A red star has risen over Bastar. And everytime it twinkles it wreaks death, destruction and mayhem. The murder of state transport minister Likhiram Kawre last December had been the first big strike in recent years by Naxalites of the Peoples War Group (PWG) in Madhya Pradesh. The initial sense of alarm that had gripped the state administration gave way to the usual lackadaisical ways of the police force and a maladroit political system pretty quickly. The result was the loss of 23 policemen in a landmine blast near Narayanpur in Bastar last fortnight. Among those killed were an additional SP and three surrendered PWG members.