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Karnataka Timeline 2009

Date

Incidents

January 18

Four landmines, concealed near a bridge, were recovered and defused by the Police at Kyatagana Perla village near Pavagada in the Tumkur District. Police said a senior CPI-Maoist cadre, Peddanna, who was in the custody of the Andhra Pradesh Police and had been brought by the Pavagada Police for questioning in the Venkataramanahalli incident in which nine Policemen were shot dead, revealed that he had concealed the landmines under a bridge.

Two suspected armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist managed to escape on the plea of bringing the arms license from their home when Policemen tried to arrest them during a combing operation in the Nooralbettu forest of Udupi District.

February 4

A joint combing operation was launched by the Police and Anti-Naxal Squad to arrest the CPI-Maoist cadres who had attacked the villagers at Bidargodu in the Theerthahli taluk of Shimoga District. The security personnel carried out search operation in Maoist affected villages of Hosagadde, Karekumbri, Malndur, Balehalli, Gardergadde, Nemmaru and Bukkibyle in the Agumbe area. Wall posters pasted by the CPI-Maoist cadres justifying their assaults on the villagers were found in the Bidragodu village.

February 20

Literature belonging to the CPI-Maoist denouncing development projects being taken up against the wishes of locals was found at Kabbinale under Hebri Police Station limits in the Udupi District. In addition, a person, identifying himself as belonging to the Vishwa Karavali area committee of the CPI-Maoist, called up an office at Mangalore stating that they had put up the posters denouncing such projects and asking its promoters to stop work.

March 2

The anti-Naxal force have intensified combing operations after a group of CPI-Maoist cadres visited a house in a village near Hebri, a CPI-Maoist affected location, in the Udupi District.

March 5

The CPI-Maoist held a meeting of the villagers after conducting a house-to-house visit to invite the villagers to the meeting at Talagar near Bukkadibail in Sringeri taluk in the Chikmaglur District. The CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as B G Krishnamurty, Mundagar Lata and Prabha, were among the five-member Maoist team which organized the meeting. They also paid 'glorious tributes' to the slain CPI-Maoist cadres, Manohar, Devaiah and Ravi, who died in Police encounters, sang 'revolutionary songs' and criticised the Government policies.

March 17

Two constables of the Anti-Naxal Force were injured when a group of armed CPI-Maoist cadres lobbed grenades at the SF personnel during a combing operation in the forests near Matuvalli village in the Sringeri Taluk of Chikmagalur District. The Maoists exploded about eight grenades during the encounter, which immediately followed the incident, added the report.

March 18

The DGP Ajai Kumar Singh said at a press conference in Sringeri that the Karnataka Police will further strengthen the anti-Naxal force by infusing additional officials besides making strategic changes to control left-wing extremist activities in the Western Ghats. According to the DGP, "Four Deputy Superintendents of Police and 200 personnel will be provided additionally to the Force."

March 24

Eight cadres of the CPI-Maoist visited houses in and around Muklupadi and Murantebail near Muniyal in the Udupi District and distributed pamphlets. The Maoists called on the residents to boycott the forthcoming Parliamentary elections in April 2009. The Maoists also pasted the same pamphlet at the Muklupadi bus terminal.

April 12

Police arrested three sympathizers of the CPI-Maoist and recovered a huge cache of explosives in three separate incidents in the Chikmagalur District. In a joint operation launched in Koppa, Sringeri, N. R. Pura, Jayapura and Belehonnur, Police seized 100 kilograms of explosive material, ammonium nitrate, 50 gelatine sticks, 10 detonators and pamphlets containing Maoist literature from the house of a person, identified as Nazir, in the Kachige village of Megunda revenue division. Based on information extracted from Nazir, they later raided the house of one Hamid from Baisigadde in Heggarkodige and recovered 23 detonators, 150 kilograms of explosives, ammonium nitrate and 70 gelatine sticks. In addition, Manju and Afsar, who were carrying explosives within the Balehonnur Police Station limits, were also arrested and 33 detonators, 58 gelatine sticks, 100 metres of electric wire, five kilograms of explosives and ammonium nitrate were recovered from their possession. According to the Superintendent of Police M. N. Nagaraj, the arrestees were tacitly supporting Maoist activities.

April 28

Five CPI-Maoist cadres and 30 of their sympathizers were arrested from unspecified locations as a preventive measure in the wake of the call for boycott by the outfit of the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) polls ahead of the third phase on April 30. Police sources said three of the arrested Maoists were involved in triggering off an explosion by throwing a hand grenade at Matholli in Sringeri recently, in which two Policemen were injured. Two other Maoists were wanted in connection with a murder case at Odeyarmath in Sringeri.

May 5

Chikmagalur District Police arrested six left-wing extremists from Sringeri in connection with a string of attacks that took place in the region in the last four years. The arrested extremists included Vijaya Kumar, an activist of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and two forest department employees.

May 30

The Anti-Naxal Force arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Suresh Nay and his wife Horale Saroja, and seized a cache of arms, ammunition and Maoist literature from their possession in Tumkur District. "Two 9 mm carbines without barrels, 28 live cartridges of 88 mm rifle, 129 cartridges of 7 mm rifle, 83 cartridges of 0.303 rifles, 86 gelatin sticks, 200 detonators and Maoist literature were recovered from their possession," said DGP Ajai Kumar. The arrested duo was involved in the burning of a State owned Transport Corporation bus at Agumbe in the Shimoga District on July 1, 2007, Singh added.

June 1

A joint team of the ANF and Police led by the Beltangady Circle Inspector Gangi Reddy recovered 10 guns and arrested a person during a search operation at a illegal gun manufacturing unit located in the Kavalamudoor village of South Kanara District.

June 14

The Hubli-Dharwad Police arrested a woman, identified as Vijaya Nayak, the 26-year old daughter of Suresh Nayak of Belalakatte, for suspected links with the CPI-Maoist late in the evening of. She was arrested near Old Hubli bridge when she was returning to her village in a bus. Sources said Vijaya was a friend of Maoist Manohar, who was killed in an encounter in November 2008. After Manohar''s death, she had come out of the Maoist camp due to failing health. She had reportedly come to Hubli from Shiralakoppa via Gadag to get medical aid. She got herself examined at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli on June 13 and was on her way back when the Police arrested her.

July 24

The CPI-Maoist urged tribals who are living in Kudremukh National Park area in Chikmagalur District to take up their traditional weapons to fight the State Government and to protect themselves from eviction. In a letter sent to newspaper offices, the Maoist Area Committee member Kamala said until now the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was spreading just religious communalism to oppress minorities but now it has assumed a fascist face and started training guns on farmers, tribals and workers.

August 17

A group of 13 cadres of the CPI-Maoist entered the house of Narasimha Murty, father of the Dakshina Kannada District Crime Intelligence Bureau Inspector Venkatesh Prasanna, located at Kigga near Sringeri in Chikmagalur District in the night and threatened the family members of dire consequences, before leaving. While three of the cadres reportedly had .303 guns with them, three others had AK-47 guns. The other cadres wielded SLRs.

August 21

Police personnel were engaged in an exchange of fire with a group of Maoists at Edadalli, about 125 kilometres from Chikmagalur, an unnamed Police official said. The reports said that a Police team which spotted 10 Maoists during combing operations launched in the morning, asked them to surrender but the insurgents opened fire. The encounter between the two sides continued till the afternoon. Two Naxalites were injured in the incident. Police also recovered army grenades, electronic detonators, radio, walkie-talkie, large quantity of ammunition, condoms, medicines, letters addressed to different media groups, household utensils among other things from the encounter site.

August 22

In the second such incident in two days in Karnataka, the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) and Naxalites (Left-Wing extremists) exchanged fire at Alamadi village near Augumbe in the Shimoga District. According to reports, a group of extremists fired at the Police team, which was combing the area following a tip-off about the movement of the Naxalites.

September 13

A group of cadres of the CPI-Maoist led by B. G. Krishamurty, comprising Mundagaru Lata, Hosagadde Prabha, Srimati and four other women cadres, threatened the villagers of Sheerlu village of Sringeri taluk (revenue division) in Chikmagalur District with dire consequences when the Maoists had to retreat from the village due to stiff resistance offered by the villagers.

September 22

The State Government agreed to provide night vision goggles and bullet-proof jackets to the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) to combat armed Naxals (left wing extremists) in the Kudremukh foothills of Chikmagalur District and all other Naxalite-affected areas. The Western Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gopal Hosur said that 543 ANF personnel, working in Chikmagalur, South Kanara and Udupi Districts, will get these gadgets and bullet-proof helmets. "Orders have been placed with BEL Company at Machalipattana who manufacture night vision glasses at the cost of Rs 1.96 lakh", Gopal Hosur said, adding, "These things are very much necessary while tracking their movements in night in the terrain."

October 13

Two sympathisers of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Narayanan (32) and Chandru (28), were arrested while pasting posters relating to left-wing extremism in the Chikmagalur District.

October 24

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist visited three villages - Koodlu in the Udupi District, Melugadde in Shimoga District and Uluvadi in the Sringeri taluk (administrative division) of Chikmagalur District. The Maoists sought support from the villagers and urged them not to inform the Police. A 22-member CPI-Maoist team visited nearly 20 houses. It is learnt that Vikram Gowda paid visit to Udupi District and B. G. Krishnamurthy to Chikmagalur District along with their team.

October 28

The Government of Karnataka will rehabilitate Maoists who are willing to lay down arms, according to Home Minister V. S. Acharya. At the inauguration of the Internal Security Wing office Acharya confirmed that the Government will help Maoists who want to surrender. According to him, Maoist activity in Karnataka is lower than in other parts of the country. "The Police are doing well to control sporadic incidents," he said.

November 20

The Police arrested three suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in Bangalore. The arrestees were identified as Asha, Devendrappa alias Vishnu and Geetha alias Gangamma. Mahesh alias Kiran (31), a native of Raichur who had been residing in Bangalore, was arrested at the KSRTC bus stand on November 19. On interrogation, he had revealed that he was a member of the CPI-Maoist and 'state secretary' of Karnataka Janandolana Samithi. Based on his disclosure and on inputs from Andhra Pradesh Police, a joint raid was conducted by Karnataka Anti-Terrorist Cell and Shimoga Police at Muddamma Badavane, Chikkabanavara in Bangalore and the three were arrested.

Devendrappa, a law dropout, had been active as a student leader and organised the students through Pragathipara Vidyarthi Kendra. He later joined the 'central committee' of the Maoist movement as a member. Devendrappa was also involved in the Panchavati Colony movement organized by Parvathi, who had been killed in the Idu encounter. Police said he had narrowly escaped during that encounter. He also worked in Vimukti, a magazine edited by Saketh Rajan, who was killed in the Menasinahadya encounter. Asha studied at Sahyadri College and Kuvempu University and was active in theatre.

November 27

The Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh said that a two-pronged strategy was needed to deal with Naxalism (left wing extremism), which was not serious in Karnataka compared to other States. "Since it is a socio-economic problem, we must listen to their problems and take remedial measures, which the Government is doing. Also, as there is an element of violence, the Police have a role to play," he added. He said that with a view to making the Police Department more accountable and ensuring greater transparency, a notice board with contact numbers of senior officers in the District had been displayed in front of every Police Station in the State. Also, similar boards were displayed at central bus stands in District headquarters which displayed the contact number of the office of the Director-General of Police (DGP). People could directly report their grievances to senior officers or to the office of the DGP.

December 16

The Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) has launched combing operations against the Naxals (Left Wing Extremism) holed up in the thick forests of the Western Ghats spread across Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga Districts. According to Police sources, the operation, which will last for three days have been taken up jointly by the state Reserve Police, ANF and the civil Policemen. The teams have been provided with Global Positioning System to keep track of each other after they fan out.

 

 

 

 

 
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