Maoist Insurgency: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2008

According to Sahara Samay, at least four policemen were killed and another sustained injuries in an attack by the Communist party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres on Bariapur police post in the Munger district on January 1. 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. Read less...

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. Read less...

On January 1, the headless body of Sisir Chatterjee, a zonal committee member of ruling CPI-Marxist, was recovered from the Mangalkot area of Burdwan district, according to IANS. Police claimed that the Maoists are involved in the killing. Read less...

Sahara Samay reports that a police constable, identified as Sunil Kumar, was killed and three others wounded when armed cadres of the Communist party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) attacked a police outpost at Bansjore in the Simdega district on January 1-night. "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. Before launching the attack, the Maoists reportedly cut a tree at Keriaghati and also planted landmines to block police reinforcements from reaching the outpost. Read less...

Suspected cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (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 on January 1-night, according to Times of India. Read less...

A policeman was injured when the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres attacked a police outpost at Baunsajhar in the Biramitrapur police station area of Sundergarh district on January 2, reports Times of India. Read less...

Cadres of the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), reportedly killed a civilian, identified as Lochan Ganjhu, in the Chatra district. The dead body was recovered on January 2 from Bhurahanala. The slain person had been abducted by the JLT cadres near Banasam village in the district on December 11. Read less...

In another incident, 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, reports Telegraph. The Maoists then raided two more houses before setting ablaze the house of a local committee member of the ruling CPI-Marxist in an adjoining village. Read less...

Reddy further said that Srinu along with Shyam, member of the Mahabubnagar District Committee, and Shekhar, a squad member, had extorted money from five persons. The other two Maoists had already surrendered before the Mahabubnagar police on January 2. Srinu was also allegedly involved in the killing of Amangal Mandal Prarishad president Panthu Naik in Mahabubnagar district recently. He was also accused of killing a Congress party leader, Muddula Rao, at Thimmayapally village on June 28, 2005 and a ration shop dealer S. Narasimha at Ajilapur village five months later. Read less...

Telegraph reports that Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres shot dead Ramprasad Mondal, a local committee member of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a primary teacher, in Madhabpur village under Chapra police station of Nadia district, on January 2. "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. Read less...

Three cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), 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 on January 2, reports The Hindu. 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. Read less...

According to Chhattisgarh 24x7, police neutralized a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) camp following an encounter with the Maoists near Kotrapal village under Bhairamgarh police station limits in the Bijapur district on January 3-morning. No causality was reported. Police recovered explosives, detonators, radio, Maoist literature and daily use material from the camp. Read less...

According to Chhattisgarh Police records, police fatalities in the Maoist-related violence increased in 2007 compared to the previous year. Girdhari Nayak, the Inspector General of Police (Maoist Operations), told IANS, "Chhattisgarh recorded 436 deaths in Maoist-related violence in 2007, as against 458 casualties reported in 2006. But the deaths of policemen and special police officers (SPOs) shot up to 200 last year, while that number was 74 in 2006." He, however, said the State has witnessed a substantial drop in civilian casualties in 2007 with 165 deaths, as against 306 deaths in 2006 and 126 the previous year. According to official data, 67 Maoists were killed in the State in 2007, while the figure was 73 in 2006 and 27 in 2005. Nayak said that the police have recovered large caches of arms and ammunition from the Maoists in 2007, including 96 weapons, 175 landmines, 208 detonators, 49 gelatine sticks, five wireless sets, five magazines and seven claymore mines. Read less...

On January 3-night, 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 Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) supporters, according to The Hindu. The police also recovered five guns from their possession. Read less...

The Chhattisgarh government has sought nine more battalions of central para-military forces (CPMFs) immediately to deal with the increasing Maoist activity in the State. According to The Hindu, Chief Secretary Shivraj Singh and the Director General of Police, Vishwa Ranjan, made this demand during a meeting with the Union Cabinet Secretary, K.M. Chandrasekhar, in New Delhi on January 3. Talking to The Hindu, Vishwa Ranjan said the State would require 15 battalions of CPMFs to check Maoist violence and an equal number to ensure the safe return of the displaced people to their villages. At present, the State had 12 battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one Mizo battalion. Read less...

A squad member of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), identified as D. Srinu alias Vikram, who planned to extort INR 1000000 from businessmen in the Rangareddy district was arrested from Vanasthalipuram locality in the capital city of Hyderabad on January 4, reports The Hindu. Cyberabad Police Commissioner, S. Prabhakar Reddy, told that Srinu had earlier collected INR 10,000 from the businessman in Vanasthalipuram in December 2007. He approaches the same businessman again with a fresh demand for INR 1000000 but was caught by the police. The police also recovered an AK-47 rifle with 50 bullets from his possession. Read less...

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, according to Ranchi Express. 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. Read less...

According to Times of India, 12 prisoners and the chief warden of the Sasaram divisional jail in Rohtas district were injured on January 5 in a clash between a group of Maoist prisoners and other inmates. Jail Superintendent Sanjay Choudhary said that the Maoist prisoners alleged that ailing members of their group were treated in cells while others were treated in the jail hospital and one of the Maoists died recently as a result of the neglect. He said that the Maoists picked up a quarrel with other jail inmates alleging "discrimination" meted to their colleagues in treatment Read less...

In the district, a group of 20 Maoists, including two women, attacked a forest range office at Badrama on January 5-night, assaulted six forest guards and locked them up in a room before ransacking the premises and setting it ablaze, according to Times of India. 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. Read less...

On January 5, a CPI-Maoist senior cadre, Ashok Yadav alias Ashokji, a resident of Arwal village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, was arrested by the Special Task Force personnel near Danua village in the Giridih district. Ashokji is 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. Read less...

On January 5-evening, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres attacked police personnel engaged in a combing operation near Cherpal in the Bijapur district, reports Chhattisgarh 24x7. Another group of Maoists attacked police personnel near Kotrapal. No casualty was reported in either of these incidents. Read less...

Two cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), 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 on January 5, reports The Hindu. 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. Read less...

IANS reports that the Communist Party of India-Maoist (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, on January 6-evening. Police claimed that the Maoists killed Das because he had refused to pay them protection money. Read less...

Jharkhand Police on January 6 arrested Vineeta alias Simppi, the women wing ‘area commander’ of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), from Bardari village in the Garwah district. Police sources told IANS that she is 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. Read less...

The Chandrapur district police arrested two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Manoj Maroti Sonule and Vinayak Sonule, from Ramnagar on January 6, reports Hitavada. 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. The Superintendent of Police, Cherring Dorje, informed that the literature includes Maoists posters and handbills, CDs, dairies having details of correspondence between Vishnu Shriniwasan and Warnan Gonsalves, two hardcore Maoists who were brought to Chandrapur recently from Mumbai for investigation into the offence registered there, and full report of ninth congress of the CPI-Maoist. Read less...

Chhattisgarh 24x7 reports that police arrested a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Kumada, near Hadeli village under Mardapal police station limits of Bastar district on January 7. The Maoist, carrying head money of INR 3000, was involved in several incidents in the Bastar region. Read less...

On January 7, police in the Kanker district claimed to have killed seven hardcore Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres following a raid on a camp of the outfit in a forested area under Koyalibera police station, reports Daily Chhattisgarh. Pawan Deo, Deputy Iinspector General of Police (Kanker range), told IANS, "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. Read less...

On January 7, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres attacked two vehicles of police personnel near Narsampuram in the Dantewada district, reports Chhattisgarh 24x7. However, no causality was reported. Read less...

According to Times of India, the CPI-Maoist unit in Jharkhand 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. "We have received information from different sources about the Maoists giving compensation to families of their cadres who lost their lives during anti-Naxal operation by police," said Mallik. He said the Maoists were trying to implement the scheme in all the Maoist-infested districts of Jharkhand. In some cases, the Maoists have also taken over the responsibility of school-going children of their dead cadres, the police said. Read less...

Ranchi Express reports that on January 8-evening, around 200 armed cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) raided Muktma village under Simaria police station in the Chatra district and abducted three persons to the nearby forest. Subsequently, the Maoists killed two of them, identified as Indradev Singh and Shambhu Singh, and released the third one Manoj Kumar. Read less...

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (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, on January 8-morning, reports The Hindu. The group of Maoist were 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. Read less...

According to Chhattisgarh 24x7, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (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 on January 9. 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. Read less...

According to Prabhat Khabar the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) cadres, a break away faction of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), attacked Bairiya village under Mali police station of Aurangabad district on January 9-night and set the house of Satyendra Singh ablaze. Dozens of TPC cadres surrounded the village and searched for Satyendra Singh. Not finding him, they asked the members of his house to come out before setting it ablaze. They also set ablaze paddy crops stored in his field. Sources said that the Satyendra Singh a former Peoples War Group (PWG) cadre had joined the CPI-Maoist. Read less...

The Hindu reports that the Devarakonda police unearthed a dump reportedly planted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) near a remote Kambalapally village in the Nalgonda district on January 9 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. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre of the Dhoudai dalam (squad), identified as Mahettar alias Murali, was arrested by police from Kondagaon town in the Bastar district on January 10, according to Chhattisgarh 24x7. 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. Read less...

In a joint statement on January 10, 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. They said the Congress Party was using the Telangana slogan to regain power and cheated people by claiming that it was concerned about the separate Statehood demand. The leaders furthered demanded that all the Congress Ministers, Member of Parliaments and Member of Legislative Assembly from Telangana should immediately resign as they had failed to fulfil their promise of creating a separate Telangana. Read less...

Mahendra Karma, leader of the Opposition in State Assembly and a Congress legislator of Dantewada, led a rally of about 5,000 Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist movement) members at Bijapur district headquarter on January 10, reports IANS. Karma said that the Salwa Judum movement, launched in June 2005 by tribals of Bastar region, had demolished the Maoists' terror network and their intelligence gathering set-up as well. Read less...

Prabhat Khabar reports that the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) cadres, splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), reportedly shot dead a civilian, identified as Revalal Yadav in the Latehar district. Police recovered the dead body from the Balumathon-Murpa road on January 10. Read less...

Two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Madi Soma and Madkami Simha, were arrested by police during a raid near Mangipalli village in the Malkangiri district on January 10, reports The Hindu. Malkangiri Superintendent of Police, S.K. Gajbhiye, said that the Special Operation Group (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 (squad) 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. Read less...

Suspected cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) set ablaze a road construction machinery between Vanpalli and Garjanapalli villages of Yellareddypet mandal (administrative division) in the Karimnagar district on January 11-morning, reports The Hindu. Read less...

The Ramagundam police arrested two Maoist cadres and recovered a tapancha (country made fire arm) from their possession. Read less...

Three Communist Party of India–Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were arrested from Ballarpur on January 11, reports Times of India. 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. Read less...

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

According to Times of India, police on January 13 claimed to have killed six cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (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. Read less...

The Hindu reports that a Communist Party of India Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Ganesh Mandal, and his three assistants - Ajit Mandal, Bhubesh Sikdar and Chitta Gherami - were arrested by the police near MV-75 village under the Motu police station in the Malkangiri district on January 12-night. Read less...

A Communist Party of India Maoist (CPI-Maoist) couple, identified as Thalandi Motiram alias Akash, a former deputy commander of Mangi dalam (squad), and his wife Shaikh Haseena alias Saroja, also a former member of the same dalam, surrendered to the Adilabad district police on January 13, according to The Hindu. 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. Read less...

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 (administrative division) in the Visakhapatnam district, had joined the outfit in 2002 as a courier. Read less...

A team of the Gaya district police and Maoists numbering several dozens exchanged heavy fire near Domchuan village on the Bihar-Jharkhand border on January 13- morning. 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. Read less...

According to The Hindu, five Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres of the Galikonda Dalam (squad), including three women, surrendered before the Superintendent of Police Akun Sabharwal in Visakhapatnam on January 14. 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. Barring Balamma, all the others were reportedly involved in exchanges of fire with the police and other incidents. The Maoists cited disillusionment with the ideology and health grounds as reasons for their surrender. Read less...

According to The Hindu, the Union Government has cleared a special package amounting to INR 524.40 crore for strengthening communication links and infrastructure in the four Maoist-affected districts. The Union Ministry of Rural Development cleared the special package to contain Maoist activities and accelerate economic development in the villages of the Malnad region on January 12. The package will cover eight sub-divisions of the four districts, namely Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Udupi and the drought-prone Tumkur. The State Home Department has declared these districts as Maoist infested. Senior police officials have identified villages which have no roads and where Maoists have spread their activities. "This is the only way that we can considerably weaken the movement in Malnad areas," an unnamed official said. Read less...

Five soldiers of the para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were wounded on January 14 in an ambush by armed Maoists in a forest in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, Times of India reported. 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. "It was a well-laid ambush by the Maoists and the subsequent gun battle went for over three hours, in which five of the CRPF personnel were injured," Yadav said. Read less...

A Maoist couple was killed in an exchange of fire with the police in the Warangal district on January 15, according to The Pioneer. The encounter occurred in a forest area in the Govindraopet sub-division, about 250 km from the State capital Hyderabad. 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. Read less...

According to reports, the Maoists were arrested In Tamil Nadu in June 2007 while imparting training to local unemployed youths in a forest range using looted arms of Koraput. According to police sources, these CPI-Maoist cadres were involved in looting the Koraput armoury on February 6, 2004. After confirming the arms belong to Koraput armoury, a court in Tamil Nadu shifted the case to Koraput SDJM jurisdiction for further legal proceedings. A police team from Koraput under the direction of Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar rushed to Trichy jail in Tamil Nadu and took custody of the five Maoists on January 14. The five Maoists, including a top leader Sundar Murty (30), were produced before the Koraput SDJM court on January 15. The arrested Maoists were Velu Murugam (19), Palani Velu (26), Muthu Selvam (27) and Kartik (27) apart from Sundar Murty. Sources said 550 arms, including 25,000 live bullets, were looted from the district armoury and these were later distributed to various groups in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar for imparting training to unemployed youths. Read less...

According to New Indian Express, police investigation has unearthed the links of Maoists in Koraput district with that of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The link was ascertained after the arrest in June 2007 of five top-ranking Maoists by Koraput police from Tamil Nadu. During investigation, police got vital clues that one of the arrested Maoists had a direct link with the LTTE in Tamil Nadu. Intelligence sources informed that the entry of Tamil refugees from Jaffna in Sri Lanka to Malkangiri in Orissa five years back could have established these links. Read less...

One local trader, Bijay Kumar Degul, was stabbed to death by a group of armed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in front of his father, Dinabandhu, at Sanpalmanda village in the Bandhugaon block of Koraput district on January 16-night, according to The Hindu. Read less...

An activist of the ruling Congress party, Payam Lakhmaiah, was stabbed to death by CPI-Maoist cadres in the Sampathnagar village of Khammam district on January 17-night, The Hindu reported. 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 (squad) which is said to have carried out the killing also left behind a letter branding him a police informer. Read less...

Five Maoist sympathisers were arrested from different places in the Sambalpur district on January 17, according to New Indian Express. 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 6 encounter in Gadpati forest range under Jamankira police limits. Read less...

Two cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) were killed in an encounter with the police in Buruguvada village of Vararamachandrapuram sub-division in Khammam district on January 17, according to The Hindu. 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. Read less...

A civilian, Samireddy Ganeshwar Rao of Beram village, was hacked to death by the Maoists at Pulumamidi village in the G. Madugula sub-division of Visakhapatnam district on January 18, according to New Indian Express. 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. Read less...

According to Asian Age, the Union Home Ministry has been alerted through a fresh report that the Maoists are acquiring new lethal weaponry besides upgrading their military base and expertise by forming six regular armed Coys. The Intelligence Bureau has reportedly indicated that while earlier 162 districts in 14 States were affected by left-wing extremism, now 182 districts are affected in 16 States. While 12 extremist groups are operating in Andhra Pradesh alone; Narayanpur in Jharkhand, Someshwar and Khymore Hills in Bihar on Nepal border are witnessing increased concentration, it said. The Bureau has also alerted the home ministry that the Siliguri corridor is also activated and Maoists are importing cadres from Bihar and Jharkhand to Malda in West Bengal via Katiyar and Sahebganj route. Read less...

According to Chhattisgarh 24x7, two Communist Party of India-Maoist (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 on January 18. Police recovered one rifle, one 12 bore rifle and a cartridge from the encounter site. Read less...

Police arrested seven CPI-Maoist cadres near Mendra badgaon village of Kanker district on January 18. Read less...

Six cadres of different left-wing extremist groups surrendered before the Superintendent of Police, D.S. Chouhan, in the Khammam district on January 18. The surrendered extremists included Mokala Sammaiah alias Kumara, Komaram Bikkaiah alias Ravanna, Bandi Yugandar, Komaram Saraiah, Eesam Krishna and Boda Nageswar Rao. Read less...

The Hindu has 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. Read less...

The Police are distributing free Direct-to-Home (DTH) systems and 21-inch colour television sets in the Maoist-affected remote areas of Warangal district, Deccan Chronicle reported. This is a first-of-its-kind project to wean villagers away from the Maoists. The DTH systems and TV sets are being distributed in areas which do not have access to cable television. All the villages are predominantly tribal and cut off from the mainstream. The villages are located on the edges of Warangal district in the sub-divisions of Eturunagaram, Tadvai, Govindaraopet, Venkatapur, Kothaguda and Gudur. "We want the villagers to widen their horizons and not be susceptible to propaganda and the so-called ideologies (of Maoists)," said Soumya Mishra, the Warangal Superintendent of Police. Read less...

The police arrested three extremists working for the Sudhakar squad of the CPI-Maoist in the Yellandu area on January 18. They were identified as Punem Narasimha, Menchu Mallaiah and Joga Rama Rao. Read less...

The report says that recovery of rockets and grenade launcher dyes in Bhopal (capital of Madhya Pradesh) are a matter of concern for security agencies who accept that the Maoists have gained expertise in making lethal weapons. Maoists are widely using AK-47s, self-loading rifles, Carbines, .303 Rifles, DBBL, Mines/IEDs besides gelatin sticks, TNT, potassium chlorate mixture and other low grade explosives, it stated. The Intelligence Bureau also notes that the CPI-Maoist is acquiring their land mine manufacturing techniques from the LTTE. Read less...

While their main source of weaponry is weapons snatched from the police, security forces, civilians and private companies, they also source their weapons from other militant groups, smugglers, gun dealers, illegal arms manufacturing units besides pilfering arms and explosives from ordinance factories, says the report. Read less...

Armed cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) 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 on January 21, reports The Hindu. Non-payment of money demanded by the Maoists from the firm management is suspected to be the reason behind the attack, police sources said. Read less...

On January 21, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (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 (squad) 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. Rao told New Indian Express that as none of the locals were joining the dalam, the top cadres had deputed non-locals from Orissa and Chhattisgarh at East division of Andhra-Orissa Border, who were on a killing spree to spread fear among the tribals. Read less...

On January 21, the Special Task Force (STF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) raided a Maoist hideout in Dantewada's Kirandul area and subsequent to a 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.” Read less...

On January 21, three cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) were arrested from a forest area in Motu in the Malkangiri district, reports The Hindu. 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 (squad) 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. Read less...

On January 22, Malti, a top ‘commander’ of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (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. Read less...

On January 22, the Jharkhand cabinet approved the creation of 1156 posts of assistant sub-inspectors in the police department at the cost of INR 187 million annually, reports Telegraph. Assistant sub-inspectors play the key role in investigating cases, filing of charge sheets and running police stations. Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who also heads the home department, has repeatedly said that inadequate manpower in the police force is the biggest obstacle in maintaining law and order and handling the left-wing extremism problem. Read less...

The Maoists have called for building a militant movement for achieving statehood for the Telangana region. In a statement issued on January 22, 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. Read less...

On January 23, a Kolkata-based publisher Asit Sengupta was arrested in Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, for his alleged links with the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). A senior police official told Hindustan Times, "A publisher from Kolkata, Asit Sen Gupta was arrested after huge amount of literature related to the banned Naxal (left-wing extremist) organisation CPI-Maoist and other things were recovered from his house from Tikrapara area of Raipur." Read less...

New Indian Express reports that the Union Government is planning to develop 33 districts worst affected by Naxalite (left-wing extremist) activity by allocating additional funds to check the growing influence of the insurgents. Official sources said that of the 33 districts, Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, Malkangiri and Koraput in Orissa have been identified for taking up these programmes. Besides taking up developmental activities, the Union Home Ministry has also decided to provide additional police forces to fight the Maoists. Read less...

Cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) gunned down three persons, accusing them of being police spies, at Borlagunda village in the Karimnagar district on January 26, reports Hindustan Times. According to the police, a group of 15 Maoists entered the village at around 2am (IST), picked up the three from their homes and gunned them down after branding them "police informers". The three had been associated with the Maoist outfit in the past. Read less...

According to Hindustan Times, a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from a CPI-Maoist hideout in Bihar's Gaya district during a raid, police said on January 27. The hideout was located near a forest under Fatehpur block in Gaya, around 100 kilometres from State capital Patna. However, no arrests were made. "During a combing operation, we recovered sophisticated arms and ammunition dumped by Maoists in their hideout" said an unnamed police official in Gaya. Read less...

According to Indian Express, 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. According to the police chief, Bastar was ideal for such camps as the cadres could be given “on the job” training through real attacks on security forces, planting of explosives, blowing up of government buildings and infrastructure. Guerrilla warfare tactics are also reportedly being taught. Lack of an adequate security apparatus emboldens the extremists to often use trainee militia members in their offensives, the report stated. Bastar has five districts — Narayanpur, Kanker, Bastar, Bijapur and Dantewara — and each has been hit by Maoist violence. “For five districts with an area of over 45,000 sq km, we have just 13 battalions of Central forces, while we need at least 70,” Vishwaranjan said. Of the 13 para-military battalions, 10 are posted in the Bastar region while three are posted in the northern districts. Of the 20 police districts in Chhattisgarh, 16 have been officially acknowledged as being Maoist-affected. Read less...

According to IANS, CPI-Maoist cadres dragged out two businessmen from their houses and shot them dead in the Jamui district of Bihar, the police said on January 29. 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. Read less...

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". Read less...

Maoists triggered a bomb blast at a new jail building which was under construction at MV-79 village in the Malkangiri district on January 28, causing substantial damage to it, The Hindu reported. 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. Read less...

Maoists used landmines early on January 28 to blast newly built houses for police officials in Orissa's Malkangiri district, according to Zee News. Cadres of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) 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. Read less...

According to The Hindu, Muvvala Vannama alias Vara, a 20-year old member of the Galikonda Dalam (squad) of the CPI-Maoist surrendered to the G.K. Veedhi Police in Visakhapatnam district, according to a statement issued by the District Police on January 29. 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. She returned to her native village recently and was reportedly living in constant fear of reprisal from the Maoists for leaving the outfit. On hearing about the recent large-scale surrender of Maoists to join the mainstream of society under the ‘Shanti Kosam’ programme of the District Police, Vara also decided to surrender before the police. Read less...

On 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. Read less...

CPI-Maoist cadres abducted four special police officers (SPOs) and five villagers on January 30 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 Times of India, "The Maoists stopped the jeep by felling a tree on the road. The SPOs and villagers were taken into nearby jungles." Read less...

For the first time since its inception in 2004, the organising committee Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Kerala issued a statement confirming the outfit’s presence in the state, reports New Indian Express. The statement issued in the name of the state organising secretary Mohan says that political activists of the Communist party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) are co-operating with Maoists in Kerala and are covertly working for the organisation. The outfit, as per the statement has full-fledged district committees in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Palakkad. Read less...

On January 30, at least nine villagers were abducted by a group of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in the Bijapur district, police sources told The Hindu. 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. Read less...

On January 30, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (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. Read less...

On January 30, the Guntur district police recovered arms and ammunition from two dumps belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) at Bollapalli and Papayapalem reserve forest areas, reports The Hindu. 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 kilogram and three kilogram respectively, and 100 books of revolutionary literature. Read less...

Orissa police has confirmed the arrest of Bommai Narasimha Goud alias Anna Reddy, chief of the Janasakthi faction of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) in Orissa. A native of Ankireddygudam village of Andhra Pradesh’s Nalagonda district, Reddy was arrested on January 30 from a private hospital in Orissa’a capital Bhubaneswar. He had joined CPI-ML-Janashakti in 1992 and in 2004 headed the outfit’s Orissa unit. Read less...

Police recovered 23 high-frequency wireless sets, four bundles of fuse wires and five wireless chargers near Chingri nullah at Bhatagaon village in Raipur. Read less...

The Hindu reports that armed cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) detonated a dynamite destroying a Forest department rest house at Sonarwa village in Kharagpur sub-division of Bihar’s Munger district on January 30. 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. Read less...

The Jajpur district police on January 30 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 Janashakti 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. Read less...

On January 31, Chhattisgarh Police arrested 15 Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres from Kanker district and recovered explosive material and firearms from them, reports Sahara Samay. The Maoists were holding a meeting with villagers at Jamdi when police raided the place. Further details on the recovery were not available. Read less...

On January 31, five Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres including Dhanu Dehuri and Bimba Kuanr were arrested from Dhama in the Sambalpur district, reports New Indian Express. 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. Read less...