| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 13, No. 24, December 15, 2014
Data and
assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form
with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal
|
West
Bengal: Burdwan Blast: Deceit Exposed
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Mrinal Kanta Das
Research Assistant,
Institute for Conflict Management
The National
Investigation Agency (NIA), investigating the October
2, 2014, Burdwan (Burdwan District, West Bengal, WB) blast
case, arrested Sahanur Alom aka Doctor, one of
the prime accused, on December 5, 2014, from Larkuchi
village under the Mukalmua Police Station limits in the
Nalbari District of Assam. Earlier, on November 11, another
prime accused, Amjad Ali Sheikh aka Kajal was arrested
from the Birbhum District of WB. Two other prime accused,
S.K. Rahmatlla aka Sajid aka Burhan SK,
and Habibur Rahman Sheikh aka Sheikh, were arrested
on November 8 (from the Airport area of North 24-Parganas
District) and October 15 (from Bolpur town in Birbhum
District), respectively.
These four
arrestees were among the 12 absconding accused in the
case, against whom the NIA, on October 31, had declared
cash
rewards, ranging between INR 0.3 million
to one million, for information leading to their arrest.
Eight of absconders remain at large.
However,
the total number of arrests
in the case, from the date of the incident, stands at
10. In addition to the four prime accused, NIA arrested
two suspects, Khaleed alias Khalid Mohammed and
Zia-ul-Haque on November 17 (from Hyderabad, the joint
capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), and on November
7 (from Malda District in WB), respectively. The NIA also
has custody of three accused, who were arrested by WB
Police from the incident site. Another accused, identified
as Hashem Moulla aka Badre Alam, arrested by the
WB Police from Burdwan during raids subsequent to the
blast, is also in the custody of the NIA.
NIA took
over the investigation of the blast case on October 10,
2014.
An accidental
explosion took place in a rented two-storey house at Khagragarh
under the Burdwan Police Station on October 2, 2014. Two
persons were killed and another sustained injuries in
the blast. As reports of alleged linkages to the explosion
of a member of the ruling party in the State, the Trinamool
Congress, started to emerge, attempts were made to hush
up the incident, with the local Police dismissing it as
a one-off accidental blast. Under increasing media and
political pressure, however, the investigation was handed
over the NIA, and a thorough investigation opened a Pandora's
Box.
To begin
with, the dead were, identified as Shakil Ahmed and Suvon
Mandal aka Subhan, both active members of the Jama'atul
Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Abdul Hakim aka Hassan
who was arrested from the incident site in an injured
condition, was also found to be a JMB member. All three
were found to be natives of Bangladesh. JMB, operating
within Bangladesh, had suffered
major reverses in the offensive launched
against it in the aftermath of the August 17, 2005, serial
blasts. JMB had carried out 459 explosions
in 63 Districts (out of a total of 64 Districts in Bangladesh)
killing three people and injuring at least 100. JMB has
almost been made non-operative under the Premiership of
Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
The organisation was in the process of regrouping through
modules set up inside India, and had even planned to assassinate
Prime Minister Hasina.
While it
was matter of grave concern that a foreign terrorist outfit
was attempting to establish a base inside India, the module’s
alleged linkages with earlier incidents of subversion
across India, and with the larger Islamist terror network
in the country, were even more alarming.
Reports
indicate that Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
terrorists, who had escaped from the Jatana area of Bijnor
District in Uttar Pradesh on September 12, 2014, following
an accidental blast (no casualties were reported), had
close linkages with members of the Burdwan module. These
SIMI cadres had earlier
escaped from Khandawa Jail in Madhya
Pradesh. Significantly, an unnamed officer involved in
investigating the Burdwan blast disclosed, “There are
also evidences (sic) to suggest that INR 6.50 lakh
[650,000] recovered from the heist rooms (sic)
of the terrorists in Bijnor belonged to the same SBI [State
Bank of India] branch of Karimnagar [Karimnagar District
of Telangana]. The investigating agencies had also recovered
a part of the same money after Burdwan blast.” ‘Robbers’
had looted an SBI branch in Karimnagar on February 1,
2014, and had decamped with INR 4.6 million. Reports also
indicate that the blast inside a stationary train at Chennai
Railway station on May 1, 2014, in which a girl was killed,
was engineered by terrorists who were also closely associated
with the Burdwan module. Uncanny similarities were found
in the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that exploded
in Burdwan, and inside the train. Similarities have also
been found between the devices in the Burdwan blast and
the explosion at Masjid Bari Lane of the Garden Reach
area in Kolkata on April 8, 2012. At least two persons
were killed and another nine were injured in Masjid Bari
Lane explosion, which was never investigated thoroughly,
as the local Police once again dismissed the incident
as a one-off accidental blast. It now emerges that Shakil
Ahmed, one of the dead in the Burdwan blast, was in the
Garden Reach area, working as a tailor, during those days.
The Burdwan
module also had disturbing connections with other major
terror outfits. Khaleed, arrested from Hyderabad on November
17, reportedly admitted to have undergone training conducted
by Tehreek-e-Azadi-Arakan, operating in the Arakan
area of Myanmar, along with trainers
from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Meanwhile,
investigators disclose that nearly 58 terror modules have
bases in nine districts of West Bengal, including Burdwan,
Birbhum, Nadia, Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar,
Howrah, South 24-Parganas, and North 24-Parganas. Several
of the madrassas (seminaries) across West Bengal
and Assam are allegedly being used to propagate jihadi
views. Simulia madrassa, on the outskirts of Burdwan
town and Mukhimnagar madrassa in Mukhimnagar village
of Murshidabad District, have been identified as major
centres of such activities. At least 165 to 190 radicalized
Bangladeshis have managed to sneak into India over the
past few months, to join these modules.
JMB was
planning to establish an 'Islamic state' in Bangladesh
through armed struggle. The projected 'Islamic state'
was intended to incorporate the West Bengal Districts
of Murshidabad, Nadia, and Malda.
What was
initially considered as a one-off accidental blast has
turned out to be a major national security threat, with
cross border connotations. This has occurred at a time
when India is facing a larger challenge of containing
the spread of Islamist radicalisation and the rising attraction
among some fringe elements towards the global jihad.
Crucially, at a time when Bangladesh has acted with extraordinary
determination and effectiveness against jihadi
formations on its soil, opportunistic politics in India
appeared to have created safe havens on Indian soil for
both domestic and Bangladeshi terrorist organisations.
One such network has now been accidentally exposed - despite
the WB Government's attempted cover-up - but others may
yet survive, even flourish, under India's perverse politics
of communal opportunism.
|
Odisha:
Maoists: The Revolution in Retreat
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
Ending
all speculations, on October 28, 2014, Nachika Linga,
the leader of the Narayanpatna-based Communist Party of
India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
front organization Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS),
who was on the list of most-wanted in Odisha, surrendered
at Bhaliaput village before a Police team led by the Inspector-
in- Charge (IIC) of Narayanpatna Police Station in Koraput
District. The surrender occurred in the presence of some
local Panchayat (village level local self Government
institution) representatives of the Narayanpatna block.
Four of Linga's associates, Sekru Sirika, Ansu Wadeka,
Kandru Huluka and Birsu Wadeka, also surrendered before
the Police. However, Inspector General of Police (IGP)
of South West range, Yashwant Jethwa, disclosed, “He was
arrested after his surrender.” Nachika and four of his
associates are presently in a jail in Koraput District,
after the Laxmipur Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC)
Court rejected their bail applications on October 29.
Nachika,
had been evading arrest for his alleged involvement in
around 43 cases pending against him in Koraput District,
including that of murder, attempted murder and instigation
of violence, and had 33 non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against
him since November 2009. On November 20, 2009, while protesting
outside the Narayanpatna Police Station for the removal
of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from
the area and an end to combing operations against the
Maoists, CMAS activists engaged in a brawl with CRPF personnel,
which subsequently led to Police firing, in which two
persons were killed. Following the incident, 110 persons
were arrested, while Nachika Linga was declared “most
wanted” by Odisha Police. Linga also had cases pending
against him in Police Stations in the Parvatipuram area
of Andhra Pradesh.
Nachika
Linga was thought likely to surrender at a local court
in Koraput District on March 11, 2014, in the presence
of hundreds of his tribal supporters. Media reports indicated
that he wanted to surrender and contest as an independent
candidate from the Laxmipur Assembly seat of Koraput District,
where elections were scheduled to be held on April 10,
2014. However, Linga did not show up at the court, apprehending
imminent arrest after noticing the presence of a large
number of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and local
Policemen.
The Maoists
had described Linga's intended surrender move as “drama”.
In a signed two-page letter written in Odia and released
in the night of March 16, Chemella Kristaya alias
Bhaskar alias Daya, 'secretary' of the Koraput-Srikakulam
'joint division' of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal
Committee (AOBSZC) of the CPI-Maoist, and Aruna, 'secretary'
of the CPI-Maoist Narayanpatna Area Committee, accused
Linga betraying the movement and striking a deal with
the Police to get rid of the cases that were pending against
him. They urged the tribals to disown him as their leader
and his ‘selfish personal agenda’ of joining electoral
politics, at the cost of larger interests of the tribal
people.
When the
Ryot Kuli Sangham [Peasant Labourers Association]
of Parvatipuram (Vizianagaram District of Andhra Pradesh),
which had spread its roots in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon
area of Koraput District in the name of Chasi Mulia Samiti,
was declared a banned organisation in 2006, it reincarnated
itself as the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (Peasants,
Labourers and Tribals Association), under the leadership
of Nachika Linga, Arjuna Kendruka, Nachika Chamara and
Wadeka Singana; Gananath Patra acted as their advisor.
By 2009,
serious differences cropped up between Arjuna Kendruka,
who led the Bandhugaon Block and Nachika Linga of the
Narayanpatna Block. While Kendruka believed in a non-violent
movement to secure land (by requests and donations) from
the big land owners, Linga went on to grab land violently
from these landlords. Linga also sought to mobilize people
for violent movements to capture land from land lords,
and to secure freedom from liquor and freedom from bonded
labor. Difference also emerged over the utilization of
CMAS funds. A political rivalry, less visible, but potentially
more significant, also crystallized. Kendruka quietly
secured a ticket from the Communist Party of India-Marxist
(CPI-M) to contest from the Laxmipur Assembly constituency
(Koraput District), during the 2009 State Assembly Polls,
with CMAS support, while Linga was interested in getting
the ticket. Subsequent developments gradually brought
CMAS-Narayanpatna and CMAS-Bandhugaon to loggerheads.
Linga,
who headed CMAS-Narayanpatna, progressively engaged in
more and more violent activities, while Kendruka, heading
CMAS-Bandhugaon began to express opposition to these methods.
Finding an opportunity to corner the support of the tribals,
the Maoists also increased their influence among CMAS-Narayanpatna
followers, and the faction under Linga's leadership increasingly
acted as a Maoist front organisation. However, unhappy
with CMAS-Narayanpatna, the people of Laxmipur vowed to
resist the organisation's attempts to expand activities
its area or activity. Further, a meeting attended by around
15,000 supporters at Laxmipur under the leadership of
Kumuda Saunta (chairman of the Laxmipur Block) on September
11, 2009, demanded a ban on CMAS-Narayanpatna for its
recurrent violent activities.
After being
declared “most wanted”, the fugitive Linga was driven
even closer to the Maoists. The Maoists also provided
all possible help to fugitive CMAS-Narayanpatna activists
in their efforts at reorganisation in the District. Subsequently,
Linga allegedly helped the Maoists in the abduction of
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Jhina Hikaka, while he was returning
home to Laxmipur from Semiliguda, near Toyapet village
in Koraput District on March 24, 2012. Linga, however,
denies any hand in the Hikaka abduction.
The surrender
of CMAS supporters in large numbers
in 2013 and the gradual
decline of Maoist influence in the
area appeared to prompt Linga break with the Maoists.
As noted
earlier, Linga's close associates
and supporters from his native village, as well as other
villages, surrendered before the Police and pledged not
to support the Maoists. Odisha Police claimed that more
than 2,400 CMAS supporters and sympathisers have surrendered.
Further, with the Maoists finding him to be increasingly
useless, they publicly disowned him in the wake of his
failed attempt to surrender on March 11, 2014. Linga was
eventually left with few options, other than surrender.
With the
arrest
of Sabyasachi Panda from an aide's
house in the Mangalavarampeta locality of Berhampur town
in the Ganjam District on July 17, 2014, and now the surrender
of Linga, the Maoists in Odisha have lost the services
of their most violent face and their most prominent front
organisation in the State.
Nevertheless,
the Maoists continue to hang on. According to the South
Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, as on December
14, Odisha has recorded a total of 40 Maoist-linked fatalities
in 2014, including 30 civilians, one Special Police Officer
and nine extremists, as against 54 such fatalities, including
22 civilians, seven Security Force (SF) personnel and
25 extremists through 2013. Significantly, fatalities
had peaked in Odisha in 2010 - at the height of CMAS activity
- with 108 killed (62 civilians, 21 SF personnel and 25
extremists). Crucially, the dramatic reductions in SF
and Left Wing Extremist (LWE) fatalities, and the increase
in the civilian category, indicate that the Maoists are
avoiding confrontation with the SFs, while they quietly
go about eliminating opposition at the ground level. Any
complacency on the part of the state at this juncture
may, consequently, galvanise the Maoists to more violent
action.
|
Uncharitable
Charities
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Identifying
and neutralising the sources of terrorist funding have
become global concerns. The United States' Ambassador
to Bangladesh, Dan W. Mozena, on December 10, 2014, asserted,
“The terrorists who seek to destroy our communities of
peace, diversity and tolerance have developed many avenues
for generating money to fuel their vast machines of death...One
source of financing terrorism and violent extremism is
charity, the vast network of charitable organisations
thrives across South Asia and we must fight back against
it.”
Echoing
similar concerns, Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq stated,
as reported on December 10, 2014, that millions of dollars
were collected every year in the name of benevolence and
charitable activities but a portion of it, either by design
or exploitation of organisational structure, is diverted
to fund acts of terrorism. The fight against terrorism
should be a global and collaborative effort so that charitable
and Non-Government Organisation (NGO) activities do no
turn into support for terrorism, he added.
Bangladesh
has a history of involvement in money-laundering
and terrorist financing cases. Interestingly,
the Bangladesh Cabinet, on December 1, 2014, approved
the draft of the much awaited Foreign Contributions (Voluntary
Activities) Regulation Act, 2014, intended to regulate
the flow of foreign aid being channelled to non-profit
groups. The approval was given in the weekly meeting of
the Cabinet held at the Bangladesh Secretariat, with Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed in the Chair. The proposed
draft law is intended to ensure transparency, accountability,
proper inspection, monitoring, evaluation and appropriate
use of foreign funds by NGOs.
Cabinet
Secretary M. Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan subsequently stated,
"No NGO will be able to run its activities without
taking registration from the NGO Affairs Bureau. No registration
is required in case of individuals, but approval has to
be taken from the Bureau... The proposed law has also
a provision for punishment, cancellation of registration
and imposition of fines for violating the law".
The Act
is supposed to be a comprehensive and wide ranging legal
instrument to provide support and regulation of NGO activities.
It has been prepared by integrating two previous legal
instruments: The Foreign Donations Voluntary Activities
Regulation Ordinance, 1978; and the Foreign Contributions
Regulation Ordinance, 1982.
December
6, 2014, reports indicated that Bangladesh Bank, the country's
central bank, had also asked commercial banks to take
effective measures under the anti-money laundering and
anti-terror financing laws to check illegal fund transfer
and associated pecuniary offences. Bangladesh Bank Governor
Atiur Rahman noted that money-laundering offences hindered
the socio-economic development of the country: "Such
risk will increase gradually if money laundering is not
prevented effectively... Recently, different banks have
been fined due to non-compliance with the KYC provisions."
The previous
Money
Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 and
Anti Terrorism Amendment Act, 2013 also sought to regularise
financial activities. The 2013 Act, provides capital punishment
as highest penalty for terrorism and subversive activities.
Further, it allowed the courts to accept videos, still
photographs, and audio clips used in facebook,
twitter, skype and other social media, as
evidence. In December 2014, eight banks in Bangladesh
were fined for not keeping client affidavits and not informing
authorities of suspicious transactions in time. The banks
include: Islami Bank, Premier Bank Limited, BRAC Bank,
Mercantile Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Southeast Bank, Uttara
Bank and Bangladesh Investment Finance Corporation. They
were slapped with fines ranging from Tk 200,000 to Tk
2 million under the law to prevent money laundering, Mohammad
Mahfuzur Rahman, Deputy Head of the Bangladesh Financial
Intelligence Unit (FIU) disclosed.
In order
to extract information on money laundering by various
elements, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), in the
month of November 2014, sent Mutual Legal Assistance Requests
(MLAR) to 14 countries, for information regarding alleged
money laundering by the country's businessmen, politicians,
industrialist, and government officials. However, ACC
Secretary M. Maksudul Hasan Khan did not disclose the
names of the 14 countries and the suspected money launderers.
Bangladesh
has long been plagued by illicit financial transfers from
both national and international sources. It is suspected
that militants regularly tap into these illegal money
flows to fund their operations. Money laundering is also
a prime way of generating funds. Remittances from expatriate
Bangladeshis working in the Middle East, the United Kingdom
and elsewhere, are a further area of concern. There is
a broad consensus that such techniques are used by militant
organisations. One of the most significant links to funding
from the Diaspora was uncovered in March 2009, when a
madrasa (Islamic seminary) in Bhola District in
southern Bangladesh was raided by an anti-terrorist unit,
which seized 10 firearms, 2,500 rounds of ammunition and
radical Islamic literature. Subsequent investigations
revealed that the madrasa was funded by the British-registered
charity Green Crescent.
Further,
the Saudi Arabia-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation,
banned internationally by United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) Resolution 1267, along with other charities from
the Middle East, is infamous for financing terrorism in
Bangladesh. NGOs and charities, such as the Kuwait-based
Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) and the Saudi
Arabian Hayatul Igachha (HI), have also been linked to
Islamist extremism in the country.
The Islami
Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) reportedly handled accounts
of various Wahhabi organisations, that propagate radical
Islam in the country. In 2011, the Bangladeshi Home Ministry
intelligence revealed that eight per cent of the Bank’s
profits were diverted to support jihad in Bangladesh.
Another sharia bank, Social Islami Bank, worked
with HSBC. In 2011, the US Senate implicated HSBC for
disregarding evidence of terror financing at the Social
Islami Bank.
More recently
in February 2014, UNSC provided definite information that
al Qaeda network was active in Bangladesh. The UN has
indicated that two NGOs, Global Relief Foundation and
al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, working in Bangladesh,
were involved with al Qaeda.
In a positive
initiative, the Shiekh Hasina-led Government is not only
trying to monitor and regulate NGO-related funding channels
and activities, but, at the same time, is also looking
into the bigger picture of financial fraud and terror
connections. The existence of financial networks related
to the infrastructure of terrorism in Bangladesh constitute
a serious threat not only to the country itself, but to
the stability of the wider region as well.
|
Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
December 8-14,
2014
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Telangana
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
Total (INDIA)
|
5
|
1
|
5
|
11
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
Balochistan
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
FATA
|
1
|
0
|
18
|
19
|
KP
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
Punjab
|
2
|
0
|
4
|
6
|
Sindh
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
8
|
Total (PAKISTAN)
|
|
|
|
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
BNP-JeI
alliance
is
making
blueprint
to
kill
PM
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed,
says
Health
Minister
Mohammad
Nasim:
Health
Minister
Mohammad
Nasim
on
December
11
said
that
the
Bangladesh
Nationalist
Party
(BNP)-Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI)
alliance
is
making
blueprint
to
kill
the
Prime
Minister
(PM)
Sheikh
Hasina
Wajed
after
being
defeated
by
the
grand
alliance
in
all
the
sectors
including
politics.
He
said,
"The
BNP-JeI
alliance
has
been
defeated
by
the
grand
alliance
in
every
sector
and
now
they
are
making
blueprint
to
kill
PM
Sheikh
Hasina.
We
were
shocked
when
we
heard
about
the
plot
to
kill
Sheikh
Hasina.
The
BNP-JeI
alliance
is
plotting
to
kill
her
[Hasina]
with
the
help
of
some
international
organizations."
Dhaka
Tribune,
December
12,
2014.
Siphoning
of
charities
a
way
of
terror
financing,
states
US
Ambassador
to
Bangladesh
Dan
W
Mozena:
One
source
of
financing
terrorism
and
extreme
violence
is
by
siphoning
charities
through
different
charitable
organisations
and
financial
institutions,
US
Ambassador
to
Bangladesh
Dan
W
Mozena
said
on
December
10.
There
is
a
vast
network
of
charitable
organisations
thriving
in
the
region
with
generous
contributions
from
good-hearted
people
but
there
has
to
be
a
strong
vigilance
against
any
possible
exploitation
of
money,
meant
for
charitable
cause
but
being
abused
for
terrorist
acts,
said
Mozena..
Daily
Star,
December
11,
2014.
INDIA
Six
SIMI
cadres
have
been
tasked
by
ISI
to
unleash
terror
acts
in
India,
says
report:
A
group
of
six
Students
Islamic
Movement
of
India
(SIMI)
cadres,
including
five
who
escaped
from
Khandwa
(Madhya
Pradesh)
jail
in
October
2013,
have
been
tasked
by
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
to
unleash
terror
acts
in
India,
most
likely
in
Karnataka,
Maharashtra
and
Rajasthan.
Issuing
an
alert
to
the
states
in
this
regard,
the
central
intelligence
agencies
on
December
8
released
photographs
and
other
details
of
members
of
this
SIMI
module,
also
suspected
behind
the
Chennai
(Tamil
Nadu)
railway
station
blast
in
May
2014,
the
explosion
near
Pune's
(Maharashtra)
Dadguseth's
temple
in
July
2014
and,
more
recently,
the
blast
at
a
Bijnore
(Uttar
Pradesh)
house
in
September
2014.
Times
of
India,
December
8,
2014.
33
Pakistan-backed
espionage
modules
busted
in
three
years,
says
UMHA:
The
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA)
on
December
9
said
Pakistan's
Inters-Services
Intelligence
(ISI)
had
been
indulging
in
espionage
activities
in
India,
and
that
33
espionage
modules
backed
by
Pakistan
had
been
busted
over
the
past
three
years.
In
a
written
reply
to
a
question
in
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
Parliament),
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Haribhai
Parthibhai
Chaudhary
said
as
many
as
50
espionage
agents,
including
some
ex-babus
(employees)
of
the
Indian
government,
had
been
arrested
as
part
of
the
crackdown
on
Pakistan-backed
modules.
Times
of
India,
December
10,
2014.
Maoist
activities
in
Kerala
have
increased
manifold,
says
UMHA
note:
Activities
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
in
Kerala
have
increased
manifold
and
the
situation
in
the
State
has
the
potential
of
becoming
more
serious
if
immediate
preventive
measures
are
not
taken,
according
to
a
note
prepared
by
the
Union
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(UMHA).
In
the
17-page
note,
the
Ministry
said
in
recent
times
that
the
outfit
is
focusing
on
a
southern
theatre
in
the
tri-junction
of
Karnataka,
Kerala
and
Tamil
Nadu.
New
Indian
Express,
December
9,
2014.
Naxals
extorting
INR
1.4
billion
annually,
says
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Haribhai
Chaudhary:
The
Naxals-[Left-Wing
Extremists
(LWEs)]
are
reportedly
extorting
a
"levy"
of
about
INR
1.4
billion
annually
from
a
variety
of
sources,
the
Central
Government
informed
the
Rajya
Sabha
(Upper
House
of
Parliament)
on
December
10.
"The
Left
Wing
Extremists
groups
are
reported
to
extort
'levy'
from
industrialists,
businessmen,
contractors
particularly
Tendu
patta
contractors,
transporters,
government
servants
and
various
illegal
mining
mafia
groups
in
the
LWE
affected
states.
Though
an
exact
quantification
is
not
possible,
a
study
conducted
by
the
Institute
of
Defence
Studies
and
Analysis,
Delhi
has
assessed
that
the
CPI
(Maoist)
party
has
been
collecting
not
less
than
Rs
140
crore
annually
from
a
variety
of
sources,"
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Haribhai
Parathibhai
Chaudhary
informed
the
Rajya
Sabha
in
a
written
reply.
Indian
Express,
December
11,
2014.
Over
21,562
terrorists
killed
in
J&K
since
1990,
Government
informs
Rajya
Sabha:21,562
terrorists
were
killed
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
(J&K)
during
insurgency
since
1990,
Rajya
Sabha
was
informed
on
December
10.
Union
Minister
of
State
for
Home
Affairs
Haribhai
Parathibhai
Chaudhary
said
16,757
civilians
and
1425
Police
personnel
also
lost
their
lives
in
the
state
during
January
1990
to
December
2013.
"As
reported
by
the
Jammu
&
Kashmir
government,
the
ex-gratia
relief
has
been
provided
to
the
next
of
kin
of
those
who
got
killed
in
militancy
related
incidents
as
per
their
relief
rules,
amended
from
time
to
time,"
he
said
in
reply
to
a
written
question.
Times
of
India,
December
11,
2014.
Central
Government
earmarks
INR
35
billion
for
upgrading
telecom
network
in
Maoist
areas:
The
Union
Minister
for
Communications
and
Information
and
Technology
Ravi
Shankar
Prasad
has
told
the
Lok
Sabha
(Lower
House
of
Parliament)
that
the
National
Democratic
Alliance
(NDA)
Government
has
earmarked
INR
50
billion
for
improving
the
telecom
network
in
the
northeast.
Another
INR
35
billion
has
been
earmarked
for
the
Communist
Party
of
India-Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)-affected
States.
Times
of
India,
December
11,
2014.
NEPAL
CA
sub-committee
reaches
understanding
with
Terai
outfit:
On
December
12,
a
sub-committee
of
the
Constituent
Assembly
(CA)'s
Constitutional-Political
Dialogue
and
Consensus
Committee
(CPDCC)
coordinated
by
Anand
Dhungana
has
reached
an
understanding
with
Terai
Madhes
Tigers,
an
armed
outfit
active
in
the
central
southern
plains
of
Nepal.
According
to
Dhungana,
the
talks
were
held
in
Bhairahawa,
Rupandehi
and
the
outfit
led
by
its
chieftain
Jai
Prakash
Yadav
has
signed
a
four-point
agreement
with
the
team.
Nepal
News,
December
13,
2014.
CPN-Maoist-Baidya
warns
of
drafting
'people's
constitution'
through
popular
movement:
The
Mohan
Baidya
aka
Kiran-led
Communist
Party
of
Nepal-Maoist
(CPN-Maoist-Baidya)
has
warned
of
drafting
a
'people's
constitution'
through
a
popular
movement.
Unveiling
its
official
position
on
the
key
contentious
issues
of
the
new
constitution
on
December
11,
Chairman
Baidya
said
the
new
constitution
would
not
solve
the
problems
confronting
the
nation
as
the
Constitution
Assembly
(CA)
was
preparing
to
draft
a
constitution
similar
to
an
old
version.
eKantipur,
December
12,
2014.
PAKISTAN
Militants
joining
IS,
says
Punjab
Home
Department:
The
Punjab
Home
Department
is
reported
to
have
warned
the
Provincial
Police
Force
that
some
Chechen
and
Uzbek
militants
who
left
Waziristan
in
the
wake
of
the
Zarb-i-Azb
military
operation
are
trying
to
join
the
Islamic
State
militant
group
in
the
country.
In
a
letter
to
Divisional
Police
Chiefs,
Intelligence
Agencies
and
the
Counter-Terrorism
Department
of
Punjab,
the
Home
Department
said
there
were
reports
that
some
militant
groups
of
Pakistan
were
joining
the
IS
because
of
its
anti-Shia
policies.
Dawn,
December
11,
2014.
Gujranwala
is
the
hub
of
IS,
says
Former
Federal
Minister
of
Interior
Rehman
Malik:
Former
Federal
Minister
of
Interior
Rehman
Malik
on
December
11
warned
that
the
Islamic
State
was
expanding
its
tentacles
in
Pakistan
with
Gujranwala
becoming
its
main
hub.
In
a
statement,
he
said
one
person
from
Gujranwala
and
another
from
Bahawalpur
were
operating
for
the
organisation,
adding
that
the
IS
was
a
subsidiary
of
al
Qaeda,
while
its
leader
Yousaf
Salafi
had
travelled
between
Iraq
and
Pakistan.
The
News,
December
12,
2014.
Pakistan
eighth
most
dangerous
country
in
the
world,
says
report:
Pakistan
is
placed
eighth
in
the
list
of
the
most
dangerous
countries
in
the
world
which
is
led
by
Iraq,
according
to
a
US-based
intelligence
think
tank.
Afghanistan,
the
only
other
South
Asian
country
in
the
list,
is
placed
fourth
in
the
Country
Threat
Index
(CTI)
compiled
by
IntelCenter,
a
Washington-based
company
working
for
intelligence
agencies.
The
other
countries
in
the
top
10
are
Nigeria
(second),
Somalia
(third)
followed
by
Yemen
(five),
Syria
(six),
Libya
(seven),
Egypt
(nine)
and
Kenya
(10).
Times
of
India,
December
10,
2014.
Over
60
million
illegal
weapons
in
Pakistan,
reveal
sources:
According
to
various
sources,
the
number
of
illegal
weapons
in
the
country
has
crossed
the
60
million
mark.
The
data
collected
from
various
sources
reveal
that
the
number
of
prohibited
and
non-prohibited
weapons
is
about
65
million
in
the
country.
Of
these
weapons,
only
five
million
weapons
have
licences
while
over
60
million
are
being
carried
by
people
without
licences.
The
News,
December
9,
2014.
Kargil
was
in
response
to
India's
role
in
creation
of
Bangladesh,
claims
former
President
Pervez
Musharraf:
Former
President
General
(retd.)
Pervez
Musharraf
has
said
he
believes
in
a
tit-for-tat
policy
on
all
fronts
and
claimed
that
1999
Kargil
conflict
was
in
response
to
India's
role
in
the
creation
of
Bangladesh.
Musharraf,
who
masterminded
the
Kargil
conflict,
claimed
that
India
had
played
role
in
creating
Bangladesh
and
trying
to
seize
Siachin.
"They
also
undertook
such
operations
so
Kargil
also
happened,"
he
told
Samaa
TV
channel.
The
Times
of
India,
December
10,
2014.
TTP
using
drug
money
to
fund
activities,
say
US
officials:
United
States
(US)
officials
believe
that
the
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
must
also
be
using
drug
money
to
finance
their
activities.
"The
logic
is
rather
overwhelming.
Drug
traffickers
have
a
substantial
presence
in
the
region
where
the
Taliban
also
operate,"
said
a
senior
US
official,
adding,
"They
cannot
move
through
that
area
without
support
from
the
Taliban."
Dawn,
December
9,
2014.
Nobel
laureate
Malala
Yousafzai
in
league
with
'satanic
forces'
to
destroy
Pakistan,
claims
TTP:
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan
(TTP)
on
December
11
claimed
that
Nobel
laureate
Malala
Yousafzai
has
entered
into
an
agreement
with
"satanic
forces"
to
promote
Western
culture
and
destroy
Pakistan.
In
its
first
reaction
after
the
17-year-old
peace
activist
was
awarded
the
Nobel
Peace
Prize,
TTP
'spokesman'
Muhammad
Khurasani
said
in
a
statement
that
the
award
was
given
to
her
to
"promote
Western
culture
and
not
education".
The
News,
December
12,
2014.
SRI
LANKA
73
election
violations
reported
in
Sri
Lanka
within
48
hours:
The
Election
Commissioner's
office
in
Colombo
has
received
73
complaints
of
election
violations
within
a
48-hour
period
up
to
7pm
on
December
8.
Except
for
9
complaints,
all
others
have
taken
place
outside
the
capital
Colombo.
Out
of
the
73
election
violation
complaints,
59
were
minor
complaints
and
14
were
serious
violations
such
as
assault,
death
threats
and
shooting.
Among
the
violations
in
Colombo
and
suburbs,
was
the
destruction
on
Western
Province
Councilor
Hirunika
Premachandra's
cutouts
in
the
Kolonnawa
area.
Sri
Lanka
is
scheduled
to
hold
Presidential
Elections
on
January
8,
2015.
Colombo
Page,
December
10,
2014.
The South
Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that
brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on
terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on
counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on
related economic, political, and social issues, in the South
Asian region.
SAIR is a project
of the Institute
for Conflict Management
and the
South
Asia Terrorism Portal.
|
|
|