Nine jawans of the anti-Maoist Special Operation Group (SOG) were killed and eight others seriously injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Koraput district of Orissa on Sunday morning.
The attack occurred at Tanginiguda on the Govindpalli ghat road around 10 a.m. The first of three mini buses carrying the SOG jawans took the impact of the massive blast, believed to have been triggered by remote control. The vehicle rose 40 feet in the air and its wreckage was thrown over 100 metres away. A 15-feet deep hole could be seen at the place of the blast.
Sources said a brief exchange of fire took place between the security personnel and the rebels near the blast site.
The injured were taken to Baipariguda and later to Jeypore in Koraput district. From there they were flown to Visakhapatnam.
Koraput Superintendent of Police Anup Sahu confirmed the death of nine personnel and injuries to eight. However, the sources said one SOG jawan was still missing till evening.
Reports said there were 19 persons in the vehicle.
Combing operations under way
The Malkangiri SP and the Koraput SP rushed to the spot. Intense combing operations have been launched in the area.
Traffic between Malkangiri and Jeypore was held up for several hours following the blast.
The SOG jawans were on their way from Koraput to Govindpalli in Malkangiri district. They were on a mission to sanitise the Maoist prone Govindpalli ghat road so that CRPF personnel camping at Govindpalli in Malkangiri district could move from there to Koraput.
This incident occurred while preparations are in full swing for a massive offensive against the naxals in undivided Koraput district that adjoins the strongholds of the militants in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Two battalions of the Border Security Force have reached Malkangiri district and one more battalion is expected. Two BSF battalions are camping in Koraput district. With the deployment of the BSF, the CRPF personnel deployed in these areas are being relocated to other naxal affected districts.
Showing posts with label Orissa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orissa. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Agni-I test-fired successfully
In the third consecutive success in two days, nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-I ballistic missile with a range of 700 km was successfully flight-tested from the Wheeler’s Island off the Orissa coast on Sunday.
The test carried out by Strategic Forces Command personnel met all the mission objectives and was one of the best-ever launches, according to officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The missile which was blasted off at 1.07 hrs from a mobile launcher was tracked by all the radars along the coast and two ships as it splashed down towards the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with precision and accuracy after a 500-second flight. A specialised navigation and guidance system enabled the missile to close in on the target with a high degree of accuracy.
The 14-metre tall Agni-I is a single-stage, solid propelled weapon system. It has a one metre diameter and is capable of carrying a payload of 1,000 kg.
The Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO, V.K. Saraswat, Director, Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), P.Venugopalan, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Avinash Chander and other top DRDO scientists were present.
On Saturday, ship-launched Dhanush and surface-to-surface Prithvi-II were successfully test-fired in salvo mode from two locations off the Orissa coast. Both the missiles achieved their full range and conformed to the mission’s parameters.
The test carried out by Strategic Forces Command personnel met all the mission objectives and was one of the best-ever launches, according to officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The missile which was blasted off at 1.07 hrs from a mobile launcher was tracked by all the radars along the coast and two ships as it splashed down towards the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with precision and accuracy after a 500-second flight. A specialised navigation and guidance system enabled the missile to close in on the target with a high degree of accuracy.
The 14-metre tall Agni-I is a single-stage, solid propelled weapon system. It has a one metre diameter and is capable of carrying a payload of 1,000 kg.
The Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO, V.K. Saraswat, Director, Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), P.Venugopalan, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Avinash Chander and other top DRDO scientists were present.
On Saturday, ship-launched Dhanush and surface-to-surface Prithvi-II were successfully test-fired in salvo mode from two locations off the Orissa coast. Both the missiles achieved their full range and conformed to the mission’s parameters.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Interceptor missile fails to take off
The interceptor missile test on Monday, which features an attacker missile and an interceptor to kill it, ended in partial failure with the attacker Prithvi missile not reaching its required altitude and range.
The interceptor missile, therefore, did not take off from the Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa. The Launch Control Centre on the Wheeler Island did not deliberately give the command for the interceptor to take off as part of the built-in safeguard system, said missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
As per the original plan of the interceptor missile test on Monday, a modified Prithvi missile, mimicking an “enemy” ballistic missile’s trajectory, would have lifted off from the launch complex at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore on the Orissa coast. A few minutes later, an interceptor missile called Advanced Air Defence System (AAD) would have lifted off from the Wheeler Island, 60 km across the sea from the ITR, and destroyed the incoming adversarial missile in mid-flight at an altitude of 20 km. Thus, the interception was to take place in endo-atmosphere, that is, below an altitude of 50 km.
But what happened was this: The modified Prithvi missile took off from the ITR but did not reach the required altitude of 110 km. It reached an altitude of only 60 to 70 km. It also did not reach its expected range. It fell into the Bay of Bengal. The Launch Control Centre at the Wheeler Island, therefore, did not give the command for the AAD to lift off. “Some onboard item in the attacker missile could have malfunctioned. Some component could have misbehaved. We have to study the telemetry,” said DRDO missile technologists. The interceptor was not launched at all because “we cannot anticipate the velocity with which the modified Prithvi missile will come down,” they explained.
The interceptor’s launch was precluded by “built-in safeguards” in the LCC.
“Unless the attacker missile reaches a particular altitude and range, the interceptor will not take off,” they explained.
They said a team would study why the modified Prithvi missile did not reach its specified altitude. This Prithvi missile was 11 metres long and weighed five tonnes. Its diameter was one meter. It is powered by liquid propellants. The interceptor is 7.5 metres tall, weighs 1.3 tonnes and has a diameter of 0.5 metres. It has solid propellants.
The DRDO has successfully conducted three interceptor missile tests earlier in November 2006, December 2007 and March 2009 as part of its efforts to establish a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield against incoming ballistic missiles from enemy countries.
The interceptor missile, therefore, did not take off from the Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa. The Launch Control Centre on the Wheeler Island did not deliberately give the command for the interceptor to take off as part of the built-in safeguard system, said missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
As per the original plan of the interceptor missile test on Monday, a modified Prithvi missile, mimicking an “enemy” ballistic missile’s trajectory, would have lifted off from the launch complex at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore on the Orissa coast. A few minutes later, an interceptor missile called Advanced Air Defence System (AAD) would have lifted off from the Wheeler Island, 60 km across the sea from the ITR, and destroyed the incoming adversarial missile in mid-flight at an altitude of 20 km. Thus, the interception was to take place in endo-atmosphere, that is, below an altitude of 50 km.
But what happened was this: The modified Prithvi missile took off from the ITR but did not reach the required altitude of 110 km. It reached an altitude of only 60 to 70 km. It also did not reach its expected range. It fell into the Bay of Bengal. The Launch Control Centre at the Wheeler Island, therefore, did not give the command for the AAD to lift off. “Some onboard item in the attacker missile could have malfunctioned. Some component could have misbehaved. We have to study the telemetry,” said DRDO missile technologists. The interceptor was not launched at all because “we cannot anticipate the velocity with which the modified Prithvi missile will come down,” they explained.
The interceptor’s launch was precluded by “built-in safeguards” in the LCC.
“Unless the attacker missile reaches a particular altitude and range, the interceptor will not take off,” they explained.
They said a team would study why the modified Prithvi missile did not reach its specified altitude. This Prithvi missile was 11 metres long and weighed five tonnes. Its diameter was one meter. It is powered by liquid propellants. The interceptor is 7.5 metres tall, weighs 1.3 tonnes and has a diameter of 0.5 metres. It has solid propellants.
The DRDO has successfully conducted three interceptor missile tests earlier in November 2006, December 2007 and March 2009 as part of its efforts to establish a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield against incoming ballistic missiles from enemy countries.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Government to reassert authority in Maoist areas: Chidambaram
Following a meeting with top officials of Orissa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the central government was offering troops and technology to States to take on the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram declared on Friday that states had agreed to coordinate actions against Maoist guerrillas and that the government’s goal was to reassert authority in rebel bastions.
“(Our aim is) to reassert the civil administration to be followed immediately by development in areas dominated by Naxalites for quite some years,” Mr. Chidambaram said after a meeting with top officials of Orissa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh here.
“The meeting was successful”, the minister told reporters. “We identified progress we made. We identified steps to be taken. The operations will continue. Our goal is not to kill anyone but to reassert the civil administration to be followed immediately by development in areas dominated by Naxalites for quite some years.”
Mr. Chidambaram chaired a two-hour meeting at the State secretariat with Chief Ministers Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh and Navin Patnaik of Orissa, Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil and officials of paramilitary forces.
He said that the central government was offering troops and technology to states to take on the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).
“My approach to the CPI-Maoist and other such banned organisations is that you will suspend violence and we will talk. But they are killing people. Even yesterday they killed two boys in Chhattisgarh who belonged to primitive tribes as they wanted to get recruited in (the Indian) army,” he said.
“The coordinated operation (against Maoists) is just a few weeks old. The progress is satisfactory and in future it will be more satisfactory. In many places Naxalites are retreating and we welcome it. But in some areas they are engaged in battle,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram declared on Friday that states had agreed to coordinate actions against Maoist guerrillas and that the government’s goal was to reassert authority in rebel bastions.
“(Our aim is) to reassert the civil administration to be followed immediately by development in areas dominated by Naxalites for quite some years,” Mr. Chidambaram said after a meeting with top officials of Orissa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh here.
“The meeting was successful”, the minister told reporters. “We identified progress we made. We identified steps to be taken. The operations will continue. Our goal is not to kill anyone but to reassert the civil administration to be followed immediately by development in areas dominated by Naxalites for quite some years.”
Mr. Chidambaram chaired a two-hour meeting at the State secretariat with Chief Ministers Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh and Navin Patnaik of Orissa, Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil and officials of paramilitary forces.
He said that the central government was offering troops and technology to states to take on the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).
“My approach to the CPI-Maoist and other such banned organisations is that you will suspend violence and we will talk. But they are killing people. Even yesterday they killed two boys in Chhattisgarh who belonged to primitive tribes as they wanted to get recruited in (the Indian) army,” he said.
“The coordinated operation (against Maoists) is just a few weeks old. The progress is satisfactory and in future it will be more satisfactory. In many places Naxalites are retreating and we welcome it. But in some areas they are engaged in battle,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
