Latest news with #Maoist-related
India Gazette
3 days ago
- India Gazette
Odisha Police arrest Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma in Koraput
Koraput (Odisha) [India], May 30 (ANI): Odisha's Koraput Police arrested Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma alias Mohan and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 and 35 rounds of bullets. According to an official release, based on credible intelligence regarding the movement of a group of banned CPI (Maoist) cadres in the forest area near the village Petguda under Boipariguda Police Station, a special operation was launched by the District Police using the district voluntary force (DVF) on the night of May 28. In the early hours of May 29, the DVF team noticed a group of Maoists camping on the hill. As the team moved to surround it, the Maoists, on being alerted, opened fire at the DVF team and fled into the jungle. In response, the team exercised controlled fire in self-defence. During the subsequent search, one Maoist cadre, Kunjam Hidma, was apprehended while attempting to hide in the nearby bushes, and others managed to flee, said the officials. According to the officials, Hidma joined the Maoist organisation in 2007 at 14, as he was inducted into Bal Sangham and Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural wing of the Maoists. From 2007 to 2013, he remained associated with Bal Sangham and JNM. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked as a party member under the Usur Local Organisation Squad (LOS) and received military training, during which he was issued a single-shot rifle. In 2016, he started operating in the AOB (Andhra Odisha Border) platoon, and later in 2019, he was promoted to the rank of ACM (Area Committee Member) and provided with an SLR rifle. He served in a military platoon under Suresh (SZCM), operating in the Bolpariguda area of Koraput district, the cut-off area of Malkangiri district (Odisha), and the Pedabailu region of ASR district (Andhra Pradesh). During 2021-2022, he was assigned to AOB Platoon Section-01, operating in the Pamed area of Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. In 2023, he was transferred to Platoon-24 in the Kerlapal area under Sukma district, and in 2024, temporarily moved to Platoon-26, operating in the Malengiri area of Sukma. He returned to the AOB unit in May 2025 and has been active since then. Under the leadership of Suresh (SZCM) in the AOB team, he operated as an ACM in the South Bastar and Kerlapal areas of Chhattisgarh, said officials. Officials said Hidma was involved in several encounters with police and had Maoist-related cases against him in Odisha's Koraput and Malkangiri districts as well as in Chhattisgarh. (ANI)
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Odisha Police arrest Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma in Koraput
Odisha's Koraput Police arrested Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma alias Mohan and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition , including an AK-47 and 35 rounds of bullets. According to an official release, based on credible intelligence regarding the movement of a group of banned CPI (Maoist) cadres in the forest area near the village Petguda under Boipariguda Police Station, a special operation was launched by the District Police using the district voluntary force (DVF) on the night of May 28. In the early hours of May 29, the DVF team noticed a group of Maoists camping on the hill. As the team moved to surround it, the Maoists, on being alerted, opened fire at the DVF team and fled into the jungle. In response, the team exercised controlled fire in self-defence. During the subsequent search, one Maoist cadre, Kunjam Hidma, was apprehended while attempting to hide in the nearby bushes, and others managed to flee, said the officials. According to the officials, Hidma joined the Maoist organisation in 2007 at 14, as he was inducted into Bal Sangham and Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural wing of the Maoists. Live Events From 2007 to 2013, he remained associated with Bal Sangham and JNM. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked as a party member under the Usur Local Organisation Squad (LOS) and received military training, during which he was issued a single-shot rifle. In 2016, he started operating in the AOB (Andhra Odisha Border) platoon, and later in 2019, he was promoted to the rank of ACM (Area Committee Member) and provided with an SLR rifle. He served in a military platoon under Suresh (SZCM), operating in the Bolpariguda area of Koraput district, the cut-off area of Malkangiri district (Odisha), and the Pedabailu region of ASR district (Andhra Pradesh). During 2021-2022, he was assigned to AOB Platoon Section-01, operating in the Pamed area of Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh . In 2023, he was transferred to Platoon-24 in the Kerlapal area under Sukma district, and in 2024, temporarily moved to Platoon-26, operating in the Malengiri area of Sukma. He returned to the AOB unit in May 2025 and has been active since then. Under the leadership of Suresh (SZCM) in the AOB team, he operated as an ACM in the South Bastar and Kerlapal areas of Chhattisgarh, said officials. Officials said Hidma was involved in several encounters with police and had Maoist-related cases against him in Odisha's Koraput and Malkangiri districts as well as in Chhattisgarh.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma arrested in special operation in Odisha
Odisha's Koraput Police arrested Communist Party of India (Maoist) leader Kunjam Hidma alias Mohan in a special operation by the district police and Odisha's specialised district voluntary force (DVF) constabulary unit Thursday. Hidma, an area committee member, was arrested from the Petguda jungle under Boipariguda police limit, with the police seizing a huge cache of arms and ammunition — including an AK-47 and 35 rounds of bullets. According to police sources, Hidma was part of a party sent to recce the area and give a safe passage to Maoist leader Suresh, a state zonal committee member, from Odisha to Andhra Pradesh. Hidma is working under Suresh. Significantly, Madvi Hidma, the de facto military chief of the CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh who commands Battalion 1 of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, has yet to be arrested. According to Koraput SP Rohit Varma, a special operation was launched Wednesday night after security forces received credible intelligence inputs on the movement of a group of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadres in the forest area near village Petguda. 'The DVF team noticed a group of Maoists camping at the hill on Thursday early morning. As the team moved to surround it, the Maoists, on being alerted, opened fire at the DVF team and fled into the jungle. In response, the team exercised controlled fire in self-defence. During the subsequent search, one Maoist cadre was apprehended while attempting to hide in the nearby bushes,' said Verma. A native of Janaguda under Usur police limit in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, Kunjam joined the Maoist movement in 2007 at the age of 14. He was initially inducted into the Bal Sangham and Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural wing of the Maoists with which he was associated till 2013, police sources said. Between 2013 and 2015, Kunjam worked as a party member under the Usur Local Operational Squad (LOS) – the local unit of the outfit — and received military training, during which he was issued a single-shot rifle. In 2016, he started operating in AOB (Andhra Odisha Border) platoon and was promoted to the rank of area committee member in 2019 and had by now progressed to using a self-loading rifle (SLR). Hidma served in a military platoon under Suresh, operating in the Boipariguda area of Koraput district — the area that marks the border between Odisha's Malkangiri district and the Pedabailu region in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district. He was involved in a number of Maoist attacks in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh since 2021. Police said Hidma was involved in several encounters with police and had Maoist-related cases against him in Odisha's Koraput and Malkangiri districts as well as in Chhattisgarh.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
NIA takes over probe into explosives loot by ‘Maoists' in Odisha
The National Investigation Agency has taken over the investigation into the loot of a large cache of explosives by 'suspected Maoists' earlier this week. This comes as police and security agencies continue to look for the explosives, looted from a stone quarry in the state's Sundargarh district earlier this week. According to the police, an armed group of 25-30 'Maoists' looted four tonnes of explosive gelatin sticks from a stone quarry under K Balanga police limits in Rourkela police district Tuesday while an explosive-laden truck was on its way to the stone quarry at Banko. The quarry is inside the Saranda forests — an area bordering Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. The group allegedly forced the driver to operate the vehicle but eventually released him. Odisha has witnessed significant fall in Maoist-related activities over the years with the presence of left-wing extremists limited to a few pockets only. Police sources said there was no Maoist-related activities in Sundargarh districts in the past 10 years. The Odisha Police, in coordination with the Jharkhand police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, have launched search operations. The truck has been found but explosives are yet to be traced, police said. 'According to the first information received from the driver, those who looted the explosives were Maoists. Based on the information received from the driver, we have lodged an FIR. The investigation is continuing and operational procedures are being followed in the area,' said Deputy Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Brijesh Rai. Odisha Director General of Police YB Khurania visited the site and held meetings with senior police officers to monitor the operations. The DGP also directed police to step up security measures in vulnerable areas. Police sources said a NIA team also reached Rourkela Thursday and launched a probe into the matter. The NIA team is expected to visit the site of the loot, and is likely to question the driver of the vehicle. The border area with Jharkhand has been sealed by the security agencies. Police sources said instruction has also been issued to the local police to probe the licence details and other information related to the stone quarry. According to the White Paper published by the state's home department, only four Maoist-related incidents were reported in 2024 compared to nine such incidents in 2023. As part of the anti-Maoist operations, as many as six extremists were killed by security personnel and eight others were arrested in 2024. Meanwhile, 24 ultras surrendered.
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ATS arrests Maoist suspect posing as teacher in Raigad
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Kalachowki police station in Mumbai, has arrested a long-absconding accused in a Maoist-related case who had been evading authorities for nearly six to seven years, officer said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Prashant Jalikar Kamble alias 'Laptop,' was wanted under multiple stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Arms Act. He had been declared absconding by the court, which had issued a standing arrest warrant against him. Acting on intelligence inputs, the ATS Pune unit launched a covert operation and traced Kamble to a tribal area in Raigad district, where he was living under a false identity and working as a teacher at a local Adivasi school. Officials confirmed that Kamble was apprehended on May 3. He was produced before the Mumbai Sessions Court on May 4 and remanded to ATS custody until May 13 for further interrogation. The original case against Kamble involves serious charges including waging war against the nation and involvement in terrorist activities. It was registered under IPC Sections 121, 121(A), 122, 153(A), 120(B); several sections of the UAPA including 10, 13, 17, 18, 18(A), 20, 21, 23(1), 23(B), 38, 39, and 40(2); and provisions of the Arms Act, 2000. ATS officials said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to identify any potential associates or larger networks connected to Kamble. Further arrests are likely based on revelations during interrogation.
