Security forces kill 28 Naxalites in Bastar region; 185 Maoists eliminated so far in 2024
Dantewada, Oct 4: In one of the biggest operations against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, security personnel killed 28 Naxalites in a fierce encounter in the Bastar region on Friday, a senior police official said.
The gunfight broke out at around 1 pm in the forest between Thulthuli and Nendur villages in Abhujmaad on the Narayanpur-Dantewada inter-district border, when a joint team of security personnel was out on anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI over the phone.
Personnel belonging to the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operation, he said.
Sundarraj informed that 28 Naxalites were gunned down in the encounter.
A cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and one SLR (self-loading rifle), were also recovered from the encounter spot, he said.
Earlier, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai had said around 30 Naxalites were killed in the gun battle.
After the latest encounter, 185 Maoists have been gunned down by security forces in separate gun battles in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Dantewada and Narayanpur, so far this year, police said.
On April 16, as many as 29 Naxalites, including some higher-ranking cadres, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Kanker district.
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Maha Dy Speaker, other tribal leaders jump onto Mantralaya net to oppose ST status to Dhangars
Mumbai, Oct 4: Tribal leaders, including Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, protesting against the demand to include the Dhangar community in the Scheduled Tribe list, on Friday jumped from the third floor of Maharashtra state secretariat Mantralaya on the safety net just a floor below.
No injuries were reported in the incident that saw tense moments unfolding at the six-storey Mantralaya complex.
Zirwal, his fellow Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Kiran Lahamate and BJP tribal MP Hemant Savara were among those who jumped from the third floor onto the safety net installed on the second floor, a precaution taken in response to previous suicide attempts at the site.
The incident occurred around 12.40 pm, a police official said.
The protest, which involved two MLAs and an MP from the ruling Mahayuti alliance, highlighted escalating tensions over the government's handling of tribal issues.
After the police personnel removed these leaders from the net, these tribal representatives then gathered in the ground floor passage and began a sit-in claiming that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not meeting them to discuss the quota issue.
Dhangar or shepherd community in the state is demanding ST category inclusion for the purpose of reservation. But Zirwal and other tribal leaders are protesting against this demand.
"I am an adivasi first and then an MLA and a deputy speaker," Zirwal told reporters when asked what led him to resort to such a protest.
"CM Shinde should meet the protesters," he added.
BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar said Zirwal holds a constitutional post and there is no need to take such an extreme step.
Zirwal said the state government should offer protection to students who have been protesting since a fortnight against the halt to recruitment under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in Maharashtra.
Speaking in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar about the incident, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said, "Zirwal is in the government and a responsible person...The protesters should have spoken to other leaders who are present there. The chief minister meets everyone after the cabinet meeting. Instead of doing such agitations, they should have spoken to the CM first. This kind of protest by Zirwal is unacceptable."
"Caste-related agitations are going on across the state. The CM and two deputy CMs do hold talks with those who wish to discuss issues," he said.
