Raipur, Sep 28 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Wednesday ordered a probe into the lynching of a tigress by a mob in Rajnandgaon district, a statement said.

"Singh held a meeting with Forest Minister Vikram Usendi and forest officials at his residence and termed the killing as 'extremely unfortunate and sad'. He announced a probe into the matter by the National Tiger Conservation Authority," an official statement said.

The chief minister said his government would take action based on the findings of the authority's probe report.

Raipur, Sep 20 : Senior officials here of the Essar Group have been questioned and others based outside Chhattisgarh will also be interrogated for allegedly paying 'protection money' to Maoists, a senior police official said Tuesday.

"Some Essar Group officers, including a general manager posted in Dantewada, have been interrogated and notices have been sent to several others for their role in payment of massive money to Maoists," Ankit Garg, superintendent of police (Dantewada district), told IANS over phone.

Raipur, Sep 6 : US President Barack Obama, President Pratibha Patil, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul... amongst the several leaders whose photographs were found in a deserted Maoist camp in Chhattisgarh, police officials said Tuesday.

The photographs, also including those of Chief Minister Raman Singh and some ministers, were found pasted at a camp in a jungle area in Raipur district that was deserted by Maoists after a fierce 15-minute gun battle, officials at the police headquarters told IANS.

Launching 'Jamunia' to the TV screen was not simple for makers Yash Patnaik and Ajit Andhare.

From discovering the true actors to shooting in a rural community to combating mosquitoes, they experienced their hands full.

Andhare said, "Before us, nobody dared to come and shoot here." Kawardha is situated 120 km away from Raipur.

The new TV serial, which revolves around the trials and pains of an orphaned girl Jamunia, is ready to hit screens on NDTV Imagine on March 8.

Raipur, Feb 9 - Fire-hit Bhilai Steel Plant, the largest unit of public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), will soon return to its normal production of about 17,000 tonnes hot metal a day.

Production of hot metal in the unit based in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, about 30 km west of capital Raipur, was severely hit after a fire broke out in the cable tunnel of its power and blowing station (P and BS) early Feb 1. The P and BS supplies compressed air to the steel plant's blast furnaces which produce hot metal.

Multiplex chain PVR announced the launch of its prestigious multiplex in Raipur, Chhattisgarh is named as `Magneto Mall'.

The multiplex is reported to have four mainstream digital Audis with total seating capacity of 1350 seats, situated at Magneto Mall, Labhandi, NH-6, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The new multiplex features a 2k digital cinema, compliant with DCI technology, advanced sound, and picture quality and digital technology slated to bridge the demand supply gap.

Raipur, Jan 11 : Chhattisgarh police Monday arrested three Chinese engineers in the case of the under-construction chimney crash at Vedanta Resources Plc-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) that killed 41 workers Sep 23 last year.

The engineers were employed with the Chinese construction major, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO) that was building Balco's 1200-MW thermal power plant in Korba town, about 240 km from state capital Raipur.

Raipur, Jan 11 : Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwa Ranjan Monday reacted strongly to leading Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan's comment that he would either end up in jail or himself become a victim of violence.

A section of media here carried a report Monday that the lawyer, during his just ended trip to the state to probe alleged police atrocities on civilians of Maoist-hit areas and human rights violations, said that the Chhattisgarh director general of police would either be shot dead or put behind bars.

Raipur, Jan 11 : Chhattisgarh will focus on strengthening security and building infrastructure in Maoist-hit areas to maintain law and order, Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan said Monday.

"The state government is making continuous efforts to increase security forces and develop necessary infrastructure, particularly in the Maoist-affected areas, to effectively maintain law and order," he told the state assembly on the opening day of the budget session.

Raipur, Jan 9 : Four Maoists were gunned down and several guns and explosives recovered when the police raided a forest hideout Saturday in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

"A joint contingent of COBRA (specialized force in anti-Maoist operations) and others busted the hideout in Surpangunda hamlet and shot dead four armed guerrillas," Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra told IANS.

Dantewada is located some 500 km south of capital Raipur.

He said police recovered a 12 bore gun, three muzzle loading guns, two containers filled with explosives, a grenade and a huge stock of daily use items.

Raipur, Jan 9 - A total of 23,051 kg of marijuana was seized in Chhattisgarh in 2009, police said.

"Police seized 23,051 kg marijuana, 67,700 marijuana plants and 2,598 lethal drug injections in 2009, estimated to cost Rs. 40.06 million," said a booklet brought out by police headquarters here highlighting its achievements during 2009.

The booklet said 217 gun battles were fought in 2009 till Dec 15 and 107 Maoists were killed.

A total of 177 Maoists and 445 sangham members, followers of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), were arrested in the state last year. (IANS)

Raipur, Jan 9 - Two people have been arrested with leopard skin from a Chhattisgarh town, police said Saturday.

Sahdev Ram, 44, and Surendra, 25, were arrested late Friday from a hotel in Raigarh town, some 250 km from here, Raigarh Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said.

Police are looking for a few associates of the arrested men who are believed to be members of an inter-state gang.  (IANS)

Raipur, Jan 8 : Two days after dozens of tribal people threw eggs and tomatoes at social activist Medha Patkar and several of her associates in Maoist violence-hit Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh, she Friday alleged it was a "state government-sponsored protest".

"It was all a government-sponsored protest in Dantewada in police presence. Those who threw eggs and tomatoes were brought from a relief camp by the government," Patkar told a press conference here.

Raipur, Jan 8 - The Chhattisgarh High Court has issued a warrant against Amit Jogi, son of Congress leader and state's first chief minister Ajit Jogi, in connection with the murder of a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader.

A two-member division bench of the High Court in Bilaspur issued the bailable warrant Thursday against 33-year-old Amit, currently practising as a lawyer in the same court, in response to a review petition filed by Satish, son of murdered NCP politician Ramavatar Jaggi.

Raipur, Jan 7 : The Chhattisgarh government Thursday agreed, in principle, to the Indian Air Force's (IAF) request for 2,500-3,000 acres for setting up an air base in the state, officials said.

The state government gave its go-ahead to the proposal when senior IAF officers called on Chief Minister Raman Singh.

"Singh has agreed in principle to the IAF proposal for setting up its first base in the state for which they said they need 2,500-3,000 acres," an official said.

Raipur, Jan 6 : Dozens of tribals Wednesday threw eggs and tomatoes at social activist Medha Patkar and Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district for allegedly supporting Maoist sympathisers, police said.

Trouble began when Patkar, Pandey and a few activists reached Dantewada, some 380 km south of Raipur, to join the ongoing campaign of rights activists against alleged atrocities being committed by security forces on local tribes.

Raipur, Jan 6 : Maoist militants killed a tribal civilian on suspicion of acting as a police informer while in another incident an additional superintendent of police and a special police officer (SPO) were injured in a mine attack in Chhattisgarh Wednesday.

Both the incidents took place in the state's restive Dantewada district under Bastar region, some 400 km south of state capital Raipur.

Raipur, Jan 6 - Two people have been arrested and marijuana plants over a 10-acre area have been uprooted in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, a senior police officer said Wednesday, adding that the plants were being grown by Maoists.

The marijuana plants were traced when a police team visited the interior pocket of Bastar region's Tarud village, more than 500 km south of state capital Raipur.

Raipur, Jan 6 - A case of dacoity has been registered against a group of journalists and activists from Mumbai and Hyderabad for allegedly clashing with local media personnel in Chhattisgarh's Maoist stronghold of Dantewada, police said Wednesday.

Raipur, Jan 5 : The Chhattisgarh government announced Tuesday that it would provide houses free of cost to dependents of special police officers (SPOs) martyred in Maoist violence.

"The state government has decided to provide houses to dependents of the SPOs who laid down their lives while fighting Maoist militants in the state," said Food Minister Punnulal Mohile of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The state is said to be one of the worst hit by Left-wing violence.