NAXAL/ MAOISTS- 2009 - Indian Social Institute

lock the roads leading to Chandrapur block in Rayagada district. They also cut down trees to block theNH 217 between Sorada in Ganjam district and Daringbadi in Kandhamal district. This road was clearedby afternoon. Naxals also blocked the Daringbadi-Brahmanigaon road by fallen trees in Kandhamaldistrict. (The Hindu 11/7/09)30 cops killed in Chhattisgarh Maoist strikes (12)Raipur Thirty security personnel including Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Choubey,49, were killed today in three attacks at Madanwada village near Manpur-Mohalla in the district. Theattacks occurred in one of the most remote Naxal-hit areas where the communication network is dismallypoor. Deputy Inspector General of Police (anti-Naxalite operations) Pawan Deo said the Maoists hadgunned down two security personnel near the Madanwada camp of the Chhattisgarh Special ArmedForce (SAF) early in the morning. On learning about the incident, IPS officer Choubey rushed to the spotwith some security forces, which included the CRPF, Chhattisgarh Special Armed Forces and the districtpolice force. About 200 Maoist cadres were reportedly waiting to ambush them. Choubey and 23 otherswere killed on the spot as the rebels triggered a powerful landmine blast and followed it up withindiscriminate firing. Four more personnel died as the rebels ambushed another team of securitymenheading to Madanwada by a different route. Inspector General of Police (Durg range) Mukesh Gupta saidthe security forces were outnumbered. He said preliminary inspection indicated that the Maoists hadexecuted the attack with meticulous planning. Meanwhile, local reports said the toll could be higher, butthere was no official confirmation. About 13 security personnel, who left Avadhi police station to patrol thearea after news of the attack, have reportedly not returned. But police officials said they could onlyconfirm the report after relief and rescue operations get over. At least a dozen personnel are reported tohave sustained serious injuries. They have been admitted to hospitals in Manpur and Rajnandgaon. Ahelicopter has been sent to airlift the bodies from Manpur hospital to the Rajnandgaon districtheadquarters, which is about 70 kilometres away from the attack site. In April this year, the Maoists hadtriggered a landmine blast in the same area, killing five polling personnel during the Lok Sabha elections.While the Naxalites have been lying low in Bastar, there were intelligence inputs in the last couple ofweeks about movement of cadres in Manpur-Mohalla in Rajnandgaon which borders Maharashtra, atsome places bordering Kanker and Dhamtari districts, and in the diamond belt area of Gariaband forestsin Raipur district. Meanwhile, the Congress was quick to blame the BJP government in general and thepolice in particular, saying that the entire machinery has become ineffective in dealing with the problem ofNaxalism. “Why don’t the police learn a lesson from West Bengal, where the security forces liberatedLalgarh from the Maoists by working in coordination with the paramilitary forces,” said state PCC chiefDhanendra Sahu. (Express India 12/7/09)Inter-state Maoist arms racket busted: Police (12)RANCHI/NEW DELHI: An inter-state Maoist arms racket has been busted with the arrest of abusinessman in the national capital and his counterpart in Jharkhand with recovery of a huge cache ofbulletproof jackets and sophisticated gadgets. "He is not a Naxal. His involvement was completelycommercial. He was procuring equipment which are illegal.He is part of procuring some material andequipment for operational purposes (of Naxals)," Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal said providinginformation about the arrested businessman Praveen Sharma. Sharma's custody will be transferred toJharkhand police as he was wanted by them. By profession he is an electronics trader, Dadwal said. Thearrest of the businessman in Palika Bazaar area of Connaught Place yesterday was effected afterJharkhand Police tipped their counterparts in Delhi about his role as weapon supplier to banned Maoistgroups, sources here said. The Jharkhand Police had seized an air-cargo consignment on Tuesdaycoming from Delhi, official sources said. "The consignment contained some 60 Motorola walkie-talkiehandsets, six radio sets, some micro tape recorders, chargers and wiring which were to be supplied to theCPI (Maoist), now a banned terror organisation," Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi, PraveenKumar said. Sources further said investigations led to the arrest of Naresh Sharma, senior manager ofDelhi-based Shekhar Construction Company, for his alleged links with Maoists from his office at Redma inPalamau's Medininagar area in Jharkhand. Police also seized some bullet-proof jackets from his office aswell. After his interrogation, Jharkhand police learnt that another deal for supply of arms is being workedout in Delhi following which the information was passed on to their counterparts in the national capital.Based on these inputs, Delhi Police arrested businessman Praveen Sharma from Palika Bazar area herelate yesterday night when he had come to meet his contact here. The firm Sekhar Construction Company