Mission Sankalp to flush out Naxal leadership crosses 2-week mark, IGP calls it ‘decisive op'
A suspected Maoist's body was recovered on Monday amid a massive anti-Naxal operation along the Karregutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, taking the toll during the current offensive to four.
Security forces say they found the Maoist's body on the hills, along with a .303 archaic rifle. All four Maoists killed so far are women.
In a related development on Sunday, CRPF assistant commandant Sagar Borade suffered injuries during the operation and was airlifted to AIIMS Delhi on Monday. He is in a stable condition.
Two Special Task Force (STF) jawans also suffered injuries in an IED blast on Sunday. So far, seven jawans have sustained injuries in IED blasts during the operation.
The operation, Mission Sankalp, began on April 21 and involves the mobilisation of 24,000 troops, including those from the Indian Air Force (IAF), to the inter-state border. It is still underway.
The forces had earlier said key Maoist leaders are holed up in the hills, safeguarded by their strongest military formation, Battalion 1 of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, the armed unit of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chhattisgarh police said, 'Based on certain facts and our knowledge so far, senior Maoist leaders have either been killed or suffered injuries in the encounter. However, due to difficult geographical conditions, the security forces have not been able to recover the bodies of all the injured or killed Naxalites.'
Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, said, 'Despite difficult geographical conditions and numerous challenges, the security forces are carrying forward this decisive operation against Left Wing Extremism with full commitment and determination. Many hideouts and bunkers have been destroyed.'
'Thousands of kilograms of explosive material/ration material/medicines, items of daily use and detonators were recovered from Naxal hideouts and bunkers,' he said.
The 24,000-strong troops comprise jawans from the central and state forces – District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), Bastar Fighters, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and CRPF jawans.
This year, 129 Maoists have been gunned down in the Bastar region, while 146 Maoists have been killed in Chhattisgarh overall. A total of 219 Maoists were killed last year in the state, including 217 in Bastar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
26 minutes ago
- The Print
Prime accused in SIM racket arrested: Assam Police
The operation was conducted based on input provided by Gajraj Corps' Military Intelligence. The accused was apprehended by the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police force on Saturday night from Dhubri under ongoing 'Operation Ghost SIM', it said. Guwahati, Jun 1 (PTI) A prime accused in an inter-state racket, which provided SIM cards to cybercriminals including Pakistanis for opening WhatsApp accounts to dupe people, has been arrested by Assam Police, an official statement said on Sunday. One laptop, two mobile phones, three micro ATM machines, one biometric device, six ATM Cards, 11 voter ID cards, one Aadhaar card and one PAN card were recovered during the operation, the statement said. The total number of accused persons arrested under 'Operation Ghost SIM' is now at 11. 'Further interrogation of the accused is currently underway. Updates will be provided as the investigation progresses,' the statement added. The STF had busted the inter-state racket under 'Operation Ghost SIM', with the arrest of seven persons in the first success last month. The operation was launched based on information provided by Military Intelligence about the racket operating with bases in Assam, Rajasthan and Telangana, Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh had said earlier. The racket procured SIM cards under different names and dispatched these to criminals who used those for cybercrime and also 'anti-national activities', he said. PTI SSG SSG ACD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
If govt can agree to truce with Pak, why not with Naxals: TPCC chief
Hyderabad: Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah launched 'Operation Kagar' (Operation Black Forest) to hand over the mineral wealth of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to the corporates, under the pretext of eliminating Naxalites. He also criticised the Modi govt for not accepting the offer of talks made by the Maoists. "It is unfortunate that the central govt, under pressure from US President Donald Trump, agreed to a ceasefire and hold talks with Pakistan, which is sponsoring terrorism, but not agreeing to talks with our own citizens (Maoists). Congress' ideology is non-violence, and it will not support any kind of violence, including that done by the Maoists," he said, speaking at a round table meeting convened by Left parties, human rights, and civil society organisations at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram. All the secular and democratic forces, including Congress, should condemn the killing of Naxalites by the govt in 'Operation Kagar', even after the Maoists expressed willingness to hold talks, he said. Just because they (BJP) have power, "the govt violence" on the pretext of 'Operation Kagar' cannot be supported. Since coming to power, the BJP govt has been dismantling constitutional institutions, he added. "When someone is ready for talks, they should be held. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like People Aged 50-85 With No Life Insurance Could Get This Reassured Get Quote Undo The BJP plays politics in the name of religion and gods. There are instances when talks were held during the time of even Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Not accepting talks reveals their fascist ideology. They have been toppling democratically elected govts in various states. Only a few people are able to oppose them, and one of them is the Gandhi family," Mahesh Goud said. The TPCC chief narrated an ancecdote when Rahul Gandhi, Meenakshi Natarajan, chief minister A Revanth Reddy, and deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and he were going in a car to attend Bharat Summit in Hyderabad on April 26. "Meenakshi said security forces surrounded Karregutta as part of 'Operation Kagar', but expressed concern that there were civilians there too. Then Rahul Gandhi said that you can eliminate individuals and even a group of people but not their cause. Subsequently, CM Revanth said he would speak to representatives of all parties in this regard. The Gandhi family even pardoned the killers of Rajiv Gandhi, as the Congress firmly believes in non-violence," he said. Telangana Congress leadership would discuss and take a decision soon on the support sought by the Left parties and organisations against 'Operation Kagar'.
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Karnataka high court orders demolition of illegal building, recovery of costs from BBMP officials
Bengaluru: In a strong move against civic apathy and unauthorised construction, the high court ordered the demolition of an illegal building at JP Nagar 5th Phase and directed that the costs be recovered from BBMP officials who failed to prevent the violation. The case centres around a residential building at Nanjundeshwara Layout, which local residents alleged was coming up without an approved building plan. Complaints were raised in Feb 2020, and during a site inspection, a BBMP joint commissioner confirmed the structure had no sanctioned plan. He assured the residents that the building would be demolished. But action never came. Instead, the builder allegedly colluded with BBMP engineers to procure a backdated plan. "They issued a 2021 plan and backdated it to 2020 to show as if it had been obtained before the construction. But the document was forged. The Anti-Corruption Bureau confirmed this during its inquiry," said a resident who closely followed the case. Despite a Karnataka Appellate Tribunal ruling in favour of its demolition, BBMP remained inactive. The builder then moved the high court with the same forged documents. However, the court wasn't convinced. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Descubra ofertas de voos imperdíveis Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo The involvement of BBMP officials came to light after the case was escalated in court by the building owner himself. Justice Sanjay Gowda, in his April 26 order, pulled no punches. He pointed out that the building plan was approved on March 6, 2021, while the spot inspection by the joint commissioner had occurred earlier, on Feb 28, 2021. The assistant director of town planning (ADTP) not only approved the plan but also issued a building licence on March 24, 2021. "The fact that the engineer was able to provide the licence plan number and the date itself indicates the nature of collusion between the applicant and the engineers concerned," the court noted. The building had massive deviations from the sanctioned norms. "As could be seen from the above, in respect of setback, there are deviations ranging from 20% to 95%. In respect of coverage, there is a deviation of 48.1%, in respect of built-up area, there is a deviation of 73.2% and in respect of FAR, there is a deviation of 73%. The report also points out that there is a violation of the sanctioned height by about 2.2 metres and there is an extra floor constructed. The report also indicates that there is a deviation to the extent of 48.1% in respect of all floors put up and this would therefore fundamentally indicate that there is a gross violation from the sanctioned plan which in fact was cancelled," the court said. Citing Section 321-B of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, the court clarified that if BBMP officers fail to stop illegal construction, they can be penalised. The more violations they overlook, the heavier the penalties. The court has now directed BBMP to take strict action. This includes holding an inquiry into officials, including retired ones who were involved in sanctioning the post-demolition plan. The court said BBMP should also recover the cost of demolition from these officials. "BBMP would also have to take action against the ADTP who sanctioned the plan after the order of confirmation was passed on March 19, 2021," the court noted. —-——- Box A wake up call, says neighbour VV Madhusudana Rao, the neighbour who complained about the violation to BBMP told TOI, "This is purely a residential society and how can we have a building built in violation (of rules)? There were a lot of twists and turns in the case with the petitioner complaining to BBMP that even my building is in violation... The HC in fact noted that the petitioner has wasted BBMP's and the court's time with false complaints. Such verdicts should be a wake up call for people building multiple floors and officials approving the plans and turning a blind eye to such violations. "
