Maoist Insurgency: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2001

Five left-wing extremists, Naxalites including two women, belonging to the People’s War Group (PWG) and the Janashakti group surrendered in Warangal on January 1. Read less...

On January 5, the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), comprising representatives of State governments from States affected by leftwing extremist, Naxalite, violence, is scheduled to meet in Hyderabad to chalk out the strategy to tackle Naxalism in the country. The JCC, which is meeting after a gap of one year, will be attended by the Directors General of Police and other senior officers of the concerned States. Among other matters, the meeting is likely to discuss the issues of training the police forces on lines of `Greyhound', the elite anti-Naxal force of Andhra Pradesh. Read less...

The Union Home Ministry has advised all the Naxalite affected States to impose a ban on the People's War Group (PWG), the most militant extremist outfit, but left the final decision to the respective states. Read less...

Union Home Secretary, Kamal Pandey, while presiding over a high-level meeting of officials from the Left-wing extremism affected States, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, on January 5, gave the advise. The main topic of discussion was introducing some changes in the anti-extremism strategies based on the changing strategies being employed by the left-wing groups. There was also a proposal to form joint action groups of police to carry out anti-Naxalite drives effectively along the borders of the affected States. Read less...

On January 6, more than 100 activists of the outlawed private army of landlords, Ranvir Sena staged a ‘flag march’ in six villages of Gaya district. They were carrying lethal weapons and had also exploded bombs. Police sources said the Ranvir Sena has for the first time come out in the open and organised such a march. Generally, armed squads of the Sena surface only when they have to perpetrate carnage. The police are trying to find out the real reason for the flag march. Read less...

Seven left wing extremists, Naxalites of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), were arrested in Gaya on January 6. A huge cache of firearms and explosives were recovered from them. Read less...

Meanwhile, on the same day, police claim to have arrested 17 extremists, including seven of the outlawed Left-extremist outfit, Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), from different places in Palamu and Giridih districts of Jharkhand. Read less...

On January 7, 11 activists of the Left-extremist outfit, People’s War Group were killed in an encounter in Garwah district of Jharkhand. It was earlier reported that four activists were killed. Read less...

On January 7, four activists of the banned Left-extremist outfit, the People’s War Group (PWG) and one Central Resreve Police Force (CRPF) jawan were killed in an encounter at Banjare village, Garhwa district. Police claim that four or five more Naxalites might have been killed, but their bodies were taken away by the extremists. A huge cache of firearms including three double barrel guns, one rifle and explosives were seized from the encounter scene. Read less...

The People’s War Group claimed, on January 7, that the victims of Garbeta carnage were not the supporters of the Trinamul Congress but its sympathisers, who were killed while holding a meeting of its peasant front, on January 4. Read less...

In another development, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Dinesh Nandan Sahay, while speaking to the media on January 8, said that socio-economic inequality is the basic reason for the naxalites problem in Bastar region and it is not a matter of law and order only. Read less...

The People's War Group (PWG), a Left-wing extremist outfit, on January 8, 2001, threatened to ``eliminate" several Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) leaders in Midnapore in retaliation to alleged killings of nine of its cadres. A spokesman of the outfit claimed that a large number of supporters from both the Trinamul Congress and the CPI (M) had actually joined the ranks of the PWG, which had precipitated the retaliation by them. Read less...

Four Left-wing extremists, Naxalites of the outlawed People’s War Group (PWG), including a commander surrendered in Anantpur, on January 14. Read less...

In another incident on the same day, two unidentified Naxalites allegedly belonging to the PWG in Adilabad district killed a police constable. Read less...

Two police personnel were killed by the activists on the outlawed left extremist outfit, People’s War Group (PWG) Naxalites, at different places in Adilabad district, on January 14. Read less...

In a separate incident on January 15, activists of another Naxal group operating in Andhra Pradesh, Janshakti, killed a person in Karimnagar district on the charge that he was acting as a police informer. Read less...

Meanwhile, the PWG announced the formation of a People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA) in North Telangana, the fourth of its kind in the country. The PGA was formally launched in Bihar, Dandakaranya and Andhra Pradesh in December 2000. The new PGA would take on the joint operational command of five States where Naxalite activity is already intense. Read less...

The People’s War Group (PWG), a left-wing extremist, Naxalite outfit along with other Naxalite outfits in a memorandum, submitted on January 17, to the West Bengal Governor, demanded a judicial inquiry into the January 4 killings in Midnapore. While claiming that those killed were its cadres, the PWG also accused the West Bengal Minister of State for Transport Sushata Ghaosh of being responsible for the attack. Read less...

In another incident in Jharkhand State, police arrested four activists of the left-wing extremist organisation, Naxalites of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), in Hazaribagh district, on January 18 and 19. Some arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site of the incident. Read less...

On January 18, a police personnel was killed in an encounter with left-extremists, Naxalites, in Bastar district of the newly formed Chhattisgarh State. According to official sources, this was the first ever encounter with the Naxals, after the State was carved out of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2000. A top police official also said that police was attempting to draw a new comprehensive strategy to tackle the Naxal violence in the area. Read less...

On January 18, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the police to probe the December 1999-Koyyuru encounter in which four Naxalites were reportedly killed. The State police, on December 2, 1999, had claimed that four leftwing extremists, Naxalites of the People’s War Group (PWG), were killed in an encounter in the forest range under Koyyuru Police Station limits in Karimnagar district. Read less...

In another incident, another Naxal outfit, the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) activists blew up the house of a jailer of Gaya Prison, at Dhandhar Bigha village, in Jehanabad district, on January 19, a delayed report said. Read less...

Activists of the outlawed left-extremist outfit, Naxalites of the People’s War Group (PWG), attacked the Ashram of Nagananda Swamy at Penukonda, Anantpur district, and killed one person on January 20. Read less...

Chhattisgarh Director General of Police (DGP), on January 21, unveiled a six-point strategy to deal with Naxal violence. According to the strategy, the local police will be provided modern and more effective arms and ammunition, including anti-mine vehicles and the security arrangements of police outposts will be strengthened adequately. Also, two companies of the Special Armed Force (SAF) that have been stationed at Lakshadweep will return back to Bastar by the end of January. The DGP warned of stern action against all those found to be helping the Naxalites. Read less...

According to official sources, eight left-wing extremists, Naxalites, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninst (CPI-ML) Janshakti group and the People’s War Group (PWG) including a ‘deputy commander’ of the PWG surrendered in Warangal and Nizamabad districts on Janurary 22. Read less...

In another development in Jharkhand, police claimed to have arrested 11 activists of the outlawed Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in Hazaribagh district. Police claimed to have recovered a large cache of explosives and firearms from them. Read less...

In yet another development, the police chief of Chhattisgarh said, on January 22, called for putting ‘pressure’ on the Naxalites before any response for talks between the State government and the Naxalites is expected. Read less...

According to official sources, one activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was killed and four others injured in a series of clashes with the left-extremist Naxalite, Peoples War Group (PWG) at Jhapur village, Midnapore district, on January 23. The Trinamool Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), however, claimed that the clash occurred the motorcycle rally organised by the CPI (M) was stopped. The CPI (M), on the other hand, claimed that BJP-Trinamool Congress activists attacked them along with the PWG. Read less...

A leftwing extremist, Naxalite of the People’s War Group (PWG), was killed in an encounter in Anthampet village, Nalgonda district, on January 24. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh police announced a total reward of Rs 9.5 lakh to persons providing information leading to the arrest of four specific PWG Naxalites. Read less...

According to official sources, the left-extremist outfit, People’s War Group (PWG) unfurled black flags in the forests of Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam and in nearly 100 former bastions in the plains of the three districts, in Andhra Pradesh, to protest against Republic-Day celebrations on January 26. Read less...

In another development, Bihar Governor Vinod Chandra Pande on, January 26, said the State was fighting the menace of left-wing extremism and suggested procurement of sophisticated weapons and coordinated efforts to combat it and improve law and order. Read less...

In yet another development, West Bengal police claimed to have seized a detailed map of Midnpaore from a PWG hideout in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa which outlines the meticulous planning with which the Naxalite group is trying to infiltrate the southernmost district of West Bengal, bordering Orissa. Read less...

Meanwhile, officials in the State capital Hyderabad claimed a special team of the PWG is camping in there to target VVIPs and some senior police officials. This is for the second time the PWG formed an action team in two years to target specific persons. Read less...

According to police sources, left-wing extremists, Naxalites of the People’s War Group (PWG), attacked a local Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and seriously injured him at Raikal village in Karimnagar district, on January 28. Read less...

The Police chiefs of seven States affected by Naxal violence met in Hyderabad on January 29, to take work out strategies in curbing left-wing extremism. The meeting, stressed on strengthening of intelligence network and evolving aggressive training methods to police personnel in tackling the Naxal menace. Read less...

Earlier, the Naxalites set fire to the personal vehicle of a special branch police constable, between Dadupuram and Kolliguda near Gummalakshmipuram. Read less...

The left-extremist outfit, the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) abducted and later released the Director, Direct Taxes Regional Training Institute, Hazaribagh, of the income-tax department, a forester and a ranger from Pirtand in Giridih district on January 31. Read less...