Hunt on for Maoists after Lalgarh battle

A massive hunt is on to track down Maoists who fled after a gun battle that left eight of them dead near this rebel stronghold in West Bengal, the state police chief said Thursday.

'Search operations are on in some localities from where we are getting information that the Maoists may have taken shelter after running away from the Ranjha forest,' Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh told IANS from Kolkata.

In a major success, security forces raided a Maoist camp in Duli village Wednesday and killed the eight, including three women, after a six-hour gunfight. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized from the site.

While Bhupinder Singh claimed that 12 Maoists may have been killed, with four bodies taken away by their comrades, a police officer here said: 'We are getting information that many more Maoists were killed.' 'We can't give you the exact figure without verification,' Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) Anish Sarkar told IANS.

The Maoists have admitted that five of the dead were members of their armed wing, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA).

While Arjun was a 'sectional deputy commandant', the other four were identified as Mangal as well as Malati, Ragho and Ganga - all three women.

An injured boy in his teens, arrested from the spot, is to be produced in a court Thursday.

Meanwhile, the pro-Maoist People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) has put up a banner at the entry in Duli village calling the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) 'hooligans' and blaming the police and paramilitary forces for the killings.

Following information that 40-45 rebels had set up base in the forest, the paramilitary troopers and state police raided the spot under Sarkar's leadership.

With the recovery of AK-47 assault rifles, the police are suspecting that a high-ranking rebel leader could have been present there.

Under the Maoist chain of command, only a senior leader is permitted to carry an AK-47. Top Maoist leader Koteshawar Rao alias Kishanjee carries an AK-56.

Apart from West Midnapore, Maoists are active in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal.

Source http://sify.com/news/hunt-on-for-maoists-after-lalgarh-battle-news-national-kgrokebgfbi.html

Maoists 'killed' in India operation

The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of rural poor

Indian police in the north-eastern state of Jharkhand say they have killed 10 Maoist rebels in a major operation.

Eight rebel camps were destroyed during the ongoing offensive in the Borahat jungles of West Singbhum district, officials said.

Six policemen injured in the operation were airlifted to hospital, police said.

Authorities have been under pressure following a wave of Maoist-led violence in recent months.

Last month, more than 145 people were killed when a train crashed in neighbouring West Bengal state after Maoist rebels allegedly sabotaged the rail track.

Increasing attacks

India's state-run broadcaster All India Radio reported that some 2,000 policemen participated against the rebels in the ongoing operation.

Reports say the police had found a number of mines in the rebel camps.

Thousands have died in the rebels' decades-long fight against the state.

Maoist rebels have in recent months stepped up attacks in response to a government push to flush them out of their jungle bases.

Indian forces launched the offensive in what is known as the "red corridor" - a broad swathe of territory in rural eastern and central India where the Maoist rebellion has been gathering strength.

Nearly 50,000 federal paramilitary troops and tens of thousands of policemen are taking part in the operation in several states, including Jharkhand.

In April, 76 paramilitary troops were killed in an ambush - the single biggest attack on the Indian security forces by the rebels.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.

Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8738171.stm