Raipur: Close on the heels of the brutal killing of senior Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh near Jagdalpur on Saturday, the local police and the Central paramilitary forces have launched an anti-Naxal operation in the forests of Bastar. The security forces have swung into action to nab the Naxals who carried out the September 25 massacre after attacking the Congress's Parivartan Yatra. More than 1,000 security forces have been deployed in...
07:08 PM, May 28, 2013
What kind of organisation, equipment and strategic revamp is required for the state and Central police forces to effectively combat Maoist guerrilla tactics? Amiya Samanta, author and former IB director in West Bengal, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Will a single command centre will help to control this menace, instead of different agencies working? Asked by: Nisha A. I do not think so. Maoists are...
05:53 PM, May 28, 2013
New Delhi: BJP on Tuesday slammed Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his absence from the country in the aftermath of the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh. Party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said, "At a time when so much of commotion is happening, the gentleman there (Shinde) is on a private trip for past four days when rest of the people from the official trip have come back." She rejected explanations that...
05:50 PM, May 28, 2013
Speaking to CNN-IBN, MoS Home RPN Singh said the government did not want to politicise the issue and would only point fingers once the probe was over. ...
05:04 PM, May 28, 2013
Should the government continue to view Maoist activities through the prism of security? Or is a more reasoned and nuanced approach necessary? Author Rahul Pandita joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Bringing Naxal to main stream, is this solution to the problem? Asked by: Mans A. The solution is to bring about development along with security operations and making sure there is minimum collateral damage. Q....
04:08 PM, May 28, 2013
Minister of State Home RPN Singh, while commenting on Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh said, "Strategy will be reviewed and now the time for talking is over. Chidambaram had asked for talks but no one came forward. They are definitely they are not interested in talking to government of India," he said. ...
01:18 PM, May 28, 2013
Raipur: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will do a recce of the Bastar area where the deadly Naxal attack took place on May 25, which claimed lives of senior leaders of Chhattisgarh's Congress party, including Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma and state party chief Nand Kumar Patel. The NIA will probe whether top Naxal leader Katakam Sudarshan was behind the attack on the Congress rally that has exposed serious security...
12:55 PM, May 28, 2013
New Delhi: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has spoken out strongly against intellectuals who "romanticise Maoists". While admitting there is need for focused development in the tribal areas, he said there is no possibility of a dialogue with Maoists as they don't believe in Indian democracy. "You can have a dialogue with people who want to have a dialogue. Maoists are not here for tribal welfare," Ramesh said. While speaking...
12:18 PM, May 28, 2013
Raipur: Claiming responsibility for the brutal attack in Chhattisgarh on May 25, Maoists on Tuesday said the act was a revenge for the "atrocities done by the Salwa Judum". In a statement, Gudsa Usendi, spokesperson for the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, CPI(Maoist), alleged that both ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the state are equally responsible for anti-people policies. "That is why senior functionaries of Congress were targetted," the statement...
09:06 AM, May 28, 2013
New Delhi: The Naxal threat remains India's biggest internal security problem with the districts of Southern Chhattisgarh seeing the bloodiest Naxal attacks in recent years. An audacious Maoist attack in broad daylight killed 24 people, including the top Congress leadership in the state. But why are the Dandakaranya forests of southern Chhattisgarh called a 'Liberated Zone' by the Maoists and why are they so open to bloody Naxal attacks? First,...
08:02 AM, May 28, 2013
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday admitted to security lapse that led to the killing of several Congress leaders in Jagdalpur district on May 25. Singh, however, said that there was no need to politicise the Naxal attack that claimed 28 lives. ...
11:34 PM, May 27, 2013
Raipur: Congress leaders on Monday denied reports that the route of the ill-fated 'Parivartan Yatra', which came under Naxal attack on Saturday in south Bastar region, had been changed at the last moment. The convoy of Congress leaders was attacked at Jiram Valley in Darbha region when it was returning from Sukma to Jagdalpur. Twenty-right people including Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and veteran leader Mahendra Karma were killed...
11:25 PM, May 27, 2013
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh said that there was no need to politicise the Naxal attack at Baster in Chhattisgarh that claimed 28 lives. However, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister conceded there were delays in rushing reinforcements to the attack site. ...
09:31 PM, May 27, 2013
New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday admitted to security lapse that led to the killing of several Congress leaders in Jagdalpur district on May 25. Singh, however, said that there was no need to politicise the Naxal attack that claimed 28 lives. "There is no need to make this political. President's rule is not the solution. I agree that there was delay in the arrival of reinforcements...
08:24 PM, May 27, 2013
On Face the Nation tonight: CNN-IBN's Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose discusses the issue of Naxalism in India and role of politicians and human rights activists around it. ...
07:26 PM, May 27, 2013
Raipur: The deadly Naxal attack on the Congress leaders in Jagdalpur could have been prevented had the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) not been lying idle in faraway Hyderabad. According to intelligence sources, since every drone takes off from Hyderabad, they can't spend sufficient number of hours hovering over the Naxal-affected regions in Chhattisgarh to gather intelligence. The Indian Air Force (IAF) never agreed to operate these UAVs from Jagdalpur, considering...
06:58 PM, May 27, 2013
New Delhi: Under pressure after the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh in which 28 people including top state Congress leaders were killed, ADGP Mukesh Gupta said if probe revealed inaction on part of some officials, action will be taken against them. Answering why the security officials were not equipped with AK47s, the Chhattisgarh ADGP said, "Nand Kumar Patel had requested us not to provide AK47s for his protection." "In today's political...
06:50 PM, May 27, 2013
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy has accused the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to make this a particular separate case. ...
04:59 PM, May 27, 2013
Raipur: Survivors of the Naxal attack at Debra Ghati in Chhattisgarh on Saturday say that rebels were carrying laptops, tablets, bottled mineral water and other expensive equipments. The Naxals even gave water to all the hostages after the carnage. They also say that the attackers were conversing in English and all of them seemed to be educated. According to one of the eyewitnesses Sandeep Dave after having lunch slain state...
04:25 PM, May 27, 2013
Thanjavur: Defence Minister AK Antony has ruled out deploying the Army in Naxal-hit states. "There is no proposal like that because the real answer is strengthening the local police and para-military forces. We will extend all support without direct involvement," Antony said. The Defence Ministry has been against deployment of Army and the IAF in anti-Naxal operations. The Defence Minister said the Services are providing "full support. In fact on...
03:59 PM, May 27, 2013
