NAXALISM IN MAHARASHTRA 2011

Maharashtra Timeline 2011

 Date

 Incidents

January 2

 A sympathiser of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Sudhir Dhawale was arrested at Wardha railway station in Wardha District.

January 4

 Two Maoist cadres identified as Srinivas alias Sachin Ailayya Zumble (27) and Bhaskar alias Akshay alias Sachin Kore (27) were arrested in a Police raid in Saundad village in Gondia District.

January 11

 Constable Manikrao Khadse received bullet injury after cadres of the CPI-Maoist fired upon a combined SF from Kasansur Police Station near Punnoor village in Etapalli Tehsil of Gadchiroli District.

Police seized 300 Maoist pamphlets aimed to popularise CPI-Maoist doctrine, letters written in Gondi language, paper clippings about Maoist activities and the Government's efforts to bring the activities under control, banners against the Government and in support of Naxalism (LWE) and incriminatory documents and from the room of one Jeevan Kolhe (30) in Yavatmal District.

January 14

 Security Forces and cadres of the CPI-Maoist exchanged fire at Gudekasa forest, around 10 kilometres away from Murumgaon in Gadchiroli District. "It was probably a section of the military dalam.

January 15

 Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist triggered a low-intensity landmine blast in Yerkad in Dhanora Tehsil in Gadchiroli District. In the blast a Police jeep was damaged and Prashant Muktavaram, the jeep driver, sustained some cuts, Police said.

January 22

 SF personnel recovered about 32 kilograms of explosives planted by the cadres of the CPI-Maoist near Repanpalli-Chhlewada village in Aheri Taluka in Gadchiroli District. Dog squads and a special Police party, deployed in the area, stumbled upon a cable line during a demining operation on the road stretch, which led to recovery of the explosives and 95 metres of wire from the area, the Police said.

February 1

 Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, made an urgent plea for central assistance for its ongoing modernization of the Police Force in view of the State's rapid urbanization and the terror threats it faces.

February 4

 The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will recruit 53,200 constables for Central para-military forces through a common recruitment examination, SSC Chairman N K Raghupathy said in Mumbai.

February 5

 A group of armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist opened fire at Laheri Police Station, under Bhamragarh division, in Gadchiroli District. The exchange of fire between Police and the Maoists continued for a long time, Police said, adding that no casualty had been reported in the incident so far.

A group of cadres of the CPI-Maoist numbering about 30 to 40 came to the site of under-construction Piperkhari Gauritola Road near Piperkhari village of Deori tehsil in Gondia District and set ablaze a road roller.

February 9

 An alleged CPI-Maoist cadre Bhimrao Bhowate alias Bhanu was taken into Police custody for his reported involvement in Left-Wing Extremist activities in Nagpur. Bhowate was arrested along with his wife Sunanda alias Megha and three others by the Gondia Police in December 2010. Maoist literature and other pro-revolutionary material had been recovered from them.

February 10

 Cadres of the CPI-Maoist set up a memorial to pay homage to the martyrs of century-old Bhoomkal movement on the side of a highway connecting Maharashtra with Chhattisgarh in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District and put up a stone in the middle of the road and tied a banner that urged the Government to withdraw the Operation Green Hunt. [Bhoomkal movement was launched by the tribals against the British rule.] Teams of Gadchiroli District Police, C-60 commandos and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad rushed to the place after wires were spotted near the memorial. The stuck traffic was released gradually after the Police removed the obstacle.

March 12

 A missing youth from Bihar, identified as Santosh Gulab Mishra (25) was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Wangejhari area in Etapalli Taluka of Gadchiroli District. The Police said Mishra was missing from his house in Bihar since the last five months.

March 13

 Sadashiv Lengure (45), deputy Sarpanch of Repanpalli gram panchayat and ward member at Chhallewada in Aheri Taluka was suspected to be killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District. Lengure, also a Congress party worker had gone to Kamlapur in the morning and on his way back to Chhallewada he was being killed by the suspected cadres, Police said.

March 15

 The West Bengal Police took the custody of a suspected CPI-Maoist cadre identified as Akher Abdul Gaffar Mandal (35), who was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Tata Nagar hutments at Govandi on March 10. "Mondal was accused in the Explosives and Arms case in 2003 and the Arms Act case in 2007. With his accomplices, he had attacked Naroliya Anchal panchayat office on December 23 last year and killed the village pradhan using country-made arms and bombs." Rakesh Maria, ADG (ATS), said. "Following the murder, Mandal escaped from West Bengal and took refuge in Pune for some time, before coming to Mumbai. We have informed the West Bengal Police and a team is on its way to take his custody," said Maria.

March 19

 The District Police's C-60 commando units engaged the CPI-Maoist cadres led by Dhanora Dalam area commander Dinkar in an encounter in Shivanghat forest in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District. The encounter lasted for around 40-minutes before the Maoists started retreating. "There may not be any confirmation of casualties on the Maoists side but witnesses claimed that a couple of injured were dragged away," ASP, Chandrasekhar Meena said. The Police recovered six pittus (backpacks), one claymore mine, one SLR magazine with 20 live cartridges, around five detonators, about 100-feet wire, two sacks in which weapons and ammunitions are carried and two Maoists dairies including one of Dinkar. Among the materials recovered were posters against the Chhattisgarh Government and its Chief Minister Raman Singh in particular. There were other Maoists literatures too. It referred to the outfit’s ideologies and criticism of the Paramilitary Forces.

March 20

 A group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres reportedly killed Keju Damaji Ichami (60) in Jabti-Khandi village in Gadchiroli District. About 20 to 25 armed Maoists, including women, woke up Ichami from his house and forcibly took him to a nearby forest and killed him by attacking with sharp weapons, the Police said adding that the motive of the killing was not immediately known.

March 26

 Salwa Judum leader from Chhattisgarh, K Madhukar Rao will undertake a three-day public awareness campaign against CPI-Maoist in Bhamragarh tehsil of Gadchiroli District. Rao, started the Salwa Judum campaign in Chhattisgarh in June 2005, at Karkeli village of Bijapur District, will address rallies of people in Lahiri, Bhamragarh and Bhatpar villages. SP Veeresh Prabhu said, "He sought permission for rallies. So, we made enquiry about him with our counterparts in Bijapur where he belongs. We got positive reports, so we decided to allow him. Rao is going to create awareness among tribals about how Maoists have been throttling development, how they have unleashed a culture of violence and how they don’t follow what they preach."

March 29

 Ranchi Police arrested two cadres of the CPI-Maoist, including a dalam ‘commander’ in Shahada tehsil of Nandurbar District. On a tip off, a team of Ranchi Police in collaboration with their Nandurbar counterparts arrested the two cadres identified as Chhotu Singh Munda (25) and Budharam Munda (30), both residents of Baredi village of Tamad tehsil in Ranchi District, the Police said. Besides their suspected involvement in a 2009 landmine blast in Jharkhand in which four Policemen were killed, the two were also wanted in cases of abduction and rape. Police said the Maoists, who had fled from Ranchi, worked in Malkapur of Buldhana District, before adopting fake aliases of Shukva Munda and Barish Munda in a ginning mill in Untavad in Shahada tehsil.

March 30

 The cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted a person from Nehalkal village and killed him on suspicion of him being a Police informer in Korchi tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The dead body of the slain, Budharam Pudo (35), was recovered on Kotgul-Sonepur road on March 31 Sources said that a band of Maoists reached the village during late night hours and summoned Pudo out of his house. They accused him of being a Police informer and took him with them in the forest, killed him and threw his dead body along the road some one-and-a-half kilometer away from Kotgul Police outpost.

April 2

 A former CPI-Maoist cadre and three Policemen of SAP (Anti-Maoist Operation) were arrested by the Police in Gadchiroli District. According to Police, surrendered Maoist Raghu alias Jalmasai Sadmake (38) along with three constables identified as Ratan Gorgunda (31), Peta Mara Talandi (30), and Deepak Madhavrao Atram (29) entered the house of local businessman, Manoj Motilal Makhija, in village Kadholi in Kurkheda Tehsil and looted INR 40,000 at gun point. The accused demanded INR One million from Motilal and threatened to blow up his truck, parked outside, before decamping with INR 40,000 cash, the Police said.

April 8

 A Police constable, Dhananjay Mhaske was killed in an encounter between Special Operation Squad and CPI-Maoist cadres near Kandoli village in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli District. While three more constables, Shankar Pungati, Prashant Mesharam and Sunil Tore were injured in the incident. Police sources said that a C-60 party was carrying out anti-Maoists operations in the jungle near Kandoli village when lurking Maoists ambushed the troopers at around 4pm, according to The Times of India. The troopers retaliated, and an encounter started between the two sides. ASP, Aheri Ranjan Kumar Sharma confirmed the death of one of the troopers in the encounter with the Maoists.

April 10

 The State DGP Ajit Parasnis admitted while talking to reporters in Nagpur, that the Naxals (LWE) too had developed a strong intelligence network parallel to that of the Security Agencies. Parasnis visited Gadchiroli District Police Headquarters along with a team of the senior officers of State Police and Central Paramilitary Forces to pay homage to C-60 trooper Dhananjay Mhaske, killed in an encounter with the cadres of the CPI-Maoist on April 8. "The DGP also had a brief discussion with the senior officials about the compensation package that can be offered to the injured C-60 commando. The top Police Officer had been repeatedly assuring the jawan that he would stand by his family too," said the hospital source. Parasnis, apart from attending a meeting of the personnel to hear their grievances, also took review of the law and order situation in the District. The DGP is learnt to have spent time with the senior officials discussing the details of the security arrangement and anti-Naxal operation tactics. "We had gone for a search operation after there was an input regarding presence of Naxals in that particular area. Like the Police Parties had the input regarding the Naxals, the rebels too had managed to gather information about Police presence," said Parasnis.

April 11 Chichgarh squad of Anti-Naxal (LWE) Special Action Force recovered arms and ammunition from CPI-Maoist hideouts between Chichgarh and Maisuli forests in Gondia District. This ammunition was being accumulated here for some future attack in this region. The estimated cost of this ammunition is over INR 16,000. While the Chichgarh anti-Naxal squad was on routine combing operation, it received a tip-off that some ammunition has been stashed away in the forest. The squad recovered the cache that included two stengun magazines, one stengun, 9mm pistols with 56 live rounds and material related to Maoist movement.

April 19 Six CRPF troopers were injured in an encounter with the CPI-Maoist cadres in the forests of Khobramendha near Malewada village under Wadsa division of Gadchiroli District. One of the injured troopers, identified as Mahendra Singh from Punjab, later died of his injuries. Viresh Prabhu, SP, Gadchiroli said that the encounter started following CRPF troopers getting information about heavy Maoists presence in the Khobramendha forest. "We suspected couple of deaths from the Naxalite (LWE) side as heavy firing witnessed from both the sides," he said. However, the District administration could not find a single body of Naxalite at the site.

The security agencies in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are verifying the death of Mangal Singh Korchami alias Diwakar, 'commander' of the Tippagarh dalam and 'secretary' of the North Gadchiroli division of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee in Nagpur. Diwakar's family in Talwargarh village in North Gadchiroli received the news of the death through a letter supposedly sent by his dalam. Police sources say that Diwakar wanted to start a separate outfit. The Tippagarh dalam was largely responsible for the 51 Police deaths in 2009.

April 20 A senior CPI-Maoist couple, identified as 'commander' Surya alias Ramesh Gawde and his wife Jamuna alias Dasri Atram, belonging to the Sironcha dalam, surrendered before the Police in Gadchiroli District. According to the Police, they escaped from their place of posting in Chhattisgarh to reach the Gadchiroli SP office a few days ago. "It is a big surrender. They have been senior cadres in dalams since 2005. While Surya is 26, Jamuna is 20. They contacted me from Chhattisgarh saying they wanted to give up arms since they were feeling suffocated and wronged," SP Veeresh Prabhu said. The couple is involved in at least 10 cases of crimes, including firing on the Police, arson and murders, the SP claimed.

Top Police officials of Gadchiroli District visited Kandholi and other nearby villages and met the locals as part of a drive to boost confidence of villagers in the anti-Naxal (LWE) fight. They engaged the villagers in the discussion to fight the Maoists. A large number of villagers turned up for the meeting and vowed to fight the extremists, the Police said.

April 19 Mangal Singh Korchami alias Diwakar, a top ranking Naxal (LWE) leader was killed by dalam members of the CPI-Maoist in Nagpur District. Diwakar was the 'commander' of the Tippagarh dalam and 'secretary' of the North Gadchiroli division of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) in Nagpur.

April 25 The ATS arrested a top cadre of the CPI-Maoist identified as Anjali Sontakke alias Angela, was arrested from Thane District. Anjali is also known by other names like Kavita, Sunita Patil, Iskara and Rama.

April 26 The ATS arrested a woman cadre of the CPI-Maoist identified as Sushma Ramteke alias Shraddah Gurav alias Arti (27), from a rented apartment in Talaopali area in Thane District.

April 27 Three women CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Mayuri Bhagat alias Jenny (23), Jyoti Chorghe (19) and Anuradha Sonule (23) were arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Pune District.

April 28 Maoist cadre identified as Siddharth Bhosale alias Jeeva (24), aide of Sonule was arrested from Chandawa area in Nashik District, ATS Chief Rakesh Maria said. He was produced before a local court on April 29 and was remanded to Police custody till May 3.

May 1 61 tribal youths from Gadchiroli District, arrested for reported links with CPI-Maoist, have written a letter to the Chief Minister, on the occasion of 51st anniversary of creation of Maharashtra, threatening to go on a hunger strike to protest their detention without trial.

15 CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'commander', a 'deputy commander' and seven women cadres, surrendered before Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil in Gadchiroli District. The 'commander' was identified as Suryu Ramesh Violla Gawde (26), while the 'deputy commander' was identified as Shekar Duge (26), the Police added.

May 5 A landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist cadres killed six persons of a family, including a five-year-old boy, on Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon road near Tavitola village in Dhanora Police Station limit in Gadchiroli District. Gadchiroli SP S Veeresh Prabhu, said, "It is very shocking the way Naxals LWE didn't bother to check on their target before triggering the blast." Naxals are learnt to have followed up the blast with constant firing on the victims.

The deceased were identified as Tarulata Sarkar (70), Pushplata Verma (42), Santosh Verma (45), Aakash Verma (5), Shankari Biswas (30) and driver Rais (28) while the four injured persons were Ishika Das (11), Mita Biswas (40), Mrs Rai (45), and Manoram Sarkar (28).