Armed Maoists raid home of Chhattisgarh legislator

About 40 armed Maoists raided the home of a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator in a village in a forested area of Chhattisgarh's Raipur district, police said Wednesday. Damrudhar Pujari said he was safe but in a state of shock.

The guerrillas, including several teenaged women cadres of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), raided Pujari's house between 10 pm and 11 pm Tuesday at village Mungapadar, about 160 km from here. They took away the service revolver and a few cartridges of his security guard.

"The attacked site is in the interior area in Raipur district close to the Orissa state border. The MLA was present when armed Maoists raided his house. He is safe," officials at the police headquarters here said.

"I am untouched and now safe but the incident has shocked me. They (the Maoists) have taken away the arms of my security guard. They argued with me for a while and raised slogans like 'Lal Salam' and 'Maoists zindabad'," Pujari said over the phone from his ancestral village in an interior area of Raipur and close to the Orissa border.

He said he was too stunned to give any details.

"I am the legislator of the state's ruling party and my house was attacked by armed Maoists. Though they spared me, police and authorities of Chhattisgarh are yet to take trouble to contact me whether I am safe or not," Pujari said.

The home department, it is learnt, has directed that police forces be rushed to Pujari's house. Efforts have also begun to strengthen the security cover provided to politicians who will be heading to their ancestral homes or constituencies in Maoist stronghold areas to celebrate Diwali.

Manish Sisodia: Hazare's health stable

Despite being on fast for the last seven days, social activist Anna Hazare's health parameters are "stable", said Manish Sisodia, a close aide of Hazare.

Speaking about Hazare's health, Sisodia said that he had shed 600 grams of his weight and the doctors have said that his condition was stable.

"Look he (Anna Hazare) has not eaten anything since past seven days. He has become weak, but in the morning when doctors came for his check-up, his blood pressure was 124/82, his weight has decreased by 600 grams since yesterday and his current weight is now 66.4 kilograms. His pulse rate is 84. According to doctors his condition is stable although, he has become weak but he is not serious," said Sisodia.

Sisodia further said that the spiritual mentor of Hazare, Bhayyuji Maharaj had tried to break the deadlock between the government and Hazare and added that he too had come with the government's version of the Ombudsman Bill, which was not acceptable to the civil society team.

"Look, a formal talk with the government is yet to begin but unofficially few people have come for talks. People related to Anna have begun the unofficial talks but it did not lead to a final result. A proposal had come from the side of Bhayyuji Maharaj," he added

Hazare's supporters and the government have earlier said during the weekend they are open to talks, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying there was a "lot of scope for give and take."

Moves to open talks come as the Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a nationwide protest against the government on Thursday, while a group of left parties is planning a national protest on Tuesday.