Latest news with #Naxals
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Urban Gandhian': Cong responds to ‘Naxal' jibe
Nagpur: CM said he has no issues with anyone calling themselves 'urban Gandhians', and he, in fact, welcomes this. Fadnavis, who was in Wardha on Monday, made the comments after Congress state president Harshvardhan Sapkal said he is an 'urban Gandhian'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sapkal's statement was in response to BJP's allegations that 'urban Naxals' have infiltrated many Gandhian institutions. Earlier, Fadnavis also said Rahul Gandhi is surrounded by people who have extreme left ideological leanings. Fadnavis on Monday said, "I am happy to hear he (Sapkal) realised he is an urban Gandhian. We have no issues. We welcome urban and rural Gandhians." A few days ago, Sapkal said, "I am an urban Gandhian. I am also an urban Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar follower." The mention was targeted at an accusation made by BJP MLA Sumit Wandkhede that urban Naxals had infiltrated Gandhian organisations based in Wardha. The district is home to Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram.
The Hindu
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
What is Maharashtra's new security Bill?
The story so far: The Maharashtra Legislature passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill or a 'Bill to provide for effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organisations or similar organisations', during the recent monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly. The Bill has been termed as 'oppressive, ambiguous and open to misuse' by opposition leaders. What is the Bill? The Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill was brought in to counter 'urban Naxalism', as per the government of Maharashtra. The Bill states that, 'the menace of Naxalism is not only limited to remote areas of the Naxal affected States but its presence is increasing in the urban areas also through the Naxal frontal organisations. The spread of active frontal organisations of the Naxal groups gives constant and effective support in terms of logistics and safe refuge to their armed cadres. The seized literature of Naxals shows 'safe houses' and 'urban dens' of the Maoist network in the cities of the State of Maharashtra.' The Maharashtra government claims that the State has become a safe haven for 'urban Naxal' organisations. It has said that over 60 such organisations exist in Maharashtra, and that current laws are ineffective against them. However, civil rights activists say that the State government has not yet made public the list of these organisations, despite repeated requests. They have alleged that the Bill has been brought about to control left-wing organisations and civil rights activists who had rallied against the BJP in the 2024 Parliamentary elections. What about other States? Maharashtra is the fifth State after Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to enact a Public Security Act 'for more effective prevention of unlawful activities of such organisations.' The government has claimed that the other States have banned 48 frontal organisations under similar laws. But civil rights activists contend that the Public Security Acts in other States were brought in before the promulgation of more stringent pieces of legislation like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. They said that the Maharashtra government itself has claimed to have curbed left-wing armed extremists to only two districts of the State, with the help of currently existing laws, thus questioning the need for such a stringent Act at this time. When was the Bill introduced? The Bill was first introduced by the earlier Mahayuti government at the fag end of the monsoon session of Maharashtra Assembly in 2024. The State elections were held thereafter, and the BJP came back to power along with its allies with a thumping majority. The new government revived the Bill and introduced it during the winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly on December 20, 2024. A day later, a joint committee of members from both the Houses was formed to scrutinise the Bill. The committee received over 12,500 suggestions and objections but made only three amendments to the draft Bill. The activists have called the three changes 'minor'. After being cleared by the joint committee, the Bill was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on July 10. Only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) opposed the Bill. Other opposition parties raised objections, but did not oppose the Bill, which was passed by a majority by a voice vote. Two delegations have since met the Governor requesting him to not sign the Bill and send it back to the Legislature instead. What are the objections to the Bill? The opposition has said that the Bill empowers the government to declare organisations 'illegal' without due process; allows suppression of facts in 'public interest'; allows the government to extend ban on an organisation without any limit on the duration; has the potential to criminalise regular opposition under an ambiguous definition of 'illegal activity'; excludes lower courts from jurisdiction, effectively closing off easy judicial remedies; provides full protection to State officials acting in 'good faith'; and creates grounds for ideologically motivated action against opposition groups, activists and movements. The government has said that democratic and peaceful protests as well as journalists will not come under the Bill's ambit, but the ambiguity in the Bill has given rise to fear that it might be used against farmers' organisations, students' groups, and civil rights groups under the label of 'threat to public order'. For example, Section 2(f) of the Bill criminalises speech (spoken or written), signs, gestures or visual representations which 'tend to interfere' with public order or 'cause concern'. The opposition has said that such a provision allows authorities to criminalise expression, assembly, criticism, ridicule and association merely by indicating that they pose a potential threat. There is no requirement of actual violence, immediate harm or intent. What next? The Bill will become a law once the Governor gives his assent to it. It has been passed by both the Houses and has been sent to him. Meanwhile, civil rights activists and political parties have said they will continue to protest against the Bill and will approach the court against it.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Weapons from Pakistan arming gangsters in Punjab: Cops
Amritsar: Apprehensions of cross-border arms smugglers in Pakistan expanding their network in India continue to grow amid regular seizures of guns and ammunition along the neighbouring country's border in Punjab. Amritsar senior superintendent of police (rural) Maninder Singh said they had seized 170 weapons of different makes along the Pak border since Jan, with a bulk of the illegal firearms being dropped by drones. He said there were not many incidents when the supply of firerarms smuggled from Pakistan via Punjab was found in the insurgency-hit states of India or in the hands of Naxals. He, however, said that in the past, Telangana-bound improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized in Ambala. "But not many cases have come to light wherein arms were being sold to other terrorist-hit regions of India," he said. A police source said a majority of these weapons are smuggled to arm gangsters in Punjab. "Most of the gangsters in the region are armed with at least two-three pistols each, so the demand is high," said the source. Most of the small weapons, including Glock, Star, and Chinese-made pistols, have huge demand in Punjab, added sources. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like After Losing Weight Kevin James Looks Like A Model 33 Bridges Border Security Force Punjab frontier inspector general (IG) Atul Fulzele said BSF had seized 55 pistols, 89 magazines, and 323 rounds of ammunition in the past six months. "But I am not sure if these weapons are sold outside Punjab," he said. Some officers suspect some of these weapons are being diverted to insurgency-affected areas in India.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Four wanted Naxals killed in Bijapur operation
Four bodies of uniformed Naxals carrying rewards of ₹17 lakh have been recovered by security forces during a joint operation in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, a senior police official said on Sunday. All four have been identified, they added. According to Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) P Sundarraj, multiple security units are involved in anti-Naxal efforts across the state. These include the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), Bastar Fighters, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and others. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Design Thinking Others Public Policy Project Management Artificial Intelligence Management MBA others healthcare Data Science Degree Finance Data Analytics Healthcare Digital Marketing Leadership PGDM MCA Product Management Data Science Technology Cybersecurity Operations Management CXO Skills you'll gain: Duration: 22 Weeks IIM Indore CERT-IIMI DTAI Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 25 Weeks IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK PCP DTIM Async India Starts on undefined Get Details "DRG, STF, Bastar Fighters, COBRA, CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, CF and other security forces are continuously carrying out operations against Naxals. As part of that, on July 26, in the Bijapur district, Bijapur DRG and other security forces conducted a joint operation against the illegal Naxal outfit leaders... After the operation, bodies of four uniformed Naxals were recovered by the forces... DRG, COBRA and CRPF joint teams are carrying out search operations in the nearby areas," Sundarraj said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Sleep Apnea Ruined My Life – Then I Found This Simple Trick Health Insight Undo On July 18, six Naxal bodies were recovered after an exchange of fire in Chhattisgarh's Abujhmad region in Narayanpur district, he added. "A huge quantity of weapons, including AK-47 rifles and SLR rifles, have been recovered so far from the spot. The search operation is underway," the IG said.
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
4 Naxals with Rs 17 lakh bounty killed in Chhattisgarh encounter
Four Naxals, including two women, all having a bounty of Rs 17 lakh, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday. The Naxals belonged to the South Sub Zonal Bureau. Among them were three at the ACM level and one party member to Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav, the operation was launched by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) team of Bijapur based on reliable intelligence regarding Naxal activity in the region. The security forces launched a search operation and came under fire from Maoists on the evening of July 26, 2025, leading to an intermittent exchange of the encounter, security personnel recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from the site, including one SLR, one INSAS rifle, one .303 rifle, a 12 bore, a BGL launcher, a single-shot weapon and a large quantity of explosive material along with other Naxal-related items. The Naxals killed in the operation have been identified as Hunga, an ACM of Platoon No 10 of the South Sub Zonal Bureau with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh; Lakhe, an ACM of Platoon No 30, also carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh; Bhime, another ACM from the same bureau with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh and Nihal alias Rahul, a party member and bodyguard of the bureau communication team head, who carried a reward of Rs 2 to sources, the encounter is still underway and the security forces are on high alert. The operation marks another major step in the ongoing counter-insurgency efforts against Naxal activities.- EndsMust Watch
