|
|
|
India Timeline - Year 2010


|
January 1
|
A high security alert was sounded
in Bihar following intelligence reports that six Pakistani-trained
terrorists have infiltrated into the State from Nepal.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said that it would take another two to three years to curb the
Maoist menace.
The first major, concerted ground
offensive against Naxalites (Left Wing Extremists) has started
with Police forces in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh launching
a joint operation.
Three Pakistani terrorists, who were
kept in the Lampur detention centre for deportation, managed to
escape from the Police custody at Kotwali in Delhi.
|
|
January 3
|
The Delhi Police announced
a reward of INR 50,000 to those who provide information leading
to the arrest of each of the three Pakistani terrorists.
With the catch line
"who is against development?", the Union Government is hitting
at Naxals with a media blitzkrieg by putting out an advertisement
in national and regional newspapers about the destruction of vital
infrastructure by the CPI-Maoist.
|
|
January 4
|
A suspected Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
militant has been arrested at a check post at Cumbum near Theni
in Kerala after his passport and identity cards were found to
be forged.
An alert has been sounded
in the Eastern and East Central Railway (ECR) zones after intelligence
inputs suggested infiltration of Taliban-trained suicide squads
into Bihar and in metropolises like Kolkata.
Bihar Police denied the media reports
of Taliban and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
terrorist’s infiltration into the State from Nepal side.
The CPI-Maoist is recruiting hundreds
of children in an effort to strengthen their influence in the
heartlands of India.
|
|
January 5
|
A US Congressional report released
identified Dawood Ibrahim’s D-company as a "5,000-member criminal
syndicate operating mostly in Pakistan, India, and the United
Arab Emirates," which has a "strategic alliance" with Inter Services
Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s
external intelligence agency, and has "forged relationships with
Islamists, including LeT and al Qaeda."
|
|
January 6
|
The Communist Party of India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)-infested
States, including Jharkhand and Maharashtra, have set up a Special
Task Force (STF) in their bid to jointly tackle the Maoist problem.
|
|
January 7
|
Bihar Government sent 428 Police
Personnel, from constables to DSPs, to different Central Police
organisations for specialised training in jungle warfare, weapon
tactics and counter insurgency and commando operations.
According to intelligence agencies,
a 9/11-type terrorist attack using hijacked aero planes stares
India in the face with an Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist having
acquired pilot training and waiting to strike.
|
|
January 9
|
The central secretary of the Communist
Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) K. N. Ramachandran said
no one is shedding tears for the CPI-Maoist in Andhra Pradesh
because they had created a culture of extortion through individual
squads.
|
|
January 10
|
The security of 10
scientists working in sensitive areas, like defence and space,
has been tightened in the wake of threats from Pakistan-based
terrorist outfit LeT.
International terrorism
and organised crime including drug trafficking would feature among
the five agreements India would sign with Bangladesh during the
ongoing visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) killed 190 militants and Naxalites (left eng extremists)
besides arresting 2,054 in the year 2009. The Force lost 70 of
its personnel. A massive recovery of 48, 000 ammunition was
made in 293 encounters undertaken by the CRPF along with other
Security Forces.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
was recovered by the bomb squad of the Criminal Investigation
Department from a private bus parked at Hamiltonganj in Kalchini
of Jalpaiguri District.
The anti-Naxal force of the Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF) -- Commando Battalion for Resolute
Action (CoBRA) -- has been rechristened as Special Action Force
(SAF).
|
|
January 11
|
Charge sheet has been filed against
the 62 accused in connection with the July 26, 2008 Ahmedabad
serial bomb blasts in which 57 people were killed by a special
court.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina assured New Delhi that Dhaka would
not allow its soil to be used as a base for operations by groups
inimical to India, her Advisor Abul Kalam Azad said.
Manmohan Singh announced a USD 1
billion line of credit for Bangladesh, the highest one-time
line of credit assistance to any country by India.
|
|
January 12
|
The special designated Prevention
of Terrorism Act (POTA) court convicted 22 persons while acquitting
an equal number of accused in the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI) conspiracy case.
Two LeT militants were sentenced
to seven years of rigorous imprisonment each by a Delhi court
for possessing RDX in connection with a conspiracy to carry out
a suicide attack at the Indian Military Academy in
2005.
The Union Government has asked Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam to
remain fully alert to prevent any attempt by terrorists to disturb
peace.
The MHA has received substantive
inputs that many CPI-Maoist leaders, including its ‘general
secretary’ Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi,
have slipped out of their forest hideouts and entered urban pockets.
Since costs of procuring arms and
ammunition have skyrocketed due to inflation, the Maoists have
increased their protection money. They have increased their levy
rates by 5 to 10 percentage in 2010. The Maoists illegally
levy huge amounts on contractors, traders and even Government
servants to allow them function in a hassle-free way.
The MHA convened a meeting of Chief
Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs) of nine States
which are most affected by the LWE. Official sources said the
24th meeting of the coordination on LWE, discussed
the developmental activities that needs to be undertaken in the
Naxal affected areas.
Orissa is likely to get an additional
five battalions of the Central Para-military Force (CPMFs) for
undertaking anti-Naxalite operation in the State.
Uttar Pradesh Government unveiled
its new commando force Blue Hawks, which has been
raised by the State Police to tackle militants.
|
|
January 13
|
Seven Pakistani nationals have been
arrested from a boat which was intercepted by the BSF in the Cori
creek of Kutch District in Gujarat.
In a joint operation, the ATS of
Uttar Pradesh Police and Gurgaon (Haryana) Police arrested an
agent of the Pakistan’s ISI from Gurgaon for passing important
military information.
Official sources said that the Government
of China is yet to extend cooperation to India to prevent militant
groups of the Northeast region from procuring weapons from that
country, while, reports of frequent visits of the militant leaders
to China has also become a matter of serious concern.
|
|
January 14
|
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao asked
the United States to ensure that the billions of dollars
of American aid given to Pakistan is not diverted
for anti-India activities.
|
|
January 17
|
The CPI-Maoist now has developed
the expertise to clone sophisticated weapons, including assault
rifles of AK series.
|
|
January 18
|
The Special investigation Team
(SIT) of Hyderabad Police arrested ‘south India commander’ of
the LeT, identified as Shaik Abdul Khaja alias Amjad, from
Afzalgunj area of the city.
The CPI-Maoaist spokesperson and
member of the party's central committee Azad warned that Maoists
will surely go on the counter-offensive with the Centre cracking
down on Maoists in West Bengal and other affected States.
|
|
January 19
|
Bihar Police said Ghulam Rasool,
who was arrested from a train at Purnia Junction, is a member
of Taliban and has links with the LeT.
|
|
January 20
|
Thousands of paramilitary personnel
have launched a crackdown to target some 50 leaders of CPI-Maoist
across the country.
|
|
January 21
|
Militant groups operating in the
Northeast called for a boycott of the Republic Day celebration
on January 26.
The Union Government appointed
former Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon as the National Security
Advisor (NSA).
|
|
January 22
|
Security was beefed up at airports
across the country, after intelligence inputs suggests that Pakistan-based
terrorists outfits LeT and other al Qaeda-linked terrorists are
planning to hijack aeroplanes.
Another intelligence input said
that LeT is ready to carry out airborne suicide attacks using
para-gliders in India.
|
|
January 23
|
The Defence Minister A.K. Antony
said that threat of infiltration is growing in Jammu and Kashmir.
|
|
January 24
|
The Special Task Force (STF) of
Kolkata city Police seized INR 392000 Fake Indian Currency Notes
(FICN) from three persons.
CPI-Maoist leader Koteswar Rao
alias Kishan wrote to Union Minister for Railways Mamata
Banerjee that it wouldn’t be possible for the Maoists to give
up arms and sit for talks.
|
|
January 25
|
An ISI agent was arrested by ATS
of the Uttarakhand Police in Roorkee. A number of documents related
to Army cantonment of Roorkee, Bikaner, Patiala and Dehradun were
recovered from him.
The Uttarakhand Government sounded
a red alert across the State following intelligence reports of
fresh terror threats to defence establishments and Dehradun-based
Indian Military Academy.
|
|
January 28
|
Reacting to Pakistani investigators
admission of LeT’s role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that LeT operations commander Zakiur
Rehman Lakhvi is only one of the 26/11 masterminds, adding that
there are other masterminds also.
Home minister Chidambaram strongly
refuted Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Gilani's claim that
there was insufficient evidence on Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD) chief
Hafiz Saeed's links to 26/11.
Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani
denied Indian accusations that his Government was dragging its
feet on booking the prime accused of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks,
saying the alleged chief architect Hafiz Saeed was very much on
trial and the court had to decide when to order his arrest.
Sending a strong message to the
CPI-Maoist the Union said the anti-Naxal operations would stop
only if the Naxalites abjure violence and decides to come to the
negotiation table.
Referring to reports that Jharkhand
had halted the anti-Naxal offensive, Chidambaram said Jharkhand
CM Shibu Soren told me that there is no change in policy of Jharkhand
government and that he is on board with other chief ministers
of Naxal-affected states on the strategy being worked out.
|
|
January 31
|
The interrogation of top CPI-Maoist
ideologue Kobad Ghandy has revealed the close ties the Maoist
leadership has developed with their counterparts in Nepal.
The CRPF Special Director General
and commander of the anti-Naxal task force Vijay Raman said in
New Delhi that the Security Forces are in an "operation mode".
Asked about possible talks with the Naxals, he said, "I am not
aware of it. As far as we are concerned, we are on the ops (operation)
mode."
|
| February
1 |
Shahzad alias Pappu, an accused
in the September 13, 2008 serial bomb blasts in Delhi was arrested
by the ATS of the Uttar Pradesh Police from from Khalispur village
in Azamgarh District. He was a cadre of the IM outfit and reportedly
carried a cash reward of INR 500000 on his head.
The Centre said the situation in
CPI-Maoist -affected States continues to be "a cause of grave
concern" and feared that the trend of rising violence - witnessed
in 2009 - would continue in 2010.
The Mumbai Police investigators said
that they might have identified Indian LeT operative who played
a key role in guiding the operations of the team that attacked
Mumbai in November 26, 2008. Police believe the Indian national
in the LeT's control room could be Syed Zabiuddin Syed Zakiuddin
Ansari, a LeT-linked Maharashtra resident, who has been a fugitive
since 2005.
The programmes taken up under the
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which increase agriculture
productivity in the rural areas, are not being "blocked" by the
CPI-Maoist, a study has claimed.
|
| February
2 |
The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested
Hamiduddin alias Hamiruddin alias Salim, who was
wanted in connection with the serial bomb blasts on running trains
in different parts of the country in 1993, from Lucknow.
The arrested IM militant and Delhi
bomb blast accused Shehzad Ahmed alias Pappu confessed
that the outfit was planning air attacks through its air terror
module.
30 new Marine Police Stations have
been sanctioned by the MHA for Tamil Nadu in the second phase
of the Coastal Security Scheme. With this, the total number of
such Police Stations in the State will increase to 42.
Central Security agencies have been
informed about a threat issued by the CPI-Maoist to Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram, who is reluctant to take personal security.
|
| February
3 |
A city court in New Delhi sent Shahzad
Ahmad alias Pappu, an IM terrorist and wanted for his role
in September 13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts, to three days
Police custody after he was produced before a magistrate.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED)
has registered around 30 cases across India in the last three
months against terrorists on charges of money laundering and waging
war against the country. It has also frozen many bank accounts,
and sealed properties allegedly acquired using terror funds.
Senior officers in the Central Para-military
Forces said violence levels had gone down in Chhattisgarh and
Maharashtra primarily because of the increased deployment of SFs.
|
| February
4 |
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
has said that at least one of the handlers of the November 26,
2008 (also known as 26/11) attackers could be an Indian whose
true identity has not been ascertained because of Pakistan's refusal
to give voice samples of the suspects.
India has proposed Foreign Secretary-level
talks to discuss terrorism and any other issue that could lead
to peace between the two neighbours.
|
| February
5 |
The Union Government has extended
the ban on the SIMI
for another two years, beginning on February 8. The outfit has
been facing a ban since September 2001. Sources in the MHA said
that the ban on SIMI will now continue till February 7, 2012.
The CPI-Maoist called a 72-hour general
shut down in five States and partial bandh in three States
in protest against talks, scheduled to be held in West Bengal
State capital- Kolkata, between the State Governments and the
Centre on issues of price rise and internal security.
The Jama'at-ud-Da'awa (JuD),
front organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), in Pakistan had
warned of the city being a potential target. Addressing a rally
in Islamabad, Abdur Rehman Makki, ‘deputy’ to JuD leader Hafiz
Saeed said that at one time, jihadis were interested only
in the liberation of Kashmir but the water issue had ensured that
"Delhi, Pune and Kanpur" were all fair targets.
|
| February
7 |
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurating
the Chief Ministers conference on Internal Security in New Delhi
said that hostile groups and elements were operating "from across
the border to perpetrate terrorist acts in our country, and Jammu
and Kashmir bears the brunt of the acts of these groups". There
was a marked decline in the number of terrorist incidents in Jammu
and Kashmir from 2008 to 2009, he said, but expressed concern
at the increase in the number of infiltration bids.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
described the Pakistan-based terrorist outfits as "dark forces,"
which were "implacably" opposed to India. They would be defeated
whenever confronted, he said.
Chidambaram also said that during
2009, there was a rise in the number of deaths among civilians
(591), Security Forces (317) and militants (217) in the Maoist-affected
States.
On the vacancies in the State Police
forces, Chidambaram said that 1, 03, 000 recruitments would have
made by March 31, 2010, but another 150 000 vacancies needed to
be filled.
The Union Government has offered
two dates- February 18 and 25 - for Foreign Secretary-level talks
with Pakistan in New Delhi.
|
|
February 9
|
The Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram reiterated his call to CPI-Maoist to shun
violence after a meeting in Kolkata to discuss LWE problem being
faced by four eastern States.
The Union Home
Minister gave a clean chit to his Cabinet colleague and Railway
Minister Mamata Banerjee who is being accused by the West Bengal
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of colluding with Maoists.
CPI-Maoist
‘general secretary’ Ganapathy said that his party is ready for
talks with one of the pre-conditions being Maoist leaders like
Narayan Sanyal, Amitabha Bagchi, Sushil Roy and Kobad Gandhi be
released from custody.
|
|
February 10
|
Special Director
of the CBI Sharad Chandra Sinha was appointed the second chief
of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
|
|
February 11
|
Two unidentified
assailants shot dead the defence lawyer of the 26/11 accused Fahim
Ansari at suburban Kurla in Mumbai. The slain lawyer was identified
as Shahid Azmi.
The Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that the Centre is ready to welcome
Kashmiris who had gone to PoK if they were willing to return after
giving up militancy.
|
|
February 12
|
First wide-ranging dialogue
between India and Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks would take
place in New Delhi on February 25.
|
|
February 13
|
Nine persons,
including two foreigners, were killed and over 40 injured in a
bomb blast in the famous German Bakery on North Main Avenue in
Koregaon Park near the Osho Ashram in Pune around 7.30 p.m. (IST).
The Union Government
said the scene of Pune’s bomb blast was very close to Osho Ashram
which had been surveyed by LeT operative David Coleman Headley,
which the Maharashtra Government had been alerted about this in
the month of October, 2009.
|
|
February 14
|
A huge cache
of explosives, including 200 kilograms of ammonium nitrate and
600 detonators, were seized by Gujarat Police from Vapi area in
Valsad District.
The MHA sounded
an alert in Delhi, Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
following the inputs from intelligence agencies that public places
may be on the radar screen of terrorists.
The Union Home
Secretary G. K. Pillai told that Gadchiroli in Maharashtra will
be free from left wing extremism.
|
|
February 15
|
Pune Police Commissioner Satyapal
Singh informed that the toll in the February 13 bomb blast has
gone up to 10. The report confirms that altogether 10 persons,
including two foreign nationals, were killed and 60 others injured
in the incident. Singh further reaffirmed that RDX, ammonium nitrate
and hydrocarbon oil were used in the bomb blast.
Investigators detained two suspects
from Kudalwadi and Janwadi on the outskirts of Pune city. A
television report also claimed that two more persons were also
detained in Aurangabad District.
The Union Government did not rule
out the hand of a foreign force in the Pune bomb blast. Union
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said that the blast was a part of the
notorious ‘Karachi Project’ of the LeT which was aimed at attacking India.
Maharashtra and West Bengal, which
have been hit by terrorist and CPI-Maoist violence, are among
the seven States that have fared poorly in modernising their Police
Force.
US, UK and Australia issued
fresh travel advisories, alerting their citizens to exercise caution
but stopping short of asking tourists to avoid travelling to India.
|
|
February 16
|
A Delhi court convicted
two HuJI-B militants, including a Bangladeshi national, of possessing
explosives, hawala (informal money laundering
system) money and waging war against the country, charges which
envisage death penalty as the maximum punishment.
A little known Pakistan-based
terrorist outfit has claimed responsibility for the
Pune bomb blast. Identifying himself as a spokesperson of a group
calling itself the Lashkar-e-Toiba al-Almi (LeT-al-Almi,
meaning international) an individual using the code-name ‘Abu Jindal’
said the bombing was carried out because of India’s "refusal"
to discuss the Kashmir issue in the coming talks with
Pakistan.
One so-called Indian Mujahideen
Kashmir outfit also claimed responsibility of the attack through
a text message sent to some media houses. Indian intelligence
sources said that the claims appeared intended to deflect attention
from the LeT, which is emerging as the principal suspect.
|
|
February 17
|
The death toll in the Pune bomb
blast has raised to 11, as Aditya Mehta, of New Delhi, who
sustained injuries in the blast, died at the Jehangir Hospital.
Pune Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh
expressed suspicion that the bomb that went off at the German
Bakery might have been triggered by a remote control. There were
unconfirmed reports that four persons had been taken into custody
at Hampi in Karnataka in the case.
|
|
February 18
|
A Delhi court remanded
a suspected IM terrorist to seven days' Police custody in a fresh
case relating to the serial explosions in Delhi on September
13, 2008.
Rajasthan Police issued a terror
alert for the One-Day International (ODI) cricket match between
India and South Africa to be played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium
(SMS) in Jaipur on February 21.
The Centre is planning to deploy
around 15,000 additional paramilitary personnel by April 2010
in the Naxal-affected States to deal with the extremists.
|
|
February 19
|
A Sudanese student, who was injured
in the February 13 Pune bomb blast has died, taking the toll in
the terror attack to 12.
The Kolhapur District
Police seized 70 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 6,525 gelatine sticks
and 10,225 electronic detonators, all together worth INR.97, 900.
Intellectual support to the CPI-Maoist
has made the task of tackling Maoists very difficult as it confused
people, said Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said that all pending issues related to the November 26, 2008
Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11) investigation would
be raised by India at foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan,
scheduled to be held on February 25.
|
|
February 20
|
The death toll in Pune bomb blast
raises to 13 as one, Atul Anap (30), succumbed to his injuries
at the Inlak Budhrani Hospital in Pune.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
has called a meeting of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal
Chief Ministers in New Delhi to make sure that all States
are on the "same page" in the fight against LWE.
|
|
February 21
|
The death toll in the German Bakery
bomb blast in Pune rose to 15 as two more persons succumbed to
injuries sustained in the attack.
|
|
February 22
|
The CPI-Maoist leadership said
that it was ready for dialogue only if the Centre halted security
operations targeting the outfit for 72 days. The condition comes
within a week of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram saying that
the Centre would find ways to facilitate talks with the Maoists
if the latter halted violence for 72 hours.
In New Delhi, a MHA official
said the Government was "studying" the Maoist offer
and would come with a response at an "appropriate time."
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
said that talks with Pakistan on February 25 would be
restricted to India’s "core concerns" over cross-border
terrorism.
Amid security concerns in the
wake of Pakistan-based jihadi group's threats
to upcoming sporting events in India and the February 13 Pune
bomb blast, the Government said there was "no credible threat"
to any such meet in the country in 2010 and it was taking maximum
precaution to ensure foolproof security.
|
|
February 23
|
The Maharashtra ATS detained another
suspected HuJI-B militant identified as Faisal in Surat Gujarat as
part of the ongoing probe into the February 13 Pune (Maharashtra)
bomb blast.
Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai
said that the Government was awaiting a probe report of the Maharashtra
ATS on the Pune bomb blast which was expected to come within a
week's time.
A day after CPI-Maoist proposed
a conditional cease-fire, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram rejected
the offer, saying the Government would not accept any "ifs and
buts" for talks. Instead, he asked the CPI-Maoist to come out
with a statement pledging to "abjure violence".
|
|
February 24
|
The death toll in the February
13, 2010 bomb blast in German Bakery in Pune (Maharashtra) has
gone up to 16 as Anas Al Fatih Suleiman (21), a Sudanese national,
succumbing to his wounds.
The SIMI and the IM have claimed
responsibility for the Pune bomb blast, Police Commissioner Satyapal
Singh said.
A designated anti-terrorism court
in Pune passed an order restraining the electronic media from
telecasting footage of the blast site.
The National Defence Academy in
Khadagwasla (Maharashtra) and defence establishments in Pune (Maharashtra)
figure on LeT’s hit list, apart from civilian targets such as
Osho Ashram and Chabad House, FBI has told the Government
Union Minister of State for Home
Affairs Ajay Maken disclosed that the Naxals (Left
wing Extremists) is running arms manufacturing units in the interior
areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
CPI-Maoist affected States, like West
Bengal and Orissa, top the list having the highest shortfall
of IPS officers.
|
|
February 25
|
India submitted three dossiers
during foreign secretary level talk with Pakistan in New
Delhi , which Pakistan assured it would seriously
examine. One dossier provides information on some individuals
associated with the November 26, 2008 (also known as 26/11) Mumbai
attacks, the second was a list of Indian fugitives sheltered in
Pakistan and the third on the JuD, chief Hafiz Saeed’s anti-India
statements.
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman
Bashir dismissed a strong Indian dossier on Hafiz Saeed as "literature,
not evidence", seriously endangering the future of the engagement.
In a raid on a house at Shendrun
village in the Shahapur taluk (revenue unit)
in Thane (Rural) District, the Police seized 150 kilograms of
ammonium nitrate, 450 electronic detonators and 500 gelatine sticks,
all together worth INR6750.
|
|
February 26
|
The Taliban militants carried
out coordinated suicide attacks at two hotels in Kabul, the
capital city of Afghanistan, killing at least nine Indians,
including two Major-rank Army officers.
The BSF Director General's office
in New Delhi received a mysterious parcel with pieces
of detonators in it. One person has been arrested in this connection.
In the Union Budget for the year
2010-11 presented, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee put the focus
on countering Left Wing Extremism through an "integrated action
plan" besides carrying forward ongoing internal security measures
including recruitment, training and modernisation of Police Forces.
|
|
February 27
|
The death toll in the February
13 German Bakery blast in Pune rose to 17, with the death of one
Aditi Jindal of Chandigarh (23).
|
|
February 28
|
Defence Minister
said that 42 terror camps are still active in Pakistan and
that lack of a serious attempt or effort by that country to dismantle
them is the main cause of concern for us.
|
|
March 1
|
Four Kolkata
(West Bengal) based businessmen have received extortion
calls from the terrorist outfit IM, which is now headed by Amir Reza
Khan, who hails from the city and was one of the masterminds of
the 2002 American Center attack.
|
|
March 2
|
Pakistan-based
LeT was blamed by an Afghan intelligence official for February
26, 2010 car bomb and suicide attacks that killed 16 people,
including 9 Indians, in Kabul.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that sanctions amounting to INR 6067
million were issued in the month of February for acquisition of
land and construction of buildings and barracks for Central Paramilitary
Forces (CPMFs).
Chidambaram
also said that a major part of fencing, surfacing and road work
being carried out along India’s international borders with Bangladesh and China were
completed during February 2010.
Chidambaram
also said that the MHA was particularly strengthening the country’s
coastal security, and have added 14 more boats to its force.
A terror alert
has been sounded in five key cities of Gujarat following an intelligence
tip-off, an official said.
|
|
March 3
|
A key suspect
in the 1993 Surat (Gujarat) bomb blast case, wanted
by Police worldwide for over 17 years, was arrested from a north England grocery
store on February 16, a spokesman of the Metropolitan Police said.
The Union Government
has set up combined SOGs of State Police Forces and CRPF in Left
Wing Extremism-affected States, which will coordinate among themselves
for joint operations.
The Union Government
presented the counter proposal to the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) to resolve the vexed Naga problem.
A day after
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram termed CPI-Maoist leader Koteswar
Rao alias Kishan's truce offer as "bizarre",
top Government officials said Kishan's offer for talks may
be considered if he could ensure complete cease-fire for 72 hours.
Demanding release
of his close aide Venkateswar Reddy alias Telugu Dipak,
who was arrested from the southern fringes of Kolkata, the Maoist
leader Kishan said his outfit was ready for talks with the Government
but it has not responded so far.
Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran informed
the Parliament that the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu
and Kashmir, some of the ISRO scientists and nuclear establishments
across the country continue to be on the terror radar.
The other Minister
of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Maken, said: "In view of the prevailing
security scenario in the country, the nuclear establishments,
hotels, tourist and religious places and important personalities
like scientists in the country continue to remain prime target
of the terrorist groups and outfits".
|
|
March 4
|
Delhi Police
sought death penalty from a court against two HuJI militants,
including a Bangladeshi national, who have been convicted of waging
war against the country and possessing explosives.
The Union Government
and the NSCN-IM continued talks for the second day on March
3 when its demand for sovereignty for Nagaland and its territorial
claims over portions of neighbouring States were categorically
rejected.
The Union Government
clarified that it had not received any formal request for peace
dialogues so far at the organizational level from the United Liberation
Front of Asom (ULFA).
Voicing concern
over America's reported decision to supply sophisticated
weapons to Pakistan, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said
that the US should ensure that the "latest tranche of
military aid" is used in fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists
and not against India.
A Delhi court
allowed the NIA to interrogate a suspected LeT militant as part
of its probe against Pakistani born American national David Coleman
Headley charged with conspiring in November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist
attacks.
The MHA decided
to send 2,000 more Paramilitary Force personnel, trained in jungle
warfare, to Bihar and Jharkhand to help the Police counter
the LWE violence.
|
|
March 5
|
Union Home Secretary
G.K. Pillai said in New Delhi that the objective of the CPI-Maoist
engaged in an armed ‘liberation struggle' was to overthrow the
Indian State by 2050, as indicated by documents seized from them.
The ATS of the Uttar
Pradesh Police arrested an IM cadre and accused in the September
13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts identified as Salman alias Chhotu,
in Siddhartnagar District.
|
|
March 6
|
Kolkata (West Bengal)
and Bhubaneswar (Orissa) could be among the next targets of CPI-Maoists
cadres, if the Union Government does not announce talks immediately,
CPI-Maoists politburo member and military commander Koteswar Rao alias Kishan
has warned.
|
|
March 7
|
The Union Government
decided to set up a 'centralised database' to check terror funding
by integrating intelligence from different central security agencies.
Sikh militant outfits
based abroad are trying to revive terrorism in Punjab and the
Government is maintaining a close watch on such outfits, the MHA
said.
The Union Government
may not be willing to allow ULFA ‘commander in chief’ Paresh Baruah
to "hold talks to hostage" for an indefinite period if the other
leaders of the outfit express their desire to solve the problems
through discussions, highly placed official sources said.
Bodoland Territorial
Council (BTC) Chief Hagrama Mahilary held talks with ULFA ‘publicity
secretary’ Mithinga Daimari at the latter’s residence at Nizzuluki
near Barama of Baksa District in Assam.
|
|
March 8
|
Arrested IM cadre
and September 13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blast accused Salman
Ahmed was remanded to eight-day Police custody. The investigators
claim that he has already provided some details of the LeT plans
to launch fresh attacks on Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
MEA denied Pakistan's
contention that LeT chief Hafiz Saeed did not figure in the recent
foreign secretary-level talks.
Two suspected terrorists
of Indian Mujahideen outfit were arrested by SFs) along the India-Bangladesh
border.
The MHA issued an
alert for Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore saying these cities could
be targeted by terrorists.
|
|
March 9
|
Minister of State
for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran told Lok Sabha (Lower
house of parliament) in a written reply on March 9 that the LeT
and the Naxalites (Left-Wing Extremist) had undertaken extensive
recces in a bid to attack CISF armouries located at power plants
in several States.
Available reports
indicate that some educated youth have been found to be involved
in anti-national activities, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament)
was informed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken.
Arrested IM cadre
Salman Ahmed alias Chhotu has revealed that most
IM operatives have shifted base from Bangladesh to Nepal after
the massive crackdown by Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion in
the past few months.
The IM cadres from
Nepal had conducted a reccee of the Kolkata city around four months
ago, say intelligence officers who are interrogating Salman.
The CIA warned India
and Brazil that they face "emerging threats" from al-Qaeda and
Taliban, though the terrorist outfits are "on the run" due to
extreme pressure exerted on them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A hotline across
India-Myanmar border connecting Tamu, Chandel and Imphal would
be installed, to share intelligence information on various issues
between two countries and to help in curbing incidents of crimes
taking place on the Manipur side of the international border.
Union Government
has denied Pakistan's allegation that it was involved in March
8 bomb blast in Lahore and said Islamabad routinely came up with
such "baseless" charges.
India also rejected
Pakistani allegation of non-adherence to Indus Water Treaty, saying
it was yet another move to raise an "anti-India" bogey to create
"popular resonance" to cover up their internal domestic water
woes and asked Islamabad to do better water management.
|
|
March 10
|
The Union Government
admitted that shortage of manpower have made it difficult to safeguard
"all public places" in the country.
Although the
shortage of manpower is a country-wide phenomenon, Maharashtra,
which witnessed the latest terror attack despite having intelligence
alert, presented a dismal picture with the highest number of Police
vacancies (49,252) in the country, the report added. There
is an existing vacancy of over 267000 of Police personnel across
the country.
Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said in the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House) that Assam witnessed considerably lesser number
of terror incidents in 2009 than the previous years. According
to him, Assam reported 1297 terror incidents during
2009. The figure was 1561 in 2008.
Terrorist outfit
IM has set up bases not only in Karachi in Pakistan, where its
top leaders Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal are
currently located, but also has safe houses in Gulf countries,
Nepal and Bangladesh, interrogation of arrested IM cadres has
revealed.
As per matching
versions of IM operations put out by Salman, IM cadres were
receiving training at the same facilities used by the LeT, both
in Karachi as well as other parts of Pakistan. Salman also
revealed that the outfit’s new recruiting grounds are now in South
India.
Security agencies
suspect that several modules of such trained IM cadres may be
currently lying dormant, waiting to be activated by LeT ‘commanders’
who may not be holed up in the Kashmir Valley.
The European Union’s
(EU) counter-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, said on
that Pakistan-based LeT is a "dangerous group" having a "global
agenda".
A Bangladeshi national
and his Kashmiri associate, both belonging to the HuJI outfit,
were sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court for possessing
explosives and waging war against country.
Chidambaram said
that terrorism and militancy are being fanned to destabilise the
economy of the country which is at the threshold of a double digit
growth.
|
|
March 11
|
The ISI, Pakistan’s
external intelligence agency, continues to maintain links with
the LeT, the terrorist outfit responsible for November 26 Mumbai
terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11), and Islamabad is reluctant
to take action against its leaders and its network, several eminent
US scholars and experts of South Asia have categorically told
US lawmakers.
A resolution of
Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan would no longer satisfy
LeT and the militant outfit would continue to pose a serious threat
to both India and the western world in particular the US, top
experts have told American lawmakers.
The eminent Pakistani
scholar and Director of South Asia Centre, the Atlantic Council
of the United States Shuza Nawaz said "resolving the Kashmir problem
by itself is not going to remove this threat because the aim of
these groups is to leverage themselves into a position of power
inside Pakistan and to take control,".
Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar urged Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to stop
communicating with the LWEs via the media.
Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee said the railways was losing 40 percent of its
business due to various Naxal (left wing extremism) incidents, bandhs (shut
downs) and strikes across States including the insurgency-hit
areas.
The border guarding
agencies of India and Bangladesh - BSF and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
- agreed to increase mutual cooperation in restricting cross-border
movement of criminals/insurgents and help in identifying `suitable
patches' even within 150 yards of the border for erecting fences.
|
|
March 12
|
The central investigating
agencies confirmed IM role in the bomb blast at Pune's German
Bakery on February 13 that killed 17 persons and injured more
than 70.
Indian envoys in
Afghanistan are now under threat from Pakistan-supported terrorists.
According to Government sources, India has received credible intelligence
inputs on a terrorist plot to abduct Indian diplomats.
The MHA has asked
Kerala Police to step up security in Kochi following intelligence
inputs that LeT militants may attempt to strike the coastal city.
Calling Naxalism (Left-wing
Extremism) a "graver problem" than jihadi (Islamist
Extremist) terrorism, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said
that the Government had a legitimate right to use as much force
as necessary to regain control of areas dominated by the CPI-Maoist
and expressed confidence that the Government would be able to
"get rid of the Maoist menace" before the United Progressive Alliances
(UPA) second term ended.
Chidambaram blamed
Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism against India, vowing "swift
and decisive" response if a fresh terror attack was found to have
been directed from within Pakistan.
Chidambaram said
nothing came out of February 25 foreign secretary-level talks
between the two countries, adding, "But I am told we are still
open to another round of talks between foreign secretaries
|
|
March 14
|
The Maharashtra
ATS arrested two militants for plotting to set ablaze the Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) office in Mumbai, ATS
chief K.P. Raghuvanshi said.
The MHA sources
in New Delhi said that the conspiracy was part of the Karachi
Project — a joint venture of the ISI and LeT which involves serving
and retired officers of the Pakistan Army and fugitive
terrorists from India.
The Gujarat
ATS has claimed to have arrested a suspected HM militant, identified
as Bashir Ahmed Baba alias "Aijaz"
from the national highway near Anand.
Pakistan-based
terrorist outfit LeT has identified as many as 320 targets across
the globe, 20 of which are in India, US Congressman
Gary Ackerman said.
|
|
March 15
|
Pakistan has
violated cease-fire agreement along the International Border (IB)
and the Line of Control (LoC) 139 times during the last three
years and 485 militants had tried to infiltrate into Jammu and
Kashmir in 2009, Government said.
A Memorandum
of Understanding has been signed with Indian Space Research Organisation
to provide a communication network to the Navy, including space-based
resources.
The Union Government
warned of retaliatory attacks from the CPI-Maoist and alerted
all its SFs operating in Left Wing Extremism-affected States following
the arrest of four LWEs and the seizure of over 2,800 kilograms
of explosives in Andhra Pradesh.
|
|
March 16
|
CPI-Maoist
called a 48-hour bandh (shut down) from March 22 in Bihar,
Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and
three Districts of Maharashtra- Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli-
to protest the ongoing operations by SFs against them.
The Union Government
has ruled out the possibility of the ULFA maintaining permanent
camps in Arunachal Pradesh.
|
|
March 17
|
Defence Minister
A. K. Antony said that Pakistan has 42 terror camps within its
territory and the neighbouring country was not taking effective
steps to dismantle the terror outfits.
LeT has two support
groups in Kerala, reveals arrested militant Thadiyantavide Nazeer
during interrogation by the Police team in Kannur.
NSA Shivshankar
Menon said that India is going to continue with its relief and
reconstruction programme in Afghanistan.
|
|
March 18
|
Pakistani-American
LeT operative David Coleman Headley, accused of plotting the 26/11
Mumbai terrorist attacks and conspiring to target a Danish newspaper,
pleaded guilty before a U.S. court in Chicago.
Maharashtra Deputy
Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that the Vidhan Bhavan (State
Legislature building) was on the terror hit-list, while responding
to questions on heightened security on the opening day of the
budget session.
The Police custody
of Abdul Latif Sheikh alias Guddu and Riyaz Ali alias
Rehan, arrested on the charge of plotting to set ablaze the Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) office in Mumbai, was extended
to March 26.
The BRTS in Ahmadabad
could well be the next terror target, said ATS officials.
The Army Chief
General Deepak Kapoor has said that there has been "no decline"
in support from Pakistan to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and
top militant leaders including LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
is operating with impunity from its territory despite international
pressure after 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
|
|
March 19
|
The CPI-Maoist
suspects that the party's "untraceable" politburo member
and spokesperson Cherkuri Rajkumar alias Azad has been
arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police and is being held in "illegal
custody".
|
|
March 20
|
The central committee
of the CPI-Maoist has called for a 48-hour general shut down on
March 22 and 23 in six states namely, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh apart from the Maoist-infested
Districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
|
|
March 21
|
A joint Police
team of the Punjab and Delhi Police neutralised a module of the BKI,
an outfit backed by Pakistan's ISI, by arresting three militants
from Punjab and Delhi.
External Affairs
Minister S.M. Krishna said that Indian aid workers in Kabul have
become "soft targets" for terrorists who want to derail India-Afghan
relations.
The
CPI-Maoist claimed that its missing leader Cherkuri Rajkumar alias Azad,
has been found.
|
|
March 22
|
A special team
comprising members of NIA, as also MHA officials, will soon leave
for the US to question Pakistani-American militant David Coleman
Headley who recently confessed plotting November 26, 2008 Mumbai
terrorists attack attacks and also his links with the
LeT.
|
|
March 23
|
The Centre
issued an alert to Maoist violence-affected States - West
Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh –against
possible attacks on railway networks in the wake of CPI-Maoist
cadres targeting a Rajdhani Express train in Gaya,
by blasting the rail tracks.
Security was
beefed up at Marwar Junction after authorities received two separate
letters containing threats to blow up the station.
|
|
March 25
|
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram urged the UK and the US to
put pressure on Pakistan to shut down terror camps operating
in that country adding terror training must come to an end.
|
|
March 26
|
The investigations
into the arrest of two terror suspects, who were planning to set
ablaze the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) Bandra
headquarters, revealed that they were also plotting to strike
at two more places in Mumbai, including Bandra’s G7
cinema complex, officials said.
Speaking
to reporters after meeting Union Home Minister P Chidambaram,
Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said, "Infiltration has increased
in Jammu and Kashmir this winter in comparison to last
winter.
LeT operative
David Coleman Headley identified five-six serving officers of
the Pakistan Army among the leaders of the Karachi Project, which
seeks to organize attacks on India through fugitive
Indian jihadis being sheltered in Karachi by
the ISI-LeT combine.
Several satellite
phone conversations intercepted by Indian agencies in the past
few months indicate that LeT is now deeply involved in attempts
to drive India out of Afghanistan.The intercepts
also revealed that ISI officials were in constant touch with not
just LeT but also other groups in Afghanistan to carry
out attacks against Indians and Indian establishments in Afghanistan.
Another Chicago-based
Pakistani-American has been arrested on terrorism charges, this
time for apparently providing material support to the al Qaeda.
|
|
March 27
|
Pakistan-based
LeT, predominately a threat to India, is fast expanding operations
to other South Asian countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Maldives, said Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of
the US Pacific Command in his testimony before the Senate Armed
Services Committee.
Militants are
using GPS for cross-border infiltration and locating safe routes
in Jammu and Kashmir, Police said after a high-end GPS was
found from LeT militants.
|
|
March 28
|
About 400 militants
were waiting to cross over to Indian side of the Line of Control
(LoC) and nearly 300 militants were active in the Kashmir Valley,
Brigadier General Staff at 15 Corps headquarters Gurmeet Singh
said.
Intelligence
agencies of Security Forces and Police believed that the number
of Kashmiri youths held up in PoK was precisely 2500.
In a veiled
reference to Pakistan, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
pressed the point that India continued to remain vulnerable
to State sponsored terror.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram listed Maoist violence as one of the grave
challenges facing the country and assured the gathering that the
Government would free areas held by Naxals in the next
three years.
In an attempt
to attract more unemployed youths into their armed fight, the
CPI-Maoist has started shelling out INR 3,000 to each of their
cadres as salary and a cut of the extortion money.
|
|
March 29
|
The Army said that nearly 550
terrorists were operative in the State, including around 250 in Jammu region,
while 200-250 others were waiting at different launch pads across
the LoC to enter the Indian territory to help the depleted
rank and file of militant organizations in launching offensive.
The latest report of the CAG for
the year ended March 31, 2009 points out that the State’s
Police department is facing shortage of weapons.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
would make an aerial survey of the India-Myanmar border along
Arunachal Pradesh on April 3, fuelling speculation that a joint
operation against Northeast militants based in the neighbouring
country is on the cards.
|
|
March 30
|
The CPI-Maoist central committee
spokesperson Azad said that the party will build country-wide
people’s struggle to avenge the killings of Maoist leadersSakhamuri Appa Rao
and Kondal Reddy on March 12.
As per the Annual Report 2009-10
of the MHA, LWE violence in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh have
seen a drop in 2009 as compared to the situation in 2008.
|
|
March 31
|
That marking
the end of the year-long November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack
(also known as 26/11) trial, the special sessions court in Mumbai
announced May 3, 2010, as "the day of judgment."
The bullet-proof jacket worn by
slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the November
26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack (also known as 26/11) was not
meant for protection from AK-47 bullets, Police told the Bombay
High Court.
Keeping pace with the
requirement of senior cops to meet various security challenges
across the country, the Union Government has increased the cadre
strength of IPS officers in 16 States and all Union territories
by 287 with Uttar Pradesh being allotted the maximum 47 posts
followed by 36 to Maharashtra.
The Union Government has frozen
18 bank accounts found involved in terror financing under the
stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
INR 222.5 million was released
by the MHA for the families of 416 slain Central Para-Military
Forces personnel as a grant-in-aid for payment of compensation,
Chidambaram said.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony warned
that a "hot summer" is on the cards for Indian Security
Forces as more terrorists will be sent across the border.
|
|
April 2
|
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said that the Union Government had resolved to tackle terrorism
stringently and would not allow any militant group to carry out
subversive activities in the Northeast.
Further, P. Chidambaram said,
recommendations of two panels on replacing the controversial Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act, in force in some north-eastern States,
with a more humane law would soon be placed before the Cabinet.
P. Chidambaram added that violence
and militancy in the "Northeast have come down".
Apart from asking for a ceasefire
from the Government and demand for release of political prisoners,
the CPI-Maoist has now demanded that the ban on the outfit be
lifted to create a conducive atmosphere for talks between the
sides.
|
|
April 4
|
At least 79 gelignite sticks,
capable of causing a huge explosion, were recovered from a bridge
construction site near Tirurangadi area in Malappuram District.
During his visit to Lalgarh in
West Midnapore District of West Bengal, Union Home Minister P.
Chidambaram made a fresh offer of talks with the CPI-Maoist if
they abjured violence.
The 2009-10 annual report of the
MHA has indicated that the terror infrastructure in Pakistan continues
to remain intact and infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir remains
unabated with a substantial increase in 2009
Giving an overview of the internal
security scenario, the MHA annual report said, the situation in
the country remains largely under control, though violence has
increased in terms of number of incidents and casualties of civilians
and security personnel, as compared to the corresponding period
of 2008.
Left wing extremists operate in
the vacuum created by functional inadequacies of field level governance
structures, espouse local demands and take advantage of prevalent
dissatisfaction and feelings of perceived neglect and injustice
among the under-privileged segments of population.
While the overall counter action
by the affected States in terms of LWEs killed, arrested and surrendered
has shown much better results in 2009, there is an urgent need
to strengthen Police response particularly by Bihar, Jharkhand,
Orissa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh by improving actionable intelligence
collection and sharing mechanisms and strengthening their Police
Force, the report said.
|
|
April 6
|
A US Defence
Department think tank warned that India’s transportation, economic
infrastructure and political establishment are on the Lashkar-e-Toiba’s
(LeT) radar. It has also confirmed India’s charge that the militant
outfit still enjoys funding from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI). According to the think tank, LeT collects donations from
the overseas Pakistani community in the Persian Gulf and the UK,
Islamic non-Governmental organisations, Pakistani/Kashmiri business
people and through its parent organisation Jama'at-ud-Da'awa (JuD).
|
|
April 7
|
Maharashtra
Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) submitted its investigation report
on the February 13, 2010 Pune bomb blast report to the State Government
claiming the perpetrators of the bombing that killed 17 people
have been identified and their arrest would be made soon.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said the Government reviewed all options in the
fight against the CPI-Maoist such as use of air power from time
to time but no decision has yet been taken on it.'
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said the Naxalites have answered the call
for talks after giving up violence by a "savage and brutal
act of violence.'' Chidambaram also said while the Government
had refrained from using air power against Maoists, the situation
could change. He also insisted that there was no "Operation
Green Hunt" against Maoists as has been widely reported.
Chhattisgarh Police officials say they had coined the term for
one successful drive against the Maoists in the State.
A sectorial
meeting between India and Myanmar was held at Tawang in Arunachal
Pradesh from April 5 to 7, where among other issues, transborder
smuggling of arms by militant outfits operating in the Northeast
region was discussed, sources said.
|
|
April 8
|
A Delhi session
court convicted six militants, all belonging allegedly to a Kashmiri
militant group, in the case 1996 Lajpat Nagar market blast case
that killed 13 people and injured 39 others. This is the first
conviction ever in any of the blast cases that have been heard
in the capital.
The Union Government
will deploy spy drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for
reconnaissance of Naxal hideouts at the tri-junction of Chhattisgarh,
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh over the next few days.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that CPI-Maoist may be trying to
forge links with militant outfits in the Northeast to gain access
to the arms market in neighbouring countries.
The Union Government
said it will not enter into any kind of dialogue with splinter
militant groups operating in the Northeast nor accept their laying
down of arms in a public function.
|
|
April 10
|
Security agencies
have launched a crackdown against terror suspects using international
cards as a mode of funding their operations in India. In two operations
in Lucknow and Delhi, intelligence agencies with the help of local
Police seized more than 65 international credit cards with at
least INR 40-50 million withdrawn on them and distributed to sleeper
cells.
A year-long
investigation in the use of international credit cards by terror
suspects in India has revealed that at least INR 200-250 million
had been spent by them in the recent past across the country.
Myanmar’s Ambassador
to India U. Kyi Thein at Shillong in Meghalaya on April 10 said
that action against Indian insurgents in its territory will be
initiated only after receiving military assistance from India.
|
|
April 11
|
The CPI-Maoist
warned of more Dantewada-type attacks on SFs if the Union Government
carried on with the anti-Maoist offensive.
Bangladesh
Government assured Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar that it
would take effective steps against Indian insurgents holed up
in that country.
|
|
April 12
|
Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi admitted the links between insurgent groups like ULFA
and the CPI-Maoist.
|
|
April 13
|
The Union Government
will send around 6,000 CRPF personnel to Naxal-affected States
of the country including Chhattisgarh.
Times of India
reported that the Union Government has decided to speed up restructuring
CRPF by bifurcating it into two parts with one earmarked for ‘soft
duties’ like general law and order and the other being kept for
‘tough’ assignments like counter-insurgency and anti-Naxal operations.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said that India could resume dialogue with Pakistan
on all issues if "concrete" and "effective" action is taken against
those behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes but made it clear
that there was no need for the US or any other country to get
involved in the Indo-Pak affairs.
|
|
April 15
|
ISI continues to
have close links with LeT and has used the outfit's services to
foment anti-India passion in Kashmir and elsewhere, a UN report
said.
|
|
April 15-16
|
The ATS of the
Uttar Pradesh Police would look into the recovery of explosive
devices from the Sampark Kranti Express train at Mahoba railway
station on April 15, ADG (law and order) Brij Lal said on April
16. On the nature of the bomb, Lal said the Allahabad Police had
verified that they were gelatine sticks with loose wires. The
device was found in a sleeper coach of the Delhi-bound Manikpur-Hazrat
Nizamuddin Express.
|
|
April 16
|
Minister of State
for Railways E. Ahmed informed in Rajya Sabha (upper house of
the Parliament) that almost 202 railway stations across the country
are facing extremist threats, and the Ministry of Railways has
approved an integrated security system for these sensitive and
vulnerable stations.
Pakistan's ISI
continues to have close links with LeT and has used the terror
group's services to foment anti-India passion in Kashmir and elsewhere.
The US has warned
in its latest advisory that terrorist groups may be planning attacks
in India and asked its nationals to exercise caution during their
stay in the country.
India has made
it clear to Pakistan that although action against Hafiz Saeed,
‘chief’ of JuD, over ground organisation of the LeT, will help
ease the strained atmosphere, it's not the only benchmark that
will satisfy New Delhi before it can think of resuming talks.
|
|
April 17
|
Two crude bombs
exploded in quick succession outside the M. A. Chinnaswamy cricket
stadium in Bangalore, minutes before an Indian Premier League
(IPL) match was to begin, leaving 15 persons injured and creating
panic in the packed venue. A third crude bomb was found near Gate
number 8 of the stadium, venue of the fixture between Bangalore
Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians, but was defused, Police
said.
|
|
April 18
|
Investigators
believe the bomb explosions at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore
on April 17 were executed by an Indian Mujahideen (IM) cell led
by Mohammad Zarar Siddi Bawa. Karnataka-born Bawa—also known as
‘Yasin Bhatkal'—is allegedly a key figure in a series of urban
bombings executed by the IM between 2005 and 2008 that claimed
hundreds of lives. Bawa, Police said, was the organisation's key-bomb
maker and his devices were used in the attacks.
|
|
April 19
|
A Delhi court
sentenced a former Jammu and Kashmir Police Constable to eight
years rigorous imprisonment for being a cadre of the LeT.
Admitting to command
and control failure in the Dantewada massacre of 76 CRPF troopers
on April 6, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told the Rajya
Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) that he had asked the inquiry
committee headed by E.N. Rammohan to fix responsibility from top
to bottom.
The United States
is working at the "highest level" to provide India with
access to LeT operative David Headley, even as it is sharing "real-time"
information with India, U.S. Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer said.
|
|
April 20
|
Security
has been tightened at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport
in Mumbai following an alert issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security (BCAS) about a possible terror attack.
Union Minister of
State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken said in the Lok Sabha (Lower
House of Parliament) that the controversial Salwa Judum
movement that started in Chhattisgarh nearly five years ago has
lost its momentum.
Minister for Revenue,
Relief and Rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla, informed the Legislative
Assembly that in all 38,119 families, comprising 2,168 Muslim
families and 1,749 Sikh families have migrated from the Kashmir
Valley due to the disturbed condition.
Clues from the
explosive material recovered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
in Bangalore where twin blasts occurred on April 17, indicate
the hand of an international gang, Karnataka Director-General
of Police Ajay Kumar Singh said in Bangalore.
|
|
April 21
|
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh asked for urgent and considered action to root
out the problem of Left Wing Extremism and asserted that no quarter
can be given to those challenging the authority of the Indian
State.
The U.S. issued
a fresh warning to its citizens in India asking them to refrain
from visiting congested areas of Delhi, following "increased
indications" of terrorists planning attacks.
Minister of State
for External Affairs Preneet Kaur informed the Lok Sabha (Lower
House of Parliament) that India would not scale down its activities
in Afghanistan.
|
|
April 22
|
Australia has
warned its tourists to avoid some of the New Delhi’s shopping
areas and markets.
A Delhi court
awarded the death penalty to three of the six cadres of the banned
militant outfit, the Jammu Kashmir Islamic Front, who had been
convicted of involvement in the May 21, 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb
blast, in which 13 people were killed.
West Bengal Governor
and former NSA M. K. Narayanan said that the LeT has "proven links"
with the Pakistan's ISI.
Asserting that
LeT is a threat not only to India and America but also to Afghanistan
and Pakistan, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs,
P. J. Crowley said counter-terrorism is the central pillar of
US' strategic dialogues with all these countries.
The Union Government
has convened a meeting of Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging
to 33 worst CPI-Maoist-affected Districts on April 30 to apprise
them about its strategy to deal with the Naxals and seek their
cooperation in the endeavour.
|
|
April 23
|
The CPI-Maoist
has called a 48-hour bandh (shut down) in West Bengal, Jharkhand
and Orissa from April 26 demanding that four of its cadres recently
arrested be produced in the court immediately.
Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament)
that incidents of Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) attacks on railway
property nearly doubled to 58 in 2009 from 30 in 2008 and the
Indian Railways lost over INR 5 billion due to disruptions by
CPI-Maoist. 56 incidents were reported in 2007, she said.
|
|
April 24
|
Inaugurating
a conference to celebrate ‘National Panchayati Raj Day' under
the auspices of the Union Ministry of the Panchayati Raj in New
Delhi Minister Manmohan Singh said that if Panchayati Raj Institutions
(Local Self Government Institutions) functioned properly and locals
participated in the development process, the threat of the CPI-Maoist)
could be countered.
|
|
April 26
|
Former Chief of the BSF, E.N.
Rammohan, submitted his report to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
on the April 6 CPI-Maoist ambush killing 76 Security Force personnel
in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh.
Pakistan has contended that the
Indian evidence against LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed of his
involvement in November 26, 2008 (also known as 26/11) Mumbai
terrorist attack is not admissible under their laws for prosecution.
Defence Minister A. K. Antony
informed the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on that over
200 Indian Army personnel have lost their lives in last three
years during the anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir and
the Northeast.
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh said that Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai assured India
of its commitment to provide full security to Indians working
in Afghanistan.
A person, identified as Devendra
Gupta, a resident of Bihari Ganj in Ajmer, was arrested by Rajasthan
Police in connection with the 2007 Ajmer Dargah bomb blast, in
which three people were killed and over 30 injured.
|
|
April 27
|
Pakistan-based militant outfit
LeT is making concerted efforts to carry out attacks in India
and to develop links in Maldives and other neighbours, the Minister
of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken told Lok Sabha (Lower House
of Parliament).
|
|
April 28
|
The U.S. has agreed to "take
suitable steps" to give India direct access soon to Pakistan
born LeT operative David Headley, who has admitted to his role
in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
|
|
April 29
|
Kolkata has been put on a high
alert over chances of a terror strike by the IM after the Police
received "information from a very credible source,"
Kolkata Police officers said.
|
|
April 30
|
Karnataka Home Minister V. S.
Acharya said that underworld elements and betting lobby were behind
the April 17, 2010 twin low-intensity bomb explosions outside
the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in Bangalore which had left at
least 17 people injured.
The LWEs from India have developed
links with the Shailen Sarkar Group of the Bangladesh Communist
Party, which is providing arms training to Maoists at their camps
in Bangladesh.
An inquiry committee probing the
CPI-Maoist attack on February 15 at the Eastern Frontier Rifles
camp at Silda in West Midnapore District, which left 24 Easter
Frontier Rifles (EFR) troopers dead, submitted its report to the
West Bengal Government.
|
|
May 1
|
Bangladesh handed over Ranjan
Daimary, the ‘president’ of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland
(NDFB), to India. Ranjan Daimary (50), wanted in numerous cases,
was handed over at Dawki along the India-Bangladesh border in
Meghalaya.
The Delhi Police were put on high
alert after intelligence reports indicated possible terror strikes
at public places, including busy markets and malls, here during
the weekend.
|
|
May 2
|
On the basis of information provided
by Punjab Police, a KZF militant, identified as Nirmal Singh alias
Nimma, was arrested from Fokatpura locality under Devendranagar
Police Station in Raipur, SP Om Prakash Pal said.
A team of the Rajasthan ATS detained
one more suspect, identified as Sanjay Gupta, a small-scale industrialist,
from Mhow, 25 kilometres from Indore for questioning in connection
with the 2007 Ajmer (Rajasthan) Dargah (Sufi Shrine) blast.
|
|
May 3
|
A special sessions
court in Mumbai pronounced Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone
surviving LeT militant of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror
attacks (also known as 26/11), guilty of waging war against India,
after a 271-day trial.
The Maharashtra
Government will challenge the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin
Ahmed from the 26/11 case.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that the conviction of Pakistani
terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab and the acquittal of two persons
in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack (also known as
26/11) case showed India is governed by rule of law and it also
sent a strong message to Pakistan that it should not export terror.
The Hyderabad
Policeon neutralised a sleeper cell of LeT by arresting its operative
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq.
The bomb blasts
carried out at the Ajmer (Rajasthan) Dargah (Snfi Shrine)
, the Mecca Masjid (Andhra Pradesh) and Malegaon (Maharashtra)
are linked, with the self-styled right-wing group, Abhinav Bharat,
believed to be behind them, the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) said.
Security agencies
have received information that the CPI-Maoist cadres have sneaked
into Chhattisgarh from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
and they are planning a bigger strike than the Tarmetola ambush
in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh when 76 troopers were killed.
|
|
May 4
|
The Hindu reports
that suspected LeT operative, Mohammad Zia Ul Haq, who was arrested
by the Hyderabad Police, was remanded to judicial custody for
14 days.
The weekend
alert in Delhi followed the busting of three separate LeT modules
over last week across Nepal, Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad.
An uncorroborated
intelligence input from Assam Police about groups of al-Qaeda
terrorists slipping into India was one of the reasons behind the
high alert sounded over the weekend Meanwhile, the Navy sources
said that it was impossible for such a large number of people
to reach Indian shores in foreign fishing vessels.
|
|
May 5
|
With the Union
Government worried about the slow pace of infrastructure development
along the borders with China and Pakistan, the Border Roads Organisation
(BRO) has been asked to move out of the National Highway-16 project
in Maoist-infested Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram made a fresh offer for talks to the CPI-Maoist
provided they abjure violence
|
|
May 6
|
The Special
Sessions Court in Mumbai sentenced the lone surviving LeT militant,
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, to death for his involvement in the
26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks
As part of
the measures to boost coastal security after the November 26,
2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11), a new regional
headquarters of Coast Guard will be set up at Kolkata (West Bengal)
soon.
The MHA in
a statement warned civil society groups, non-governmental organisations,
intellectuals and the general public to refrain from supporting
the CPI-Maoist ideology as it will attract action under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
West Bengal
DGP Bhupinder Singh said the State will have a 1,000-strong counter-
insurgency force on the pattern of the Grey Hound forces of Andhra
Pradesh and also a training school for tackling terrorism within
the next two to three months.
Pakistani national
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab was convicted for his role in the November
26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks (also known as 26/11) on the
basis of evidence gathered against him and not on the basis of
his confession, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said.
|
|
May 7
|
The death sentence
awarded to LeT militant Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab by a trial court
for the November 26, 2008 (also known as 26/11) Mumbai terrorist
attacks is a "clear message'' to terrorist outfits in Pakistan
that they will not be allowed to get away with their nefarious
designs, said Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony on May 7.
|
|
May 9
|
The Intelligence
Bureau (IB) warned that Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) are planning
a major offensive in Gadchiroli District.
A telephonic
conversation between two suspected cadres of the IM gave the security
agencies a clue about outfit’s involvement in the February 13,
2010 Pune bomb blast, Police said.
Union Home
Secretary G. K. Pillai said the Union Government is aware that
the CPI-Maoist had been in touch with some of the other militant
outfits in different parts of the country like NSCN-IM and ULFA.
|
|
May 10
|
With the intelligence
agencies again warning of "terrorist spill over" from
militant infested areas in neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir, Police
sounded high alert along the border areas in Chamba District of
Himachal Pradesh.
|
|
May 11
|
Union Home
Secretary G.K. Pillai on said in an interview to CNN-IBN television
channel that "The country will have to be prepared for casualties."
He added, "Naxalism [Left Wing Extremism] is a problem. As
the Home Minister said, we had underestimated the Maoists. Had
we not acted against them, there would have been a low level of
violence…because we are acting, we are bound to take casualties.
As we move into Maoist-dominated areas, it's inevitable."
Pillai said.
External Affairs
Minister S.M. Krishna would visit Islamabad on July 15 to hold
talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
A 35-year-old
man, wanted in connection with seizure of communication equipment
meant for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir five years ago, has
been extradited from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and arrested
in New Delhi, Police said.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said cross-border terrorism was not just
limited to Pakistan but has now "reached a few Middle Eastern
countries".
The arrested
HM militant-cum-trainer Mohammad Ashraf, has said thousands of
misguided Kashmiri youth are still receiving training in camps
in PoK.
General Officer
Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, Lt Gen B. S.
Jaswal said that infiltration from across the borders has not
increased during the current year [2010].
|
|
May 12
|
The Ara civil
court sentenced three persons to death and 20 to life imprisonment
for the infamous 1996 Bathani Tola carnage in Bihar in which 21
Dalits were slaughtered by upper-caste landowners belonging to
the Ranvir Sena (a private militia of landlords).
A Delhi court
convicted two Bangladeshi nationals for possessing explosives
four years ago but acquitted them of the charge of being cadres
of the LeT and waging a war against the country.
The ATS of
Rajasthan has informed that out of the 13 identified terrorist
who planted bombs at eight places in the Walled City in May 13,
2008, four are still absconding.
Officers investigating
the Pune (Maharashtra) German Bakery bomb blast that killed 17
persons on February 13, 2010 have claimed that four prime suspects
in the attack have fled to Pakistan.
The Defence
Minister A.K. Antony said that India was concerned about terror
factories operating across the border. "More than 40 terror
camps are still operating across the border. It is a matter of
concern to us. Pakistan should take action to dismantle these
terror camps," he said.
The trial of
Pakistani born Canadian terrorist Tahawwur Rana, charged with
involvement in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks
(also known as 26/11), is expected to begin on November 1, 2010
and go on for a tentative four weeks, a US judge said.
The death sentence
awarded to Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving LeT militant
of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, is a result
of a fair and transparent judicial process of India, the US has
said.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said it was not possible to solve the
Naxalite (Left Wing Extremist) problem without regaining the confidence
of people and this job had to be done by various sections.
|
|
May 13
|
A charge sheet
in the case of murder of November 26, 2008 (also Known as 26/11)
Mumbai terrorist attacks defence lawyer Shahid Azmi was filed
in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) court
in Mumbai.
|
|
May 14
|
A Policeman
was killed when at least two gunmen attacked an unarmed Police
Picket at the Khilwat junction of the communally sensitive Old
City area of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, four days ahead of the
third anniversary of the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad
Police Commissioner A.K. Khan said that Police suspected the involvement
of Vikaruddin, a suspected operative of the LeT, who reportedly
masterminded a similar attack earlier.
One more person
was arrested by the Rajasthan ATS in connection with the October
2007 Ajmer dargah (Sufi Shrine) blast, Police said.
A suspected
Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) militant was arrested in a joint operation
by the Uttarakhand and Punjab Police from Haridwar in Uttarakhand,
Police said.
Union Government
extended its ban on the LTTE for another two years as it believes
the `Tamil Eelam' (separate homeland for Tamils) concept still
remains a goal among pro-Tigers groups in Tamil Nadu.
The CPI-Maoist
warned of more attacks like one at Chintalnar in Dantewada District
in Chhattisgarh on April 6, 2010.
|
|
May 15
|
The Union Government
formally banned over 100 outfits, linked to al-Qaeda, from across
the globe by declaring them "terrorist organizations" in India
under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
|
|
May 17
|
Afghanistan
Security agencies have traced back a recent anti-India operations
in the country to an ISI, cell located inside a military cantonment
in Kohat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.
Suspected LeT
militant Mohammad Zia-Ul-Haq, arrested by Hyderabad Police (Andhra
Pradesh), had received e-mails originating from Pakistan asking
him to carryout "subversive" activities in India and had millions
of rupees deposited against his name in various banks, the investigating
agency revealed.
A trial court
sent Al Badr militant Sheikh Sajjad, who was arrested on charges
of possessing communication equipment, meant for Kashmiri terrorists,
to 14-day judicial custody.Police said during interrogation it
was revealed that he was a major supplier of satellite phones
to suspected terrorists.
The NIA filed
charges in a court against 11 activists of Sanatan Sanstha, a
Hindu right wing organisation for the October 16, 2009 Diwali
(festival of lights)-eve blast that killed two people in Goa's
Margao town. The accused are facing charges of conspiring and
collecting arms for waging a war against the State and mischief.
The Union Government
asked five States (Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh)
to tighten security and take maximum precaution during the 48-hour
bandh (shutdown) called by the CPI-Maoist from May 18.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that there was a need to revisit
the anti-Naxal strategy in the light of the fact that four States
want use of air power against the LWEs.
|
|
May 18
|
The Austrian
authorities have indicted six Indian nationals in connection with
the shooting at a gurudwara (Sikh place of worship) in Vienna
on May 24, 2009. A Sikh preacher was killed and more than a dozen
were wounded in the incident.
There are at
least 57 front organisations of the CPI-Maoist and they are under
constant vigil of intelligence agencies. A circular by the MHA
alerts heads of paramilitary forces and Police in Maoist-affected
States that the CPI-Maoist has 57 "front bodies" of peasants,
labourers, women, students, tribals and trade unions who have
helped the them raise the level of their tactical warfare, including
winning court battles and getting their arrested leaders released.
|
|
May 18
|
The Railway
Headquarter in New Delhi has received a letter purportedly written
by the CPI-Maoist threatening to blow up Rail Bhawan along with
some other vital railway establishments in Delhi like Baroda House.
|
|
May 20
|
Attorney General
G. E. Vahanvati has given a clear opinion suggesting that the
Fifth Scheduled areas identified by the Constitution, which in
six out of nine States are Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) hotbeds,
could be administered directly through governors and in doing
so they were not bound by the advice of the State Governments.
|
|
May 21
|
A local court
extended the Police remand of Lokesh Sharma, arrested in connection
with the October 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast, till June 1.
Maharashtra
State Home Minister R. R. Patil said that the Union Government
has sanctioned INR 3.7 billion for roads in Gondia and Gadchiroli
Districts, following the State Government request for special
assistance for infrastructure in the Naxal (Left Wing Extremism)
affected Districts.
The Union Ministry
for Information Technology (IT) and Communications has decided
to install 10,000 new mobile phone towers to strengthen the Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) communication system in the country,
including Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in the areas affected by militancy
and Naxalism (Left Wing Extremism).
|
|
May 23
|
The Union Government
would rope in about 10,000 more Border Security Force (BSF) personnel
to strengthen anti-Naxal (Left Wing Extremism) operations in Chhattisgarh
and Orissa, reported PTI. Official sources said on May 23 that
five battalions (5,000 personnel) of the BSF would be inducted
into the operation for now and another five thousand would be
added later. The force already has about 10,000 men taking part
in anti-Maoist operations.
PULF leader,
M.I. Khan alias Mohammed Ibrahim alias Qureshi (47), was
arrested by a combined team of the Manipur Police and Karnataka
Police from Belgaum in Karnataka.
|
|
May 24
|
The trial in
the July 2006 serial train bomb blast case is scheduled to restart
in a special court. The trial started in a special court in December
2007. However, matters could not progress as the accused had challenged
the application of certain provisions of law.
The Maharashtra
Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested a Karnataka resident Abdul Samad
Bawa for his involvement in February 13, 2010 bombing at German
Bakery in Pune, and in jihadist networks which have executed a
series of urban bombings across India bombings since 2005.
The special
court which conducted the trial of November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist
attacks (also known as 26/11) has criticised personnel of Azad
Maidan Police Station, saying they acted in a "cowardly" manner
and "ran away" instead of stopping the militants.
The 26/11 special
court has come down heavily on the prosecution and investigating
agency for submitting "doubtful" and "fragile" evidence against
accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed that led to their acquittal
in the terrorist attacks case.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said his Government is ready to hold dialogue with
all groups in Jammu and Kashmir which are outside the political
mainstream provided they shun violence.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said Naxalism (Left Wing Extremism) remains the
biggest internal security challenge and it is imperative to control
left-wing extremism for the country's growth.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said that India would be unable to realise its
full development potential unless it had the "best possible" relations
with its neighbours, especially Pakistan.
On the issue
of access to LeT operative David Headley, suspected of having
conducted surveillance of sites targeted during the November 26,
2008 Mumbai attacks, the Prime Minister said, "I have been assured
by the highest in the U.S. administration that we will get access
to David Headley."
|
|
May 25
|
The Supreme
Court stayed the death sentence awarded to underworld gangster
Aftab Ahmed Ansari for the attack on the American Center in Kolkata
in 2002.
Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao has expressed disappointment over the verdict of
the Pakistan Supreme Court, which upheld the Lahore High Court's
decision to release JuD chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, citing
lack of evidence.
Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram, after discussing rehabilitation of Bru refugees
with Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and his Cabinet colleagues
in Aizawl, informed that 215 Bru families have returned so far
and asked the Brus and the Mizos to live together in peace and
harmony.
|
|
May 26
|
Punjab Director
General of Police (DGP) P. S. Gill said that there have been signs
of Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) re-grouping in the State, but
their movements were still at a low level and the situation is
not serious yet.
|
|
May 27
|
Three Italian
nationals were detained in New Delhi after ammunition and two
empty magazines were found in a five-star hotel room, where they
stayed earlier this week.
An employee
of the Indian Navy was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan
and Police claimed of recovering from him some "secret and sensitive"
documents like photograph of the Hindan Air Base and map of Meerut
Cantonment.
Pakistan's
Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by LeT ‘commander’ Zakiur
Rehman Lakhvi, seeking acquittal in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attacks case, after his counsel withdrew the plea.
|
|
May 28
|
US Assistant
Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said
that this is not the appropriate moment for India and Pakistan
to hold discussions on the Kashmir issue as they need to go for
confidence building measures first.
|
|
May 30
|
A hardcore
militant arrested by the Punjab Police was working towards the
revival of terror outfit KLF and planning to carry out a series
of explosions in the State at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), a senior Police official said.
A four-member
NIA team went to the US with the decks finally being cleared for
unqualified access to LeT operative David Coleman Headley, who
was accused of his involvement in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attacks (also known as 2611).
|
|
May 31
|
A Delhi Court
remanded a Navy mechanic who was arrested on charges of spying
for Pakistan to 14-days judicial custody.
The court also
issued production warrant against three suspected IM terrorists
for their role in the serial blasts in the national capital on
September 13, 2008.
|
|
June 1
|
The Gujarat
High Court upheld the special the POTA court's verdict and confirmed
death sentence for three of the six convicts in the Akshardham
temple terror attack that took place on September 24, 2002.
"We will
fight against the scourge of communalism and political extremism.
We will fight terrorism root and branch. We will ensure that this
great, liberal and plural nation of ours is not weakened by hatred
and bigotry," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran said that Kerala
will get eight more coastal Police Stations in the second phase
of the Comprehensive Coastal Security Scheme, to be implemented
at a cost of INR 21. 87 billion.
|
|
June 2
|
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram asked Naxal-hit (Left Wing Extremism affected)
States to double the capacity of their Police training institutes
as also Police recruitment to fight the menace of Left Wing Extremism.
Ruling out
links between Pakistan based militant groups and Naxalites (Left
Wing Extremists), Special Director General of Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF), Jammu and Kashmir zone, N.K. Tripathi said
that the Force was fully equipped and focusing on new strategies
to deal with Naxal problem in the country.
|
|
June 3
|
At the start
of the United States-India Strategic Dialogue, External Affairs
Minister S.M. Krishna, asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
to provide Indian authorities access to the LeT operative David
Coleman Headley, accused in the Npovember 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist
attacks and now in the custody of the U.S.
Ateam of Indian
investigators has arrived in Chicago, USA and is preparing to
interrogate Headley in connection with the November 26, 2008 Mumbai
attacks.
The Government
of Maharashtra has decided to give a compensation of INR 14, 23,500
for loss or property to owners of the German Bakery based in Pune,
which was destroyed by a bomb blast on February 13, 2010 killing
17 people and injuring 65.
|
|
June 4
|
The ATS of
the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested one Kanhaiya Lal Gupta in Siddhart
Nagar District bordering Nepal after INR 100, 000 of Fake Indian
Currency Note (FICN) was recovered from his possession. Initial
investigations have revealed that Gupta was actively working for
the Pakistani ISI and looking after the FICN segment through UP-Nepal
border and had pumped in no less than INR10 million in FICN during
the last 5 years.
The Union Government
declared the IM, suspected to be a shadow outfit of the banned
SIMI and Pakistan-based LeT, a terrorist outfit. It has been added
to the list of terrorist groups under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967.
According to
latest reports India has been granted access to Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT) operative David Headley, says US National Security Adviser
James Jones.
|
|
June 6
|
13 militant
organizations from the Northeast States of Assam, Manipur, Tripura
and Meghalaya figure in the list of banned organizations as it
appears in the website of the MHA.
|
|
June 7
|
Assam Tribune
quoting security agency sources reports that there are efforts
by CPI-Maoist groups to make inroads in the Northeast. The report
adds that the newly constituted Eastern Region Bureau of the CPI-Maoist
had been entrusted with the task of establishing foothold in the
Northeast.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said that his Government was ready to "carry forward"
the dialogue process in Jammu and Kashmir and talk to anyone who
abhorred violence and terrorism.
|
|
June 9
|
Asserting that
there is "no change" in its Kashmir policy, the US State Department
spokesman, P.J. Crowley said that India and Pakistan would make
progress on resolving the "important issue".
Appearing at
a state department Blog Forum, assistant secretary of state for
South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, said there is no change
in America's policy on Kashmir.
Pakistani born
American LeT operative David Headley has confirmed that LeT terrorists
carried out the 26/11 Mumbai attack under the "guidance" of Pakistan's
ISI. Headley is being interrogated in the US by a team of NIA
officials.
However, Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram is to demand voice samples of seven
LeT commanders including Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu
Al Qama and others when he meets his Pakistani counterpart Rehman
Malik during his visit to Islamabad for the conference of Home
Ministers from SAARC region.
Headley has
also revealed how post-26/11, ISI wanted LeT to disown the Mumbai
attack to turn the global attention away from the terror outfit
that Pakistan considers to be an important strategic asset to
be used against India. Headley also admitted that while he had
started off as a LeT recruit, he started drifting towards al Qaeda
under the influence of Major Abdul Rahman Saeed.
|
|
June 10
|
The CPI-Maoist
leader of the West Bengal unit Akash said in statement released
that South Eastern Railway (SER) authorities should directly contact
the Maoists to ensure the smooth running of trains in Maoist-affected
areas.
No consensus
could be reached on key proposals like deployment of the Army
and the Air Force in Naxal (Left Wing Extremists)-affected areas
and setting up of a Unified Command Centre for anti-Naxal operations
in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which
took place in New Delhi.
|
|
June 11
|
The CCS that
met in New Delhi has decided not to use the Army in a "combat
role" in the ongoing anti-Naxal (Left Wing Extremists) battle.
|
|
June 12
|
Passengers
of the Tiruchirapalli-Chennai Rockfort Express had a narrow escape
when suspected pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) elements
blasted railway tracks at Perani Railway Station in Villupuram
District in the wee hours. Leaflets condemning the visit of Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa were recovered from the site,
Police said.
|
|
June 13
|
The Police
detained eight persons belonging to the proscribed Tamil Desiya
Iyakkam for interrogation in connection with June 12 Railway track
blast at Sithani near Villupuram.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram has described as "an attempted terrorist
act" the railway track blast at Sithani near Villupuram on
June 12, while rejecting suggestions that he might have been the
target of the attack
|
|
June 14
|
With the CPI-Maoist
issuing a fresh 48-hour bandh (general shut down) call starting
on railways decided to run trains at 50 kilometres per hour (KMPH)
in Maoist-affected areas and alerted its divisions across five
States.
|
|
June 15
|
Abdul Samad
Bawa, who was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS in a 2009 arms case,
was granted bail by a court. The judge cited lack of material
evidence as the main reason for grant of bail.
As per sources
in the MHA, the 48-hour bandh called by Maoists in Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Orissa was primarily prompted by
the arrest of Maoist leaders Shambhu (Bihar) and Chandrasekhar
Gorebale (Karnataka).
More than 380
civilians have been killed by CPI-Maoist cadres in the first five
months of this year [2010], with West Bengal bearing the most
brunt. According to statistics compiled by the MHA and circulated
among affected States, Maoists killed approximately 600 people,
including paramilitary and State Police personnel, between January
1 and May 30.
Several Afghanistan
and international intelligence officials and diplomats stationed
in Kabul have confirmed that the LeT, with the help of the Pakistan’s
ISI, has expanded its anti-India operations into Afghanistan and
set up training camps, adding new volatility to the relationship
between New Delhi and Islamabad, quoting The New York Times, reports
ANI. Experts are of the view that now the LeT presents more of
a threat in Afghanistan than even al Qaeda does.
The number
of tribals, especially from Naxal (Left Wing Extremist)-affected
States who are migrating either inside or outside the State, have
reduced, indicates a Government survey released.
The Government
is planning to build better roads in the Naxal (Left Wing Extremist)-affected
areas of the country. MHA has directed the Road Transport and
Highways Ministry to build roads in 34 Districts of eight Naxal-affected
States to provide easy access for forces in the Naxal strongholds
during combing operations and in case of an attack.
Prime Minister
Dr Manmohan Singh expressed his willingness to meet the Sanmilita
Jatio Abhibartan (United National Convention), peace-talks delegation
of Assam, when Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi called on him,
ostensibly to discuss a host of issues including the ULFA peace
process.
Two cadres
belonging to MI Khan faction of the People’s United Liberation
Front (PULF), including its ‘fighting commander’, were arrested
by a combined team of the Manipur Police, Delhi Police and Army
from near the Nizammuddin Flyover in New Delhi.
|
|
June 17
|
The first additional
chief metropolitan magistrate has ordered a Non-Bailable Warrant
against PDP president Abdul Nasar Madani, in connection with the
July 25, 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts case.
Sadhaks (seekers)
of the Sanatan Sanstha, engineered the October 16, 2009 Margao
(Maharashtra) blast as the Government had refused to respond to
their demand for a ban on Narkasur (Monster) celebrations, the
prosecution told before the Margao sessions court.
A batch of
youngsters from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala are presently
undergoing militant training in Kacharban in PoK, HM militant
has told his interrogators in Jammu and Kashmir. According to
officials, who interrogated Ashraf over the last several days,
told Express Buzz over phone from Jammu and Kashmir that
about 24 youth belonging to the southern States were lodged in
a few quarters in PoK and were receiving militant training. As
per the Police records available with the Hyderabad city Police,
there are 22 men who are missing and the Police suspect that they
have joined militant ranks.
The Guru Gobind
Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi will host officers
of paramilitary forces like CRPF stationed in CPI-Maoist-affected
States. The disaster management studies centre at the University
will impart skills in satellite data reading, interpretation of
the Geographic Information System (GIS) for areas and terrains
similar to the ones in Maoist-dominated zones.
|
|
June 17
|
Two cadres
of the Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu fundamentalist organisation, who
had reportedly conspired to carry out explosions in the Mecca
Masjid blast in Hyderabad on May 18, 2007, were produced in a
local court here by the CBI.
|
|
June 18
|
In the 11th
dossier handed over to Pakistan since the November 26, 2008 (also
known as 26/11) terrorist attacks, India, has provided details
on the 34 terrorists, including fugitives who have been recruited
by the ISI- LeT combine to launch terror attacks as part of the
Karachi Project, in the form suggested by Pakistan.
Protesting
the inclusion of Naxal [Left Wing Extremism] issue under the realm
of an "armed conflict" in a UN report India told the UN that the
violence being perpetrated by these groups does not make it a
zone of armed conflict as defined by international law.
A KLO militant,
Tirtha Burman, was arrested by the Police from one Indrajeet Roy’s
house at Patiramjote in Matigara, outskirts of Siliguri.
|
|
June 19
|
The Maharashtra
ATS arrested a key BKI militant, who had been on the run after
firing at Narcotic Control Bureau officials in Punjab in 2009.
Nishant Singh Karam Singh (27), who is also allegedly involved
in drug smuggling, was arrested from Chembur after he arrived
in the Mumbai from Nanded with five of his associates.
|
|
June 20
|
Three suspected
operatives of the LTTE were arrested and a cache of detonators
was seized from their possession, four days after a member of
the banned outfit was arrested by the Police. The trio was arrested
by the Tamil Nadu ''Q'' branch during a raid at Tiruchirapalli.
4,900 ordinary detonators and 430 electric detonators were recovered
from them, an official release said in Chennai.
Police on June
20 arrested a LeT militant who is the main accused in the 2000
blast in a bus near Agra (Uttar Pradesh) that killed two passengers
and injured 15 others.
Pakistan's
ISI has an interest in certain sectors in Kerala and also in some
organisations based in the State, Union Minister of State for
Home Mulapally Ramachandran said.
|
|
June 21
|
The rising
number of Pakistan linked terrorist plots in the United States
largely stem from Islamabad's (Pakistan) continued support to
some anti-India extremist groups like LeT, blamed for the November
26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, indicates the report released
by the RAND Corp.
Several trains
running on Kharagpur-Rourkela and Kharagpur-Adra section continued
to be diverted, re-scheduled or regulated as Indian Railways decided
to persist on its decision to suspend of night-time movement of
passenger and goods trains in CPI-Maoist-affected areas.
|
|
June 22
|
The IB has
issued an alert that the CPI-Maoist might be tying up with militant
groups active in the country. Sources said the IB has warned that
Maoists are tying up with groups in the North-East and the Kashmir
Valley.
The Army has
agreed to send Colonel or Brigadier-rank officers on deputation
to the Union Home Ministry as advisers on anti-Maoist operations.
The Union Government
is working out a package of around INR 34 billion for upgrading
the infrastructure in 34 Districts worst affected by the Naxal
violence.
The CPI-Maoist
responded to the talks offer made by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
with the pre-condition that the ban on the party be lifted and
that the rewards on the heads of several top Maoists be withdrawn,
besides suspension of the offensive by the Centre.
The CBI has
confirmed that the bomb attacks on Mecca Masjid (Hyderbad) on
May 18, 2007, the mosque in Malegaon (Maharashtra) and Ajmer (Rajasthan)
Dargah (Sufi Shrine) were carried out by the same group of Hindutva
extremists.
Meanwhile,
The CBI declared a reward of INR 1 million each on any information
regarding the two prime accused — Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra
Kalsangra, both residents of Indore — in the Mecca Masjid case.
MHA has recommended
death penalty for 2001 Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru in
its report submitted to the President, sources said.
|
|
June 23
|
Maoist potitburo
member Kishan called a two-day bandh (general shut down) beginning
June 30 in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh
to protest the disinvestment policy of the Centre.
In a statement
sent to media houses the CPI-Maoist has declared that they would
"rise up as a collective fist to drive out MNCs [Multinational
Companies]" from the country.
|
|
June 24
|
An alleged
absconding SIMI cadre identified as Khalid Naeem was arrested
by the Special Task Force (STF) of Madhya Pradesh Police from
Bhopal.
Indicating
the Centre's position on the NSCN-IM demand for Nagalim (Greater
Nagaland), Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region
(DoNER) B. K. Handique said it would not be possible to change
the boundaries of the Northeastern States.
The Foreign
Secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in Islamabad. India's
Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, and her Pakistani counterpart
Salman Bashir held a joint press conference after concluding one-on-one
talks and a meeting along with their teams to craft the agenda
for a meeting of their foreign ministers on July 15, 2010.
Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi described the Pakistan-India
foreign secretary-level talks as a step forward in resuming the
stalled peace process.
The Government
is thinking of bringing in a law that would allow the National
Investigation Agency to probe cases of illegal mining.
|
|
June 25
|
Ahead of Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to Islamabad to attend the
SAARC Interior Ministers' conference apart from holding a bilateral
meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Rehman Malik, the Government
has put the country on high alert following intelligence inputs
that Pakistan-based terrorists, who are against any thaw in Indo-Pak
relations, may strike in a desperate bid to derail the ongoing
peace process.
The CPI-Maoist
is now raising specially trained small teams to eliminate leaders
of various political parties across the country.
The Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram met his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik
and is understood to have pressed for urgent action against Hafiz
Saeed, chief of the LeT over ground organisation JuD and 26/11
handlers, including those who are believed to be in the Pakistani
Army.
The US has
expressed its appreciation for the increasing dialogue between
Pakistan and India, saying it's in their self-interest and larger
US interest to reduce tensions through talks.
|
|
June 27
|
In a disclosure,
November 26, 2008 (also known as 26/11) accused David Coleman
Headley told the NIA in May 2010 that LeT and ISI are virtually
inseparable as far as the pan-Islamic terror agenda is concerned.
Indian intelligence
officials have intercepted phone conversations between Le ‘commanders’
that establishes that the group is planning fresh attacks at landmarks
in at in different cities including Srinagar, Jammu Delhi, Mumbai
and Kolkata.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has said that there are some elements "wedded
to terrorism" outside India, including in Canada, who try
to keep the issue of Sikh militancy alive and asked Ottawa to
curb such anti-India activities from its soil.
India will
host the first meeting of the SAARC anti-terrorism mechanism early
2011 to discuss common methods to fight the menace in the region.
|
|
June 28
|
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh pressed United States President Barack Obama to
convince Pakistan to take strong action against terrorists involved
in anti–India activities in that country following disclosures
made by LeT operative David Headley.
A special course
in satellite data reading for officers of para-military forces,
like CRPF and BSF, was inaugurated at the Indraprastha University
in Delhi.
|
|
June 29
|
Union Home
Secretary G. K. Pillai in an interview with CNN-IBN told that
the separatists were instigating violence in the valley as the
overall law and order situation in the State was improving.
NDTV quoting
Government sources said that the latest strategy of the Pakistan's
external intelligence agency, ISI, and the LeT is to combine renewed
infiltration attempts by heavily-armed militants with the unleashing
of civil unrest to ensure Kashmir remains in a state of chaos.
|
|
June 30
|
Government
officials said that Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had handed
over a list of seven LeT operatives and handlers, involved in
26/11, against whom no action had been taken so far to Pakistan.
Chidambaram is also understood to have handed over the description
of people as shared by David Coleman Headley, LeT operative in
the US.
Times Now
quoting fresh warning from intelligence agencies reports that
Indian missions in Bangladesh and Nepal are under threat from
a possible terror attack from Pakistani terrorist outfits. The
alert suggests the HuJI and the LeT are planning to attack Indians
working on different projects in Bangladesh and could try and
create a hostage like situation.
The 48-hour-bandh
called by the CPI-Maoist in five States — Bihar, Jharkhand, West
Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh — started disrupting mining activities,
loss of business and more losses for Railways.
As per a new
order, the trains will run at a speed of 65 kilometres per hour
(kmph) in the CPI-Maoist infested areas during nights, the sources
said.
India blamed
the LeT for stoking unrest in the Kashmir Valley, adding to the
role of Pakistan-backed militant groups that have been largely
linked to infiltration across the LoC. The Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram said, "Anti-national elements are clearly linked
to the LeT. We know that the Lashkar has been active in Sopore."
He pointed to an encounter on June 25 where two LeT militants
were killed. Since June 11, eleven civilians have lost their lives.
In the same period, 53 Central Reserve Police Force personnel
have been injured, many of them seriously.
The Kashmir
Valley remained calm for the first time in the past week, amid
strict curfew restrictions, a strike in other parts of the region,
and a flag march in Baramulla.
With their
arms supply lines drying up, the CPI-Maoist in Chhattisgarh have
staged a series of attacks on paramilitary troopers in the last
three months primarily to snatch their weapons, E.N. Rammohan,
a former DG of BSF said.
A court of
inquiry set up by the CRPF to probe "specific acts of omission
and commission" by an inspector general and three other officers
in connection with the April 6 Dantewada Maoist attack, submitted
its report to the force headquarters in New Delhi.
The Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said in New Delhi that the detained ULFA
leaders could talk with the Government from the prison. Further,
Chidambaram maintained that the ULFA leaders were in judicial
custody and executive cannot release anybody who is in judicial
custody. His response on June 30 was same as the reply he gave
to a Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan (SJA) delegation last week. Virtually
ruling out the possibility of releasing the ULFA leaders, the
Union Home Minister had cited serious legal charges pending against
them.
|
|
July 1
|
The US said
that LeT, which so far had focused primarily on India, is having
global aspirations and has spread its tentacles beyond Pakistan
and Afghanistan, as manifested by the David Headley case.
The LeT, which
so far had focused primarily on India, is having global aspirations
and has spread its tentacles beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan,
as manifested by the David Headley case, said Admiral Mike Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The CPI-Maoist
vowed to keep targeting Security Forces to avenge what it said
were atrocities on locals.
|
|
July 2
|
PTI
reports that in the wake of repeated attacks by the CPI-Maoist
on the CRPF, the Government is working out a plan for the redeployment
of paramilitary forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in States.
The Union Government
has appointed two senior officers to new specialised posts within
the CRPF for anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand
as part of steps to effectively deal with the Maoist challenge
following the Dantewada massacre. Official sources said the Ministry
of Home Affairs has appointed A. Ponnuswamy as IG (Operations)
for Chhattisgarh and M. P. Nathanael in Jharkhand under the same
capacity.
The Union Government
is evaluating the deployment of CARABAS radar made by Saab, a
Swedish company, on India’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH),
which would allow the scanning of wide swathes of territory to
detect IEDs well before they can be exploded.
The LeT, which
so far had focused primarily on India, is having global aspirations
and has spread its tentacles beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan,
as manifested by the David Headley case, said Admiral Mike Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
|
|
July 3
|
The Commonwealth
Games face a threat from Pakistan-based terror group LeT and other
militant outfits, which, according to a US think-tank, may be
planning an attack during the event. Vice-President of Tactical
Intelligence, STRATFOR, Scott Stewart replied in affirmative when
asked whether the sporting event scheduled in October faces any
terror threat.
The CPI-Maoist
in its official statement issued not only acknowledged that the
person killed along with Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad in Andhra
Pradesh on July 2 was Hem Pandey who was one of the party’s zonal
committee members. The party statement said, "On June 1, the Andhra
Pradesh Special Branch Police arrested Azad, politburo member
and spokesperson of CPI (Maoist), and Hem Pandey, a zonal committee
level comrade, in Nagpur city around 11am when they went to meet
a comrade who was supposed to receive them from the Dandakarnaya
zone." He hailed from a village near Pithoragarh town of Uttarakhand.
The NIA arrested
Niranjan Hojai, the self-styled ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of BW, near
India-Nepal border, a senior official of the Assam Police said
in Guwahati.
|
|
July 4
|
Maoists called
for a 48-hour ''Bharat bandh'' from July 7 to protest against
the killing of their senior politburo member Cherukuri Rajkumar
alias Azad at Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh by the Police, top Maoist
leader Kishan said.
The outfit
warned of attacks to avenge the killing and also made it clear
that talks with the Government were no longer an option.
|
|
July 5
|
The arrested
Pakistani American LeT operative David Coleman Headley has said
that Ishrat Jahan, who was killed along with three alleged terrorists
in 2004 in a Police encounter, was indeed a LeT fedayeen
(suicide bomber). Ishrat and Javed were killed along with two
Pakistani nationals Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani both
alleged LeT terrorists, on June 15, 2004.
Union Home
Secretary G. K. Pillai said he felt that there was no immediate
need for deployment of Army in the Maoist-hit areas, saying it
could take about three to seven years to effectively control the
Maoist menace.
The CRPF had
expressed a desire to withdraw from all interior locations of
the worst-hit Naxal area of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, a move opposed
by the State Police.
CPI-Maoist
spokesperson Koteswar Rao alias Kishan accused the Union
Government of jeopardising prospects of peace talks with the CPI-Maoist
by killing his politburo colleague Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad
in a "false encounter" on July 1.
The Planning
Commission decided in favour of pumping nearly INR 140 billion
into social and physical infrastructure building in some 35 Districts
affected by activities of the CPI-Maoist.
|
|
July 6
|
The Centre
has convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of the States affected
by Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) violence on July 14 in New Delhi
to evolve a cohesive strategy to counter the menace.
Defence Minister
A.K. Antony said Army units would be deployed in Chhattisgarh
to help the Police and paramilitary personnel in their fight against
the CPI-Maoist.
Steps taken
to combat CPI-Maoist insurgency have slowly started yielding results
with ration shops opening and weekly markets being held in remote
areas of Chhattisgarh due to the presence of Security Forces,
Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said.
Apprehending
a "credible threat" from CPI-Maoist during the two-day bandh (shut
down) call given by them, railways said it has formed a special
task force to meet any eventuality following an alert issued by
the Home Ministry and Intelligence Bureau.
|
|
July 8
|
The Andhra
Pradesh Government has requested the Centre for troop-carrier
helicopters to be stationed in the State for use in anti-CPI-Maoist
operations along the borders with Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
The Ministry
of Home affairs has decided to shift the Central Zone headqarters
of the CRPF from Raipur to Kolkata, considered a much safer place.
CRPF Special Director General (DG) Vijay Raman confirmed the news,
saying that this was being done because of "reasons of safety".
|
|
July 9
|
In a fresh
terror input, intelligence agencies have alerted the State Anti-Terrorism
Squad (ATS) and various security agencies about the possible penetration
of 31 operatives of Bangladesh-based outfits — HuJI and JeI —
into India for carrying out terror strikes.
Mumbai Police
has been asked to keep personnel on high alert but the prime targets
of the group have been stated to be New Delhi and Kolkata. "However,
the group may move to other cities as well," the alert states.
"The American consulate is the prime target.
|
|
July 11
|
A Sri Lankan
national was detained at the Airport of Chennai. He allegedly
has links with the LTTE.
The Government
has sounded a high alert to security agencies protecting pilgrims
during the two-month-long Amarnath Yatra (Hindu pilgrimage) following
intelligence inputs that militants based in Pakistan are planning
to target them.
|
|
July 12
|
Kerala Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nassar Madani, one of the
accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case, filed an anticipatory
bail application before the Bangalore (Karnataka) High Court.
Four militant
groups of Manipur, ULFA and the NSCN- K have jointly decided to
put up a joint front against the NSCN-IM in Manipur, following
a senior level meeting held in Bangladesh recently.
The PLA emphasized
on the aspect of having good nexus with the Communist Party of
India- Maoist (CPI-Maoist), insurgent groups of Jammu and Kashmir
and Northeast. PLA declared their vision of having a joint militant
group to be evolved as 'United Front'.
|
|
July 13
|
The Police
seized country-made bombs, weapons and incriminating material
in raids at the offices of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and
its political arm, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI),
houses of their activists and suspected locations in different
parts of the State.
|
|
July 14
|
The Andhra
Pradesh Police arrested a terrorist, identified as Viqaruddin
Ahmed, who was on the run for more than two years after masterminding
the killing of a home guard and a Constable in Hyderabad.
Two accused
in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast denied the CBI claim that
they had agreed to undergo polygraph and narco-analysis tests.
The Union Government
asked Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal Governments
to set up a Unified Command to fight the CPI-Maoist.The Centre
also offered the four States more helicopters, logistics support
and intelligence sharing to fight the Maoist menace. The States
were asked to set up an empowered group, chaired by the Member-Secretary,
Planning Commission, to modify the norms and guidelines to implement
development schemes having regard to the local needs and conditions
in the affected Districts. It was decided to improve road connectivity
in 34 worst affected Districts.
The Chief Ministers
were told that the Planning Commission was considering a Special
Development Plan for the affected districts with the focus on
primary education, healthcare, drinking water and road connectivity.
Chidambaram
said, "There was complete unanimity on the Centre's approach
of development and police action. All the Chief Ministers and
the Governor [of Jharkhand] were positive in their approach, fully
cooperative and committed to working together to deal with the
Maoist menace. In the medium to long-term, we can overcome the
challenge of Left-wing extremism."
Bihar, Andhra
Pradesh and Maharashtra, however, felt there was no immediate
need for a unified command. Even the Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS) did not consider it necessary to have such a command in
these three states.
Addressing
the Chief Ministers of Naxal (Left Wing Extremism)-affected States
in New Delhi, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram gave figures
to underscore the gravity of the challenge posed by Naxalite (Left
Wing Extremist) groups. He said between 2004 and 2008, the Naxalites
had killed about 500 civilians every year. This number rose to
591 in 2009.
According to
a confidential note on the internal security situation circulated
to Union ministers, the Government has admitted that in the first
six months of this year, Naxalite activity was noticed in as many
as 158 Districts of the country, a sharp increase from the 133
districts where Naxalites were seen to be active in the previous
year.
Incidents of
Naxal violence this year have been reported from 85 districts.
In 2009, violent incidents were limited to only 67 Districts.
In fact, four Districts and 17 police stations witnessed incidents
of Naxal violence for the first time in their history.
Indian Foreign
Minister S. M. Krishna interacting with Indian media in Islamabad
outlined terrorism as the "core issue" saying "the time had come"
for Pakistan to act on "overwhelming evidence" presented to it
over the role of Pakistan-based terror outfits in the 26/11 attacks.
The Delhi Police
claimed before a court that the IM had allegedly carried out September
13, 2008 serial blasts in Delhi at the instance of its founder,
now Pakistan-based Amir Raza Khan.
Sources in
the NIA team, which questioned David Coleman Headley in Chicago
(United States) in June told Rediff.com that their interrogation
focused on the involvement of ISI officers in the 26/11 attacks.
Headley''s revelations match statements of al Qaeda operative
Ilyas Kashmiri made recently to a Pakistani Website.
The Kerala
State Cabinet decided to form an internal security investigation
branch in the State Police.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that 20 counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism
schools would be set up in the Naxal (left wing extremism)-affected
States.
The meeting
approved raising 34 new battalions of the India Reserve Battalion
(IRB) for combating the CPI-Maoist.
Asked about
his plan of "revisiting'' the deployment of the Central forces
depending upon operational or developmental needs, he said the
deployment of paramilitary forces was revisited in Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Orissa.
With Naxal
(left wing extremism)-hit States collectively reporting Police
vacancies to the tune of 97,000 personnel, the Chief Ministers
have agreed to set up committees — headed by the respective chief
secretary — to evaluate the openings and monitor the progress
in filing up all the posts in a time-bound manner.
|
|
July 15
|
Days after
seeking issuance of Non Bailable Warrants (NBW) against David
Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, involved in 26/11 attacks,
the NIA withdrew its application realising its mistake that the
agency should not have had requested the court for their NBW in
the first place as both of them are already in judicial custody
in US with which India has an extradition treaty.
Senior Communist
Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias
Azad, killed on July 2, was in Delhi for four months, sources
told NDTV.
The Maoists
have tied up with RPF, the political wing of the PLA, which is
helping Maoists with training and logistics.
|
|
July 16
|
Describing
his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi
as "good and constructive," External Affairs Minister S.M Krishna
said at a joint press conference that Pakistan has promised speedy
trial of the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused and had given a fresh
assurance not to allow this country''s territory to be used for
terror against India.
In revelations,
Pakistani-American LeT operative David Headley has told his interrogators
that the Pakistani intelligence agency- ISI had paid INR 2.5 millions
to LeT to purchase a boat which terrorists used to travel from
Karachi carried out 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack.
|
|
July 17
|
The ISI agent
Munir Khan, arrested from West District, has admitted besides,
spreading anti-Indian activities in Guwahati, ISI had widened
its net in south Assam and Manipur
|
|
July 19
|
Ahmedabad city
crime branch officials arrested a 36-year-old man identified as
Farkat Jamal alias Arshad, who had allegedly supplied illegal
firearm to arrested SIMI cadres Hasseb Raza Saiyad, said crime
branch officials.
Army chief
V. K. Singh said Army personnel needed "certain legal protection"
in "awkward" situations and it was up to the Government on how
it should be provided.
The NIA took
further remand of ‘commander-in-chief’ of Black Widow (BW) Niranjan
Hojai to take him to Delhi for "scientific tests".
Train services
in the Kharagpur-Tatnagar section of the South Eastern Railway
were suspended for four hours after the driver of a goods train
noticed some posters lying next to the railway tracks between
Jhargram and Khatkura in the CPI-Maoist-affected area of West
Midnapore District.
The Union Government
has beefed up the security of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
and Home Secretary G. K. Pillai following intelligence reports,
which suggest fresh threats to their lives from the CPI-Maoist.
A local court
sent arrested SIMI cadre, identified as Fakraan alias Farkat
alias Arshad Jamal, to Crime Branch’s custody for eight days.
Union Home
Secretary G.K. Pillai said that LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
not only masterminded the 26/11 Mumbai attacks but also made a
trip to India and the Government has given exact dates of his
visit to Islamabad.
Ahead of the
July 24 National Development Council (NDC) meeting, the Planning
Commission will come out with a report on the problems in the
Naxal (Left Wing Extremism)-hit areas and the issues being faced
by tribals.
The intelligence
agencies in New Delhi submitted reports to the MHA stating that
a number of former Khalistani militants based in Germany had been
trying to revive militancy in Punjab.
Pakistan born
American LeT operative David Coleman Headley confirming what the
lone surviving LeT militant Ajmal Kasab confessed in Mumbai, had
told NIA interrogators in Chicago in June that all the 10 attackers
of 26/11 had got intensive training from Pakistan Navy frogmen
As part of
its package to develop Naxal (Left Wing Extremism)-hit Districts,
the Union Government will give INR 5.3 billion for Uttar Pradesh’s
Sonbhadra District.
The Bombay
High Court reapplied the MCOCA to the September 29, 2008 Malegaon
blast case.
Chief of Army
Staff General V.K. Singh said there is no cause of alarm over
the possibility of the CPI-Maoist and Northeast insurgents linking
up.
Terming the
developmental policies as "blinkered", the Supreme Court (SC)
said that the promised rights and benefits never reached marginalised
citizens fuelling extreme discontent and giving birth to Naxalism
and militancy, which are threatening the sovereignty of the country.
The special
cell of Delhi Police claimed of arresting a suspected agent of
the Pakistani ISI, identified as Nafees Ahmed (60). Nafees had
reportedly helped a ISI agent set up base in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)
and also helped the latter procure an Indian passport on the basis
of forged documents.
|
|
July 20
|
Army Chief
General V. K. Singh said he was confident that the NDFB would
come to the negotiating table if they are "handled properly".
Delhi Police
chargesheeted diplomat Madhuri Gupta accusing her of passing secret
information to Pakistan's external intelligence agency, ISI during
her posting in Islamabad.
Keen to avert
a second attack on a crucial pipeline that carries its product
to its end-users, the public sector NMDC has decided to re-lay
another pipeline through a longer route which will go past State
and national highways skirting CPI-Maoist strongholds.
The interrogation
of Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, who helped the Pakistan-based
LeT in plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, points to official
patronage of terror groups, National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar
Menon said.
The NIA, seeking
in a Delhi court Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against JuD chief
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and LeT head of operations Zaki-ur-Rahman
Lakhvi and four other Pakistani citizens, said its case was based
on a "larger conspiracy" against India.
India on firmly
said there cannot be any selective approach in fighting terrorism
and sought an end to sustenance and sanctuaries for terrorists
from outside Afghanistan, a veiled reference to terror camps in
Pakistan.
The CPI-Maoist
has selected comrade Abhay as the successor to Cherukuri Rajkumar,
alias Azad, who served as the spokesperson of the Central Committee
until he was killed by the Andhra Pradesh Police in Adilabad on
July 2.
National Socialist
Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) ‘general secretary’
Thuingaleng Muivah wants more powers for Centre's interlocutor
R.S. Pandey to accelerate the 13-year-old Naga peace talks.
|
|
July 21
|
A Delhi court
issued NBW against five Pakistanis in a case filed by the National
Investigation Agency NIA, charging them with facilitating terrorist
attacks in India, but rejected its application for NBWs against
LeT chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the
first and second accused.
Intelligence
reports indicates that Pakistan’s ISI has renewed efforts to set
up new sleeper cells in Gujarat and elsewhere in the country.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram, in an interview to Economic Times, called
CPI-Maoist cadres "crafty capitalists" and candidly
admitted that the State was "helpless" in preventing
businesses from succumbing to their extortion.
The Union Government
planned to soon hold talks with leaders of various political parties
and separatist groups, official sources said.
Myanmarese
nationals have made Shillong as their "rendezvous point" for arms
transaction with Northeast rebels, a top intelligence official
said.
|
|
July 22
|
The West Midlands
Police in United Kingdom (UK) arrested four BKI militants, including
the top leader Paramjit Singh Pamma, for their involvement in
the killing of Rulda Singh, the Punjab-based chief of RSS Sikh
arm Rashtriya Sikh Sangat.
The Ludhiana
Police arrested a Pakistani national on charges of espionage.
The LeT is
as deadly a terror group as Taliban and al-Qaeda and they were
working in close coordination, said Richard Holbrooke, United
States special envoy for Afghanistan-Pakistan.
Holbrooke also
said that the "few steps" taken by Islamabad in this
direction were "not enough".
Cairman of
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said, "One of
the things that struck me then and is still of great concern is
that those terrorists could bring the two countries closer (to
a possible conflict)."
A committee
of secretaries headed by Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai has
been formed to push for speedy implementation of the Panchayats
(Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act.
The CPI-Maoist
gave a call to its cadres including the armed PLGA, to observe
a martyrs’ week or ‘Shahid Saptah’ from July 28 to August 3.
|
|
July 23
|
India and the
US signed a Counter Terrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI) that
includes steps to check financing of terror activities, joint
probe in cases of bomb blasts besides cooperation in mega-city
policing, transportation including rail security, development
of investigative skills, cyber and border security.
Pakistan-based
Sikh militants, supported by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI), might carry out bomb blasts in New Delhi before the Commonwealth
Games, the Punjab Police has alerted.
Concerned over
misuse of US military aid to Pakistan against it, India asked
Washington to set up a "monitoring mechanism" to ensure
that it was used for the intended purpose, .
The US wants
Pakistan to continue to investigate the November 26, 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attack and bring to justice those responsible for the
carnage, saying these are "must do" things for that country for
the benefit of the region as a whole.
|
|
July 24
|
Prime Minister
(PM) Manmohan Singh called for three-pronged carrot-and-stick
strategy - force, empowerment and development - to deal with Naxalism
[Left Wing Extremism].
|
|
July 25
|
India fears
that Pakistan-based LeT may attempt to strike during the October
2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and has voiced its concerns
to the US.
Polish intelligence
had, a week before the July 7, 2008 Indian embassy bombing, warned
of a possible Taliban attack on Indian interests in the Afghan
capital with the "main goal" to show its ability to attack on
every object in Kabul, according to a document leaked by whistleblower
site WikiLeaks, However, other documents strongly indicate that
Pakistan's ISI is supporting the insurgency in Afghanistan, as
well as plotting with Taliban leaders to assassinate Afghan leaders.
Sadhvi Pragnya
Singh Thakur, who is facing charges under Maharashtra Control
of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for her alleged involvement in
the 2008 Malegaon (Maharashtra) bomb blast case, has moved the
Supreme Court for bail.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said that it was hopeful of getting "something"
from Pakistan on the information provided to it last month on
26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and was willing to give it some time
in this regard.
|
|
July 26
|
A Special Operations
Group (SOG) team in Vadodra in Gujarat in the night of July 26
arrested a Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) cadre for
his involvement in three-year-old incident when a group of protestors
had displayed posters of al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in Mandvi
area.
SFs have imported
a little known breed of Belgian shepherd dogs to provide troops
with early warning of Naxal attack.
Defence Minister
A.K. Antony reiterated its concern that the US military aid being
supplied to Pakistan in the name of the global war on terrorism
would be "misused'' against India. India, as reported earlier,
wants the US to closely monitor its military assistance to Pakistan
since a major part of it is being diverted to bolster Islamabad's
conventional military and nuclear capabilities against India.
The US, however, is not ready to give any assurance in this regard.
|
|
July 27
|
The Special
Operation Group of the Gujarat Police arrested a SIMI cadre, identified
as Sayed Abid Ali Musa, from Vadodara.
The MHA issued
an advisory to all Naxal affected States and the railways asking
them to deploy an adequate number of SFs in sensitive areas and
strengthen security measures to guard the railway tracks against
the CPI-Maoist attacks during the "Shahid Saptah (Martyrs’
Week)" being observed by the Maoists from July 28 to August
3.
CPM battling
CPI-Maoist) cadres and manning border areas are facing a shortage
of more than 86,000 bullet-proof jackets, according to the Union
Ministry of Home Affairs.
Over 9,000
paramilitary personnel have quit this year due to tensions in
the family, domestic discord, staying in difficult terrain and
disability.
In the wake
of India''s assertion that ISI was involved in the 26/11 Mumbai
attacks, the US administration has said that it was investigating
the matter to find out whether Pakistan's ISI played a role in
the 26/11 terror strikes.
India reacted
strongly to the secret documents leaked by Wikileaks that suggested
that Pakistan's tribal areas were being used by its spy agency
to stoke insurgency in Afghanistan.
Sources who
had perused the documents "released" so far said they
seemed to show that despite being an ally of the U.S. in the ‘war
on terror,' the ISI held secret strategy sessions with the Taliban
leadership and arranged manpower to mount attacks on foreign forces
and eliminate Afghan leadership.
While the United
States has refused to corroborate the suggestion — implied in
some of the documents released by the whistleblower site, WikiLeaks
— that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) colluded with
the Taliban against Western forces in Afghanistan, a US State
Department spokesman, however, said Pakistan had to do more to
prove that it was implementing a "strategic shift against
insurgent groups".
The Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs Mullapally Ramachandran informed the
Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament), replying to a question,
"Dialogue with NSCN-IM [National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah]
is continuing. The details in this regard cannot be disclosed
as negotiations are underway," reports Press Trust of India.
|
|
July 28
|
The Punjab
Police arrested five BKI militants with two AK-47 rifles and a
huge quantity of ammunition and explosives.
Another round
of talks between the Centre and the NSCN-IM ended inconclusively
in New Delhi.
The Centre
said it was aware that anti-India elements, who are based in Pakistan,
are provoking the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the support
of certain sections of secessionist groups in the State.
British Prime
Minister David Cameron has said he will discuss with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh the "leakage" of funds provided to Pakistan
to terrorists based in that country.
Cameron witnessed
the signing of an agreement at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s
facility in Bangalore for the supply 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer
aircraft to the Indian Air Force and the Navy. While the IAF will
acquire 40 aircrafts, the Navy, for the first time, will obtain
17 Hawk AJT aircraft at a total cost of INR. 51billion.
|
|
July 29
|
Not satisfied
with the prevailing situation in the Naxal-affected areas in the
eastern region, the Railways have decided to extend suspension
of night movement of trains in parts of West Bengal and Jharkhand
till August 3.
The Centre
said it was confident of overcoming the Naxal [problem through
its existing two-pronged policy development and Police action
to deal with the menace in the affected areas. Addressing a meeting
of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the
Government was confident that the problem of Naxals would be dealt
with "determination" and "overcome" in the next three years".
With no breakthrough
in the over three year old Samjhauta Express blast case which
was being investigated by the Haryana Police, the Union Government
has finally handed over the probe to the National Investigation
Agency.
Underlining
the need to remain engaged with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and his British counterpart, David Cameron, called on Islamabad
to be indiscriminate in cracking down on terror groups operating
from its soil.
Making the
same point, Manmohan Singh hoped that Pakistan Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi would accept the invitation to visit India
later this year so that "sooner or later" the dialogue was restored
to the "proper sense of purpose."
|
|
July 30
|
Acknowledging
that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir "is not yet normal" due
to repeated calls for bandh (shut down), the Centre made it clear
that it was committed to holding a ‘quiet' dialogue with all shades
of opinion in the State.
Union Minister
of State for Railways E. Ahamed informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House), "Railways have become a soft target for Naxals [Left Wing
Extremists] due to its vast network and expanse".
In the fist
six months alone, eight such accidents have been reported, as
against three in 2009 and six in 2008, triggered by the Naxalites.
The total number of sabotage incidents engineered by the Maoists
in 2010 so far is 28, as against 31 in 2009 and 18 in 2008.
The Railways
have approved an integrated security system at an estimated expenditure
of INR 3. 53 billion, to strengthen the surveillance mechanism
over 202 sensitive and vulnerable stations, which includes installation
of Close Circuit Televisions, access control, personal and baggage
screening system and bomb detection and disposal system.
They also intend
to set up an All India Railway Protection Force (RPF) help-line
at an estimated cost of INR 50 million during the current financial
year. Passengers will be able to access it round the clock.
Networking
of security control rooms and posts of RPF at division, zone and
Railway Board levels is intended to be taken up at an approximate
cost of INR 4.41 crore, to respond immediately to calls from passengers.
MHA asked the
Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal to make additional deployment
of Civil Police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Central Paramilitary
Forces to foil attacks on Railway infrastructure, adds Times of
India.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram there would be a change of heart among
the CPI-Maoist cadres who believe in armed liberation.
To minimise
reaction time of anti-Naxal operations, the Government has authorised
a special group of officers posted in such terrain to requisition
BSF helicopters rather than route the request through State Police.
The power to requisition BSF helicopters has been delegated to
Inspector General (operations) of CRPF, posted in States. So far,
the State Police could ask for helicopters only after consultation
with CRPF Special Director General and Commander of anti-Naxal
operations.
Militancy-related
violence in the Northeastern region has come down during the first
six months of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. Of
the Northeastern States, Assam and Manipur continue to remain
trouble-torn, although the incidence of violence has come down
during the past six months. Mizoram remains the most peaceful
State. For the period January to June 2010, Assam accounted for
121 incidents of violence. In 2009, during the same period 263
incidents were reported. Two Security Forces (SFs) and 23 civilians
died in 2010. However, in 2009, 20 SFs and 99 civilians died between
January to June.
|
|
August 2
|
Police claimed
to have arrested two conduits of the KZF in connection with seizure
of arms and ammunition from Border out Post (BoP) Bakarpur in
R S Pura sector of Jammu District.
The verdict
of the trial court awarding the death sentence to Mohammad Ajmal
Amir Kasab, the lone surviving LeT militant of the November 26,
2008 Mumbai terror attacks (also known as 26/11), came up for
confirmation before the Bombay High Court, which adjourned the
matter. The High Court directed the Maharashtra Government and
the defence to file their respective appeals on the sentence of
the special sessions court in the 26/11 case by August 12.
|
|
August 3
|
The Maharashtra
ATS arrested 28 Bangladeshi immigrants, working as labourers in
Nagpur for illegally staying in the city.
The Karnataka
High Court denied anticipatory bail to Abdul Nasir Madani, chairman
of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in connection with the
July 25, 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts case, in which one
woman was killed and 20 people were injured.
The Government
said that while there was no specific threat for the Commonwealth
Games, there is a "general threat'' from militant outfits who
want to strike at high profile events. Responding to a Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Parliament) question, minister of state for home
M. Ramachandran said the Delhi Police in consultation with the
Union home ministry and other security agencies had "formulated
elaborate security measures for the safe and secure conduct of
the Games''. The ministry also said that an international security
liaison group had been set up. The group included representatives
from various security agencies for effective liaison with their
counterparts from participating countries before and during the
Games.
The Pakistan
Army under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is pursuing a three-pronged
policy, including keeping India out of Afghan affairs, to control
Kabul, a former top Canadian envoy to Kabul and also the Deputy
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan
from 2005 until 2009, Chris Alexander, said.
The Karnataka
High Court denied anticipatory bail to Abdul Nasir Madani, chairman
of the PDP in connection with the July 25, 2008 Bangalore serial
bomb blasts case, in which one woman was killed and 20 people
were injured, according to The Hindu. The Karnataka government
opposed the petition, saying that Mr. Madani was involved in a
criminal conspiracy and prima facie there was a case against him.
The PDP leader was one of the 32 people charge-sheeted in the
case and the city police had established his role in the case.
Justice N. Ananda accepted the arguments of the State and rejected
the petition. Madani is yet to appear in court, which has issued
a non-bailable warrant against him.
|
|
August 4
|
A one-member
Tribunal, headed by Delhi High Court Judge Sanjiv Khanna confirmed
the extension of the ban on the SIMI for two more years. The Union
Home Ministry had extended the ban on the outfit for the same
period in February. SIMI has been banned since 2001.With the confirmation
of the extension of the ban, the outfit will remain banned till
February 7, 2012
A serious attempt
is being made by the militants sitting in Pakistan with the help
of Pakistan’s Army and spy agencies to revive militancy in Punjab
using former militants and border smugglers and International
Border (IB) of Jammu for smuggling of arms, explosives and hawala
money.
After training
them for eight months in intensive intelligence gathering, CRPF
has begun deploying its specially-trained personnel in Naxal-hit
areas and other theatres of operation to gather information at
the grass root level.
In a reply
to reports of Pakistan’s ISI establishing links with insurgent
outfits, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, M. Ramachandran
said there are inputs of some of the militant groups operating
in the Northeast have developed links with ISI.
Union Home
Minister P Chidambaram admitted that there were intelligence report
to show that arms are smuggled across the border from Myanmar
and Bangladesh.
On the links
between insurgent outfits and China, Minister of State for Home
affairs, M. Ramachandran said there were no specific inputs. However,
the Government of India is aware that some Indian insurgent groups
are procuring arms and explosives and establishing camps in the
territories of some neighbouring countries.
Denying reports
of CPI-Maoist getting foreign funds, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said the Maoists are getting the bulk of their money from extortion.
|
|
August 5
|
CPI-Maoist
indicated that it has not backed out of the talks with the Government
but asked mediator Swami Agnivesh not to contact them through
their channels alleging that Police was tracking their leaders
through the letters sent by him. In an "open letter" to Agnivesh
dated August 3, CPI-Maoist central committee member Srikant alias
Sukant said the two letters of Swami Agnivesh dated June 26 and
July 22 have not reached the top leaders of the party, who are
to take a call on the offer.
A new outfit,
Popular Front of India (PFI), which calls India its enemy and
asks for 'total Muslim empowerment', is under scanner in Kerala
for its alleged anti-India ideology. The documents seized from
cadres of the outfit, prove its anti-national ideology. The documents
portray the nation as its enemy and calls to work towards 'total
Muslim empowerment’. The documents also describe the so-called
'freedom parade' organised by the PFI at various centres on Independence
Day (August 15), as a means to motivate and rejuvenate Muslims.
The PFI activists
recently chopped the hands of a college lecturer, T. J. Joseph,
who allegedly set a question paper, which hurt Muslim sentiments.
Meanwhile, Kerala's Education Minister M. A. Baby said that the
State Government would soon be banning the Freedom Parade organised
by PFI activists on every Independence Day in the light of the
attack on Joseph
|
|
August 6
|
The Special
Investigation Team probing the assault on T.J. Joseph, Malayalam
teacher at Newman College in Thodupuzha in Kerala issued summons
to leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for questioning
in connection with the case.
Solicitor General
of India Gopal Subramanium gave his opinion to the Union Home
Ministry stating that the Magistrate who recorded the confessional
statement of the sole surviving 26/11 militant Ajmal Kasab can
depose before a Pakistani court through video-conferencing in
connection with the trial in the terror attack case.
|
|
August 8
|
Security agencies
have warned that cadres from the Jama''atul Mujahideen Bangladesh
(JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) may have
infiltrated into India through the North-eastern States, particularly
Assam with the aim of sabotaging Independence Day celebrations
in New Delhi on August 15.
The Union Home
Ministry pulled up some forest officials posted in Naxal-affected
areas for allegedly not alerting local Police about "happenings"
there and even attending meetings organised by the CPI-Maoist.
|
|
August 10
|
Maharashtra
Government filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court challenging
a lower court's verdict acquitting Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin
Ahmed of conspiracy in the 26/11 case.
Kamtapur Liberation
Organisation (KLO), Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF),
National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), National Liberation
Front of Tripura (NLFT), Tripura Peoples' Democratic Front (TPDF)
and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) called for a general
shut down, and asked people in the Northeast region to boycott
the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
|
|
August 11
|
A combined
force of the Thoubal District Police, Army and the Special Cell
of the Delhi Police arrested four cadres belonging to Military
Defense Force faction of the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) from
Shivaji Enclave in West Delhi.
Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram rejected the demand for an inquiry into
the killing in an encounter of CPI-Maoist leader Azad.
Replying to
a question, Chidambaram said there was no evidence that the CPI-Maoist
was getting overt support from any international terrorist organisation
or international militant organisation.
Chidambaram
also pointed out that the CPI-Maoist was able to raise funds within
the country.
The Government
said almost 8,500 armed Naxal [Left Wing Extremist] cadres were
present in the country and as many as 21 left wing extremist groups
were indulging in acts of violence. Maken said the total number
of security personnel killed by Naxals in the current year, up
to July 31, is 218.
Maken said
PCPA was involved in the derailment of the Janeswari Express,
which killed 148 passengers.
CPI-Maoist
politburo member Koteswar Rao alias Kishan defended Trinamool
Congress party chief Mamata Banerjee for stating that the killing
of the outfit's spokesman Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad
was wrong and said talks could only be held after the withdrawal
of anti-Maoist operations.
According to
a diplomatic note published on August 11, New Zealand officials
in India anticipate a terrorist attack on a "soft target" ahead
of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Police forces
of the four southern States - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Karnataka - have resolved to track movements of extremists,
terrorists and other organised crime offenders on a day-to-day
basis.
|
|
August 12
|
The Gujarat
High Court transferred the probe in the Ishrat Jahan encounter
case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the
Supreme Court to probe Godhra riots cases.
IAF is contemplating
deployment of additional helicopters in the ongoing anti-Naxal
operations, with its two Mi-17s and two Dhruvs already operating
in Chhattisgarh armed with "sideward mounted machine guns' to
fire back in "self-defence" if they come under attack from Communist
Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres.
External Affairs
Minister S.M. Krishna said that India was willing to hold a sustained
dialogue with Pakistan, provided the latter's soil was not used
for attacks on India.
Social activist
Swami Agnivesh said that CPI-Maoist was ready to resume the peace
process initiated by their spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar alias
Azad if a judicial inquiry was ordered into his killing.
Asked about
Swami Agnivesh as a mediator in peace talks, Union Home Secretary
G K Pillai stated, "At the moment, we don't have any mediator.
Let them (Maoists) abjure violence, then we can think of a mediator."
|
|
August 13
|
The Bangalore
Police arrested Vinay Kumar (30) of Hassan and Devaiah (33) from
South Kodagu. The two were trying to send Pasham Sridhar (27),
Koyi Saratchandra (39) Darshanam Pradeep Kumar (29) and Gaddam
Pavan Kumar (38) to Dubai where they would meet Altaf, a native
of Baseri Kattemane near Mangalore. Altaf is one of the associates
of Chhota Shakeel, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim. However, the four
were arrested by Hyderabad Police and they were supposed to leave
for Dubai on August 4. According to the Bangalore Police Commissioner,
Shankar Bidari, the four arrested by Hyderabad Police were leaders
of Naxal organisations.
A Delhi court
sent five cadres of the Manipur based KYKL militants to 14 days
judicial custody.
The Union Government
removed names of 23 former Khalistani militants, all foreign nationals,
from the Centre's list of blacklisted Sikh radicals as they are
not involved in any serious criminals cases and anti-India activities.
Consequently, these 23 persons will now be able to get Indian
visa and travel to any parts of India without any restriction.
The Centre
has sought a report from the Madhya Pradesh Government on 600
tonnes of explosives reported missing while being transported
from Rajasthan.
|
|
August 14
|
In an address
to the nation on the eve of the 64th Independence Day,
President Pratibha Patil called upon CPI-Maoist and other extremist
groups to eschew violence and urged civil society to encourage
them to join the national mainstream. She said, "proponents of
extreme ideologies and the followers of Left Wing Extremism must
abandon their path of violence. I call on them to join [the] national
efforts for growth and development. I hope that everybody, including
the civic society, will come forward and move them in this direction."
Highlighting that protracted development efforts needed in the
naxal [Left Wing Extremism] violence-affected areas, she called
for promoting a spirit of conciliation through dialogue to foster
the process of nation building. "It is possible [to achieve a
spirit of conciliation], when dialogue is chosen as the channel
for communication. By listening to each other, respecting each
other's viewpoint and understanding one another, we can address
[the] issues before us."
|
|
August 15
|
Facing arrest
warrant in the July 2008 Bangalore serial blast blasts case, Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nassar Madani said he would
surrender before the nearest court in the coming days. Addressing
a press meet at his camp at Anwarassery near Kollam in Kerala
amid intense speculation and suspense over his arrest, Madani
said he "preferred surrendering before the nearest court in the
coming days" as he was keen to avoid law and order problems that
his arrest could trigger
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh appealed to the Left Wing Extremists to abjure
violence and talk to the Government. Speaking from the Red Fort
on the occasion of 64th Independence Day, Manmohan
Singh said "I once again appeal to Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists]
to abjure violence, come for talks with the government and join
hands with us to accelerate social and economic development."
Expressing
readiness to carry forward talks with insurgents in the Northeast,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his Government had a special
responsibility towards the region. He said the "north-eastern
part of our country has been witness to some unpleasant incidents
in the recent months". "As far as the Central government is concerned,
we are ready to take forward every process of talks which could
lead to progress in resolution of problems," he said.
|
| August 16 |
State STF claimed to have arrested
another wanted accused from Naka area of Lucknow in the case of
pilferage of ammunition from various Police weapon stores in Uttar
Pradesh. The STF team recovered a .32 bore pistol and 50 live
cartridges of .9mm from the possession of the arrested accused.
The Inspector General (Law & Order), AP Maheshwari said the arrested
accused - Akash alias Guddu, a native of Mau District of
Uttar Pradesh and at present staying in Sheikhpur District of
Bihar - used to supply the ammunition to Naxal [Left Wing Extremist]
groups and criminals of Bihar and West Bengal.
|
| August 17 |
The PDP leader, Abdul Nasir Madani,
was arrested in Kollam in Kerala in connection with the 2008 Bangalore
blasts case. A Karnataka Police team backed by the Kerala Police
entered the Anwarssery camp of the PDP leader and arrested him.
Madani was brought to Bangalore and produced before the First
Additional City Metropolitan Magistrate, Venkatesh R. Hulgi, at
the latter's residence. He was remanded to Police custody till
August 26.
Pakistani Army opened fire on
three Indian posts along the LoC in Krishnaghati sector in Poonch
District, Army sources said. According to the sources, Pakistani
troops targeted Kranti, Ghoda and Kirpan posts of the Indian Army
along the LoC in Mendhar area, about 230 kilometres north of Jammu
at around 12.30am. The heavy firing lasted for more than one hour.
Pakistani Army also fired mortars and rockets, the sources said.
Pakistani Army had been violating the cease-fire, which had come
into effect in November 2003.
Assistant Sessions Court in Tambaram
in Chennai convicted six LTTE sympathizers and sentenced them
to one year imprisonment in a case registered against them by
the Indian Q Branch Police in 2007.
The Central Government said that
Sikh militant groups from abroad are trying to resurrect militancy
in Punjab. "Available reports suggest that Sikh militant groups
especially those based in abroad are continuing their efforts
to revive militancy in Punjab," Minister of State for Home Affairs
Ajay Maken informed the Lok Sabha
Responding to the Centre's offer
for peace talks, the CPI-Maoist set three preconditions for talks
- remove Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, bring in independent
mediators and announce a three-month bilateral ceasefire.
|
| August 18 |
Official sources said that Pakistan's
move to send 47 questions to India seeking additional information
on LeT operative David Coleman Headley and his activities during
his multiple visits to the country between 2006 and 2009 was nothing
but "delaying tactics" to act against perpetrators of the 26/11
Mumbai attacks case.
Asserting that she "sticks to"
whatever she had said at the Lalgarh rally on August 9, including
her remarks on the death of CPI-Maoist leader Azad, Trinamool
Congress Party Chief Mamata Banerjee welcomed the Maoist leadership's
suggestion for a three-month ceasefire and peace talks. Mamata
Banerjee had earlier dubbed the encounter killing of Azad as murder.
|
| August 19 |
Among the 28 Pakistani nationals
repatriated to their country via the Attari-Wagah border were
two persons who had served time in Indian jails for doing their
bit to aid the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814
to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Haji Iqbal Ahmad and Mohammad Asif
were in jail for eight years in Maharashtra for aiding a bank
robbery in Mumbai to generate funds for the hijacking of IC-814.
The country was put on high alert
after intelligence inputs suggested that Pakistan-based militants
may strike during the coming festival season. The Centre asked
the States of Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala to deploy more forces
in sensitive locations
Fearing Munich Olympics like terror
attack in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, swimming legend Dawn Fraser
called on athletes to boycott the event but the Australian Commonwealth
Games Association (ACGA) rejected her apprehensions insisting
that the Indian capital would be safe and secure.
|
| August 20 |
Union Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA) has alerted the Assam State Police about CPI-Maoist establishing
links with militants in Assam.
The combined forces battling the
CPI-Maoist in seven States are not having much success, Union
Home Ministry statistics for 2008, 2009 and the first six months
of 2010 show.
|
|
August 24
|
Karnataka Home Minister V.S Acharya
claimed that the leader of PDP Abdul Nasir Madani had confessed
of his direct involvement in the twin explosions outside Chinnaswamy
cricket stadium ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) match
in Bangalore on April 17, 20009. "During interrogation, Madani
revealed that he was directly involved," the Home Minister said.
On April 17, 2009 an hour before the IPL match, two low-intensity
explosions were triggered near a packed Chinnaswamy stadium, leaving
around 15 persons, including five Security Force personnel, injured.
|
|
August 25
|
The IB warned that "inimical agencies"
operating from "international bases" were trying to revive militancy
in Punjab by forging an alliance between Khalistani outfits and
the LeT. Calling attempts to revive Sikh militancy a worrisome
trend, IB Chief Rajiv Mathur said, "There have been clear attempts
by inimical agencies abroad to reactivate Sikh terrorist elements,
forge nexus between LeT and terrorist groups like BKI and KZF
and mobilise their resources for planning terrorist violence in
Punjab and elsewhere in the country." Mathur, though, did not
name any country or identified any agency, officials tracking
the development later said interrogation of those arrested recently
in Jalandhar and Amritsar in Punjab clearly hinted at their association
with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.
While inaugurating a three-day
conference of Directors-General and Inspectors-General of Police
in New Delhi Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram cautioned the
Chiefs of State Police and security and intelligence officials
against continuing attempts to infiltrate militants into the country
as well as the phenomenon of "saffron terrorism. "There
is no let-up in attempts to radicalise young men and women in
India. Besides, there is the recently uncovered phenomenon of
saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts
of the past." Chidambaram said.
An Indian national on his way
to Houston in US to deliver a lecture to the Hindu Congress of
America was arrested on August 20 for possessing what has been
described by authorities as "Jihadi material." Vijay
Kumar, a documentary filmmaker, was arrested at the George Bush
Intercontinental Airport after officials noticed him behaving
oddly in the line for a security check, according to reports.
When he was taken aside for secondary screening, Kumar’s baggage
was found to contain books on espionage, information on US military
weaponry, and numerous publications on Jihad, including the mention
of "infidels." Also, a set of brass knuckles and approximately
$10,000 worth of currency were uncovered in his bags.
In the first formal response after
CPI-Maoist leader Koteswar Rao alias Kishan's recent three-month
cease-fire offer to the Centre, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
rejected any move which lacked commitment on the ground and said
the Government had so far not received any "credible response"
to its talks offer to the Naxals [Left Wing Extremists] who had
to first "abjure violence". Calling upon CPI-Maoist again to "abjure
violence and come for talks", Chidambaram said, "I regret to say
that there has been no direct and credible response to our offer
of talks
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said that while the year 2009 was a distinct improvement on the
year 2008, it is in the 2010 that we have seen a dramatic decline
in the number of incidents and in the number of casualties in
the Northeast. There have been only 464 incidents until August
15, as against 1,297 and 1,561 for the whole year in 2009 and
2008 respectively. He pointed out: "Only 52 civilians have
been killed, as against 264 and 466 respectively, and we have
lost only 15 men of the security forces. Nevertheless, I must
admit with regret that Manipur and Assam have been affected by
long-duration blockades and bandhs and by intermittent violence."
About political dialogue with militant outfits and their ‘core
demand of sovereignty’, Chidambaram without taking names, spoke
of solutions within the constitution: "I am confident that
solutions can be found within the Constitution of India to the
demands of various groups for recognition of their identity, history,
culture and desire for self-government." The Union Minister
said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that a number of
groups are engaged in talks with the Government of India. Among
them are NSCN-IM, pro-talk faction of the NDFB, Nunisa faction
of the DHD, BW, UPDS, ANVC, KLNLF, (KNO and UPF, he said. H further
added, "We have appointed two Interlocutors: RS Pandey to
talk to the NSCN (IM) and PC Haldar to talk to NDFB (PT), DHD
(Nunisa), DHD (J), KLNLF, UPDS and ANVC, besides ULFA. Chidambaram
called on the groups – or factions of groups – that have stayed
away from talks to give up violence and accept the offer of the
Governments to hold talks. "It is my hope that ULFA will
also formally come forward to begin talks with the Government
of India and the Government of Assam. There is no denying that
the success achieved in bringing so many groups to the negotiating
table has contributed immensely to the decline of violence in
the North-eastern States," he stated.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna
said that India’s special envoy to Nepal Shyam Saran's Nepal visit
was aimed at building consensus among all concerned parties for
concluding the peace process and the drafting of the new constitution.
In a written reply to a question in India's Lower House of Parliament,
the Lok Sabha, Krishna said, "Special Envoy, Shyam Saran visited
Nepal from 4 - 6 August, 2010 to meet with a cross section of
Nepalese political leaders and to express India’s genuine desire
as a neighbour and time-tested friend of Nepal, to see a successful
conclusion of the peace process and the drafting of a new Constitution
through the building of a consensus among all parties concerned."
|
|
August 26
|
The First Additional City Metropolitan
Magistrate in Bangalore in Karnataka remanded PDP leader Abdul
Nasir Madani to judicial custody till September 7. Madani is accused
of masterminding serial explosions in Bangalore on July 25, 2008
in which two persons were killed and 20 others were injured.
|
|
August 29
|
A session’s court in Mumbai has
issued transfer warrants against Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed,
acquitted by the trial court in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack
case. Senior Police inspector Ramesh Mahale said over telephone
that the warrants were issued on August 26. The court has directed
that they should be produced before it on September 23.The duo
is currently in police custody in Uttar Pradesh in connection
with cases there.
A huge cache of explosives bought
from Rajasthan Explosives and Chemicals Limited (RECL) at Dholpur
in Rajasthan in the name of Ganesh Explosives was diverted and
sold to 40 parties in different States. During interrogation,
the prime accused in the missing explosives case, Jaikishan Aswani
revealed that 61 consignments of explosives bought by Ganesh Explosives
from RECL between April and June were further sold to around 40
people. Aswani had surrendered before Bahediya Police in Sagar
District of Madhya Pradesh on August 27. The three other accused
Shivcharan Heda, Deepa Heda and Devendra Singh Thakur are still
absconding.
|
|