At 5.15 pm on March 25, Krishna Pasiet was thinking about closing up his small salon in Chhattisgarh’s Basaguda village, meandering to the end of a calm workday. Suddenly, all around him, he heard voices of men and women in panic, sounds not altogether unfamiliar to Bastar.
CRPF officers during a camp in Puvarti. (HT photo)
“People were shouting and running for their lives,” he wrote in his police complaint. He ran home. As villagers took shelter inside whatever structure they could find, a small team of Maoists, between
Prawesh Lama, an Associate Editor at Hindustan Times with nearly two decades of frontline reporting experience across India’s conflict zones, border regions, and disaster-hit areas. He writes on internal security, insurgency, the Northeast, and Left-wing extremism and has reported from India’s hinterland and some of the most sensitive and strategically critical regions.
Ritesh Mishra is the State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh with Hindustan Times. He reports on Maoism, internal security, politics, mining, governance, and major developments shaping the state. Based in Raipur, he has covered Chhattisgarh since 2016, reporting extensively from the Bastar region and other conflict-affected areas. With nearly two decades of experience in journalism, Ritesh has built a reputation for ground reporting from some of India's most challenging terrains. His coverage spans Left-Wing Extremism, counter-insurgency operations, elections, tribal affairs, environmental issues, infrastructure, mining, and socio-economic developments. He has reported on major security operations, policy initiatives, wildlife crime, and the changing dynamics of conflict and development in Central India. Before moving to Chhattisgarh, Ritesh spent eight years reporting from Madhya Pradesh, covering politics, administration, crime, development, and social issues. Throughout his career, he has reported on various forms of extremism in Central India, combining field reporting with in-depth analysis to produce accurate, balanced, and impactful journalism. Prior to joining Hindustan Times, Ritesh worked with The Pioneer and The Free Press Journal, where he covered a wide range of beats and honed his skills in political, investigative, and field reporting.
His reporting is marked by exclusive stories, extensive fieldwork, and a commitment to factual, on-the-ground journalism that brings complex issues to a wider audience.
