CPI-Maoist Major Incidents 2016

 

December 29: Three villagers were killed allegedly by Naxalites in Aheri and Korchi tehsils in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra on the suspicion of they being 'informers'. The victims were identified as Laccha Bande Madavi (36) resident of Rumalkasa, Patali Doge Atram (36), resident of Gurja, and Talwarsha Kunjram, resident of Korchi.

November 23: Six CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the CoBRA commandos of the CRPF and the Jharkhand Police in Latehar District of Jharkhand. CRPF, IG, Sanjay Lathkar confirmed the deaths in the encounter that took place in a remote location on the forested banks of the Koel River in area under Chhipadohar Police Station. Six bodies of the rebels in black uniform were recovered. The bodies are yet to be identified, but Police officials said the uniforms worn by the rebels and the weapons found with them indicate they were Maoists of senior rank. "An INSAS rifle, a SLR, a carbine and three other firearms have been recovered from the encounter site. The other members of the Maoist squad fled the spot during the gunbattle," said Latehar SP, Anup Birtharey.

November 19: SFs raided a CPI-Maoist camp and killed at least five Maoists following an encounter in the jungles of Tuspal and Becha Kilam villages in Abujhmaad under Chhotedongar Police Station limits in the Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh. In a joint operation involving SF personnel of Districts of Kondagaon and Narayanpur, SFs stormed the Maoist camp in the forested village of Becha located inside Abujhmaad area early on Saturday morning and busted it in an hour-long operation, Bastar Police said. "The counter-insurgency operation led to decimation of Military Company No. six of CPI (Maoist) and killing of at least half a dozen Naxals. However, we could recover bodies of five Maoists along with their weapons," Narayanpur, SP, Abhishek Meena who camped at Becha to provide a safe corridor to retreating parties engaged in the operation, said. "It was a joint operation carried out by the DRG and the STF of the police," Meena said, adding, "The gun battle lasted for over two hours". The Police seized three rifles of 12 bore, one rifle of 315 bore and articles of daily use from the spot.

November 16: Six CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with SFs near Bugum-Perma forest in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. Anti-Naxal Operations Special DGP, DM Awasthi said that the bodies of the six have been recovered, while many more may have been injured or even killed. "Of these six, three are men, all of them wore uniform and the weapons recovered include 3 303 rifles, 2 12 bore rifles and 1 single barrel weapon among other items.'' He said that two Naxals were captured alive. Chhattisgarh Police sources said that they had received intelligence inputs about the movement of 50 to 60 Maoists holding a meeting on the Dantewada-Sukma border four to five days ago.

October 24-27: SFs killed at least 30 CPI-Maoist cadres in three successive encounters in the Bejingi forest area, between Ramgarh and Panasput, in the Malkangiri District of Odisha. One Greyhound [the elite anti-Maoist force of the AP Police] commando, Mohammed Abu Bakar, was also killed during the operation, while another commando was injured. A large quantity of arms and ammunition, including four AK-47 rifles, 10.303 rifles, three SLRs, two INSAS rifles, and four SBBL guns were recovered from the encounter site. Police also recovered about 50 kit bags, one laptop, INR 216,000 in cash and a large quantity of Maoist literature. Another four Maoists were killed during the subsequent combing operation in the same area on October 25. Two Maoists were also killed in the same area on October 27, yielding a total of 30 Maoists killed in a quick succession of SF operations in the region.

October 1: Suspecting three villagers to be acting as 'Police informers', cadres of the CPI-Maoist abducted them from their home, took them to the forest and later slit their throats in Kanker District of Bastar division in Chhattisgarh. A group of nearly 20-25 armed Maoists entered Hurrapinjori village in Amabeda region and knocked on the doors of three tribal villagers. The rebels dragged them out of the house, thrashed and kicked them and took them to neighbouring village while the families pleaded Maoists to show mercy. Later, in the morning, the bodies of three villagers were found with their throats slit on the road and locals informed the Police. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kanker, ML Motwani said that the three innocent tribals were killed as they were suspected to be 'Police informers'. They were identified as Jain Kumar (22), Anturam Hurra (24) and Manakram Hurra (24). According to the statement given by locals, the rebels who led the group of Maoists were 'divisional committee member' Ramesh and Charagaon LOS 'commander' Sonu.

September 28: Three women CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'commander', were killed in an exchange of fire with SFs in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. The face-off took place between a joint team of SF personnel and rebels in the forests of Gadiras Police Station area, SP of Sukma, Indira Kalyan Elesela said. "We had specific inputs about presence of an armed group of Maoists near village Bade Satti in Gadiras area. So, along with CRPF's 195th battalion and CoBRA's 206th battalion, a team of local Police led by SHO, Gadiras Police Station Mohsin Khan besides two assistant commandants of paramilitaries launched a search operation in the area," he said. The SFs were approaching the interior village, when it came under heavy fire from a squad of the Maoists. The Police retaliated, killing the three extremists while the others fled following an hour long skirmish, Elesela said. During the search, bodies of the three women Maoists along with one muzzle loading gun, one country made revolver, pipe bombs, detonators and several other items were recovered from the spot, he added. "One of the killed ultras has been identified as Bade Satti LOS Commander Anju while the identity of the others is being ascertained," the SP said.

September 26: Three persons were killed and four others were injured when a band of LWE group, PLFI, opened random fire at a gathering in a village in Khunti District of Jharkhand. Following the incident, the Police and the CPRF have launched a massive manhunt in the Naxal-dominated region. The Police said that the PLFI targeted people on the suspicion that they were holding a 'peace meeting'. Villagers in Naxal-hit Districts of Khunti, Ranchi and West Singhbhum (Chaibasa) have been holding peace meetings for over a year, in which they urge people to shun violence and return to the mainstream. Officials said that, although the meeting was not a peace meeting, the attack on hapless villagers was among the biggest incidents by the LWE groups against such initiatives. Police sources said that peace meetings are usually attended by people from more than a couple of villages. The dead have been identified as Deet Munda (45), Raukan Purti (62), and Sukhram Munda (50). The four injured persons - Vikram Purti, Paku Purti, Toto Purti and Sinu Munda. SP of Khunti, Anish Gupta said: "This is clearly to spread terror. The extremist groups are losing their hold on the region and this appears to be an act of panic on their part. The villagers, prima facie, were not holding any peace meeting. We have launched a manhunt and combing operations are on." The incident came to light when villagers of Raitorang brought the dead and the injured to the Sadar Hospital in Khunti. PLFI is a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist.

September 3: Three cadres of LWE, Samrat Giroh, were killed in a fratricidal war with cadres of PLFI in Kashira village under Karra Police Station limits of Khunti District of Jharkhand. The bodies of the three were found by locals on the next day morning, all had multiple bullet injuries. The Samrat Giroh and PLFI share regions of dominance in Karra and Lapung and often indulge in fratricidal war to establish supremacy. The slain extremists were identified as Rahul Swashi, Anil Kumar and Mukesh Singh. "Four persons were targeted by armed men in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The fourth man possibly managed to escape," said Khunti SP Anish Gupta. PLFI is a breakaway faction of CPI-Maoist.

August 17: Four CPI-Maoist cadres including a 'commander-rank' woman cadre were killed while a trooper was injured in an encounter between security personnel and the Maoists in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. The skirmish took place in the wee hours in the restive Dabba-Kunna hills when a joint team of CRPF, DRG and STF was out on an anti-Maoist operation.

August 5: Three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a woman, were killed during an encounter with the DRG of Chhattisgarh Police under Faraspal Police Station limits in Dantewada District. The exchange of fire took place at around 6 am near Kachegat area on the border of Dantewada and Bijapur District, said Bastar Police in a statement. Two 315 bore revolvers and one country made weapon were found from the encounter spot.

July 24-25: CPI-Maoist cadres have killed three civilians including two sons of a surrendered Maoist cadre in Barkol forest range of Latehar District, Jharkhand. A pamphlet found from the spot alleged that the victims were 'Police informers'. According to information after Rampreet Yadav's surrender, the Maoists had been suspecting his two sons Shravan Yadav (32) and Hiralal Yadav (20) along with Shivlal Yadav (22) to be working as 'Police informers'. On July 24, Maoists came to know about Shravan and Hiralal's presence in Barkol area. A team of Maoists went to their houses and took them away to Barkol forest area and gunned them down. The Maoists also went to Shivlal Yadav's house and strangulated him to death by a rope.

July 18: At least 10 CRPF Commandos - belonging to the CoBRA battalion - were killed and three others injured in a CPI-Maoist orchestrated IED blast in the forests of Aurangabad District, Bihar. Initially, the troopers of the CoBRA unit were ambushed in an IED blast after which an encounter started between the two sides resulting in the killing of three Maoists. The incident was reported from Chakarbanda-Dumarinala forests of Aurangabad District. Some arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 rifle, INSAS rifle and UBGL were also recovered from the encounter site.

July 16: At least four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with SF personnel in the forests of Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh. The SFs have recovered four bodies of the Maoists along with rifles, pipe bombs and other supplies during area search. Bastar IGP S.R.P. Kalluri said that a joint force led by Laxman Kewat, Inspector in Charge Awapalli and CoBRA Commander Ashok Kumar carried out the encounter in the forests of Pamed in Bijapur District.

July 10: Four suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed in an encounter with the Police in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. "An encounter took place near Tumnar village of Bijapur district late last night. The spot of the encounter is around five kilometers from Bijapur. Four dead bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far from the spot. The number of Maoists killed is likely to go up," said S.R.P. Kalluri, IGP, Bastar range, in a statement. One 9 mm pistol was also recovered from the spot of the encounter. Two out of four dead Maoists were identified as Ukesh, the LGS 'commander' in Gangaloor area and Raju, the 'section commander' of Company no.2 of the CPI-Maoist.

June 28: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with SFs personnel in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. "The operation was launched collectively by state's District Reserve Group (DRG), CRPF's Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and district force under Gadiras Police Station limits," Sukma SP Indira Kalyan Elesela said. The exercise was carried out on the basis of information about presence of Bhime, a Maoist 'commander' of Badesatti LOS, in the area. "We received inputs that Bhime was camping along with 15-20 armed cadres near Bandem since last night. We mobilised our composite force towards the region to nab him," the officer added. When the SFs reached the forests of Badesatti village armed insurgents opened indiscriminate fire on them, triggering a gun fight between the two sides. "So far, bodies of three Maoists, besides tiffin bombs and other Naxal-related items, have been found," the SP said.

June 27: Suspected PLFI cadres killed six 'criminals' near Horindag rivulet in Tupudana area of Ranchi District, Jharkhand. All the dead bodies along with 15 used cartridges, three motorbikes and six mobile phones - two of them broken into pieces - were found from the spot. Sources identified the victims as Jaquir Hussain, Anil Pahan, Aman Yadav, Manish Pahan, Parwaz and Raza - all in the age group of 20-25 years. IGP, Human Rights and State Police Spokesperson M.S. Bhatia said "Prima facie it seems PLFI is involved in the incident. Preliminary probe suggests those killed were also criminals and Jaquir Hussain was the kingpin. Apart from loot and dacoity, he also used to extort money from businessmen and traders."

June 19: Three senior members of the CPI-Maoist were killed by the Police in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra. "A joint police team of Telangana and Maharashtra police was carrying out an anti-Maoist operation in Kotepalli forest area under Aheri division of Gadchiroli on Sunday morning. The Maoists attacked this joint police team at around 6 am. The police team retaliated the fire and the encounter went on for about an hour. Three senior Maoists were killed in this encounter and the rest of them managed to escape taking advantage of thick forest," said a press statement issued by the SP, Gadchiroli District. The Police also recovered one AK 47, one SLR and one .303 rifle from the spot of the encounter. "The weapons, recovered from the dead Maoists, indicate that they were senior leaders possibly above the rank of Maoist commander, but their identities are yet to be ascertained," added the Police press statement. According to some Police sources from Chhattisgarh, one of the deceased Maoists in Sunday's encounter was Athram Shobham alias Charles from Adilabad District of Telangana. Athram Shobham reportedly worked for Telangana Special Zonal Committee of the CPI-Maoist and carried a reward of INR 400,000 on his head. "Other two look like his bodyguards," informed an officer involved in anti-Maoist operations in restive Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

May 21: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed three villagers in Jamui District of Bihar, bordering Jharkhand, claiming the men were 'Police informers' who facilitated the encounter of Maoist leader Chirag in January, 2016. The victims were killed at Gadi village in Chakai area of the District. Their bodies were recovered by the Police on May 22. While one of the victims - Tipan Mandal (30) - was picked up from his house in Gadi, one Mukesh Kumar Rai (25) was from Chowki, and another Yogendra Turi (35) was brought from Garanga, both villages located in Giridih District of Jharkhand. According to sources, a group of armed men reached Gadi village around midnight and carried out the executions. Police found Maoist posters at the crime scene which stated that the information provided by the victims led to the killing of a front ranking Maoist leader, Chirag, in a Police encounter this January. The Maoists also claimed two of the men killed were SPOs. Meanwhile, Police rejected their claim.

May 4: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with Police in Marripakala forests under Visakha Rural Agency area in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. The encounter took place when a team of Andhra Pradesh Special Police Force personnel was conducting a combing operation in the area under Koyyuru Police Station limits. The Maoists opened fire at the team and Police retaliated, said Babujee Attada, ASP, Operations, Visakha Rural. As per preliminary information, three Maoists were gunned down by Police whereas the other Maoists managed to escape with injuries, Attada said, adding an assault rifle was recovered from the spot. Though the identity of the deceased is yet to be established, one of them is suspected to be a 'commander' of the Galikonda Area Committee of the CPI-Maoist, the ASP said. It is believed that one of the slain Maoist to be dalam (armed squad) 'commander' Gopal alias Azad, adds Indian Express. Gopal carried a reward of INR 400,000 on his head. However, the three are yet to be officially identified.

April 30: At least three suspected women cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed by the anti-Maoist SOG in an encounter in the Sahajkhaol Reserve Forest in Kalahandi District of Odisha. The SP, Kalahandi, Brijesh Rai said that an exchange of fire ensued between SOG jawans and the Maoists around 5 pm near Kutra village under Ampani police outpost of Kalahandi, when the security personnel were undertaking combing operations in the area. "Our operation team is yet to reach the headquarters. We will reveal identity of the Maoists after their return," Rai said. The Police said a few .303 rifles and a 9-mm pistol were also recovered.

April 15: Three CPI-Maoist cadres, including a 'Commander', were killed while planting bomb in Koyaliberda area in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh during the Dandakaranya bandh called by the CPI-Maoist. Kanker Police confirmed the incident on April 17. "The bombs were planted by Maoists to target Security Forces, who were on patrol to avoid any untoward incident during the bandh. Locals, who reached the spot, on hearing the explosion, saw Maoists, including a Local Organising Squad Commander Arjun, lying in a crater formed due to blast," said Kanker Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Meena. Maoists had given a call for 'Dandakaranya Bandh' on April 15, opposing the recent air-to-ground firing exercise carried out by the IAF in Bastar region. The IAF's Garuda Commandos had conducted a special air-to-ground firing exercise in Sukma District on April 1. A similar aerial firing practice was carried out in Bijapur in 2015.

March 30: Seven jawans of the CRPF were killed in a landmine explosion triggered by the CPI-Maoist in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. A vehicle carrying the CRPF's 230th battalion belonging to the Ghusaras CRPF camp in Dantewada were returning after leave for Holi was blown up by Maoists near the Malewara market on the Dantewada-Sukma road. The deceased troopers were identified as Sub-Inspector D. Vijay Raj, Constables Pradeep Tirkey, Rupnarayan Das, Devendra Chourasia, Ranjan Dash and Mritunjoy Mukharjee and driver Saindane Nana Usesing. Three troopers were also injured in the explosion.

March 29: Three CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the SF personnel in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh. A joint operation, of the forces numbering around 700 comprising the DRG, the STF, the ITBP and the CAF, reached their target areas in Sulenga Tirkanar forest under Dhaurai Police Station limits, the Maoists opened heavy firing on them. After a heavy exchange of fire the ultras managed to run away taking advantage of thick forest. Three dead bodies of uniformed Maoists were found after searching the area. "It is estimated that four to five more Maoists have been injured in the encounter and our parties are still searching deep inside the forest for them. All our parties are safe. One INSAS rifle, one 315 rifle and three country-made weapons were also recovered from the spot of the encounter," Bastar range IGP, S.R.P. Kalluri said.

March 17: At least four persons working on a road construction site were killed allegedly by PLFI cadres in a village under Basia Police Station limits of Gumla District of Jharkhand. More than a dozen PLFI cadres reportedly reached Guram Dato Tola village around 11.30 am and opened indiscriminate firing. The deceases have been identified as Rampati Kumar, Ajay Topno, Lalit Sahu and Ravi Shankar Sahu.

March 3-4: Three troopers of CoBRA were killed and at least 15 others were injured in an encounter with CPI-Maoist cadres in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. Officials said while two Commandos, identified as Constables Linju N and Fateh Singh, had succumbed to bullet injuries on March 3, their colleague Lakshman Singh died on March 4. At least 15 others, including CoBRA Commander P.S. Yadav and the chief of the State Polices' DRG, have been injured in the encounter which ended on March 4.

March 1: At least eight members of the Venkatapuram 'area committee' of the CPI-Maoist, which operates in the Bhadrachalam area of Khammam District in Telangana, were killed in an encounter with SF personnel along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border. The Telangana Greyhounds had launched the operation after receiving information about the presence of Maoist leaders in the region, resulting in the encounter which took place in the Sakler area of Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. Along with the dead bodies of the eight slain militants, SF personnel also recovered an AK-47 rifle, three SLRs, several .303 rifles, and ammunition from the encounter spot.

February 19: Four cadres of the CPI-Maoist were killed following a nine-hour encounter with SFs in Taimara valley on NH-33 in Ranchi District of Jharkhand and four firearms were seized, CRPF IG Rakesh Kumar Mishra said. The Police have recovered four dead bodies and a process to identify them is on. All the four dead Maoists were in Maoist fatigue. Two CRPF troopers were injured in the initial hours of encounter.

February 13: Three Maoists were killed in an encounter with SF personnel at Sendra village in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. "Three dead bodies of the Maoists were recovered after an encounter at Sendra village in Bijapur District on Maharashtra- Chhattisgarh border today. The number of Maoists killed is likely to increase. Our parties are still inside the operational area and more encounters are expected," Bastar range IGP S.R.P. Kalluri said in a statement. Five weapons, including one 303 rifle, were recovered from the spot of the encounter.

January 27: Seven Policemen were killed while eight others were injured in a landmine blast by the CPI-Maoist at Chattarpur Block in Palamu District of Jharkhand. The SF personnel were going towards the Kalapahari area in a convoy when their vehicle came under attack. The Jharkhand Police had corned a group of Maoists around Kalapahari area in Chattarpur Block of the District two days ago. The Police and Maoists have since been engaged in encounter. "This afternoon, at around 2 pm, there was heavy exchange of fire between the forces and Maoists and we were rushing in reinforcements, when they were attacked," said an unnamed Jharkhand Police officer.

January 27: Three CPI-Maoist cadres, who were allegedly involved in the Jiram valley attack on Congress leaders in Bastar District on May 25, 2013, were killed in an encounter led by SF personnel at Metapal village in Dantewada District in Chhattisgarh. SP Kamlochan Kashyap said that based on an intelligence tip off provided by the SIB about the presence and movement of the Maoists led to the encounter.

January 15: Four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with the DRG of Bijapur District in Chhattisgarh. "A small team of the DRG Bijapur District, numbering about 50 men, had a successful encounter with the Maoists at village Pedda Jojer under Gangaloor Police Station limits of Bijapur today morning. The DRG team managed to recover dead bodies of four Maoists along with four Bharmars (locally made guns), local grenades and Maoist dump," informed Bastar IGP S.R.P. Kalluri.

January 8: Four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed while one trooper of the CoBRA received bullet injury in an exchange of fire between SFs and Maoists at village Bandh Gorya under Dhibra Police Station area in Aurangabad District of Bihar. SFs also recovered four weapons including one AK-47, one carbine and two pistols from the possession of the Maoists.

Note: C - Civilian, SFs - Security Force Personnel, T - Terrorist

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