End of Naxalism has started in Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh
27 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 27: Naxalism is a threat to the nation but steps to wipe it out have started in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Raman Singh told the assembly. Read more
Labels: chhattisgarh, News
posted by Resistance 27.2.07,
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chhattisgarh; Naxalite killed in police firing
26 February, 2007
Raipur: A naxalite was killed and a policeman injured in a gun battle between naxalites and a police party on Saturday at Pedametta village, about 450 km from here." Read more
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Resistance 26.2.07,
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Tribal Communist Leader Manish Kunjam arrested for protesting against the land acquisition at Jagdalpur
25 February, 2007
Prabhat
What right the Tata Group has to disturb the peace of millions of Tribals,Farmers etc all over India?
What right the Tata Group has to disturb the peace of millions of Tribals,Farmers etc all over India?
Was brutal killing of Tribals at Kaling Nagar in Orissa last year not enough for the Tata's?
Is Singur not enough for Mr.Ratan Tata? Read more
Labels: chhattisgarh, Displacement
posted by Resistance 25.2.07,
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Four killed in Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh
15 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 15 (IANS) A trooper was killed while defusing a bomb while three members of the Chhattisgarh government backed civil militia movement Salwa Judum were gunned down in overnight clashes with Maoists, police said Thursday.
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"A CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) constable was killed and another cop injured seriously when a tiffin bomb went off during defusing process Wednesday night in a forested stretch of Dantewada," said Bastar Range Inspector General R.K. Vij.
In the other incident, militants shot dead three Salwa Judum activists in Bijapur area.
Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace) was launched in June 2005 to wipe out leftist insurgents holding sway in Bastar region for past three decades.
Maoists, who launched a violent movement in 1967 from a West Bengal village, claim to fight for the rights of poor peasants and landless workers.
Chhattisgarh is one of the worst Maoist hit 13 Indian states, accounting for 48 percent casualties of 749 Maoist-violence related deaths in India in 2006, says the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR).
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Resistance 15.2.07,
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14 advanced anti-Naxal bases set up in Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, Feb. 14 (PTI): In a bid to curb escalation of Naxal violence in Chhattisgarh, 14 advanced anti-Naxalite bases have been established in the targeted areas to provide security to people.
Security training to Village Defence Societies were being imparted at a few places as part of serious anti-Naxalite operations, according to State Director General of Police O P Rathor.
The Naxal problem in the state came in for a detailed review at a recent meeting of the Task Force on naxalism in the Union Home Ministry and it was found that barring Chhattisgarh, the situation was under control in other states.
Senior officials in the MHA dealing with Naxalism issue explained that Chhattisgarh accounted for rise in number of incidents and casualties in view of greater offensive by the ultras to derail 'Salwa Judum' movement against them.
The Centre has asked the state to streamline inter-state operations against naxalites, share intelligence and fine tuning action plans, besides filling up vacancies in the police in a time-bound manner, ensuring optimum utilisation of funds for police modernisation and speeding up investigation and prosecution.
Rathor said security measures had been tightened and development activities geared up under a two-pronged strategy suggested by the security establishment to deal with the menace.
"Development agencies have been geared up and Bastar Vikas Pradhikaran has taken a number of decisions to develop infrastructure in the areas," he said.
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 15.2.07,
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Six Maoists arrested in ChhattisgarhBy
13 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 12 (IANS) Six Maoist guerrillas were arrested and explosives seized in an overnight swoop on a militant stronghold in Chhattisgarh, said police officials Monday.
A police team combed the restive Narayanpur area near Abujhmad locality in the forested Bastar region Sunday night and arrested six members of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).'Six rebels dressed up in Maoist uniform surrendered to the police after a brief gun-battle in their hideout.
We seized three tiffin bombs, one detonator, a 50-metre wire and Maoist literature from them,' Bastar range inspector-general R.K. Vij told IANS.Rebels had shot dead a tribal Sunday night in Ader village, under the Faresgarh police station in Bastar.Chhattisgarh is one of the worst Maoist-infested states in India. Just last week, rebels killed four security personnel and a civilian in a landmine blast in Bastar forest.
Of the 749 people killed in India in Maoist violence in 2006, Chhattisgarh reported almost half the total casualties, said an Asian Centre for Human Rights report in January.Copyright Indo-Asian News Service
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Resistance 13.2.07,
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K P S Gill wants more policemen in Chhattisgarh to fight Naxals
11 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 11 (ANI): The man credited with eliminating terrorism from Punjab, KPS Gill, feels that the number of policemen in Chhattisgarh is not adequate enough to crush Naxalism in the State.The former Director General of the Punjab Police, who has now been appointed as the Security Advisor to the Government of Chhattisgarh, has said that the policemen in this Naxal-infested State are facing difficulties in tackling the menace.
"Chhattisgarh was a very under-policed State. Bastar was mainly a forest area and Maoists made it their sanctuary and established bases there. And now, to flush them out of that area is becoming a little difficult", Gill told ANI in an exclusive interview. However, he added that the State Government, with the help of the Centre, is raising new battalions and strengthening the police stations to effectively fight what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had termed as the country's "single biggest internal security challenge".
Pointing out that the situation arising out of spread of Naxalism is different in all 14 affected states, Gill said that Andhra Pradesh seems to be doing very well in dealing with the rebels at the moment, but other states, barring Chhattisgarh, are "still to respond" to Naxalism. He said the killings of common people by Naxalites in 2006 were reportedly highest in Chhattisgarh. People, who felt insecure, responded overwhelmingly to the Salwa Juddum programme, which sought to counter Naxals. "The spread of the Salwa Juddum movement was quick.
Police thought it would not catch up so quickly, but the response was much larger than anticipated. Certain areas were not protected properly. This is why there were more casualties during the initial phase of Salwa Juddum", he said, adding, "I would not continue in the same fashion in the future as more forces were being raised to protect people wherever this movement starts". He said that alienation of tribesmen was not the reason behind rise in Naxalism; rather it was "administrative vacuum", which the insurgents occupied.
"The was no such alienation of tribals. The policy of the government was to leave them alone and let them develop according to their own culture. So, there was an administrative vacuum, which Maoists occupied. They brought in guns and their own philosophy. They forced tribals to join them", he said.
On being asked whether a separate Ministry for the Naxal-affected states was required, as recommended by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), Gill said there was no need for such a Ministry as the menace has different faces in different sates. "Naxals are different in every state. They have different tribal cultures. It's a very disperse crowd. (So) to have a (separate) Ministry to tackle all of them is not a good idea," Gill said. (ANI)
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Resistance 11.2.07,
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WILL THE COURT PUNISH THE RAPIST S.P?
During a recent investigation, we came across the shocking case of a tribal woman who was raped by the Superintend of Police in North Chhatisgadh. This happened after she tried to get her husband to surrender before the police. Her husnad, who had come to surrender, was shot in front of her eyes and then she went through this prolonged ordeal of gangrape. Two pertinent questions come to mind? How genuine is the surrender policy for Naxalites? We say that one of the chievements of the women’s movement is to have the law amended regarding custodial rape? But where is the law for the women of the toiling classes? Custodial rape incidents are blatantly on the increase. Should not the women’s movement focus on these issues?
This is the story of a brave tribal woman who is fighting for justice. Her name is Ledha. Perhaps she is the first tribal woman who stood courageously against a cruel, perverted Superintendent of police who raped her. She is fighting the case in Chattisgarh court.She is from a small village in Sarguja district of Chattisgarh . She was married to Ramesh Nageshia, a tribal who was a member of the Maoist party. Just because she was married to him she was also branded as a Naxalite and was sent to jail on the charges that she was a squad member and participated in a land mine blast killing three CRPF personnel. She was arrested in the name Seema. She was in jail for one and half years. She had conceived by the time she was arrested.
She languished in the jail during pregnancy and due to malnutrition, she gave birth to a weak child. Due to the efforts of her lawyer Mr.Amarnath Pandey she got bail for one month to deliver the child. She was again sent to jail. Finally she was acquitted from the case.Ledha’s advocate advised her to show the acquittal order at the police station so that the police would not harass her in future. Ledha went and showed the order of acquittal to the police. They pressurized her to make her husband surrender. They even lured her with an offer of money and a job for her husband. As Ledha had a child to look after, she was tempted by the offer. She innocently believed the cops and convinced her husband. She told him that even if something goes wrong, at the most he may have to serve imprisonment, but nothing worse than that would happen.
She dreamt of having a nice future with her husband and the child.The S.P of Sarguja District, S.R.P.Kalluri arranged for the surrender on May 28th 2006. As per his plans, the police force from Shankergarh, led by Mr. Kalluri himself, started off on the task. An additional force joined them in Kusmi. Ledha accompanied them. They got down from the vehicles in Kasmaar and went up to Civildagh village on foot. Ramesh Nageshia, Ledha’s husband was already waiting there. The police beat him up black and blue immediately on reaching near him.
Then S.P. Kalluri asked both of them to sit in the Gram Panchayat secretary’s house. They both sat there talking. Assistant Platoon Commander Brijesh Tiwari of the Special Armed Forces came into the house. Suddenly he shot Ramesh at point blank range. A shocked Ledha screamed in terror. But Ramesh died on the spot. She was brought to S.P Kalluri. He ordered them to kill her also. But somebody said that after all she was a woman, so why kill her? Everybody laughed at this. She was taken to Shankergarh Police station and let off from there after thoroughly terrorizing her of dire consequences if she revealed what had happened in front of her eyes. A very usual story appeared in the daily news papers that there was an encounter in Shankergarh Police Station limits and a Naxalite had been killed.She went back to her relatives’ place and did not dare to come out for some days. On 30th September 2006, when she went back to her village she came to know that the police were searching for her. She was picked up by them on Dusserah. After taking her to the police station they asked her to remove her clothes.
When she refused to do so her parents were also brought there and they beat her father severely until she obeyed them. S.P Kalluri came and slapped her on her face. Ledha fell on the ground along with her child. When the child was uncontrollably crying, and the old parents begging him to leave her alone, S.P. Kalluri raped her. He went to the extent of such cruelty that he inserted green chillies into to her vagina. She was kept in the lock up and the next day Dheeraj Jaiswal, a notorious S.P.O came to her along with four other constables in a drunken state. They all gang raped her. This went on for ten days. All the time the child who cannot yet walk and talk, due to the trauma, used to fervently cry. Finally she was let off.
A torn and shattered Ledha met the lawyer with great difficulty in January 2007. She filed a case against S.P. Kalluri and others in the Chhattisgarh High Court. The case was admitted recently.A joint fact finding team initiated by CAVOW and PUCL Chattisgarh went on a 3day tour to Sarguja district. When the team met Ledha, who was in hiding (obviously for security reasons) she narrated her story to them. She is a brave woman who is determined to fight. She was feeling very guilty for believing the police and making her husband a victim. The pain was so intense in her eyes when she said “Dhoka Khaliye hum”. (we were betrayed.) She is a tiny lean figure. Her child Ranjita is very weak and traumatized. Whenever somebody touches her mother she becomes shaken and terrorized. She cries uncontrollably. The trauma is clearly visible on her tiny face. Ledha cannot work for her living as she has been fighting against the state and is in constant threat. But she does not want to give up.
She says “Agar marna hai tho ladke marenge.” ( If death is for sure, let me fight and die.) When one of us asked what punishment should the culprits get? She said with out hesitating “mauth ki sajaa, aur kya?” (Ofcourse, death punishment. What else?)It is not for the first time that the state is using rape as a weapon on women to “control” or suppress movements. But it is not every time that the victims can fight the state. It is not only because Ledha is brave. Such braveness is definitely required but it is due to the peoples’ movements and the support which Ledha is getting in her struggle that prompted her to fight. Ledha in any case is fighting. It is now the duty of all democratic minded people and the organizations to extend their strong support to Ledha. Let us realize that it is a fight Ledha can not do alone.
Labels: chhattisgarh
posted by Resistance 11.2.07,
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WILL THE COURT PUNISH THE RAPIST S.P?
During a recent investigation, we came across the shocking case of a tribal woman who was raped by the Superintend of Police in North Chhatisgadh. This happened after she tried to get her husband to surrender before the police. Her husnad, who had come to surrender, was shot in front of her eyes and then she went through this prolonged ordeal of gangrape. Two pertinent questions come to mind? How genuine is the surrender policy for Naxalites? We say that one of the chievements of the women’s movement is to have the law amended regarding custodial rape? But where is the law for the women of the toiling classes? Custodial rape incidents are blatantly on the increase. Should not the women’s movement focus on these issues?
This is the story of a brave tribal woman who is fighting for justice. Her name is Ledha. Perhaps she is the first tribal woman who stood courageously against a cruel, perverted Superintendent of police who raped her. She is fighting the case in Chattisgarh court.She is from a small village in Sarguja district of Chattisgarh . She was married to Ramesh Nageshia, a tribal who was a member of the Maoist party. Just because she was married to him she was also branded as a Naxalite and was sent to jail on the charges that she was a squad member and participated in a land mine blast killing three CRPF personnel. She was arrested in the name Seema. She was in jail for one and half years. She had conceived by the time she was arrested.
She languished in the jail during pregnancy and due to malnutrition, she gave birth to a weak child. Due to the efforts of her lawyer Mr.Amarnath Pandey she got bail for one month to deliver the child. She was again sent to jail. Finally she was acquitted from the case.Ledha’s advocate advised her to show the acquittal order at the police station so that the police would not harass her in future. Ledha went and showed the order of acquittal to the police. They pressurized her to make her husband surrender. They even lured her with an offer of money and a job for her husband. As Ledha had a child to look after, she was tempted by the offer. She innocently believed the cops and convinced her husband. She told him that even if something goes wrong, at the most he may have to serve imprisonment, but nothing worse than that would happen.
She dreamt of having a nice future with her husband and the child.The S.P of Sarguja District, S.R.P.Kalluri arranged for the surrender on May 28th 2006. As per his plans, the police force from Shankergarh, led by Mr. Kalluri himself, started off on the task. An additional force joined them in Kusmi. Ledha accompanied them. They got down from the vehicles in Kasmaar and went up to Civildagh village on foot. Ramesh Nageshia, Ledha’s husband was already waiting there. The police beat him up black and blue immediately on reaching near him.
Then S.P. Kalluri asked both of them to sit in the Gram Panchayat secretary’s house. They both sat there talking. Assistant Platoon Commander Brijesh Tiwari of the Special Armed Forces came into the house. Suddenly he shot Ramesh at point blank range. A shocked Ledha screamed in terror. But Ramesh died on the spot. She was brought to S.P Kalluri. He ordered them to kill her also. But somebody said that after all she was a woman, so why kill her? Everybody laughed at this. She was taken to Shankergarh Police station and let off from there after thoroughly terrorizing her of dire consequences if she revealed what had happened in front of her eyes. A very usual story appeared in the daily news papers that there was an encounter in Shankergarh Police Station limits and a Naxalite had been killed.She went back to her relatives’ place and did not dare to come out for some days. On 30th September 2006, when she went back to her village she came to know that the police were searching for her. She was picked up by them on Dusserah. After taking her to the police station they asked her to remove her clothes.
When she refused to do so her parents were also brought there and they beat her father severely until she obeyed them. S.P Kalluri came and slapped her on her face. Ledha fell on the ground along with her child. When the child was uncontrollably crying, and the old parents begging him to leave her alone, S.P. Kalluri raped her. He went to the extent of such cruelty that he inserted green chillies into to her vagina. She was kept in the lock up and the next day Dheeraj Jaiswal, a notorious S.P.O came to her along with four other constables in a drunken state. They all gang raped her. This went on for ten days. All the time the child who cannot yet walk and talk, due to the trauma, used to fervently cry. Finally she was let off.
A torn and shattered Ledha met the lawyer with great difficulty in January 2007. She filed a case against S.P. Kalluri and others in the Chhattisgarh High Court. The case was admitted recently.A joint fact finding team initiated by CAVOW and PUCL Chattisgarh went on a 3day tour to Sarguja district. When the team met Ledha, who was in hiding (obviously for security reasons) she narrated her story to them. She is a brave woman who is determined to fight. She was feeling very guilty for believing the police and making her husband a victim. The pain was so intense in her eyes when she said “Dhoka Khaliye hum”. (we were betrayed.) She is a tiny lean figure. Her child Ranjita is very weak and traumatized. Whenever somebody touches her mother she becomes shaken and terrorized. She cries uncontrollably. The trauma is clearly visible on her tiny face. Ledha cannot work for her living as she has been fighting against the state and is in constant threat. But she does not want to give up.
She says “Agar marna hai tho ladke marenge.” ( If death is for sure, let me fight and die.) When one of us asked what punishment should the culprits get? She said with out hesitating “mauth ki sajaa, aur kya?” (Ofcourse, death punishment. What else?)It is not for the first time that the state is using rape as a weapon on women to “control” or suppress movements. But it is not every time that the victims can fight the state. It is not only because Ledha is brave. Such braveness is definitely required but it is due to the peoples’ movements and the support which Ledha is getting in her struggle that prompted her to fight. Ledha in any case is fighting. It is now the duty of all democratic minded people and the organizations to extend their strong support to Ledha. Let us realize that it is a fight Ledha can not do alone.
Labels: chhattisgarh
posted by Resistance 11.2.07,
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Chhattisgarh Governor urges media to stop glamourising Maoists
09 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 9 (ANI): Calling the fight against the Maoist insurgency a societal responsibility, Chhattisgarh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Friday urged the media to not glamourise the menace. Addressing bureaucrats, serving and retired IPS officers, and journalists on the last day of a two-day conference on the Maoist insurgency here, Narasimhan appealed to the press to cooperate with the government to root out Naxalism from the country.
"Whether it is movie or the media, why do we have to glamourise Naxalism or terrorism? By going to the forests and talking to them (Maoists), what exactly do we want to show?," he asked, adding that the media has a great role to play in this regard, as it affects the common people more than what the government says.
He went on to say that the media often shows the Maoists as doing some good work for the people, but what is also required is to highlight the work of the administration, as they were also doing some great work in the Naxal-infested areas.
"This will motivate those who are working for the welfare of the people in the affected areas," he added. Narasimhan also requested the common people to join in the fight against Maoism and all other forms of terrorism, describing it is a curse "affecting all the segments of the society".
Underlining the network of Maoists in all the 14-affected states of the country, the Governor emphasized the need for inter-state security coordination to deal with the problem effectively. He said that inter-intelligence and inter-department co-ordination and a multi-agency approach was required to tackle the menace as it has become a widespread phenomena.
Narasimhan added that the myth created by the Maoists that they are working in the favour of poor and tribes should be eliminated. Responding to a query on whether a separate Ministry for the Naxal-affected states was required, as recommended by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), he said there was no need for any such Ministry.
"There are already many departments and committees looking after this problem. There is absolutely no need for a separate Ministry," he said. The conference, titled 'Maoist Insurgency: Assessment of the Threat and Doctrine and Strategies of Response'-- is being organized by Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), in consultation with and on behalf of the Government of Chhattisgarh.
Its primary objective is to rationalize the assessment of and approach to the Maoist threat in the country, to probe the ideological and military strategy of the left-wing extremists, and examine the doctrines, strategies and patterns of appropriate state response. (ANI)
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 9.2.07,
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Chhattisgarh CM calls for integrated action plan against Maoists
08 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 8 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Thursday called for an integrated action plan for all the Maoist-infested states to effectively deal with the menace. In his key-note address at a two-day conference titled 'Maoist Insurgency: Assessment of the Threat and Doctrine and Strategies of Response' here, he said Maoist insurgency was becoming a national problem and an integrated plan should be made at the earliest, with all affected states clearly told of their roles.
"The (Maoist) affected states cannot deal with it just by asking each other what it is doing. An integrated action plan should be made at the national level to tackle it," he said. Indicating that the anti-Maoist movement 'Salwa Juddum' in Dantewada District would continue till the insurgency comes to an end, Singh said that the initiation of this people movement is the turning point in the fight against this menace.
Calling it a historical step taken by the people against Maoists, he said, "Salwa Juddum will certainly succeed". "It (Salwa Juddum) is not a political movement started by the Congress, the BJP or any political party, but by the people of Bastar.
It will be written in golden words in Indian history. No one can stop it, and whoever tries to do this will be demolished," he said. However, he admitted that violence was not a solution to any problem, adding that he was ready to hold talks with the Maoists, but only when they put down their guns.
On being asked as to why the common people have become easier targets for the Maoists, particularly after Salwa Juddum came into existence, Singh said it was a reaction against the government's step to tackle them.
He said the anti-Maoists action by the government had frustrated them, forcing them to attack the common people in the state.
The conference is being organized by Institute for Conflict Management (ICM) in consultation with and on behalf of the Government of Chhattisgarh with the primary objective being to rationalize the assessment of and approach to the Maoist threat in the country, to probe the ideological and military strategy of the left-wing extremists, and examine the doctrines, strategies and patterns of appropriate state response. (ANI)
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 8.2.07,
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Four secutiry persons and one civilian killed in Chahattisgarh
Four secutiry persons and one civilian killed in Chahattisgarh landmine blastChhattisgarh, Feb. 8 (ANI): Four security personnel and a civilian were killed and five others injured in a landmine blast in Dantewada District in Chhattisgarh this morning.
The security personnel died on the Geedam-Bhopalpatnam section of the national highway.Assistant sub inspector Chandrakant Markam, two jawans of the Nagaland Armed Force and a Special Police Officer were killed in the blast.
The security personnel were from the Bhairamgarh Police Station which is about 10 km from the site of the blast.In the meantime, the injured have been taken to Raipur by helicopter for treatment.Last night, police constable Ashok Potai was killed in a similar attack on the Raoghat Police Station area in Kanker district.Naxalite attacks are not a new thing in Chattisgarh.
Chattisgarh is embroiled in a number of low-intensity conflicts throughout its territory. And many of these naxal attacks are the outcome of such conflicts. The Naxal menace has been plaguing India for quite some time, posing as the other biggest internal security challenge. (ANI)
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 8.2.07,
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Sahara News Chhattisgarh Being Manipulated by the State Government????
By Prabhat
For the past two days the Sahara News Channel is covering a story which shows how small girls are being recruited by the Naxalites.Even after it was proved that the 89 so called Naxalites made to surrender were innocent farmers,it should have been the duty of the Sahara News team to do their research before going on air with the current news which looks as fixed as the fake surrender staged by the State Government last month.
Is this because since there is a National Level Meeting at Raipur on "Maoist Insurgency"?
The reason why I feel the Story of 12 year old Naxali girl difficult to believe and that they were made to say the things which they said by the security forces is .....the girl said she was picked by the Naxalite 6 days before she was captured by forces...Is it possible that in 6 days the 12 year girl qualified all the Maoist Training and that she was given naxal-dress and also a gun???For what I learnt it takes years of being Maoist before one qualifies to have a gun.
How is it possible that everytime Naxalites are captured even if its a solitary naxalite he is found in his possesion condoms,anti-pregnancy tablets apart from the usual arms and naxal literature?
The most painful part of this capture of the 4 so called Naxalites by the security forces was that
the SF Commander in plain clothes told the media that if they wanted they would have done the
encounter of these 4 so called Naxalites which included 2 twelve year old girls but they didn't since the Security Forces have a human side.This I feel is such a crap since all of you must be aware what is happening in Kashmir even after the whole world media and press is present there.
Just imagine how many fake encounters must have already happened in the remote forest of Bastar in Chhattisgarh to satisfy the ego of the State Government,Security Forces and above all MNC's like Tata Steel,Essar,Iffco etc who want Tribals to dissapear from the Forest so that they capture the mineral resources available there...
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist)
posted by Bimal 8.2.07,
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Three Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh
07 February, 2007
RAIPUR: Three Maoists were shot dead by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Chhattisgarh, police officials said on Wednesday.
Two middle-aged armed Maoist women were killed in a gun battle with a team of paramilitary CRPF and State Armed Forces members (SAF) late on Tuesday in Bailadila's hilly area in the state's southern forested Bastar region, said inspector-general (Maoist operations) Girdhari Nayak here.
"The gun battle broke out with rebels on Tuesday night when a joint team of CRPF and SAF was on a combing operation. Police recovered the bullet-ridden bodies of the two women while over a dozen male colleagues of theirs managed to escape to a nearby thickly forested stretch," Nayak said.
Police also recovered some self-loading rifles and explosives from the site of their half-hour fight - 410 km south of Raipur - with the Communist Party of India-Maoist members. Police killed another male Maoist in Bijapur area early on Wednesday.
In February 2006, Maoist guerrillas raided a mining site in the Bailadila region and shot dead eight Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel and took away at least 20 tonnes of high-powered explosives that are yet to be recovered.
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 7.2.07,
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New Chhattisgarh Governor visits `Naxal headquarters`
03 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb 02: Former Intelligence Bureau Chief and new Chhattisgarh Governor E S L Narasimhan today travelled to the Bastar region, a stronghold of Maoist rebels, for a two-day tour to assess the situation there.
Immediately after arriving at the defence airstrip at Jagdalpur, the regional headquarters of Bastar, the Governor convened a meeting of field officials in which he enquired about the Naxal problem, officials told news agencies. "Why we are not being able to construct roads?" Narasimhan reportedly asked officials when it was brought to his notice that the area was inaccessible due to the lack of roads.
He also asked police personnel about problems they faced in dealing with the Naxal menace, officials said. Narasimhan is scheduled to visit relief camps run by the government at Dornapal and Bhiramgarh in Dantewada district tomorrow in which Salwa Judum or anti-Naxal campaign activists have taken shelter, they said.
About 60,000 people are currently sheltering in several Salwa Judum camps in Dantewada due to threat from Naxals and Narasimham expressed his willingness yesterday to gain first-hand knowledge of their problems and the ground situation there, officials said.
Narasimhan expressed his willingness to visit camps in Dantewada and wanted to talk to security forces deployed there to understand their problems. His visit is a part of that mission, officials said.
The Governor, who had a fair idea of the Maoist problem as IB Chief, called for steps to bring peace to the state. He is scheduled to tomorrow visit NMDC's mining areas in Dantewada district, where Naxalites had earlier looted huge amounts of explosives.
Link
Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 3.2.07,
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Police foil Naxal attack on explosive depot
02 February, 2007
Raipur, Feb. 1 (PTI): Security forces foiled an attack by Naxalites on an explosive depot of the state-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said today.
Naxalites attacked the Hiroli Explosive Depot of NMDC, about 550 km from here, and opened fire late last night but security forces foiled their attempt to loot explosives, Dantewada's Superintendent of Police Maj Om Prakash Pal said.
The exchange of fire by both sides continued for a long period, following which the Maoists escaped into the jungles, Pal said.
Since the Naxalites had earlier looted a huge amount of explosives from the same depot, additional forces had been rushed to the spot and nearby police stations had been placed on alert, he said.
"The explosive depot is safe and none of the security forces sustained any injury," he said.
On February 10 last year, Naxalites killed eight CISF personnel and injured nine during a raid on the same depot.
Besides looting a huge amount of explosives stocked in the depot for mining activities, the Naxalites also escaped with 14 self-loading rifles (SLRs), a 9mm pistol, two wireless sets and a large amount of ammunition.
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Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 2.2.07,
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Three Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh
01 February, 2007
Three Maoist guerrillas were killed in two separate gun battles in Chhattisgarh Wednesday, police said.
'Two senior cadres of the (outlawed) Communist Party of India-Maoist were shot dead in a forested stretch of Bijapur (in Bastar), near the Andhra Pradesh border, in an hour-long encounter (gun battle) Wednesday afternoon,' Girdhari Nayak, Inspector General (Maoist operations), told IANS on the telephone.
Police recovered some self-loading rifles and other weapons from the site, located nearly 520 km south of here, he added.
Police gunned down a Maoist rebel in another shootout in Dantewada district of Bastar region late Wednesday afternoon.
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Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 1.2.07,
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Malnutrition on the rise in Chhattisgarh
31 January, 2007
Mohuya Chaudhuri
There is little cheer in southern Chhattisgarh where hunger and malnutrition have increased sharply since the start of 'Salwa Judum', a movement against naxalism.
The movement involves moving out adivasis to resettlement camps. These displaced adivasis without access to forests or livelihood are acutely vulnerable to malnutrition.
The Gorgonda village in Bastar has witnessed the horrifying impact of conflict between the Maoists and the Salwa Judum, a locally raised counter-naxalite force.Homes lie empty, abandoned when villagers fled to save their lives. Some houses were burnt down, others vandalized.
Violence has intensified after the creation of Salwa Judum in July 2005 and villagers are caught in the crossfire.Post conflict, the Integrated Children Development Scheme (ICDS) has collapsed in Bastar.
Thousands of people have left their homes and for them the last priority is food.Strewn foodgrains, a cold stove are the only evidence to prove the existence of an anganwadi.
Pulse polio messages and literacy slogans indicate it also doubled up as a primary health centre and school. Across Bastar, ICDS centres have shut down, either by force or simply because security personnel moved in. At the moment, 250 schools in Bastar's Dantewada district are being used by CRPF battalions
Own brand of terror
Ironically, the state-backed Salwa Judum, meant to take on the Maoists, is now unleashing its own brand of terror."In over 700 villages, teachers, anganwadi workers, health workers, hand pump repairers have been stopped from going there.
Our volunteers tried to go there and take stock of the situation but Salwa Judum members kidnapped two of our workers because we visited enemy villages," said Himanshu, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram.The government's answer was to shift thousands of adivasis to camps near the district headquarters but it has only made matters worse for them.
For a year and a half over 25,000 people have survived in the tiny shanties at Dornapal. It is the largest camp for displaced adivasis in naxal affected Dantewada district of Chhatisgarh. In the initial months, the government doled out rations; around two kilos of rice per person every month. And on some days, small amounts of dal and potatoes, which are not enough to fill people's hungry stomachs or meet their nutrition needs.
Today, even that has stopped. "It is living hell in the camp. They are ill, they are hungry and they are in difficulty. They want to go home. The government has stopped giving rations. In some places, a little bit is being given; everywhere it's not enough. So people are hungry and living a hard life," said Himanshu, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram.
Cycle of deprivation
Till the face off between the Maoists and Salwa Judum the adivasis lived off the forest and their land, eating organic rice, roots, fruits and protein-rich fish and meat.
But with the escalating tension and their own lives under threat, food became scarce. They couldn't go into the forests as often, afraid they could be attacked.
But once they reached the camp their access to the forest ended completely and so did their livelihood. The absence of any purchasing power only increased their impoverishment and its visible everywhere, reed thin children with vacant eyes, clinging to their underfed mothers who are barely able to breastfeed.
Volunteers at the camp say this cycle of deprivation has caused widespread malnutrition. Twelve children died of malnutrition in July last year, deaths that went unacknowledged by the state government. The state health workers confirmed the deaths but refused to speak on camera."We found that at least 12 children had died but did the government do anything? It does not even acknowledge the deaths.
This was bound to happen when you uproot people from their homes and force them to live locked up in these camps. They have no freedom to look after themselves," said Subhash Mahapatra, a human rights activist.
UNICEF intervention
It was only after deaths were reported that the government stepped in. Four ICDS care centres or anganwadis were set up for 2000 children who live here. Even though children below six are supposed to receive food, healthcare and elementary schooling at the anganwadi all they get is a daily meal of khichdi.
The state minister for women and child development was on a visit in the area. At the UNICEF-run nutrition rehabilitation centre she spoke to anganwadi workers, all of whom had been shifted from their centres in conflict-hit villages to work at the camp."After Salwa Judum came we couldn't work over there, so the government told us to come here," said Savita, an anganwadi worker.Set up five months ago, the centre's first task was to identify the grade four or severely malnourished children below six.
Many families had been living here under appalling conditions since August 2005. NDTV's team had visited the camp then and found rampant illness and children on the brink of starvation.Today at least 95 children are seriously malnourished.
The UNICEF provided immediate intervention, a diet of egg, banana, milk and khichdi, and some of the children like Raju did improve. But now the worry is that less than half the children turn up since their mothers can't spend their entire day at the centre and have other children to take care.Minister defends ICDS
But the minister defends the ICDS programme."It is not as if dalia and other goods are not reaching our anganwadis. I can guarantee you 101 per cent that nutritious food is reaching all anganwadis in Chhatisgarh," said Lata Usendi, Minister of Women and Child Development.But the reality is starkly different.
The trauma of living in a conflict zone, homeless and battling hidden hunger has taken a severe toll on the health of the adivasis and the greatest impact has been on young children and mothers. In a similar experiment, the Andhra Pradesh government had moved thousands of adivasis in Kurnool, Mahboobnagar and Prakasham districts to camps.
Social activists say that many wasted away within a period of ten years, a costly price that Chhattisgarh too may have to pay if the government continues to believe that Salwa Judum is a Gandhian movement fostering peace not violence.
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Labels: chhattisgarh, News, Salwa Judam
posted by Bimal 31.1.07,
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After ‘surrender’ drama, Bastar cops set free 19
15 January, 2007
Days after Naxal ‘surrender’ drama before CM, Bastar cops set free 19
Bastar, January 14: Ten days after Chhattisgarh organised a ‘Naxal surrender’ ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister Raman Singh and Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam, the police have quietly released 19 of the 79 who “surrendered” because the charges against them were found to be “frivolous”.
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The 19 people were told to leave the Dhanora police station premises last Thursday. Under pressure to crack down on Naxalites, the police tried to pump up “surrender” figures by detaining 19 villagers on charges of pasting posters, collecting firewood and cooking food for Maoists.
Police sources admitted that since “the 19 were not hardcore extremists, the administration thought it fit to release them”. Earlier, BJP MLA Mahesh Baghel and former Congress legislator Phulodevi Netam staged a dharna inside Dhanora police station where these people had been detained. This forced the police to move the remaining Naxals to Jagdalpur prison.
Rambharose Mandavi, the alleged commander of the surrendering Maoists, is an active Congress member from the block (his membership number is 3059). Mandavi was allegedly picked up to settle scores with his wife who happens to be the panch of Era village. “My husband has never been involved in any Naxal activity,” she claimed.
Phulodevi Netam, the former Congress MLA, alleged it was an attempt by the police to threaten the local party leadership. “The police are threatening people to surrender as Naxals, some officers want out-of-turn promotions,” she claimed.
BJP MLA Mahesh Baghel also claimed that several of those shown as “surrendered” Naxals were in fact BJP cadres. “Bastar police should check facts before staging such an event before the Chief Minister,” he said.
Villagers in Kondapakhna, from where five people had “surrendered”, were angry and named an SPO for threatening to fix them in false cases. “Will these people live in villages if they are really Maoists?” asked Bindo, whose son Santu has been sent to Jagdalpur prison. Relatives of others held also maintained that there were farmers who had no links with Naxals.
Relatives of Bissu Ram Gond, a resident of Bokrabeda, said that he had a two acre field on which he grew paddy but he agreed to the “surrender” ceremony because he wanted to make some quick money. “Police officers told him that he will get a thousand rupees if he is ready to be part of the surrendering party,” said Sonau Ram. The money was handed over to all “surrendering Naxals” at the ceremony by Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Mahesh, whose son Dharmu was one of the persons to be released, said that his family was in danger as the Naxals have already threatened the villagers that people who had taken part in the “surrender” ceremony will soon be deal with.
Chhattisgarh DGP O P Rathor said that the police does not need to explain why some people had been released days after the surrender. “We have a surrender policy under which we need to rehabilitate surrendering extremists.
While some Maoists are hardcore, some have been supporting them in a passive way. The entire episode is being twisted by some people who are trying to make political capital out of it,” he said.
Chief Minister Raman Singh, who had earlier described the surrender as a “historic event”, has already ordered IGP (Bastar Range) R K Vij to submit a detailed report to the state government.
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Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 15.1.07,
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75,000 trees along 70-km stretch of road felled to pre-empt Naxal ambush
10 January, 2007
Trees latest casualty in fight against Naxals
Chhattisgarh: 75,000 trees along 70-km stretch of road felled to pre-empt Naxal ambush, no permission from Environment dept
RAIPUR, JANUARY 7 : Trees are becoming unwitting victims in Chhattisgarh’s fight against Naxalites. After orders from security forces engaged in the battle against the extremists, over 75,000 trees have been chopped off along the roads in Naxal-affected Bastar and Dantewara districts.
Felled tree trunks, branches and foliage can be seen all along the roads from Sukma towards Dornapal and from Konta towards Bijapur. These roads are mostly used by security force convoys and by various governmental agencies to transport essential materials to the strife-torn areas.
The felling, which began a few weeks ago, is continuing without any permission from the Environment Department. Senior officials in the department have confirmed that the security forces have asked the Forest Department to chop down the trees to avoid Naxalite ambushes. “Work on felling trees along a 70-km stretch of road in the area, up to 100 metres deep on each side of the roads, is going on in full swing and is expected to be completed before the monsoon,” a senior official stated. The felling on other stretches is also likely to begin soon and the number of felled trees is also likely to increase manifold.
DGP O P Rathor confirmed that the felling was taking place in Naxal-affected districts of Bastar and Dantewara in an effort to bring down casualty numbers. “We want to save our personnel from any ambush,” he said. Chhattisgarh DGP claimed that no clearance was required for felling trees in these areas as it was being done in the national interest.
Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R N Mishra feigned ignorance of such large-scale felling of trees. “I don’t have any knowledge regarding the issue,” he claimed adding he would seek a status report on the issue.
However, this isn’t the first time that such large-scale felling of trees has been reported from these areas. The Indian Express, had early last year reported that around 15,000 trees were felled by authorities, without the requisite permission, around the Salwa Judum camps in these districts to avoid any surprise attacks on these camps.
“This time the number of trees felled is so large as entire stretches along roads frequented by security force convoys are being cleared of trees and shrubs,” an official pointed out.
Environmentalists too have expressed shock. “Has the government even bothered to do any environmental impact study? Virgin forest is being chopped off without any provision for compensatory plantation or assessing its impact on the local tribal population and wildlife who are solely dependent on these forests,” stated V K Gupta, an environmentalist working in the area.
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Labels: chhattisgarh, CPI(Maoist), News
posted by Bimal 10.1.07,
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