Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : The interrogation of a senior Naxal leader caught recently by the security forces in Bihar has reportedly revealed a link between them and insurgent groups in the Northeast. Shambhu, a member of the Naxal ‘Central Military Commission’, is believed to have been active in Bihar and Jharkand.Delhi has long suspected such a link, and hopes to find out whether it extends from training to supply of arms and ammunition from Shambhu’s interrogation.
As per sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the 48-hour bandh called by Maoists in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Orissa was primarily prompted by the arrest of Shambhu and Chandrashekhar Gorebale, a member of the CPI (Maoist) state committee who was recently caught in Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from this, say sources, the Maoists had also been rattled by other successes by security forces recently, including a raid by the CRPF in Gaya jungles in Bihar yielding a large amount of explosives and the destruction of a Maoist camp near the Jharkhand-Orissa border. Security forces have also arrested several Naxal leaders and activists recently.

Delhi moving forces to end blockade of Manipur, Nagas say will relax curbs

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : Waking up to the 64-day-old blockade of two critical National Highways that has crippled the supply of essential commodities to Manipur, the Centre today decided to use paramilitary forces to end the blockade. A few hours later, Naga leaders, after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to temporarily “relax” the blockade.The Prime Minister told members of the Nagaland Students’ Federation (NSF) delegation that they were like his “own children”, that the country belonged to all and “brothers should not fight”.
After the meeting, the NSF announced it had decided to temporarily relax the blockade in response to the PM’s appeal for a peaceful resolution. The NSF also clarified that its move was not in reaction to “threats of use of force” but because of the fact that it respected the PM.
Over 2,200 security personnel of the CRPF — 22 companies — will be used to deal with blockade on NH 39 (Imphal-Dimapur) and NH 53 (Imphal-Silchar), said officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“We have decided to send Central forces to remove the blockade,” said Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.
Both highways have been blocked by different Naga groups since April 12 in protest against Imphal’s decision not to let NSCN leader Thuingaleng Muivah visit his ancestral home in Manipur.
The NSCN has been demanding a Greater Nagaland, seeking integration of Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh with Nagaland.