South Asia Terrorism Portal
PLFI: Major Shock Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 21, 2023, Dinesh Gope aka Kuldeep Yadav aka Badku (51), the ‘supremo’ of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), was arrested in New Delhi. Though the NIA, in its press release, on May 21, 2023, confirmed that the Agency arrested him from New Delhi, media reports claimed that Gope was arrested from Nepal in a joint operation by the NIA and the Jharkhand Police. An unnamed police official was quoted as saying, “Yes, he has been arrested from Nepal and he is being brought to Delhi where he will be produced before a competent court for further course of action.”
Dinesh Gope, who had been absconding for almost two decades before his arrest, had escaped the police net on several occasions in the past. The last such incident was reported on February 3, 2022, when an encounter had taken place between a Dinesh Gope-led PLFI squad and Security Force (SF) personnel in the forest area under the Gudri Police Station of West Singhbhum District in Jharkhand. The NIA disclosed,
The NIA had declared a reward of INR 500,000 for leads on Dinesh Gope, in addition to a reward of INR 2.5 million announced by the Jharkhand Government.
In its release on May 21, 2023, the NIA, which is investigating two PLFI-linked cases, disclosed that according to investigations shown “more than 102 criminal cases are registered against the accused Dinesh Gope in the States of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha… most of these cases relate to murders, abductions, threats, extortion, and raising funds for the PLFI.”
SAIR had earlier highlighted the rise of Dinesh Gope and the PLFI – an interesting story of crime, caste, politics and Left Wing extremism (LWE). Sources indicate that Dinesh Gope was a petty criminal working under his elder brother Suresh Gope, who operated in areas around Ranchi. Suresh Gope’s rise had been facilitated by the Rajputs of the area, to counter another gangster, Jayanath Sahu aka Samrat. The Sahus are a powerful business-moneylender community. Suresh was killed in an encounter with the Jharkhand Police on December 22, 2003, when he had gone to collect on an extortion demand. Dinesh was also said to be present, but managed to escape. Thereafter, Dinesh took charge of the gang and worked meticulously to extend its area of operation. The gang was initially named the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT) in September 2004. The rivalry with Jayanth Sahu continued, principally over collecting ‘levies’, expanding turf and caste identity. Though he failed to neutralize Sahu, by 2007, Dinesh Gope had secured the support of tribals in the area through clever recruitment and by maintaining ‘good rapport’ with tribal politicians. In July 2007, Masi Charan Purty, a senior ‘commander’ of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), defected from the CPI-Maoist with several of his followers. While Purty was being hunted by the Maoists, Dinesh was looking for ways to out-gun Sahu. It was a win-win proposition, and they joined hands to create the PLFI. Purty created a rudimentary structure within the outfit, and provided a cloak of LWE ideology, even as PLFI declared itself a sworn enemy of the CPI-Maoist.
The NIA release of May 21, 2023, noted,
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), two PLFI-linked fatalities were reported in 2008. There was significant surge in fatalities thereafter, with the toll remaining in double digits between 2009 and 2014, then dropping down abruptly to five in 2015, to spike to a peak of 30 fatalities in 2016, once again stabilizing in the double digits till 2020, with an exception of 2018 (nine fatalities). There were two fatalities in 2021, one in 2022 and two (one civilian and one PLFI cadre) in 2023 (data till May 28, 2023). A total of 222 fatalities, including 112 civilians, seven SF personnel and 103 PLFI cadres, have been recorded thus far.
From one civilian fatality in 2008, deaths in this category increased to four in 2009 and further to eight in 2010, and thereafter remained in double digits till 2014, with a high of 18 civilian killings recorded twice (2011 and 2013). Though no civilian fatality was recorded in 2015, 14 deaths were reported in this category in 2016. Fatalities remained in single digit between 2017 and 2020. No civilian fatalities were recorded in 2021 and 2022.
SF fatalities were reported in four years: 2009 (one fatality), 2012 (one fatality), 2014 (three fatalities) and 2017 (two fatalities). One or more than one PLFI cadres were killed in each year since 2008, with a high of 16 in 2016.
The number of total PLFI-linked incidents reached a peak of 29 in 2016, but came down to 15 in 2022. Similarly, the number of killing incidents fell from a peak of 21 in 2013 to one on 2022.
The numbers suggest that the PLFI under Gope have remained a challenge to security for a long time, but has, over the last couple of years, lost its strength. The SFs have been able to contain the outfit by targeting its leadership elements as well as the cadre base.
Significantly, an August 18, 2022, report, revealed that, in 2019, there were 32 top cadres of the PLFI with rewards on their heads; this number had been reduced to just eight, including PLFI ‘chief’ Dinesh Gope, with a reward of INR 2.5 million on his head. After the arrest of Dinesh Gope, the other elusive seven include ‘regional commander’ Martin Kerketta, with a reward of INR 1.5 million; ‘zonal commanders’, Tilakeshwar Gope and Arif Ji aka Shashikant, INR 1 million each; ‘area commanders’, Balram Lohra aka Jatu aka Majnu, and Novel Sandi Purti, INR 200,000 each; two Local Guerilla Squad (LGS) members, Sukhram Gudiya aka Rode aka Gadwa and Samuel Budh aka Samu, INR 100,000 each.
Meanwhile, according to partial SATP data, at least 20 PLFI cadres, including Gope, have been arrested since the beginning of the current year (data till May 28, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, another 20 PLFI cadres had been arrested. A total of 54 PLFI cadres were arrested through 2022. Since July 2007, when PLFI was formed, at least 750 PLFI cadres have been arrested. Moreover, 32 PLFI cadres have surrendered since the formation of the group. 103 PLFI cadres have been killed as well.
Seven incidents of arms and ammunitions recovery have been reported in the current year (data till May 28, 2023), in addition to four such incidents reported in the corresponding period of 2022. Through 2022, there were 15 such incidents. A total of 235 such incidents have been reported since July 2007.
PLFI has been weakened further with the arrest of Dinesh Gope, but remains a concern, particularly in view of the still elusive seven top cadres. Despite its decimation, as long as the remaining leadership elements are able to dodge the SFs, the group will remain an irritant in the state.
JeM: Persistent Threat Ajit Kumar Singh Senior Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 21, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist, Mohammad Ubaid Malik, from Kupwara District in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). According to a NIA release the accused was in constant touch with a Pakistan-based JeM ‘commander’ and was passing on secret information, especially regarding movement of troops and Security Forces (SFs).
On May 5, 2023, SFs arrested two JeM militant associates, identified as Bashir Ahmad and Gulzar Ahmad, in the Awantipora area of the Pulwama District of J&K. They were found to be in possession of weapons and ammunition, including an AK-56 rifle, two AK magazines, 56 AK rounds, three pistols, six pistol magazines, 24 pistol rounds and other incriminating items.
On April 29, SFs arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist associate, identified as Khursheed Ahmad Bhat, in the Handwara area of Kupwara District.
So far in 2023, according to partial data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), SFs have arrested at least 13 JeM terrorists/terror associates (data till May 28). Through 2022, 43 such elements had been arrested. Since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling data, a total of 419 such elements have been arrested from across India, including 366 in J&K alone.
Moreover, SFs have killed 1,049 JeM terrorists since March 6, 2000, across India, including 1,030 in J&K alone. This number includes one killing in 2023. On February 28, 2023, in an encounter in the Padgampora area of Awantipora in Pulwama District of J&K, SFs killed two terrorists, including Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, a JeM cadre, active since May 2022. One AK- 47 rifle, one AK-74 rifle, one pistol, two grenades, five AK magazines, and two pistol magazines were recovered at the site of encounter. One SF trooper was also killed in the operation.
A total of 14 terrorists/terrorist associates have surrendered since March 6, 2000, all in J&K. The last surrender was reported on May 29, 2019, when a JeM militant, identified as Mohammad Maqbool Ganie, who was trapped by SFs at the Chopan Mohalla of Nagpathri Tral village in Pulwama District, surrendered. One Chinese pistol, one pistol magazine and six rounds of ammunition were recovered from his possession.
On the other hand, the JeM has killed 339 persons (including 100 civilians and 229 SF personnel) during this period, across India, including 311 fatalities (98 civilians and 213 SF personnel) in J&K alone. [These numbers may be an underestimate as group identity of terrorists involved in a large number of killings in J&K remain unattributed].
Despite the significant fall in its capacities to strike, as is evident from declining fatalities inflicted upon the SFs by the outfit over the last several years, JeM remains one of the most potent threats in Kashmir. Significantly, all 10 SF fatalities in J&K in 2023 have been claimed by its offshoot People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF). These fatalities occurred in two incidents:
May 5: Five Army soldiers were killed and an officer was injured when militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast with a remote control in the Kesari Hills Forest in the Kandi area in Rajouri District. The incident occurred during a SF combing operation targeting the perpetrators of the April 20, 2023, Poonch attack, who had killed five soldiers in an ambush.
April 20: Five Army soldiers were killed and another was injured when terrorists targeted a moving vehicle of the Army with grenades and small arms’ fire at Bhatta Durrian in the Mendhar area of Poonch District. According to reports, one of the terrorists managed to stop the truck by throwing grenades while another opened calibrated fire towards its fuel tank, triggering a massive blaze in the vehicle. In the meantime, a third terrorist opened fire at the soldiers on-board.
It is useful to recall here that, after the February 14, 2019, Pulwama Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) Attack by JeM, which resulted in the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel – the highest fatality figure for SFs in a single attack since the commencement of the insurgency in J&K in 1988 – the State/Union Territory (the State of J&K was made a Union Territory in 2019) has recorded at least nine major attacks (each involving three or more fatalities), including the two in 2023, targeting the SFs, resulting in the killing of 41 SF personnel. Of these nine incidents, four attacks have either been claimed or attributed to a specific terrorist outfit – all of these involve JeM/PAFF.
JeM was also responsible for the last and major attack recorded outside J&K by a Pakistan-based Islamist group. The terrorist outfit carried out an assault on the Indian Air Force (IAF) Base at Pathankot through January 2 and 3, 2016. 11 persons – six SF personnel, including one Air Force commando, and five JeM militants – were killed in the attack and the counter-offensive.
The JeM was moreover responsible for the December 13, 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.
The outfit had been launched on January 31, 2000, by Maulana Masood Azhar in Karachi, after he was released from an Indian jail as part of the terrorists for hostages swap of December 31, 1999, following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814. He continues to enjoy the hospitality and patronage of the Pakistan Military Establishment’s, and carries out his activities – proselytizing, funding, recruiting and training – in the open in Pakistan.
JeM has been banned by the Indian government under provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) since October 25, 2001. More recently, the government, through a notification on January 6, 2023, banned PAFF, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The notification stated,
Earlier, in a notification dated April 11, 2022, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs designated a JeM terrorist, Mohiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir alias Maktab Ameer. The notification noted, "Alamgir has been involved in Pulwama Central Reserve Police Force Convoy attack of 2019."
Meanwhile, India's efforts to put Maulana Masood Azhar's brother, Abdul Rauf Azhar, the deputy chief of the outfit, sanctioned by the United States (US) in December 2010, on the sanctions list of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has been repeatedly thwarted by China, most recently in May 2023. The US had observed,
India and the US had jointly made the proposal to designate Abdul Rauf Azhar in 2022 as a terrorist. Incidentally, China had also opposed the listing of Maulana Masood Azhar, a proposal put by India in 2009. However, China finally withdrew its 'technical hold' in May 2019, and the UNSC designated Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist".
JeM is one among the three most active terrorist proxies of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, in India, with a particular focus on J&K. The other prominent groups that currently remain very active are Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM). While JeM has seen periods of eclipse in the past, it has more recently emerged as the biggest challenge for the SFs in J&K.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia May 22-28, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
CHT
INDIA
Jharkhand
Manipur
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
Ban on female workers disrupting humanitarian operation in Afghanistan, says OCHA: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the ban on Afghan women working for national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had disrupted humanitarian operations, even though aid agencies remain on the ground delivering life-saving assistance to millions of people. Tolo News, May 25, 2023.
UN is rewarding for Taliban's crime, says Solidarity Movement of Women: On May 25, the Solidarity Movement of Women in Afghanistan stated that the United Nations (UN) is providing daily financial assistance under the pretext of humanitarian aid to strengthen the Taliban regime. They further said that recognition and engagement of the Taliban by the international community are rewarding their "crimes." Hasht e Subh Daily, May 26, 2023
Afghanistan seeking good ties with all its neighbouring countries, says Taliban Acting PM Mawlavi Abdul Kabir: On May 24, Taliban Acting Prime Minister and Deputy for Political Affairs, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, in a meeting with Wang Yu, the Chinese ambassador in Kabul, said that Afghanistan is seeking good ties with all its neighbouring countries. Bakhtar News Agency, May 26, 2023.
Bodies of three abducted men recovered in Cox's Bazar: Police recovered three heavily decomposed bodies from the forest area in Teknaf Upazila (Sub-District) of Cox's Bazar District in the Chittagong Division on May 24. The deceased - Mohammad Yousuf, Rubel, and Umran - were abducted by unidentified individuals 25 days ago. The abductors demanded BDT three million as ransom after sending video clips of torture via messaging apps, family members said. The Daily Star, May 25, 2023.
40 suspected Kuki militants killed in Manipur: On May 28, Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh stated that at least 40 armed terrorists suspected to be from Kuki militant groups have been killed in Manipur in a massive crackdown by state police and Security Forces (SFs) in the past 3-4 days. "State police have been conducting operations in vulnerable areas. In retaliatory and defensive operations against these terrorist groups who are using sophisticated arms against the civilian population, around 40 terrorists have been killed in different areas and a few arrested by the security forces," Singh said. With fresh violence erupting in Manipur since May 27, four civilians and two Police Commandos have also been killed in separate incidents. Police sources stated that at least 12 persons were injured in different instances of firing upon civilians and clashes between militants and SFs. Hindustan Times, The Hindu, May 29, 2023.
Government's priority is peace and will work with zero-tolerance on the issue of terrorism, says Union Tourism Minister G.K. Reddy: Union Minister of Tourism, G.K. Reddy, reaffirmed the government's focus on peace and zero-tolerance towards terrorism and dismissed Pakistan's comments on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), stating that it is an integral part of India, and Pakistan should address its own issues. The Hindu, May 24 2023.
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.
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