Have regained many Naxal areas in Lalgarh: MHA

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s proposed visit to Lalgarh in West Bengal comes in the wake of the fact that security forces engaged in battling the Naxals there have managed to regain control over large areas dominated by Left-wing extremists and civil administration has been restored in many of these reclaimed areas. Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said a majority of areas that had become Maoist strongholds over the past few months have been regained and development activities were being initiated there. “Most of the police stations have reopened. Schools have also started running although there is a severe shortage of teachers there,” an official said.

Chidambaram’s visit was essentially aimed as an exercise to take first-hand stock of the situation and to boost the morale of the forces, officials said. On Maoist leader Kishenji, MHA sources said he was either recuperating from an injury or had been asked to lie low. “Kishenji has been very quiet. Whether it is for a tactical reason or because of differences with Ganapathi, we don’t know,” a MHA source said, adding that the government had credible intelligence to suggest a rift between the two over many issues, including over Kishenji’s frequent interaction with the media.

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/haveregainedmanynaxalareasinlalgar…/599017/  02/04/10, Indian Express)

Naxals attack Lohardaga officer

People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) Naxals, led by Rajesh Tiger, allegedly attacked Lohardaga’s Bhandra block and attempted to kill the Block Agriculture Officer J Prasad. He was sent a letter by the PLFI men in February threatening to kill him. He had filed an FIR in this regard. On Thursday, Naxals entered his block residence and opened fire injuring Prasad. He has been sent to Rajendra Medical College Hospital (RMCH).

(http://www.dailypioneer.com/246300/Naxals-attack-Lohardaga-officer.html  02/04/10, The Pioneer)

Maoists attack mobile tower in Orissa

A day after Orissa police claimed the presence of Maoists in Bisthapan Virodhi Jana Manch (BVJM) opposing displacement due to industrialisation in Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district; the rebels attacked a mobile tower today and put up posters in the area. The ultras tried to destroy the mobile tower of a private service provider in the steel hub of Kalinga Nagar by setting it afire. The structure was partially damaged but remained functional, said inspector in-charge of Kalinga Nagar police station, KC Mund. Some posters bearing the name of banned CPI (Maoists) were found near the mobile tower, he said adding the hand written posters opposed the common corridor road project which was being constructed with police protection.

The posters warned the administration and the people who supported them. Mund said the rebels were trying to create a fear psychosis among the people. Jajpur District Superintendent of Police DS Kuttey had yesterday claimed that there were some Maoist elements in BVJM trying to derail industrialisation. The Jan Manch leaders however, denied the allegation saying the outfit had no links with the left wing extremists. About 800 security personnel have been deployed in the area to facilitate construction of the 7.5 km long common corridor road project.

(http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_maoists-attack-mobile-tower-in-orissa_1366059  01/04/10, DNA India)

Top brass behind bars, rifts hit Maoists

Maoists seem to be facing a leadership crisis due to differences at the top. Though the arrest of six out of 14 politburo members of CPI (Maoist) in the past three years had already made a heavy dent, recent reports indicating differences between chief Ganapathi and senior leader Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji has made ripples down to the lower cadre. Security agencies recently seized a number of documents, including correspondence between Ganapathi and Kishenji, showing that the differences had turned into ‘suspicion’ between them over their individual security. “The documents show that there are clear differences at the top over method of operations. It, in fact, corroborated what Kishenji’s right-hand man Telugu Deepak told his interrogators in West Bengal,” said a senior security official. Deepak alias Venkateswara Reddy, a West Bengal state committee member, was arrested by the state police on March 2.

Besides stating how the top leaders were not sure about each other’s actions amid facing heat from security forces across Naxal-infested states, Deepak had told cops how even the movement of politburo members had, of late, been compromised. Referring to the seized documents, the official said the differences had occurred over the way Kishenji and his comrades in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar were associating themselves with the Lalgarh resistance as against Ganapathi’s idea of taking on security forces simultaneously in different states. CPI (Maoist) — which came into existence after the merger of People’s War Group (PWG), active in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, with the West Bengal-Bihar-Jharkhand centred Maoist and Communist Centre (MCC) in 2004 — is now facing pulls from different sides.

While one group led by Kishenji wants to dominate Lalgarh considering it the centre of their resistance, the other led by Ganapathi feel the West Bengal unit is excessively obsessed with local politics. Though both Kishenji and Ganapathi were with PWG in Andhra Pradesh, security agencies found that the former now seems to be more interested in the affairs of the northern parts having its nerve centre in West Bengal and Jharkhand. The MCC and PWG groups within CPI (Maoist) also differ on the methods of operation. Differences had cropped up in the wake of beheading of Jharkhand police inspector Francis Indwar last year. While erstwhile MCC leaders had justified such action, ex-PWG cadres had objected to the killing. Besides, erstwhile PWG members are finding it tough to deal with MCC leaders who are divided on caste lines. “The security forces are now trying to use these differences as an opportunity to break the cadre,” a security official said.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Top-brass-behind-bars-rifts-hit-Maoists/articleshow/5752423.cms  02/04/10, The Times of India)

Two LeT militants killed in encounter in Rajouri district

Two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants were killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Rajouri district on Friday. Acting on a tip off about the movement of militants in Kanthole Gundi-Darrutelna in Kalakote, 130 kms from here, police assisted by Rashtriya Rifle and CRPF personnel launched a cordon operation. An encounter soon broke out around 0830 hrs in which two militants have been killed, police said. Both of them are Pakistanis and believed to be a part of the group that infiltrated from across the border in Akhnoor on March 23. With today’s killing, 14 militants have been killed in the past one week in Rajouri district. All the slain militants belong to LeT.

Six LeT militants of Pakistani origin, who had escaped from Triyath forest after a brief encounter three days ago, were killed by security forces in Rajouri district yesterday. A search team of police assisted by army, special operation group (SoG) and CRPF tracked down the militants who had escaped from Triyath forest on March 30 following a brief encounter with the security personnel. A jawan had been killed and Station House Officer of Daramshal Police Station Inspector Showkat Ali was injured in that incident. Two militants of this group were killed in Dharamshal area on Saturday last while four were killed in Kandi Bhudal belt of Rajouri district on Wednesday.

(http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/Two-LeT-militants-killed-in-encounter-in-Rajouri-district/599140.html  02/04/10, Kashmir Live)

It’s for India, Pakistan to work out Kashmir, water issues: US

Ruling out once again a US role in resolving either Kashmir or water issues between India and Pakistan, a senior official has said it was for the two countries to work things out. “It’s like water. Kashmir always comes up in everything,” assistant secretary of state For South And Central Asian affairs Robert Blake told reporters on Thursday in a briefing about his recent trip to India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. “So it’s very prominent. But again, that’s something that the two countries are going to have to work out,” he said when asked if Kashmir issue had come up during his talks in the context of his objective to improve relations between the two South Asian neighbours.

Noting “both countries have made quite a lot of progress in the period between 2004 and 2007,” he said the suggestion it’s impossible for India and Pakistan to make progress is “simply not true”. Both “countries have made significant progress during that period. And in fact, there’s the blueprint for some sort of agreement on Kashmir, if they choose to endorse that,” Blake said. “But again… that it’s really up to India and Pakistan to decide how to move forward on that.”

On the water issue too, Blake said “again, we’re not going to get involved in bilateral issues related to water, because I think the World Bank is the best mechanism for that.” But I do believe that if asked, that the United States could help both sides with respect to water supply and again how to make better use of the existing water supply, how to make more efficient use of it, how to increase water storage, rainwater harvesting, a lot of those kind of techniques,” he said. Blake said he had told his interlocutors in Islamabad “that if Pakistan believes that India is violating the Indus Waters Treaty, then Pakistan should avail itself of the opportunity to submit whatever grievances it has to the independent arbitration panel that has been set up by the Indus Waters Treaty.”

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Its-for-India-Pakistan-to-work-out-Kashmir-water-issues-US-/articleshow/5753556.cms  02/04/10, The Times of India)

Bill to abolish state flag falls

Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed issue despite being ‘mini India’, Law and Parliamentary Affair Minster Ali Muhammad Sagar on Thursday charged BJP legislators of trying to divide the state on communal lines by creating confusion in the minds of people and suggested that the party leadership should give up ostrich-like approach viz a viz Kashmir and accept the reality that it was and continues to remain an ‘issue’. Rejecting the Private member bill moved by BJP member Jugal Kishore in the House, seeking abolishment of Jammu and Kashmir’s state flag, Sagar said the flag was a component of the special status of the state and was recognized by the Indian Parliament when both of its Houses ratified the historical Delhi Agreement. “The state flag was bestowed by the constitution and none can challenge its sanctity,” Sagar said and accused the BJP of playing divisive politics.

Terming Kashmir a disputed issue, Sagar said had it not been so, Indian leadership, from Atal Behari Vajpayee to present day would not have favoured a dialogue to settle it. He said, knowing this fact, former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was ready to talk, with the involved parties off the ‘beaten track’. Virtually irked, minister told the BJP members; “Jammu and Kashmir Ek Masla Tha, Hai, Aur Rahe Ga, Aur Aap Hamesha Loogon Ke Zakhmon Ko Kuredte Raho Ge (Jammu and Kashmir was, is an will remain an issue and you people are only trying to rub salt into the wounds of common masses”.

Sagar also accused BJP of harming the secular fabric of the country and said that today their national party leadership was seeking apology for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

While the BJP members registered their strong protests about the statement of the minister, Sagar continued saying, “Read the section 144 of Jammu and Kashmir constitution and you will come to know about the importance of the state flag”. With the intervention of Speaker Muhammad Akbar Lone, agitating BJP legislators took their seats. However, Jugal Kishore pressed the bill for voting on the floor of the house but was rejected by voice vote.

(http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=2_4_2010&ItemID=86&cat=1  01/04/10, Greater Kashmir)

Kashmir railway blown up by separatists, police say

Separatist militants have blown up a section of railway track in Indian-administered Kashmir, the police say. No trains were running when the militants detonated an improvised explosive device on the tracks near Pulwama. There were no casualties. Train services between Srinagar and Qazigund have been suspended. This is the first time militants have targeted the railway in the valley since the opening of a train service in the valley last year. Railway authorities say the track is likely to be restored by Friday afternoon. Violence has declined in Kashmir in recent years, but there are fears the militants are now trying to regroup. Hundreds of thousands of Indian troops are based in Indian-administered Kashmir to fight a two decade-old insurgency against Indian rule.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8600369.stm  02/04/10, BBC News)

Reject J&K autonomy report: RSS

Senior RSS leader Madan Das Devi has demanded that the government should reject the Justice Saghir Ahmed Working Group Report on Autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “This constituted the first step towards separatism. Instead, emphasis should be on the complete integration of the sensitive border-state with the nation.” Addressing the national discussion on Shyama Prasad Mookherjee and the Kashmir issue, organised by the Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Research Foundation of Tarun Vijay, Madan Das Devi said: “Already the Valley has the largest number of seats in the Kashmir Assembly, it has greater claim on the central funds, enjoys greater prosperity as compared to the other regions of the state and yet, it still craves for greater autonomy.” He stressed the need to restate the S P Mookherjee slogan ‘In one country there cannot be two heads, two constitutions and two flags’ and pointed how Kashmir still has two flags and Constitutions. Referring to the ongoing secret parleys and back-channel diplomacy, he said no dilution of government control on Kashmir was acceptable. Recalling the 1994 unanimous resolution of Parliament on Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “If there was any unfinished agenda, it is the liberation of the PoK”.

(http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Reject+J&K+autonomy+report:+RSS&artid=VHM8kCoNUs8=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU=&SEO= 02/04/10, Express Buzz)

Who is keeping track of communal incidents?

Multiple government agencies in Karnataka including the legislative assembly, the home department and the office of the Director General & Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) have in response to an RTI query claimed that the information on the number of communal incidents in the state ‘does not come under their purview’. On identification of riotprone areas, standard operation procedures for tackling riots and the grounds on which people can be arrested during riots too, the departments dealing with law and order and policing have said that they do not posses the information.

A report compiled by the union home ministry earlier this year says that between 2004, 2008, there were 341 cases of communal incidents in Karnataka; 108 cases, most of them related to church attacks, were reported in 2008 alone. The responses came following an RTI application filed by Shaikh Shafi Ahmed, a resident of Gulbarga, on August 22, 2009 with Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Legislative Assembly. The RTI application has had a long journey since. Four days after it was filed, the PIO transferred the application to the under secretary (law and order). From here, the application was forwarded to the DG & IGP’s office.

Five months later in March 2010, the DG&IG wrote a letter to the commissioners and superintendents of police (SP) in all the districts asking them to furnish the information, since his office also did not possess the information. On March 5, Police Commissioner Bangalore, asks the assistant commissioners of police to furnish the required details since his office too did not have the information. On March 8, the Gulbarga SP wrote to individual police stations asking them to furnish details sought in the RTI query. Seven months later there are still no answers. Frustrated by the response of various departments, Ahmed, the applicant, has now filed an appeal before the Karnataka State Information Commissioner contending that the government was ‘not co-operating’ and violating the provisions of the RTI Act. He has demanded action against the PIOs for denying information.

(http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Who+is+keeping+track+of+communal+incidents?&artid=KZUx/MWZZH8=&SectionID=7GUA38txp3s=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==&SEO=  02/04/10, Express Buzz)