• Indian Muslims endorse terror edict
• Eight militants killed in Manipur
• Almost 190,000 people displaced from Pakistan's Bajaur: UN
• Union Government launches special scheme for Left Wing extremism affected Districts in eight States
• Christian' militia in Orissa gains strength
• 20 suspects to be tried under MCOCA
• Existence of Salwa Judum necessary, rules NHRC
• Taliban Leader Baitullah Mehsud Dead
• Cabinet approves Rs 500 crpre special scheme for Naxal-hit states
• Jharkand villagers up in arms against Naxals
• Pak using US funds for preparing for war against India: Obama
• Angami Nagas call for boycott against those indulging in factional killings
• Literate people: a new class of terrorists
• Central scheme for terror victims
• Nine Kashmiri Pandit families return to J&K after 20-yr exile
• Bangladesh deports Indian insurgent
• Bhutan will not hesitate to act against NE rebels
• Cops knew of Maoists' meet in advance
• Joint operation has Maoists on the run
• Naxal Task Force's new mantra: 'A bullet for a bullet'
• Security forces to use sat tech to flush out terror
• 11 Maoists, 6 CRPF jawans killed in Chhattisgarh gumbattles
• Arms haul yields old guns, duds
• Rattled, rebels call bandh
• Naxal strength reduced by more than half: DGP
• France seeks India's help in war on terror

• Intelligence revamp to meet NE threat
• Pak clerics say suicide bombings "un-Islamic"
• HuJI is a vital link in the wider Al Qaeda network
• Terror money came from MidEast: Police
• Serial blasts In Tripura
• Nepal Minister takes Maoist help to capture land of rivals, angers Dy PM
• US national Haywood returns to India
• Manipuris protest against militancy in the State
• Attraction to ULFA on the wane
• ULFA leadership working against Assam, believe Assamese
• ULFA leadership working against Assam, believe Assamese
• Ulfa militants learn a lesson of their lifetime as Indian nationalists in villages of Assam chase them away from creating disruption on Independence Day
• Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Bomb Attack on Indian embassy in Kabul
• Manipur will arm its civilians to fight militants
• India, Bangladesh to exchange notes on terror
• Spy proves to be their golden eye
• Greyhounds fire smoked out Maoists
• Aerial surveys, clear strategy do the trick
• Top Maoist couple surrenders in AP
• Muslim clerics declare terror 'un-Islamic'
• 40 per cent of looted arms recovered in Nayagarh district
• Latest kalashnikovs to be made in India
• Zero tolerance of terrorism, says India
• 'Terror outfits in Kashmir suffer major setback in 2007'

Thousands of Indian Muslims have united to endorse a religious edict condemning terrorism as un-Islamic, a scholar said on Monday. The two-day weekend meeting in the southern city of Hyderabad drew around 6,000 Muslim clerics and scholars, and came after India was hit by a wave of bombings by suspected Islamist militants across the Hindu-majority nation. Indian Muslim leaders have since complained that members of their community were being subjected to harassment by police. The endorsed fatwa, or ruling, holds that the term jihad - 'holy war' - could not be applied to terrorist acts. "Jihad is basically a constructive phenomenon. Terrorism is based on destruction alone. Jihad is permitted only for restoring peace and is a fundamental right of a human being," the edict reads. "It's a very good and important step which draws the distinction that jihad and terrorism have nothing in common," said Khalid Rasheed, a senior cleric from northern India who attended the meeting. At the closing session on Sunday, K Rahman Khan, deputy speaker of India's upper house of parliament, urged the scholars to help end 'all forms of terrorism'. "It is only some misguided youth who are caught in the trap of those perpetrating terrorist acts. The clerics should bring them back on to the right track by explaining what jihad exactly stands for," he said. Around 14 percent of India's billion-plus population is Muslim.

Courtesy: www.southasianmedia.net, November 11, 2008

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Taking note of the growing linkages of north-eastern insurgent outfits among themselves, as well as with jihadi terror groups outside the region, the Centre has embarked on an intelligence revamp plan that will involve streamlining of the existing state-level intelligence set ups to enable better sharing of information on urban violence with the local police. In addition, an inter-state intelligence coordination mechanism will be created for the north-eastern region as a whole to track linkages among local underground outfits as well as their possible connections with outside terror groups. "The whole idea is to look at overall security situation in the north-east in a wholesome and integrated manner we are studying the trends of violence over a period of time to see if any addition or supplementing is required to our approach to tackling violence in north-east," home secretary Madhukar Gupta told newspersons soon after a high-level security review for the north-eastern states here on Wednesday. The review meeting was attended by NSA M K Narayanan, cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar, IB chief P C Haldar, DGMO, director generals of BSF and CRPF and chief secretaries and DGPs of 8 north-eastern states. The meeting agreed that though each of the north-eastern state had its own operations and intelligence set up - like the Unified Command in Assam - such mechanisms were more geared to fighting insurgency. "Any intelligence regarding violence in urban regions, however, needs to be shared with the state police and accordingly developed to make it actionable," Mr Gupta pointed out adding that the proposed inter-state intelligence coordination group would essentially provide an interface not only among various intelligence-gathering agencies within a state but also with the enforcement agency, or police, that needs to act upon the available intelligence. Stating that there was common problems faced by states such as free movement of undergrounds across states and also across the international border with Bangladesh, seizures of arms and arrests of insurgents in states other than those where they indulged in violence, Mr Gupta said the proposed intelligence coordination group would share inputs and information regarding any significant development occurring in any of the states so that measures as may be necessary could be taken in a coordinated manner. Though exact modalities of the intelligence sharing mechanism for the north-east will be worked out in the next few days, the Centre will be a part of it and play a facilitating role. The security review also saw the DGPs of north-eastern states raising issues like lack of proper verification of SIM cards, finetuning of approach with respect to border management and augmenting surveillance in urban areas with installation of CCTVs.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, November 06, 2008

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Eight militants were killed in separate encounters with security forces in two districts in Manipur, official sources said on Friday. Sources said a joint team of police and 39th Assam Rifles personnel, combing Heingang Heibimakhong in Imphal East district, gunned down five militants late last night. The victims belonged to Kangleipak Communist Party- Military Council (KCP-MC) and People's United Liberation Front (PULF), sources said. "Money demand letters", two m-16 rifles, one carbine, one 9mm pistol with 12 rounds of ammunition, nine detonators, one grenade, two Kg of RDX and other explosive materials were recovered from their possession. Sources said KCP-MC was involved in Tuesday's bomb blast that killed 17 people and injured over 30 others at Ragailong area of Imphal. Acting on a specific information that KCP-MC and PULF cadres were planning to hold a joint meeting there, the forces searched the area and carried out the operation. In another incident, two militants were shot dead at Pourabi area in Imphal West district by police commandos at around 8.45pm, sources said, adding that one 9 mm pistol and a grenade were found from the possession of the victims. Sources said in a separate encounter, an unidentified militant who was suspected to be a KCP member, was killed yesterday by commandos at Gouranagar village in Imphal East district. One 9 mm pistol was found from him. The bodies have been sent to Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here for post mortem and identification. Over 310 people, including civilians, were so far killed in militancy-related incidents in Manipur this year.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October 24, 2008

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In the wake of a spate of suicide bombings claiming hundreds of lives across Pakistan, an influential body of Muslim clerics today issued a fatwa declaring such attacks within the country as "un-Islamic" and "forbidden". The edict issued unanimously by the Muttahida Ulema Council during a meeting at the Jamia Naeemia here said suicide bombings within Pakistan are 'haram' (forbidden) and 'najaaiz' (illegal). Since last year, suicide bombers linked to the Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaida have struck at heavily guarded targets like military installations in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. While terming suicide bombings as un-Islamic, the members of the Muttahida Ulema Council called on the government to prevent such attacks by conducting negotiations with militants in the restive tribal areas, where the government has launched a massive military operation. Terming the provision of nuclear technology to India as "dangerous", the clerics also urged the Pakistan government to propagate around the world the negative impact of this development on the region. The Council maintained that the government alone could issue a call for jehad or holy war and the acts of individuals or groups acting by themselves in this regard were incorrect. A majority of the clerics clearly spoke out against calls for jehad by certain groups. The clerics also decided to send a delegation to the Bajaur tribal region and the northwestern Swat valley, where security forces are conducting operations against militants, to assess the situation there.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, October 15, 2008

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Almost 190,000 people have been displaced from Pakistan's Bajaur region, a militant hub bordering Afghanistan, since fighting began in mid-August, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday. "This number includes over 168,000 Pakistanis now sheltering in their country's north-west Frontier Province and another 20,000 Pakistanis and Afghans who fled into eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province," said Ron Redmond, UNHCR spokesman. He said added that due to "security reasons", the agency did not have access to most of the areas on both sides of the border where most of the displaced were staying with families. Pakistan's army said late September that the fighting in Bajaur was some of the heaviest since Pakistan joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001. It also said it had killed 1,000 militants including Al-Qaeda's operational commander in the region, Egyptian Abu Saeed Al-Masri since early August.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, October 15, 2008

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The Union Government has launched a special scheme for Districts of eight States most-affected by Left Wing extremism to construct hostels to promote education among tribals and contain dropout rates. The scheme initiated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs offers 100 per cent financial assistance to the Maoist-affected States/Union Territories from the Union Government for the purpose of benefiting students belonging to Scheduled Tribes (STs) and also primitive tribal groups. The scheme has so far been made available to a total of 33 Districts listed as "Maoist-affected" by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. PTI News, October 8, 2008. Central Reserve Police Force loses most of its personnel in Left-wing extremism affected areas: According to available data on fatalities among the para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), during the first nine months of 2008, more than 60 percent of the fatalities were reported form the areas affected by Naxalism (left-wing extremism) in the country, mainly in the States of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. An official of the CRPF disclosed, "Of the 49 security personnel who died in action, 30 were killed while fighting Naxals. In Kashmir, which witnessed violence during the Amarnath land transfer controversy this year, we lost eight security personnel." Arms and ammunition lost by CRPF is also highest in the left-wing extremism affected areas. 12 arms and 900 rounds of ammunition were looted by Naxals in Chhattisgarh from CRPF personnel. Out of the 189 encounters in which CRPF personnel took part between January and September this year, 106 took place in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. 48 encounters were reported from Jammu & Kashmir. CRPF personnel killed 168 terrorists/extremists in the same period, including 80 in Kashmir, 30 in Jharkhand and 17 in Chhattisgarh. The Force also arrested over 1,500 militants, seized 1,557 arms, 57,460 rounds of ammunition and 7,580 kilograms of explosives.

Courtesy: www.thestatesman.net, October 11, 2008

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The Indian Army foiled major terror strikes in Assam by killing seven Bangladeshi Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) terrorists during a fierce pre-dawn gun battle near Basbari village, Dhubri district, about 270 km west of Guwahati on September 26. Captain Kuldeep Singh of 21 Jat Regiment led the operation based on specific intelligence gathered through mobile interceptors. Guwahati was one of the main targets of the HuJI terrorists who entered the country through the Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh. Seven automatic pistols, three radio sets, a large quantity of explosives, mainly gelatine and detonators, besides Bangladeshi, Indian and Chinese currency notes were recovered from the dead terrorists. This confirmed what I have stated repeatedly since the early 1990s and mentioned in many of my columns - that HuJI and the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) are close allies. In my July 29 column in this newspaper - Seasons of surrender in Assam: How long, how far? - I wrote that the Ulfa's top leadership in Dhaka has been working hard to recruit Bangladeshis to make up for heavy casualties in the Army and police operations since 2006. On June 23, 2007, the Special Task Force in Lucknow arrested one Jalaluddin aka Amanullah alias Manda Babu, reportedly a HuJI area commander, who disclosed his involvement in the Shramjeevi Express and Varanasi's Sankat Mochan temple blasts. In December 2007, interrogation of arrested HuJI terrorists - following the November 2007 attacks in Uttar Pradesh and at Macca Masjid and Gokul Chat in Hyderabad - revealed that explosives used in both the states were of similar make, and that the Ulfa was the source. In fact, terrorist organisations operating in Uttar Pradesh, which have several VIPs and lawyers as targets, have been getting arms, ammunition and explosives directly from the Ulfa.

The HuJI is a Pakistan-based terrorist group whose Bangladeshi wing (HuJI-B) became active in 1992. It announced its formation in a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, Dhaka, on April 30. Since then it has been in close touch with the Ulfa and other terrorist organisations operating within India. Becoming a constituent of the International Islamic Front (IIF), the HuJI-B increased its violent attacks on the Hindu minority, progressive intellectuals, journalists and liberal Muslims. It had allegedly planned to kill 28 prominent intellectuals, including Professor Kabir Choudhury, writer Taslima Nasreen and the director-general of the Islamic Foundation, Maulana Abdul Awal. It was also alleged that the HuJI-B, with a view to assassinate Sheikh Hasina, had mobilised the support of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killers. Although, the Awami League government made attempts to crack down on the HuJI-B, its operatives escaped into Indian territory. Bangladesh home minister Mohammed Naseem in his interview with BBC Bengali Service on December 11, 1999, disclosed that during his visit to India in 1999 he had told the then Union home minister, L.K. Advani, and the then minister in the Jyoti Basu Cabinet in West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, about the presence of HuJI-B operatives in India. He said, "his government had definite information about HuJI militants taking shelter in India, particularly in West Bengal, to flee from the crackdown after the bombing attempt of Kotalipara". (Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict in South Asian Region - Edited by Om Prakash Mishra and Sucheta Ghosh, 2003, page 280). The HuJI-B's activity is mainly in the coastal area stretching from Chittagong South through Cox's Bazaar to the Burma border. It has been actively involved in piracy, smuggling and arms running, which co-exist with narcotics trafficking. The HuJI-B reportedly maintains six training camps each in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox's Bazaar. With the ISI's support and the patronage of radical Islamists, it has became easier for the HuJI-B operatives to merge among the Muslim population in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and set up cells there. Various reports suggest that in addition to links with the Ulfa, the HuJI-B also maintained links with terrorist groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) in Pakistan. In fact, the HuJI-B coined a slogan - "Amra Sobai Hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghanistan (We will all become Taliban and we will turn Bangladesh into Afghanistan)" and gradually emerged as one of the most militant Islamist outfits. It became an important link in the wider Al Qaeda network. The tenure of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) under Begum Khalida Zia saw the HuJI-B grow exponentially transforming Bangladesh from a democratic establishment to an emerging Islamist state. Although the present military-backed regime assured India that it would not allow any terrorist infrastructure on Bangladeshi soil, its stand at the two-day home secretary-level talks between the two countries on August 3-4, 2007, only confirmed its policy to follow the Khalida Zia government. Despite the fact that Ulfa leaders like Paresh Barua, Arabinda Rajkhowa etc. continue to live luxuriously in Bangladesh and remote-control operations from there, Bangladeshi home secretary Mohammad Abdul Karim did not admit to their presence. The possibility of the HuJI-B's hand in October 1, 2008 serial blasts in Tripura cannot be ruled out.

Courtesy: www.asianage.com, October 10, 2008

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"Christian militancy" is gaining ground in Orissa, according to the police, to counter Hindutva organisations opposing "conversion" activities by missionaries. The arrest of three Christians on Monday in connection with the August 23 murder of Swami Laxmananand and the seizure of sophisticated arms and ammunition from them has led the police to suspect links between these "converted Christians" and Maoist forces. Besides the three arrested accused on Monday, the police had earlier arrested four other accused, also Christians, and seized weapons allegedly used in the murder of Laxmananand. The arrested persons, according to the crime branch, have admitted involvement in the murder of the seer. Orissa's top Naxal leader, Sabyasachi Panda, had on Thursday told a group of mediapersons in the forest that most of his cadres in Kandhamal district belonged to the minority community. Although the Maoist leader claimed the "Hindu seer was given the death penalty for his opposition to conversion activities and oppressing minority community people," the police believes Panda hatched the murder conspiracy and supplied single-barrel guns to the killers to appease the "majority Christian militia" in the Bansadhara Zonal Committee headed by him. Meanwhile, sources said the crime branch is also investigating the alleged role of at least "three top Christian leaders", two of them from Orissa and one in Delhi, in the killing of Laxmananand.

Courtesy: www.asianage.com, October 8, 2008

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The Mumbai crime branch has formed a special team to investigate the economic channels used to fund the operations of the busted Indian Mujaheedin module, which allegedly planted bombs in the country since 2005. Joint commissioner of police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said that during investigations it was revealed that the IM module has in the past two years received funds of Rs 26 lakh in installments. "The money has been sent from Gulf countries either through hawala operators or by Western India money transfers,'' said Maria. Sources said that the funds came mostly from Dubai and Abu Dabhi. Now police said that they will also investigate whether Dawood Ibrahim or his faction supplied funds to IM. Sadik Shaikh, the co-founder of IM who was among the first to be arrested, has given a detailed break-up of expenses incurred by the module in the process of planting bombs. This includes money for recruiting people, travelling, printing literature, boarding and buying arms and explosives. Maria said that the module is so dedicated to its aim that it used the funds meticulously. Interestingly, now it has also been revealed that of the five laptops recovered from the IM module, two were purchased from these funds. Two of the hawala operators were from Pipe Road, Kurla, where Simi's main office was earlier located and Bhatkal used to live.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October 08, 2008

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The Mumbai police have invoked the stringent law, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), against all 20 arrested terror suspects even as more details emerge about their activities. Police said Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy and three others had attended a lecture on hacking at Hotel Katharia in Hyderabad in March last year. Around Rs 26 lakh is said to have changed hands through hawala channels to facilitate several recent blasts. The police also detained three more people in Mangalore on Tuesday. In contrast to the Mumbai police, suspected Indian Mujahideen suspects arrested in Delhi, UP, Gujarat and Rajasthan have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) in addition to Explosives Act and waging war against the state.

Besides MCOCA, Mumbai police, have booked the IM terror suspects under various sections of the IPC, Arms Act, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Information Technology Act, apart from Section 121 of the IPC for ''waging war against the state''. The serious charge carries the death penalty as the maximum sentence but it's their getting booked under MCOCA that gives greater leeway to the cops who can now avail of their maximum custody and file a chargesheet within 180 days instead of the normal 90. Police said the arrested suspects had planted bombs at different places across the country over the past three years. The accused have been remanded to police custody until October 21. The Mumbai crime branch, which is investigating the hacking, have now got the names of at least three other persons besides Peerbhoy, the principal software engineer with Yahoo who allegedly attended a hacking lecture in Hyderabad. IB sources said the lecture was held in the second week of May 2007 at Hotel Katharia in Hyderabad. Peerbhoy reportedly told police that there were 10 people present and two, who were probably foreigners, lectured to him about hacking. A noted cyber guru of Hyderabad city, who assists the local police in cyber crime cases, is believed to have attended these lecture. A crime branch team has already left for Hyderabad to probe this aspect. Peerbhoy told police that his four-member team would arrive in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from Pune on several occasions to identify the places from where there were strong WiFi signals. He told police that they bring three laptops in his Zen Estilo car (MHO4-CA 4493) driven by his driver Ismail Choudhary. After the work was over, two of them would take State Transport Asiad buses from Dadar to Pune to avoid any checking on the way.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October 08, 2008

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The Supreme Court-appointed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) investigation into Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist vigilante programme) in Chhattisgarh has justified the movement as a "spontaneous revolt of the tribals against years of atrocities and harassment suffered by them at the hands of Naxalites (left-wing extremists)". The NHRC report, submitted to the apex court also dismisses most of the allegations of human rights abuses made by the petitioners in the apex court, including widely reported use of minors by Salwa Judum. The report blames the Naxalites for human rights abuses and sees action by Salwa Judum activists from the prism of necessary retaliation. The report further says that 15 years after Jan Jagran Abhiyan (Mass Awareness Campaign), an earlier attempt to deal with Naxalites, "local tribals once again mustered courage to stand up to the Naxalites, which only goes to show their sense of desperation."

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, October 07, 2008

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At least two people were killed and about 100 injured when low intensity serial blasts rocked Agartala, the capital of Tripura on October 1 at about 7pm in the evening. The first bomb went off at the popular Maharajganj Bazar (Gol Bazar) at about 7 p.m., followed by three near-simultaneous blasts, one at the G.B. Market, one at the Radhanagar public bus stand and the last in Krishnanagar locality. According to eyewitnesses, two youths on a motorbike left a container in a box at the Radhanagar bus stand. Smoke started coming out of it and soon there was a huge explosion. The modus operandi of the Tripura blasts is similar to the most recent three low-intensity blasts in Mehrauli ( New Delhi), (Modasa) Gujarat and Malegaon (Maharashtra).

Courtesy: www.india-server.com, October 03, 2008

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According to CNN report Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead from kidney failure. He is the same person on whom the Pakistan government has put allegation that he had killed former Pak PM Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007. The confirmation of his death has come from local TV channels Geo Television and others. However, initial reports from Taliban side were revealing that Mehsud was ill and was expected to die within a day. Mehsud who was of around 34 year age had a sever kidney problem. An Islamabad-based source who has links with and within the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan informed that Mehsud died at about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Mehsud's death is expected to create a bitter power-struggle in Waziristan region where he had a great influence. People who are still living in tribes and have tribe loyalties may go stray in absence of second commander. Also, the death may cause split within the tribe of the Mehsud. Pak authorities may be happy but death of one Taliban leader is not a solution for Islamic fundamentalism.

Courtesy: www.india-server.com, October 01, 2008

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Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam, who is officiating as PM while Prachanda is in India, today warned of legal action against Land Reforms Minister Matrika Yadav who is leading an armed group to recapture land belonging to rival party supporters in Siraha district in the south. Gautam asked the Maoist leadership to restrain Yadav who is being helped by armed Maoists who were supposed to be confined in designated cantonments under UN supervision. With the Home portfolio also under him, Gautam issued a veiled threat that he would ask the administration to take necessary action against those involved in such a campaign. In short, he implied that Yadav could even be arrested if he did not behave. But any such move may have serious political consequences. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) and the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) have been clashing in Siraha for the past nine days with the latter demanding that the land that the Maoists had illegally confiscated during the years of insurgency must be restored to the original holders. Two days after land was restored to the rightful owners, Yadav led a group of Maoists and "recaptured the land", said Home ministry sources said. Yadav, in the meantime, warned: "We will not tolerate Bamdev using force against the people." The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the MJF have agreed to lodge a complaint with Prime Minister Prachanda when he returns from India and seek Yadav's ouster from the cabinet.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.com, September 17, 2008

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The Union Cabinet today approved a Rs.500 crore special scheme which will be launched by the government during the 11th Plan in the Naxal-affected states. The Centrally sponsored scheme was approved today at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an official spokesperson said. For the current financial year, Rs.100 crore has been earmarked for the scheme. The objective of the new scheme is to adequately provide for crucial infrastructure requirement that are critical to policing and security needs in the field but are not adequately provided for in any existing scheme, she said. Over 70 districts in the country are affected by Left wing extremism, which has been described by the Prime Minister as a "virus" and the biggest internal security threat. In continuing Naxal violence in around a dozen states, over 400 people, including over 150 securitymen, have been killed so far this year. The Government recently approved formation of a 10,000-strong special anti-Naxal force 'COBRA' -- Combat Battalion for Resolute Action -- to tackle the menace. In another decision, the Union Cabinet approved creation of 48 new posts of Special Directors General, Additional Directors General and Inspectors General in various central police organisations keeping in view functional necessity. These posts will strengthen the supervisory structure of these organisations for better command and control.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.com, September 11, 2008

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US national Kenneth Haywood, to whose Internet connection a 'threatening' e-mail sent prior to the Ahmedabad serial blasts was traced, returned to the city in the wee hours on Thursday. He returned with his family from Arizona in the US to Mumbai around 1 am, sources said. Haywood left the country on August 17 despite a 'lookout' notice being issued against him at airports across the country by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The US national, who had undergone polygraph and brain mapping tests during investigation, was cleared of "doubt" by the ATS officials. However, the officials had said they wanted to investigate Haywood's allegations that an ATS official had demanded a bribe from him to clear him in the case.

Courtesy: www.sify.com, September 11, 2008

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Daily wage labourers and artisans, who barely survive to make their ends meet with their meager earnings in the naxal-affected areas, are today an agitated lot. They complain of being exploited by Naxals here. There are annoyed since the Maoists who don't even hesitate to extract money from them as private 'tax'. These local people are now irritated over the attitude of these hoodlums and are up in arms. "If they will keep on deducting our money, how we are going to sustain. It's a high time they realised our worth. All these years we were supporting Naxals but we got nothing in return. These people don't want us to be united because in that condition they won't be able to suppress us. We need to get together to fight against all these odds," said Praddep Ganjhua, head of the Labour union. Almost three decades ago when Naxalism started in India, it stated that its objective was to establish an egalitarian society. The driving force behind naxalism was ideas of Mao Zedong and Karl Marx theories. For long, these Naxalites continued to wage a struggle against the system--citing reasons like for the rights of Dalits and underprivileged people.

But now things have changed, as Naxals are not bothered about the poor and needy. In fact they are extracting money from the poor to fill their own pockets. Besides the local villagers want their daily-wage be increased. "We are not getting proper wages we want minimum wage to be fixed to Rs. 90, but we are only getting Rs. 60. Our women and children are getting even lesser than us. We need help, otherwise, only alternative that's going to be left over was to take up arms. So many of our kins have joined hands with Naxals but now even Naxals have turned selfish," said Rama Prajapati, one labourer. Daily wage labourers and artisans are today so fed up with the Naxalites that they have joined hands to take on the hoodlums. Recently, a meeting was organised in which they discussed their problems and how Naxal forces were taking undue advantage. Among other issues was how to benefit from government schemes and policies. "We are getting almost nothing in the name of wages. We cannot even have a square meal with this kind of wages. We want our minimum wage to be fixed at rupees 90 so that we can at least meet our basic requirements," said Mala, one of the labourers. Palamu is the den of Naxalites in India; actually this was the place from where roots of Naxalism germinated almost three decades back. This place till date is known for its feudal structure and atrocities on bonded labour.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.com, September 10, 2008

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In spite of the Manipur Government signing suspension of operation orders with different militant groups in the state, underground groups continue to harass common people. Besides, there are reports of an assassination bid on the life of State Chief Minister Ibobi Singh. The latest victims are the staff and officials of the agricultural department in the state. The abduction of one of the officers has spread panic and led to protests against militant groups. M. Norendro Singh, the abducted assistant agriculture official is the only earning member in his family and the threat to his life is a threat to six other members of his family. Fear and a sense of anxiety is visible in the family of the abducted official of the agriculture department. They wonder why militants target the common people and take them captive when they talk about being concerned about the people. "He is the one who runs the family, looks after the children's education and takes care of all the problems in the family. It would be very difficult for us if he is not there as we will not have the strength to live on," said M.Rita Devi, wife of Norendro Singh. L. Pashot Devi, a local resident, while emphasizing that the people want peace in the society said, "There is no peace in the society. We don't know if our kidnapped sons will return to us. These things have happened not only in my family but with many others also. Many people have faced such troubles and difficulties earlier also. It is my request that such problems should be immediately solved so that the civilians can live in peace." R.K. Nayasana Devi, Director of the state's agriculture department said, "This will effect us, not directly but indirectly to the farmers and in the way to production of the food grains, purchase of essential commodities for our livelihood. So, in some four to five years, I am sure that these conditions would lead to famine in Manipur." If people are the at the receiving end of militants, so is the state's authority that is proved by an assassination bid on the life of the state Chief Minister Ibobi Singh recently. According to police reports a bomb fired by suspected militants exploded outside his official residential complex. The attack is supposed to be a desperate reaction from some of the militant outfits, which are feeling the heat of heightened action against them by the state police. In reaction to the kidnapping, people and officials of the agricultural department held a sit in protest. With Manipur trying to increase the land available for agriculture and ensure food supply to all the parts of the state, the kidnapping of the staff by the militant groups has sent a wave of panic among the workers. They have been wondering as to how they can work freely and discharge their duties in such an atmosphere.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.com, September 07, 2008

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Accusing Pakistan of misusing the massive American aid to fight the war on terror, Democratic nominee for the US Presidential election Barack Obama, in a sensational comment, has said Islamabad was using these funds for "preparing for a war against India". Senator Obama vowed to hold Islamabad accountable for the massive military aid it has received from Washington if he is elected to the White House. He said his administration will increase pressure on the Pakistan to come to terms with terrorist safe havens along its northern border with Afghanistan. "What we can do is stay focused on Afghanistan and put more pressure on the Pakistanis," Senator Obama said in an interview with Fox News. He noted that the US was providing Pakistan military aid "without having enough strings attached". "So they're (Pakistan) using the military aid...Pakistan...They're preparing for a war against India," Senator Obama said. Maintaining that he will follow the al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the "gates of hell", the Democratic nominee said that this could be accomplished without resorting to sending ground troops to Pakistan. However, he said his future administration is not going to pullout from the war on terror and allow the fundamentalists to take over Pakistan. "What we say is, look, we're going to provide them with additional military support, targeted at terrorists, and we're going to help build their democracy.... We've wasted $10 billion with Musharraf without holding them accountable for knocking out those safe havens," Senator Obama said. He stressed that "nobody talked about some full-blown invasion of Pakistan", but "we've got to put more pressure on Pakistan to do what they need to do".

Courteys: www.samachar.com, September 06, 2008

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The United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA is in trouble. After the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire by its 28th battalion, 39 cadres of its 709 battalion recently surrendered before the Red Horn Division of the Indian Army in Assam's Kamrup District delivering a major blow to the militant outfit. The surrender reflects not only the disenchantment among the lower rung cadres with the central committee, but also disillusionment with ULFA ideology. Deelip Kumar Rai, a surrendered ULFA cadre said, "The policy of the ULFA leaders as well as their demands won't be acceptable to the government. The government has asked them to leave their demand for sovereignty and come to the negotiation table, but they are not coming." Mohamad Islam, another surrendered ULFA cadre found it difficult to work with the ULFA. He said, "It has become very difficult. Now we don't have much strength left to work with the ULFA. The pressure of people has developed everywhere. Now we are getting opportunity to lead our life. That's why I decided to surrender." Noni Gopal Mohanta, an ULFA expert, believes that there is a growing sense of disillusionment among the cadres. "There is a disillusionment among the cadres, who have realised that the dreams that were woven before them is no longer possible. In such circumstances, the surrendering of the cadres is inevitable," Mohanta says. While discussing the recruitment of children into the ULFA, Mohanta said, "The issue of recruitment of teenagers by ULFA or other militant groups can't be seen in isolation.irstly, in a state like Assam the dropout rate in the secondary school and at the college level is very high. And secondly, the economic condition of these students, who are not going to the school, is pathetic. Such situation provides ready made cadres, who can be easily convinced to join the ULFA by giving few rupees or some kind of material benefit to the youths." ULFA was established in 1979, and even after a period of nearly 30 years it has not been able to convert its cadres to its cause. The recent declaration of unilateral ceasefire proves this. Facing a major shortage of cadres, the ULFA has started recruiting Bangladeshis and children below the age of 17. The ULFA claims that it represents the interests of the Assamese people. However, it has been preying on the people and has become their predator. And, since the time of its inception, it has been directly targeting local residents. The question arising in most people's mind is whether the ULFA's days are numbered? By Peter Alex Todd.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.com, September 05, 2008

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Coming out strongly against factional killings, the Angami Naga have called upon to boycott and expel any member who is found indulging in violence or supporting or sheltering Naga militant factions. The decision taken during the conference of Gaon Bora (GB) or of the elders of Naga tribes here recently was unanimously accepted by all. It was a landmark decision that came to be widely reported all across Nagaland. The meeting of the Angami elders was similar to their earlier conferences, but its outcome was unusual, something for which everybody in the state had been praying for decades. "Peace should envelop not just in Kohima, but the whole of Nagaland. We GBs and DBs are working flat out for the cause of peace till today. Ministers should also work assisted by the GBs and DBs. So our GBs should bring peace and stop bloodshed at all costs," said Visakuolie, Head, GB, Kohima. The decision is supported by the people in the state who consider violence a major hindrance in the path of progress and establishment of permanent peace in Nagaland."We the Gaon Boras are working for peace in our state. We are not involved with any faction. Since bloodshed is continuing in our state, our federation is doing its best for peace to prevail," said Dolhoupra, DB, member, Dimapur. Over the years, many lives have been lost in factional killings. Now, these are taking place between different factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in an effort to maintain their hold on the commercial markets of Dimapur and in other parts of the state. The factions who claim to represent different Naga groups are indulging in mindless violence not for any cause or ideology but to get their hands on money collected illegally from businessmen and government servants in the state."Now in Nagaland, killing and bloodshed needs to be condemned. For peace to prevail, leaders, GBs, Village Councils should cooperate and through this, bloodshed can stop," said Neitho Miasalhou, President, Angami GBs Association, Nagaland. The conference of GBs reflects the views and aspiration of not one particular tribe, but of all sections of the Naga society, which is looking for permanent peace and normalcy in the state. By Vibou Ganguly

Courtesy: www.newstrackindia.com, September 05, 2008

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Mindless killings, violence and continuous disruption of normal life by the ULFA have taken the shape of an open criticism of the outfit by the people of Assam. They are quite vocal about the role being played by the ULFA and its top leaders like Paresh Baruah in blocking the development of the state. They also raised doubts about the motives of the militant group in continuing with their ideology of violence. Manshi Sharma, a professor, Guwahati University, said, "As they couldn't settle down in Assam, so they have settled down in Bangladesh. They are living in the lap of the luxury and have forgotten what life they have given to the Assam and how the people of Assam are still living now. So, sitting there, they are dictating certain terms and conditions, which doesn't apply in the present situation for the Assamese people." "Bangladeshi has come in without any fear of getting detected. They are being utilized by the ULFA sitting there, to find out what is going in Assam and give them the feedback," added Sharma. "It's very difficult to understand Baruah. I don't know whether he is really concerned for the people of Assam or not. No doubt they are doing something, sitting in Bangladesh, as newspaper reports say. But things have changed, Assam has changed, technology has come and what we know is that they should respect the sentiments of the people," said Ranjan Baruah, an Assamese.

But the acts of ULFA in no way suggest that they are willing to respect the wishes and voices of the people. Mindless killings in recent times demonstrate how the militant outfit disregards the feelings of the people. It is perhaps because of this indifferent towards the people of Assam by the ULFA's central committee that many cadres of the outfit joined the mainstream of the society realizing the futility of pursuing violence against their own people of Assam. "I don't appreciate the killings. I feel we end up killing our own people who are like our own kith and kin. So, there can be no benefit from such cruel murder. ULFA has deteriorated and is corrupt. It has become cruel. That is why people don't support the ULFA any more," said Brajan Kalita, a former ULFA cadre. Many top cadres of the 28th battalion of the ULFA left the outfit recently and joined the mainstream of society to pursue peace and prosperity. "The ULFA was established for the peace and development of the people of the State. If they are killing the people, it is not good and it is injustice. The outfit cannot survive and even if the government does this it will also face the problem," said Nagen Rabha, a surrendered cadre of ULFA. No doubt people's mood is for development and progress which has remained sluggish because of almost three decades of violence. With economy opening up and the Look East Policy promising greater opportunities for the people of the State, all sections of the Assamese society want to be part of the developmental process. They see ULFA and other militant groups as a major threat in the state's march to progress and prosperity. By Peter Alex Todd (ANI)

Courtesy: www.newstrackindia.com, September 01, 2008

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The recently busted ten accused of banned SIMI-members (Students Islamic Movement of India) in their alleged involvement in Ahmedabad blasts has once again a question as what lays the literate people to resort to heinous terror strike. Some of the arrested SIMI members are highly qualified. One of the ten suspects, Usman Agarbatiwala, who is in the custody of the Gujarat crime branch for their alleged role in the Ahmedabad serial blasts, holds a diploma in Human Rights from the MS University in Vadodara. The alleged mastermind behind the blasts, Mufti Abdul Bashar Kasmi alias Shaukeer is an editor, tutor and preacher. Is there any fault in our education system? Do they get different education which preaches them violence? It is certainly not. No education imparts terror. Many people receive the same education, but very few get involved with such type of unlawful activities. They must be feeble-minded people who come under easy influence to insurgents. Education makes people capable of wise thinking and helps them in making differentiation-what is right and what is wrong. If these so educated people become puppet at the hand of handful of terror elements, what would be of those illiterate ones, whose minds are so plain to be imprinted anything easily.

For few years, many highly qualified people are found involved in terrorist activities. It seems when many students choose engineering, medical, civil services as career, some prefer to pursue career in terrorism. Many of them belong to wealthy class and are well qualified. So the age-old notion that economic deprivation and the inadequate education are the only cause of these people's involvement in terrorists activities do not hold much ground now. However, these can be a mere speculation, but the recent years' findings involving qualified, young student in spreading terrorism leads us to think in this way. Ahmedabad blasts (2008) - alleged mastermind is a teacher, Jaipur blasts (2008) - alleged hands of a medical student, Bangalore blasts (2005) - mastermind is an engineer and alike unearthed after investigations that highly qualified persons have been involved in terror strikes. Why? It is still difficult to answer. Is the Indian government knowingly or unknowingly nurturing hate among the minority community? Are the policies of government unwittingly developing a thought in them that they belong to second-class? It is absolutely not. India is a country of multi lingua, multi religio-culture and people here from the ancient periods have been involved in adopting every new culture and religion. If Ram is our God, Rahim too. Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Irfan Khan, Dr. Kalam are our national heroes. They rule our heart; they are not bound by any religion. Despite that, one percent throws light on such discrimination, when people like Shabana Azmi, a well-known face and renowned actor says, being a Muslim, she had to face difficulty in purchasing a house in Mumbai. For a while if we believe there is truth in it, no religion allows anyone merciless killing of innocent people. Resorting to violent means of terror strikes can not justify such discrimination at any cost. On the other hand, if any such type of discrimination exists in our enduring society, government should need to take the issue at the earliest. Terrorism is not an issue of our country only. It has spread its tentacles across the globe. It needs to be uprooted with collective hands- not bound by boundary. Stringent laws must be made to deal with such people who don't understand any language other than gun.

Courtesy: www.newstrackindia.com, August 18, 2008

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The three ULFA militants were ready to bring down the Tricolour Indian flag on Independence Day. Teachers, guardians and villagers of Bandarchara in Assam's Kokrajhar district prevented Ulfa militants from bringing down the Tricolour and hoisting a black one at Bandarchara Lower Primary School. The militants got a lesson of their lifetime as the common people from the Indian village chased them out. Indian Army was informed and the three terrorists were caught red handed. A Bulgaria-made 9mm pistol and two magazines were recovered from the militant, Hitesh Roy, who was handed over to police.

Courtesy: www.indiadaily.com, August 17, 2008

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Victims of terrorist and communal violence would be entitled to financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh under a special Central Scheme for Assistance to Victims of Terrorist and Communal Violence, official sources said. The Centre has formulated detailed guidelines for implementing the scheme and the guidelines have been sent to the States, sources added. The scheme cleared by the Union Cabinet in March, envisages helping the families in the event of death or permanent incapacitation of the victim, who was the breadwinner of the family. The principal amount is proposed to be put in a fixed deposit account in a nationalized bank with a minimum lock-in period of three years. The interest on the sum would be credited directly by the bank to the beneficiary's saving account on a quarterly basis. A district level committee, under the chairmanship of District Collector would identify beneficiaries and verify their eligibility for assistance under the scheme. The committee will also include the Superintendent of Police, District Medical Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, District Child and Women Development Officer. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) would examine the case for grant of assistance under the scheme. Assam had witnessed a high casualty rate in the country in the last three years with civilian death toll touching 623 since 2005. According to Institute for Conflict Management with 439 insurgency-related fatalities in 500 incidents of violence, Assam remained the most violent theatre of conflict in North-east last year. The dramatic escalation of insurgent violence in 2007, however, has dashed all such expectations, once more raising the spectre of anarchy in the State, it said.

Courtesy: www.assamtribune.com, July 25, 2008

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As many as 58 people, including four Indians, were killed in the suicide bomber attack on the embassy on Monday."We not only suspect but we have a fair amount of intelligence (on Pakistan's involvement). We have no doubt that the ISI is behind this," Narayanan, National Security Advisor, told TV channels. Afghanistan also has blamed a "foreign intelligence agency" for the bombing of the embassy-a veiled accusation against the ISI. Pakistan as usual has firmly rejected the allegations with its Foreign Minister saying he was ''baffled'' to hear people alleging that it was responsible for violence in Afghanistan. The people of India deserve to know the facts rather than being carried away by people who make statements and India should get tough with Pakistan. Until the time Pakistan controls the movements of Arms and terrorists across international borders, India should not have any relationship with that rogue nation. How can one have a relationship when they send armed people to attack our diplomatic missions and or our soldiers and civilians. If they do have cozy relationship with a nation that says something and does other thing, one must not doubt the Pak involvement. If ISI is the culprit as it is suspected, get the evidence and submit to Pakistan to do something and if nothing happens, snap the ties. It is to be understood ISI has never been a part of the peace process. I think we need to make a distinction between the the civilian government in Pakistan and ISI ( a sort of quasi-military wing). ISI was created during the hey days of Zia and probably received funding meant for Mujahids fighting USSR in Afghanistan and later ISI innovatively found other resources as well in corporate style along with the Army. After post 9-11, when Musharraf joined the west in fighting global terrorism, he continued for a while the activities of ISI and its involvement with Al quida and Taliban. West soon found out his duplicity in double crossing Bush on terrorism. Soon Musharraf's hands were tied and ISI started crossing him as well and continued its coordination with the Taliban and Al Quaida. It should be known even Musharraf realized his limitations in controlling the monster. Now the civilian government of Pakistan is more concerned in ousting Musharraf than controlling Army and ISI. This sort of laxity on behalf of the government of Pakistan gave impetous to ISI's nefarious designs and in the implementation of its plans. One should know from Liaqat Ali to Zardari, Pakistan continues to believe it is the Islamic spokesperson of the Muslims of SouthAsia and that includes India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. India's affinity to the leaders of Afghanistan in Karzai's government is not to the liking of Pakistan and ISI. It may be true Zardari government may not be involved directly but one cannot be sure of its role and we can not blame his government or give it a clean chit. Pakistan still suffers from the jitters of partition and all its actions point out to that even when India has more Muslims than Pakistan. If India is such a terrible country and if Muslims cannot live with Non-Muslims as Jinnah, claimed, then their sheer numbers contradict the very concept of the resons enunciated in the creation of Pakistan. India's pursuit of friendship with Karzai's government is not to the taste of ISI in particular. They want India not to have close relationship with Afghanistan and it is not to their liking and strategy. Now India should seriously think whether to go ahead with the peace process while ISI continues to export weapons, men and bomb our embassies or if ISI is not involved as claimed by the government of Pakistan and if India cannot substantiate the claim of ISI involvement , they should at least shut up for the timebeing until they get some and then should get into action.

Courtesy: http://newshopper.sulekha.com, July 12, 2008

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Srinagar: In a major boost to the government's efforts to bring Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley, nine displaced families returned - after two-decade-long exile - to their ancestral homes at Verinag in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday. This comes days after PM Manmohan Singh announced a package for Pandits willing to return home. The package offers Rs 7.5 lakh each to Pandits who return to the Valley. However, the families insist they have returned voluntarily. "We had made up our mind before the PM's announcement. We decided to come back because of the improvement in the security scenario," Omkar Nath said. Kanta Devi, who also returned on Saturday, said she couldn't control her tears when she reached home and met her neighbours. "I broke down when I saw my house after 18 long years. The reception we got from our neighbours was also overwhelming," she said. Another returnee Ratan Lal Koul, too, was overwhelmed. "I can't believe that I am home. I can't tell how we spent all these years away from our motherland, but now I have come forever," he said.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 05, 2008

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The Manipur government has decided to provide arms and ammunition to the people of the state to defend themselves from militants. Official sources said in Imphal on Saturday that the state cabinet, presided over by Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, discussed the issue on Friday night at a meeting, which lasted for over three hours. In the first phase, the people of Heirok and Chajing would be provided security by opening special posts, to be commanded by Special Police Officers. The people of Heirok in Thoubal district had been demanding arms, following the killing of three people by militants on March 24. The state government has been considering the possibility of providing arms and ammunition to the people since the past few days. About 300 youths at Heirok and 200 youths at Chajing, commanded by police forces, will be recruited to provide security to the people. Each youth would be provided with Rs 3,000. The modalities would be worked out by a police team, headed by a DIG, and the entire process was expected to start by next month, officials said. The recruitment would be done under the guidance of the deputy commissioners of the concerned districts. The Manipur Police Housing Corporation will construct barracks for the recruits and all of them would be provided with .303 rifles and motorcycles. The volunteers, however, would not be allowed to venture out of the specified villages. Meanwhile, two officials from the Union Home Ministry were presently in the state capital to take stock of the prevailing law and order situation.

Courtesy: www.rediff.com, May 03, 2008

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Bangladesh, for the first time ever, has deported an Indian insurgent leader, who operated from its soil. Bangladesh Rifles yesterday handed over Sujit Debbarma a leader of banned rebel group --National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) -- to the Indian Border Security Force in India's Northeastern state of Tripura, state police spokesperson told reporters Thursday, news agency Indo Asian News Service reported. Debbarma joined NLFT in 2000 and went to Bangladesh for arms training, the spokesperson said. Tripura shares 856-km-long border with Bangladesh. NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force are the two main rebel groups of Tripura. Leadership of both ATTF and NLFT are based in Bangladesh and operate from there. India has been seeking their extradition for long. Certain other insurgent Groups from Indias Northeast also operate from Bangladesh. India has been seeking extradition of the leaders of these groups based there as well. These include banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), aiming to create a "sovereign Assam" carved out of India's Northeast. India had handed over to Bangladesh the list of camps on their soil run by rebel groups from the country's Northeast, several times in the past. New Delhi had also stated that Bangladeshi territory is being used by the insurgents of Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI). The group is responsible for several terror attacks across India over the past few years.

Courtesy: www.khabrein.info, April 22, 2008

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With Bangladeshi footprints being detected in a number of jihadi attacks on Indian soil in the past couple of years, India will raise the issue of the existing terror infrastructure and militant hideouts in the neighbouring country when representatives of the border guarding forces of both the countries meet here during their five-day talks, scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Though India had raised the issue on earlier occasions as well, the move - when the BSF chief A K Mitra will bring it to the notice of his Bangladesh Rifles counterpart major general Shakil Ahmed during the talks - assumes significance in view of New Delhi's growing concerns over the role of HuJI in two blasts in Hyderabad in 2007 and a shoot-out at the IISc, Bangalore, in 2005. The investigating agencies have suspected the role of this Bangladesh-based terror outfit which provided ground support to its Pakistani mentors before the incidents. The main suspects - Abdul Saheed Bilal and Abu Hamza - in these incidents were not only found to be trained in Bangla-desh but also got shelter there before finally moving out to Pakistan. "HuJI by virtue of its local support was the main force behind these attacks which were carried out at the behest of the Pakistan-based terror group LeT," said a senior home ministry official. Besides, India will also provide Bangladesh an updated list of fugitives -including ULFA's Paresh Baruah and Anup Chetia - and north-east terrorist camps during the talks which will conclude on April 12. The previous list, given to Bangladesh, carried the names of 161 insurgents and details of 195 terrorist camps.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April 08, 2008

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Bhutan's new government will not hesitate to carry out a 2003-like operation against Indian insurgents if they sneak into its territory, the Bhutanese party which swept to power in the country's first general election said Wednesday. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which will form the first elected government in Bhutan, said there won't be much changes to the erstwhile kingdom's foreign policy with its two giant neighbours India and China with whom it had "excellent" relations. "Both India and China are important neighbours and we will continue to maintain excellent relations with them," party spokesman Palden Tshering said.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, March 27, 2008

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South Bastar division's Jagargunda-Baswaguda area committee of the CPI (Maoist), which has a strength of one company (about 100 armed Naxalites), had been holding the plenary between Kachala and Paliguda in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, for about a week. But the South Bastar division, led by Arjun, a Maoist leader belonging to Andhra Pradesh, had no idea whatsoever that police from across the border were busy tracking down its every movement for almost four months. When the elite Greyhounds personnel swooped on the plenary in a pre-dawn raid, the Maoists had little time to resist. Of the 30-odd Naxalites, who were camping there, 17 died and the rest managed to flee. It was an operation executed to perfection. What went into its planning? According to highly placed sources, office of the Officer on Special Duty at Kothagudem managed to gain the confidence of an informant, who is from across the border, about four months ago. With the help of local police, the OSD office kept in touch with the informant, who fed it with some information or the other. However, several 'alerts' from him were ignored as the Naxalites were always either too deep in Chhattisgarh forests or inhospitable terrain like hills. Then came the vital lead about 10 days ago when the informant "smelled something peculiar." Militants were picking up ration from village sandies and some others were clearing bushes at the base of a hillock abutting the forest. There was also some sort of "high-alert" in Maoist-affected villages. Three, four days later came fool-proof information. The plenary was going to be held exactly between Kacharla and Paliguda. From here started the operational part. First, the Greyhounds personnel had to penetrate 40 kilometres into Chhattisgarh from Charla. The Andhra Pradesh Police sounded their Chhattisgarh counterparts and took them into confidence. A joint operation was planned and forces moved into the forests a couple of days ago. The area being a stronghold of Maoists, the police teams had to move cautiously as any leak could jeopardise the entire operation, the sources told this website's newspaper. It appears the Maoists were a bit casual for they did not anticipate an onslaught of this severity from the Chhattisgarh Police. The least they could have expected is the arrival of Greyhounds personnel who have mastered the art of jungle warfare. Their AK 47s, SLRs and country-made weapons could not match the fire power of well-trained police personnel. In no time, the Maoists suffered one of the biggest setbacks in their decade-long history in Chhattisgarh. The Greyhounds, who took part in the operation, have returned to their base leaving a heap of dead bodies - 17 Naxalites in all including six women - behind. Not only have the Andhra Pradesh police dealt a severe blow to the morale of the Maoists in Chhattisgarh but have also reportedly laid their hands on a treasure trove of information. It appears the war has reached a crucial stage.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 20, 2008

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What paid dividends for the Greyhounds in the Dharmavaram encounter in which 17 naxals were killed was that they got wind of the Maoist plenary meeting in Darelli forests much in advance. "The weekly markets in Chintooru, Cherla and Kukunoor areas helped our spotters in establishing the movement of Maoists", the police officer said. Attributing the massive success of the Khammam police in the operation to perfect planning and tactful jungle warfare, a district police official said they have been planning the ambush for over 5/6 months. "Our forces' manoeuvrability and military strategy clinched the issue this time round", he said. Ridiculing the rights activists' posers as to how there was no casualty from the police side, the official said the police too had faced reverses whenever they were killed by Maoist-triggered landmines. "In fact, the Maoist cadre camping in the timber reserves of Darelli forest area were taken by surprise with Greyhounds sealing the forest routes along the Taliperu river course which separates the borders of AP and Chhattisgarh", he observed. He recalled that 16 cops were killed in an ambush by Maoists when a police team was on its way to Pamedu police station in November 2007. Sources said nearly 80 Greyhounds personnel and around 150 Khammam district policemen took part in the encounter, touted to be one of the biggest counter-insurgency operations against the Maoists. "Nearly 500 shots were fired from both sides in two spells of gunbattle", a police official said.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 20, 2008

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The killing of 17 Maoists in the Dharmavaram encounter in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday reveals that it was the superior firepower of the Greyhounds personnel that did the Maoists in. A combination of a well-knit informer network coupled with superior arsenal and excellent field craft and tactics, besides solid inputs from the locals and naxalites who had surrendered earlier inflicted a stunning blow on the Maoists in what was the once impregnable Bastar forest region, police sources told 'TOI' here on Wednesday. "With our special party police having mapped the terrain so well, it won't be difficult to combat the enemy (read Maoists) in their territory", a senior IPS officer told 'TOI'.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 20, 2008

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Faced with a joint operation of commandos of three states for the first time, hundreds of well-armed Maoist guerrillas are on the run from a sprawling forested area mainly covering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh - known as India's Maoist bastion. Young men and women who dreamt of capturing state power armed with rocket launchers and AK-47 rifles are now up against the joint forces of three states that also include Maharashtra. Police officers in charge say they will not rest till the Maoist militants are crushed. A joint operation of the commandos of the three states that began last week has made considerable gains in dismantling Maoist bases in Chhattisgarh's southern dense forests of Abujhmad, spread over some 4,000 sq km, security officials say. This is where the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) had dozens of war training facilities and arms manufacturing units besides what the authorities say is a 'research and development unit' to produce better weapons. Police officials in Chhattisgarh say that the Maoists have a vast network in Abujhmad from where they virtually control their movement in 13 Indian states. The police had never dared to enter the forested area, a part of Bastar region. Giving a protective ring to the area were deadly landmines the Maoists had buried. But commandos made a successful entry into Abujhmad for the first time in three decades with the help of de-mining squads. The security forces claim they forayed up to 400 sq km into the forests and dismantled their terror network.

"Our commandos pushed back Maoists in several kilometres inside. The Maoists are on the run for the first time in decades in their own territory," Inspector General Girdhari Nayak, who heads Chhattisgarh's Maoist operations, told IANS. The joint operation destroyed over a dozen well-equipped hideouts of guerrillas. And officials say that the second phase of the crackdown will be more lethal. "We are going to spell havoc for them. If they can hit police and civilians after coming out of the forests and then go back to their bases, now it is their turn to face the music," a source in the home department said. "We are not guerrillas, we are not going just for attacks. We will clear their landmines, finish off their bases and occupy the land," the source added. Another officer added: "The countdown has begun. The Maoists have started conceding their safest zones. We will go on till Maoists and Maoism are finished from Bastar in general and from Abujhmad in particular." Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh told IANS: "We now have a massive corps of guerrilla warfare trained policemen. The Maoists will find it tough to handle them." The Maoists suffered one of the biggest setbacks last week when a joint operation by Andhra Pradesh's elite Greyhounds and the Chhattisgarh Police led to the death of 17 senior guerrillas in Bijapur in Bastar region. For years, more so since the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) joined forces, the guerrillas had transformed the largely inaccessible forests in Chhattisgarh bordering Andhra Pradesh as their bastion. From here, they control a vast pan-India network, forcing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to describe the Maoists as the biggest security challenge to the Indian state. Now the police are determined to end it all. The government estimates that about 4,000 hardcore Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket launchers, light machine guns and self-loading rifles are active in the southern tip of Chhattisgarh. Also in the picture are 35,000-40,000 second rank Maoists and their sympathisers. Violence blamed on the insurgents has claimed thousands of lives since the Maoist insurgency broke out in 1967 in a West Bengal village called Naxalbari.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 20, 2008

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Aerial surveys to track down Maoist camps and their resources, along with a detailed strategy, is what clearly worked for the police in Tuesday's encounter in which 17 Maoists were killed. Nevertheless, the State police are on a state of high alert apprehending retaliatory attacks by the extremists. Only three days ago this website's newspaper had reported that police were gearing up to take on the Maoists 'head-on' and the strategy of the police in curbing the Maoists and their 'theatre of activities' in villages bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has yielded the desired results. In view of the escalating tension along the border villages, Khammam district superintendent of police DS Chouhan recently held meetings with police officials of the neighbouring State. "Importantly, we had undertaken an aerial survey for two days last week to get a clear picture of the water points and the extremists' hideouts in the thick forests," police sources told this website's newspaper. While Tuesday's exchange of fire, which the police claim to be a major success, has led the police to apprehend a retaliatory strike in the coming months, they say that there would a lull in the Maoist activities for the next few days. Meanwhile, an alert has been declared in the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh and Bijapur and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh. The Bhadrachalam Agency area, which stretches up to a distance of 250 km bordering Chhattisgarh, has become a haven for the Maoists as the thick forest cover provides them with tactical advantages to change locations rapidly and move freely in territories to which the police have had limited access all these years. "Moreover, the Maoists formed a strong network by enlisting the support of Girijans and Guthikoyas to track the movements of the police," the sources said, adding that the Naxalites were also providing military training to these tribals and taking them into their fold. That the police were planning a major offensive against the extremists was clear after there were inputs about Maoists infiltrating from Chhattisgarh along with the Guttikoyas during the last few months. Even senior officers of Greyhounds, the elite anti-extremist force, were frequently visiting the Bhadrachalam Agency area to take stock of the situation which, in itself, was an indication of the 'fireworks' which occurred on Tuesday.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 19, 2008

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A day after 17 Naxals were gunned down during a special operation near the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border, the Naxal Task Force on Tuesday decided to counter the Maoist threat by bullets. "We have decided to reply by bullets during any operation against the Naxals, as they are against development," said the chairperson of the Task Force and special secretary (Internal Security) of the Union Home Ministry, Mahendra Kumavat, here today. During the meeting of the task force that was held here for the first time, the members called for a better coordination and sharing of intelligence inputs between the Naxal-affected states to counter its growing menace. Kumavat rejected the notion that lack of development is fuelling the Naxal's strength and added, "the Naxals were against development as they have burnt thousands of buses in Andhra Pradesh and also bombed telephone exchanges, schools buildings and culverts in that state." He further stated that the Centre has already sanctioned over Rs 1,000 crore for the development of the Naxal-affected areas of the country and there is no dearth of funds for it. 'The government can no longer tolerate such activities. Now they will be dealt accordingly," he said. Justifying the strict measures against the group, Kumavat said, "When Naxals are armed with sophisticated firearms, they can only be controlled through force." Over 43 senior officials, including three officials from the Indian Army, CRPF, SSB, top police officials from the Naxal-affected states and ADG (Intelligence) of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, attended the meeting. At the daylong meeting, officials discussed the recent Nayagarh police station attack in Orissa and the subsequent combing operations where over 1,000 arms were snatched from the fleeing Naxals. "The Naxals have a very good co-ordination among themselves as ultras from other states were present during the Nayagarh police station attack," Kumavat told reporters. He also admitted that interaction and co-operation between the Naxals and terrorist outfits like the ULFA of Assam and NSCN of Nagaland and Pakistan's intelligence wing ISI are growing. Only effective coordination among the Naxal-affected states can counter the Maoists strong hold, he added. He, however, rejected the assumption that Indian Naxals were getting arms and ammunition from the Maoist groups in Nepal. The Indian Maoists are better equipped than that of Nepal and there is no need of such cooperation, he added. He said frontal organisations floated by the CPI (Maoist) were creating hurdle in the operation against the Naxals in several states as these organisations were active among different sections of society like the trade unions and youth and also in some schools in Jharkhand. The meeting also discussed the strategies adopted by different states and appreciated the effective operations conducted by the Grey Hounds, the special force floated by the Andhra Pradesh government to counter Naxals.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 18, 2008

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A top Maoist couple who was active in Chhattisgarh surrendered in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. Purusam Purushotham (29) and his wife Sarojana alias Sammakka surrendered before the District Superintendent of Police Y Gangadhar here. Speaking to reporters, the SP said Purushotham was a Divisional Committee Member of Darba division in Chhattisgarh while his wife was an Area Committee Member in Dandakaranya, a highly Naxal-infested area. The couple, who hailed from Warangal district, had committed several offences in Andhra Pradesh before shifting to the neighbouring state. Disillusionment with Naxal ideology and health problems were the reasons for their surrender, the police official said.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 16, 2008

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India is set to use satellite images for the first time to hunt down terrorists and Naxalites from their hideouts in hilly areas and dense jungles across the country. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a focussed Geographical Information System (GIS) using high-resolution satellite images for this purpose. It will first be used by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which is the main counter-insurgency force in the country. Home ministry sources said the GIS would provide CRPF with exact three-dimensional maps of areas used by jehadis and Naxalites as hideouts. The information will also be provided to specialised police forces in states - like greyhound in Andhra Pradesh - during coordinated operations against insurgents and extremists, they added. Though the government has been working on the plan for long, recent reports suggesting jehadis' hideouts in Karnataka jungles and incidents like Maoists' attack in Nayagarh district in Orissa last month - when hundreds of Naxalites slipped out into dense jungles without being tracked down despite a coordinated operation against them - had triggered the need to have this system in place fast. Accordingly, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday by the CRPF's IG (operations) A P Maheshwari and joint secretary, department of space (DoS) R G Nadadur here. CRPF chief S I S Ahmed and ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair were also present on the occasion. "ISRO, Bangalore has been designated as the lead agency for satellite images as well as compact GIS solutions for the force. It will provide customised service to the CRPF for ground-level observation as well as navigation with precision and speed for operational effectiveness," a senior home ministry official said. On the basis of images provided by ISRO, the paramilitary force will be able to penetrate areas which have not been surveyed yet for any agency in India. Such areas include Naxal hideouts in dense forests of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar (along Nepal border), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Forest areas of Abujmad in Chhattisgarh, Palamu-Chatra belt in Jharkhand and dense Dandakaranya jungles in north Telengana region of Andhra are considered the three main hideouts where security agencies have so far not been able to reach.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, March 15, 2008

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Denouncing terrorism in all its manifestations, top Muslim groups in India on Monday adopted a declaration calling it "un-Islamic" and terming it against the Islamic principle of "peace". The declaration adopted by the organisations at a meeting here on Monday, however, also criticised attempts to malign Muslims and madrassas. The Anti-terrorism Conference organised by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom in Uttar Pradesh's Deoband town was attended by clerics, scholars and religious leaders from several sects and groups across the country. "Islam is a religion of mercy for all humanity. Islam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism. It has regarded oppression, mischief, rioting and murder among severest sins and crimes," said the declaration, adopted by over 10,000 participants. "Islam prohibits killing of innocent people," it said. The conference, however, expressed its deep concern and agony on the present global condition in which most of the nations are adopting an adverse attitude towards Muslims. "It is a matter of greater concern that the internal and external policies of a country are getting heavily influenced by these forces," it said. The gathering also condemned attempts to implicate Muslims and particularly religious institutions for terrorist acts. "The disease (terrorism) has been diagnosed in a wrong way. Whenever there is any incident of terrorism, every possible attempt is made to link it to Muslims and particularly who have studied in madrassas and some religious institutions. This is totally wrong," said Adil Siddiqui, public relations officer of Darul Uloom.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, February 25, 2008

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Six CRPF jawans and 11 Maoists were killed in gun battles between security forces and extremists at two places in the Bastar forests of Chhattisgarh on Monday. The security forces suspect that there could be more casualties on the other side, the Chhattisgarh police said. There was intermittent firing at Phulari in Bijapur district and additional forces were despatched to fight the extremists, the police said.

Eight bodies recovered
"So far, bodies of eight Maoists have been recovered. Our forces could see three more bodies. But we are unable to go near them as there is heavy firing from the other side," Giridhari Nayak, Inspector-General of Chhattisgarh, who is monitoring the operations, told The?Hindu over telephone from Raipur. According to Mr. Nayak, the operations began around 2 p.m. at Korampada and at Phulari in Bijapur district at 4 p.m. following intelligence inputs there was a large gathering of Maoists. While the CRPF led the Korampada assault, the Special Task Force (STF) of Chhattisgarh led the attack in Phulari.

Landmines set off
At Korampada, Mr. Nayak said, rebels detonated landmines and opened machinegun fire on the security forces, which retaliated and killed three Maoists, while losing six jawans. At Phulari, the STF came under attack through landmine blasts and automatic gunfire. The STF retaliated and shot dead five rebels. As the firing continued, the STF personnel found three more bodies of rebels.

More casualties
"But our forces could not recover the bodies as the Maoists fired volleys of shots by taking positions behind the bodies." Mr. Nayak said there were bound to be more casualties on the rebel side. "Maoists take away the bodies of their slain comrades while fleeing. We will pursue them," he added.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, February 19, 2008

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Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the police had recovered about 40 per cent of the weapons looted by Maoists from Nayagarh district of the State. Making a statement in the Assembly, Mr. Patnaik said police searching the forests had also recovered more than 50 per cent of the ammunition. The arms and ammunition were seized from the forests near Gasama village in Ganjam district on Monday morning. At least 1,100 weapons of different make and around two lakh live bullets were taken away from two arms depots and three police stations in Nayagarh on Friday night.

Combing operation on
Mr. Patnaik said an intensive combing operation was on and it was expected that all the naxalites involved in the raids would be caught soon. He informed the House that he had spoken to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil requesting him to send five more companies of Central Reserve Police Force consisting of 500 persons for the anti-naxalite operation. Mr. Patil had agreed to send the CRPF men immediately, he added. Meanwhile, sources said a 'zonal commander' of the Maoists had been killed during the police operation at Gasama on Sunday. The authorities had earlier claimed that about 20 Maoists and three policemen were killed during an encounter on Saturday. While the bodies of the policemen were recovered, the police, however, had not been able to trace the bodies of the extremists killed. Mr. Patnaik also announced a series of measures that his government would take to counter extremist violence and lawlessness. All police vacancies would be filled expeditiously within the shortest possible time and all the stations and armouries would be fortified, he said. About 1,300 posts of constables and sepoys would be created in the Orissa State Armed Police (Special Security) Battalions for guarding the newly fortified police stations. Besides, the strength of the Special Operation Group of the State police will be increased by sanctioning 1000 additional posts. Five India Reserve Battalions will be created after obtaining sanction from the Centre, Mr. Patnaik added. The Chief Minister made the statement after Opposition members stalled proceedings demanding a special discussion on the Maoist strike.

Demand opposed
Members of the ruling parties, however, opposed the demand saying the issue should not be taken up for discussion at this juncture when the operation to counter the extremists was on. The Chief Minister also condoled the death of the policemen at Gasama and all those killed in the naxalite attack on Friday night.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, February 19, 2008

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Combing operations in the Orissa forests yielded nothing but a cache of old, rejected weapons today, while in neighbouring Chattisgarh, the battle against Naxalites proved to be more decisive with the security forces claiming 13 rebel deaths. Both Orissa DGP G.C. Nanda and later chief minister Naveen Patnaik claimed that over 400 of the 1,000 arms taken away by Maoists in last week's daring raid at armouries in Nayagarh had been recovered in combing operations in the Gosama forests. But in reality, most of these were 3.3 rifles either destroyed or rejected by the Maoists, admitted a senior police officer involved in the operation that's being carried out jointly by Greyhound forces from Andhra, the CRPF and the state police. Also no Maoists was arrested today. Even though the establishment sought to put it differently. Nanda told The Telegraph the combing team recovered more than 400 weapons and around 40,000 live ammunition looted by the rebels. Patnaik went a step further claiming that security forces had recovered about 40 per cent of the looted weapons and more than 50 per cent of the looted ammunition. Though Naveen claimed there had been substantial Maoist casualties, he could not give figures. "The details of casualties are being collected," he said. Police sources also admitted the Maoists might have escaped to the Uikhia forests as there was no return fire in the Gosama region. The Greyhound unit stationed at Bhanjanagar had been asked to move to Tikabali area in neighbouring Kandhamal district. "Intensive combing operations are in progress. It is expected that groups of Maoists would be apprehended shortly," Patnaik said, adding Union home minister Shivraj Patil had agreed to send five more companies of the CRPF. In Chattisgarh's Bijapur district, security forces were locked in two separate encounters with Maoists, which led to the deaths of 13 rebels. Six CRPF jawans also died. A group of CRPF jawans from the 31st battalion was ambushed by rebels at Korampara, about 5km from Mirthur and 500km south of Raipur. The rebels detonated powerful landmines that led to an exchange of fire. Three Maoists and six CRPF jawans were killed. Near Erasmetta, about 4km from Korampara, security personnel managed to surround a group of retreating Maoists. In the encounter that followed, 10 Maoists were killed. "The bodies of all the 10 Maoists have been recovered," said inspector-general of police R.K. Vij.

Courtesy: www.telegraphindia.com, February 19, 2008

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With the 61st anniversary of the famed Kalashnikov AK-47 series around the corner, the Russian manufacturer of the world's best-known assault rifle announced that the latest AK-100 series will be manufactured in India. The Russian arms company, Izhmash, will shortly issue a licence to an Indian private arms manufacturer with whom negotiations are at an advanced stage. Company spokesperson Alexander Xavarzin said assembling of the AK-103 will begin in a year's time and full-scale manufacturing would start once the technology transfer takes place. The company hopes to sell the gun to various police and paramilitary forces in the country as well as the army. It will not be exported. The popularity of the assault rifle can be gauged from the fact that originals account for only 8-12% of the total world sales of the Kalashnikov series - the rest are all Kalashnikov clones being manufactured in several countries, according to the Izhmash spokesperson. Unlike the AK-47 rifle which has a wooden base, the new generation AK-100 series is much lighter and has a body made of plastic. Xavarzin said the plastic component makes it an all-weather rifle, well suited to Indian conditions where soldiers have to trek at high altitudes for a number of days at a stretch.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, February 19, 2008

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The Dumaria encounter of last week has clearly put Naxalites on the backfoot. While the Maoists have called a 24-hour bandh on February 21 in Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, its local unit has been rattled by dissension within its ranks. The Ghatshila encounter of February 14 dealt a body blow to the rebel outfit which lost seven cadres, including a self-styled "commander" wanted for the murder of MP Sunil Mahto and one Bikas, allegedly involved in the Nandigram violence in Bengal. The rebels were clearly taken aback as they never imagined security forces to track them down to their hideouts. The operation also owed it success to the Nagrik Sureksha Samiti (NSS), a local unit of villagers working together to stand up against the Naxalite terror, for informing the police at the right time. That the Ghatshila police action has rattled Maoists was clear from the way Naxalite sympathisers in nearby villages were fleeing their homes. At least 15 families have reportedly left. Those associated with NSS believe there is now a growing resentment among a section of the rank and file of the local Maoist unit operating in Ghatshila. "At least six cadres, all belonging to different hamlets in the Ghatshila belt, are extremely unhappy with the way local Maoist leaders are harassing villagers and targeting youths. This disgruntled group is in touch with us," claimed a top NSS functionary. The February 21 bandh call is against the Ghatshila encounter. It was declared by secretary of the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa regional border committee of the CPI (Maoist) Rakeshji through a news release. Confirming the bandh call, East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh said that adequate steps would be taken to "foil" the Maoist sponsored bandh. "Apart from normal police bandobast in rebel-hit districts, additional personnel and special task force jawans will be deployed in vulnerable areas to guard national highways and railway installations," police officials at the headquarters said.

Courtesy: www.telegraphindia.com, February 19, 2008

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India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday said the legitimate aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka should be fulfilled within the country's territorial integrity and framework of the Sri Lankan constitution. The minister said some steps, including evolving a devolution formula, have been taken towards fulfilment of the aspirations of various ethnic groups. He pointed out that a committee appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on devolution was going to submit its report shortly. "We want those steps should be taken to logical conclusion." At the same time, he said, India condemned terrorism, for which it has a policy of "zero tolerance". He said there could be no military solution to the island nation's problems which have to be addressed by fulfilling the ''legitimate aspirations'' of ethnic groups. India was encouraging the Sri Lankan government to resolve the problem through dialogue and implementation of a devolution formula. "Military solution is not the solution. A solution has to be found through dialogue and discussion," he said during an interaction with PTI Editors. Meanwhile, the US said it is troubled by the decision to terminate the 2002 ceasefire agreement. "Ending the ceasefire agreement will make it more difficult to achieve a lasting, peaceful solution to Sri Lanka's conflict. We call on both the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to avoid an escalation of hostilities and further civilian casualties. All parties to the conflict share the responsibility to protect the rights of all of Sri Lanka's people. We urge them to work toward the goal of a just, political solution that ensures the rights of minority communities and benefits all Sri Lankans. Only a peaceful political solution, not a military one, offers a way out of the current cycle of escalating violence," a Department of State Spokesman said. UN Secretary General Ban-ki-Moon said he is "deeply worried" that the ceasefire withdrawal comes "amidst intensifying fighting in the North and increasing violence across the country". The UK said it regretted the lack of a "genuine commitment to peace". "We look to the political parties in Sri Lanka to place the need to work together for peace," Mark Malloch-Brown, Britain's minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, said in a statement.

Courtesy: www.dailynews.lk, January 05, 2008

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The strength of armed naxalites moving in the State has gone down from 850 last year to 400 in 2007, according to Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Yadav said 2007 also saw a 42 per cent decline in naxalite violence over last year. In fact, the violence was the lowest in the last four years in terms of number of offences committed by the extremists and exchange of fire with the police. Mr. Yadav said 43 naxalites were killed, again the lowest in last four years, in exchange of fire with the police in 2007. Their casualty was 163 and 139 in 2005 and 2006 respectively. He also said there was a marginal increase in cognisable offences but the road accidents were the highest in last four years. The deaths in accidents during 2007 were 13,715 as against 12,606 in 2006, 11,098 in 2005 and 10,621 in 2004. The DGP added that a significant progress was achieved in investigation of the three bomb blasts in Hyderabad during the year but he could not share the information as the culprits were still at large.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, December 30, 2007

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Pro-Pakistan terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) has suffered the most among the militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir as it lost 34 top commanders and 307 cadres in gunbattles with security forces in 2007. "Hizb received a major jolt in 2007 having lost 34 top commanders and 307 cadres in the encounters in 2007," top police officers said today. As a result, "Kashmir militancy's backbone has been broken and Hizb cadres have gone into hibernation after getting demoralised," they said. Hizb tops the list of 13 terror outfits whose top commanders were among those killed, they said.

These outfits included Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Al-Badr, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI), Tahreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM), Al-Umar, Jamail-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), JK Freedom Force (JKFF), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Hizb-e-Islami (HeI) and Al-Barq. A total of 77 top militant commanders have been killed by security forces till November this year and Hizb tops the list followed by LeT, JeM, HuJI, Al-Badr, HuM, JuM, TuM, HeI and Al-Barq, according to police data. The list of militants killed includes 17 commanders of LeT, 13 of JeM, 10 of HuJI and three of Al-Badr. During past two years of Congress rule in Jammu and Kashmir, 182 commanders were killed and of these 75 commanders were of Hizb followed by 49 of LeT, 18 of JeM, 11 of Al-Badr and 20 of HuJI. In 2006, out of 105 commanders killed, Hizb lost 41, LeT 32, HuJI 10, JeM five and Al-Badr four. In 2005, Hizb lost 31 top commanders, followed by 12 of LeT, nine of Al-Badr, seven of JeM, two commanders each of HuM and HuJI, besides one each of TuM, JuM, HeI and Al-Barq. This year Hizb lost one operation chief commander, four divisional commanders, seven district commanders, nine tehsil commanders, 12 area commanders and company commander, the officers said. Top among those killed in 2007 include Bilal Afghani, chief commander of Al-Badr on December 3 in Budgham followed by Qari Umar (deputy chief of HuJI for J-K), Abu Hamza (chief operation commander of JuM), Qasim Bhatti (chief operation commander of LeT), Iajaz Ahmed Chopan (chief operation commander of HM), Aby Tallah (operation commander of LeT's Jammu region), Mohammad Younis (commander-in-chief, HMPPR) and Mohd Khalid-ur-Rehman (LeT's India operations head). In 2004, Hizb had lost three chief operation commanders, Gazi Shahab-uddin, Gazi Naseer-uddin, Saif-ul-Islam, besides deputy chiefs, Abbas Malik, Shakeel Ansari, intelligence chief Tari Aziz. "Due to crumbling of the top structure of militant outfits like Hizb, LeT, JeM, lower militant cadres are on run in J-K," the officers said.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, December 25, 2007

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US president George Bush is not the only admirer of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, who was in town and held a series of meetings with top leaders - including Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi - couldn't hide his feelings for the PM. "He is an outstanding personality... The wise man is interesting to listen to," Kouchner said on Monday while stating that France and the Nato countries want to engage India in the war against terrorism and use its rich experience in promoting democratic values in the region. "India is a giant in South Asia and we would like to take its help to deal with multiple issues in the region and also in dealing with Burma, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and other countries in the sub-continent," he said. Kouchner's statement on trusting India in the fight against terrorism while refusing to comment on Pakistan's diminishing trust value is significant in light of the revelations made in American media that Islamabad had diverted over $5 billion of US aid meant for fighting terrorism. The New York Times reported on Monday that much of the money given to Islamabad to reimburse army units fighting Al Qaida and Taliban was channelled to acquire weapons aimed at India and to prop up the Musharraf government. The assertion of the French minister, who was in India to finalise the agenda for the forthcoming visit of president Nicholas Sarkozy, point to changing perception of western countries on Pakistan and a subtle admission of India's long-held opinion that Islamabad provides state infrastructure in promoting terrorism in the region. Kouchner also endorsed India's stand on Iran, opposing any coercive methods against Tehran, which was alleged to have been pursuing a nuclear programme. India has always favoured engaging the country in a constructive dialogue to end the stalemate on its controversial nuke plans.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, December 25, 2007

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