Naxals call for 48-hr bandh in WB, J’khand, Orissa

In support of their demand to produce four of their arrested leaders before the court, Maoists called for a 48-hour bandh in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa from Apr 26. A Maoists leader in Kolkata said that the four arrested leaders – Chandrasekhar, Rajen, Krishna and Rajesh, who were held between Apr 14 and 15 from three different areas in Jhargram subdivision of West Midnapore district, have not been produced in the court. He said that Chandrasekhar, who is a member of the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa Committee of the Naxal, was nabbed by the joint forces on Apr 14 from Nayagram, while Rajen was arrested from Chandrakhuli. Krishna and Rajesh were held from Sirshi, he said. “They should be produced in the court immediately. We have called a 48-hour bandh on April 26 and 27 in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa,” he said in a news agency report. The Maoist leader, who sought anonymity, refuted rumours about the Maoists leader, Kishenji’s death. “He is very much alive and healthy. The police are making false propaganda,” he said.

(http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/23/naxals-call-for-48-hr-bandh-inwb-jkhand-orissa.html  23/04/10, One India News)

Govt to continue two-pronged approach to tackle Naxalism

Government on Friday said it will continue to follow its two-pronged approach of development and well-planned police action to check Naxal menace but pointed out that Central funds meant for projects for betterment of such regions were not being well used. “Government will continue to follow its two-pronged approach of development and calibrated police action to deal with the Naxal problem,” said Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a meeting of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Home Affairs here on Friday. This was the first time the Committee met after the Naxal ambush that claimed lives of 76 securitymen in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh earlier this month. “The decision will vary from situation to situation and from state to state and no fixed prescription is possible. In some areas, it may be possible to undertake some developmental activities, to be followed immediately by steps to strengthen security. “In other areas, it may be necessary to first launch police action to regain control of the territory, followed by vigorous developmental activities,” the Minister said.

The subject of the meeting was ‘Left Wing Extremism.’ Drawing attention to anti-development activities of Naxalites, Mr. Chidambaram said they have been destroying school buildings, roads and telephone towers among others because development will wean away poor tribals from the grip of the ultras. He pointed out in 2009 alone, Naxals destroyed 71 school buildings, the re-building of which may take years, depriving tribal children of education. Mr. Chidambaram said huge amount of money is being given to state governments for bringing about development in the 34 worst-affected Naxal districts under various programmes. Expressing dissatisfaction over proper utilisation of money, he called for proper utilisation of the funds provided by the Centre for development of the Naxal-affected areas.

Taking part in the discussions, the Committee members supported the government’s two-pronged policy and suggested a visit by an all-party Parliamentary delegation to the Naxal-affected areas to win the trust and goodwill of tribal people, an MHA statement said. They also pointed out the need for good coordination between local police and Central paramilitary forces and availability of actionable intelligence at the ground level. The discussions remained inconclusive and another meeting of the Consultative Committee would be held soon to continue discussions on the same subject, to enable more members to participate, the statement read. The Committee members comprise MP’s from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

(http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article408625.ece  23/04/10, The Hindu)

Hazaribagh civil surgeon gets Maoists threat

The civil surgeon of Hazaribagh Dr Vijay Kumar Prasad has complained that he is getting extortion demands from the Maoists. Binod Ganjhu, who identified himself as a leading member of the CPI (Maoist), is demanding Rs5 lakh as extortion from him, the doctor has complained to the police. Hazaribagh SP Pankaj said that he has taken up the case very seriously and the matter is being investigated. When contacted, the doctor said that after receiving the call on his cell phone, he and his family members got scared and went to the police. Dr Prasad has alleged that ever since he took over as the civil surgeon of Hazaribagh in October last year he found grave financial irregularities in centrally sponsored schemes including NRHM worth over Rs6 crores. He said that he immediately reported the matter to the deputy commissioner of Hazaribagh, as a result of which some doctors had assaulted him inside his official chamber on February 10 this year and since then he was receiving the threatening calls.

(http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_hazaribagh-civil-surgeon-gets-maoists-threat_1374667  23/04/10, DNA India)

Naxal arrested from Delhi

An alleged Naxalite, who is wanted for several offences including an attack on police in March this year in Bihar, was arrested from south Delhi, police said today. Ajay Kumar Singh (32) was apprehended from Govindpuri two days ago on a tip off, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) H G S Dhaliwal said. Singh was allegedly involved in many Naxal activities in Taryani area of Bihar including the incident of torching a police jeep on March 23 in Then the Maoists had given a call for a Bihar Bandh. “He has been involved in similar other incidents of arson and Naxal activities. He is associated with the Naxal movement in association with 10 members of Maoist Communist Council which is very active in Taryani,” Dhaliwal said. The Maoist Communist Council is being run Lakhender Paswan who was recently arrested by Bihar Police.

(http://www.ptinews.com/news/622980_Naxal-arrested-from-Delhi  23/04/10, Press Trust of India)

Have the Maoists rigged G’chiroli GP elections?

The large number of candidates who are set to be elected unopposed in the gram panchayat elections to be held in Maoist-affected Gadchiroli on Sunday has raised the heckles of security officials. There are 516 wards and 906 candidates out of whom 582 face no challenge. Around 324 candidates were disqualified for want of caste validity certificates. Security agencies are surprised that the Maoists have not given a call for boycott of elections, something they usually do as they are against the democratic process. Officials TOI spoke to feel that the Maoists may have scared away potential candidates and clandestinely planted their own in many wards.

Sources say that the Maoists may have threatened candidates with dire consequences, thus paving the way for unopposed victories for their candidates. “It does appear as a ploy by the Maoists to sneak into government bodies in large numbers,” said the source in Gadchiroli. “There would be no elections in 42 gram panchayats. While in three gram panchayats, nomination papers were filed but later withdrawn, in 39 there were no nominations,” he added. Though the election wing of the district administration feels that it may have something to do with the caste verification certificate and some demographical factors, security agencies say that the Maoist having a role in the whole affair cannot be ruled out.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Have-the-Maoists-rigged-Gchiroli-GP-elections/articleshow/5851332.cms  24/04/10, The Times of India)

Kashmir pact was just a signature away

For most people, Kashmir is an intractable problem dividing India and Pakistan. What they don’t know is that the two countries have actually an accord on Kashmir ready and had almost unveiled it in 2007. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who was Pervez Musharraf’s foreign minister from 2002 to 2007, on Friday told The Times of India of this hush-hush deal that was cobbled together through secret parleys held in India, Pakistan and several foreign capitals for more than three years and could have resolved the sub-continent’s thorniest security and political dispute, had not the anti-Musharraf upsurge triggered by the sacking of the chief justice convulsed Pakistan.

Kasuri said he has never spoken of this track-II success earlier, other than saying that he knew of a possible way to resolve the Kashmir problem that was acceptable to both countries. Kasuri said in an exclusive interview that negotiators from Islamabad and New Delhi had quietly toiled away for three years, talking to each other and Kashmiri representatives from the Indian side as well as Kashmiris settled overseas to reach what he described as the “only possible solution to the Kashmir issue”. He said the two sides had agreed to full demilitarisation of both Jammu & Kashmir as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which Islamabad refers to as Azad Kashmir. In addition, a package of loose autonomy that stopped short of the ‘azadi’ and self-governance aspirations had been agreed on and was to be introduced on both sides of the disputed frontier. “We agreed on a point between complete independence and autonomy,” he said.

Kasuri said that both countries, realizing the sensitivity of such a deal, had agreed not to declare victory or tom-tom the negotiations. He said that hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Gilani was the only Kashmiri leader who refused to come on board. “He would accept nothing but merger with Pakistan, which ironically is something we too wanted but knew wasn’t practical. I once had a seven-to-eight hour meeting with him and even Musharraf met him but he refused to budge,” Kasuri said. He refused to give details of the stance other moderate Kashmiri leaders adopted.

Kasuri said almost all the actors on the Kashmiri stage were on board the accord that was to be signed during a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Islamabad that was scheduled for February-March 2007 but never happened. “I advised the president that inviting the PM at that time would not have been possible. And that we should wait for a more peaceful moment to announce the plan otherwise all the hard work of three years by the two sides would be wasted,” he said, referring to the time when Musharraf was under siege by a country-wide lawyers’ campaign that had transformed itself into an anti-dictator movement. He said that since the Opposition was on a roll against Musharraf at that time, any peace plan would have been rejected by them as a “sell-out to India”.

Kasuri — who is from one of the country’s pre-eminent political families and whose father drafted Pakistan’s constitution — refused to give details of other aspects of the solution or name Indian officials involved in the deal, saying that since he felt it was the only way Kashmir could be resolved, it could be starting point of next round of talks. He said the reason PM Gilani had appointed Riyaz Mohammed Khan, the foreign secretary under Kasuri, as the track-II special negotiator was because he was one of the key architects of the secret Kashmir pact.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kashmir-pact-was-just-a-signature-away/articleshow/5850851.cms  24/04/10, The Times of India)

‘Kashmiri Pandits Don’t Need Salahuddin’s Certificate’

Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, today rejected Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin’s statement that their exodus from the valley had shaken the faith of fellow Muslims in them, saying they do not need any prescription from him. “We outrightly reject the recent statement of terrorist leader Syed Salahudin on exodus and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir”, Panun Kashmir President Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo told reporters after a political affairs committee (PAC) meeting here today. “Kashmiri Pandits do not need any certificate or prescription on their exodus from the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing,” he said.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) supremo Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jehad Council (UJC), had said in an interview to a local news agency yesterday that Kashmiri Pandits are part of Kashmir but their exodus from the valley at the behest of the then governor Jagmohan had shaken the faith of Kashmiri Muslims in them. Noting that Pandits have an inalienable right over Kashmir, the KP leader said, “Kashmir belongs to us and we belong to Kashmir. We don’t need dictation from these terrorists.” Panun Kashmir has been advocating carving out of a separate homeland for Pandits within Kashmir.

(http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?680159  23/04/10, Outlook India)

Two militants killed in encounter

Two militants, including a self-styled Hizbul Mujahideen commander, were killed in a gunbattle with troops in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir today. Acting on a tip off, troops of 26 Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a search operation in Manoi area of Gandoh tehsil, 240-km from here, last evening, a senior army official said. During the search operation, militants fired on the troops, who retaliated resulting in a firefight at the hideout, he said. In the gunbattle, which ended this morning, two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed, he said adding the militants were identified as Tanvir Ahmed, a self-styled commander and Ujjawar. Both of them were close associates of self-styled Hizbul divisional commander Shahdin alias Sabbir Shah. Two AK rifles, magazines and grenades have been recovered from the spot of the encounter.

(http://www.ptinews.com/news/623974_Two-militants-killed-in-encounter  24/04/10, Press Trust of India)

Mass suicide: Four caste panchayat members arrested

Even as Bajna Khurd villagers are yet to come out of the shock of the mass suicide by a family and a neighbouring woman, police have arrested four of the caste panchayat, whose diktat led them to take the extreme step. Also, police teams have been constituted and raids are being conducted at various places to nab the absconding panchayat members. On Thursday, Gajendra Jat (40), a farmer, committed suicide along with his wife Heero Devi (35), son Rohit (6), daughter Chanchal (9) and neighbour Kunwar Devi (35) by jumping before a speeding train. In his suicide note, Gajendra alleged that the panchayat held him guilty for having illicit relationship with Kunwar Devi and imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on him, forcing them to commit suicide.

Sources said many villagers were against the panchayat decision as Kunwar Devi had denied the charges levelled by her family against Gajendra. They said the villagers had, however, never imagined that Gajendra would take such a tragic step following the diktat. Karauli additional SP Maman Singh told TOI said the police managed to arrest four persons — Jeevan, Jiyalal, Mahadev and Mohar Singh — from near the village while the police teams are on the look out for the rest in neighbouring villages and adjoining districts. Meanwhile, last rites were performed as the bodies of the deceased were handed over to their relatives after postmortem. The relatives and villagers have demanded immediate arrest of the absconding panchayat members.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Mass-suicide-Four-caste-panchayat-members-arrested/articleshow/5850722.cms  24/04/10, The Times of India)

Caste clashes force exodus in Hisar

When a Dalit family had an argument with members of the jat community in Hisar, 18-year-old Suman and her father Tarachand became the victims. The sprawl began when the some jat men threw stones at Tarachand’s dog and later allegedly torched nearly 25 dalit houses. Suman, who was wheelchair-bound and her father died in the blaze. When around 20 young men came to attack the village, 18-year-old Suman was in her house. Since she was physically challenged and did not know what else to do, she locked herself in a room. Unfortunately, it was set on fire and her body discovered the next day. Dalits in the village say the jats, who consider themselves superior were increasingly growing jealous as many dalits were relatively well educated.

Most dalits here are matriculates and that is the heartburn. Suman’s brother Amit says, “They are just jealous of us doing well. So they will often pick up fights on small issues.” “We condemn this attack. But even our boys get beaten up by them,” says Anup Singh, Former village head. Ajay Chautala, senior leader of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), says, “Nothing worse than this can happen. The rate of such incidents is increasing in this area.” Dalits blame the police and local administration claiming that it is Jat dominated. They refused to cremate the bodies till the accused were arrested. Finally, 35 people, all of them jats, were held for murder and a probe ordered into the role of the police and the administration. But the dalits are still scared.

(http://www.ndtv.com/news/cities/caste-clashes-force-exodus-in-hisar-20781.php  24/04/10, NDTV)