Maharashtra (Maoist Insurgency): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2015

Maharashtra Government is giving a big push to infrastructure development in Naxal-[Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)]-affected districts and will also provide additional benefits to civil contractors and employees working there, reports Zee News on January 14. The State Government has lined up INR 3,942 billion worth of projects in the LWE affected areas to improve connectivity. "We cannot think of welfare of adivasis without developing Naxal-affected districts like Gadchiroli. Unless we develop these regions, people living there will not get respite from the Naxal menace," Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Chandrakant Patil said. "To ensure development, 139 schemes will be undertaken by the Government in Phase 2 of RRP (Road Requirement Plan (RRP). These include 2,352 km of roads, 128 new small and 50 big bridges. The entire project will be executed at a cost of Rs 3,942 crore," he said. Under Phase 1 of RRP, 43 schemes had been sanctioned - at a total cost of INR 940 billion - which included 450 km of road development, two big bridges over rivers Godavari and Indravati. Of these, 34 have been completed, he said. Read less...

A senior woman Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) ‘deputy commander’ was arrested by the Gadchiroli District Police on January 22, reports The Indian Express. Aruna alias Punai Devsingh Naitam (24), was picked up from Kangadi village on Gadchoroli-Rajnandgaon border in an intelligence-based operation, a press note issued by the Police said. Aruna was booked under various sections of the IPC for her alleged involvement in many Naxal-police encounters like in Nargunda (2011 and 2013), Surangal (2013) and Fulbodi, Chhota Jhalia and Tekameta (2014), the note added. Aruna, active for the past many years, was “deputy commander of Company 10” and carried a reward of INR 600,000 on her head. Read less...

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres on January 22 set on fire around 14 vehicles of an Andhra Pradesh-based private company engaged in road construction in Dhanora tehsil (revenue unit) of Gadchiroli District, reports The Times of India. The Maoists roughed up a few labourers and their supervisor when the work on the Gharanji-Pustola stretch was underway for connecting road between Edampayali and Korkoti. The road connects major market places in Maoist -hit tehsils Dhanora and Pendri. It is learnt, eight tractors, two trucks, one road roller, couple of JCB machines and a pickup van were among the vehicles which were set on fire. Couple of motorcycles belonging to the workers too may have been damaged. Read less...

The Maoists have appealed to the people to observe 'Virodh Diwas' (protest day) on January 26 against US President Barack Obama's visit to India, reports The Times of India on January 24. Gadchiroli Police have recovered an anti-Obama banner at Kamlapur near Repanpalli last week. A press release, issued by the Maoist's Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting the US President. The Maoists have called for protest rallies and other forms of agitation against Obama's visit across the hinterlands. Read less...