• 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

• 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'

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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