11 more dead Maoists found in Maharashtra river; toll reaches 33
Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), April 24: The security forces have recovered at least 11 more bodies of suspected Maoists from the Indravati River here early on Tuesday, official sources said.
The bodies, which were bloated and have started to decompose, were found floating on the banks of river which flows along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders.
These 11 Maoists are believed to be from among those who managed to escape to the forests during a gunfight with security forces on Sunday. They must have succumbed to their injuries, an official declining to be identified told IANS.
Searching and combing operations in the entire Gadchiroli district, which has been virtually sealed by the security forces, continues in the jungles, villages, hills and valleys to track and snuff out the Maoists from their hideouts.
At least six Maoists were gunned down in a fresh gunfight in the district, barely 36 hours after Sunday's encounter which left 16 rebels dead.
The fresh encounter took place late on Monday in the Rajaram Kahnhila village in Jimlagatta with the crack commandos of the C-60 force.
A high-ranking commander of the Aheri Dalam, identified as Nandu, is among those killed.
Jimlagatta is 60 km from the scene of Sunday's ambush in which 16 Maoists including three of their high-ranking commanders and seven women were killed.
Other Maoist-infested states besides Maharashtra -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana are on a state of high alert, ever since the state security forces here launched their biggest anti-Maoist operations in around four decades.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
