 44 Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres including nine women cadres surrendered before Police in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 1, reports timesnownews.com. Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP), Sunil Sharma said, the rebels, mostly lower-rung cadres who were active in Chintalnar, Kishtaram and Bheji areas of the district, turned themselves in at the newly-set up Police camp in Karigundam village. One of them, Madkam Dula, a member of CPI-Maoist platoon no. 4, was carrying a reward of INR 200,000 on his head. Others were members of CPI-Maoist's militia or the Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM), a cultural wing of Maoists, SP, Sharma said, adding the surrendered cadres said they were disappointed with the "hollow" Maoist ideology and "impressed" by the district Police's rehabilitation drive for Naxals [Left Wing Extremists, LWEs], called 'Puna Narkom'. Puna Narkom, a Gondi word, means a new dawn. Read less...

Claiming that a major portion of the Bastar region was now free of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) insurgency, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister (CM), Bhupesh Baghel on the occasion of New Year at Police Parade Ground in Raipur on January 1 hailed the Security Forces (SFs) for their successes against the rebels, reports NDTV. "I am happy that our police have been doing excellent work in Naxal [Left Wing Extremist, LWE]-affected areas. Naxalism is not just a law-and-order problem, but also a political and social problem. Security forces have set up camps in Maoist strongholds which pushed the rebels on the back foot," the chief minister was quoted as saying in an official release. "Now the forest-dwellers, mostly tribals (in Naxal-affected areas), consider security personnel as their friends and understand that security personnel have been deployed there for their own safety," CM, Baghel said, adding, "This all could become possible because the police are helping locals, and development works, including the construction of roads, bridges and culverts, are taking place. A major portion of Bastar has got rid of the Naxal menace." Earlier, when it came to Chhattisgarh, people outside the state spoke only about Naxalism, "but our government has changed this thinking and this image of the state," the CM added. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres killed a 38-year-old mentally challenged man accusing him of acting as a ‘police informer’ in a village in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 1, reports News18. A senior Police official said, a group of Maoist ‘Jan Militia’ (people’s army of Maoists) members on January 1 night dragged the victim, identified as Hemant Bandi, out of his house in Timmapur village under Basaguda Police Station limits, located about 400 km from the State capital Raipur, and brutally killed him with sharp-edged weapons. Maoists claimed Bandi had informed Police about their location ahead of an encounter in 2018, the official said. Read less...

A Special Task Force (STF) constable was injured during a fierce encounter between the Security Force (SFs) and Communist party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in the Dongerjog Forest area in Gariyaband District of Chhattisgarh on January 2, reports The Times of India. STF chief Vijay Pandey said that the security personnel were conducting a search operation when the rebels opened fire, leading to an encounter at Dongerjog Forest area. A constable Yuvaraj Sagar, who had sustained bullet injuries on his abdomen, airlifted to the State capital, Raipur, for treatment at a super specialty hospital, and his condition was reported to be stable. Read less...

A 28-year-old man identified as Mahesh Baghel was shot dead after accusing him of being a ‘police informer’ by cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) at a local market in Badrangi village under Koyalibeda Police Station limits in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh on January 3, reports devdiscourse.com. Kanker Superintendent of Police (SP), Shalabh Sinha, said, "The motive behind the killing is not immediately known as the Naxals did not leave any pamphlet etc at the spot. Prima facie it seems they suspected him of acting as a police informer. Efforts are on to nab the culprits." Read less...

To strengthen the presence of the force on the Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] front of Chhattisgarh, fortified Police Stations are being constructed in the interior areas of Bastar, reports naidunia.com on January 4. Director General of Police (DGP), Ashok Juneja said that the construction of 75 fortified Police Stations has been completed. Along with this, the construction of 63 new Police Stations has started in the interior areas. Operation of these Police Stations will reduce Naxalite activities. Along with this, 32 Night Landing Helipads have been constructed so far to strengthen the anti-Naxal movement, in which the operation has started on 14. Force's helicopters are working to deliver logistics and weapons to the soldiers using the In Night Landing Helipad. DGP Juneja said that 16 new camps and four new Police Stations have been opened in Tarrem in Bijapur, Bharanda in Narayanpur, Malewahi in Bastar and Anantapur in Kondagaon in the Naxal-affected core area. The Palli Barsoor Axis and Aranpur Jagargunda Axis have opened after 30 years since the opening of the camp. 525 new mobile towers were installed to strengthen the communication network. In the second phase, the process of installing 971 4G mobile towers is going on. After the camp was established, it was successful in providing electricity to the inaccessible areas of Sukma's Golapalli, Palodi, Elaramadgu, Kondasavali and Tarrem, Mekur and Tumkapal of Dantewada. Read less...

Chhattisgarh Police claimed that Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres had killed three of their own, including a ‘militia commander’ and a woman member, at a ‘Jan Adalat’ (People’s/ Kangaroo Court organized by the Maoists) in Pusnar-Idinar village under Gangaloor Police Station limits in Bijapur District, reports The Week on January 7. Earlier, South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) had reported that the CPI-Maoist cadres holding a ‘Jan Adalat’ (People’s/ Kangaroo Court organized by the Maoists) where they accused three tribal civilians of being a ‘Police informer’ and shot them dead in the presence of the villagers, Idinar village under Gangaloor Police Station limits in Bijapur District on January 6, as reported in hindi.news24online.com, stands corrected. Bastar Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sundarraj P. said the killings were the result of a 'gang war' within the western Bastar division of the CPI-Maoist. However, in an official statement, IGP Bastar said according to available information, “prima facie it appears that on January 6, Maoists have killed two of their own cadre, Kamlu Punem (militia platoon commander) along with militia member Mangi. Both Kamlu and Mangi left the Naxal camp in order to get married.” The IG said as of now, details of the third person (Maoist) killed was not available and the Bijapur Police was trying to gather more information. Read less...

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres holding a ‘Jan Adalat’ (People’s/ Kangaroo Court organized by the Maoists) where they accused three tribal civilians of being a ‘Police informer’ and shot them dead in the presence of the villagers, Idinar village under Gangaloor Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 6, reports hindi.news24online.com. According to the information, two youths and a woman are among the dead, and one of the youths killed is identified as Kamalu Punem, while the woman is identified as Mangi. The identity of the third youth killed is yet to be ascertained. Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP), Kamlochan Kashyap said that he also got information about this incident, after which the Police team is sent in for investigation. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Masa Sodhi, surrendered in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on January 8, reports UNI. Sodhi, a resident of Fulpad village within Kuakonda Police Station limits, and carrying a reward of INR 100,000 on his head, stands accused of triggering an explosion in 2016 at Mailewada, which resulted in seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. Sodhi was also allegedly involved in the 2017 Burkapal encounter that claimed the lives of 12 personnel and two Maoists. Cases of attempts to murder, damaging roads and other property are also registered against the insurgent at various Police Stations. Read less...

Under pressure for killing their own cadres, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)’s of the Gangaloor Area Committee issued a handwritten press note on January 9 to deny reports that they had killed three persons, including two of their own cadres who were lovers and had broken ranks with the insurgents to marry, reports The Times of India on January 10. The Maoists, however, admitted to the murder of one of their cadres, Kamlu Punem, and claimed he was killed because he worked for Police and “was in a relationship with a relative”. On January 8, Police said they had information that Kamlu, a militia ‘platoon commander’, and his lover Mangi, a militia member, were produced in kangaroo court (people’s court of the Maoists) and killed by their comrades in Bijapur. A villager was also killed the same day. The Maoists claim this is Police propaganda, but the note is silent about Mangi. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bastar range, P Sundarraj said, “If this press note of Gangaloor Area Committee Maoists is authentic, then it supports the police version on the issue. Police have stated that Maoists have executed their own militia cadres Kamlu Punem and Mangi Punem. Whether both cadres tried to elope from the Maoist camp in order to marry is a matter of investigation. But the very fact that Naxals are executing their own cadres on suspicion of being police informers or for any other reason only indicates that the downfall of this illegal organization has begun.” Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre carrying a reward of INR 300,000 on his head surrendered in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 10, reports republicworld.com. Police said, Pandu Ram Savlam was the ‘self-styled deputy commander’ of the Wajedu Local Operation Squad (LOS), which functions under the Maoists' Telangana State Committee, and was involved in the Tekulagudem encounter last year. Police data showed that in 2021, as many as 553 Maoists surrendered statewide, while 499 ultras were arrested and 46 gunned down. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres killed the youth by thrashing him with a stick in Kalwar village in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh on January 11 night, reports naidunia.com. More than half a dozen uniformed Maoists reached Kalwar village on Tuesday night and picked up Ramji Gond, a resident of Kalwar village under Madanwada Police Station area of the district, from the house and took him to the drain near Ghudpal village on Kanker Road, and thrashed him to death accusing him of being a ‘Police informer’. When Ramji did not reach home till the next day morning, the family members started searching for him, and found his dead body lying near the drain on the unpaved road. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres have beaten to death a villager identified as Jagat Sodhi (50), a resident of Ketulnar, with sticks accusing him of being a ‘Police informer’ in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh early on January 11, reports bhaskar.com. It is being told that in the intervening night of January 10-11, around 15 to 20 Maoists of Indravati Area Committee carried out the incident in Kutru Police Station area. Sodhi was sleeping in the house with his family, when the Maoists came and threw him out of the house and started beating him mercilessly with a stick, accusing him of being an informer. Sodhi used to run a shop in his village from which he used to earn a lot of income. Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Abhinav Upadhyay has confirmed the incident and said prima facie it appears that the Maoists must have demanded money from the villager, and he was killed for not giving the ‘levy’ (extortion money). Jagat died on the spot due to the beating of Maoists, and after carrying out the incident, the Maoists escaped towards the forest. Read less...

A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) personnel has been arrested for allegedly being part of a five-member gang that posed as Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres to carry out dacoities in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh, reports The Times of India on January 14. Police identified the arrested Police personnel as Jitendra Kumar Ramteke, a constable with CAF’s 8th battalion in Rajnandgaon District. Ramteke had gone AWOL [absent without leave (used especially when somebody in the army, etc. has left his/her group without permission)] and joined a gang, which would loot people disguised as Maoists, said Police. Investigators verifying how many such incidents they were involved in. They were caught when one family called their bluff and out up a fight. On the night of January 10, the gang of five, armed with traditional weapons and shouting ‘Lal Salaam’, barged into the house of Chamru Kawasi in Gudratola village in Kanker, and demanded INR 150,000. Chamru and his brother sensed they were not Maoists and fought back. Taken aback by the ferocity of the counterattack, the dacoits fled but the Kawasi brothers wrestled one of them to the ground. Villagers chased down two others. The three suspects were handed over to Police. Later, the Police tracked down the two others on January 13. Read less...

One soldier of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh on January 14, reports timesnownews.com. Maoist targeted the security personnel in the Kanker area of Chhattisgarh, where SSB soldiers were deployed on the Rao Ghat railway project. Read less...

A woman Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed in exchange of fire with District Reserve Guard (DRG) in the forest of Marzum under Tongpal Police Station limits in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 18 (today), reports latestly.com. The slain body of the woman Maoist was recovered, whose identity is yet to be ascertained. Intermittent firing still underway, Operation continues, said Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP), Sunil Sharma. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) s’ Telangana ‘state committee member’ Sudhakar was killed in an encounter in a forested area in the border of Semaldodi village under Ilmidi Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 18, reports Deccan Chronicle. Sudhakar, a ‘divisional committee (DVC) member’ and senior member of Telangana ‘state committee’ of Maoist was gunned down, Bastar range, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sundarraj P. said. According to him, a search party of Greyhounds, the elite anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] squad of Telangana State, commandos, was out on anti-Naxal operations in the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border following inputs on the movement of Sudhakar along with 40-50 Maoists in the area, and in the ensuing encounter Sudhakar was killed. One Self Loading Rifle (SLR) and one INSAS [Indian Small Arms System] assault rifle was also recovered by security personnel at the encounter site. Read less...

Police identifies the woman Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre who was killed in exchange of fire with District Reserve Guard (DRG) in the forest of Marzum under Tongpal Police Station limits in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 18, as Munni, who carried a bounty of INR 500,000 on her head, reports Deccan Chronicle. Munni was an ‘area committee member (ACM)’ of Katekalyan Area Committee of the CPI-Maoist, adds The Indian Express. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre identified as Madkam Muiya, was killed in an encounter broke out between Security Forces (SFs) and CPI-Maoist cadres again on January 19 in the forest of Marjum village in Dantewada District, located on the border of Dantewada and Sukma Districts of Chhattisgarh, reports jagran.com. Madkam was an ‘area committee member (ACM)’ of the CPI-Maoist, and carried a reward of INR 500,000 on his head. Read less...

The SFs demolished CPI-Maoist camps in the forests of Karigundam and Matemarka under Chintagufa Police Station area in Sukma District. Naxalite [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] literature including three guns, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing about three kilograms, 80 meters of electric wire, two pelt bags have been recovered from the Maoist camp. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres allegedly killed Ando Ram (45), a Gopniya Sainik (secret informer of the Police) and dumped his body on Gangaloor road under the Bijapur Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 21, reports Odisha TV. Read less...

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres set ablaze three vehicles engaged in road construction work at Cherkanti Patelpara village under Bijapur Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 21, reports Odisha TV. The Maoists set fire to a truck, a JCB machine and another heavy vehicle, which were being used in the construction work under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Pandru Padami (20), who was involved in the killings of at least seven Security Force personnel including two Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troopers, was arrested from Toyameta village in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on January 22, reports The Pioneer. Narayanpur, Superintendent of Police, Girija Shankar Jaiswal said, Padami is a close associate of CPI-Maoist’s ‘Amdai Ghati Area Committee’ ‘secretary’ Suresh Salam. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed in an encounter with Security Force personnel near a bridge in a forest, located about six kilometers from Bharanda Police Station in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on January 24, reports The Hindu. Superintendent of Police, Girija Shankar Jaiswal said, the gunfight took place at around 1.30 am [IST], when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on a search operation, and after the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Maoist and a muzzle loading gun were recovered from the spot. The slain Maoist was identified as Manu Nureti, adds The Indian Express. Read less...