| |
SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 8, No. 39, April 5, 2010
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
|
Red Money
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Sachin Bansidhar Diwan
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
For
all the talk of the Maoists as ‘criminals’ and ‘extortionists’,
Left Wing Extremists perceive themselves as engaged
in a coherent, strategically consistent, and enormously
successful approach to the generation of necessary financial
resources for their ‘revolution’. Article 60 of the
‘constitution’ of the Communist Party of India – Maoist
(CPI-Maoist)
lists ‘membership fees, levies, donations, taxes, penalties
and wealth confiscated from enemies’ as principal sources
of revenue. Of course, the overwhelming proportion of
these various revenues are not ordinarily eagerly relinquished
by those who ‘contribute’ to the Maoist treasure chest,
and the rebels employ a range of the most unsavoury
methods of extraction.
The CPI-Maoist
networks of revenue generation are estimated to extend,
at various degrees of efficacy, across 223 Districts
(in a total of 636 Districts in the country). Significant
disruptive dominance has been established by the Maoists
in some 2,000 Police Station jurisdications (out of
a total of over 14,000 Police Stations in the country),
covering roughly 40,000 square kilometres.
On November
29, 2009, Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwa
Ranjan claimed that the Maoists annually extort up to
INR 20 billion across India. Earlier, documents and
hard disks seized from Misir Besra alias Bhaskar alias
Sunirmal, a politburo and Central Military Commission
member of the CPI-Maoist, who was arrested in September
2007 from Jharkhand's Khunti District, had revealed
that the CPI-Maoist collected over INR 10 billion in
2007 through their State Committees and had set a target
of INR 11.25 billion for 2008. Accordingly, increased
levies were imposed on the State Committees. The seized
documents showed that Andhra Pradesh had gone down in
the fund raising ranking from second to third spot,
after Bihar and Chhattisgarh. While Bihar raised INR
2 billion in 2007, Andhra Pradesh collections came down
from INR 3 billion to INR 1 billion. Jharkhand raised
INR 750 million in 2007 and was expected to raise INR
1.1 billion in 2008. Maharashtra raised INR 1 billion
while Karnataka contributed INR 780 million, and Tamil
Nadu pitched in with INR 350 million in 2007. Mishra
reportedly told the Police that some prominent Maoist
leaders, such as Andhra Pradesh State Committee ‘secretary’
Konapuri Ilaiah aka Sambashivudu (who eventually
surrendered to the Police on February 15, 2009) alone
raised over INR 800 million and Muppala Lakshman Rao
alias Ganapathi, the 'general secretary' of the
Party, raised INR 2.85 billion in 2007. Mishra had revealed,
further, "All the leaders operated their own bank
accounts, funded their units and operations but reported
to the central committee. They also contributed to the
corpus fund of the central military commission separately
for the maintenance of the provincial guerrilla army."
The Maoists
target road contractors, contractors for forest products
like tendu patta (leaves of the Diospyros
Melonoxylon plant), bamboo and wood. They have reportedly
made deals with poachers, smugglers and liquor and timber
runners in the forests. In the areas under their control,
including District towns, Maoists levy a ‘tax’ on small
enterprises, such as spinning mills, beedi units,
rice and flour mills, grocery, medical, cigarette and
liquor shops, and private doctors. All ‘illegal’ operators,
including private schools operating in villages and
District towns, are also coerced to pay. The Maoists
secure large revenues from iron and coal mining companies.
Apart from abductions, extortion and looting, Maoists
also set up unofficial administrations to collect ‘taxes’
in rural areas, where the official Government apparatus
appears largely to be absent.
Another
major source of funding for the Maoists is poppy or
opium cultivation. The Ghagra area of Gumla District
in Jharkhand and parts of Gumla, Kishanganj and Purnia
Districts in Bihar are reported to be the principal
pockets of poppy cultivation exploited by the Maoists.
Security Forces claim that opium fields are screened
and hidden behind peripheral maize cultivation. The
Union Finance Ministry in its annual report for 2009-10,
released in March 2010, said that the Central Bureau
of Narcotics (CBN) carried out destruction operations
on at least 1,443 hectares in 2009 alone. In 2007, the
same agency had carried out a similar action at a much
larger scale in bordering areas of West Bengal, where
it had destroyed illicit opium grown over 6,000 hectares.
The illicit crops destroyed in the Murshidabad and Nadia
Districts of West Bengal were then estimated at a value
of over INR 12 billion, if diverted to drug cartels
for the manufacture of heroin. In India, opium is cultivated
under strict licensing procedures in select pockets
spread across three States – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
and Uttar Pradesh. The entire opium crop is purchased
by the Government and processed at Government-run factories
for their further use in pharmaceutical industries.
The cultivation
of ganja (cannabis) is another source of Maoist
revenue. The Justice P. K. Mohanty Commission of Inquiry,
which submitted its report in December 2008 on the activities
and operation of drug mafia in Orissa, highlighted that
Maoists in the State were supporting extensive cultivation
of ganja in hilly and inaccessible areas. The
Mohanty Commission Report gave details of how the cultivation
of ganja in Maoist-affected Districts was being
supported by Chasi Mulia Samiti, a front organisation
of the CPI-Maoist. The Samiti was banned by the State
Government on June 9, 2006. The Report, based on an
extensive investigation in 2003, said cannabis was being
cultivated at the behest of Maoists in Ganjam, Gajapti
and Malkangiri Districts. The report estimated that
about 3,000-4,000 hectares of encroached forest land,
mostly dominated by the erstwhile People’s War Group
(which later merged with the Maoist Communist Centre
to form the CPI-Maoist) were being utilised for cultivation
of cannabis. The Report noted that Bargarh District
had emerged as the epicentre of this trade.
The Director
General of the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau
(DGCEIB) had written, in June 2009, to all Chief Secretaries
and heads of anti-narcotics agencies, and other departments
concerned, urging them to initiate steps to eradicate
cultivation of illicit opium that had spread over 10
States. The Centre had provided satellite images and
shared other inputs, pinpointing areas where the opium
crop was grown on large tracts running into thousands
of hectares. Security agencies don’t rule out the fact
that Maoists are not only benefiting from the illicit
trade but, in many areas, the crop is being cultivated
under their supervision. The Government had asked the
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), under the Home Ministry
and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the
Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry, to take
adequate action.
Finance
has never been a constraint on Maoist activities in
Jharkhand. Jharkhand’s forest and mineral resources
and related industries provide an almost limitless source
of extorted revenues. Jharkhand Police documents suggest
that a section of contractors, transporters and businessmen
involved in illegal mining pay over INR 400 million
annually as ‘levy’ to the CPI-Maoist in the State. Another
lucrative source has been the Centre’s ongoing Golden
Quadrilateral road building project. Extortion from
the common folk is pegged at INR 10,000 per farmer per
year, virtually across the State. The Maoists also have
reportedly made deals with poachers, smugglers and liquor
and timber runners in the forests. The Maoists have
also approached schools for funding their activities.
In July 2009, they demanded INR 50,000 from a Government
School in Lathehar District's Sinjo region and threatened
to blow up the school if their demand was not met.
The Maoists
have also been known to receive funds from some of the
top corporate houses. These companies are big players
in the metals, mining, steel and manufacturing sectors.
Senior Maoist leader in the Bihar-Jharkhand area, Narla
Ravi Sharma, arrested in Bihar in October 2009, told
the authorities that the companies regularly pay the
Maoists. On March 5, 2010, Union Home Secretary Gopal
K. Pillai stated, "They (the Maoists) can now bring
many sectors of the Indian economy to their knees. But
they don't want to do it today. They know that if they
do that now, the State will come down very hard on them.
They are not fully prepared to face the onslaught of
the State machinery. So, they would rather go very slowly."
Reports
also indicate that a number of Non Government Organisations
(NGOs) were funding the training of Maoists in the Bodhyaga
District of Bihar. 22 NGOs in Gaya District were issued
a show-cause notice for their Maoist links in July 2007.
The Block Social Welfare Officer, Chandrika Prasad noted,
"A lot of NGOs are involved with Naxal elements.
We even know that many of the NGO workers are Maoists
themselves." Dwarko Sundrani, who runs an NGO,
Samanvaya Ashram in Bodhgaya admitted to the links,
stating, "Naxals often approach us for money, but
we provide them food, clothing and shelter as we believe
in the concept of hriday parivartan (change of
heart)." A Bihar Government document lists several
NGOs suspected of diverting funds to the Maoists. Most
such NGOs are funded by visiting tourists or international
donor agencies. The then Bihar Home Secretary, Afzal
Amanullah stated, in July 2007, "Intelligence agencies
did report such things being channelised. Now, we have
got to warn foreigners and do a lot of planning to stop
this worrisome syndrome from spreading." Deputy
Inspector General (DIG), Magadh Range, Umesh Kumar Singh
added, "If the money goes in bulk to them, it'll
be quite threatening to the internal security of the
nation."
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has clarified in Mumbai on October
11, 2009, that, "There was no particular evidence
or intelligence that Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) groups
received funding from abroad," though he added,
"Rumours are always afloat." Similarly, answering
a question regarding possible foreign and other sources
of Maoist funding, Minister of State in the Union Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) Ajay Maken told Parliament on
November 24, 2009, "There is no input to indicate
that CPI-Maoist is receiving funds from any foreign
country. The Naxalites mainly raise funds from contractors
and businessmen by imposing levy, by extortion and also
by looting banks."
On the
expenditure side, Police sources reveal, the Maoists
spent over INR 1.75 billion in 2007 for the purchase
of weapons, including AK-47s, landmines and rocket launchers.
According to the Police, an Australian arms dealer had
struck a deal with the Maoists to supply a record 200
AK-47s by the end of 2008, via the Malaysia-West Bengal
drug route. Vehicles, uniforms and medicines are another
major component of expenditure. The Maoists have acquired
motor cycles with special tyres to make travel easier
in dense forests and tough terrain. Publicity and propaganda
is another major head on which the Maoists spend considerably.
Besides maintaining web sites, publishing party magazines
Awam-e-jung (Hindi) and CPI-Maoist (English),
they also operate a low frequency radio in the jungles
to campaign against the Police and the Administration.
The Maoists also spent huge sums on communication equipment,
and mobile and satellite phones are common issue. The
Raipur Police raided an urban Maoist network centre
and seized account books for collection and disbursal
of INR 50 million. The raid yielded receipts for purchase
of uniforms for nearly six battalions, supplied by a
Mumbai-based textile unit.
Disclosing
details, DGP Vishwa Ranjan adds, "Around 20 percent
of the amount extorted is siphoned off by grassroots
Maoist cadres, who pass on the remaining 80 percent
to the top leadership of the banned Communist Party
of India - Maoist. The CPI-Maoist uses the extortion
amount for smuggling ammunition even from some foreign
countries, party meetings, boosting urban network and
to care for a vast publication section, including a
set of experts who manage the Maoist website, plus funding
its legal cell that takes care of court cases against
thousands of jailed Maoists across the country."
Buoyed
by their inflated coffers, the Maoists are attempting
to attract more unemployed youth into their ‘armed struggle’,
paying out INR 3,000 to each cadre as salary, and a
cut in the monies extorted. Such monetary incentives
have led to many unemployed youngsters hailing from
backward areas in the Naxal-hit States joining the movement,
officials say. One Home Ministry official stated, "It
is a matter of concern. Acute poverty, coupled with
lack of job opportunities, is turning many youths to
Naxalism. They get Rs. 3,000 as monthly remuneration
and a cut of the extortion money they collect."
In an
effort to design a comprehensive response to Maoist
finance networks, a source in the MHA revealed, on the
condition of anonymity, "The Government is developing
innovative measures to control Naxal funding based on
the specific situation in the States and on the local
level. Naxals extort money from contractors. Therefore
instead of giving large amounts to big contractors,
it is being distributed and directly given to Self Help
Groups [SHGs] for development work. Abolishing the contract
system in minor forest produce collection and marketing
is another such measure implemented to check extortion
of tendu leaf contractors. In some locations,
Police and Security Force engineers are constructing
roads, instead of contractors." However, he added,
it was difficult to deal with the situation because
people generally do not come forward to register First
Information Reports (FIRs) against Maoist extortion
due to their fear for life.
The Union
Government has also decided to set up a ‘centralised
database’ to check terror funding by integrating intelligence
from different central security agencies. Sources in
the Union Home Ministry disclosed that the proposed
database would act as a ‘ready reckoner’ for different
security and law and order enforcement agencies to check
illegal routing of money through various financial channels
meant to further organised crime and support anti-national
activities. They said the databank would be created
to detect illegal money movement within and outside
the country and among particular groups or institutions
by means of banks or other intermediaries. There is
presently no such consolidated data bank for collecting
and disseminating intelligence which, at times, creates
problem for the Government in tracing and interdicting
terror funding. The data bank would be created by the
Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) – a national
agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing
and disseminating information relating to suspect financial
transactions.
The Union
Government, meanwhile, has frozen 18 bank accounts found
involved in terror financing under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act. Also, the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) has registered around 30 cases across India over
the preceding three months against terrorists on charges
of money laundering and waging war against the country,
according to a February 3, 2010 report. Though these
actions have targeted other terrorist groups, and not
the Maoists, a similar drive against Maoist finance
networks is an evident imperative.
Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram has declared, "We
must meet the challenge to fight against Maoists and
terrorism in the next two to three years." Success
in this enterprise will depend enormously on dismantling
the resource generation networks of the Maoists, which
have allowed the movement to persist and thrive.
Note: The name and the designation
of Misir Besra were incorrectly mentioned in the original
article. The mistake is rectified on May 4, 2010.
|
Assam:
Bodo vs. Bodo
Sandipani Dash
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
Chennabasaveshwar A. Patagundi
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
The
second poll for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)
is scheduled to be held on April 9, 2010. The BTC was
created under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
(which deals with the Administration of Tribal Areas in
the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram) back
in February 2003 over the four contiguous Districts of
Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang. Despite the completion
of seven years of the BTC, the Bodo insurgency remains
intact in Assam, though the trajectory of violence has
seen sharp irregularities.
Official
sources indicate that violence in BTC areas increased
by 74 percent in 2009, as compared to the previous year.
In 2008, a total of 110 persons were killed in Assam in
all insurgency-related violence, but in 2009, 194 people
– at least 127 in Bodo-related violence – lost their lives.
This abrupt escalation was attributed principally to fratricidal
clashes among different Bodo groups.
Bodo
Insurgency related Fatalities in Assam: 2003-2010
Year
|
Civilians
|
SFs
|
Militants
|
Total
|
2003
|
24
|
2
|
116
|
142
|
2004
|
48
|
0
|
28
|
76
|
2005
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
10
|
2006
|
3
|
5
|
6
|
14
|
2007
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
2008
|
85
|
0
|
13
|
98
|
2009
|
32
|
3
|
92
|
127
|
2010*
|
4
|
0
|
20
|
24
|
*
Data till April 2, 2010
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
The
Bodo insurrection accounts for around 44 per cent of insurgency-related
fatalities in Assam in the first three months of 2010.
Assam is presently the second most violent State in the
Northeast, with 55 fatalities (trailing just behind Manipur,
with 59 killed). The violence unleashed by Bodo groups
had registered a steady decline in 2003-2007, with a slight
variation in 2006. The trend has, however, subsequently
taken an abrupt turn for the worse, with annual fatalities
involving the groups spurting from just three in 2007
to 98 in 2008. The momentum of acceleration of violence
has since been sustained.
2008 had
witnessed serial bomb blasts in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Barpeta
and Bongaigaon, on October 30, which claimed 84 lives
and injured over 300. While initial suspicion fell on
the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA),
subsequent evidence indicated that a hit-team of the National
Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB),
under the direction of its ‘president’, Ranjan Daimary,
executed the serial bombings in Assam, to demonstrate
frustration at the alleged lack of progress in talks between
the Bodo group and the Union Government. These serial
blasts, in fact, triggered a split in the outfit into
a pro-talks and an anti-talks factions. The NDFB had earlier
entered into truce with the Assam Government and Union
Government in New Delhi on May 25, 2005, and a cease-fire
was declared. After the serial blasts, the NDFB, on December
15, 2008, held its ‘general assembly’ meeting at Serfanguri
designated camp in Kokrajhar District and elected B. Sungthagra
as its new ‘president’, replacing Ranjan Daimary. The
Sungthagra group became the pro-talks faction, while erstwhile
‘president’, Daimary broke away to lead the anti-talks
Bodo group.
Sungathgra
had condemned the October 30 serial blasts in no uncertain
terms, declaring, "The killing was inhuman and unfortunate;
it reveals nothing but his (Daimary’s) sadism. He committed
not only crimes against humanity but also violated the
ceasefire which he himself declared unilaterally on October
8, 2004. The act is undoubtedly an act of terrorism and
can never be part of revolutionary struggle." Daimary,
on the contrary, in a statement issued from Kokrajhar,
described his expulsion from the NDFB by the B. Sungthagra-led
faction as "ridiculous", "After waging
a war for 18 years for the legitimate rights of the Bodo
people, when almost all the leaders were either in jail
or missing, I declared the ceasefire on October 4, 2004,
to solve the Indo-Bodoland issue peacefully and democratically…
Now the NDFB shall have no other option but to renew the
war for the liberation of Bodoland."
The rift
was followed by attacks and revenge attacks by cadres
belonging to the two factions in the Bodo populated Districts.
On October 8, 2009, for instance, Bodo rights leader and
sister of NDFB’s anti-talks faction leader Ranjan Daimary,
Anjali Daimary, survived an attempt on her life, when
suspected militants opened fire at her vehicle at Barama
College in Baksa District. Further, on October 21, 2009,
S. Sangjarang, ‘publicity chief’ of the pro-talks faction,
was shot at and injured by unidentified militants at a
crowded market in Udalguri Town. Again, on January 2,
2010, a relative of a pro-talks ‘commander’ of the NDFB
was shot dead by suspected cadres belonging to the anti-talks
faction, at Silapur village in the Balijuri area under
Sootea Police Station in Sonitpur District, along the
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The victim was identified
as Udai Mushahari, brother of NDFB ‘commander’ M. Failou.
Similarly, on January 4, 2010, a 52-year-old schoolteacher,
Lilabati Basumatary, Daimary’s elder sister, was shot
dead by suspected cadres belonging to the pro-talks faction,
at Harisingha Deolguri in the Udalguri District. However,
the pro-talks faction subsequently denied its involvement
in the killing.
Political
activists have frequently been targeted by the violent
Bodo groups. In one such attack, on January 14, 2010,
a Congress party leader, Arun Sarkar, nominated from Mazbat
Assembly constituency to the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee
(PCC), was shot dead by suspected militants belonging
to the anti-talks faction at Khusurabari in Udalguri.
Subsequently, the Congress party in Assam asked its activists
in the Bodo area not to venture out after sunset, since
security agencies apprehended that the Daimary faction
could target them. An unnamed PCC leader argued that the
party had been expecting such a turn of events in the
run-up to the BTC elections: "Two factors are involved.
One, our party Government has gone all out against the
Ranjan Daimary group and they are out to take revenge.
Second, the upcoming BTC elections in which the outfit
would want to play a crucial role. This could also be
a warning to us that we keep out of the polls so that
they can take on the Bodo People’s Front, which is headed
by former Bodo Liberation Tigers chief Hagrama Mohilary."
Again,
on January 22, 2010, unidentified militants exploded a
remote-controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on
a subway at Garibangha area under the Bijni Police Station
of Chirang District along the India-Bhutan border. Two
BTC members, Daneswar Goyary and James Basumatary, along
with some officials, survived the attack.
Meanwhile,
the pro-talks faction declared that it would participate
in the upcoming BTC elections. The ‘general secretary’
of the outfit, Gobinda Basumatary, declared, "We
might not put up candidates on our own, but would support
candidates or political parties that advocate our cause
for a separate Bodoland."
The Union
Government on December 31, 2009, extended the cease-fire
agreement with the pro-talks faction for a further period
of six months, up to June 30, 2010. Earlier, tripartite
peace talks between the NDFB and the Union and Assam Governments,
were held in New Delhi on September 23, 2009. NDFB 'general
secretary' Govinda Basumatary observed, "The first
round of dialogue was satisfactory. It has been four years
since we surrendered. For the first time we received a
positive response." Again, the pro-talks group had
met the newly appointed Union Government interlocutor,
P.C. Haldar, on February 1, 2010, and had expressed the
demand for a separate State within the Indian Union, for
the indigenous tribal group.
Nevertheless,
there have been signs of some disenchantment with the
negotiating process. On March 8, 2010, Assam Forest and
Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain informed the State
Legislative Assembly that 40 NDFB cadres had deserted
their designated camps. According to one estimate, around
700 pro-talks cadres of the NDFB are confined to three
‘designated camps’ in Kokrajhar, Baksa and Udalguri Districts.
The anti-talks
has, meanwhile, consolidated its presence in the four
BTC Districts and the adjoining Sonitpur District, establishing
safe hideouts in the forests. Earlier, the Manas National
Park, stretching over parts of the Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon,
Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup and Darang Districts, used to
be a hotbed of united NDFB activity. Currently, the Rowta
Reserve Forests in Udalguri District and Sonai Rupai Wildlife
Sanctuary in Sonitpur District have emerged as the anti-talks
faction’s safe havens. As one Police official disclosed,
"The NDFB cadres carry out strikes and vanish into
the Reserve Forest. It is difficult to catch them because
of the inaccessible areas where they take shelter."
An Army official, commenting on the presence of NDFB cadres
in the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary stated, "The
Park has also turned into a hotbed of militancy. We have
reports of the Ranjan Daimary faction of the NDFB having
a strong base inside the sanctuary."
The densely
forested terrain along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border
also provides sanctuary to the violent faction of the
NDFB. The Bodo group is active in parts of as many as
six Districts of Arunachal Pradesh: East Siang, West Siang,
Lower Dibang Valley, Upper Dibang Valley, Lohit and Papum
Pare. Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Tako Dabi, on January
10, 2010, stated that he had recently toured and taken
stock of the situation in Mebo and the adjoining areas
of East Siang, and the Likabali area of West Siang, where
NDFB and ULFA cadres were engaged in extortion activities.
He said these groups’ cadres were also smuggling timber
out of the forests in Seijosa in East Kameng and the Balijan
area of Papum Pare District. Deputy Inspector-General
of Police (East Range), Tashi Lama, further confirmed
"The substantial presence of ULFA cadres in East
Siang, West Siang, Upper and Lower Dibang Valley Districts,
besides movements of NDFB militants in belts of Papum
Pare and East Kameng Districts, have raised security concerns
in the State." Another Police officer in East Kameng
District stated that NDFB cadres had intensified extortion
activities and set up camps in Seijosa, adding that the
fact that a suspected NDFB cadre was shot dead in a joint
operation in the Khanamukh area under Missamari Police
Station of Sonitpur District in Assam, bordering Arunachal’s
East Kameng District, on January 5, 2010, indicated that
the anti-talks faction of the Bodo group was active in
the area.
The Garo
Hills area in Meghalya remains a corridor for the movement
of cadres of the NDFB’s anti-talk faction across the India-Bangladesh
border. On February 15, 2010, an NDFB anti-talks cadre,
identified as Godadhar Hajong, was arrested by the Border
Security Force from Debojani village of West Garo Hills
District. He disclosed that, following the crackdown in
Bangladesh by the Shiekh Hasina Wajed regime, almost all
NDFB camps operating close to the border had been shut
down, with a majority of cadres shifted to the Rangamati
area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. He also
revealed that the NDFB’s main camp at Haluaghat in Bangladesh,
opposite Gasuapara in the South Garo Hills sector, had
to be closed down in 2006 after its ‘camp commander’,
Bongcha Boro, surrendered. Further, he said, some of the
NDFB leaders continue to be holed up in Dhaka, including
S. S. Dhansuran Boro, the ‘treasurer’ of the anti-talks
faction. Hajong further indicated that cadres were taken
to Bangladesh for training and later pushed back to India
through three different sectors in the Garo Hills: Beldova
in Mahendraganj sector, Nokchi in the Dalu sector and
Gasuapara under the Baghmara sector. The movement of NDFB
militants through the Chokpot and Nokrek Hills was also
confirmed by the arrested cadre.
With the
operational expanse of the NDFB’s violent anti-talks faction
extending well beyond the Assam State’s territory, and
the absence of a coherent and holistic counter-insurgency
strategy covering the entire Northeast region, the scope
of extinguishing the remnants of the Bodo militancy remain
limited.
|
Weekly
Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
March 29-April 4,
2010
|
Civilian
|
Security
Force Personnel
|
Terrorist/Insurgent
|
Total
|
INDIA
|
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
5
|
18
|
23
|
Manipur
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
Bihar
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Jharkhand
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
Maharshtra
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Orissa
|
0
|
9
|
1
|
10
|
West Bengal
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
Total
(INDIA)
|
6
|
14
|
25
|
45
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
FATA
|
9
|
12
|
213
|
234
|
NWFP
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
Sindh
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
Total
(PAKISTAN)
|
9
|
12
|
220
|
241
|
Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
|
BANGLADESH
15 foreign
militant outfits still operating in Bangladesh since 1991,
reveal detained foreign militants: As
revealed by different detained foreign militants, 15 foreign
militant outfits were active or are still operating in Bangladesh
since 1991, using the country as a safe shelter or transit
to infiltrate neighbouring countries. The organisations
are Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Tehrik-e-Jehad-e-Islami-Kashmiri
(TJI), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami
(HuJI), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Hezbe Islami, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen
(JuM), Harkat-ul-Ansar, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front
(JKLF), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), India-based Asif Reza Commando
Force (ARCF), Myanmar-based militant groups Rohingya Solidarity
Organisation (RSO), Arakan Rohingya National Organization
(ARNO) and National United Party of Arakan (NUPA). The statements
of detained militants also reveal that agents of a Pakistani
intelligence agency not only coordinated the militants'
activities in Bangladesh but also provided them with necessary
funds and training.
The Daily Star, March 30, 2010.
INDIA
Union Government
freezes 18 bank accounts involved in terror financing: The
Union Government has frozen 18 bank accounts found involved
in terror financing under the stringent Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA). The bank accounts located in Pune
(Maharashtra) , Guwahati (Assam) and West Bengal have been
frozen under section 51A of the UAPA which enables the Government
to freeze accounts of individuals or terror groups to prevent
and cope with terrorist activities. "14 bank accounts of Moshin
Ismail Chowdhary (involved in terrorist activities) in the
Ratnakar Bank, Nana Peth branch, Pune, two bank accounts held
by S.S. Brig Ningthoujam Rajen Singh, ‘commander-in-chief’
and ‘finance secretary’ of Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup in the
ICICI Bank, Guwahati, and two bank accounts held by Rajen
Singh's associate in SBI, Kurseong" have been frozen, said
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
Economic Times, April 1, 2010.
550 militants
operating and 250 waiting to enter the Indian territory, says
Army: The
Army, on March 29, 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 Line of Control (LoC) to enter Indian territory to help
the depleted rank and file of militant organizations in launching
offensives. Brigadier Gurdeep Singh, Brigadier General Staff
(BGS) 16 Corps, said that there was no let-up on the Pakistani
side in abetting and aiding terrorism against India, as 42
training camps still exist across the LoC, out of which 34
were operational, where 2000-2500 militants were getting training.
He
also said that the recoveries, including SIM cards, music
players, eatables etc, made from the Pakistani militants killed
at Kalakote in the Rajouri District on March 27, have once
again proved that Pakistan is aiding and abetting militants,
as all the materials recovered from their possession were
found made in Pakistan. Daily
Excelsior;
Rediff,
March 30, 2010.
Recoveries
made in Keran sector of Kupwara District indicate Afghanistan
link to the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir: Some
of the items seized from the eight infiltrators killed in
the Keran Sector of Kupwara District last week (March 23-27)
indicate that there is an Afghanistan link to the insurgency
in the State. In fact, the militants were carrying arms, ammunition,
gadgets, clothing, food and cosmetic products manufactured
in at least seven different countries including the USA, the
UAE, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, China and Russia. Army
recovered several cans of tin-food meant for the personnel
of Afghanistan's defence forces from the slain militants in
Keran sector. The cans carried a label which read Wizarat-e-Defah
(Defence Ministry), Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Daily Excelsior, March 31, 2010.
Maoists
warn of nationwide struggle to avenge killings of their leaders:
The
Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) central committee
spokesperson Azad, on March 30, said that the party will build
country-wide people’s struggle to avenge the killings of Maoist
leaders Sakhamuri Appa Rao and Kondal Reddy on March 12.
Indian Express, March 31, 2010.
Chhattisgarh
and Andhra Pradesh see drop in Naxal violence in 2009, indicates
MHA report: As
per the Annual Report 2009-10 of the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA), Left Wing Extremist (LWE) violence in Chhattisgarh
and Andhra Pradesh have seen a drop in 2009 as compared to
the situation in 2008. There were only 529 incidents of LWE
violence in 2009 in Chhattisgarh as against the 620 in 2008.
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, as against the 92 such incidents
in 2008, there were only 66 in 2009. West Bengal has seen
a seven time increase in LWE violence, with the State reporting
255 such incidents in 2009, as against a mere 35 in 2008.
In Orissa, the incidents have more than doubled as compared
to 2008. While there were 103 such incidents in the State
in 2008, there were 266 in 2009. Other LWE infested States
like Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar and even Uttar Pradesh
have seen an increase in LWE violence. Overall, 908 lives
were lost to such violence in 2009 as against 721 in 2008.
DNA India, March 31, 2010.
Manipur
Cabinet approves Suspension of Operations with KCP faction:
The
Manipur Cabinet, on March 30, gave its approval to the
signing of a tripartite agreement for Suspension of Operations
(SoP) with the Lallumba faction of the Kangleipak Communist
Party (KCP). Sources said the Government would set up designated
camps for the KCP cadres at a Manipur Rifles post at Leikun
in Chandel District.
Telegraph India, March 31, 2010.
Trial of
November 26, 2008, Mumbai terrorist attacks ends: The
year-long trial of the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terrorist
attacks (also known as 26/11) accused ended, as the Special
Sessions Court in Mumbai, on March 31, announced May 3, 2010,
as "the day of judgment." Judge M.L. Tahaliyani
gave the date after the lawyer for the third and last accused,
Sabahuddin Ahmed, concluded his final arguments. On May 3,
the Court will give its verdict on the various charges against
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab,
and co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin. The recording
of the judgment will be done in April 2010. The trial, which
began on April 15, 2009, had 191 hearings, during which 653
witnesses were examined by the prosecution. The final arguments
began on March 9, 2010, and lasted through the month, with
the prosecution laying out its case over a span of 11 days.
The Hindu, April 1, 2010.
Filipinos
trained tribals in guerrilla warfare in Kerala forest, say
Gujarat Police: The
Special Investigation Team interrogating suspected Naxalites
in Gujarat disclosed that International Maoist groups are
involved in the arms training and one such session was held
in the forests of Kerala. Surat Range Inspector General of
Police (IGP) A. K. Singh said that interrogation of Bharat
Puwar and Sulat Puwar, who were allegedly involved in Naxalite
activities in Dangs District, revealed that members of the
Communist Party of Philippines (CPP) had trained a batch of
25 tribals from various parts of the country in guerrilla
warfare and the use of arms, ammunition and explosives. The
Kerala training camp was held nearly 10 years ago.
Indian Express, April 3, 2010.
Terror
infrastructure in Pakistan remains intact:
The
Government said the terror infrastructure in Pakistan continues
to remain intact and infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir remains
unabated, with a substantial increase in 2009. "There are
reports to indicate that the infrastructure for training terrorist
elements across the border continues to remain intact," the
2009-10 annual report of the Home Ministry said. It said the
Government was firmly committed to thwarting the challenge
posed by terrorists and violence sponsored from across the
border. "The available information reveals that the infiltration
that consistently decreased since 2005, has reversed in 2009
and increased substantially when compared to 2008," the report
said. There were 485 attempts of infiltration last year in
comparison to 342 in 2008.
PTI News, April 5, 2010.
PAKISTAN
213 militants
and 12 SFs among 234 persons killed during the week in FATA:
The
Security Forces (SFs) backed by tanks and artillery, repulsed
Taliban attacks in Orakzai Agency of Federally Administer
Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 4, killing 40 Taliban militants.
In addition, three volunteers and two Taliban militants were
killed during an encounter near a checkpoint of the Baizai
Amn Committee in far-off Manzari Cheena village of Mohmand
Agency. Also, four Taliban militants were killed and some
others sustained injuries in a clash between two factions
of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan
Agency.
30
Taliban militants were killed in ground and air attacks in
Orakzai Agency on April 3. Military sources also said that
six troopers were killed and five other injured in clashes
with Taliban militants.
Seven
Taliban militants were killed and five were injured, as SFs
destroyed three Taliban hideouts in Orakzai Agency on April
2.
Around
24 Taliban militants were killed as helicopter gunships targeted
their vehicles and SFs pounded suspected hideouts during the
Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham (I will see you) in Orakzai
Agency on April 1. Also, six Taliban militants, including
a local ‘commander’, were killed and five others injured during
a factional clash between the Mullah Toofan and Maulana Rafique
factions of Taliban at Chappar Mashti in the Orakzai Agency.
Separately, two ‘commanders’ of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) were killed during their bid to escape the custody of
SFs, while six cadres of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), including
the nephew of LI ‘chief’ Mangal Bagh, were shot dead in a
similar incident at Bara tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber
Agency.
At
least 25 Taliban militants and six soldiers were killed on
March 31, as SFs clashed with militants in Jansi area of Bara
tehsil in Khyber Agency. Also, helicopter gunships pounded
militant hideouts during the operation Khwakh Ba De Sham
in different parts of Orakzai Agency, killing at least 11
militants. Separately, US drones fired three missiles, killing
six Taliban militants and destroyed a compound in North Waziristan
Agency. In addition, five militants were killed and a SF trooper
was injured when militants attacked a Frontier Corps (FC)
post with automatic weapons in the Milanga area of Safi tehsil
in Mohmand Agency.
At
least 35 Taliban militants were killed and 22 were injured
as fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban compounds during
Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham in Orakzai Agency on March
30.
At
least 11 Taliban militants were killed during clashes with
SFs in Orakzai and Khyber Agencies, while three key militant
‘commanders’ were arrested by troops on March 29. In addition,
the bodies of three anti-Taliban tribal elders, with their
throats slit, were recovered in the Chinarak area of Kurram
Agency. Dawn;
Daily
Times; The
News, March 30- April 5, 2010.
Russia points
finger at Pakistan over Moscow suicide bombings:
The Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, on March 30, said that militants operating
on the Pakistan border may have helped organise suicide bomb
attacks that killed 38 persons in Moscow on March 29. Lavrov
did not mention al Qaeda, but said the bombers may have had
links to militants on the Afghan-Pakistan border, where al
Qaeda militants, and Afghanistan and Pakistan Taliban militants
are present. Asked if there could have been any foreign involvement
in the March 29 attacks, Interfax quoted Lavrov as
saying, "I do not exclude that. We all know that in the
Afghan-Pakistan border, in the so called no-man’s land, the
terrorist underground is very well entrenched."
Daily Times, March 31, 2010.
US seeks
Pakistan’s action against Lashkar-e-Toiba: The
US, on April 1, called on Pakistan to curb anti-India militants.
Robert Blake, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia
said, "I think one can argue there is a lot of important
progress that has been made but we think there also needs
to be progress against these Punjab-based groups." He
was referring to banned groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
Daily Times, April 2, 2010.
G8 announces
Pak-Afghan economic plan: The
Foreign Ministers of the G8 countries agreed on an economic
initiative plan for the Pak-Afghan border regions, Canadian
Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said, on March 30, at the
start of two days of G8 talks, "Stability in the region
is critical for global security."
Daily Times, March 31, 2010.
SRI LANKA
60,000 Police
officers deployed for elections: Sri
Lanka Police has taken measures to deploy nearly 60,000 Police
officers to maintain law and order during the upcoming General
Election, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya
said on March 30. The IGP said all arrangements have been
finalized to provide security for the parliamentary polls
scheduled to be held on April 8 throughout the country, including
in the North and East. The Police will also solicit assistance
of 19,500 armed forces personnel to strengthen security, in
addition to the 58,700 Police officers that will be deployed.
Colombo
Page, April 1, 2010.
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.
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