India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Rogue military leader and Red Shirt supporter, Gen Khattiya also known as 'Seh Daeng' has been pronounced dead. He fell prey to an assassination attempt and had been in critical condition in the hospital since Thursday. He finally succumbed to the gunshot that went through his head this morning. Meanwhile, Red Shirt protestors determinedly continue to resist security forces, despite the government having declared the rally area as a 'live-fire' zone earlier. The establishment was also mulling the imposition of a curfew but there has been no such injunction yet. The casualty count from the clashes continues to rise, it has now touched 63 according to the BBC, while the number of injured stands at 241, the Bangkok Post reports. The government had issued a recommendation to all women and children to stay away from the rally site, though this has had little impact on the women's presence and they have ignored the Government's plea saying that they have found sanctuary in a temple where their children will be safe. Sources in the Union Home Ministry on Monday feared that the casualties of the IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada is likely to go high as the rescue and relief operations have been hampered due to bad light. Security forces have launched a major rescue operation. On Monday evening in one of the worst attack on civilians the Maoists blew up a private bus killing over 30 people. The bus was on its way from Dantewada to Sukma when the incident took place near Chingawaram, over nine kilometers from Sukma. The bus-CG17 SS 9295 was carrying 20 special police officers (SPO) and over 30 civilians.The SPOs were on their way to participate in a special recruitment drive. The latest blast incident has taken place a day after the Maoists called for a 48 hour shutdown in five states-Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The sources said the attack might have been a pre -planned one. Reportedly, the Maoists also fired on the bus after the blast to ensure that nobody stays alive.

Thai Red Shirts General pronounced dead, death toll from clashes reaches 63