-The Hindu   The encounter in which maoist leader Kishenji was killed on November 24 was “staged,” Rahul Sinha president of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party said here on Wednesday. “It is as clear as daylight that the encounter in which he was killed was staged,” Mr. Sinha said while addressing a party rally. Pointing out that had it been a genuine encounter there would not have been so many bullets...

-The Indian Express   The breakthrough that the joint anti-Naxal operations achieved in West Bengal last week, in the Kishenji encounter, was preceded by a visible regress in the battle against the maoists in the state. This step back was the result of a hesitation on the part of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to pursue the police and paramilitary operations which had begun to yield gains in the last days...

-The Hindustan Times   Five of the six civil society members appointed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to bring the rebels to the dialogue table withdrew themselves from the job on Monday, citing unfavourable conditions in Jangalmahal. This has come four days after CPI(maoist) central committee member Kishenji was killed by the security forces on Thursday. "We have expressed our helplessness and inability to the chief minister," said a statement signed...

Security forces zeroed in on the location of top maoist leader Kishanji with the help from their informants within close quarters of the operational commander in what marks a success of intelligence agencies in penetrating the close-knit extremist outfit and suggests that other top-notch extremists could also be in the crosshairs. Senior official sources attribute the elimination of Kishanji to 'HumInt' ( human intelligence) network, painstakingly nurtured during the truce they...

-The Telegraph The CPM today described the operation that led to the killing of Kishan as an “achievement’’ on the Trinamul government’s part but added that it was made possible by the administration’s “course correction’’. “The Trinamul government was initially against the deployment of joint forces in Jungle Mahal. That provided a fillip to the maoists, who gradually began regrouping in various parts of West Midnapore and Purulia,’’ CPM state secretariat member...