Dipankar Ghose

The encounter in question occurred in June 2012, in which 17 people were killed and 10 were injured after security forces claimed they were attacked by a Maoist meeting and opened retaliatory fire in Sarkeguda village. 

Baghel said, “It is unfortunate that there was no FIR or action taken then (in 2012). Seven years later, a report like this has come. Whoever is responsible will be punished.”

Sources told The Indian Express that the state government decided to table the report after a hurried Cabinet meeting late Saturday. During the meeting, sources said, at least two ministers claimed the Cabinet had been “misled” earlier about the contents of the report.

The idea, the state government said, was to fix accountability on the state health infrastructure itself, and to lessen the amount of public money that was going to the private sector under the insurance model.

Security forces fired in panic, 6 of them injured in friendly fire, one villager shot next morning: Justice V K Agarwal

In the Assembly on Tuesday, Baghel said that “nothing could stop farmers from getting their Rs 2500 per quintal”.

Earlier this month, Baghel met Union ministers, arguing that this leeway was given to the previous BJP government led by Raman Singh in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The Centre, however, has said that keeping the fiscal balance in mind, this is not possible.

The cabinet has also moved to remove educational qualification as a requirement for panch members.

In 2016, the district administration of Bijapur, one of India’s worst Left-wing extremism-related violence-hit districts in the country, decided to invest in sports by opening a sports academy in the district headquarters, to bring children out of the cycle of violence.

Civil society activists said that the government's priorities were skewed, and there was little difference between the Congress and BJP governments.

According to Ibrahim and Anjali, both from Dhamtari district in Chhattisgarh, they married secretly last year as they anticipated opposition from their families.

The draft envisages a "Register of Mediapersons" for which an "Authority for the Registration of Mediapersons" will be set up, including senior journalists and officials of the Department of Public Relations.

The committee will also look into allegations that residents of the state have been subject to snooping, officials said.

Fire reported in aircraft’s tail soon after takeoff; 182 passengers and crew disembark safely

An Air India spokesperson said that there was “only a tail fire” which could be due to “engine blades damage and incomplete combustion in the engine” of the Airbus A321 aircraft.

According to the police, Tuesday’s encounter took place in the jungles of Munga and Badegadam, where Hidma and Lakhma — both in black uniform — were killed and Maoist material recovered.

The Baghel government has been buying paddy from farmers at the rate of Rs 2,500 per quintal — higher than the MSP of Rs 1,815 per quintal — arguing that the step is putting money into the hands of the farmers and is helping the economy.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had reiterated in October the demand to let them acquire paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal from the Centre and for it to buy excess paddy into the central pool.

Under the scheme, children under the age of 5, girls, and young mothers are given one cooked meal a day at the GP headquarters.