The Chhattisgarh police on Thursday claimed to have gunned down three hardcore Naxals, including a divisional commander, in an encounter in Kuchouli forest under Gangalur police station in Bijapur district, bordering Andhra Pradesh.
According to the police, acting on a tip off on gathering of armed guerrillas led by Gangalur divisional committee commander Massa in Kuchouli forest, a joint search party comprising special task force (STF) and district force personnel cordoned off the area to corner them. The rebels opened fire on the security forces leading to a fierce gun battle between them that lasted nearly one hour. The ultras later managed to escape into the forest.
The forces later found body of a Naxal and a number of fire arms and explosives at the encounter site.
“The body has been identified as that of Chandu alias Chintu, who served as a gunman of Massa. The local villagers however said they had witnessed carrying of two bodies by Naxals while fleeing. The witnesses have also identified one of the bodies being carried by Naxals as that of Massa”, a senior district police officer said.
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NREGA projects show big decline
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, Aug. 29
Completed works under the UPA government’s flagship welfare scheme NREGA are seeing a big fall and the number of projects completed in some states has come down drastically, the government told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Figures submitted by minister of state for rural development Pradeep Jain “Aditya” showed that against a total of 27,55,734 works completed in 2011-12, the figure for 2012-13 was 20,44,649, a fall of more than 25 per cent.
The corresponding figure in the current financial year till August 12 was merely 2,81,379, meaning that in four-and-a-half months, the number of works completed under MGNREGA were only 13 per cent of last year’s.to 2012-13.