South Asia Terrorism Portal
Madhya Pradesh: Carving out a 'Safe Haven' Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On January 31, 2021, at least 15 cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) set ablaze vehicles, including a truck and two tractors of a road construction company, at a place connecting Devarbaili to Malkuan village in Balaghat District. The vehicles were engaged in the construction of a road in the Lanji area of the District, under the Road Connectivity Plan in Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWE) – a central Government scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).
This is the lone Maoist-linked incident reported from the state in 2021, thus far (data till February 7, 2021).
In 2020, there were seven Maoist-linked incidents, as against five recorded in 2019. The number of incidents recorded in 2020 were the highest in a year since March 6, 2000, when South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) started compiling data on Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
Out of seven incidents in 2020, three involved killings, which resulted in four fatalities (one civilian and three Maoists). In 2019, out of five incidents, three involved killings, resulting in four deaths (two civilians and two Maoists). Since March 6, 2000, a total of 15 incidents of killing have resulted in 19 deaths [eight civilians, seven Maoists and four Security Force (SF) personnel]. The last SF fatality in the State was recorded on September 22, 2010, when a Madhya Pradesh Police's Hawk Force trooper was killed in a Maoist ambush near Sitapala in Balaghat District.
Since March 6, 2000, at least 67 Maoists have been arrested, including one in 2020, and 15 Maoists have surrendered. The last surrender was reported on June 6, 2013,
As in 2019, all fatalities in 2020 were reported from Balaghat District. In a total of 19 fatalities recorded in the State since March 6, 2000, 16 have been reported from Balaghat. Also, out of a total of 72 incidents recorded during this period, 51 have been reported from Balaghat, followed by two each in Bhopal, Dantewada, Jagdalpur, Mandla; and one each in Bastar, Barwani, Indore, Jabalpur, Singrauli, Shahdol, Sehore, Seoni, and Ujjain. The location of four incidents remains unspecified.
On November 1, 2000, when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, 16 of the partent State’s districts became part of the of new state, including Dantewada, Jagdalpur and Bastar.
Balaghat is one among two Districts of Madhya Pradesh among the 90 Districts in 11 States identified as LWE-affected by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), as stated by G. Kishan Reddy, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, on September 21, 2020. The other one is Mandla, as a result of recent developments in the District.
Indeed, according to a January 3, 2021, report, around 100 Maoists from Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra have sneaked into Balaghat and Mandla Districts.
On December 13, 2020, Balaghat, Superintendent of Police (SP), Abhishek Tiwari disclosed,
He added that the headquarters of the Police’s Hawk Force had been moved into the Balaghat District to counter this development. The headquarters of the Hawk Force was earlier situated in Bhopal.
According to another report, on October 1, 2020, the Maoists’ ‘special zone secretary’ for ‘Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone’, Deepak Teltumbde aka Jeeva, had been spotted in the Mandla and Balaghat regions.
On December 21, 2020, CPI-Maoist cadres belonging to the ‘Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Special Zonal Committee (MMCSZC)’ put up pamphlets in Balaghat, warning that they would avenge the death of three of their cadres in Police encounters in 2020. The pamphlets also warned that ‘Police informers’ would be executed in public. Incidentally, on November 7, 2020, a CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Sharada aka Pujje (25), an active ‘area committee member’ in the Khatia Mocha Dalam (armed squad) in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, who carried a reward of INR 800,000 on her head, was killed in an encounter in Malkhedi village under the Baihar Police Station limits of Balaghat District. Again, on December 12, 2020, two women CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Savitri and Shoba, members of Darrekasa and Malajkhand Dalams, were shot dead in an encounter with SFs in Borevan forest in Kirnapur in Balaghat District.
Reports also indicate that the Maoists are making all efforts to expand their base in the Madhya Pradesh. On October 1, 2020, Abhishek Tiwari, SP, Balaghat, disclosed, “Maoists of Vistar Dalam… in Mandla and Balaghat Districts… are using it as a gateway to enhance their reach to other parts of MP [Madhya Pradesh] including the Vindhya region.”
The Maoists are attempting to carve out a ‘safe haven’ in the dense Amarkantak Forest, which lies in the region where the Vindhya, Maikal and Satpura ranges converge, in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Amarkantak Forest falls in the Anuppur, Balaghat, and Mandla Districts of Madhya Pradesh, and the Bastar and Bilaspur Districts of Chhattisgarh. The Forest is “highly inaccessible” because of its tough hilly terrain and provides “adequate safe haven” for senior Maoist leaders, who are under pressure from SFs in Jharkhand and the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
Despite these worrying developments, the Madhya Pradesh Police continue to face critical gaps in capacities and deployment in the State.
According to the latest Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data, as on January 1, 2020, Madhya Pradesh had 120.02 Police personnel per 100,000 population, significantly below the inadequate national average of 155.78. More worryingly, the Police/Area Ratio (number of policemen per 100 square kilometres) was just 32.28, as against the national average of 63.63. Both the State and national averages on the Police/Area ratio were well below the sanctioned strength, at 42.49 and 79.80, respectively. Worryingly, the sanctioned strength for the States’ Police was 130,984, while just 99,496 personnel were in position, creating a deficit of 24.03 per cent. In addition, the sanctioned strength of the apex Indian Police Service (IPS) Officers in the State was 305, but just 261 officers were in position, a deficit of 14.42 per cent, considerably weakening the executive supervision of the Force.
Indeed, the Madhya Pradesh Government has sought the deployment of an additional six companies of Central Armed Police Forces in Balaghat and Mandla Districts. A Central Reserve Police Force battalion is already stationed at Balaghat.
The Maoists are making determined efforts to carve out a safe haven in Madhya Pradesh, and the State Police will have to take preemptive action, in coordination with the Central Forces, to thwart the emerging Maoist design.
Determined Actions S. Binodkumar Singh Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On February 3, 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of Police arrested two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) cadres from the Kotwali Thana crossing of Chittagong District in Chittagong Division.
On February 1, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four Ansar al-Islam/Ansarullah Bangla Team cadres from the Paltan and Vatara areas of Dhaka. 11 books on extremism, 21 leaflets and documents of some 167 conversations on militant activities, were recovered from their possession.
On January 28, RAB arrested two Allahar Dal cadres from Merirhat Bazar in Gaibandha District, Rangpur Division. The arrested persons were identified as Mohamad Abdul Alim Mandal (42) and Mohamad Shafiul Islam (28). RAB recovered jihadi books, leaflets and a mobile phone set from them.
In 2021, at least 17 Islamist terrorists have been arrested thus far (data till February 7, 2021).
Through 2020, according to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 197 militants of different groupings, including 108 cadres of JMB, 55 of Ansar al-Islam, 29 of Allahar Dal, three of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) and two of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), were arrested from across Bangladesh in different raids.
Prominent arrestees included Asmani Khatun aka Asma (28), the ‘chief’ of the female wing of Neo-JMB (arrested on February 4, 2020); Abu Kaiser aka Rony, ‘coordinator’ of Ansar-al-Islam (March 10, 2020); Shirina Khatun alias Tahsin Abdullah (23), ‘second in command’ of the female wing of Neo-JMB (March 19, 2020); Muhib Mushfiq Khan, ‘financier’ of Ansar-al-Islam (March 30, 2020); Sheikh Sultan Mohammad Naimuzzaman, ‘regional commander’ of Neo-JMB (August 11, 2020); Mohamad Faisal Khan aka Kanchan aka Fahim, ‘liaison in-charge’ of JMB (December 23, 2020); Mufti Ibrahim Khalil, ‘regional commander’ of HuJI-B (December 30, 2020); and Abdul Aziz, ‘coordinator’ of HuJI-B (December 30, 2020). There were 209 such arrests in 2019 and 247 in 2018.
Moreover, 77 members of radical groupings Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) and four of Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) were also arrested in 2020. There were 70 such arrests in 2019 (all JeI-ICS members) and 316 in 2018 (all JeI-ICS members).
These actions of the Sheikh Hasina Government, which continues with its policy of containing Islamist extremist forces, have resulted in improved security situation in the country in terms of Islamist extremism.
The country recorded just one Islamist extremist linked fatality (a civilian) in 2020. On April 30, 2020, a child was killed in an explosion at Shubhaddya North Para in Keraniganj Upazila (sub-district) of Dhaka District. There were two fatalities (both militants) in 2019. In 2018, there were 15 fatalities (four civilians and 11 militants). The trend of declining fatalities in such violence has continued since 2017 when fatalities came down to 71 (14 civilians, five Security Force (SF), personnel and 52 terrorists) from 115 (43 civilians, four SF personnel and 68 terrorists) in 2016.
Dhaka also succeeded in keeping the menace of Left-Wing Extremism under check. Two Left Wing Extremist (LWE) fatalities were recorded in 2020 in addition to three in 2019, eight in 2018, 13 in 2017, 17 in 2016, 14 in 2015 and 12 in 2014. During all these years, LWEs failed to inflict any fatalities on either civilians or the SFs. The last civilian fatality in this category was reported on December 9, 2013, when Naxal Bahini cadres killed Bakul Hossain (32), a local trader in the Santhia sub-District of Pabna District, with sharp weapons. The last SF fatality was reported on July 20, 2010, when cadres of the Red Flag faction of the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) killed three Policemen in the Bera sub-District of Pabna District.
Talking about successful anti-militant operations in Bangladesh, RAB Director General (DG) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on July 1, 2020, observed,
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2020, released by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on November 25, 2020, Bangladesh was ranked 33rd out of 163 countries. Bangladesh was 30th in 2019 while it was 25th the year before. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2020, Bangladesh has been the most successful South Asian country in countering terrorism. Bangladesh also fared better in the Democracy Index 2020 released on February 3, 2021. Bangladesh also ranked 76th on the latest index of the Economist Intelligence Unit - four notches up from 2019 ranking.
Meanwhile, the War Crimes (WC) Trials, which began on March 25, 2010, continued thorough 2020. On October 22, 2020, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) issued a death warrant against Jatiya Party leader and former State Minister Syed Mohammad Qaiser for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971. So far, a total of 125 leaders, including 50 from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI); 27 from the Muslim League (ML); 11 from Nezam-e-Islami (NeI); five from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP); two each from the Jatiya Party (JP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); 27 former Razakars; and one former Al-Badr member have been indicted. Significantly, out of 125 leaders indicted, verdicts have been delivered against 95 accused, including 69 who have been sentenced to death, and 26 to imprisonment for life. So far, six of the 69 people who were awarded the death sentence have been hanged. 32 others are absconding and another 31 cases are currently pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, out of 26 persons who were awarded life sentences, five persons have already died while serving their sentences; 13 were absconding and another eight were lodged in various jails of the country. Verdicts against 30 accused are yet to be delivered.
Worryingly, however, a faction of HeI, the Hefazat-e-Islam–Babunagri, led by newly appointed Amir (chief) Junaid Babunagri, has started asserting radical views and engaging in violent protests. On November 27, 2020, Junaid Babunagri put forth four demands before the Sheikh Hasina Government: stop International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ (ISKCON’s) activities in Bangladesh; officially declare the Ahmadiyas ‘non-Muslim’; close the Embassy of France and expel the French Ambassador; and pass a resolution condemning France in Parliament. They are protesting against French President Emmanuel Macron because he has held his ground against attacks by Islamist extremist forces and terrorists on his country’s values and the freedom of belief. The ‘new leadership’ of HeI has taken the lead along with Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) in opposing the installation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman statues. The JeI- ICS combine has also joined the protests. Several other extremist groupings have also lent their support.
There is also a continuing threat from the Neo-JMB which emerged in 2014. Though Neo-JMB has lost almost all its leaders after the July 1, 2016, Gulshan (Holey Artisan Bakery) attack and continues to face losses in terms of regular arrests, it remains a security threat. According to reports, its cadres now operate as a “wolf pack” and they choose their leader by themselves. The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the Police came to know about the new approach of the outfit after arresting five Neo-JMB cadres from Sylhet District on August 11, 2020. The outfit believes that if any of its operatives are apprehended carrying out such attacks, law enforcement agencies will not be able to nab other members of the organization.
Adding to concerns is the danger emanating from a radicalised Bangladeshi Diaspora, elements among which are planning to create trouble in and around the country after their return, even as others fund extremist elements within Bangladesh. ‘War returnees’ – those who have returned from terrorist campaigns in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and other theatres of Islamist terrorist strife, have similar and sinister designs. Reports indicate at least 50 Bangladeshis travelled to Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, to join the Islamic State. Several Islamist extremist organisations in Bangladesh also have links with al Qaeda, the Tehreeq-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Taliban in the Af-Pak complex.
The factional clashes in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) escalated in 2020. According to official statistics, 376 people, including 120 Bengalis, were killed in three Districts of the CHT in various incidents of extortion and conflict over territorial dominance between January 2014 and October 2020.
Further, the problem created by the Rohingya refugees from the Rakhine State of Myanmar poses an acute security dilemma for Bangladesh. Available data indicates that between, August 2017 and August 20, 2020, a total of 725 criminal cases involving Rohingyas have been filed against 1,664 individuals. The crimes include possession of illegal arms and drugs, robbery, abduction, smuggling, murder, and human trafficking. 1.1 million Rohingya Refugees are living in 34 extremely congested camps in Cox’s Bazar District. The Bangladesh Government has started relocating the Rohingya Refugees to Bhasan Char Island. So far 6,686 Rohingya Refugees have been relocated to the Bhasan Char Island in three phases.
In addition, in order to control the spread of crime, the Bangladesh Government has erected barbed-wire fencing around the Rohingya camps.
Meanwhile, on January 19, 2021, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar held a tripartite meeting on the Rohingya repatriation issue. After the meeting, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen announced that Bangladesh expects repatriation to “begin in the second quarter" of the current year. Two earlier attempts of repatriation have failed and not a single Refugee has been repatriated.
Bangladesh has taken giant strides to root out terrorism. Nevertheless, several challenges continue to jeopardize enduring peace.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia February 1-7, 2021
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
INDIA
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Chhattisgarh
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
KP
PAKISTAN (Total)
Taliban maintains close ties to al Qaeda, says MoFA: Ministry of Foreign Ministry (MoFA), in reference to the recent United Nation Security Council (UNSC) report stated, that the Taliban still have close ties to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. MoFA, announced on February 7, in a released statement that the 27th report of the UNSC Watchdog Group on al Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), and its affiliated groups indicated the Taliban has continued its relations with Al-Qaeda and other "terrorist" groups. The Khaama Press, February 8, 2021.
Haqqani Network increases presence in Afghanistan, says Rahmatullah Nabil: Former head of the National Directorate of Security Rahmatullah Nabil said Pakistan-based Haqqani network has increased its footprint in Afghanistan as its members are now present both in the west and north-eastern regions of the country. Nabil said that the meeting of Afghan political leaders with the Taliban in Moscow in 2018 was a mistake. Tolo News, February 4, 2021.