Insurgent & Secessionist movements in India

[53fd]

Maoists kill civilian in Bihar:

DNA India reports that armed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres slit the throat of a villager and killed him at Bharpurva village in East Champaran District on July 16. Over 24 armed Maoist cadres raided the village, captured the villager and killed him, Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP) Bambam Choudhary said. The Maoists left behind a leaflet claiming responsibility as he was allegedly working as a Police informer, the SP added.

Meanwhile, three CPI-Maoist cadres were arrested from the Gerua and Khasia forests during a search operation by Security Force (SF) personnel in Banka District in the night of July 15, reports Hindustan Times. A joint team of the Police from Jamui and Banka Districts raided the forests on the said night and arrested the Maoists identified as Barku Marandi, Manoj Paswan and Digambar Das, said SP (Banka) Shyam Kumar. The Police have recovered two pistols and several Maoist literatures from them

 

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Maoists kill TPC cadre in Jharkhand:

IBN Live reports that a cadre of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a break-away faction of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), was reportedly killed by CPI-Maoist cadres at Etko village in Palamu District in the night of July 15. A group of Maoists dragged Guddu Khan (26) out of his house and shot him dead a little distance away allegedly for being involved with TPC. The Maoists also left a hand-written chit owning the responsibility, Superintendent of Police Anup T Mathew said.

Meanwhile, three Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, cadres, identified as Kalam Ansari, Asfar Ansari and Ravindra Bhuiyan, were arrested and six weapons, including three rifles, were recovered from them during raids in Palamu District on July 16, reports Times of India. Kalam was arrested from Gurha village. Following his arrest, the other two Asfar and Ravindra were arrested from Siknee village under the Panki Police Station. Police also recovered four cell phones and a uniform.

Separately, the SF arrested two suspected Maoists in the forest on the Palamu-Chatra border touching Bihar during an operation code named as ‘Blue Moon’ in Ranchi District on July 17, reports Daily Pioneer. The SFs recovered three country made guns, one flash gun, one Motorola walky talky, pistols, uniforms, utensils, backpacks, Maoist literatures and large number of live ammunition from them.

 

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PULF militant abducts minor girl in Manipur:

Telegraph reports that a minor girl, identified as Memi (13), was abducted and freed after being held hostage for one night by alleged cadres of the Peoples’ United Liberation Front (PULF) from Keirao Makting Mayai Leikai in Imphal East District on July 16. The abductors, claiming to be cadres of PULF, told Memi that she was abducted so that they could demand money from her elder brother Muhammad Saheed Ali, a contractor.

 

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GNLA threatens serial blasts in Meghalaya:

Sentinel reports that Security Forces (SFs) were put on high alert in Meghalaya on July 17 after Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants threatened to carry out serial blasts across the State. The militants said they would bomb crowded places like Bara Bazaar and Police Bazaar in Shillong, East Khasi Hills, Tura market in West Garo Hills and other places if the Government did not withdraw Central forces from Garo Hills by July 18. GNLA’s threat came after two units of Combat Battalion against Resolute Action (CoBRA) and five companies of Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were deployed in the Garo Hills region. “If the operations against the GNLA are not stopped by Monday, the organisation will go for serial blasts in Meghalaya,’’ GNLA ‘commander-in-chief’ Sohan D Shira reportedly said from an undisclosed location, adds Assam Tribune.

Meanwhile, SK Jain, the intelligence chief of Meghalaya Police said, “There is no question of withdrawing the troops or suspending our combing operation against them. Instead, we will intensify our operations.” An alert has been sounded across the State, he added.

 

[53fd]

Grenade found on a Guwahati-bound passenger bus in Assam:

Security Forces (SFs) on July 16 found a grenade on a Guwahati-bound passenger bus in the Amingaon area of Guwahati, reports Times of India.

Also, SFs neutralised a militant hideout of United Liberation Army of Bruland, the breakaway faction of Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), along Karimganj-Mizoram at Muithuluma village in Karimganj District. SFs recovered one 40-mm caliber Lathod gun (made in Thailand), seven rounds of Lathod 40-mm, 126 rounds of M-16, 60 rounds of G-3, 18 rounds of INSAS 5.56-mm rifle and one magazine of M-16, one magazine of INSAS, reports Sentinel.

Times of India reports that SFs on July 16 arrested three Adivasi People’s Army (APA) militants directly involved in Bhatkuchi blast that derailed the Guwahati-Puri Express on July 10. Silvister Tirki alias Rajiv alias Silva Orang, ‘vice-president’ of APA was arrested at village Uttarpar near Baganpara in Baksa District, while the other two APA militants, Stephen Murmu and Sagar Lakra, were arrested at Angarkata near Kumari Kata in Baksa District.

Silvister Tirki alias Rajiv alias Silva Orang revealed that the explosives used in the blast that derailed the Guwahati-Puri Express were procured from the heavy artillery shooting range of the Army at Tamulpur in Baksa District and coal mines in Meghalaya, states Assam Tribune on July 17 reported. He further revealed that APA received help from the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) during its formation and several militants of the outfit were even given training by militants of ULFA while APA did not enjoy good relations with National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

Meanwhile, peace talks with Pro Talks Faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-PTF) are going to start from August 2011, Times of India reports. Centre's interlocutor for peace talks in Assam P C Haldar said on July 15, "The peace process entered a new stage after Ulfa announced a unilateral ceasefire (on Tuesday). This is a positive development and we are inching closer to the final stage. We expect the peace talks to start in August”. He further said "The entire process to find a solution may take some time. Anything done at a breakneck speed may not yield a permanent solution.” On the tissue of ground rules and modalities, he said, "The Government and ULFA have to decide how to go about it and ensure that there's no ambiguity in the entire process."

Meanwhile, the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) has called for a 12 hour bandh (General Strike) on July 18 (today) seeking release of its leader, Mohet Hojai’ former chief executive member of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council.

 

[53fd]

Six landmines unearthed in Maoist-affected Orissa district:

Koraput (Orissa), Jul 17 (PTI) Six landmines, including three claymore mines, were today unearthed by security personnel during an anti-Naxal combing operation in Koraput district, a senior police official said.

Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel stumbled upon the explosives in the Maoist-prone Pachingi area, DSP (Laxmipur) Y Jagannath Rao said.

"The Maoists had planted the explosives targeting security personnel engaged in combing operation. No injury or casualty has been reported. The explosives were kept in steel containers," Rao said. PTI

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

On Military Mission: Maoists Now Want to Link Stronghold​

NISHIT DHOLABHAI


New Delhi: A CPI(Maoist) attack on a BSF patrol team last Sunday that led to the death of two jawans, while the rebels themselves lost as many as 10 cadres has thrown up fresh worrying signals.

For, it suggests that the pitched battle that the BSF had to fight near Koilabeda in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh on June 26 was to counter not merely an ambush but a full-fledged Maoist military campaign undertaken as a part of a larger plan to secure a “liberated” zone and connect it to other strongholds spread across states including Orissa and Jharkhand.

That day the BSF’s 163rd Battalion recovered the body of an apparently senior Maoist military commander in black uniform with a star on the shoulder and the cap.

Both sides lost men — including a few Maoists women cadres — but security forces claim they got the better of the rebels. “We were able to kill 10 Maoists, if not more,” said BSF director-general Raman Srivastava.

For the security forces, who are still unable to forget the death of 76 uniformed men in Dantewada on April 6 last year, it came as a boost.

The difference, though, was that the encounter was the first clear sign the Maoist military campaigns were replacing guerrilla attacks, something the rebels said they were planning to resort to in June, 2009.

That day, the Maoists sent two “military companies” to attack the 85-men strong BSF group on an area-domination patrol while one company waited as a reserve.

An “L-shaped ambush” was laid out for the BSF men even as a uniformed Naxalite fired from a light machine gun atop a tree while others fired mortars.

That offensive, apart from other recent ones, have served security personnel a reality check.

Firstly, military campaigns were replacing guerrilla attacks.

The Maoists’ military and guerrilla groups are different and it is only when some areas are secured or “liberated” that they unleash military campaigns.

The purpose is to secure the “liberated zone” of south Chhattisgarh and connect it with pockets in Orissa, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

“They are increasingly focusing on protecting these liberated zones and that is through these military campaigns. The positive aspect is that these military companies are not attacking head-on but behaving like guerrilla companies, which means they are wary of police forces,” said a senior home ministry official.

Former home secretary G. K. Pillai believes it was good that it happened as it exposed the rebels’ military was inferior to the BSF’s fire power.

Maoists’ liberated zones are areas where security forces have no presence while the administration has a skeletal presence and jawans put up a fight in the guerrilla zones.

A Maoist military company comprises about 65 men and women. There are 17 such companies in the Maoist-held liberated and guerrilla areas besides a battalion of about 250 personnel. An army battalion, on the other hand, consists of 1,000 men.

The 17 rebel units are scattered — 10 companies in Dandakaranya (DK) under a special zonal committee, four in the Jharkhand-Bihar border areas and three in the Andhra Pradesh-Orissa border special zonal committee.

With rebel activities on the rise in border areas, 5,000 more personnel of central forces are being deployed.

The liberated zone — also referred to as “base areas” — of Maoists in Maad and Saranda, the thickly forested areas in Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, has increased in the past two years or so, government sources told The Telegraph.

The contiguous Abujhmaad region alone is estimated to be spread across 10,000sqkm, although areas under Maoist control may add up to several thousand more.

No one in the government wants to put a figure to the “liberated or guerrilla zone” even as Union home minister P. Chidambaram stands by his two-pronged “hold and develop” strategy.

Another indicator of the rebels’ increasing clout is that the number of Maoist jan adalats have doubled in the first five months this year to 43, from 22 in the corresponding period last year.

According to former BSF director-general and now chairman of Rajasthan Public Service Commission M.L. Kumawat, the increase indicated the need for governance. “They have the influence over Abujhmaad,” he said.

In Chhattisgarh, virtually the entire southern Bastar is under Maoist control, besides Malkangiri district near Orissa-Chhattisgarh border.

In Jharkhand, the rebels had a firm grip over the “entire Saranda forest area” while they had taken over huge swathes in Palamau and East Singhbhum districts over the past two years, intelligence sources told The Telegraph.

Maoists initially from guerrilla areas by pushing in militia and introducing local population to the writ. The next stage is guerrilla zones and then liberated zones.

A major concern for security forces is in Orissa, where Mayurbhanj district is situated deep in Naxalite territory. Over the past two years, areas of Nuapada, Bolangir and Bhargadh are being sucked into the “liberated zones”, top government sources told The Telegraph.

No wonder there has been little opposition from within the government to deploying training battalions of the army in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur area — “liberated” zone.

In Bihar, large areas in the Koel and Kaimur (Bhabua) region have also been taken over by the Maoists, government sources concede.

On military mission Maoists now want to link strongholds

 

[Bhairava]

The Army has for the first time set shop in Chattisgarh as a 'training' force with permission to open fire if "attacked" for self-defence .

Things will change soon. If the much-vaunted Mujaheddin with external backing are sent scurrying like rats who are these ?

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

NLFT militants abduct eight tribal villagers in Tripura​

AGARTALA: At least eight villagers were kidnapped by tribal guerrillas in Tripura, police said here Wednesday.

"Eleven heavily armed NLFT ( National Liberation Front of Tripura) militants raided the East Chawmanu village in north Tripura Tuesday night and abducted 12 tribal villagers. Later, four captives managed to escape from the militants" clutches," police spokesman Tushar Kanti Das told IANS.

Before the abduction, the rebels beat up other villagers in the tribal dominated village, 90 km north of Tripura capital, Das said. He added that the NLFT guerrillas, led by Atharababu Halam, came from neighbouring Bangladesh and kidnapped the innocent villagers, all belonging to Chakma and Tripuri communities.

"We are not sure whether the hostages were taken to Bangladesh or not. The state government has asked the Border Security Force to seal the border to prevent the rebels from taking the captives to Bangladesh," he said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police TB Roy, along with reinforcements, has rushed to the village and launched a combing operation to locate the hostages and nab the guerrillas. Since June 8, NLFT extremists in three separate incidents have kidnapped 22 people, all tribals.

The NLFT and the All Tripura Tiger Force, both banned by the Indian authorities, have set up their base in Bangladesh and get support from other separatist outfits in the northeast. They have been demanding secession of Tripura from India.

NLFT militants abduct eight tribal villagers in Tripura - The Times of India

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Congress delegation comes under attack, 3 party workers killed in Maoist ambush​

RAIPUR: In an unprecedented attack, three Congress party workers were killed and four injured as the Maoists triggered a landmine explosion and opened fire on a vehicle part of a convoy carrying a high powered party delegation. Senior leaders, travelling in vehicles ahead, escaped unhurt. The convoy came under attack at five in the evening, on the periphery of Udanti wildlife sanctuary, 178 kilometers from the state capital.

The party top brass was returning from a kisan sammelan held in Durwagudi, a village in Deobhog block at the far end of Raipur district, on the border with Orissa. Senior leaders, including state congress president Nand Kumar Patel, leader of opposition Ravindra Choubey, and an array of MLAs, travelled at the head of the convoy, accompanied by police vehicles, while party workers formed the tail.

A few minutes before 5 pm, an explosion hit one of the cars of the tail as it neared a bridge. "Part of the bolero vehicle was damaged as it turned on its side. The Maoists then began spraying bullets, killing the driver," said Ram Niwas, additional director general of police. He said the casualties could go up to four.

There were 20-25 vehicles in the convoy and they were travelling in close succession, said Dhanendra Sahu, former congress president. "But not close enough for us to hear the blast. We realised a blast had taken place after we reached Mainpur, once we came into the range of mobile network, and our phone started ringing," he said.

"The blast was probably aimed at one of the police vehicles," said Ram Niwas . The Maoists are unlikely to target the opposition party, said police sources.

Congress delegation comes under attack, 3 party workers killed in Maoist ambush - The Times of India

 

[Dance]

Maoists ‘looking to expand’ in North Chhattisgarh​

On Wednesday, suspected cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and killed four Congress party workers as Chhattisgarh State Congress president Nand Kumar Patel's road convoy whizzed past.

Police officers said that Maoist cadres subsequently surrounded a trailing vehicle in the convoy and injected the wounded with pain-killers when the guerrillas realised that they had attacked civilians as opposed to a police convoy. “By then they had already killed four people,” said the Assistant Director General (ADG) of Police, Ram Niwas.

Sources confirm

The incident occurred about 170 km from State Capital Raipur and adds to a growing body of evidence that the guerrilla army is seeking to link isolated pockets of influence along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border. Sources in the Chhattisgarh Police and the CPI (Maoist) confirmed that the rebels were exploring ways of expanding their area of influence.

A “Maoist corridor” along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border could conceivably allow Maoist companies, based in strongholds in Chhattisgarh's southern districts of Dantewada and Bijapur, to gradually expand into the northern districts of Raigarh, Mahasamund and Surguja while bypassing well-policed central districts such as Raipur and Bilaspur.

Facilitating movementof cadres, weapons

To be sure, the two zones are separated by a distance of more than 700 km, but police sources said the corridor could facilitate the movement of cadres, weapons and supplies. In October last year, the Chhattisgarh Police killed six Maoists in Mahasamund in an operation. At the time, police sources said the fighters were part of a Maoist company sent all the way from Dandakaranya (South Chhattisgarh).

“We have heard of the linking-up project for some years now,” said a senior police officer, drawing attention to an incident in May this year in which 9 police officers were killed in a Maoist ambush in the same broad area as Wednesday's attack. “They strike in Chhattisgarh and then retreat across the border into Orissa,” the officer said.

IED explosion

In an interview, Mr. Ram Niwas said that Wednesday's IED explosion occurred about 45 km from the Orissa border and was probably conducted by members of a Maoist local guerrilla squad based in Gariyaband area of Raipur district. “These are thickly forested areas that lie contiguous to each other so you could say they are automatically linked up,” he said.

Last month, a police patrol encountered a small party of Maoists in Raigarh district. While there were no casualties on either side, The Hindu reported police claims that Maoists had set up a Bargarh-Mahasamund Divisional Committee that straddled Orissa's Bargarh district and Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district.

In a telephone conversation this month, a senior Maoist commander confirmed his party's interest in North Chhattisgarh. “Something is going on in Raigarh district,” he said, asking not to be quoted as the Central Committee was yet to formally announce the creation of a new divisional committee.

Land dispossession

“We are looking to raise the issue of land [dispossession] in a big way,” he said, suggesting that the party could expand its presence amongst peasants dispossessed by the rapid acquisition of land for coal mines and power plants in North Chhattisgarh. “We are trying our best, but I don't how successful,” he said.

Maoist representatives have admitted that the guerrillas have been unable to establish Bastar-style operational zones in North Chhattisgarh. Police officers have attributed this to factionalism amongst members of the erstwhile Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) — a splinter movement based out of Bihar and Jharkhand. The current CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004 when the MCC merged with the CPI (People's War) to form a unified Maoist party committed to overthrowing the Indian government.

Big gap, says Usendi

“We have a big gap in North Chhattisgarh,” said Maoist spokesperson Gudsa Usendi in a recent interview, “We used to have a separate North Chhattisgarh committee but it was disbanded when we suffered heavy losses. We now have a Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh committee that looks after that area.”

Mr. Usendi also confirmed the presence of Maoist reconnaissance squads in Raigarh, but declined to offer more specific information. “Right now, there are a number of different groups operating in the Raigarh-Mahasamund area,” he said.

The guerrilla army is seeking to link isolated pockets of influence along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border

Plan for a “Maoist corridor” along that border bypassing well-policed districts such as Raipur, Bilaspur

The Hindu : News / National : Maoists ‘looking to expand’ in North Chhattisgarh

 

[hembo]

Paresh Barua aide held ahead of ULFA martyrs’ day

Guwahati: In a blow to the anti-talk ULFA faction led by Paresh Barua, security forces on Tuesday arrested his right-hand-man Arun Udoy Dehotia. Dehotia alias Ritwik Hazarika is the second lieutenant in the outfit’s 27 Battalion. His arrest by a unit of the Assam Rifles comes a day after the Union Home Ministry’s advisory to Assam to step up security in view of the ULFA’s martyrs’ day on July 27.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Bomb Blast Kills Four in Northeast India: police​

NEW DELHI: At least four people died in a bomb blast Monday in a market place in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, which has been plagued for decades by separatist militants, a police official told AFP.

Five others were injured in the explosion, which occurred just outside the state capital of Imphal, said deputy inspector general of police Clay Khonghai.

“I can confirm that four people have been killed and five are injured. We suspect the involvement of separatists,” Khonghai said by telephone from the site of the blast.

So far none of Manipur’s several separatist outfits has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The remote state bordering Myanmar has long been affected by insurgent violence and is home to dozens of tribal groups and small guerrilla armies that resist rule from New Delhi and often compete against each other.

Bomb blast kills four in northeast India: police | World | DAWN.COM

Maoists behead man in Orissa​

PHULBANI (ORISSA): Suspected Maoists beheaded a man in Brahmanigaon area of Kandhamal district on Sunday, police said.

The headless body was found near Saragudi village, about 135 kms from here, they said, adding though the head was missing, the villagers identified the victim as Dakasa Majhi of the same village.

The police said that the killing appeared to be the handiwork of Maoists, who are observing 'Martyrs Week' since July 28.

Shops and business establishments remained closed and vehicular movement was affected in several parts of Maoist-hit Brahmanigaon area since July 28, they said.

Maoists behead man in Orissa - The Times of India

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

2 CRPF jawans injured in encounter with maoists

Two jawans of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured today in a fierce encounter with Moaist ultras in Thalkobad area of Sarnda forest in West Singhbhum district. Two CRPF jawans were wounded in fierce gun battle with the ultra cadres who also triggered at least half a dozen landmine blasts in parts of the forest on Odisha border, police said. Superintendent of Police Mr Arun Kumar Singh told UNI the encounter in Thalkobad area started at around 0530 hrs this morning and lasted for almost one and a half hour in which two CRPF jawans-- Bamesh Mahakund and Shrikant Barik were injured. Some of the ultras were also supposed to have sustained bullet injuries but nobody could be arrested, he said, adding in other areas also, the ultras had triggered a number of landmine blasts.

We have reports of at least half a dozen blasts and details are awaited. In some other areas the encounter is still on, the SP informed. Sarnada, the largest Sal forest in Asia, is a notorious den of naxals. For past few days, the naxalites were observing their martyr s week in the area.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110802/1804215.html


Naxals kill three villagers in Chhattisgarh, police begin probe

Police have begun investigation after they received an information about Naxals reported to have killed three villagers in Narayanpur district, police said today.

The police, however, is probing the authenticity of information since the area from where killings were reported, is Naxal infested and it could be a trap by Maoists, police officials said here.

We are probing the reported killing of three villagers in Hitulwad village, around three km from CRPF camp Ekda in Narayanpur police station jurisdiction, by Naxals, they said.

Police received information that Naxals have thrown bodies of three villagers on road after killing them.

So far no one has registered a complaint in this connection nor any details of the victims were received, officials said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...rs-in-chhattisgarh-police-begin-probe_1403938


Two jawans injured in Naxal attack in Gadchiroli

Two jawans were injured when a group of Naxals opened fire on a police party today in Gadchiroli, police said today.

The police were accompanying members of the Child and Women Rights Commission, who were returning to the district headquarters after a function, they said.

"Two policemen were injured in the Naxal firing. Both of them received splinter injuries and were rushed to district headquarters," Additional SP (Operations), Rahul Seth told PTI.

After the Naxal firing, an encounter with the Naxals ensued for about 15 minutes, in which, heavy exchange of fire between Sawanga and Kamangarh in Dhanora taluka of Gadchiroli district on the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border, was witnessed.

Seth said the team had gone into the interior areas to attend a programme and had left the venue when the firing started.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_two-jawans-injured-in-naxal-attack-in-gadchiroli_1573857

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Militants hold prayer meeting for Hazarika, Goswami

Guwahati, Aug 5 (PTI) The ULFA anti-talk faction along with insurgent outfits of the North East today held a prayer meeting for the early recovery of ailing Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Bhupen Hazarika and Jnanpith winner Indira(Mamoni) Roisam Goswami.
The ULFA group led by its `commander-in-chief'Paresh Baruah held the prayer meeting in its `mobile military headquarters'for the early recovery of the two personalities, a statement e-mailed by the group said.

ULFA-friendly militant outfits including NSCN(K), RPF (PLA), KYKL, KCP, PREEPAK, UNLF(MPA) and UPPK participated in the prayer meeting, the e-mail said.

The prayer was led by NSCN(K) chief S S Khaplang, who also observed a day-long fast.

The e-mail claimed that ULFA cadres spread out in Assam and abroad had also observed a day-long fast on the occasion and lit lamps praying for Hazarika and Goswami's early recoveryry.

Eightyfour year-old Assamese singer, composer and film director Bhupen Hazarika has been under treatment at Kokilabhen Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai since June 28 after complained of breathing problems.

Litterateur Indira Goswami has been in a state of coma since February 13. She was brought back here from Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon and admitted to a special ward of Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

Militants hold prayer meeting for Hazarika, Goswami - indiareport.com