Bench modifies July 5 judgment, on Centre's plea The Supreme Court has modified its July 5 order banning appointment of special police officers (SPOs) in naxal-affected States and said it would apply only to Chhattisgarh. The Centre, in its application filed in August, sought recall of the order insofar as it pertained to references against the Union Government in paragraphs 75 (ii) and 76 on the ground that they were against the...

-The Telegraph   The Bengal government today pulled out of its hat Jagori Baskey, once a feared member of the Maoist action squad and a purported ace shot, saying that the woman and her husband had surrendered this morning. Conflicting versions flew about Jagori’s current status in the Maoist outfit and the actual time of the surrender, the announcement of which at Writers’ this afternoon coincided with a dramatic escalation in hostilities between...

Sister Valsa John may have incurred the wrath of a group of local criminals for seeking justice for a raped tribal girl and that may have been the immediate provocation for her brutal murder on Tuesday. According to a senior Pakur district official, Valsa had sought an appointment with Pakur deputy commissioner after the Amrapara police refused to lodge an FIR against the alleged rapists a couple of days back. Deputy commissioner...

The public hearing held here to elicit the opinion of tribal people of various villages under Sarugudu panchayat of Nathavaram mandal in Visakhapatnam district, on the proposed laterite mining project, passed off peacefully on Thursday. The police, who were present in large numbers, and the officials were at ease as the project proponents seemed to have brainwashed the people located on the hills on the benefits that would accrue to them...

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has promptly responded to the letter in which the State-appointed interlocutors for talks with Maoists have sought to be relieved of their responsibilities. She has called a meeting with the interlocutors on Saturday. But that does not clear away the clouds gathering over the peace process. While both the government and the Maoists insist that it is in their mutual interest to sit at the...