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Bihar seeks Central aid to fight Naxals

      Patna: Expressing concern over the increasing Naxal activities in Bihar, the state's Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, has approached the Central Government for assistance in countering this menacing threat. Condemning the April 24 Naxal killing of six people in Aurangabad, Kumar said that Bihar's Home Secretary Hem Chandra Sirohi is in New Delhi to seek more Central security forces for the state in view of the forthcoming local self-government elections. "I condemn the killing (in Aurangabad). This is not the problem of a particular state now, but it is the problem of the entire nation. That is why the Prime Minister often holds discussions to deal with the Naxal menace. I have informed the Central Government about the increasing Naxal problem in the state. We have made some demands to the Central Government, which should be fulfilled. The state cannot tackle the problem alone. The state would do what it can in this matter and people should be prepared for it," Kumar said.

    The Maoist Communist Centre is one of the most dreaded Naxal outfits in Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand. Formed on October 20, 1969 with Kanhai Chatterjee and Amulya Sen as its founding members, the MCC entered Bihar in 1971, it has carried out a string of massacres, particularly targeting upper castes, in the state and is constantly at war with landlords' private army Ranvir Sena besides another ultra-leftist outfit PWG, contractors and traders. It is active in six naxalism-hit districts of Bihar and 14 districts in Jharkhand. These districts include Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Nawadah, Bhojpur and Rohtas in Bihar and Chhatra, Palamu, Garhwa, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Palamu, Dhumka, Sahebganj, Gumla, Lohardagga, and Ranchi in Jharkhand. It has 300 professional revolutionaries, 60 armed squads and 30,000 members, informed sources in Bihar say.

     Some of its frontal organizations are the Jan Pratirodh Sangharsh Manch, Krantikari Budhijivi Sangh, Krantikari Sanskritik Sangh, Krantikari Chhatra League, Communist Yuva League, Naari Mukti Sangh and Mazdoor Mukti Sangh are affiliated to MCC. Its Central Committee is the main decision making body. MCC leadership in Bihar lies mainly with backward castes, particularly Yadavs and Dalits. It has declared a liberated zone in Bihar, which include Aurangabad district. Its Bihar-Bengal Special Area Committee, Preparatory Committee for Revolutionary Peasant Struggles and Revolutionary Peasant Councils constantly monitor, review and enhance the MCC activities in the region.

     Besides the MCC and the PWG, a number of other smaller ultra-left groups are also active in Bihar. They are as follows: CPI (ML) Provisional Central Committee: Formed in 1977, it is active in Bokaro and Dhanbad; CPI (ML) Red Flag: Formed in 1980, it has a presence in Jamshedpur; CPI (ML) 2nd Central Committee: Formed in 1972 by Mahadeo Mukerjee, it is active in Vaishali, Bhagalpur and Banka; CPI (ML) Santi Pal Group: It is active in Sahebganj, Godda, Saharsa and Purnea; CPI (ML) ND: Formed in 1988 by Yatendra Kumar, it is active in Rohtas, Kaumru, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Mazaffarpur, Dhanbad and Ranchi; CPI (ML) Bhaijee Group: Formed in 1990 by S R Bhaijee, it is active in West and East Champaran; CPI (ML) Jansakti: It is active in Kaimur and East Champaran. CPI (ML) Unity Initiative: Formed in 1990, it is active in Ranchi, Gumla and Dhanbad; CPI (ML) Organising Committee: It is active in Kaimur under the leadership of B N Sharma

Massive explosives haul in Maoist hotbed (Go To Top)

     Khunti (Jharkhand): Police in the heavily-forested state of Jharkhand, a Maoist hotbed, seized a huge haul of explosives from a rebel hideout in the wee hours of Thursday. The haul, the biggest for the cops in Khunti, a tiny village surrounded by forests, indicated the rebels have been planning major strikes in the area, which border Orissa, another Maoist- hit state. Madhusudan Bari, deputy superintendent of police, said the sheer size of the haul is reflective of the growing strength of the rebels, who are spread across 13 Indian states and have in recent months stepped up attacks on civilians and police. Bari said his team reached the hideout acting on a tip off but the Maoists had slinked away. The rebels, he said, are expert at guerrilla warfare and ill- armed and short numbered police rarely stand a chance against their explosive expertise. "We got 1818 detonators, 773 gelatin sticks, 180 fuse wire, 13 kilograms of explosives material, two to three kilogram chemicals and other explosives have been seized," Bari said. "There is a rarely a direct encounter with the rebels, they attack from hiding, they lay landmines on the unmetaled roads or on places where the vehicles will have to slow speed. It is very difficult to catch them so it is purely alertness of police that we have been able to manage this haul," he added. The rebel campaign -- being fought across large swathes of southern and eastern India -- has killed 120 people in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh since January. Much of the violence in Chattisgarh has been between the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers, and members of a new government-backed anti- Maoist movement, the Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace). Police say the Maoists have 20,000 armed fighters who are backed by hundreds of thousands of supporters. Suspected Maoists also attacked railway tracks and a signalling unit in two districts of Bihar state, also plagued by rebel violence, late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who presided over a meeting of ministers from Maoist-infested states earlier this month, described the rebellion as the biggest threat to the country's internal security since independence from British rule.

Maoists penetrate urban Orissa urban  (Go To Top)

     Gajpati/Bhubaneshwar: Security in Orissa has been beefed up in the wake of Maoists' attempt to infiltrate into the state's urban areas, which came into light with the recovery of a large quantity of pamphlets by the ultras. State's Home Secretary, Santosh Kumar said on Friday that security and intelligence agencies have been put on alert in the State following the recovery. Kumar's statement came a day after several pamphlets were distributed in capital Bhubneshwar and Cuttack by Maoists, fueling fears of their infiltration into the urban domain. "We have this information that pamphlets have been distributed and we have requested our intelligence agencies to identify the source of these pamphlets and significance of these pamphlets and what message do they want to give through this," said Kumar. Kumar added that police stations located in Maoist-infested districts were being strengthened. Reacting to the threat, Chief Minister Navin Patnaik said that the government was alive to the Maoist threat. "As you know we are vigilant and we are monitoring the situation and naturally we'll look into the security of our people," said Patnaik. There has been a spurt in Maoist attacks in Orissa and neighbouring Chattisgarh and Jharkhand states in the recent past. However, so far Maoists operated from only the rural hinterland of these States. The rebel campaign -- being fought across large swathes of southern and eastern India -- has killed 120 people in Chhattisgarh since January. Much of the violence in Chattisgarh has been between the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers, and members of a new government-backed anti- Maoist movement, the Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace). Police say the Maoists have 20,000 armed fighters who are backed by hundreds of thousands of supporters. Suspected Maoists also attacked railway tracks and a signalling unit in two districts of Bihar, also plagued by rebel violence, late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who presided over a meeting of Chief Ministers from Maoist-infested states earlier this month, described the rebellion as the biggest threat to the country's internal security since independence from British rule. India last year drew up a policy focussing on poverty reduction and increased policing following a spike in guerrilla attacks in the country. Analysts had earlier warned that Maoists are making slow inroads into mainland India.

More forces for Naxal-affected states  (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Intensifying the fight against Naxalism, the Centre today sanctioned nine more India Reserve Battalions to the Naxal-affected States to enable them to effectively deal with this menace. These States include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh (2 Battalions), Jharkhand, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Sanction of additional two battalions is under consideration for two more Naxal-affected States. The Battalions sanctioned under the new scheme will get higher Central financial support of over Rs.20 crores per Battalion towards the cost of raising and infrastructure as compared to Rs.13 crores earlier that had fifty per cent loan component. The States have been asked to raise these Battalions from the Naxal-affected areas which will not only help in weaning away the unemployed youth who otherwise get attracted to alternative sources of livelihood offered by Naxal elements but will also enable the States to progressively reduce their dependence on the Central Para-Military Forces for internal security duties. The Naxal-infested States also have to arrange specialized commando type of training to the new India Reserve Battalions whose personnel are recruited locally and therefore better suited to tackle the extremist problem, knowing the demography, customs and traditions, ethos and culture of the area. The Centre has also offered support in training of these Battalions by Central Para-Military Forces and Army. In addition, five India Reserve Battalions have also been sanctioned to Jammu and Kashmir and six to the North-Eastern States, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura with 100 per cent funding as per the scheme.