Data compiled and retrieved to July 30, 2009

Naxalite Brief

*Conclusions for key issues:How autonomous are their operations, what's the organizational structure

While the Naxalites are ordered into state divisions with a central governing body, there are several regional organizations which exert disproportionate influence over the whole. Much of the weight a particular Committee has is governed by the prestige and connection of its leader. Many of the more high-profile Maoist leaders in the current CPI-Maoist structure come from Andhra Pradesh. Dominant leaders and their immediate organizations appear to dictate Naxalite policy and lead actions in their area.

How the naxalite groups coordinate across state linesMuch of Naxalite activity appears specific to the region, and diverse tactics and policy among Maoists in different states attests to their regional autonomy. However, the flow of more sophisticated weapons, Maoist experts (in bomb making, infiltration, military tactics, etc.), funding and high-profile leaders suggest that there is a degree of inter-state activity directed by the Central Committee. There have consistently been high-level meetings between ranking zonal commanders that police try to attack.

What caused the increase in naxalite activityIn some states, Maoist activity was reported to have gone down, largely thanks to security efforts, particularly in Andhra Pradesh. But both state governments and the national government have reported an increased Maoist threat. Some factors might include The relatively recent consolidation of the Naxals into one organization The improvement of Naxal armament and training Continuing economic instability in the tribal areas A lack of an effective national counter-insurgency plan so far The recent shakeup of Maoist leaders by assassination and arrest*West Bengal and Lalgarh may prove to be a unique case. In addition to an irregular structure for the Naxals there (heavy reliance on un-integrated tribal groups like the PCAPA), the West Bengal Maoists appear much more sensitive to political issues and have been accused of being hired goons for political parties

ContentsI. OrganizationII. Operations and FundingIII. Government Action

The modern CPI-Maoist comes from a merger of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2004.

I. Organization:~10-20,000 Naxalites

CPI-Maoist Central Committee: governing body of the CPI (Maoist). The leadership has heavy representation from Andhra Pradesh. Many have been forced underground after police efforts in recent years.

Mupalla Lakshman Rao (alias Ganapti): general secretary, leader of the Maoists. The former leader of CPI (M-L) Peoples War. Thought to have been moving down south in the beginning of 2009. He is from Karimnagar, AP.

Ramakrishna: PWG, Andhra Orissa Border (AOB). Possibly killed. Mallojula Venugopal: associated with (DKSZC), from AP Pulluri Prasada Rao: North Telangana Special Zone Committee (NTSZC) from

AP Mallojula Koteswara Rao: in charge of operations in operations in West Bengal,

Orissa and Jharkhand. Led Lalgarh offensive, possibly fled to Bangladesh. From AP.

Satyanrayana Reddy (alias Kosa or Sadhu or Gopanna): associated with DKSZC, originally from AP

The entire organization is divided into Committees. The leaders of the more important committees will also belong to the Central Committee.

State Committees└Zonal Committees └District Committees └Division Committees └Squad Area Committees

*While these are the generic names for local and regional organizations (always committees) there are much smaller Political Rights, Technical and other specialist committees for specific purposes

CMC (Central Military Committee): military governing body. It is responsible for directing guerrilla activity, and for buying and supplying arms.

Key members: Misir Besra alias Bhaskar: arrested in 2007, freed in June 2009 Patel Sudhakar Reddy: killed in May of 2009

-State Military Commissions-Special Area Military Commissions-Zonal Military Commissions

PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army): Military component of the CPI (Maoist)

Basic (villagers, rudimentary training, militia) Secondary (guerrilla squads) Main (attack/protection platoons)Dalams: The basic military unit of the Maoists is the Dalam, or squad. Dalams will vary in number, typically have around 15-40 members, though this

can drastically change between states, preferences of leaders and special circumstances

Dalam commanders are sometimes reported as carrying better weapons than their subordinates

The more sophisticated Dalams are suspected of conducting dry runs before operations

Individual fighters are typically referred to as cadres, or ultras Training centers are thought to be in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Dalams are sometimes combined for larger operations or initiatives, such as the

Indravati Company. There are reports of more organized Maoist elements in Chhattisgarh and AP planning to create even larger combined commands

Maoist structure by state: significant Committees in each state. Many Committees have inter-state AOR’s

Bihar: suspected arms makers Bihar-Jharkhand-north Chattishgarh special area committee

Jharkhand: Police suspect arms factories to be here Jharkhand State Central Committee

West Bengal: In contrast to the Maoist organizations in other states, the West Bengal Naxal effort is known for being built up by Mallojula Koteswara Rao, alias Kishanji. Rao is from AP, and was promoted to the Central Committee before put in charge of western Maoist operations, specifically in West Bengal.

PCAPA (People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities): this is not technically a Naxalite committee, and is recognized as being a tribal organization distinct from the Maoists. However, as of operation Lalgarh, it has been targeted by police as such, and acts as a Naxal militia

Orissa: suspected arms makers Andhra Orissa Bihar Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC): exercises

control over Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Ganjam, has a bureaucratic organizational structure, and is divided into two bureaus. One of the committees from which Maoist policies are made.

Jharkhand-Bihar-Orissa Special Zonal Committee (JBOBSZC) Kalinga Nagar Area Committee (KNAC)

Chhattisgarh: much of the Maoist leadership here is thought to come from the NTSZC in AP. There are thought to be training centers and arms factories here.

Salwa Judum, the grassroots (now federally backed) anti-Maoist militia took root here.

West Bastar Divisional Committee Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC): this is purportedly

as powerful as a state committee. It is the Maoist stronghold in the state. Led by high profile Maoists who are also on the Central Committee, and many of whom were previously in the NTSZC

Andhra Pradesh: the source of much of the Maoist leadership, as well as the location of training centers and arms factories. Maoist elements here are often less aggressive than those in other states. Maoists in the region were notable for entering into (and then withdrawing from) negotiations in 2005. They took heavy losses after that through to 2007, particularly from the state’s elite Greyhound anti-naxal force.

AP State Committee: operates in south Telangana, coastal districts, Nallamalla forest area and in Hyderabad city.

North Telangana Special Zonal Committee: An authoritative committee in Andhra Pradesh, and a source for notable Maoists in other zones, including Ramakrishna. Occasionally seen as the leading committee in the movement.

Maharashtra: Maoist activity here is thought to be directed by the DKSZC

II. Operations and Funding*There are contested rumors of funding, equipment and training coming from Nepalese and Chinese Maoists, and occasional allegations of Pakistani intelligence. There is not much data to support or refute claims of outside influence on the Naxalites.

Tactics Maoists are known for carrying out coordinated bandhs, economic sieges of cities

or towns that involve surrounding the target with Dalams and cutting down trees to block roads. Bandhs are typically carried out for political tasks or protests

Police claim that military training and experience among Naxalite ranks is resulting in more intense fighting, and less hit-and-run

Police have reported Maoists beginning to use tunnels to move around and escape. There is speculation that these were used to by Maoists in Lalgarh to escape

Maoists maintain online recruiting sites Indian police have recovered several Naxalite-made CD’s with training,

organization and weapons instruction Armament: Many poorer Maoists use cheap pistols, homemade weapons and flintlocks. The

tribal militias used by the Naxalites are often seen armed with bow and arrow, axes and other primitive weapons

The ‘landmine’ (IED) is used against police throughout Naxal-affected India. The newer, more sophisticated IED’s the Naxals have begun using can be hidden even

on developed roads or trees. Gelatin sticks and explosives are acquired from mining areas

Though the majority of Naxalite weapons are taken from police and security forces (typically AK-47’s, sometimes RPG’s and heavy weapons), Maoist arms makers in the jungle are capable of making a ‘pahar’ pellet gun and ammunition, along with primitive rocket launchers

They use underground arms networks to purchase more sophisticated weapons Maoists often steal electronic and communications equipment, and these are often

found in busted Maoist arms caches and hideoutsFunding: Maoist money is distributed among the Committees through extensive budgets, suggesting some degree central control of cash flow Maoist funding is thought to come primarily from

Extortion of officials, organizations, schools and towns in regions they control Taxes in forest produce, including cigarette rolling paper Protection money from companies operating in Naxal-infested jungles Drug trade, mostly opium and marijuana

III. Government action

A meeting between the leaders of the Naxal-affected states and Centre is planned for August, during which a military and economic strategy for Naxals throughout India is expected. The national CPRF, which saw extensive action in Operation Lalgar, is also being enlarged.The meeting is significant given the lack of a serious national strategy so far:

The West Bengal government only recently (and vaguely) banned CPI-Maoist Maharashtra and Orissa have state specific programs offering incentives for

surrendering Maoists. They have not been effective The Greyhounds force which significantly reduced the Naxals in AP was

requested by the West Bengal government. The request was denied While Andhra Pradesh has its Greyhounds and the union government has

developed its own Cobra unit and deployed it to West Bengal, police in other states do not have the armament or training to seriously challenge the Naxalites without assistance

Paramilitary forces from the national government have deployed to the red zone, along with development projects for the tribals. Coordination between these efforts state initiatives (or lack thereof) has been weak.

Additionally, some have speculated that several CPMF paramilitary battalions withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir will be redeployed into Maoist zones

Sources:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=c70a459a-addd-4333-a8a3-7b89e5122458&Headline=CRPF+to+lead+war+against+Red+terror+

New plan in war against Red Terror

With the naxal insurgency taking on deadly new proportions, India’s premier paramilitary troubleshooters are set to become the frontline anti-maoist fighting force.

The government is working on a plan to add 38 new battalions — or more than 35,000 men and women — to the 60-year-old Central Reserve Police Force, which is already the country’s largest paramilitary force with 2.7 lakh personnel and is bigger than the armies of many countries.

The plan also includes a nation-wide intelligence network for the CRPF — an acronym that also is translated by its own overworked, always-on-the-move, cadre as “Chalte Raho Pyare.” It would add more responsibility and powers to the paramilitary force to fight naxals, if the naxal-affected states come on board.

“The Union Home Ministry is giving final touches to the plan,” CRPF Director General A.S. Gill told Hindustan Times.

His comments came as home minister P. Chidambaram told parliament on Wednesday that the government would soon evolve a comprehensive strategy to fight naxals.

The move coincides with a spike in naxal attacks, which have already claimed lives of at least 249 security personnel in the past six months — a figure that tops similar casualties in all of last year and is eight times the number of soldiers killed by insurgents in J&K this year.

“For many years we did not properly assess the threat posed by Left-wing extremism. We under-estimated the challenge and in the meanwhile they (Naxalites) extended their influence,” Chidambaram told Parliament on Wednesday. “Today they (Naxalites) pose a grave challenge ... We are preparing to taken on the challenge. Details cannot be disclosed now.”

He said the government has appointed a special military adviser and will convene a meeting of CMs of naxal-affected states next month.

The naxals, who have a presence in more than 150 districts across nine states, have stepped up attacks in recent months. Earlier this week they ambushed a police convoy, killing nearly 40 people, in Chhattisgarh — a stronghold for the rebels who believe in revolutionary warfare.

Chidambaram did not give details of the government’s plan.

“For the first time, the CRPF will be setting up its own intelligence network at the national level,” Gill said, adding it will also have more bomb disposal squads. “But we will have to wait for it to come out.”

The government has yet to take a final view in the matter, he said.

Since law and order is a state issue, consultation is on with the states on what role and powers could be given to the paramilitary force to carry out the anti-Naxal operations. Some states have already expressed reservations on certain provisions to be incorporated in the plan.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_naveen-s-games-to-fight-maoists_1277740

Naveen's games to fight Maoists

Bhubaneswar: After all the fire power failed, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik has come up with a new

weapon to fight the Maoist menace. He will promote sports in all Maoist-affected districts to wean the youth

away from Maoists. The state will promote games like volley ball, football, hockey and cricket.

"Rs2 lakh would be given to every tribal dominated district to distribute sports kits and organise sports events,"

Patnaik said.Elated over the proposal, sports secretary Suresh Chandra Patnaik said it would help bind the youth

together.

In the last five years, the state government has appointed 8,852 police personnel. Also 900 ex-servicemen were

recruited to raise the Orissa Special Striking Force. Another 2,100 special police officers consisting of tribals

were recruited from Maoist-affected districts.

But with the Maoists still active, the state believes the sport events will do the trick. The state has also decided to

engage tribal youth against Maoists. The state plans to appoint 4,000 youths as home guards and recruit another

3,000 special police officers from tribal districts.

Patnaik has also urged the Union defence minister to launch a special recruitment drive for tribal youths "with

suitable modifications in the minimum required physical standard" in the armed forces.The CM also plans to fill

up all health sector vacancies in areas affected by Maoists on a priority basis.

Meanwhile on Sunday night, Maoists attacked a railway station at Sagadapata in Keonjhar and beat up the

officials and snatched their mobile phones.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-15-voa12.cfm

Indian Official Says Maoist Threat Underestimated by Government

A top Indian official says the government underestimated the threat posed by Maoist rebels, and is drawing up plans to repel the left wing insurgents. In the last month the guerrillas were blamed for daring attacks targeting security forces.    

Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram told Parliament Wednesday that the government failed to correctly assess the growing threat posed by Maoist rebels.

"I think we underestimated the challenge," Chidambaram said. "In the meanwhile the left wing extremists have extended their areas of influence, they have entrenched themselves. Today they pose a very grave challenge to the state."

The Home Minister's statement came days after suspected Maoist rebels killed more than 30 policemen in eastern Chattisgarh state. It was one of the most brazen attacks blamed on the guerrillas. Police say the rebels first targeted a security patrol and then waited for reinforcements to rush in before mounting a huge attack.

The attack in Chattisgarh came as security forces were trying to establish control over a group of villages which had been seized by the guerrillas in West Bengal state. 

Home Minister Chidambaram says the government is "preparing to take on the challenge" posed by the rebels to the country's security. He says the government will convene a meeting next month of states where the rebels are active. Chidambaram urged lawmakers not to ignore the danger they pose.

"Details cannot be disclosed. Plans are being drawn up... But we must all recognize, all sections of the house must recognize, we must remain a democratic republic ruled by law, we must collectively rise up and face the challenge of left wing extremism," Chidambaram said.

Maoist rebels, whose numbers are estimated at 10,000 to 20,000, have established bases in remote areas in eastern India. Poverty is still widespread in these areas, which have remained untouched by the country's recent economic boom.

The rising influence of the left wing insurgents is also blamed on poor governance in remote areas. Analysts say the rebels often gain influence by intimidation in areas where the state apparatus is virtually non existent.  

Security analysts have long stressed the need for more concerted action against the

guerrillas, and better training and communication facilities for security forces deployed to tackle them.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1773700.cms

AP Maoists led Errabore massacreHYDERABAD: With the embers of Errabore still glowing hot, it has emerged that Maoist leaders from Andhra Pradesh masterminded the naxalite raid on the Chhattisgarh village on Monday.

Intelligence sources said the raid on the Salwa Judum relief camp in Errabore was led by AP Maoists be-longing to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of CPI (Maoist).

As many as 50 naxalites of different ranks from AP are said to be deployed in the 30 dalams and 70 local guerrilla squads raised by the CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh. Many of them are said to have participated in the attack on the relief camp, which left 26 villagers dead on Monday.

Most of the AP naxalites active in Chhattisgarh are from the Telangana districts with prior fighting experience in the CPI (Maoist) North Telangana Special Zonal Committee.

According to police sources, they were transferred to the DKSZC a few years ago to whip up a popular movement in Chhattisgarh and train locals in guerrilla tactics.

Some of these naxalites are with CPI (Maoist) fronts such as the Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Balak Sangh, Krantikari Mahila Sangh, Krantikari Kisan Committee and Mahila Mukti Morcha. These organisations were banned by the Chhattisgarh government in April 2006.

The DKSZC has five divisional committees: South Bastar, North Bastar, West Bastar, and the Gadchiroli and Abujhmad divisional committees. The Errabore area, where the Salwa Judum activists were massacred by the Maoists on Monday, falls in south Bastar district.

The DKSZC secretary Kosa alias Satyanarayana Reddy, who is also a member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee, hails from Telangana. Police suspect that the likely mastermind of the Errabore attack was DKSZC tech-committee in-charge Gade Ashok alias Aithu, another Maoist export from Andhra Pradesh.

The DKSZC secretary Srinivas alias Ramanna is also from AP, as also Central Committee members Katakam Sudarshan and Mallojula Koteshwara Rao alias Venugopal.

Seven dalams, consisting of 40 persons each, moved into the Dandakaranya area between April and July 1980 and started operations in the Andhra Pradesh-Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border area.

Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh and AP police have started joint combing operations along the interstate border. The Andhra Pradesh police pressed its anti-naxalite unit Greyhounds to scour for naxalites in the Chinturu and Dummugudem areas in Khammam district. Errabore is just 25 km from the AP border.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/New-Naxal-front-to-spur-activities/articleshow/4570630.cms

New Naxal front to spur activitiesGADCHIROLI: Naxals are learnt to have opened a new front at their stronghold in Gadchiroli called ‘Indravati Company,’ christening it after the river that separates the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The revelation has come to fore recently, among other inputs, after surrendered Naxals revealed crucial details on being interrogated.

Indravati Company, formed by amalgamating two platoon dalams having a strength of around 75 cadres, has been made functional to give impetus to the movement in the southern part of Gadchiroli, which is included in the ambitious Dandakaranya plan of the Naxals.

The newly formed company, which is placed under Gadchiroli-based senior cadre identified as Suresh, has been assigned special responsibilities along with strengthening the movements in the stronghold.

The company, active in Kotgul, Malewada and Bedgaon, is learnt to have been assigned duties like escorting cadres and guarding consignments during shipment. According to a source, the outfit is operating in such a manner that it gets strategic support and reinforcement in times of need from their cadres in South Gadchiroli, Madh division and west Bastar.

The interrogation of surrendered Naxals, it has been learnt through reliable sources, has brought a fresh perspective in the theory that local cadres have been reinforced with the inclusion of Maoist cadres, trained in sophisticated military skills, from Nepal. The theory was floated after C-60 commander Munna Singh Thakur and his team divulged the details of the opponents that they had to face during Mungner encounter in April last month. The fact that cadres, who were donning darkish outfits, had basically migrated to Gadchiroli to support the local cadre to execute an assault on police and commando party.

The interrogation details also threw light on the Markegaon encounter which left 38 cops

dead in February. The attack was planned and executed by the active participation of Platoon Dalam no. 15, Tippagarh Dalam and Border Dalam formed by amalgamating strength of a couple of companies, out of five, that were part of the military strength of naxal base of Dandakaranya operating along Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/feb/17is-maoist-talks-offer-part-of-pre-poll-deal-in-chhattisgarh.htmIs Maoist talks offer part of pre-poll deal in Chhattisgarh?

The offer for peace talks by the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of Maoists in Chhattisgarh has raised many questions.

The three most important among them are: Coming from a zonal committee -- as opposed to the central committee or the politburo as is the norm -- is the offer genuine and credible? How will the government react? And the most intriguing and insidious: Is this the result of a deal that the government cut with the rebels in the run up to the elections? How genuine is the offer?

Questions have been raised about the credibility of Pandu, the DSZC member, who had twice made statements in the past fortnight inviting the government and where he figures in the Maoist pecking order.

"Offers for talks are usually issued by the central committee. If in this case, Pandu is issuing the statement, what about the other zones in other states or even in Chhattisgarh? Are they for sitting down with the government for talks?" asks P C Hota, a Raipur-based independent journalist.

Intelligence sources, however say that Pandu is senior enough and it is no surprise that the offer has come from him. Instead, all their doubts are about the motive of the Maoists. "Though they are nowhere near finished, they certainly have suffered quite a few setbacks in recent months. So one needs to verify what their motive is before jumping to anyconclusion," a senior state intelligence officer said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and leader of the tribal organisation Adivasi Mahasabha, Manish Kunjam, however, said the move is important since the Dandakaranya region is the most important Maoist stronghold in the country and the invitation from the zonal committee should be seen in that light. "The DSZC is as powerful as the statecommittee. So, any offer from them should be taken with due seriousness. Further, what they have demanded as conditions for talks are all very fair demands," he said.

Thus, assuming the authenticity of the offer, where does the government stand?

The State's response:

First, there are the demands of the Maoists: 'A conducive and pro-people atmosphere' in general; the dismantling of the Salwa Judum campaign in particular. This basically strikes at the very root of government action and means it has to go back to square one. "What this effectively means is the government has to go back on almost every step it has taken so far in its previous term," Hota said.

In turn, welcoming the Maoists' offer, Chief Minister Raman Singh said he is ready for talks if the Maoists lay down arms. Which is asking them to go back to square one. "As things stand, there is no 'condition or atmosphere' for talks," Hota said.

Experts are even more cynical and take a harsher view. On the one side you have the Maoists, who are known to use peace talks as a diversion tactic and buy time to regroup whenever they have been weakened. "It is the policy of the Naxals that they will never sit for talks with any government -- state or Union. Also, another thing that needs to be keptin mind is that whatever method they employ, their final objective never changes," said P V Ramana, a research fellow at the Delhi-based think-tank IDSA.

"On the other side, you have a government that has pursued a very ruthless anti-Naxal agenda. Is it possible that a chief minister who pursued a very ruthless anti-Naxal policy shift his stand and sit down for talks? If he does, the question to be asked will be: why a change of heart now," he said.

So, keeping in context the in the light of recent developments, there could be only one reason for the offer, he said.

"The Maoists may be trying to test the government's intent very early into its second term," Ramana reasoned.

Others have also raised the point of how the government will go ahead, if the need arises. There is already talk in Raipur that the state has decided to appoint the director general of police to head the government in the talks if it happens. "The problem here is neither is the Naxal problem a merely law and order problem nor is the DGP a government representative. He is only a departmental head," Hota said adding that this shows the government may not be really serious about holding talks.

"Even if both parties agree on terms for talks, the choice of the government to head the talks will become a contentious issue," he said. So if neither the government is serious nor is there a conducive atmosphere, why has the issue cropped up now?

Was there a pre-poll deal?

This leads to the most pertinent question being raised from many quarters. Was there a pre-election deal between the Maoists and the government? This question had surfaced in the local media soon after the BJP won the elections.The election was supposed to be a close affair with the Congress and the BJP running each other close. But while the results from across the state were on expected lines, the

Bastar region, where the Congress was expected to dentthe BJP's earlier tally of nine out of 12 seats, proved spoiler and the BJP got just about enough seats to form the government.

In fact, in Dantewada constituency, till polling day all indications were of a close fight between Mahendra Karma and Manish Kunjam. But a senior police officer in the region was confident on his was back from a remote polling party. "The BJP will win. Not just in Dantewada, but in the rest of the region," he said.

A senior intelligence officer agreed: "The Congress votes all were in the villages. And since polling was considerably disrupted due to Maoist violence, the BJP emerged as winners," he said.

"Everywhere else in the state, the results were on expected lines. It was the Bastar region that tilted the scales in the ruling party's favour. So there is no doubt that the BJP gained due to the disruption of polling in the region. And it is quite possible a deal was cut," he added. A security analyst who did not want to be named for this report, said thisseems to be the most likely reason for the Maoists' invitation for peace talks. "This seems like the only reason. I know that there was speculation to this effect at high levels during the election time. It is very much possible that the Maoists had cut a deal before the elections and a ceasefire might have been part of it. They might be checking if the government is willing to keep its end of the promise," he said.

Kunjam, whose loss was one of the shock results of the elections, said there is indeed something fishy in the way the government has responded.

"The second offer from Pandu came on Thursday. The same day, you had the home minister welcoming the offer. The chief minister also said it was a welcome move. Could the government speak so soon without even having discussed the issue? It was as though they were expecting it," he said.

Asked specifically if there could have been a deal between the two sides, he said: "There has been this suspicion ever since the election. I think the government should use this as an opportunity to clear the air. If the two parties come out in the open and sit for talks, this issue can be confirmed and clarified one way or the other," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1482367.cms

Naxals drop conclave plansHYDERABAD: Intensive combing operations in Nallamalla forest have forced the CPI (Maoist) to postpone its AP State Committee meeting. This conclave is a preparatory meeting for the Maoist congress which is likely to be held by year-end in Chhattisgarh.

The state committee meet was supposed to be held in February at Erragundlapalem in Prakasam district, but was cancelled in the last minute after cops moved their forces to the meeting venue in Nallamalla forest. All alternative plans for the meeting also fell through due to intensified combing operations, police sources said.

However, the Maoist high command has reportedly asked the zonal committees to finish their meetings by December. In Andhra Pradesh, there are three committees — AP State Committee, North Telangana Special Zonal Committee and Andhra-Orissa Border Zonal Committee.

AP State Committee operates in south Telangana, coastal districts, Nallamalla forest area and in Hyderabad city.

North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC) looks after party activities in north Telangana districts —Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad and Adilabad while the Andhra-Orissa Border (AOB) concentrates on Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, part of East Godavari and the bordering districts of Orissa.

Maoists holds their congress once in every three years. Before it, all district and zonal committees hold their individual meetings. The police came to know from some surrendered naxalites that the congress was scheduled to be held in March at Abuzmad forest in Chhattisgarh state.

Due to killing of Salwa Judum activists at Dantewada and subsequent deployment of huge security forces, the Maoists decided to postpone their conclave to December.

"We got information that NTSZC and AOB conducted their zonal meetings while the AP State Committee is yet to convene one," a senior police official said.

The Maoist leaders are reportedly planning to conduct their state committee meeting in August or September. "Normally meetings do not take place in the forests in summer due to poor green cover and water scarcity," the police officer added.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/national/lalgarh-revolt-grows-ap-maoist-plotter-708

Lalgarh revolt grows, AP Maoist is plotter

Kolkata/New Delhi/HyderabadJune 17: Lalgarh, which has been a CPI(M) bastion for almost 30 years, continued to burn on Wednesday as the much-awaited Central forces were unable to flush armed Maoist cadres out of the so-called “liberated zone” in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Mobs allegedly led by Maoists went on a killing spree in neighbouring Jhargram, killing three CPI(M) cadres. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee, is

expected to discuss the situation with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday, even as the state received several companies of Central forces.

It has emerged that Mallojula Koteswara Rao, a Maoist top gun from the state, masterminded the uprising in Lalgarh violence, AP police officials said. Rao, who is incharge of party affairs in West Bengal, also a member of the central committee of the Maoists. Sources in the state intelligence department said that Rao is known for building the movement from the grassroot level.

A senior IPS official of the state police said, “The Lalgarh incident shows that Maoists are going for positional war (occupying an area for prolonged periods) instead of guerrilla warfare. We are seeing the participation of a large number of militias is for the first time in Maoist history.” The officer said this was acharacteristic feature of the erstwhile Maoist Communist Centre. In Chhattisgarh and Orissa, militia attacks ended in a few hours after the Maoists looted arms or food supplies. “Holding an area for longer period like this is definitely alarming,” he said.

Rao is said to have masterminded the landmine attack on the convoy in November 2008 in which the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and the then Union minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, had a narrow escape.

West Bengal has requested state government for the support of Greyhounds to take on the Maoists. The West Bengal chief secretary, Mr Amit Kiran Deb, has asked for the support of the Greyhound forces apart from central paramilitary forces.But the state police is in no mood to send the Greyhounds after their bitter experience of losing 36 Greyhounds personnel in the Balimela reservoir attack in Orissa last year.

“The option of sending Greyhounds to West Bengal is closed. We don’t know the terrain of the place. The support of local police and a local information network is very important,” a senior intelligence official said.“It can be difficult for Bengal police to understand the functioning of Greyhounds. When 50,000 tribals are attacking (the police), what can the Greyhounds do,” he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/29/stories/2009012952510300.htmOfficials hold joint survey of rail route

HASSAN: Inspector-General of Police (Railways) K.S.N. Chikkerur and Deputy Inspector-General of the Railway Protection Force C. Thamodaran on Tuesday jointly inspected the railway track between the Sakleshpur and Subramanyam Road stations on the Hassan-Mangalore sector. Travelling on a mechanised trolley, they found as many as 50 vulnerable spots where naxalites could possibly hide and operate from.

Speaking to this correspondent who accompanied the team, Mr. Chikkerur said that of late naxalites had been targeting both goods as well as passenger trains. There had been incidents in north India where they had hijacked passenger trains and set them afire.

Hence, the joint survey so that vulnerable spots could be identified. The track passes through the Western Ghats.

Mr. Chikkerur said that in 2007, a railway engine had fallen 200 feet below into a crevasse between Donegal and the Yedakumari Railway Station. The 1,000-tonne engine was still lying at the spot as it was impossible to lift it. Only a crane weighing 1,600 tonnes could do the job, but it could not be brought on to the bridge on which the track runs. Mr. Thamodaran said the cost of lifting it would be more than that of the engine itself.

Mr. Chikkerur said this was their second such inspection of the region. “We have tried to identify spots where naxalites might possibly operate from. There are 57 tunnels and a number of sensitive bridges en route. There are also certain spots that are on a higher altitude as compared to the railway track. The very fact that naxalite movement has been detected in the region only after their departure from the spots shows how convenient the spots are,” he said.

Mr. Chikkerur said there was also credible information that many naxalite leaders preferred to travel incognito by train and this had been revealed during police interrogation of some of them. He also said there were a number of incidents to show how vulnerable the Railways was and how easy it was for anybody to carry explosives or murder passengers without being caught. “The authorities are taking whatever steps they can to prevent such incidents,” he added.

Mr. Chikkerur also said that recently Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram convened a meeting of leaders from naxalite-affected States and told them that Muppala Lakshmana Rao, also known as Ganapathi — the CPI (Maoist) general secretary, had moved down south. He directed the southern States to be on high alert as Ganapthi could pose serious problems to the security of the region. Mr. Chikkerur felt there was every possibility that some naxalites may be hiding in Kerala. Mr. Thamodaran said the Railway Protection Force was taking steps to prevent possible attacks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4139429.cms

Maoist leader tough nut to crackTNN 17 February 2009, 01:52am ISTHYDERABAD: Maoist top leader Konapuri Ilaiah alias Sambasivudu proved to be a tough nut to crack for the officers of the special intelligence branch (SIB) who grilled him all night on Sunday.

To make matters worse for the anti-naxalite group which was exulting that they finally had a prized catch with them, Sambasivudu who had served in the top position as CPI (Maoist) A P state committee secretary stoutly denied his involvement in any of the murders that the police tried to fix upon him. Taken to a guest house after he surrendered

at the SIB office, Sambasivudu was grilled right from 8 pm till late in the night.

With Sambasivudu was making life difficult for his interrogators, Addl DG (intelligence) K Aravinda Rao himself got into the act early on Monday morning. According to informed sources, Sambasivudu stuck to his stance and insisted that he was not involved in any of the 15 murder cases in which he was named.

As per police records, Sambasivudu is involved in 88 offences including 15 murders and 28 incidents of blast and damages. Most of the murder cases were registered in Mahbubnagar district where he served as district committee member and district secretary of CPI (Maoist).

"Sambasivudu even denied his involvement in the attack on former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu at Alipiri near Tirumala," a senior police official said.

All that Sambasivudu reportedly admitted to was that he had led the attack on an armed out post at Mannanur and Amrabad police station in Mahbubnagar district in 2005. Nearly 100 naxalites were involved in these two attacks. He also admitted that he was part of planning of the murder of Maktal MLA Ch Narsi Reddy on August 15 in 2005 but claimed the action was committed by another team.

Police sources said they strongly suspect the surrendered Maoist leader is involved in numerous murders in Mahbubnagar district like that of Kollapur sarpanch Gautam Reddy, district Congress Committee general secretary Randev Reddy, Achampet mandal president Madhusudhan Reddy, Balamur head constable Jahangir, Kollapur market committee chairman's gunmen, Balnagar constable on the highway and Mulachinta Kunta sub inspector Moinuddin. But he denied involvement in any of the murders.

Although Sambasivudu claimed that he surrendered due to ill health, police sources said his transfer to the Maoists' Karnataka state committee in December 2007 was not to his liking. He was also reportedly unhappy with top Maoist leader Ramakrishna who is now in charge of Andhra Orissa Border (AOB) and central committee member.

"He was supposed to go Karnataka from Nagpur on February 13. But he sent a letter to the party informing them of his decision to quit the Maoist party. Thereafter he came directly to city," sources said.

The surrender of Sambasivudu, however, was not without drama on Sunday night. The police who had some inkling about his surrender, did not want to take any chances and had even wanted to arrest him, if possible.

According to his brother and former naxalite Konapuri Ramulu, Sambasivudu had reached the city three days ago and had been staying at an undisclosed place. Ramulu who is district vice-president of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Nalgonda, told TOI that he approached former MP of Nalgonda Gutta Sukhender Reddy and Alair MLA K Nagesh to facilitate the surrender.

Both the public representatives spoke to the special intelligence officers who then gave the green signal for his surrender around 6 pm on Sunday.

However, even before the surrender at the SIB office at Begumpet could be effected, nearly two dozen policemen surrounded Ramulu's house at Kothapet. "They surrounded the house thinking that he was in my house but he was not with me. It was only after Sambasivudu reached the SIB office at 7 pm that they left from my house," Konapuri Ramulu told TOI.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-3-2003_pg8_13

Top Maoist guerrilla killed in India

HYDERABAD: Indian police in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh Wednesday shot dead a top Maoist guerrilla leader and four other members of an outlawed group in two separate encounters.

Police said they launched a manhunt for rebel leader Ramakrishna in the dense Tiryani forest, 250 km north of the state capital Hyderabad, after a tip-off.

“It was a lucky break for our men who chanced upon the rebel group when they stopped for some water inside the jungle,” Mahesh Bhagawat, superintendent of police told AFP. Ramakrishna was a key leader of the People’s War Group (PWG), India’s oldest and most violent Maoist group. There was a reward of one million rupees ($21,015) on his head. —AFP

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-andhra-fightback/482333/0

The Andhra fightbackOn May 24 this year, Warangal Police shot dead two top Maoist leaders wanted in several sensational cases, including the attempt on then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s life in October 2003. P. Sudhakar Reddy alias Shrikanth, a veteran Maoist leader and member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Military Commission, and K. Venkiah, member of the CPI (Maoist) State Committee, were shot dead in an encounter in a reserve forest area in Tadwai Mandal.

The encounter is one of the many the state has seen in the last five years—part of a relentless and ruthless offensive by the Andhra Pradesh police to eliminate top Maoist leaders and cadres, banishing them to the forests along the Andhra-Orissa border where they are desperately fighting to retain their foothold. So while Maoists continue to launch attacks in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa and the battle in West Bengal rages on, Andhra Pradesh, once hit the hardest by Maoist violence, is quiet. Though a majority of Maoist leaders and cadres operating in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa belong to Andhra Pradesh—including M. Koteswara Rao who is leading the Lalgarh operation—their home state remains out of bound for them. Just a decade ago, 21 of Andhra Pradesh’s 23 districts were insurgency affected. Now, there are very few Maoists left in the state. What crippled the Naxal movement was an aggressive anti-Maoist drive that the Andhra Pradesh police and its elite anti-Naxal commando force ‘Greyhounds’ carried out over the last five years. Since 2003, more than 800 Naxals and 40 of their top leaders have been killed in encounters with the police. In 2005, over 300 cadres,

including four top leaders, were killed in encounters while as many were either arrested or forced to surrender. In recent months, top Maoists cadres, including several CPI (Maoist) state and central committee members, have been killed.

Apart from using brute force to crush the Naxals, the state government worked on a parallel, development track to win over people in Maoist areas. As the government focused on development in backward regions where the Maoist movement once thrived, distributed land to poor and landless farmers in affected districts and came up with new irrigation projects—helped by good rains in the last five years—the Maoists slowly started losing ground. With sympathy for the movement waning, the group is finding it tough to find new recruits. And encounters like the one on May 24 this year have left the Maoists with a leadership vacuum. Forced on the backfoot, the Maoist movement has now shifted mainly to Dandakaranya region, the Andhra-Orissa border, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, with many leaders from Andhra leading the movement.

Deputy Inspector General of anti-Naxal squad, Shivdhar Reddy, says there are several reasons why Andhra is quiet on the Maoist front while there is bloodshed in the neighbouring states. “The AP police has had big success since 2005 in weeding out Maoists. There was a tremendous thrust on anti-Naxal operations, whether in engaging them directly or pushing them out through intensive combing operations, forcing them across the border. The government strategy to develop backward and remote regions, which was the bastion of Maoists, also helped a lot. In spite of stiff resistance from the Maoists, our persistence paid off. The government also distributed about 3 lakh acres among poor and landless labourers. This was backed with irrigation projects that generate employment and as a result, people don’t sit idle, something that the Maoists earlier took advantage of,” says Reddy. “The Maoists used to call Telangana Lalgarh because it was their bastion. I won’t say it is totally free of Maoists now, but yes, there is no Maoist activity here these days. They are confined to one last post on the Andhra-Orissa border in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts.”

Once the stronghold of the Maoist movement, it was in Andhra Pradesh that the Communist Party of India-Maoist Leninist (CPI-ML) and the People’s War Group (PWG) took birth in the early 1980s. But even before that, the Naxal movement entered that state in 1968 through the tribal pockets of Srikakulam district bordering Orissa and spread to north Telangana, Visakhapatnam, Viziangaram, Khammam and Guntur. In the following years, the Maoists targeted police officers and jawans, ministers, MPs and government servants, besides executing people suspected of being police informers. Their most stunning attack in recent times was the attempt to assassinate then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in October 2003 near Tirupati by triggering a landmine using a camera flash as Naidu’s convoy passed. Naidu escaped with minor injuries.

In 2004, on the eve of peace talks with the state government headed by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the PWG merged with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) of Bihar to form the CPI (Maoist). The peace talks failed with both parties accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. The government launched a series of operations against the Naxals and that, they say, paid off.

Former Home Minister K. Jana Reddy explains, “After successful operations in Naxal-affected districts like Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Khammam and Warangal, the number of Maoist cadres in the state came down from approximately 1,200 in 2005 to less than 500 in 2008. The anti-Naxal policy of Andhra and the Greyhounds are touted as a role model for other states facing similar problems,” he says.

“The surrender policy of the state government also clicked with many leaders giving up either because they were tired of remaining underground for years together or simply because ill-health did not permit them to roam the forests anymore,” the former Home Minister says.

The anti-Naxal force, Greyhounds, has been credited with pushing the Naxals to the brink. The elite force, raised in 1987 especially to tackle the Naxals, has had enormous success. “Their success is due to their training in guerilla warfare, jungle survival, field-craft and night operations backed by an expansive intelligence network. Well-planned and executed operations in the last six or seven years have resulted in heavy Maoist casualties,” says an officer posted with the elite force.

“You may question the tactics we adopted but you must appreciate the fact that we have managed to nearly wipe out the Maoists. People in certain parts of the state may still be sympathetic to the movement but there are no Maoists left to feed on that. Telangana is almost free of Maoists. In the north coastal districts, they have been pushed into a corner near the Orissa-Visakhapatnam district border. The tribal areas there and the forest is their last refuge in Andhra Pradesh,” says an officer who has led many operations against the Maoists.

In fact, some officers believe that when it wanted to initiate peace talks in 2004, the state government showed too much leniency in letting senior Maoist leaders escape after police surrounded them in the Nallamalla forests. Maoist state secretary Ramakrishna alias A. Haragopal was surrounded by the police but was let off.

Many officers feel what they see now could be a tactical retreat by the Maoists to Dandakaranya and neighbouring states—a “live to fight another day” type of move, as one officer puts it.

“One big reason why the Maoists are not launching any operations in Andhra is that all their top leaders are moving to neighbouring states where there activities have gathered momentum. There were reports that they were trying to regroup on the Andhra-Orissa border, but it does not appear so. They have lost much of their ground,” an Intelligence officer said.

In fact, impressed by the success of the Greyhounds, the Union Home Ministry had recently proposed the setting up of a special anti-Naxal force on the lines of the Greyhounds in insurgency affected states. 

The government has also launched a counter-propaganda war. “The Maoists sought the support and sympathy of people in backward and remote regions and tribal areas saying the government was deliberately neglecting them. But by announcing various projects and development schemes, the government countered this propaganda,” says DIG Shivadhar Reddy. The government also started distributing free television sets in villages still under Maoist influence so that they could see what was happening outside their villages. To wean Maoists off the movement, the government announced a surrender and rehab policy, promising those who surrender Rs 50,000 and land for farming.

Not everybody is happy with the way the government dealt with the Naxals in Andhra Pradesh. Revolutionary poet, writer and peace emissary Vara Vara Rao says that instead of killing Maoists ruthlessly, if the government had prepared a better surrender policy, it would have saved many lives.  

Eminent human rights activist and Maoist lawyer K.G. Kannabiran too rubbishes the suggestion that the state government had a well thought out policy to deal with Maoists. “It was a simple shoot-at-sight policy. In fact, due to the short-sighted policies of the government, the movement has been reduced to a war between Maoists and the police. The Maoists may be down but not out. This movement has flourished and survived for over 40 years. Political dissent and social unrest cannot be wiped out by killing people ruthlessly in staged encounters. Killing has never solved any problem, especially not the Maoist movement. Due to police pressure, the Maoists may be lying low in the state. But experience shows they will make a comeback,” says Kannabiran.

Police officials say they are prepared for that. “We know they can strike back any time so we cannot let our guard down. Even when they were on the defensive, they struck back on June 29 last year killing 39 Greyhounds in an ambush at the Ballimella reservoir,” says an officer.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/04/200941365558852919.htmlQ&A: The Naxalites of India

The Naxalites are a Maoist-Leninist splinter faction of the Communist party of India who broke away in opposition to the main group's decision to join the electoral process.

Various groups of Naxalites have taken root in large parts of the country. Nearly one-fourth to one-third of all Indian districts are now believed to be under the influence of Naxalite (Maoist) organisations.

The Naxals now operate in 182 of India’s 625 districts, a vast "red" corridor stretching across central India.

One Indian government assessment states that Naxalite influence extends over nearly 92,000sq km.

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, said in 2006 that the Naxals were "the single biggest challenge" to internal security ever faced by India.

Who are the Naxalites?

The term Naxalites is used to describe communist groups that advocate a class war waged by peasants against a bourgeoisie state as an essential means to achieve their goals. They are inspired by the philosophy of Mao Zedong, the late Chinese Communist leader.

When and where did the movement begin?

The Maoist movement began on the 25 May, 1967 in Naxalbari, a small village called in the Darjeeling district of the state of West Bengal. It was precipitated by a local landlord's attack on a small tribal farmer. Other tribal and communist cadres fought back and forcefully wrested control of the land from the landlord.

Though the state government of West Bengal managed to suppress the insurrection in 72 days, the tribesmen's struggle attracted media attention, and the movement's influence soon spread through the state and spilled into other Indian states such as Bihar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Who do the Naxalites represent?

The Naxalites claim to represent the most oppressed section of Indian population, especially those who have not benefited by India's development and bypassed by the electoral process. These include the tribal peoples from the forested parts of India, the

lower castes, and the landless labourers who are paid a pittance when they do get work, or otherwise have to go hungry.

Critics of the movement, however, say that despite their professed ideology, the Naxalites today oppress people in the name of class war - extorting money from middle-level landowners (since rich landowners invariably buy protection).

The Naxalites have also been accused of extorting and dominating the lives of the tribals and villagers who they claim to represent.

What attracts the population to the Naxal movement?

The first adherents of the Naxalite movement were idealist students fresh out of universities disillusioned by a system that had failed to create the country of their dreams. These were soon joined by the oppressed rural poor attracted by the teachings of these original highly-educated idealists.

The mainstay of the movement soon became the tribals, peasants and the oppressed and marginalised segments of Indian society who found a champion in the Naxal movement.

More recently, the movement has been attracting youth from poor but upper class families of Indian society. Unemployment and corruption bring even more of the unemployed rural youth into the Naxal or the Maoist fold.

An expert committee set up by the government to study the Naxalite problem blamed the social, political, economic and cultural discrimination faced by the tribals and the erstwhile untouchables across the country as a key factor in drawing large number of discontented people towards the Maoists. The committee also blamed the lack of empowerment of local communities in far-flung rural areas as the main reason for the spread of the Naxal movement.

Others claim that the modern day Naxalites get support through coercion, and forcible induction of the youth into their armed bands.

Reports claim that the Naxals no longer act as representatives of the poor, the untouchables and the tribals. Rather, they have become intolerant to these downtrodden communities, critics have claimed.

Who do the Naxalites target?

Ideologically, the Naxalites are against the current Indian state. They believe that Indians have yet to win freedom from hunger and deprivation, and that the rich classes - landlords, industrialists, and traders control the means of production exploiting the poor.

They therefore target all arms of state like politicians, police officials, forest contractors, etc. At a more local level, the Naxalites target village political functionaries, and landlords and often claim protection money not to harm them.

Does the Communist Party of India support the Naxalites?

No, the Communist Party of India does not support the Naxalites.

Is the Naxalite movement a single entity or, has it split into groups like other armed struggles across the world?

The Naxalite movement has been affected by the mergers and divisions of the groups that claim allegiance to their philosophy; this ultimately weakened the movement.

Learning from this, the major Naxalite factions such as the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), and the Peoples War (also known as the People's War Group or PWG) merged under the umbrella of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in 2004.

CPI-Maoist is now active in 156 districts of 13 States that include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and Kerala.

It is also making attempts to establish and expand its presence in other states including Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

What is the strength of the Naxalite movement?

The government of India estimates that the CPI (ML) has around 10,000 cadres adept in guerrilla warfare, with another 45,000 who support them.

What arms does the CPI-Maoists use?

Initially, the Naxalites were not well-armed, but over the years the movement has built up an arsenal of 20,000 modern weapons, which including AK-series rifles, most of which are looted from security forces. They have also acquired the technical experties to manufacture and use rocket launchers. The Naxals also frequently used gelatine sticks and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

What are the major areas of operation of the CPI-Maoist?

The CPI-Maoist operate in a broad swathe out of the forest belt across the very heartland of India, often considered the least-developed area of this country.

Their operations are most prominent in (from North to South) Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra, the Telangana (north-western) region of Andhra Pradesh, and western Orissa.

How does the CPI–Maoist operate?

The Naxalites have a well-developed organisational structure, with clear distinctions between the political and military wings. Documents and CDs recovered by the Indian government from Naxalites arrested in 2008 showed that CPI (ML) also has detailed and clearly laid-out budgets with estimations of income.

On the political side, the organisational hierarchy has a Central Committee at the top, with regional bureaus, zonal committees, and district committees reporting to them

The armed wing of the CPI-Maoist is as well-organised as the political wing with a Central Military Commission, state military commissions and a zonal military commissions.

How does the CPI (ML) fund its operations?

With their control of large parts of the thick forests stretching from north Bihar bordering Nepal to north Kerala, the CPI (ML) control the teak and timber trade and have almost complete control over the forest produce marketing.

This is supplemented by the large scale cultivation and sale of marijuana in Orissa, a state in eastern India.

Recent documents and hard disks seized by the Indian police from a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) show that the Naxals collected over Rs10bln ($200mln) in 2007 through illegal taxation and force donations from small business people, forest and road contractors and even industrialists.

Their funding was expected to increase by 25 per cent in 2008.

What steps has the Indian government taken to curb CPI (ML)?

There have been various initiatives over time to curb the reach of the Maoist movement. In the 1970s, social workers like Jai Prakash Narayan spearheaded the campaign to reduce the Maoist hold over the rural poor by instituting special programmes which were supported by local administrations.

However, security forces who were charged with fighting the Maoists added fuel to fire because of their alleged insensitivity to civilian losses and casualties. Today, each affected state has resorted to its own local means of combatting the CPI.

After identifying the Naxalites as the most serious threat to the Indian state, the central government of India has now set up a a special 10,000-strong Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (Cobra) to fight the Naxalites.

The Cobra unit will focus on "effectiveness and operational success" and they will be imparted exclusive training in the terrain and topography of the area of operation.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-with-many-aliases/480871/0

Man with many aliasesSince the forces started their Lalgarh operations to free areas from Maoist control, there has been no news of top Maoist leader Mallojula Koteswara Rao, alias Kishanji. The man heading the Maoist movement against the government in Lalgarh no longer gave interviews to media — with a cloth draped around his face — as he did in the days leading to the operation. There have been reports that he may have crossed the border to Bangladesh, but the West Bengal police are not confirming it yet.

The 60-year-old Rao, a politburo member of banned rebel outfit CPI(Maoist), is currently in charge of rebel operations in West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand.

An activist of the CPI-ML (People’s War) before the formation of the CPI (Maoist), Rao moved to Kolkata about 18 years ago after serving in the People’s War as a state committee secretary in Andhra Pradesh. He moves under various aliases including Murali, Pradip, Vimal and Prahlad — apart from

Rao was born in Nachpalli in Karminagar district of Andhra Pradesh. His father was a member of the Congress Socialist Party. Like many Maoist leaders, he hardly visited his poor parents after joining the movement as a youngster along with his brother Venugopal Rao. His mother, Madhuramma, who now lives in Peddapalli, says she saw him last in 1994. He did not even attend his father’s funeral in 1984.

Rao joined the Maoists in 1977 while his brother joined the movement three years later. By that time, he had gained quite a reputation in Peddapalli, organising mass protests and agitations in favour of a separate Telangana state.

He was first arrested for burning a Government bus and Government property outside his school in 1969. In a letter to his mother that was published in a local newspaper recently, Rao confessed that he decided to join the Maoists after he witnessed police firing outside his school.

Quickly rising in the ranks, Rao was made the state committee secretary and was later given the charge of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Moving in the forests on the Andhra-Orissa border, he learnt the strategy of guerilla warfare but after he moved to West Bengal, he changed himself. “He propounded and put into practice the theory of converting mass protests into violent agitations against the Government, and frequently organised meetings of Maoists in Lalgarh, Palubani and Salboni. He is known to infiltrate agitations and protest meetings, take control of the situation, and convert them into a violent movement,” a police official in the know of Maoist operations said.

An Intelligence officer said unlike the usual guerilla attack-and-flee style, Rao’s strategy was to hold an area under Maoist control for a long period.

Rao is also suspected to have masterminded the landmine attack on the convoy in which West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the then Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, were travelling. Both had a narrow escape.

Rao is considered as one of the many fiery leaders from Karimnagar district who joined the Maoist movement. Central committee secretary Ganapathi of Bheerpur village, K Satyanarayana Reddy alias Sadhu alias Gopanna of Gopalraopalli village, Bandarapu Mallaiah alias Chandranna of Machupeta village, Tippiri Tirupati alias Sanjeevi of Korutla town are the other top Maoist leaders from the district.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoist-leader-names-tmc-mahashweta-as-allie/479058/

Maoist leader names TMC, Mahashweta as alliesSeveral months before Lalgarh hit the headlines in November 2008, the West Bengal government had a fair idea of the extent of Maoist presence and activities in the state, including Nandigram. The information was received after interrogating CPI-Maoist Bengal state secretary Himadri Sen Roy alias Somen. The Maoist leader was arrested by the state Criminal Investigation Department in February 2008 from Hridaypur railway station in North 24-Parganas.

Over the last few days in Lalgarh, Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji, claiming to be in-charge of Bengal unit of CPI-Maoist, has told media that Maoists were present in Nandigram for long, when they supported the Trinamool’s movement to resist the state government’s plan for land acquisition.

On Friday, CPM state secretary Biman Bose accused Mamata Banerjee of “shielding Maoists” quoting Kishanji’s interviews to media. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and senior Trinamool leader Sougata Roy, now MoS Urban Development, have denied that their parties had any links with Maoists.

But, according to Somen’s interrogation report, accessed by The Indian Express, the 58-year-old admitted to Maoist involvement in Nandigram and links with Trinamool leaders and Trinamool-backed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC).

In the report, which was forwarded to the state government by the CID, Somen also outlined the regional organisational structure of the party. The CID report claims Somen, during his interrogation over a year ago, said:

* CPI-Maoist leaders, including Soren, visited Nandigram in December 2006 to “assess the temperament of locals” when protests against land acquisition by the state government for a chemical hub was just about beginning.

* Based on the visit, a meeting of his party was held in Chakulia forest in Jharkhand in February 2007 to devise a strategy for Nandigram. A decision was taken to keep the Maoists away from the forefront of agitation, due to lack of proper organisational network in Nandigram. It was also decided to procure arms. Accordingly, the party central committee sanctioned Rs 8 lakh, by which six .315 rifles and 500 bullets worth Rs 4 lakh were purchased from one Sahoo based in Jharkhand.

* The consignment was received at Haldia, shipped to Nandigram and kept at the house of CPI-Maoist East Midnapore zonal committee secretary Narayan’s residence in Sonachura, the epicentre of Nandigram movement. Besides these, 30 crude guns were procured locally. Narayan also acted as the

link with the BUPC, whose members Karabi, Ranjit Pal and Dipak formed the Maoist squad along with Narayan.

* Somen also confessed to visiting Nandigram in July 2007 for two days and staying at Narayan’s residence.

* Narayan was in contact with Trinamool MP from Tamluk Subendhu Adhikari, who was the then MLA from Contai South Assembly Constituency, and BUPC leaders. Maoists also forged links with Sidiqullah Chowdhury’s People’s Democratic Council of India (PDCI), SUCI and Bandi Mukti Committee (BMC).

* Several Bengal intellectuals, including BMC president Mahasweta Devi, went to Nandigram at the Maoists’ behest to exhort people to join the anti-acquisition movement.

* However, as the Nandigram conflict progressed, relations between the BUPC and Maoists soured when the former rejected a proposal to form volunteer groups to take on CPM cadres, on the ground that it would unnecessarily draw the administration’s attention. About the Maoists’ organisational set-up, the CID report claims Somen told his interrogators:

* Kishanji, who also operates under the names of Pradip, Bimal, Prahalad and Sridhar belongs to Andhra Pradesh, was elected in-charge of a new 13-member state committee as a “central party observer” at a state party conference held in August 2006 at Dampara in East Singbhum district of Jharkhand.

Kishanji collected “levy” from contractors in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore averaging Rs 8 lakh per month. He also received Rs 1.3-1.5 lakh from the central party headquarters every month which he distributed directly to the state unit.

He also wrote the press statements of the party in English, while Somen framed the Bengali ones.

* Training of fresh inductees was conducted in Damuria Hills of Dalma forest in Gorabandha, Mayurbhanj, Orissa, where they were instructed in use of arms and explosives and taught about the Maoist ideology. Trainees would move in small batches of two to three by train from Howrah station to Tatanagar in Jharkhand, then by public transport to Dalma Hills and finally on foot.

* At the 9th Unity Congress held from January 12-17, 2007 in Pareshnath Hills in Giridh, Jharkhand, a 32-member central committee and five alternate members were elected and four regional bureaus were set up. These include the Eastern bureau covering Assam, Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. Under this comes the Midnapore-Bankura-Purulia zonal committee. A sub-zonal committee for Salboni, Lalgarh and Ranibandh is headed by Sasadhar Mahato, his wife Suchitra and Madan Mahato. Sasadhar alias Bikash is the brother of PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato.

* Other zonal committees in Bengal are Howrah-Hooghly, Dalara-Kharsoa-Balarampur, Burdwan-Birbhum-Nadia-Murshidabad. There are also Local Organising Squads and Local Guerrilla Squads. As state secretary, Somen said he handled political matters, while military activity was under the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa regional committee.

Adhikari, however, denied any links with Maoists. “We believe in democracy. We can never support Maoists. Anyway, the CID acts on instructions from the CPM. No report of theirs can be believed. I had no contact with Maoists in Nandigram,” Adhikari told The Indian Express. Mahasweta Devi also said she didn’t know anyone named Somen or

Himadri Sen Roy. “Who is Somen? Why should I go to Nandigram or anywhere at the Maoists’ behest? All talk of Maoist links (with me) is nonsense,” she said.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/20/stories/2006032013630400.htm

North Telangana in forefront of `revolution' again

HYDERABAD: North Telangana was not only the beacon of revolution, which fuelled revolutionary activity all over the country, but has now sown the seeds of discord among the naxalite leadership. The dissensions have reached such a stage that the party leadership is discussing the propriety of continuing Ganapthy as secretary.

Two years ago, the Central Regional Board (CRB) had decided to order a complete withdrawal of forces keeping the serious organisational and military losses in the five districts of North Telangana (NT). This decision was resented by the North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC) headed by Jinugu Narsimha Reddy alias Jampanna.

Plenum convened

Overriding this decision for scaling down the armed rebellion to a strategic defensive stage, Jampanna is reported to have convened a plenum of NTSZC and got a resolution passed rejecting the CRB diktat. Interestingly, Jampanna too was a part of the CRB and had voiced his dissent.

This NTSZC resolution was perhaps the first sign of revolt. Jampanna was not alone in his forthcoming view that an important cause for downfall of the naxal movement in Andhra Pradesh was the `moderate' line being adopted. Some Maoist leaders in the Central Committee too were believed to have shared his view. Despite the resolution, squads had to be shifted from plain areas to the forests. However, Jampanna firmly believed that a `most militant' approach would only provide some space for the movement to grow in severe repressive conditions, like in Nepal.

Meanwhile, differences of opinion cropped in the State Committee on a statement issued to the media. The statement issued last year had asked the cadre to destroy the bodies of those killed by them, so as not to leave any trace. The controversial statement was immediately disowned by the party, which blamed the police for the `false propaganda.'

But the issue got revived when the police seized some letters written by Gangadhar, believed to be Cherukuri Rajkumar, a Central Committee memberm, to Varavara Rao last year. In his letters Gangadhar expresses surprise over the statement, despite the State Committee rejecting the proposal (of causing disappearance of the bodies). This showed that the State Committee had indeed discussed the issue, but rejected it.

Is the release of such a statement a way of expressing dissent? There are no answers for this question so far.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Ranchi/PLGA-commander-quits-outfit/articleshow/4738285.cms

PLGA commander quits outfitLOHARDAGA: Sub-zonal platoon commander of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Sanjay Yadav has parted ways with the outfit along with his trusted lieutenants. PLGA, the ultra outfit of the CPI(Maoist), is quite active in the Lohardaga-Latehar-Gumla region.

Sources in the state intelligence claimed that Sanjay quit the PLGA due to his growing differences with the outfit's zonal commander Nakul Yadav. They said that although he has not yet announced his decision to either form a separate outfit or join hands with the People Liberation Front of India, it is probable in all likelihood that he may, indeed, form a separate outfit which would eventually be joined by other disgruntled Maoist cadres from Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

The sources claimed that some Maoist cadres from Orissa and Chhattisgarh have already joined Sanjay's group, which is currently camping in the bordering areas of Lohardaga and Gumla.

Lohardaga SP Subodh Prasad said: "We have reports that Sanjay and his close aides have parted ways with the PLGA along with a huge amount of money and arms. We also have information that Nakul's group is on the lookout for Sanjay's hideout. Police, of course, are looking for both the groups."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Nagpur/Movement-in-Chhattisgarh-effects-in-Maha/articleshow/4626596.cms

Movement in Chhattisgarh, effects in MahaSoumittra S Bose, TNN 7 June 2009, 05:44am ISTNAGPUR: The ongoing intense Naxal movement in adjoining Chhattisgarh, which shares its boundary with Maharashtra in Gadchiroli, is being viewed as main reason for the increased violence by the rebels in the state which has claimed 34 security personnel since 01/02 Markegaon carnage.

Sources said that Naxals have eight divisions under Dandakaranya special zonal committee. North (covering from Dhanora to Etapalli) and South (Aheri to Asar Alli) Gadchiroli divisions are active in the state. Six strong divisions, including Manpur, North Bastar, Madh, South Bastar, west Bastar and Dharbha, functions in Chhattisgarh. Out of six, five strong divisions are directly influencing the movements along the border in

Gadchiroli.

Police department, which has sent a proposal for at least 14 more armed outposts in Gadchiroli, have also initiated a process to reorient their administrative jurisdictions and planning for further reinforcements of paramilitary forces. Gadchiroli, bifurcated into North and South, would be having two officers of superintendent of police ranks. North and South Gadchiroli SPs, along with Gondia SP, would work under an officer of deputy inspector general (DIG) rank who would be heading the range of three SPs. Nagpur range has been proposed to be separated from Gadchiroli and Gondia.

Along with state anti-Naxal operation (ANO) cell, special action group (SAG) would be shifted to Gadchiroli where a chopper would be stationed permanently. While maximum force of district police would be set aside for law and order, ANO would be given additional strength with a combine force of C-60 commandos, SAG, paramilitary forces, special anti-Naxal force and some from the district police.

Manpur division is close to Gadchiroli’s heavily affected Murumgaon and Markegaon villages, North Bastar adjoins Pendhri and Kasansur areas, Madh division is close to Bhamragadh and Gatta, South Bastar is close to Sironcha while Asar Alli and adjoining villages are close to west Bastar divisions. Sources said that each of these divisions in Chhattisgarh comprises two to three platoons and one company dalam along with Local Guerrilla squad, two to three military platoons and jan militia platoons of armed village supporters under a dalam member.

If the proximity of the Naxal strongholds in Chhattisgarh has been cited as one of the main reasons, the recent amalgamation of platoon dalams to form Border platoon has increased Naxal violence. Local intelligence source at Gadchiroli also pointed out that the district is witnessing a spurt in the movement after the potent Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee started reorganising their strength in the affected district.

The revamped Naxal force, under Mangal Korchami, alias Diwakar, and Sujan Singh Markham, alias Rajesh, have ensured a fresh lease of life in the movement with their aggressive approach. Unlike in the past, Naxals have formed a marauding assault group of around 150-200 cadres, handpicking them from local, platoons and company dalams, with sophisticated weapons. The organisational reforms have worked in favour of the Naxals which inflicted three major blows to Gadchiroli police since February including the latest at Hatti Gota (25/05) that claimed 16 police personnel. At least two dalams from Chhattisgarh, including Pana Baras which was active along the borders, have also started lending their shoulders to their Gadchiroli counterparts.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Growing-Naxal-activities-puts-agencies-on-alert/articleshow/4664401.cms

Growing Naxal activities puts agencies on alertLUCKNOW: Intelligence reports on Naxals setting up new frontiers extending to Western UP (Delhi borders) at the state-level and towards Haryana as well as Karnataka in the South, has set the alarm bells ringing for the security agencies. Reports say that the red brigade has set up its base in at least 12 more districts - most of them dotting the Delhi borders in addition to the 14 districts where their presence was established.

What is all the more disturbing is the availability of sophisticated firearms and ammunition with the Naxals through their new-found coalition with the Maoists in Nepal. Till recently, the Naxals were known to be using the traditional .303 rifles of the World War II era (that they had robbed from the police) and countrymade firearms. However, specific intelligence inputs on Naxals now possessing lethal firearms like the US-made SMG, Thomson guns and AK-47 rifles apart from those of Russian and Chinese makes, has added to the worries of the security agencies. Sources in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) posted along the Indo - Nepal border have confirmed the reports of regular joint sessions between the Naxals and the Nepal Maoists.

These reports have cited recent instances of Naxal violence to confirm the availability of sophisticated firearms with the red brigade. "Use of a rocket launcher by Naxals in the recent BSF camp attack in Rohtas (Bihar), sophisticated imported Nalco landmines in Orissa and recent seizures of latest arms by the CRPF only confirm the fears of the intelligence agencies.

Largely based on the confession of a top Naxal arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh and the information thus obtained reconfirmed by the two Naxal women commanders arrested in Delhi recently, intelligence agencies believe that the red brigade has been into a quiet recruitment mode for quite sometime now. In their confession the two had even revealed details of their works in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and MP. "They confessed to have been asked to target six specific areas on the UP-Delhi borders for further recruitments," said a report.

The recent strike by Naxals in Sonebhadra district to eliminate an ALLEGED police informer Umesh Mallaha of Kanhaura village was though the only known attack by them on UP soil during the past few years. It is, however, being seen as a portent for heightened Naxal activity in the region. The death of a top Naxal identified as Shatrughan, a self-styled area commander, in an encounter with the police in Belach village of Sonebhadra too seems to have acted as a catalyst for the red brigade to add momentum to their nefarious designs. Shatrughan carried a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head.

Meanwhile, reports of fresh Naxal movement in Chitrakoot, Banda and other districts on

the MP-UP border have also come in from the STF and the state Intelligence. The STF, during its offensive against the Bundelkhand brigands had come across ample evidences to establish movements of Naxals in new areas of the region, who had already started extortion from contractors of development works and those dealing in 'tendu patta'.

An officer with the STF privy to the report said a team from Bargarh police station of Chitrakoot had spotted a gathering in a village near Karvi area during night patrolling. When they went closer, the mob attacked them with arrows, forcing them to escape - some common weapons of the Naxals.

The state Intelligence has been issued directives to collect more information about Naxalite activities in Bundelkhand region. The PAC headquarters and the Crime and Law and Order cells at the DGP headquarters had also been asked to deploy force in the areas bordering MP to keep a vigil over Naxal activities, said an official in the home department.

http://www.samaylive.com/news/maoist-structure-fundraising-process-revealed/95509.html

Maoist structure, fund-raising process revealedPolice has claimed that the structure and fund-raising process of the CPI(Maoist) was revealed during the interrogation of its West Bengal secretary Somen.

Somen has revealed during interrogation that Rs 60 lakh was budgeted annually by the party for salary and daily expenditure, DIG, CID (Special Operation Group), Rajiv Kumar said.

The Maoist leader was responsible for operations in West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand. Somen alias Himadri Sen Roy, who was arrested last Saturday, has also confessed that he used to get a salary of Rs 3000 and the other arrested along with him, Deba, got Rs 1500, Kumar said.

Arms were mainly bought and supplied by its Central Military Commission, he said.

Meanwhile, special teams from Mayurbunj and Jamshedpur have arrived in the city to interrogate him, while another from Chhattisgarh will arrive soon, Kumar said.

Special teams from Special Branch, Special Intelligence Branch, Intelligence Branch of Kolkata Police have been interrogating Somen for the last three days.

"It is very hard to break a hardened Maoist leader. We are following a three tier interrogation process to break him," said a CID source.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Rejuvenated-Naxals-forming-special-action-force/articleshow/4601660.cms

Rejuvenated Naxals forming special action force

Soumittra S Bose, TNN 1 June 2009, 01:59am ISTNAGPUR: Buoyed by recent successes at Markegaon, Mungner and Hatti Gota in Dhanora, Naxals are now targeting bigger goals by forming a strong assault group of around 100-odd fighters equipped with sophisticated weapons. The group, likely to be christened ‘special force for assault operations’, is in the formation stage presently, with members being hand-picked from local dalams for the purpose.

The newly set up outfit, with occasional reinforcements from Chhattisgarh dalams — Mohala and Pana Baras — is slated to become a formidable assault outfit. The Naxals have already increased their focus on looting arms and weapons, rather than only inflicting casualties, by targeting patrolling parties.

Sources in the Naxal groups say that they are now focussing on operations along the Gadchiroli and Chhattisgarh borders, after their plan to launch a Gadchiroli-Adilabad joint operation was aborted in the recent past.

Aiming to strengthen their operation along Gadchiroli-Chhattisgarh, the Naxals had shifted around 80-90 cadres from Dandakaranya. Cadres from Kurkheda, Chatgaon and Korchi are being promoted more in the Naxal’s new scheme of things.

If local intelligence is to be believed, the once low-profile rebels are now moving about openly in the affected districts of the state, like their stronghold of Gadchiroli. Having completely turned the tables on the police department, with 34 casualties in four months, the Naxals are now a much more aggressive outfit under Mangal Korchami, alias Diwakar, and Sujan Singh Markham, alias Rajesh.

Diwakar and Rajesh were reportedly present in both the carnage, Markegaon (01/02) and Hatti Gota (25/05).

Reports say that the Naxals, who believe in ‘mobile’ warfare, had planned the recent Hatti Gota attack at Nallikasa, Dallikasa and Ambezhari villages, which are almost 20-25 kilometres away from the spot of attack.

Diwakar, an unlikely frail-looking person with a gruesome wound on his hand, reportedly inflicted by a tiger, is the guiding force of the Naxals now. He has been recently promoted as leader, and inducted into the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. Diwakar’s close aide Rajesh, whose wife Sunanda was gunned down in Chhattisgarh, was the brain behind Hatti Gota attack.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/naxals-setting-up-arms-factories-developing-electronic-ieds/476239/1

Naxals setting up arms factories, developing electronic IEDsThe Naxals, who surprised everyone by using rocket launchers for the first time during the Lok Sabha polls, have already set up about four units to manufacture weapons and ammunition, say central security agencies. The Naxals, who usually target security forces with manual improvised explosive

devices, are now slowly developing remote-controlled IEDs which can be activated from a distance with just the push of a button.

The improvement in fire-power is being supported by intensive training on the lines of regular forces,say sources. Central security agencies and local police sources say the Maoists have started two factories each in the dense forests and hills of both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Sources say that though another such factory existed earlier in Bihar, the Naxals have dismantled it.

Early last year, a combing team of the CRPF and the local police had come across one such unit used for making small bombs and mortar shells in Jharkhand. The Naxals who are trying to improve their firepower have also come out with the deadly 'Claymore Mines', or what are often called 'directional IEDs'.

Unlike in the past, when IEDs use to be buried beneath the road in a small can, the Claymore Mines, which come with a thick aluminium plate, can be fitted to a tree.

The IED, when exploded, will deflect the shrapnels in a direction opposite to the plate, thus focusing them to a particular area as against conventional IEDs where the impact is in a circular area around the device. Certain blasts in Chhattisgarh have pointed to the possibility of remote-controlled IEDs being used but they are yet to become a standard strategy for the Naxals, say sources. "Naxals are constantly trying to improvise and have also set up factories for this. During searches by security personnel, they have come across few chips which suggest that they are trying to develop remote-controlled IEDs. If they succeed, it would prove deadly," according to a source. "The Naxalites also make their own guns besides those snatched from policemen and procured from outside. Their locally-made guns called 'pahar' can be used to severely injure a person if not kill him. The pellets break into pieces on impact and hence are deadly," the source says.

The left-wing extremists are known for using gelatin sticks in their explosives. They are sourced from mining areas, say sources. A source says that the Maoists also undergo military training similar to that of securitymen, which "suggests a possibility of ex-army or ex-policemen" helping in preparing training modules, whether due to force or their own wish.

One of the Naxal training CDs seized by security forces in Andhra Pradesh gives an insight into the training modules with the militants practising crawling backwards. Security forces have also come across abandoned centres of Naxals having rope climbing, ladder, crawling tunnels and other obstacles used for hard training. The Naxals have also hit upon an innovative way to store their ammunition by hiding it in branded plastic water tanks placed in the ground and covered with mud and stones. Sources said the logic behind it was that there are less chances of formation of moisture, which might damage the ammunition.

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/document/papers/06mar13_naxal%20problem%20.htm

Status Paper on the Naxal Problem 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1The Naxalite movement continues to persist in terms of spatial spread, intensity of violence,

mlitarisation and consolidation, ominous linkages with subversive/secessionist groups and increased efforts to elicit mass support. The naxalites operate in vacuum created by absence of administrative and political institutions, espouse the local demands and take advantage of the disenchantment prevalent among the exploited segments of the population and seek to offer an alternative system of governance which promises emancipation of these segments from the clutches of ‘exploiter’ classes through the barrel of a gun.

2. VIOLENCE PROFILE

2.1 Naxalite menace remains an area of serious concern. In 2005, naxalite violence has claimed 669 lives including 153 police personnel in 1594 incidents as against 556 casualties in 1533 incidents in 2004. The quantum of naxal violence has shown a marginal increase of about 4% in 2005, over by 2004, while resultant casualties have however, gone up by 18.1%.

2.2 In the current year (till February) while the number of incidents of naxal violence has decreased by 29% over the corresponding period of 2005 (246 incidents as against 347 in 2005). Civilian and security forces casualties have, however, increased by 11.4% (116 as against 104 in 2005).

2.3 State–wise naxalite incidents/resultant deaths of civilians and security personnel in the years 2003 to 2006 (till February) are at Annexure – 1.

2.4 The substantial increase in naxal violence and deaths in Andhra Pradesh can be attributed to the unilateral withdrawal by naxalites from the peace talks in January, 2005 and consequent stepped up violence by them. In Chhattisgarh, resistance being put up by the Salva Judum (anti- naxal movement by people) activists and the efforts of the security forces to dislodge the naxalites from their strongholds are the main reasons for increased violence and resultant deaths. While the States of Bihar and Jharkhand have recorded decrease in naxal violence in 2005, a few high profile incidents like looting of weapons from the Giridih Home Guard training center on 11-11-2005 in Jharkhand and the jailbreak on 13-11-2005 in Jehanabad, Bihar, have taken place in recent months.

2.5 The first two months of the current year have witnessed some major naxalite attacks in Chhattisgarh. These include killing of 9 personnel of Naga Armed Battalion on 6.2.2006, looting of weapons and a large quantity of explosives from NMDC Magazine at Hiroli on 9.2.2006 and killing of 28 civilians in Konta Block of Dantewada district on 28.2.2006. These incidents have exposed the gaps in the States security and intelligence apparatus.

3. RECENT TRENDS/DEVELOPMENTS

3.1 Spatial spread

3.1.1 In 2005, naxal violence has been reported from 509 police stations in 11 states which works out to 5.8% of the total number of police station in these states. Statewise spread of naxal violence in terms of the police station affected is at Annexure- II

3.1.2 Available reports, however, suggest that CPI (Maoists) have been trying to increase their influence and act in parts of Kamataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttranchal and also in new areas in some of the already affected states.

3.2 Consolidation

After the merger of CPML–PW and MCCI into CPI (Maoist) in September, 2004, they are reported to be trying to woo other splinter groups and have also consolidated their front organizations into ‘Revolution Democratic Front’ (RDF) to intensify their mass contact programme. Fresh recruitment of cadres is also reported. Indian naxalite groups continue to sustain their fraternal and logistic links with Nepalese Maoists, though there are no strategic and operational likes between the two.

3.3 Naxalite Ideology of armed struggle and militarisation

The naxalite leadership continues to pursue their plan to wage protracted people’s war through the armed struggle to capture political power. In the recent past, naxalite groups seem to lay greater focus on organising along military lines. They are also acquiring contemporary weapons. Their constant effort is to upgrade technology and sophistication of their weaponry and techniques.

3.4 Simultaneous attacks

The latest tactics adopted by the naxal outfits are to engage in simultaneous multiple attacks in large numbers particularly against police forces and police establishments. This has led to increased casualties of police personnel in 2005 mainly due to IED/landmine blasts by the naxalites. A total of 153 police personnel have laid down their lives in 2005 in 194 attacks by naxalites on the police as against 100 in 232 such attacks in 2004.

4. POLICY TO DEAL WITH THE NAXALITE MENACE

The Government has a clearly defined policy to combat the challenge posed by the naxalite menace. This policy comprises the following components:-

(i) The Government will deal sternly with the naxlites indulging in violence.

(ii) Keeping in view that naxalism is not merely a law & order problem, the policy of the Govt. is to address this menace simultaneously on political security, development and public perception management fronts in a holistic manner.

(iii) Naxalism being an inter–state problem, the states will adopt a collective approach and pursue a coordinated response to counter it.

(iv) The states will need to further improve police response and pursue effective and sustained police action against naxalites and their infrastructure individually and jointly.

(v) There will be no peace dialogue by the affected states with the naxal groups unless the latter agree to give up violence and arms.

(vi) Political parties must strengthen their cadre base in naxsal affected areas so that the potential youth there can be weaned away from the path of naxal ideology.

(vii) The states from where naxal activity/influence, and not naxal violence, is reported should have a different approach with special focus on accelerated sociw-economic development of the backward areas and regular inter action with NGOs, intelligencia, civil liberties groups etc. to minimize over ground support for the naxalite ideology and activity.

(viii) Efforts will continue to be made to promote local resistance groups against naxalites but in a manner that the villagers are provided adequate security cover and provided adequate secutrity cover and the area is effectively dominated by the security forces.

(ix) Mass media should also be extensively used to highlight the futility of naxal violence and loss of life and property caused by it and developmental schemes of the Government in the affected areas so as to restore people’s faith and confidence in the Government machinery.

(x) The states should announce a suitable transfer policy for the naxal affected districts. Willing, committed and competent officers will need to be posted with a stable tenure in the naxal affected districts, These officers will also need to be given greater delegation and flexibility to deliver better and step up Government presence in these areas.

(xi) The Government of Andhra Pradesh has an effective surrender and rehabilitation policy for naxalites and has produced good results over the years. The other states should adopt a similar policy.

(xii) The State Governments will need to accord a higher priority in their annual plans to ensure faster socio- economic development of the naxal affected areas. The focus areas should be to distribute land to the landless poor as part of the speedy implementation of the land reforms, ensure development of physical infrastructure like roads, communication, power etc. and provide employment opportunities to the youth in these areas.

(xiii) Another related issue is that development activities are not undertaken in some of the naxalite affected areas mainly due to extortion, threat or fear from the naxalite cadres. In these areas, even contractors are not coming forward to take up developmental work. Adequate security and other measures would need to be taken to facilitate uninterrupted developmental activities in the naxal affected areas.

(xiv) The Central Government will continue to supplement the efforts and resources of the affected states on both security and development fronts and bring greater coordination between the states to successfully tackle the problem.

5. COUNTER MEASURES

5.1 While the overall counter action by the affected states in terms of naxalites killed, arrested, surrendered and arms recovered from them has shown much better results in 2005, there is an urgent need to further improve and strengthen police response particularly by the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra by improving actionable intelligence collection and sharing mechanisms and strengthening their police forces on the pattern of Greyhounds in Andhra Pradesh. Even as the states of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to some extent, need to sustain their present momentum of effective counter action against the naxalites and their infrastructure.

5.2 The Government has taken the following measures to control the naxal problem.

5.2.1 Modernization of State Police

Funds are given to the States under the Police Modernization Scheme to modernize their police forces in terms of modern weaponry, latest communication equipment, mobility and other infrastructure. The naxal affected States have also been asked to identify vulnerable police stations and outposts in the naxal areas and take up their fortification under the Scheme. However, some of the States need to improve the level of utilization of funds under the Scheme.

5.2.2 Revision of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme in February, 2005.

The level of reimbursement under the Scheme has been raised from 50% to 100% and new items like insurance scheme for police personnel, community policing, rehabilitation of surrendered naxalites, expenditure incurred on publicity to counter propaganda of naxalites, other security related items not covered under the Police Modernization Scheme etc., have been covered. The Scheme also allows release of funds to the naxal affected States as advance. It is hoped that the revised scheme will enable higher level of utilization of funds under this Scheme.

5.2.3 Supply of Mine Protected Vehicles

Keeping in view the increased casualties of police personnel due to IED/land mine blasts, the naxal affected States have been provided Mine Protected Vehicles (MPVs) under the Police Modernization Scheme. Their supply has been streamlined by taking up the matter with the Chairman, Ordinance Factory Board.

5.2.4 Long–term deployment of Central Para Military Forces

In order to supplement the efforts of the States in providing an effective response to the naxal violence, Central Para Military Forces have been deployed on a long-term basis as requested by the affected States. The Central Government has also exempted the states from the payment of cost of deployment of these forces for a period of three years from 1-7-2004 involving an amount of nearly Rs. 1,100 crores.

5.2.5 India Reserve Battalions

The naxal affected States have been sanctioned India Reserve (IR) battalions mainly to strengthen security apparatus at their level as also to enable the States to provide gainful employment to the youth, particularly in the naxal areas. Recently, additional IR battalions have also been approved for the naxal affected States. The Central Government will now provide Rs. 20.75 crores per IR battalion as against the earlier amount of Rs. 13 crores per battalion. The States have been asked to expedite raising of these battalions.

5.2.6 Deployment of SSB along Indo-Nepal Border

In order to ensure that there is no spillover effect of the activities of Nepalese Maoists to our territory, SSB has been given the responsibility to guard Indo-Nepal Border. The Government has also recently sanctioned new raisings for the SSB to further improve management of borders in these areas. A modernization plan involving an outlay of Rs.444 crores has also been sanctioned for the SSB.

5.2.7 Recruitment in Central Para Military Forces

In order to wean away the potential youth from the path to militancy or naxalism, recruitment guidelines have been revised to permit 40% recruitment in Central Para Military Forces from the border areas and areas affected by militancy or naxalism.

5.2.8 Backward Districts Initiative (BDI)

Since the naxalite menace has to be addressed on the developmental front also, the Central Government has provided financial assistance of Rs. 2,475 crores for 55 naxal affected districts in the 9 States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal under the Backward Districts Initiative (BDI) component

of the Rsahtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY). Under this Scheme, an amount of Rs. 15 crores per year has been given to each of the districts for three years so as to fill in the critical gaps in physical and social development in the naxal affected areas. The Planning Commission has been requested to include other naxal affected areas under their proposed Scheme of Backward Regions Grant Funds (BRGF) for which an outlay of Rs. 5,000 crores has been set apart from this fiscal year (2005-06) onwards.

5.2.9 Tribal and Forest elated issues

In order to address the areas of disaffection among the tribals, the Government has introduced the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, in Parliament on 13.12.2005. Further, to facilitate social and physical infrastructure in the forest areas, Ministry of Environment and Forests has, as requested by the MHA, issued general approval to allow such infrastructure by utilising upto 1 hectare of forest land for non-forest purposes. That Ministry has also permitted upgradation of kutcha roads constructed prior to 01.09.1980 into pucca roads.

5.2.10 Effective implementation of land reforms and creation of employment opportunities in the naxal areas

Naxal groups have been raising mainly land and livelihood related issues. If land reforms are taken up on priority and the landless and the poor in the naxal areas are allotted surplus land, this would go a long way in tackling the developmental aspects of the naxal problem. The States have been requested to focus greater attention on this area as also accelerate developmental activities and create employment opportunities in the naxal affected areas with special focus on creation of physical infrastructure in terms of roads, communication, power as also social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals etc.

6. MONITORING MECHANISMS

6.1 The Central Government accords a very high priority to review and monitor the naxal situation and the measures being taken by the states on both security and development fronts to control it. Several monitoring mechanisms have been set up at the Center to do so. These include a periodical review by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) Of the naxal situation, Standing Committee of the Chief Ministers of the naxal affected states chaired by the Union Home Minister, Quarterly Coordination Center meetings chaired by the Union Home Secretary with the Chief Secretaries and the Directors General of Police of the affected states and the monthly Task Force meetings of Nodal Officers of naxal affected states/Central agencies chaired by Special Secretary (IS), MHA. The states have also been asked to hold a monthly review by the DGP and the naxal situation and the measures and strategies to contain the naxal problem .

7. CONCLUSION

The Central Government views the naxalite menace as an area of serious concern. The Government remains firmly committed and determined to address the problem. The current strategy is (i) to strengthen intelligence set-up at the state level; (ii) pursue effective and sustained intelligence driven police action against naxalites and their infrastructure individually and jointly by the states and (iii) accelerate development in the naxal affected areas. The Central Government will continue to coordinate and supplement the efforts to the state governments on both security and development fronts to meet the challenge posed by the naxal problem.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/may/09/india.randeepramesh

Inside India's hidden warMineral rights are behind clashes between leftwing guerrillas and state-backed militias

Forty young men and women in ill-fitting army fatigues, clutching flintlocks and pistols, stand in the shade of a mango tree. Beside them flaps a red flag emblazoned with a hammer and sickle.

In a show of strength, the soldiers creep up on imaginary enemies through long grass. Armed with weapons and the opinions of the doctrinaire left, these guerrillas, or Naxalites as they are known, are part of a hidden war in the middle of India's mineral-rich tribal belt.

The Naxalites are heirs of the revolutionary ideology of Mao Zedong. Unlike their ideological cousins in Nepal, the guerrillas are not prepared to consider exchanging the bullet for the ballot box. Across a wide swath of India, from Andhra Pradesh in the south to the Nepalese border, there are daily reports of underground armies hijacking trains, mounting audacious jailbreaks and murdering local politicians.

Last month the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, described the rebels as "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country". Nowhere is this conflict more acute than in the dense forests of southern Chhattisgarh state, the scene of violent land disputes and social clashes. In the past year the state has armed thousands of villagers with guns, spears and bows and arrows. Child soldiers are often ranged against opponents of similar age. In Chhattisgarh a battalion of Indian paramilitary forces has backed this militia, known as Salva Judum (Peace March), against the Naxalites, turning the forest into a battlefield.

Entire villages have been emptied as tribal communities flee from the burnings, lootings and killings. The civil conflict has left more than 50,000 people camping under tarpaulin sheets without work or food along the roadsides of southern Chhattisgarh.

Campaigners say that the reason why the government has opened a new front in this battle lies beneath Chhattisgarh's fertile soil, which contains some of the country's richest reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone and bauxite. Above live some of India's most impoverished people: semi-literate tribes who exist in near destitution.

India's biggest companies have moved stealthily into the forest areas, buying up land and acquiring the rights to extract the buried wealth. Last year the Chhattisgarh government signed deals worth 130bn Indian rupees (£1.6bn) with industrial companies for steel mills and power stations.

The Naxalites have begun a campaign against such industrialisation, which the state sees as necessary to create jobs and provide the raw materials for economic growth.

Watching his "troops" conduct military exercises is Gopanna Markam, company commander in the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, whose rank is denoted by the AK-47 in his hands. He says the "exploitation" needs to be stopped. "The government is bent upon taking out all the resources from this area and leaving the people nothing."

These are no idle threats. Police estimate there are 4,500 armed leftwing guerrillas in Chhattisgarh. In recent months they have attacked mines, blown up electricity pylons and torched cars used by contractors. They have set up "people's courts" to punish, and in some cases execute, those deemed to be capitalist collaborators.

The guerrillas' aim is violent revolution. Their political wing, the Communist party of India (Maoist), operates underground and has an armed presence in almost half of India's 28 states. The cadre fervently believes that India's feudal traditions, ingrained caste hierarchy and skewed land ownership provide fertile ground for rebellion. "The path ahead will become more difficult for us but we know history is with us," said Commander Markam.

The Naxalites argue that they have brought order if not law to the area - banishing corrupt officials, expelling landlords and raising prices at gunpoint for harvests of tendu leaves, used to wrap bidi cigarettes. They finance their operations by levying "taxes" of around 12% on contractors and traders.

In the tribal areas, officials estimate half the population supports the Naxalites, through choice or coercion. Two-thirds of the forests have been off-limits to government staff. In many districts 40% of police posts are unfilled and a quarter of doctors' positions are vacant.

Mahendra Karma, a state politician of tribal heritage, said the Naxalites have "collapsed the social, economic and traditional administrative structure" and tribes now are "backward people who want to go forward with industry".

Although Salva Judum is widely seen as his brainchild, Mr Karma says the movement was a result of "spontaneous anger bursting through".

The first signs of this anger were seen last June, when thousands of villagers marched with police in the village of Kortapal, where the Naxalites had abducted several government supporters. A fierce gun battle followed, with many running for cover in the forest. The village today is deserted and many of the houses have been vandalised.

This policy of emptying villages where there is support for Naxalites has been implemented across southern Chhattisgarh, with the attacks becoming bolder and bloodier. The response has been equally devastating. In February the Naxalites blew up a truck carrying Salva Judum workers back from a rally, killing more than 50 people.

In March a series of lightning raids led to tit-for-tat disappearances, beheadings and shootings. Ten days ago the bodies of 13 villagers who had protested against the guerrillas were found dead. Human rights groups say the conflict has claimed more than 150 lives this year.

"[Naxalites] have developed sophisticated strategies. We have recovered rocket launchers, mortar shells and machine guns recently," said the state police intelligence chief, Sant Kumar Paswan.

In the areas controlled by the Salva Judum, teenagers with bows and arrows guard roadblocks and Indian paramilitary forces patrol the refugee camps.

While the soldiers say villagers come seeking refuge from the violence, the tribals tell a different story. They claim that the camps are, in reality, prisons.

The guards in Bhairamgarh camp brought out captured Naxalite political agents, known as Sangam, for the Guardian to interview. Each told a story of state-backed terror. A mob of government supporters invaded their village backed by armed soldiers who opened fire on "Naxalite houses". A battle ensued and the guerrillas, outgunned, fled.

Once an area has been "cleansed", the homes of those used by leftwing guerrillas are destroyed and their owners brought to the camps.

"I was a Sangam. People were getting shot and homes burnt every day. I had no choice but to come here," said Buddram, who used to farm around Kortapal.

In the camps, fear stalks the inhabitants. The men have to report daily to the police station. Twice a day they queue up for a roll call and a drill.

Families are supposed to build their own makeshift houses. Without the state providing food or medicine, the displaced villagers say, anyone who can work is forced to do so for 50 rupees a day digging roads through the forest.

Caught in the crossfire are thousands of innocent villagers. Clutching her baby to her chest, Jamli recounts how the Salva Judum militia kidnapped her and seven friends as they travelled to a market. "We were told we had to come to the police station. Once we reached there we were kept overnight and driven to this camp where we were told if you leave you will be killed," she said. "I was alone until my husband arrived a week later and he is trapped here too. We are not Naxalites. We have no homes here, just these tents."

A third of Chhattisgarh's 21 million people are aboriginals, mostly from the Gond tribe. Experts say that the situation is in danger of turning into an "African-style" conflict over minerals, with refugees herded from one camp to another, dying of illness, hunger and thirst.

Pradeep Prabhu, a tribal campaigner, said the basic problem was one of land rights. In India everything below the ground belongs to the state, not the people who live above it.

"States like Chhattisgarh are seething with anger over this issue. The issue came up in parts of Africa where it has caused so much mess."

Backstory

The Naxalites, a name taken from Naxalbari district in West Bengal where the movement began in 1967, have spread to 160 of India's 604 administrative districts. In the 1960s they won the approval of Beijing, but China has since denounced the guerrillas.

The Naxalites functioned outside the parliamentary system, organising uprisings among landless workers in West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. They spread to the mineral-rich areas of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The two armed wings, People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre, combined 18 months ago to form one front: Communist party of India (Maoist).

With a force of 15,000 soldiers, it controls an estimated fifth of India's forests. The eventual aim is to capture the Indian state.

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?662749Inter-State Maoist Arms Racket Busted: PoliceAn inter-state Maoist arms racket has been busted with the arrest of a businessman in the national capital and his counterpart in Ranchi with recovery of a huge cache of bulletproof jackets and sophisticated gadgets.

"He is not a Naxal. His involvement was completely commercial. He was procuring equipment which are illegal.He is part of procuring some material and equipment for operational purposes (of Naxals)," Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal said providing information about the arrested businessman Praveen Sharma.

Sharma's custody will be transferred to Jharkhand police as he was wanted by them. By profession he is an electronics trader, Dadwal said.

The arrest of the businessman in Palika Bazaar area of Connaught Place yesterday was effected after Jharkhand Police tipped their counterparts in Delhi about his role as weapon supplier to banned Maoist groups, sources here said.

The Jharkhand Police had seized an air-cargo consignment on Tuesday coming from Delhi, official sources said.

"The consignment contained some 60 Motorola walkie-talkie handsets, six radio sets, some micro tape recorders, chargers and wiring which were to be supplied to the CPI (Maoist), now a banned terror organisation," Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi,

Praveen Kumar said.

Sources further said investigations led to the arrest of Naresh Sharma, senior manager of Delhi-based Shekhar Construction Company, for his alleged links with Maoists from his office at Redma in Palamau's Medininagar area in Jharkhand.

Police also seized some bullet-proof jackets from his office as well.

After his interrogation, Jharkhand police learnt that another deal for supply of arms is being worked out in Delhi following which the information was passed on to their counterparts in the national capital.

Based on these inputs, Delhi Police arrested businessman Praveen Sharma from Palika Bazar area here late yesterday night when he had come to meet his contact here.

The firm Sekhar Construction Company working in Naxal- infested areas in Jharkhand bagged a Rs 74 crore road project between Panki and Medininagar. It was also involved in some other road construction work besides constructing a barrage in Mohammadgung in Palamu.

Naresh's interrogation revealed that the businessmen had allegedly supplied various arms to the Naxals previously as well and is considered to be a "big catch", sources said.

Trader Accused Sent to One-Day J/C

The Delhi-based businessman, accused of helping banned Maoists organisations in Jharkhand by supplying electronic equipment, was today sent to one day judicial custody (J/C) by a Delhi Court.

Praveen Sharma, 50, was arrested yesterday by the elite Special Cell of Delhi police on a tip-off by Jharkhand police.

Praveen Sharma, 50, was arrested under Section 41 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, dealing with the power of a police officer to arrest a person, wanted in any cognisable offence, without warrant.

According to police, SSP Ranchi had provided specific information against Sharma, alleging that the businessman who used to run a shop at Pallika Bazar at Connaught Place, had supplied sophisticated equipments to Maoists.

Sharma, who is wanted in a case registered with Chutia police station in Ranchi under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was produced before duty Metropolitan Magistrate Sidharth Mathur, who sent him to judicial custody till tomorrow.

http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/65324/

Centre to help states beat back Naxalites

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 24 After months of vacillation, the Centre and states hit by Naxalite violence have adopted a more pro-active stance and decided to ‘‘pursue’’ extremists across state boundaries.

The decision for joint action, taken at the coordination committee meeting on Saturday last week, is being seen as an indication of a crackdown soon. The meeting was attended by nine Naxal-affected states and was chaired by Special Secretary (Internal Security), Anil Chowdhry.

Operations against Naxalites has so far been carried out individually by the state police. While they have decided on coordinated action, states will still be free to devise their own strategy to deal with Naxals. ‘‘At the operational level, there will be more criss-crossing by the state police,’’ a Home Ministry official said.

One of the key reasons behind the decision is growing realisation among Naxal affected states, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh that the rebels slip across borders in case of an operation and manage to sneak back.

‘‘Of late, it was noticed that the Naxal cadre were slipping across state borders to escape police action. Further, we have noticed that leaders are crossing over from Andhra Pradesh to Chhattisgarh to address cadres in training camps. Effective anti-Naxal operations require across state coordination and operations across each other’s borders,’’ a senior Ministry official said.

Several states including Chhattisgarh are known to have agreed to carry out joint operations across the border with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Besides the increased police casualty, the other reason cited for ‘‘hot-pursuit’’ is increased use of sophisticated weapons being used by the Naxals.

That besides, modernisation of state police including jungle warfare training of policemen was agreed upon. The Interstate Intelligence Teams and the Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre operating at the state level and reporting to the Multi-Agency Centre in Delhi will be increasingly used to give shape to coordinated action, senior officials said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Nagpur/Naxals-using-tunnels-to-escape/articleshow/4477015.cms

Naxals using tunnels to escapeSoumittra S Bose, TNN 3 May 2009, 01:39am ISTNAGPUR: Recent analysis of Naxal's combat style has revealed new methods which could prove to be a dampner to the security forces. There has been evidence of modern military techniques being used as well as sophisticated weapons. More interestingly, it's also come to the fore that the Naxals are using tunnels for quick exits and bunkers as temporary shelters in the jungles of Gadchiroli.

Two seized Naxal literature -- one believed to be a modern military manual and the other a booklet on proposals of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee's third meeting in September 2008 -- has given the police a fresh perspective to Naxal outlook.

This analysis formed the core of the debate in a recently concluded meeting of police

officers from Maharashtra and Chhatisgarh, and the officials from Central government held at Jagdalpur.

The 332-page seized military manual (Buniyadi Sainik Pathyakram), published by Awami Jung Prakashan, has brought to the fore that Naxals may be gearing up to launch a full-fledged war on the government security forces. The manual, replete with military diagrams and illustrations, has detailed descriptions about aspects like principles of war zones, troupe formation, firing area, deployment, command, control, communication, identifying of targets and such aspects.

Security agencies feel that there might be manuals of further advanced warfare technique for Naxals which already has a central military commission (CMC) and state military commissions for grooming cadres into combat techniques.

According to a highly placed source in the police department, the recent Mungner encounter in Gadchiroli had laid the fact bare that the Naxals are shifting to military-trained positional warfare with sophisticated automatic assault weapons. They are fast distancing their traditional styles of shoot-and-scoot Guerrilla warfare as well as planned mobile warfare for positional warfare. Unlike in the past, black-uniform clad Naxals showed surprising tenacity in the Mungner encounter, where three commandoes were killed, to fight for more than two hours. The C-60 commandoes were pummelled relentlessly with sophisticated weapons.

The Naxals also displayed highly developed military skills and ferocity to take on the might of the mighty C-60 commandos. Nepali-looking fighters and their skills had also left the Naxals stunned. In fact, the Border Security Force chopper used to ferry polling parties was also hit by Naxal bullet during the recent election.

The seized literature, where the plan to have tunnels was found, fell into the hands of the security forces during an encounter at Gadchiroli during the recently concluded 'Operation Parakram'.

Destroying the tunnels and bunkers constructed by the Naxals is likely to be the main aim of the combined security forces during the forthcoming joint operations. Security forces are likely to renew their joint operation along Maharashtra-Chhatisgarh border soon.

During 'Operation Parakram' launched to flush out the Naxals from Gadchiroli jungles after their 01/02 Markegaon carnage that killed 15 cops, security forces were often left foxed by the sheer quickness with which the Naxals would be giving the forces a slip. In fact, senior officials had claimed that security forces have often failed to capitalize on opportunities to trap or eliminate Naxals on several locations even after reaching close to a victory.

Naxals not only have made safe exits from encounter spots but also managed to carry away the bodies of dead or injured. The chopper, used during Operation Parakram, too failed to trace the Naxals during its air-surveillances.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/West-Bengal-seeks-EC-nod-to-take-on-Maoists-in-Lalgarh/articleshow/4382844.cms

West Bengal seeks EC nod to take on Maoists in Lalgarh

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government is awaiting a go-ahead from the Election Commission (EC) before initiating police action in Maoist-infested

The government had initially planned police action in Lalgarh which has remained beyond administrative control of the state government for the past few months. But the government is now awaiting a green signal from the EC before cracking down on Maoists in the region.

West Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Debashis Sen is in Delhi to hold talks with Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami. It is learnt that Mr Sen will brief Mr Gopalaswami on the Lalgarh situation and inform the state government on the decision taken by the Chief Election Commissioner on his return to Kolkata. Till then, no police action will be initiated in the West Midnapore’s small pocket currently under control of the Maoist activists.

It is learnt that Mr Sen had already contacted the leader of the Police Santras Birodhi People’s Committee (PSBPC) Chhatradhar Mahato over telephone and sough his help and co-operation in conducting polls in the area smoothly.

Meanwhile, CPM state secretariat member and West Bengal transport minister Subhas Chakraborty on Thursday criticised Lalgarh leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who is currently leading the agitation in Lalgarh. Mr Mahato is reportedly enjoys support of the Maoists and is spearheading the agitation in the area, reiterated on Thursday that they would prevent entry of police in the region at any cost.

Mr Chakraborty, however, said Mr Mahato has been engaged in terrorist activities and “he should be put behind the bars for his anti-state activities.” Mr Mahato, who is aware of the transport minister’s observation on their activities in Lalgarh, told his trusted loyalists that “Chakraborty should come to Lalgarh and deliver his speech against the people of Lalgarh who don’t want police in the region.”

Mr Chakraborty’s reaction came 48 hours after the Maoist had kidnapped some CPM activists and confined them at an undisclosed location. Later, the CPM activists were freed after the district administration of West Midnapore contacted Mr Mahato and sought his help to free the kidnapped CPM workers.

http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/sam_oct08_naxalite.pdf