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Newsmaker of the Day: Raman Singh

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. ...

Naxal attack: Convoy route was pre-decided, says Congress

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...  

Is it time for an all-out war on Maoists?

As National Investigation Agency gears up to probe the deadly Naxal attack that took place on May 25 and wiped out majority of Chhattisgarh's state Congress party, security concerns that had been overlooked have surfaced. ...

News 360: NIA takes over the Chhattisgarh Naxal attack probe

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. ...

Chhattisgarh CM concedes delays in rushing reinforcements to the site

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...  

Naxal attack: 'Will act against officials if probe reveals inaction'

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...  

Chhattisgarh Naxal attack: BJP accuses PM of playing the blame game

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy has accused the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to make this a particular separate case. ...

Eyewitnesses recount the horror of Naxal attack

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...  

Chhattisgarh comes under Naxal attack but Shinde still out of country

New Delhi: At a time when India is facing its most acute internal security crisis, the country's Home Minister continues to remain in the US. Sushil Kumar Shinde attended a US Homeland Security dialogue from May 20 to 22 and then extended his visit until May 29. His officials, including Home Secretary RK Singh have returned. Had he come back as per schedule, he would have been able to travel...  

Security lapses made Cong leaders easy targets of Naxal attack

New Delhi/Dantewada: As National Investigation Agency gears up to probe the deadly Naxal attack that took place on May 25 and wiped out majority of Chhattisgarh's state Congress party, security concerns that had been overlooked have surfaced. Some serious security lapses are as follows: 1. The Maoist build-up on the Darba plateau went undetected: Local ground intelligence wasn't available and drones based in Hyderabad didn't have the range to surveil...  

Praveen Swami on five things that went wrong and led to Chhattisgarh ambush

Praveen Swami, National Security Analyst for CNN-IBN and Firstpost says, even though the state and central government knew a major Congress programme was underway in Sukma - the most dangerous area in southern Chhattisgarh, they did nothing to deter a lethal attack. ...  

Chhattisgarh Naxal attack plunges state Congress party in crisis

Raipur: The killing of a substantial part of the Congress leadership in Chhattisgarh has plunged the party in the state into a crisis. The state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son were killed in the attack, Salwa Judum's Mahendra Karma, who was the main target, was a former Home Minister in the state and finally, veteran Congress leader VC Shukla, a former chief minister and union minister is...  

Congress leaders' route changed to go through Naxal stronghold

Raipur: Rattled by the brutal Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh on Saturday evening in which 24 people including several Congress leaders were killed, the police now suspect that the route to be taken by the convoy was changed at the last minute on the advice of an informer. Killed Chhattisgarh President Nand Kumar Patel, former central minister Vidya Charan Shukla and Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma had initially planned to take...  

Naxal attack: Cong leader VC Shukla critical, but stable, say doctors

Gurgaon: Senior Congress leader VC Shukla, who was injured in the deadly Naxal attack that took place in Chhattisgarh on Saturday and claimed over 24 lives, is stable but critical, his doctors at Medanta hospital said on Monday. He is on ventilator, but has gained consciousness, Dr Naresh Trehan, cardiovascular doctor at Medanta, said. The doctors said the 84-year-old has successfully undergone a surgery at the hospital. He will remain...  

Naxal attack: Cong leader VC Shukla still critical

New Delhi: The toll in the gruesome Naxal attack has now reached 28, with several injured. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said the probe will be handed over to National Investigation Agency. Congress leader VC Shukla, who is 84-year-old and was shot during the attack, is still critical and is being treated at a hospital in Gurgaon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited Shukla, soon...  

Did Salwa Judum's movement only lead to more terror?

Bastar: Deceased Congress leader Mahendra Karma was supposedly the main target of the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, which killed 28 people. He was the architect of the now disbanded anti-Naxalite vigilante movement, Salwa Judum. CNN-IBN's Rupashree Nanda had travelled to Bastar in 2008 to unravel the realities of the controversial force. Here's the story: Named after the Gondi term for purification rites, the Salwa Judum comprised of local villagers and...  

Bloodbath in Chhattisgarh: Massive intelligence failure or Naxal desperation?

A well-planned and brutal attack by Naxals in Chhattisgarh almost wiped out Congress leadership in the state. The attack, in which more than 20 people were killed, exposed the government's failure to tackle Naxal menace in the densely forested state. ...

Chhattisgarh Naxal attack exposes security lapse

Raipur/ New Delhi: After lying low for the last few months, Naxals struck a deadly blow on Saturday evening when they attacked a convoy of Congress leaders in the dense forests of Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and wiped out almost the entire party leadership. The audacious attack once again exposed the limitations of the government in controlling the menace and is yet another example of the brutal and macabre way in...  

Democratic forces needed to fight Naxal violence: Brinda Karat

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said democratic forces are needed to fight Naxal violence. Naxals attacked Congress convoy on Saturday in Chhattisgarh, killing over 20 people, most of them Congress leaders and workers. ...

Centre should come up with a strategy to fight Naxalism: BJP

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, while commenting on the Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, said there is a need for a collective decision to fight Naxalism. "The central government has to come up with a strategy to face the challenge put by the Naxals," he said. ...