Two BSF men injured in Odisha landmine blast

Bhubaneswar: Two BSF personnel were on Wednesday injured in a landmine blast carried out by suspected Naxals in the Malkangiri district of Odisha.

Officials said that a Border Security Force team was on an anti-Naxal operation task in the jungles of the district when an encounter took place between the personnel and the ultras.

Two BSF men--an Assistant Sub-Inspector and a jawan-- were injured after landmines that were placed alongside the track were blasted, they said.

The incident occured around 0930 hours and the injured personnel were being evacuated by an IAF chopper, they said.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/anti-naxal-ops-two-bsf-men-injured-in-odisha-landmine-blast_935614.html

Naxals-CRPF Encounter in Sukma, Ammunition Recovered

A brief encounter took place today between the CRPF and Naxalites in the forests of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh leading to recovery of arms and ammunition.

Officials said the encounter took place under the Gorkha police station area of the Maoist-affected district of Bastar region of the state.

The encounter, after which the Naxals fled, led to the recovery of a gun of local make, two magazines of self-loading rifles, a hand grenade and 23 rounds of other ammunition.

Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area, they said.

Source: http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=841821

This hi-tech gun fires 70 bullets in one go

A new gun has been imported from Germany to help ITBP personnel in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon area to tackle Naxal menace. The gun can fire upto 70 bullets in one go.

According to a report in Punjab Kesari, it weighs 3 kilograms and is powerful enough to fire bullets in a radius of 1.5 kilometres. The gun has to be kept stationary at the time of use as it cannot be carried on the shoulders owing to its heavy weight.

Apart from this gun, several others have also been provided to ITBP which can fire several rounds just by pressing the trigger once.

"These high-tech weapons will prove to be very helpful while dealing with the Naxals," said police officials.

Till a few years ago, the arms that were provided to police were not strong enough to fight off huge Naxal teams. Realising the need for high technology weapons in tackling the ultras, Chhattisgarh government decided to import it from Germany.

Source: http://www.news18.com/news/chhattisgarh/this-hi-tech-gun-fires-70-bullets-in-one-go-will-arm-forces-against-naxals-483483.html

CRPF bravehearts get Kirti, Shaurya chakra

NEW DELHI: Two bravehearts of CRPF, Bhrigunandan Chaudhary, constable of 205 CoBRA and P.R.Mishra, deputy commandant of 203 CoBRA were on Friday awarded the prestigious Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively, by President Pranab Mukherjee in a ceremony organized at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Chaudhary was given the award posthumously. His mother Susheela received the medal on his behalf. Later in the day, the duo was felicitated by CRPF Dilip Trivedi.

Both were awarded the prestigious gallantry awards for showing exemplary courage while fighting Maoists in Bihar and Jharkhand. According to CRPF, constable Chaudhary was leading a group of CRPF men in Chakarbandha forest area of district Gaya (Bihar) on September 8, 2012. The group came under attack from Naxals and a gunbattle ensued. Naxals exploded an IED which critically injured Chaudhary's legs making him immobile. Chaudhary still dragged himself into a trench from where he kept firing until he bled to death.

He even assisted his fellow constable Daleep Singh by changing his gun's magazine and exhorted others to fight fearlessly.

Mishra, who won Shaurya Chakra for neutralising dreaded Naxal leader Jeetendra alias Jeetu, has received five gallantry awards already.

According to CRPF, a joint operation was launched by CRPF from September 6-12, 2012 to neutralise naxal groups congregated at Chatra and Gaya-Palamu trijunction. Mishra formed a core strike group and traversed through the hostile terrain in a pitch dark night with continuous rainfall. "With great risk to his life, Mishra crawled towards the target house. Despite being seriously injured he continued with the assault and as a result the heavily injured naxals had to flee leaving behind dead body of Jeetendra," said a senior CRPF officer.

CRPF is also doing a commendable job of ensuring peaceful elections in the country this year. To date 26 CRPF personnel have died while 37 have been injured during the elctions. In all, the force has recovered 134 IEDs, 60 arms, 548 ammunitions and 860kg of explosives in 53 encounters, till now in this election.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CRPF-bravehearts-get-Kirti-Sharya-chakra/articleshow/34546445.cms

CRPF report reveals nexus between JDU, Naxals for electoral gains

New Delhi: CNN-IBN has accessed a CRPF report which hints at a possible link between Naxals and politicians in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The report says that Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhury sought support of Naxal leaders for Lok Sabha elections.

The report claims that Chaudhary, who is the Janata Dal United's candidate from Jamui, met Naxal leader Sidhu Koda recently and sought his support for his candidature. According to the CRPF report, the Naxals assured Chaudhary of support.

The report quoted top Maoist leaders and businessmen with Naxal links to back the claims.

Dharmendra Chopra, a Chhattisgarh-based businessman who was arrested in January this year for alleged Maoist links, said that many politicians had ties with Naxals.

The report also mentions Chenda Bhushanam, a top Maoist leader who was arrested from Odisha and is alleged to have links with local politicians in the Koraput district of the state.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/crpf-report-reveals-nexus-between-jdu-naxals-for-electoral-gains/462311-37-64.html

Anti-Naxal ops: Two BSF men injured in Odisha landmine blast

Two BSF personnel were today injured in a landmine blast carried out by suspected Naxals in the Malkangiri district of Odisha.

Officials said that a Border Security Force team was on an anti-Naxal operation task in the jungles of the district when an encounter took place between the personnel and the ultras.

Two BSF men--an Assistant Sub-Inspector and a jawan-- were injured after landmines that were placed alongside the track were blasted, they said.

The incident occurred around 0930 hours and the injured personnel were being evacuated by an IAF chopper, they said.

Source: Business Standard 28 March, 2014