News Story: India's left-wing Naxalite rebels abduct 10 villagers in Chhattisgarh state

NEW DELHI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- India's left-wing Naxalite rebels had abducted at least 10 villagers in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, police said Thursday.

The abduction took place at Chintagufa village in the state's Sukma district recently, but the incident came to light late on Wednesday night.

"A group of armed Naxalites stormed into Chintagufa village and kidnapped the 10 villagers, including a woman," Sukma's additional police chief Jitendra Shukla told the media.

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News Story: 94 Indian civilians killed by left-wing Naxalite rebels this year

NEW DELHI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government said on Wednesday that left-wing Naxalite rebels have killed as many as 94 civilians in the first half of this year suspecting them of working as police informers.

"Ninety-four civilians have been killed in 2017 by left-wing extremists," India's junior Home Minister Hansraj Ahir said in the parliament.

Claiming that those killed by Naxalites were accused of being police informers, the minister said that the rebels did torture before eliminating their enemies. "The methods of killing include shooting, multiple beatings and hacking with sharp weapons," he added.

Naxalite uprising began in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal's village of Naxalbari back in 1967.

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News Report: Maoist Rebels on the Run in India Over the Last Three Years

India has recorded a 22 percent decline in violence in Maoist insurgency-affected states since the Narendra Modi government came to power. Experts said the government has adopted a carrot and stick approach which is yielding results but challenges remain in wiping out leftist insurgents.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's Deputy Home Minister Hansraj Ahir informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the left wing extremism-affected areas have seen a reduction in incidents of violence.

Between July 2014 and June 2017, the number of incidents of violence committed by Maoists, or Naxals in local parlance, have come down from 3,999 to 3,109, registering a 22.5 percent decline compare to the preceding three years.

Experts said the Modi government and its predecessor governments have adopted a dual approach towards the problem.

News Story: Naxals kill 3 in India's Bihar

NEW DELHI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Three people including a woman were killed Friday by Naxals rebel group in India's eastern state of Bihar, police said.

The killings took place in Barhat of Jamui district, 176 km south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar.

"We have recovered three bodies belonging to two youth and one woman near a dam that falls under Barhat police station," a police official said.

Local media reports said the Naxals suspected the slain to be the police informers and had placed a letter near the bodies.

Police have registered a case and launched a probe into the matter.

Naxalites are also known as "Maoists".

Maoist insurgency has its genesis in the violent left-wing rebellion that began in 1967 at village Naxalbari in Indian state of West Bengal.

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News Report: India Turns the Tide Against Maoist Rebels

The Maoist rebels, who continue to afflict large areas in as many as 10 states of India, have been responsible for killing 12,000 people in the last two decades. But experts say the government's two-pronged approach to tackle Maoist violence is now yielding results.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Data from India's Home Ministry reveals 9,300 civilians have died either at the hands of these Maoist rebels, locally called Naxals, or were victims of crossfire. The silver lining, however, is that there has been a 25 percent reduction in violence perpetrated by these rebels in the last three years.

The casualties to security forces also have come down as much as by 42 percent between May 2014 and April 2017 as compared to May 2011-April 2014 period, according to the home ministry data.

These trends are also dotted with major attacks on security forces, including the April 24 assault on a paramilitary division that claimed the lives of 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel. The attack was the deadliest since the April 2010 attack in Dantewada, also in Chhattisgarh state, in which 76 personnel were killed.

News Story: Indian police detains 18 rebels for deadly ambush on security forces

NEW DELHI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Indian police have nabbed 18 left-wing Naxalite rebels in connection with the killing of 25 para-military troopers in an ambush in the central state of Chhattisgarh last month.

"All the 18 Naxalites are being interrogated to establish their involvement in the attack in the Chintalnar and Chintafuga areas of the state's Sukma district. Those detained include some rebels who carried rewards on their heads and wanted in several cases," a police official said Sunday.

Earlier this month, police took into custody some 11 left-wing rebels for their alleged involvement in the ambush on Indian security forces. "With the latest detention, the number of Naxalites in custody in the case has risen to 29," the official added.

The 25 troopers of the para-military Central Reserve Police Force were killed on April 24 in a fierce gunfight with some 300 armed Naxalite rebels who had laid the ambush on them near Kala Pathar close to the Burkapal-Chintagufa area in Sukma.

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News Story: Indian police nab 11 left-wing rebels for fatal ambush on security forces

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Indian police said on Thursday that they have taken into custody 11 left-wing Naxalite rebels in connection with the killing of 25 para-military troopers in an ambush in the central state of Chhattisgarh last month.

"Around 11 of them have been taken into custody and all of them belong to the Chintalnar and Chintafuga area of the Sukma district where the ambush took place. They are being interrogated," P. Sundarraj, deputy inspector general of Chhattisgarh police, told the media.

"If there is any evidence of involvement... they would be arrested and prosecuted before court. Efforts are also on to nab all the perpetrators of the attack," he added.

The 25 troopers of the para-military Central Reserve Police Force were killed on April 24 in a fierce gunfight with some 300 armed Naxalite rebels who had laid the ambush on them near Kala Pathar close to the Burkapal-Chintagufa area in Sukma.

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News Story: Death toll of Indian paramilitary troopers in Naxal attack rises to 26, Modi expresses grief

by Peerzada Arshad Hamid

NEW DELHI, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of India's paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in a Naxalite attack Monday rose to 26 in Chhattisgarh state, officials said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the attack "cowardly" and said his government was closely monitoring the situation in the state.

"Attack on CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh is cowardly and deplorable. We are monitoring the situation closely," Modi said. "We are proud of the valor of our CRPF personnel. The sacrifice of the martyrs will not go in vain."

At least 26 CRPF personnel were killed and several others wounded, some of them critically, after Naxals attacked them during the day near Chintagufa in Sukma district, about 398 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"We have lost 26 men in the gunfight," a senior CRPF official M Dinakaran told media. "The wounded personnel have been evacuated by helicopters and condition of few of them is stated to be critical."

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News Story: Indian police kills 6 Naxals in Chhattisgarh gunfight

NEW DELHI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Six Naxals were killed and two policemen wounded Saturday in a fierce gunfight in India's central state of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The gunfight broke out at Dantewada district, about 350 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"Today six armed insurgents were killed in Dantewada district," a police official said. "The District Reserve Group (DRG) of police was on a search operation in Burgum- Toyapara hills near Aranpur of southern Bastar region when the maoists fired upon them this afternoon. The team responded swiftly and has succeeded in killing at least six Naxals."

Police officials claim they have recovered three bodies and three assault rifles from the spot.

According to police, the two DRG Jawans were removed to the nearest medical facility for treatment.

Reports said paramilitary reinforcements were rushed to the area and stand-off was going on between Naxals and policemen when the last reports poured in.

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News Report: Maoist Insurgents Kill 11 Indian Armed Police in Chhattisgarh State

At least 11 Indian security forces personnel were killed in a Naxalite insurgent attack in the south of the central state of Chhattisgarh, local media said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Maoist rebels opened fire on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol in the state's Sukma district, The Times of India newspaper reported, citing police officials.

Earlier reports said, quoting Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, that the death toll was nine.

The attackers reportedly seized almost a dozen weapons from those killed alongside two radio sets.

The patrol was on a road opening mission to secure a stretch of road running through dense forests.

The Maoists, widely known as the Naxalites or the Naxals, have been fighting the Indian government since the 1960s and currently operate in a number of central and eastern states, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. The armed far-left groups conduct guerrilla warfare while hiding in some of India's densest forests, targeting security forces and government officials.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: IED blast kills 3 in India's Chattisgarh state

NEW DELHI, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two women and a 14-year-old girl were killed and four others wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police said on Thursday.

The IED explosion took place Wednesday evening at village Ghodagaon in Narayanpur district, about 229 km southwest of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"Last evening in an improvised explosive blast here, two women and a 14-year-old girl were killed, and four other women were wounded," a police official said. "It is believed the women have accidentally stepped on the IED planted by Naxalites."

Police officials said the Naxalites might have planted the IED to target police and paramilitary troops in the area.

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