Maoists using children to snatch police weapons

June 5, 2013

MaoistsJagdalpur, Jun 5: Maoists have come up with an ingenious ploy to snatch arms from the security forces deployed in Chhattisgarh. They are using children to get this task done. The rebels clothe their gun-snatching squads in school uniforms which makes it impossible for the security forces to fire at them as photographs of dead schoolchildren would invite national and international outrage.

Speaking to Media, Bhagwat Bhagel, a sub-inspector who was shot at and injured by the Maoists in Sukma in the May 25 attack that killed 30 people, revealed how uniformed boys, as young as 10 years old, snatched weapons from injured and dead personnel. Baghel, 35, was posted near Kistharam police chowki area, close to Andhra Pradesh border.

"We went into the forest in two groups (of about 30 each) to collect bamboos for some work and were marching as per the set protocol unaware of Maoist presence ahead," said Baghel, who was discharged from the hospital for gunshot wounds two days ago.

Constable Parshuram Makram and head constable Narayan Major were killed in the ambush. "I took shelter behind a tree after two shots. I saw four children, 9 to 10 years old, dressed in school uniforms, approaching the dead constable's body and taking his SLR and ammunition. Then they went to Major Narayan, who was unconscious at that time, and took his AK-47 and ammunition.

"The fourth boy, also wearing a school uniform, was on a bicycle and took away the weapons while other Maoists, who had surrounded the police station, were giving them a covering fire," said Baghel. "I could have shot them but looking at their age, I controlled myself," he added.

The firing lasted for more than two hours.

"The boys in school uniform were not armed. They just came, snatched the weapons and escaped. Had our people shot at them, many would have been after our life. This is a disturbing trend that has come to fore," said a special task force officer wishing anonymity.

These students are members of a small action team and they roam around in markets wearing blue coloured school uniforms. "Boys found wearing school uniforms at odd times are questioned and kept under surveillance. Still it's a difficult task to arrest them," said Sukma SP Abhishek Shandlya. Intelligence officials claim that the Maoists are recruiting more young boys for their small action team. A 17-year-old Maoist, alleged to be part of small action team from an area bordering Chhattisgarh was nabbed by a police team from Balaghat on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday visited the native place of slain Congress leader Mahendra Karma and met his family members and offered condolences. Later, talking to reporters, Singh accused the BJP government for total failure in maintaining law and order despite the Centre allocating enough forces to the state.

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News Network
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survivor's father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.

While sentencing them, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, "There can be no denying that rule of law was broken. Sengar was a public functionary and had to maintain the rule of law. The way the crime has been committed, it does not call for leniency."

Sengar and his brother Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation to family of the victim for loss of their father. "There are four minor children involved, three girls and one boy. They have also been uprooted from native place," the judge said.

Seven people, including Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, were held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy, earlier this month.

The case pertains to the death of rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following a quarrel with some of the accused in the case.

He was taken to the police station and then framed for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm. Pursuant to this, he was sent to custodial remand, during which he died.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the Supreme Court's directions in August last year. Both the death and illegal firearm case was later clubbed by the court.

During the arguments on sentencing on March 12, Sengar had told the court that he should be "hanged and acid poured into his eyes if he has done anything wrong".

The former MLA had also raped the daughter of the deceased in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district and was sent to jail for "remainder of his natural biological life", last year.

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News Network
April 14,2020

New Delhi, Apr 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday requested young scientists of the country to come forward and take the lead in developing a vaccine for novel coronavirus which has claimed over one lakhs lives worldwide.

"While India has limited resources today. I have a special request for India's young scientists. They should come forward and take a lead in developing a vaccine for coronavirus for the welfare of the world, for the welfare of the human race," the Prime Minister said in the address to the nation.

He said that if people continue to be patient and follow rules then the country will be able to defeat even a pandemic like coronavirus.
Prime Minister Modi also announced that the country will remain under lockdown till May 3 to contain COVID-19 cases. The 21-day lockdown, which was announced by the Prime Minister last month, was slated to end today.

However, he indicated at easing of lockdown restrictions in places where there are no hotspots after April 20.

"Till 20th April, all districts, localities, states will be closely monitored, as to how strictly they are implementing norms. The states which will not let hotspots increase, they could be allowed to let some important activities resume, but with certain conditions," Modi said.

Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have already announced the extension of lockdown.

India's total number of coronavirus positive cases has climbed to 10,363 including 8,988 active cases, 1,035 cured/discharged/migrated and 339 deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said today.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Shimla, Apr 19: A man, who had recovered from the novel coronavirus, was again found suffering from the infection in Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The man, a Tablighi Jamaat member, tested positive for the infection on Saturday within a week of his two reports coming out negative, they said.

Residents of different places in Mandi district, the man along with two other Jamaatis had been staying in a mosque of Nakroh village in Una'a Amb tehsil and all tested positive on April 2.

They were admitted to Tanda's Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) in Kangra district on April 3.

As per the available information, they had tested negative for the first time on April 10 and they were declared as cured as per protocol after they tested negative for the second time on April 12.

Subsequently they had been discharged from the RPGMC and were kept in institutional quarantine.

However, with the man again testing positive, the total number of active cases in the hill state has increased to 23 out of the total 40 positive cases.

Four persons have been shifted to a private hospital outside the state. Eleven have recovered while two others have died.

A total of 16 confirmed cases were found in Una and health department statistics now shows 14 active cases and two cured.

Officials said 11 patients — three each from Chamba, Kangra, and Solan districts and two from Una district — have recovered.

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