Dozens of Maoist cadres surrendered across Bastar in Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra on the final day of Union home minister Amit Shah’s March 31 deadline to end left-wing extremism, while Odisha declared itself free of Naxalite influence and scrapped its surrender and rehabilitation policy for those who failed to lay down arms on Tuesday.In Gadchiroli, for long one of the worst affected by Maoist violence, officials described the surrender of nine from Chhattisgarh as significant due to their role in operations spanning both states. Verification will precede rehabilitation benefits, including financial aid and skill training. The Centre has already reclassified Gadchiroli and Gondia in Maharashtra from Maoist-affected districts to “legacy and thrust” category — the final stage before full normalisation.Officials said coordinated strategy combining sustained security operations and incentives had weakened insurgent morale and encouraged surrenders.Odisha police said CPI(Maoist) had collapsed in the state with no fresh recruitment. Nine districts that once reported Maoist presence have now been cleared, leaving only a small patch in Kandhamal with limited activity. Forces remain on alert to prevent a resurgence.With this, only Bijapur in Chhattisgarh and West Singhbhum in Jharkhand remain categorised as Maoist-affected districts across the country. On Tuesday, at least 35 insurgents surrendered across five Bastar districts — 25 in Bijapur, five in Dantewada, two each in Sukma and Kanker, and one in Narayanpur — as security forces tightened pressure on Maoist networks. Nine more Maoists crossed the Indravati river from Chhattisgarh forests into Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli and surrendered with weapons and explosives.Security forces found 93 weapons, over 7kg of gold and Rs 2.9 crore cash from Maoist dumps in Bijapur alone, with the total haul valued at more than Rs 14 crore. In Dantewada, five cadres linked to the Dandakaranya special zonal committee surrendered. Police said intelligence provided by them led to the seizure of 40 weapons, including SLR and Insas rifles. SP Gaurav Rai said the surrender of “last five active Maoists” had rendered the district Naxal-free.

29 Naxal cadres give up arms in 3 Chhattisgarh districts

Bijapur police reported the surrender of 25 cadres, including members of area committees, alongside confiscation of weapons such as AK-47s. In Sukma, two women carrying rewards of Rs 8 lakh each surrendered. Forces seized Rs 10 lakh cash and rifles. SP Kiran Chavan said the district’s Maoist network had been “nearly dismantled”.Kanker saw two surrenders with an AK-47 rifle. SP Nikhil Rakhecha said 11 cadres had returned to mainstream in six days, though about 14 Maoists, including divisional committee-level members Chander and Rupi, were still active.Around nine lower-rung cadres are believed to be active in Kandhamal forests. “They may either be neutralised or arrested,” ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda added.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army will witness a reshuffle at the top level on Wednesday as heads of two key commands — Western and Eastern — retired on Tuesday.Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, the general officer commanding-in-chief (GoC-in-C) of the Army’s Western Command, retired after a distinguished 40-year career. He earlier served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) at IHQ of the defence ministry (Army). Prior to that, he was General Officer Commanding of the Army’s I Corps, a premier strike formation.On Wednesday, the current vice-chief, Lt Gen Pushpendra Pal Singh, is scheduled to take over as the head of Western Command, which is one of the Army’s most critical operational formations responsible for guarding the Pakistan border across Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Punjab.Lt Gen RC Tiwari, the Eastern Army Commander, also superannuated on Tuesday. He will be succeeded by Lt Gen VMB Krishnan, who has been promoted.Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Pune-based Southern Command, will move to the Army HQ as vice-chief from April 1. Lt Gen Seth is an Armoured Corps officer commissioned in Dec 1986. He has held several command and staff appointments during his career. Prior to taking charge of Southern Command in July 2024, he commanded the Mathura-based XXI Strike Corps, one of the Army’s key strike formations.Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, currently Chief Of Staff, Southern Command, will get elevated as Southern Army Commander in his place.Lt Gen Katiyar, who led the Western Command during the conflict with Pakistan last May, recently said, “During Operation Sindoor, we successfully thwarted Pakistan’s nefarious objectives and achieved success… Beyond regular training, we are undertaking large-scale procurement of new equipment, including drones and counter-drone systems. Wherever necessary, we are manufacturing these items in-house within our own workshops.”During his tenure as Eastern Army Commander, Lt Gen Tiwari played a key role in strengthening operational preparedness in the eastern theatre, enhancing training and capability development. Through his military career spanning over three decades, Tiwari held significant command roles in both conventional warfare and counter-insurgency environments, including commanding an infantry battalion for counter-insurgency operations, a mountain brigade in high-altitude areas, the elite Black Cat Division as General Officer Commanding (GOC) and 3 Corps (Spear Corps) in Nagaland.

SRINAGAR: The withdrawal of security of several legislators and politicians rocked the J&K Assembly on Tuesday after the governing National Conference (NC) raised the issue and flayed the LG administration for the removal of security at its headquarters in Srinagar, Nawai Subha, even after a recent attack on party president Farooq Abdullah, saying the move risked the lives of its leader and MLAs.Police and security in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir fall under lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.Echoing concerns raised by NC members, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather said the national flag would not be safe in Kashmir if those holding it were unsafe. “Security issues shouldn’t be taken casually in J&K,” Rather said, adding that the administration should either declare J&K a risk-free place for politicians and political parties, or ensure proper security.“Recently, Dr Farooq Abdullah had a narrow escape, and after that, you withdrew security from the NC office, where he goes regularly, which is unfortunate,” the Speaker said. “It is a question of those who raise the Tricolour; they should remain safe.”Congress, too, claimed that the security of its J&K unit chief, Tariq Hameed Karra, had been withdrawn and that police had informed him that they did not have petrol for the escort vehicles and security guards.Earlier, the issue was flagged by NC legislators, with Hasnain Masoodi saying that instead of increasing security at the NC office after the attack on Abdullah, it had been withdrawn, and Nazir Gurezi asserting that the LG administration would be responsible if there was any untoward development. Javed Baig alleged that NC was being particularly targeted, and questioned why security at BJP and RSS offices had not been withdrawn.Salman Sagar, NC MLA from Hazratbal, said security of three Srinagar MLAs had been withdrawn despite being “on the hitlist” of terrorists. “The SHO in my area is telling me not to visit my constituency after 4 pm, and this is happening in Srinagar,” he said.Nizamuddin Bhat, Congress legislator from Bandipora, said security was a common concern for all parties in J&K and should not be treated as a largesse by the administration. He said Karra had told the SSP concerned that he was willing to provide petrol himself, but the security was still removed. Bhat said his own security, too, had been withdrawn despite being from the volatile Bandipora district.Even BJP’s S S Slathia demanded that govt should restore the security of everyone, but added that NC shouldn’t blame BJP, RSS or the LG.

SRINAGAR: Five lakes in the Kashmir Valley have high susceptibility to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), posing a threat to 2,704 buildings, 15 major bridges, road stretches, and a hydropower plant in their immediate downstream areas, a study by the University of Kashmir has found.Citing the study, CM Omar Abdullah, who also holds the disaster management and relief portfolio, told the J&K Assembly Tuesday that there is a need for continuous monitoring of these high-susceptibility lakes through remote sensing and targeted field assessments, as well as the installation of effective early warning systems.However, the CM said, a lake classified as highly susceptible does not mean it is currently unstable. He said it only means it may be more prone to an outburst compared to others if specific triggering conditions occur. “This does not imply that the lake is currently unstable or actively breaching or likely to fail in the immediate future,” Omar said in his written response.The study, conducted by researchers from the department of geoinformatics, has analysed 155 glacial lakes in the Kashmir Himalaya. Of these, Bramsar and Chirsar in Kulgam district; Nundkol and Gangabal in Ganderbal district and Bhagsar in Shopian district, have been categorised as having “very high susceptibility” compared with others in the region.Omar said accurate risk assessment of glacial lake outburst floods in the Kashmir Valley, including estimates of flood magnitude, velocity and warning time, requires reliable information on glacial lake volume. For this, he said, researchers at the department of geoinformatics have procured high-precision, powerful tools, including robotic echo-sounding boats, with support from the union ministry of earth sciences, to know the water volume of the lake.Using this facility, he said, in-depth surveys of high-risk glacial lakes in the western Himalaya are planned for 2026.

Viveck Vaswani has weighed in on Jaya Bachchan’s often-discussed reactions to paparazzi, saying her public “aggravation” is not how she has always been. In a conversation, Vaswani reflected on her personality, her past stardom, and how her current public image may have evolved over time. He added that her nature back then was “very sweet.” Addressing her frequent run-ins with photographers, Vaswani suggested that it may be a two-way dynamic.

Viveck Vaswani has weighed in on Jaya Bachchan’s often-discussed reactions to paparazzi, saying her public “aggravation” is not how she has always been.In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Vaswani reflected on her personality, her past stardom, and how her current public image may have evolved over time.

‘She was very sweet’

Speaking about her earlier years, the actor-producer said, “No. She was a superstar. She has only given hits. She worked with Kapoor, Manoj Kumar… she was phenomenal.”He added that her nature back then was “very sweet.”

‘Maybe over time things changed’

When asked what may have led to the change, he said, “I don’t know. Maybe over time. Maybe she wasn’t acting too much, so she had more time.”However, he maintained that her off-screen personality remains warm among close friends. “With her close friends like Dimple and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, she’s very charming,” he said.