A 17-year old girl from Jharkhand's Latehar district is fighting for her life after being shot at by Naxal guerrillas who had allegedly raped her.

Concerned over the rising Maoists rampage, Home Minister P Chidambaram has written to Chief Ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal inviting them for a meeting in Delhi to be assured that they are "on the same page" with the Centre before the launch of inter-state operations against the Naxals.

Maoists set free Dalbhumgarh BDO Prashant Kumar Layek today, a week after they kidnapped him from East Singhbhum district.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Monday appealed to the Maoists to free the abducted Block Development Officer Prashan Kumar Layek and offered to open dialogue with them.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren today denied that he had a soft corner for naxalites but emphasied the need to understand the circumstances that forced them to take to arms.