Bodo militants attack which killed 55

[Hindustani78]

Director-General of Police Akhil Kumar Shukla to informed of “large-scale attacks and threats across Tripura”.

The team demanded adequate deployment of security forces in disturbed areas, frequent patrolling and arrest of militants and under ground workers of Maoists. Mr. Shukla assured the delegation of swift action for maintenance of law and order.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/army-jawan-killed-in-encounter-with-nscnim-5087157/
By: PTI | Imphal | Updated: March 5, 2018 8:22 pm

One riflemen of 13 Sikh Regiment was killed in an encounter with the NSCN-IM on Monday at Khoupum area in Manipur’s Noney district, police said. The incident took place this morning and additional security forces including the Army, Manipur police and Assam Rifles have rushed to Khoupum.

A search operation was launched to nab the militants, the police added. NSCN(I-M) had signed the ‘Framework Agreement’ on the longstanding Naga problem on August 3, 2015 with the Centre. It had signed a ceasefire with the Centre in 1997 which was extended indefinitely in 2007.

 

[Hindustani78]

Buses, trucks torched; former police constable shot dead

Maoists torched three buses and as many trucks after directing their occupants to alight from the vehicles in district late last night, a police official said on Tuesday.

A former police constable, who was among the bus passengers, was shot dead by the ultras, he said.

The private buses were heading towards the state capital from different locations. The Maoists set them blaze near villages which are in between the border district around 10 pm and 11 pm, Deputy Inspector General of Police (south range) told PTI.

Four vehicles were torched at one spot and two others set ablaze barely 300 metres from there. The armed ultras stopped the buses and asked the passengers to get down, following which they set the vehicles ablaze, he said.

Former constable , who was expelled from service, was shot dead by the rebels during the incident, the DIG said, adding, “He was most likely travelling in one of those buses.”

The Maoists also set three trucks on fire which were passing through the area, located around 500 km from here, the DIG said.

Upon getting information about the incident, a police team rushed to the spot and the passengers were accommodated in other buses, he said.

According to the police, Maoists torched the vehicles in retaliation to the encounter on March 2 of the district, in which their 10 Maoist cadre were gunned down by the Greyhounds force of police.

The rebels also put up banners at the spot to protest the encounter.

Security forces have been asked to be extra cautious while going to the area, which is located on the extremely sensitive road, the police said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
07-March, 2018 10:43 IST
Prime Minister has strongly disapproved reported incidents of vandalism in parts of country

Speaks to Home Minister; Says stern action will be taken against those found guilty


Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has strongly condemned the reported incidents of vandalism in certain parts of country and said stern action will be taken against those found guilty. Incidents of toppling of statues have been reported from certain parts of the country. The Prime Minister spoke to Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in this regard and expressed his strong disapproval of such incidents. Ministry of Home Affairs has taken serious note of such incidents of vandalism. Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the states that they must take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents. Persons indulging in such acts must be sternly dealt with and booked under relevant provisions of law.



***

 

[Hindustani78]

IED blast and encounter with Maoists leave two BSF personnel dead
Updated: March 8, 2018 4:45 am

Senior police officials said assistant commandant Gajendra Singh and constable Amresh Kumar were leading one column of armymen that came under attack and suffered splinter injuries after a series of IED explosions.

Gajendra Singh, Assistant Commandant Officer of 134th batallion of BSF (left pic) and Constable Amresh Kumar. (Source: ANI)

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...maoists-leave-two-bsf-personnel-dead-5089890/

Two BSF personnel, including an assistant commandant, were killed after an IED explosion following which an exchange of fire broke out between security personnel and Maoists in district on Wednesday. Senior police officials said assistant commandant Gajendra Singh and constable Amresh Kumar were leading one column of armymen that came under attack, and suffered splinter injuries after a series of IED explosions.

Superintendent of Police, district, told the Indian Express that a team of BSF and the Chhattisgarh Police had launched an operation on March 6. “This was a team of the 134 battalion, and close to 250 to 300 personnel, including the Police, were involved in the operation. Around 4 pm, near the village in the police station limits, there were IED blasts and then an exchange of fire that lasted well over an hour,” he said.



Senior BSF officials said eight separate teams had launched an operation for three days to flush out Maoists in the general area of the reserve forest, on the border between Inter State Border districts. On March 6, BSF officials said parties had spotted Maoists who fled, leaving behind a radio set, flexible electric wire and steel containers. “On the 7th, a series of IED blasts took place and heavy fire was opened by the Maoists. The parties took position and retaliated effectively. But the party commander Gajendra Singh and constable Amresh who were in the leading column sustained splinter injuries from the blast. They were given medical aid but succumbed to their wounds. The exchange of fire lasted two hours,” a BSF official said.


Senior police officers said that given the ferocity of the firing, it was probable that the Maoists had also suffered casualties but no bodies were recovered, and that searching operations were still on. While Gajendra Singh is from Haryana, Constable Amresh Kumar is from Bihar, SP KL Dhruv said.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/663539/anti-naxal-ops-crpf-sets.html

The CRPF has for the first time set up three permanent camps in the Maoist hotbed of Abujhmadh forests to launch 'surgical' operations against the ultras, a year after it lost 37 personnel in two ambushes.

The paramilitary force, along with contingents of the state police, has set up three bases in the dense and remote jungles of the 4,000 sq km region which essentially means 'abujh' (unknown) and 'madh' (hill).

Till now, the security forces used to undertake patrols inside the Abujhmadh jungle area , camp there for few days and come back as they had no support system to stay in the jungle for long.

To make their presence felt in the area, the first camp, identified as 'P', has been established in close vicinity of the river.

Officials privy to the development said the strength of each camp was about 100 personnel.

The camps have been created as part of the 'Operation Madh' (Abujhmadh) being carried out by the CRPF and other security forces for the last few years to target Maoist cadres who hide or move in this area.

Last year, the CRPF lost 37 personnel in two ambushes (March-April) in the district and since then it was decided to intensify the operations by entering into unchartered territories of the Maoist violence-hit areas, the sources said.

The three permanent camps are located in the areas that connect to three regions to the forest, they said.

The exact location and names of the camps have not been disclosed due to security reasons.

Officials said a good amount of arms and ammunition, mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance, tonnes of ration and medicines have been made available at these camps so that the troops can sustain themselves independently for a few days and carry out operations.

The camps are being fortified with the help of the engineering and construction wing of the security forces, they said.

Road and aerial links have been established with the nearest security camps and local police stations so that supplies and reinforcements can be sent to these three bases, they said.

"The idea is to launch surgical operations in the Abujhmadh area as due to its acute under-development, remoteness and dense forest cover it has become the hotbed for the stay and movement of Maoist cadres," a senior officer said on the condition of anonymity.

The main challenge for anti-Maoist operations now is the Manipur region, they said.

The region comprises the 5 districts, and Abujhmadh is the common link.

"Few encounters have taken place in the area since the camps were established. Maoists know that we are here now.

"The troops based in these camps are drawn from some of the best units of the CRPF and its jungle warfare squad CoBRA. Good fighters from the state police and its commando teams are also in the contingent," the officer said.

Officials said the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state government plan to create more such camps in this area so that not only quality operations are launched but also development works for the tribals and locals living in these forests can be ushered in.

The camps will also help the state government in finishing its maiden revenue survey exercise, launched last year, to compile land holding data of the area, they said.

As per official data, the Abujhmadh region has about 36 village panchayats in which 207 villages are populated while 30 others are deserted.

The region is about 350 km from state capital and has been largely unexplored for all these years.

 

[Hindustani78]

Nagpur, March 09, 2018 00:28 IST
Updated: March 09, 2018 00:28 IST
Twenty-nine members of the outlawed Maoist arrested by the police in South district of the Maoist hotbed on Thursday.

“Twenty-nine Maoists of the area committee Maoist including 11 women surrendered to the police in district today. .

The Maoists, who are arrested on Thursday, include militia deputy commander, militia members, DKMS members, idealogy committee members and members of the Maoists’ supply team.

******
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...s-maoist-bunker-in-odisha/article22986997.ece
Arms and bombs seized from site
The Border Security Force personnel have unearthed a secret bunker of the Maoists inside the jungle in district which contained explosives and arms.

Sources in the police said on Thursday that a BSF team that was on a combing operation stumbled upon the Maoist den in a remote forest area under police station limits on Wednesday. They seized two guns, nine detonators, two Improvised Explosive Devices(IEDs) in the form of tiffin boxes and several packets of ammonium nitrate from the spot.

It is suspected that the Maoists had stored the explosive materials, arms and ammunition to be used in ambushes against security personnel in the area.

BSF personnel involved in anti-Maoist operations in have intensified their combing operations in the past few days in areas.

 

[Hindustani78]

Department personnel conducting a fire fighting

CRPF personnel on alert at Inter State border, after the recent encounte

Police have unofficially ‘posted’ their informers in disguise at every possible place

Two major operations resulting in ‘neutralisation’ of 18 Left Wing Extremists and ‘surrender’ of a top Maoist leader in the past three months has once again confirmed the Indian Establishment upper hand in its strategic battle with them.

The first of these two ‘exchanges of fire’ was reported on December 14, 2017. Eight (Marxist Leninist) were killed in district, close to State. Within days of this ‘encounter’, a member of the (Maoist) Central Committee — highest body governing party’s policies — along with his wife surrendered before the police.

In fact, police officers associated with the anti-LWE work say privately that highest body governing party’s surrender and the December 14 encounter were near simultaneous. (Maoist), describing highest body governing party’s as renegade, said he was already suspended from the party. For the police, highest body governing party’s was a big catch and boosted their morale further because he would be apparently an ‘invaluable informer’ for their future operations against the LWE. A couple of months after highest body governing party’s surrender, the combined police parties stumbled upon a company of nearly 70 Maoists on the bordering areas of the two States on March 2.

Ten Maoists and a commando of Grehyounds (elite anti-LWE force) were killed in the exchange of fire that followed. From 2005, the LWE movement was on the wane in region of erstwhile undivided . Many even raised apprehensions that Maoists would regain foothold in when the Centre declared creation of separate districts in 2014.

On the contrary, the State continued to win in the tactical and strategic fight against the LWE. In fact, there is no trace of Maoists or any other group in southern areas comprising undivided districts .

The State capital was out of bounds for adivasis for long. “Their presence is only in undivided districts along the border. That too, only occasional attempts to enter regions and retreat into Inter State border (where they are running parallel government in some areas) due to our continuous combing operations,” said the Intelligence officer.

When the LWE movement was at its zenith in the regions , interior villages were the strongholds of Maoists. They had informers in every nook and corner. Employing different tactics and taking advantage of dwindling public support to adivasis, police unofficially ‘posted’ their informers in disguise at every possible place. When an attempt is made to lure a youngster into Maoists’ fold in a remote part of the State, the police bosses in the capital get a hint within days. With Greyhounds — billed as one of the best commando forces in south-east Asian countries — at their disposal, state police are scoring over LWE militants often.

Though they suffered setback by losing a commando recently, they were emerging victorious with clock-work precision operations most of the time.

 

[Hindustani78]

The GNLA is suspected to be involved in the killing of NCP candidate from Williamnagar, Jonathone N Sangma, in an IED blast last month.
Updated: Mar 11, 2018 21:16 IST
Hindustan Times, Shillong

Eight members of rebel outfit Garo National Liberation Army before Rev ST Sangma in East Garo Hills district.(HT Photo)

https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...n-meghalaya/story-jbrTWzq8o5Hueo3bmZ7ohJ.html

The militants with assault rifles, small arms and Chinese-made grenades, said a source privy to the development.

At the time of the copy being published, police were yet to announce the surrender, which is being seen in the hills as the start of the end of the rebel outfit.

“We would have liked to make a proper announcement at the right time but the news is going viral on social media. So, obviously, you can draw your own conclusion,” said a senior police officer connected with operations in Garo hills.

The eight GNLA members belong to the last known batch of the outfit, according to the officer, who did not want to be named. A lone militant remains at large and is expected to be identified soon, said the officer

The before Rev ST Sangma, follows the killing of the outfit’s commander-in-chief Sohan D Shira on February 24.

The GNLA is suspected to be involved in the killing of NCP candidate from Williamnagar, Jonathone N Sangma, in an IED blast last month. Election to the assembly seat was countermanded after the incident. The GNLA did not claim responsibility for the killing.

 

[Hindustani78]

Indian Air Force sent 16 Garud commandos and three choppers where a group of adivasis were stranded in the midst of a forest fire that struck on Sunday. One helicopter has been kept on standby.

The commandos are involved in rescue operations from Monday morning. The choppers have bambi buckets for dousing the fire from above.

A spokesperson from SAC said that eight commandos have already reached the fire zone in the hills and started dousing the fire.

One of the helicopters completed the first round of action and is continuing the rescue operation.

********

Indian Air Force helicopter that took off from the airbase has reported seeing torch beam from some trekkers, indicating their location

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who stepped in early on Sunday evening to coordinate rescue operations with State agencies, told The Hindu that the crew of an Indian Air Force helicopter which surveyed the forest fires had seen people beaming torch lights to give distress signals about their presence and location.

“So we know their location exactly,” she said adding that a team of 10 commandos were being flown to the site late on Sunday and were expected to reach at 11.30 p.m. “They will travel by road for 90 km and then take an hour’s trek uphill. We will send four helicopters to the site on Monday. The rescue operations will begin immediately at daybreak,” Ms. Sitharaman said over phone from Delhi.

Constant monitoring

The Union Defence Ministry was monitoring the situation round-the-clock. A helicopter (MI 17 V5) that took off from the IAF air base around 8.30 p.m. surveyed the site of the fires .

Ms. Sitharaman said soon after a request from the Chief Minister’s office, she had directed support from the Air Force’s Command Headquarters .

“The rescue helicopters will start from early and will reach the spot at the first light of the day. First-aid equipment will be on board and once the situation is ascertained, necessary action will be taken,” she said.

“I spoke to the Theni Collector and we have perfect coordination with the district officials. Ambulances are also positioned,” she said. Private tea estates have also lent a supporting hand to the rescue operations. Water and food were being provided.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...tre-to-share-info-on-anti-maoist-ops-5095691/
Written by Deeptiman Tiwary | New Delhi | Updated: March 13, 2018 3:26 am

Cases in which there is funding across states or from abroad could be shared with ED so that it could proceed with investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.


Police, central armed police forces, NIA and ED would now share with each other information on all arrests, interceptions or operations concerning Maoists to ensure that Maoist violence is countered in an effective manner.

The decision was taken at a multi-agency meeting at NIA headquarters over Maoist violence. It was attended by top officials of CRPF, NIA and police forces of states affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). K Vijaykumar, advisor to Home Ministry on LWE violence and former CRPF chief, chaired the meeting.

“Agencies have decided on regular sharing of information and exchange of ideas on tackling violence not just through operations in the field but also through strong cases by central agencies that could break the financial and logistics backbone of (Maoist),” an official present at the meeting said. Participants agreed that in cases where an operation led to unearthing of an inter-state conspiracy with ramifications across the Maoist belt, information must be shared with NIA given its pan Indian jurisdiction, sources said.

Similarly, cases in which there is funding across states or from abroad could be shared with ED so that it could proceed with investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In a first earlier this month, ED attached property belonging to a Maoist leader in Bihar. The agency issued a provisional order for attachment of assets worth Rs 86 lakh .

 

[Hindustani78]

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Home Affairs
13-March, 2018 17:49 IST
Union Home Secretary convenes meeting of Chief Secretaries of Assam & Mizoram in New Delhi on 20th March over their border issue

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has said a meeting of the Chief Secretaries of Assam and Mizoram will be held next week over the inter-State border issue. The meeting of Chief Secretaries of the two States has been convened by the Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba in New Delhi on March 20, 2018.

The Union Home Minister also wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Shri Lalthanhawla, in response to a communication from him regarding the Bairabi incident of March 9, 2018. Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised that the State Governments of Mizoram and Assam must take all possible measures to maintain peace and public order. The outstanding issues between both the States need to be resolved mutually and amicably, he added.

The Union Home Minister has expressed the hope that the State Governments of Mizoram and Assam will take all steps to defuse the situation and prevent assembly of people at Bairabi.

******

 

[Hindustani78]

CRPF team ambushed close to two new camps

New Delhi, March 13, 2018 22:56 IST
Updated: March 14, 2018 01:01 IST

‘The bases have caused discomfort to the Maoists’
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recently set up two new camps in Inter State region that have caused great discomfort to the Maoists, a senior Home Ministry official said.

The two new camps, were operationalised in January in district in the “core area” of the Maoist stronghold.

On Tuesday, nine CRPF personnel were killed when the mine protected vehicle (MPV) they were travelling in was blown up by triggering an improvised explosive device (IED). Due to the IED’s impact, the armoured MPV was thrown about 10 feet in the air and crashed on the ground before splitting into pieces.

The CRPF team was ambushed close to the camps, and the IED could have been “pre-laid.” The newly-constructed road is the only one in the area connecting the camps.

Hours before the MPV was ambushed, over 150 CoBRA commandos were engaged in an encounter with Maoists a few kilometres away and the latter were forced to retreat, said a senior Home Ministry official.

‘Taken a beating’

Senior Security Adviser, Left Wing Extremism (LWE), K. Vijay Kumar said the Maoists had taken serious hits in the past couple of months. “The Maoists have taken a serious beating in this area and the sighting of two new CRPF camps has caused a great discomfort to them. We will continue to maintain forward posture in these areas,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.

A senior Home Ministry official said the area is dominated by PLGA Battalion 1, the armed wing of the Maoists. “The area is dominated by the virulent group led by Hidma. The construction of this road had made the entry of security forces in these areas easy and it was being resisted by the Maoists,” said the official.

CRPF DG R.R Bhatnagar said the IED was either triggered by a remote device or with the help of a wire when the MPV was passing and it was a targeted attack.

“There were two MPVs in the convoy and the vehicle of the Superintendent of Police was a few metres ahead. The road is still under construction,” said Mr. Bhatnagar.

He said the security forces had not gone to these areas before. “The camp was opened in January. It is said to be the core area of the Maoists and we are challenging their dominance,” Mr. Bhatnagar said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the incident was “deeply distressing.” “My heartfelt condolences to the families of those personnel who lost their lives in the blast. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured jawans,” he said.

***********

There were 23 major Maoists attacks killing 97 security personnel and 121 civilians.

And citing figures provided in the Lok Sabha, he said there have been 122 violent attacks this year and 14 jawans and 12 civilians have been killed.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...dnt-go-out-to-forest-dept/article23231115.ece

A satellite-based alert on a fire fight did not go out to officials of the department in one of the North East Military Zone on Sunday when a blaze trapped soldiers , Director-General of Military operations told The Hindu on Tuesday.

Indian Military since 2004, has in place a system to monitor fires real-time. It then informs military Intelligence departments about active forest fires according to the zones . It does so based on the evidence from the satellite inputs from ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). “Typically, the military intelligence is based on satellite mappings, alerts all military departments. For some reasons, this fire-alert didn’t go out to the State forest department. I am not sure of the precise details as I was not in Delhi when this happened,” Director-General of Military operations said.


Multiple sensors aboard the NASA satellites – Terra and Aqua – pick up thermal images of forest fights if they are under way in India and relay it to the State forest departments at prescribed times – 1:45 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. – via SMS .

‘Human-made fire’

Another set of alerts are generated by a different group of sensors, called VIIRS which are ground base radars.
From here, alerts are issued around midnight, 2 a.m. and 1.30 in the afternoon. While the sensors on newly launched satellites are tuned to a higher resolution, they are still in “experimental mode” as per the NRSC database but in reality they are deployed

“It’s possible that the satellite passes didn’t coincide with the time the forest fighting actually began and so fire alerts didn’t go out. 90% of forest fighting goes around the India borders ,” Director-General of Military operations added.

While the current system of detecting active fighting via satellite images has been in place since 2004, the Military Intelligence department, since 2016, has been working on a system of generating more accurate “pre-warnings.” Intelligence alerts of a threat are given a week in advance based on forest cover, type of forest, climate variables and the past fire-activity in the area. “This system has been put into operational use ,”Director-General of Military operations added.

According to India’s Military Intelligence Report 2017, alerts issued went up from 89 in 2013 to 301 in 2017.

***************

http://www.thehindu.com/tag/172-81/meghalaya/?utm=bodytag

“The Government of India is committed to its goal of ensuring that the state is free of militants and criminals,” Mr. Sangma said after eight GNLA cadres surrender before him at the police headquarters on Monday.

The surrender came just a few weeks after the killing of GNLA “commander-in-chief” Sohan D Shira on February 24.

This is the “beginning of the end of militancy” in Meghalaya, Mr. Sangma said, appealing to other militant organisations in the state to shun violence and return to the mainstream.

“The surrendered cadres will be receiving a rehabilitation package. They will be given much-needed guidance too,” Mr. Sangma said.

The militants on Monday gave up two AK-56, Insas Rifle, 9mm pistol, Glock-19 with 7 rounds, SMG with 65 live round, 303 Rifle with 50 rounds, Air gun and .22 pistol.

Lauding the cadres, the Minister said: “It takes great courage to surrender. I congratulate them and their families I wish them success in their future endeavours.”

The police department also felicitated church leaders Reverend S.T. Sangma and Rev K.D. Sangma for their roles in convincing the cadres to lay down arms.

Stating that the state has long suffered due to militancy, the Home Minister said, “Let us all resolve to start a new chapter of peace and prosperity in the state.”

He also stressed on the need to strengthen police force in Meghalaya to deal with crimes against women and children. “The security forces will be provided with modern equipment to combat crime,” he added.

**

Maoist blow up CRPF vehicle, 9 jawans killed
Press Trust of India, Raipur/New Delhi, Mar 13 2018, 15:23 IST

Soon after the incident, reinforcement was rushed to the spot, official said, adding that further details were awaited. Representation image

Nine CRPF personnel were today killed after Maoist blew up their mine-protected vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Sukma, around a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district.

Officials said the incident took place around 12:30 PM along the road of the district when the troops of the 212th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were out on an operation.

At least nine men have been martyred, while two other jawans suffered injuries after the mine-protected vehicle was blown up by multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) concealed under the dirt track, a senior official said.

The injured personnel are being airlifted to the nearest hospital, they said.

The rebels used a lot of explosives to blow up the vehicle, a state police official said.

Soon after the incident, reinforcements were rushed to the spot, around 500 km from state capital , he said, adding further details were awaited.

Officials added that the first encounter between the two sides took place at 8 am and later this contingent was targeted by the Maoists.

Twelve personnel of the force were killed on March 11 last year in the area of the district and their arms looted when maoist ambushed their patrol party.

A few days later on April 24, twenty-five personnel of the paramilitary were killed in a similar ambush . PTI TKP NES SKL SMN

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Most of the weapons being used by the outfits in the region are Chinese-made Weapons such as Lathod M-76 (40mm grenade launcher), AGL, Chinese SAR rifles, AK series of Rifles, M-16 rifle, Machine guns, 60mm mortars, pistols, RPGs, sniper rifles are commonly used are being smuggled through routes along the Indo-Burma border as well as via sea through Cox bazaar and Chittagong in Bangladesh.