India Timeline - Year 2015

Date

Incidents

The Telangana Government allotted INR 600 crore for installation of the CCTV camera grid across Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police Commissionerates. As a first step towards the execution of the project, the government has constituted (through GO MS No. 64 on December 27, 2014) a HPC headed by the Chief Secretary and PMU headed by Hyderabad Police Commissioner to establish CCTV surveillance network in the city with latest video analytics. The video analytic tools process live feed/recorded footage from CCTV cameras across the city and, if a face in the footage matches with the images of offenders or wanted suspects stored in the database, an alert will pop up on police computers.

As of now, the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police together have 410 CCTV cameras. Once the CCTV grid is put in place in the coming few years, Police expect that there will be over a lakh electronic eyes, including 10,000 pieces installed by the government, keeping vigil in the city.

As Pakistan resorted to fresh firing from across the border, UHM Rajnath Singh said if anyone dares to cast an evil eye on India, security forces will give a fitting response. "Our jawans are protecting the border with all their might. No one can dare cast an evil eye on India. Even if someone tries to do so, BSF and other security forces will give them a fitting reply," Singh said. "Pakistan should not do this. Diplomats of both the countries remain in constant touch," Singh added.

Number of Pakistani Rangers killed in BSF's retaliatory fire according to latest reports stands at five. Earlier it was reported that four Pakistani Rangers were killed in the firing on December 31. BSF also destroyed terrorist launch pad across the border at Abhiyal Dogra but around 23-30 militants, who were stationed there escaped the firing from paramilitary force.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Islamabad does not seem to learn any lesson, and India's response had been "more than double the capacity". "Pakistan does not like to stay quiet even on New Year day. They started (cross-border) firing at 12.30 in the night and don't seem to learn (any) lesson," Parrikar said. He said, "There are ceasefire violations….Whenever they want infiltration to be done, many times they do the firings at night…I don't think that we have allowed that to happen… Our response is more than double the capacity."

Coast Guard patrol vessels intercepted a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea. MoD officials said the four people on the fishing trawler set it ablaze after an "hour-long hot pursuit", which ended with "warning shots" being fired to stop the vessel around 365 km from Porbandar in Gujarat.

MoD was quite emphatic that the fishing boat which was being quietly tracked after it began its journey from Keti Bandar near Karachi (Sindh, Pakistan) based on specific intelligence inputs and wireless intercepts was carrying explosives.

The location of the ship off Gujarat coast is considered significant because of the high-profile events Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and Vibrant Gujarat which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others. Two Coast Guard vessels are still searching the area for any "tell-tale signs" of the conspiracy that was afoot.

Almost a year before 26/11, as reported on April 12, 2007) eight LeT terrorists had come from Karachi through the sea route and were intercepted by the Coast Guard off Mumbai coast but were let off for a "consideration". Two of the eight terrorists were held in Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) following an Intelligence Bureau operation in March, 2014. The duo had travelled from Diu to Mumbai-Delhi-Chandigarh-Rajouri and was helped by a dozen other local operatives who functioned as their guides. The six others remained untraceable.

The two terrorists Abdul Majid Rain from Sindh and Jameel Ahmed Awan from Abbotabad later told their interrogators that they were motivated by speeches of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and 'commander' Azam Cheema. The two leaders had told them to fight "excesses" against Muslims in J&K and elsewhere in India. Both were enrolled in LeT in 2003, four years before they were launched into India and were given arms training in PoK and shown CDs of "atrocities of security forces" on Muslims.

Suspected pro-IS Twitter account handler Mehdi Masroor Biswas was in touch with IS combatant stationed in Iraq, according to Bengaluru Police Commissioner MN Reddi. "During our interrogation of Biswas, we have found that the IS account holder was in touch with the IS combatant and he was an aide," MN Reddi stated. Biswas was produced before a city court on January 2 and sent to judicial custody till January 16, 2015.

A heavily armed group of CPI-Maoist cadres killed a former intelligence unit 'chief' of the Maoists, identified as Shivaji Korsa at Kottapal village in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, who had surrendered before Police in 2012.

Police busted an arms factory of the PLFI at Jaldega in Simdega District of Jharkhand.

The Centre has issued fresh warnings of a possible direct assault on government institutions by the CPI-Maoist in Kerala.

Maoists torched a road roller and a motorcycle at Sarhandi Sihari village under Tadoki Police Station limits in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh.

SFs arrested an unidentified militant belonging to NDFB-IKS at Chhagaliya near the Assam-West Bengal border in Dhubri District.

SFs arrested one KYKL militant, 'chapel', Thounaojam Abungoba alias Meiraba alias Tombabu alias Sanathoi Meitei (22), from the general area of Tere Urak Ngamukhong in Thoubal District. One .9 mm pistol along with magazine and four live rounds of .9 mm were recovered from his possession.

SFs arrested a KYKL militant, 'sergent' Sanasam alias Johnson alias Maniyai alias Abung (29) near a vehicle check post at NH-102 near Pallel in Thoubal District.

The NLFT has suffered another split with "commander" Prabhat Jamatya (39), in early December 2014, leaving the group's camp in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh with more than 25 followers and a large number of arms and ammunition. NLFT-Prabhat, have based themselves in the large and sprawling house of a retired Bangladeshi Policeman in Rajghat the tea garden area under Chunarughat sub-district of Bangladesh, which borders Monaibari under Khowai Subdivision of Tripura. The rebels have started sending "tax" notices to Indian residents from across the border.

Sources in the Special Branch (intelligence wing) of the State Police confirmed the movement of more than 25 NLFT-Prabhat rebels in the area. They said the group's main purpose was to create trouble during the TTAADC polls and extort money from candidates and parties."According to our reports, all the militants are armed. They have 10 AK-series rifles, 10 stenguns, six .303 rifles and a number of grenades. The NLFT is terribly short of money and resources because returns from 'tax' collection and ransom from abductions have fallen precipitously. More than any political purpose, their aim is to keep the group going," a senior SB official said.

As Pakistan resorted to fresh firing from across the border, UHM Rajnath Singh said if anyone dares to cast an evil eye on India, security forces will give a fitting response. "Our jawans are protecting the border with all their might. No one can dare cast an evil eye on India. Even if someone tries to do so, BSF and other security forces will give them a fitting reply," Singh said. "Pakistan should not do this. Diplomats of both the countries remain in constant touch," Singh added.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Islamabad does not seem to learn any lesson, and India's response had been "more than double the capacity". "Pakistan does not like to stay quiet even on New Year day. They started (cross-border) firing at 12.30 in the night and don't seem to learn (any) lesson," Parrikar said. He said, "There are ceasefire violations….Whenever they want infiltration to be done, many times they do the firings at night…I don't think that we have allowed that to happen… Our response is more than double the capacity.

The NIA probing the October 2, 2014 Bardhaman blast case, secured the transit remand of JMB operative Sahanur Alam. And it will enable NIA to take him to Kolkata (West Bengal) from Guwahati (Assam), where he will be produced in a special court there on January 3 along with Rafikul Islam and Sariful Islam, who had earlier been arrested for their alleged jihadi links.

Delhi Police Commissioner, BS Bassi said, that 13 terrorists have been arrested by the Special Cell since January 2014. Of these seven are from IM, three from LeT and three from SIMI. The arrested IM operatives include engineering students Mahruf, Waqar Azhar and Shaquib Ansari of the outfit's Rajasthan module.

Currently, three SWAT teams of the Special Cell are being deployed at Greater Kailash area of Delhi to foil any terrorists attack, Bassi said, adding and the cell is also engaged in verifying and monitoring second-hand car dealers and chemical sellers.

The Madhya Pradesh ATS clarified to their counterparts in Karnataka that CCTV footage of suspects moving around Bengaluru blast (December 28, 2014) site does not match with pictures of any of the SIMI operatives, who had escaped from Khandwa jail. Karnataka Police had been suspecting role of Al-Ummah and five SIMI fugitives in the bomb blast.

The crime branch arrested two Nepalese nationals from Bettiah in West Champaran District of Bihar and recovered FICN worth INR 18,000 in denominations from them. The ASP (Crime), Shailendra Singh Chouhan said two arrested youths have been identified as Gasul Alam Khan and Javed Khan. Alam studied till class X in Nepal and is into tailoring work while Khan is his friend and repairs mobile phones.

The NIA filed a charge sheet in the FICN case involving a lynchpin of the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate. In the charge sheet the NIA names Ekramul Ansari as the prime accused who had attempted to smuggle in FICN worth INR 49,00,000 from Dubai to India. The NIA states that Ansari had brought into India the FICN from Dubai and had planned on circulating it. All the notes that were found were of the INR 1000 denomination and on verification at Nashik (Maharashtra) it was found to be fake. Ansari who originally hails from East Champaran District in Bihar was allegedly working with the Dawood syndicate which is also involved in the circulation of fake currency.

A Policeman, identified as Assistant Constable Somlu Hemla (30), was killed by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres with bow and arrow at Patliguda village in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.

A person named as Anup Kumar who claims himself to be a 'senior Maoist leader' operating in Sukma District has threatened to abduct Mungeli District Collector Sanjay Alang in the State within 24 hours if he failed to cancel the drive to recruit Revenue Inspectors in the area.

A stone crusher unit at Nedumpoyil in Kannur District of Kerala was attacked by CPI-Maoist cadres. Police and residents said New Bharath Stone Crusher which is close to the Chekkeri Kurichya colony near 24th Mile was vandalised and set afire by a gang of five around 2.30 am after they threatened employees at gunpoint. The tribal community had complained against this unit many times.

A group of Maoists vandalised and ransacked a government office in Kannur District of Kerala. They first tied up security personnel and vandalised the office. The group left after taking away the CCTV cameras and raising pro-Maoist slogans.

The Kurichya Munnetta Samiti, an organisation representing the Kurichya Adivasi community, denied that residents of some tribal colonies have connections with the Maoists.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said it was really unfortunate that even after over six decades of Independence the poor villagers were deprived of basic amenities including water, road, electricity etc. He attributed "administrative failure" as a major cause behind Naxalism and assured to provide development-oriented schemes and good governance in the State.

The dead body of an Adivasi villager, Kero Hasda, was recovered in Chirang District. The death toll in the violence which started with the December 23, 2013 NDFB-IKS attacks, its backlash and in Police firing has gone up to 82. "He [Kero Hasda] was missing since December 25 from Koraibari village in Chirang district," Inspector-General of Police (law and order) S.N. Singh said.

An AR jawan was injured, in unconfirmed reports, during an encounter between AR personnel and suspected NDFB-IKS militants under Itakhola Police Station area in Sonitpur District. A meeting of the Special Operations Group of Unified Command was held at the Army's Red Horns Division Headquarters at Rangiya on January 2 to review the security situation following the NDFB-IKS attacks.

SFs arrested one KPLT linkman, identified as Babu Hanseyin Kheroni Police Station of Karbi Anglong District. Police also recovered one 9mm pistol with 4 ammunitions and 5 bullets of AK series assault rifle from the residence of Sarmen Enghi located in village Notun Enghi Gaon.

Home Commissioner Prateek Hajela said that the number of Adivasi and Bodo people taking shelter in relief camps has come down to 2,08,000 (on January 2) from 2,36,000 (on January 1), with more people returning home.

A Junior Commissioned Officer of 12 Assam Rifles was killed, in an encounter, with militants of the NDFB-IKS in Sonitpur District. Official sources said a group of 12 NDFB-IKS militants came down from the hilly Seijosa area near Pakke reserve forest in East Kameng District of neighboring Arunachal Pradesh and opened fire on Security Forces (SFs).SFs had launched operations against NDFB-IKS after the later carried out December 23 massacre of Adivasis in Sonitpur, Chirang and Kokrajhar Districts.

RPF claimed that two troopers of AR were killed in a bomb attack as a part of "Operation Jackal" launched by its armed wing, PLA on December 31, 2013. State Police have received report of explosion of two IEDs simultaneously on the road leading to Kotha in Chandel District, the area of occurrence as claimed by RPF's 'publicity secretary' Roben Khuman dispatched to the media in Imphal. However, Police have no report of any casualty. They said that the IEDs were triggered in the evening around 4 p.m. while troops of 24 AR based at Kotha village were on routine patrol duty.

SFs arrested a PLA militant, Maibam Kanta Singh alias Manisana (37), from the general area Heirok Part - II in Thoubal District.

Four GNLA militants surrendered before West Garo Hills SP in-charge Bruno A Sangma. The surrendered cadres were led by Banang G Momin and the rest were identified as Tapseng M Sangma alias Rakchak, Walgrik A Sangma, and Damseng Ch Marak. He was the only member to surrender with a weapon. Banang G Momin handed over a 7.65 pistol with some ammunition.

An IED was recovered from inside an ATM booth in Mokokchung town in Mokokchung District. According to official sources, the IED was reportedly found by a CRPF trooper who had gone to the ATM to draw cash.

At least three Pakistani Rangers were killed as BSF responded effectively to heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistan in Hiranagar and Samba sectors as security forces foiled infiltration attempt by a group of seven to eight militants at Chor Gali in Samba sector. However, there had been no reports of any casualties or damage on the Indian side.

Groups of Pakistani terrorists have positioned themselves at eight to nine launch pads along the LoC and IB in J&K. They are waiting to infiltrate under the cover of fire provided by Pakistani forces, for carrying out attacks in India ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit in January, according to sources in the Indian security establishment. Intelligence reports have indicated that the potential infiltrators, who have organized themselves in groups ranging from four to five members to 40-45 members, are attempting to cross over "with the blessings of the highest authority in the Pakistani army".

Pakistan's ISI is disappointed with militant group LeT over the peaceful conduct of J&K elections. According to reports, ISI had asked LeT to disrupt the elections in J&K. However, due to effective vigilance of Indian Security Forces, LeT failed to disrupt the polls in which 65.2 voters cast their vote.

Two Army troopers were killed and two others injured in cross-border firing by Pakistan in Tanghdar sector of Kupwara District

An investigation into the activities of Areeb Majeed, an alleged recruit of terror group IS has led NIA to send requests to authorities in the US, Canada and Australia for cyber evidence. The NIA has approached the authorities in the US, Canada and Australia for providing cyber evidence under the MLAT, official sources said in New Delhi.

Security was increased at the IGI airport in New Delhi following an intelligence alert that terrorists may target Air India flights going to Afghanistan, officials said. The CISF, which looks after the airport's internal security, has been asked to be on alert and keep a tab on the activities of every person. Besides, Delhi Police, which is in charge of security outside the airport, was also put on alert.

The four major international airports of India in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata constitute about 94 per cent of instances of drugs smuggling and seizures, according to NCB data. Out of a total 63 incidents of narcotics detection and seizure at airports in the country in 2013, 59 were reported from these air facilities, one of the largest hubs in terms of passenger and cargo load. Only six per cent of cases were detected at the airports of Guwahati (Assam), Bangalore (Karnataka) and Madurai (Tamil Nadu).

While Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport reported a total of 17 drugs seizure cases during the said period, the Chennai airport had 16 such instances while Kolkata and Mumbai airports registered 13 such instances each during 2013. Over 1,026 kilograms of narcotics, including Ketamine, Ganja, Heroin, Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine were seized from these air facilities during the year leading to the arrest of 75 people under the provisions of the NDPS Act, the data said.

Electronic chatter shows that two Pakistani fishing boats, one of which sank after being intercepted by the Coast Guard in the Arabian sea in early hours of January 1, were in frequent touch with Pakistan Army and Maritime Security Agency through a "contact". Sources privy to the wireless intercepts, which led technical intelligence agency NTRO to alert the Coast Guard, claimed that the "contact" also talked to someone in Thailand on a frequent basis. The intercepts strengthen the official view in New Delhi that the fishing boats were on a sinister mission.

Two troopers belonging to 206 Combat CoBRA unit were injured when a pressure bomb planted by CPI-Maoist exploded, during a combing operation by the CoBRA troopers, in the forests under Chintagufa Police Station limits in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh.

A CPI-Maoist 'sub-zonal commander', identified as Thakur Khaira, was arrested from Satletba forest under Kotoria Police Station limits in Banka District of Bihar.

Bihar Government distributed cheques worth INR 1.6 million among 36 surrendered Maoists in Muzaffarpur District of Bihar. Muzaffarpur Zonal IG Paras Nath and DM Anupam Kumar handed over cheques of INR 46,000 to each of the surrendered Maoists.

Inspector-General of Police (law and order) S.N. Singh said that the ULFA-I might carry out strikes ahead of Republic Day.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the December 23 attack on Adivasi could not have been possible without the knowledge of the NDFB-IKS's 'Commander-in- chief' Ingti Kathar Songbijit. "The attacks could not have taken place without Songbijit consent. His deputy might have executed the attacks but it is not possible that the attacks happened without Songbijit knowing of it," Gogoi said at a press conference here.

SFs arrested a UNLF militant identified as, Sanabam Shyam alias Thaja (35), from near Thoubal dam under Yairipok Police Station in Thoubal District.

SFs arrested one cadre of KNF-N, identified as Letginhao Haokip alias Haopu Haokip (35), from Nongpok Keithelmanbi bazar in Thoubal District.

NSCN-K described ACAUT stand on 'any' and 'every nominal taxation' as 'unyielding' and challenge to 'Naga struggle' and 'Naga Identity'. Upholding Indian Constitution and citing Indian Constitutional guarantees to battle the NPG(s) in itself is self-explanatory of their anti-Naga intent and purpose. Only time will tell as to what extent the damage the ACAUT may inflict on the Naga struggle, the benefits they intent to yield and the price they are willing to pay.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the decade-old militancy still persists in some areas of the State. "The insurgency has not been uprooted yet despite all out efforts. Militants are still on the operational mode in some interior places of the State", he said while addressing a gathering to mark the Police Day in Agratala.

Top official sources told around midnight tonight that the BSF retaliated after the Rangers started pounding about dozen forward BSF posts and all villages falling along the IB in entire Hiranagar and Samba sectors at 9.30pm killing three Rangers at Bhopalpur, Aghora and Khora Pakistani posts opposite Mangu Chak in Samba sector at around 11 pm tonight. All forward posts and villages in Paharpur, Katau, Charu, Londi, Patti, Chakara, Lacchipura, Bobiya, Pansar, Manyari, Karol and Paharpur in Hiranagar sector, Khwara, Regal, Chilyari, Manguchak, Chachyal, Ramgarh, Maluchak, Suchetgarh Kullian and Mawa in Samba sectors were being targeted by the Rangers.

Pakistani Rangers shelled all forward villages and BSF posts in Hiranagar and Samba sectors, killing a woman and injuring 10 civilians. Over 3000 people have so far left their homes in the border areas of the two sectors and have taken shelter in the relief camps.

Official sources said that at least 70 new militants, who were well trained in new kind of 'sneak-in fidayeen attack strategy' were camping at five to six places in Sialkot area of Pakistan opposite Samba sector with a view to infiltrate into the Indian territory to carry out Arnia like terror attack before the visit of United States President Barrack Obama to India on January 26. The official sources said "The militants were well equipped with arms and explosives and new device 'floaters', which would safely help them swim through nullahs in Samba and Hiranagar sectors, in their infiltration attempts." All 70 trained LeT militants were Pakistanis, according to sources.

Official sources said that at least 70 new militants, who were well trained in new kind of 'sneak-in fidayeen attack strategy' were camping at five to six places in Sialkot area of Pakistan opposite Samba sector with a view to infiltrate into the Indian territory to carry out Arnia like terror attack before the visit of United States President Barrack Obama to India on January 26. The official sources said "The militants were well equipped with arms and explosives and new device 'floaters', which would safely help them swim through nullahs in Samba and Hiranagar sectors, in their infiltration attempts." All 70 trained LeT militants were Pakistanis, according to sources.

Police have identified visuals of six men moving suspiciously in and around the site of December 28, 2014 Church Street in Bangalore (Karnataka). The footages of the six suspicious elements were isolated after sifting through hundreds of hours of footage recovered from CCTV cameras placed by various establishments in and around Church Street.

Security across the coastal regions of Gujarat has been increased. According to reports, at least 173 Marine Commandos have been deployed at 20 Police Stations along the coastal areas to foil any attempt by the Pakistan-operated terrorist outfits to create unrest in India. Confirming the development, DySP BJ Ninama of the Marine Police said, "After the incident of Pakistani boats being chased by Coast Guard in Indian waters, we have ordered 173 of our trained Marine Commandos to take positions at 20 marine police stations situated on state coastline."

Bihar Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi while addressing a gathering at Tarapur in Munger District said that Naxals are "not wrong in demanding levy from contractors if quality of work is poor." He recounted his interaction with three LWEs before he became CM.

Six relief camps have been closed down in Chirang and Kokrajhar districts, and with this, the total number of relief camps has come down to 96 in the four Districts namely Chirang, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Sonitpur. As on January 4, approximately 164,790 inmates are living in 96 relief camps.

Activists of the ATPC, led by 'general secretary' Manak Chandra Bordoloi, staged a dharna to demand dissolution of the present TAC and holding of elections in February 2015.

Police arrested two militants of LeT from a hotel in Srinagar city. A Police officer said that two LeT militants were arrested when Police raided the hotel during the night after specific information about their presence in the hotel. The duo has been identified as Tanveer Ahmad Baba and Shabir Ahmad.

A BSF personal was killed in cross-border firing along the IB in J&K's Samba District. Officials said the BSF jawan, Devinder Singh, from Aligarh was killed as Pakistani troops fired on forward Indian posts and civilian areas in Samba and Kathua Districts.

SFs arrested two militants belonging to NDFB-IKS, identified as Nakul Narzary and Raju Rabha, from Namora under Jinjia Police Station area of Sonitpur District of Assam.

The Chief Executive Officer of ASDMA, P.K. Tiwari, said during the last 24 hours, 11 relief camps have been closed down with 24,651 inmates returning home. Now there are 140,139 inmates in 85 relief camps in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Sonitpur Districts (Assam), P.K. Tiwari, said.

SFs arrested two suspected NDFB-IKS militants from Shamuktala area under the Shamuktala Police Station in Alipurduar District of Assam. The militants were nabbed of West Bengal close to the border with Assam. A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from them, police added.

DGP K. Nagaraj claimed that insurgency has been largely contained in Tripura with only eight extremist-related incidents registered in the State during 2014 whereas it was nine in the year 2013. The number of abduction cases has reduced to eight in the year 2014 against ten in the previous year and only one kidnapped person is still in militant captivity adds. "A major achievement was the seizure of a huge cache of arms and ammunition by Assam Rifles jawans from Mizoram on July 2 last year. Acting on specific information, the Assam Rifles jawans of the 45th battalion seized six AK-series rifles, three G-3 rifles and one light machine gun. Twenty-five NLFT militants surrendered to the state government in 2014," Nagaraj said.

DGP K Nagaraj, during his interaction with the media, added, "Since November 2013, Bangladesh Army, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guards of Bangladesh have conducted a number of operations against Indian militants, destroyed several NLFT camps and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition ".(Tripura)

At least five CPI-Maoist cadres are suspected to have been killed in an anti-Maoist operation, involving Greyhound personnel of Andhra Pradesh Police, Odisha's SOG and Odisha State Police in Malkangiri District of Odisha. IG of Police, South-Western Range Yashwant Jethwa however said officially the deaths cannot be confirmed as the teams have not recovered anybody.

Maoists killed two tribals, identified as Jaga Kabasi and Jaga Sodhi, at Keriaguda under Kalimela Police Station limits in Malkangiri District of Odisha. After conducting a 'praja court' in the village, they tied up the two villagers to a tree and beat them to death.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi while addressing a public meeting at Tarapur in Munger District, organized under the banner of Zila Kisan Mazdoor Sammelan, said his cabinet colleagues do not cooperate with him in development measures aimed at curbing Naxalism in the State.

The Pakistani Rangers joined by Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing using long range weapons targeting about 28 BSF posts and more than 70 border villages in Hiranagar and Samba sectors in J&K.

Army's 7 Garhwal, 15 Rashtriya Rifles and 23 Grenadiers launched a joint cordon and search operations in Kandiyan forest area of Keran sector in Kupwara District of J&K after inputs that at least two groups of militants have infiltrated in Kupwara sector. Sources said that these two groups of militants, at least 15 in number, are hiding in the forest area.

Authorities in Thailand arrested BKI militant, identified as Gurmeet Singh alias Jagtar Singh Tara convicted for his involvement in a bomb attack in 1995 that killed former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and at least 15 other people. Gurmeet, entered Thailand in October 2014 and was arrested in the eastern province of Chonburi, Thai National Police Spokesman Lieutenant General Prawut Thawornsiri said. Prawut said Gurmeet faces extradition to India.

IM 'India operations chief' Yasin Bhatkal was questioned by NIA in December 28, 2014 Bangalore (Karnataka) blast case. "Some IM suspects are in Yerawada Jail, Pune. NIA officials visited the prison last week and questioned some of them. But there's been no major breakthrough. NIA sleuths also cross-checked visitors of these terror suspects in the past couple of months. The details of phone calls made from the STD booth in the jail are also being checked," the sources said.

Indian Government said the rogue Pakistani fishing boat, which sank after being intercepted by the Coast Guard in the Arabian Sea in the early hours of January 1, had "suspected terror links" while dismissing the "the smugglers at sea" theory. "I think they were suspected terrorists (the four persons on board the fishing vessel) as they committed suicide. A normal boat carrying drugs would have surrendered. Why would smugglers keep in touch with Pakistan maritime authorities?" said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal PP Reddy warned that India should be prepared for war on both fronts, namely China and Pakistan. He also said that a nuclear war in the subcontinent could not be ruled out. Reddy added that China was supplying weapons to Pakistan. "Both our neighbours are equipped with nuclear weapons. There is a possibility of rise in terrorists' attacks. India has to be cautious from both the sides and should be prepared for any war," said PP Reddy.

Among the three Indian operatives of IS one is working in an oil refinery company and another in a hospital, most likely looking after patients. Farad Sheikh and Shaheen Tanki, have claimed that they were living layman's lives after taking up these jobs. It is not yet clear which company or hospital they are working for, or the nature of the work assigned to them.

SFs arrested a NDFB-IKS militant, Daimu Narzary, from Kajalgaon in Chirang District of Assam. IGP-law and order S.N. Singh said Narzary was involved in a grenade blast at Chapaguri in Chirang some months ago."Two grenade shells of 40mm UBGL and a Chinese grenade were recovered from him," Singh said.

IGP-law and order, S.N. Singh retracted from his earlier statement absolving NDFB-IKS 'commander-in-chief' I.K. Songbijit of the December 23 carnage of Adivasis. "Whatever the chief minister has stated is correct and I stand by his statement," he told reporters. The IGP-Law and Order had on January 2 said that the killings were carried out under direction of G. Bidai, the number two leader of the NDFB-IKS without the consent of Songbijit. (Assam)

SFs arrested ULFA-I militant, Kamal Laskar alias David Asom (32), from Dhemajigaon near Raha in Nagaon District of Assam. ADGP-Law and Order RM Singh further revealed that several political leaders of the State belonging to different parties could be targeted by the banned outfit.

Police killed a suspected militant of NDFB-IKS in the Bogijaan area along the Golaghat-Karbi Anglong border in Assam. Two grenades, a 9mm pistol, seven rounds of cartridges and two mobile phones were recovered from the site. The suspected NDFB-IKS cadre who was killed in the encounter was identified as Birat Basumatary of Gohpur in Sonitpur District.

SFs arrested two KLA cadres, 'Private' Thakhomang Kilong and 'Private' Thanglienjam Gangte, in Kanglatongbi market of Senapati District of Manipur. They confessed of being involved in extortion from the local businessmen and vehicles plying on NH-2, it said.

SFs arrested a PREPAK-PRO militant from Songpijang village of Senapati District of Manipur. One 7.65 mm pistol, two magazines and six live rounds were recovered from the insurgent.

Police arrested two persons while they were allegedly trying to extort money from shopkeepers at Supply Colony area in Dimapur town of Dimapur District of Nagaland. The arrested persons were identified as "captain" Hekato Achumi (22) of NNC-NA and Chulen Chang (36).

Police arrested two extortionists from Mia Bazaar area, Kushiabill in Dimapur. The duo was identified as one Hukato Awomi alias Michael (27) and Tokaho Awomi alias Kato (28).SFs recovered one vehicle tax bricks transportation in the name of 'GPRN (Ministry of Chaplee)', one bricks challan of FGN, five Lorry challan (guide pass association) and cash worth INR 1090 from the duo.

A former Naxal 'commander' identified as Pramod Majhi alias Sagar (26) who was second in command in the OMP surrendered in Berhampur town of Ganjam District of Odisha.

CPI-Maoist cadres stormed the residence of Chhattisgarh Congress leader Manturam Pawar and attacked his guards, injuring two of them at Pakhanjur in Kanker District. Manturam Pawar who is in Raipur confirmed the incident saying that he and his family were safe as Maoists couldn't barge inside the home.

The exchange of fire between the CPI-Maoist and SFs and the suspected killing of five Maoists belonging to the AOBSZC at Bejingi forest in Malkangiri District of Odisha on January 5 is turning out to be a mysterious affair. Even a day after the exchange of fire, the Police were neither able to confirm the actual number of casualties nor recover any of the bodies to substantiate their claim.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said he was ready to talk to Naxalites and bring them back in the mainstream of society. Talking to media persons after his weekly janata darbar, the CM said he was against the policy of bullet for bullet to finish Maoism.

Around 30 CPI-Maoist cadres went on a rampage setting ablaze six vehicles at Tekulagudem in Wajedu mandal of Khammam District of Telangana near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border.

An Odisha State Government audit has found a total of INR 12.8 million worth projects in Narayanpatna block of Koraput District has been embezzled.

The Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to raise a tribal Police battalion to take on the CPI-Maoist. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Naxalite issue headed by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has recommended a tribal battalion, staffed by tribal youth from East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, exclusively to counter Maoist insurgence on the Andhra-Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

The CPI-Maoist called out to people to "condemn and boycott" the visit of US President Barack Obama to India to be the chief guest at the 65th Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

More than 10,000 villagers have been forced to leave their homes along the IB in Samba and Kathua sectors in Jammu District of J&K in the last two days due to relentless shelling by Pakistani Forces, causing a humanitarian crisis in the middle of a hard winter. While close to 5,000 people have fled their homes in Samba, a similar number have left Kathua for safety, retreating around 6km into Indian territory in camps like Hariachak, Hiranagar, Plat, Kanha, Baniyari and Chadwal.

The BSF foiled infiltration attempt along the IB in Hiranagar sector of Kathua District of J&K forcing a group of four to five militants to retreat to Pakistan from where they had been launched into this side by the Rangers. According to sources, the militants were plotting Arnia like attack on the BSF.

The NIA special court framed charges against 11 accused, all suspected to be operatives of IM and SIMI, for the serial blasts at PM (then Gujarat chief minister) Narendra Modi's 'Hunkar Rally' at Gandhi Maidan in Patna (Bihar) on October 27, 2013. NIA Special Judge Anil Kumar Singh also directed the prosecution to produce witnesses from January 19 onwards. The 11 accused in the case are Haider Ali, Numan Ansari, Taufiq Ansari, Mujibullah Ansari, Umar Siddiqui, Azharuddin Qureshi, Iftekar Alam, Firoz Alam, Ahmad Hussain, Fakhruddin and a juvenile. Charges including for murder, criminal conspiracy have been framed against them under Sections 109, 120B, 121, 171A, 302, 324, 326, 360, 441 and 468 of the IPC, UAPA, Explosives Substances Act, and various section of Criminal Law Act.

Coast Guard vessels operating from West Bengal's Haldia and Frazergunj stations in Bay of Bengal have increased vigil along the east coast after intelligence reports warned of a possible terror strike before or during US President Barrack Obama's visit to India.

The intelligence agencies have indicated role of LeT behind the Gujarat off coast incident near Porbandar. Sources indicated that the LeT operative module had possible plans to target Navy installations at Porbandar port.

Confirming that the December 28, 2014 Bangalore blast bore signature of July 2008 serial blasts in the city, an IB source said they are looking at the involvement of absconding terror suspects. Pointing out the IED used in the blast was not something that could be assembled by local goons or amateur activists, the source said: "The blast does have the imprint of a professional bomb-maker. It could be fugitive terror suspects with experience in triggering off similar explosions."

The Australian Government warned that terrorists were planning attacks in India, and urged its citizens to "exercise a high degree of caution" while travelling through the country. "We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks in India and assess that attacks could occur anywhere at any time with little or no warning, including in locations frequented by Australians," said a statement on smartraveller.gov.au, the Australian government's travel advisory site.

Army, in an encounter, killed a suspected KPLT militant near Hamren in Karbi Anglong District of Assam. An M16 rifle and ammunition were recovered.

SFs arrested five GNLA militants from Rongsoi on the Assam-Meghalaya border. Five pistols and ammunition were recovered.

SFs arrested two militants belonging to NDFB-IKS, identified as Probin Brahma and Vijay Kumar Brahma, from Banshijhora in Parbatjhora subdivision in Kokrajhar District of Assam. A 9mm pistol, a 7.62mm pistol, ammunition and mobile phones were recovered.

Police arrested two UDLA militants from Hailakandi District of Assam.

Police personnel, in an encounter, killed two unidentified militants at Kumbi Sabal Leikai in Bishnupur District of Manipur.

The combing operation to arrest RK, in the Andhra Pradesh Odisha border region, will continue, said Malkangiri SP Mitrabhanu Mahapatra. Maoist literatures, 500 bags of rice and grenades have been recovered from the encounter site.

A red alert has been sounded in the Visakhapatnam agency of Andhra Pradesh and along the Andhra-Odisha Border following a massive exchange of fire between the Maoists and Armed Forces near Mukundapalli village in Malkangiri District of Odisha.

Two suspected Naxals, identified as Surendra Surin alias Dela and Simran Surin were killed by CPI-Maoist cadres allegedly over a dispute regarding sharing of levy at Kadamdiha in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand.

The Kerala Forest Protective Staff Association has expressed concern about the safety of forest guards in the light of Maoist attacks on forest outposts in Wayanad and sought protection for the officials.

A first-of-its kind 'battle field hospital' is being set up in Chintalnar area of Dantewada District which will provide immediate first aid to the injured CRPF and other SFs officials undertaking anti-CPI-Maoist operations.

Bhima Rao (40), a tribal of Rewali village in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh, was killed by 'unidentified persons.' Police had registered a case against "unknown, uniformed and armed Maoists" for killing Bhima on suspicion that he was a 'Police informer'.

SFs arrested a NNC militant, identified as 'Leutinent' Hasiapou Rongmei (35), under Nungba Police Station in Tamenglong District of Manipur in the intervening night of January 6 and 7. SFs recovered one 9 mm pistol with 08 live rounds from him.

Dosti bus service, a low-cost convenient way to travel between Delhi (India) and Lahore (Pakistan), has come under terror threat. Following intelligence inputs received from a foreign agency on January 2 of a possible fidayeen attack on Dosti bus service, both the countries have stepped up security measures for the bus service that originates from Delhi on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and from Lahore every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Militant belonging to NSCN-IM and ZUF fought a gun battle at Nungtek under Noney Police Station in Tamenglong District of Manipur.

The two militant killed by SFs at Kumbi Sabal Leikai under Moirang Police Station in Bishnupur District of Manipur on January 6 were identified as URF-Lalheiba 'home secretary' Puyam Ruhinikumar alias Mongyamba (50) and 'finance secretary' Keithelakpam Tiken (45).

A militant belonging to the ASAK surrendered in Tura (West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya). The militant identified as Breni Ch Marak (23) hails from Oragitok area on the foothills of Nokrek national park under Rongram Police Outpost. He surrendered at Tura police station and handed over a 7.65 pistol with two magazines containing eight live rounds and a wireless communication handset.

HNLC reiterated its readiness for talks but made it clear that it was not ready for demobilization and disarmament. In a statement e-mailed to media houses, the HNLC 'publicity secretary' Sainkupar Nongtraw said their main agenda in coming forward for peace talks was to achieve a political solution to the burning problems Demanding equal treatment [Khasi and Garo militants], the outfit said that the Chief Minister should avoid being one-sided to prevent disunity among the people of Meghalaya. We deserve to be treated as equal as the HNLC was born out of ALMA and HALC. The A'chik [Garo homeland] and the Hynniewtrep [Khasi-Jaintia homeland] should not be divided politically but they should remain united for lasting peace in the region," Nongtraw said.

Even the UALA has displayed its desire to join the main stream; the security agencies are not fully convinced till its unpredictable 'commander-in-chief' Norok Momin comes out in the open. The first formal peace talks and the preceding informal deliberations between representatives of the Meghalaya Government and the UALA, brokered by the Church body, did not feature Norok Momin. The UALA leadership, during the parleys, was headed its 'chairman' Novembirth Marak.

With the Army carrying out large scale counter-insurgency operations against NDFB-IKS militants, a security alert has been sounded in the Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya with special focus on the porous India-Bangladesh border areas. Inspector-General (Operations) GHP Raju said NDFB-IKS has longstanding ties with Garo militant groups, including GNLA and its splinter outfit AMEF.

SFs arrested three militants, including two NSCN-K militants indentified as T Anayang Phom, "chairman of NSCN -K" and "private" Anke Phom and one FGN cadre "Leacy" Akham Chingham Phom, from in Leinak Ward in Longleng town in Longleng District of Nagaland.

Krishna Kumari Panda, mother of OMP Chief Sabyasachi Panda, alleged that her son was being framed in the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. Deposing before Justice AS Naidu Commission of Enquiry into the 2008 killing of the seer and the riots that gripped Kandhamal District in the aftermath, Krishna said the person who had owned up to the murder in a TV interview was not her son.

Condemning the arrest of tribals in Odisha by BSF as Maoists, a top Maoist leader, identified as 'secretary' of Malkangiri Divisional Committee Poonam Chand, has asked the Odisha Government to stop 'Operation Greenhunt' with immediate effect.

The Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu said that a 'special commando force' will be created to protect trains going to Naxal affected areas. The commandos will be equipped to protect the passengers and counter the attack by the Naxalites.

Handbills issued by alleged CPI-Maoist cadres at Thalassery in Kannur District defended the attack on a stone-crusher unit at Nedumpoil in the same District on January 2. The handbills issued in the name of "CPI (Maoist) Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee" were found in the press boxes of media at the Press Forum at Thalassery and a few other places.

In a joint operation, the CCB and Karnataka's internal security division arrested three alleged IM operatives in two separate incidents and seized a huge cache of bomb-making material and communication devices. The arrests were made in Cox Town of Bengaluru, and Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada District. Announcing the arrests, Police Commissioner MN Reddi said so far no connection has been established between the trio and the December 28 explosion on Church Street. But, Police will investigate further. Reddi said around 5 kilogram of ammonium nitrate, gelatin, electrical circuits, detonators and a walkie-talkie have been seized. "Three men, Syed Ismail Afaq, 34, Saddam Hussein, 35 and Abdus Subur, 24 have been arrested. The first two were arrested from the house in Pulakeshinagar in east Bengaluru and the third person was arrested from Bhatkal town. Abdus Subur, 24 was MBA student in Bhatkal and we are yet to identify the background of the other two arrested men," Reddi added.

India will continue to engage with France on bilateral and multilateral levels to tackle terrorism, Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson of the MEA said at a press. In response to a question on the shootings in Paris (France), Akbaruddin said, "India is shocked like the rest of the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already condemned this attack as a dastardly act. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has written to her French counterpart [to express solidarity]. We intend to continue to work with France bilaterally and multilaterally to tackle issues of terrorism."

SFs killed two KPLT cadres in a gun-battle at Rongtang village in Karbi Anglong District of Assam. Three small fire arms were also seized from the incident site, Police informed. KPLT has called for a 48-hour bandh in Karbi Anglong District from January 11. The bandh (shutdown) has been called to protest the killing of its member, believed to be the 'deputy commander-in-chief', Kengkam Terang.

Police, in another operation, arrested one UPLA militant, identified as one Aspee Bey, from Phonglopet village in Karbi Anglong District of Assam. According to Police, Aspee Bey was supposedly involved in the killing of Hamren SP, Nityananda Goswami in June 2014.

Suspected NSCN-IM militants shot and injured a civilian, identified as Saloni (25), at Khabung Karong in Senapati District of Manipur.

After taking over as Chief of IB, Dineshwar Sharma has reached Chhattisgarh to work out strategies for containing Naxalism.

The ongoing probe into the 2013 killing of 27 Congressmen by CPI-Maoist at Jiram Ghati in Bastar District seems to have made a significant headway with the Police identifying the owner of the SIM card allegedly used by Maoists to track the movement of the Congress convoy in the area before targeting it.

Four Maoists, including a woman, identified as Sunita (27), Jagdish Potai (25), Sukhlal Potai (30) and Sona Singh surrendered in Kondagaon District while another Maoist identified as Kosa Kunjam (21) surrendered in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh.

Shrawan Das, an alleged arms supplier to the CPI-Maoist, was arrested at Madhaul village of Muzaffarpur District of Bihar. On a specific tip-off, a STF team raided the village and arrested Das.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik complimented the Odisha Police for achieving 'zero casualties' in 2014 while dealing with Left Wing Extremism violence.

Security Forces in Jharkhand launched an "all-out operation" against PLFI. Though Police did not disclose the details, they said "Operation Karo II" will continue throughout January, 2015.

SFs arrested nine NDFB-IKS cadres along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition. Seven of them were arrested in Kokrajhar District of Assam on January 9 while the other two were nabbed at Gohpur on January 8. Seven of the arrested cadres were identified as Milan Mushahary alias Mithinga ('second in-command of Kokrajhar platoon' of NDFB-IKS), Gautam Moholia, Joyanta Muchahary, Bina Basumatary, Swamkar Brahma alias Khurai, Khanda Narzary and Deuthwai Basumatary. The remaining two were not unidentified yet.

Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, GOC of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps said that Indian troops have been ordered not to react to cross-border shelling or firing immediately but wait for targets to show. He said "After all, we have no plans to fight a war so it's no use aimlessly shelling or firing across the LoC. The troops simply stay put while the firing continues and then maintain strict vigil through night-vision equipment if necessary. Whenever a target presents itself, it is neutralized. This has yielded good results. After all, it's better to strike where it hurts."

Governor's rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of efforts at Government formation remaining unsuccessful and Omar Abdullah triggering a crisis by declining to continue as the caretaker Chief Minister. The proclamation placing the state under Governor's rule was issued under Section 92 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. This provision authorizes the Governor to assume functions and powers of a state Government in case he is satisfied that the latter cannot function in accordance with the provisions of the state's Constitution.

Three IM operatives who were arrested along with a cache of explosives and communication equipment were produced before a court in Bengaluru city and remanded in Police custody till January 21. The three operatives were arrested in a joint operation by the CCB and state internal security division on January 8 in two simultaneous raids in Cox Town east Bengaluru city and Bhatkal District.

Arunachal Pradesh Police has made an action plan to check insurgency in Tirap, Changlang and Longding Districts through various initiatives, including setting up 11 new police stations and upgrading the existing nine.

1769 posts were filled up in the police department for the three insurgency-affected districts, AIGP Tussar Taba told reporters in Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The department also procured 313 5.56 INSAS rifles, 158 9mm pistols, 40 2'mortars, 33 7.62 LMGs and over two lakh AK-47 ammunitions during 2014, the AIGP said adding, 28 night vision devices, 20 video cameras, 23 digital cameras and other gadgets were procured for the districts during the year.

A Police Constable, identified as Shankar Joshi, was hacked to death by CPI-Maoist cadres near a busy market place in Katekalyan town of Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh Police have recovered a rare video footage of the Maoists purportedly showing their cadres conducting a 'commando-style' training to gun down helicopters, used to ferry security personnel and VIPs in Bastar region.

Bihar Police has claimed that it has been successful in containing LWE in the State with arrests of Maoists and recovery of explosives. According to the figures released by Bihar Police Headquarters, though there were 105 incidents of Maoist violence in 2014 in comparison to 103 in 2013, only 20 civilians were killed against 36 in 2013. The number of Police personnel who died during such incidents shows a sharp drop to six in 2014 from 25 in 2013.

In a bid to fight the CPI-Maoist menace, tribal people will be recruited directly to the Police force, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said.

In view of increasing extremist threats in the State, the city Police have decided to create a visual database of possible suspects by recording public events and demonstrations held in Kochi using video and still cameras.

Four teams of CPI-Maoist cadres consisting of 12 members, including Area Committee member Atram Shobhan alias Charles, entered Adilabad District from Chhattisgarh and are reportedly recruiting cadres. They are trying to regain their glory and also planning to merge the District from North Telangana zone into Dandakarayana zone.

In September 2014 the State Police had launched 'Operation Karo-I' in which 50 PLFI rebels were arrested while two were killed in Simdega District. "In the two-month long operation over six encounters with the PLFI took place and huge cache of arms was recovered," said a Police officer.

A JMB operative, identified as Rezaul Karim, from whose house Police recovered 39 bombs after the October 2, 2014 Burdwan blast was arrested by NIA from Sahebganj in Jharkhand. Karim, according to NIA, is a bomb maker and explosives transporter for the outfit.

Two days after the arrest of three alleged IM operatives, along with a cache of explosives, the Bengaluru Police arrested another suspected IM operative, identified as Riyaz Ahmed Sayeedi (32), at the Mangalore International Airport (Mangaluru, Karnataka), just before he was to board a Dubai-bound Jet Airways flight. The arrest comes in the wake of the bomb blast on Church Street in Bengaluru on December 28, 2014. Police suspect that Sayeedi, a resident of Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada District could also be involved in some of the blast cases in different parts of the country.

The Crime Branch officials, headed by Crime Branch officer Sushil Tyagi raided Moradabad city in Uttar Pradesh for sleeping terror modules. According to the Crime Branch officials, the terror modules are gathering information and sending it to their seniors in Kashmir. These modules also provide logistic support to the Pakistani residents during their visit to the area, they claimed. The intelligence sources have claimed that the city is considered to be the hotbed of terrorist activity, and is gaining renown as region that provides easy asylum.

SFs, during a counter-insurgency operation, killed a 'platoon commander', identified as B.Jeblang, of NDFB-IKS at Khalsibazar within Serfanguri Police Station jurisdiction in Kokrajhar District of Assam. The news report stated that Jeblang was involved in the killing of five Adivasis at Pakriguri in Kokrajhar on December 23, 2014 and was also involved in the killing of five Hindi-speaking people in the same District. Inspector General of Police (BTAD) L R Bishnoi said "We have intensified our combing operation in the area. Two NDFB-IKS militants, identified as Genda and Bullet, were also arrested today," Bishnoi said. Four pistols and ammunition were seized from the two rebels.

IGP of south-west range of Odisha Yashwant Jethwa, IG of BSF AK Sharma and Malkangiri SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra visited the cut off area of Balimela reservoir.

Four armed Maoist cadres, including three women, surrendered in Malkangiri District of Odisha.

A Police constable was killed and three others were grievously injured in an encounter with the CPI-Maoist near Botha village under Hawrai Police Station in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh.

The chief of JPC, identified as Guddu Ganjhu (50), was killed at Birhu village under Simaria Police Station limits in Chatra District of Jharkhand. Police suspect one of his aides killed him out of a power struggle within JPC to take over the extremist outfit.

A group of about 20 armed CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a road construction company's camp site at Motipur in Muzaffarpur District of Bihar a little after January 10 midnight and burnt nine heavy vehicles and machineries worth about INR 30 million.

Imphal West District Police commandos arrested a KYKL militant, identified as Philem Robajesh Singh alias Bungcha (37), from Sagolband Moirang Leirak crossing in Imphal West District of Manipur. According to a Police PRO statement, investigation revealed that he had collected extortion money from general public, shopkeepers, clinics and hospitals in Imphal West District.

The BSF arrested an Ivory Coast national, Abba Ezeke (46), for illegally entering India from Bangladesh. The African national was nabbed by the BSF from Langtilla village on the Indo-Bangla border in West Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya.

The UMHA is not keen on deployment of 'special commando force' to guard the passenger trains travelling to Naxal-hit regions across India. Sources in the UMHA said "The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has neither rejected nor accepted the suggestions for dedicated commando force to guard commuters." However, sources in the State Government revealed "The Union Home Minister is eliciting views from State Chief Ministers and Home Ministers on the matter. A formal decision would be taken only after considering the views of all State leaders."

The CPI-Maoist allegedly threatened sarpanches and panches of different villages near Badesetty village in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh against participating in panchayat elections scheduled for January-end and February, 2015.

Army arrested a militant along with arms and ammunitions in Kupwara District of J&K. Army sources said that Army's 5/5 GR carried out searches in the forests after reports about infiltration of militants in Tangdhar area. One militant Shoukat Ahmad was arrested during searches. Army recovered one AK, two magazines, 67 AK rounds, one Pakistan made pistol with a magazine, one grenade, one pouch and some eatables including dry fruits from the arrested militant.

Telangana Police began questioning the three suspected IM operatives after a Police source revealed that they had confessed to providing explosives for the Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts in February 21, 2013 (Hyderabad). Sources said that the arrested suspects are being grilled on their financial sources, logistic support, network and main handlers.

SFs recovered a Chinese grenade near BJP district office located in GF Road in Bengenakhowa area in Golaghat town in Golaghat District of Assam. The report adds that the incidence comes a day after a ULFA-I's deadline to disrupt the BJP's meetings aimed at winning the 2016 state Assembly election. "The grenade is a Chinese-made one and powerful. We are already on high alert regarding the warning issued by ULFA-I to attack the BJP's offices and workers and it was because our strict vigil that we have managed to foil the plot of criminals," Additional superintendent of Police Numal Mahato said.

SFs arrested 12 NDFB-IKS militants from three different locations in the forest areas along the Indo-Bhutan border in Chirang District of Assam and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunitions.

Villagers caught hold of and thrashed a 'Sergeant Major' of KRA who allegedly came to extort money from Longa Koireng village in Senapati District of Manipur. Meanwhile, KRA claimed that the apprehended cadre identified as Jamkholet Haokip alias David (28) was a deserter. According to information culled from the spot, David and one accomplice tried to abduct Longa Koireng village chief S Sothel Selsochung. After some thrashing, David was handed over to Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) [apex body of Kuki tribes] leaders who then turned over David to 8- Assam Rifles.

Two AMEF militants killed a gatekeeper, Entison Sangma (30), at Ronkhugre in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya. The victim worked at the Mahari gate which lies on the National Highway (NH)-44. "We suspect the killing was for ransom and was the handiwork of AMEF. We launched operations immediately after receiving information but the two are still at large," said Superintendent of Police (SP) of West Khasi Hills, S. Nongtyngnger.

A two-day bilateral meeting between the Deputy Commissioners of the border Districts of Meghalaya and Bangladesh will begin in Shillong on January 12. Sources informed that the Deputy Commissioners of six border Districts of Bangladesh - Netrokona, Sunamganj, Sherpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Kurigram - and all the districts of Meghalaya sharing international border with Bangladesh will participate in the meeting. Senior BSF and BGB officials, besides SP s from the border Districts would also attend the meeting. It was informed that the issue of border fencing would be given top priority during the meeting with both sides slated to work out a strategy to clear the bottlenecks for early completion of the Indo-Bangla border fencing work in the Meghalaya sector.

A day after IGP of south-west range, Odisha, Yashwant Jethwa claimed that at least seven CPI-Maoist cadres have been killed in the ongoing 'Operation All Out' jointly launched by the Greyhound unit of Andhra Pradesh Police and the SOG and DVF forces of the Odisha Police, a Maoist leader rebutted the claims of any casualty on their side during the operation. Malkangiri Koraput Border Committee Secretary Ghenu, in an audio message, claimed that two security personnel were injured during a pre-dawn exchange of fire on January 5 at Tumbei-Dejing area near Balimela reservoir in the cut-off areas of Malkangiri District. However, there was zero casualty or injury on the Maoist side, he added.

According to sources in the State Home Ministry, 70% of Maharashtra's coastline is still vulnerable and can be used as landing points by infiltrators at any time. This comes after security agencies recently assessed coastal security after crew members of a Pakistani boat allegedly blew it up when it was intercepted about 356km from Porbandar in Gujarat. Sources said it is the state's 1,020km-long creek line that poses more of a threat to coastal security than the 720km-long coastline. This is because the creek line is diverse and criss-cross according to the regional dimensions, making it difficult to keep a track of vessels, sources said. Also, most of the creeks have a mangrove cover, which lowers visibility, making them easy hideouts.

The URF-Lanheiba group issued a warning to the Police for killing of its two top leaders on January 6 in what it described as "fake encounter". The militant outfit, in a statement, threatened that "kill 20 police commando personnel" to avenge the killing. (Manipur)

The Manipuri Muslim community, known as Meitei Pangal, has demanded compensation for the victims of Meitei-Pangal communal clash in 1993 in the valley areas of the State. "We demand that the government pay compensation for those killed and injured during the Meitei-Pangal clash in May 1993. The Narendra Modi Government has announced INR 500,000 each for the anti-Sikh riot victims. Therefore, we should also be compensated," M.I. Khan, spokesperson for Pangal Political Forum said on January 11.

Police arrested a PREPAK militant, Tonjam Tondon Meitei alias Boicha (30), from Khurai Lamlong Bazar in Imphal East District of Manipur.

Police arrested two PREPAK militant namely Ningthoujam Manglem Singh alias Joychandra (30) and Ningthoujam Uttam Singh (36), from Imphal East District of Manipur in separate incidents. While Ningthoujam Manglem Singh was arrested from Chingambam Leirak Machin in Khurai Telipati Road, Ningthoujam Uttam Singh (36) was arrested from Khuman Lampak area.

Police arrested a ULFA-I militant, identified as Tultul Rabha (20), from Dekachang area of Resubelpara in North Garo Hills District of Meghalaya.

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire targeting four villages in Hiranagar sector of Kathua District along the IB in J&K. In a bid to help militants' infiltration, Pakistani forces have repeatedly fired at the Indian border outposts this year, resulting in casualties and displacement of many villagers.

Some unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade which landed in front of the Lilong post of 40 Assam Rifles and exploded on Imphal-Moreh Highway in Thoubal District of Manipur. However, there is no report of any casualty.

The CRPF DG Prakash Mishra will review Maoist situation in Odisha.

Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing targeting BSF posts along the IB in J&K.

According to the Police officials, four suspected operatives of IM arrested recently were part of a terror module that was used to procure, fabricate and deliver deadly explosives. A top Police official said that the IM operatives transferred money through Hawala channels for funding and at least one of them attended meetings in a foreign country, where a conspiracy was hatched to manufacture and deliver deadly explosives which were probably used for blasts in different parts of the country.

One of the arrested IM operative, Syed Ismail Afaque was the man who assembled and supplied two IEDs used in the Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts in February 21, 2013 (Hyderabad). Top sources confirmed that Afaque, during joint interrogation by the Karnataka Police and the NIA, reportedly confessed that he had designed the IEDs and supplied them to other accused who planted them at Dilsukhnagar and executed the blasts.

Tamil Nadu Police questioned four suspected IM members, who have been arrested on charges of supplying bomb-making material to different parts of the country. The Tamil Nadu Police are ascertaining whether the accused supplied explosives for the bombs on the Bengaluru-Guwahati Superfast Express train in Chennai Railway Station last year. The twin blasts had occurred on the train on May 1, 2014 at the Chennai Central railway station, killing a software engineer on the spot.

Delhi Police's Crime Branch arrested nine persons for allegedly being part of a FICN racket and recovered FICNs of INR 4.05 lakh from them. The accused have been identified as Harlal alias Hira Lal alias Hari lal ((51), Sudeep Shah alias Sandeep alias Sanjeet (23), Kanhaiya Lal (30), Paras Gupta (46), Parmeshwar Kumar alias Pavva (26), Raju Kumar Shah (24) and Toofani Shah (22) and Ashok Ram (28), all hailing from Bihar, and one Radha (35) from Jharkhand. Sources said that the FICNs were brought to India via Bangladesh. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Ravindra Yadav said that "We received a tip-off on December 29 last year about Lal and three of his associates assembling at subway at Britannia Chowk in Shakurpur in New Delhi for a deal and laid a trap and arrested them." The rest of the associates were nabbed thereafter.

A letter, purportedly written by banned terror outfit SIMI, has threatened to blow up a marriage hall on Thana railway road in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. According to a complaint filed by the manager of Agrasen Bhavan, the letter was found on January 1 at the gate and it threatened bombing at gate number 1 and 2, between February 6-10, as it is rented out to 'kafirs' (non-Muslims), sources said. The letter, written in Hindi by someone claiming to belong to SIMI, said the organisation had joined hands with the LeT, and was bracing to launch attacks across India. Police said that prima facie going by the language of the letter, the letter appears to be a hoax, but the Police have nevertheless taken the matter seriously and are investigations are on.

Normal life came to a grinding halt following the 48-hour Karbi Anglong (Assam) bandh (shutdown strike) called by KPLT from 5am on January 11. The militant outfit called the bandh to protest against the killing of its 'deputy commander-in-chief' Kangkan Terang in an encounter with SFs near Rangjangfong under Hamren subdivision of the hill District. Government offices and business institutions remained closed in district headquarters Diphu and two subdivisional headquarters of Bokajan and Hamren during the strike.

The UMHA has issued an official order to resume the fourth official tripartite parley with JACAS to look for a solution to settle the long-standing demand for implementation of Article 244 (A).The meeting is scheduled to be held on January 19 in New Delhi. In the parley, top officials from Assam and Union Government will sit together with JACAS leaders for talks.

SFs arrested 'platoon commander of Belsiri area' "corporal" of NDFB-IKS, Bodosha Narzary alias Bishnu Narzary (28), from Dhemaji District of Assam. During interrogation, Bodosha confessed to his involvement in the carnage at Sonajuli in Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur district and his association in other unlawful activities.

SFs arrested an NDFB-IKS linkman, Subungma Basumatary alias Suresh (37), from Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur District of Assam. L.R. Bishnoi said nearly 50 NDFB-IKS militants have been apprehended and a top leader of the outfit killed in the four BTAD Districts since the operation against the rebel group was intensified.

The NIA will take three militants of the NDFB-IKS; arrested from Chirang District on January 11, into custody to interrogate them in connection with the killing of minorities in the BTAD (Assam) in May, 2014. The militants are Swmkwr Basumatary alias B. Simang (27), Surjoy Goyari alias G. Sujulang (25) and Joleswar Basumatary alias B. Jakhrup (29) into custody in connection with cases RC-01/2014 and RC-02 2014 registered at the agency's Guwahati branch.

Government sources stated that NDFB-IKS 'Deputy Army Chief' G. Bidai alias Bishnu Goyari, one of the mastermind behind the December 23 Adivasi massacre, had discussed the possibility of talks with the State Government nearly a week ahead of the killing, report. The discussions failed and an encounter on December 21, 2014 resulted in a massacre by Bidai's men. Sources here said Bidai had been sending feelers on coming to the negotiation table for some time, which prompted the Assam Police to explore the opportunity of getting the entire group. (Assam)

A powerful IED weighing around five Kilograms was detected at the foot of a tree just opposite to the main gate of 40- AR D-Coy post at Lilong in Thoubal District of Manipur.

Imphal West District Police commandos arrested one OWG of URF-Lanheiba from Wahengbam Leikai Jiri parking in Imphal West District of Manipur. The OWG was identified as Khwairakpam Brojendro Singh alias Brojen (39).Investigation revealed that he had collected party fund from the general public and businessmen in the name of URF-Lanheiba and also given shelter to the cadres of URF in his house.

Troops of 16 -AR troopers arrested one KNA cadre, identified as Jangmang Haokip (41), from P Khunonphai village in Senapati District of Manipur. Five demand letters were recovered from his possession.

Members of a bi-lateral conference between the border Districts of Meghalaya and Bangladesh agreed to enhance mutual co-operation in checking trans-border crimes, illegal trespassing and smuggling of contraband items. The Deputy Commissioners of six border Districts of Bangladesh - Netrokona, Sunamganj, Sherpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Jamalpur and Kurigram - and all the districts of Meghalaya sharing international border with Bangladesh had participated in the meeting. On the number of militant camps in Bangladesh, Sylhet DC, Shahidul Islam said there was no specific statistics. "In general, it is found that there are miscreants crossing the border illegally. But we are totally against any militant activities and we never shelter them," he clarified, assuring India of Bangladesh's help in flushing out Indian militants taking shelter in their soil.

The Deputy Commissioners of Sylhet and Kurigram of Bangladesh denied that India-based militants were been sheltered in Bangladesh. "We are totally against militant activities. We never give shelter to any militant group," Shahidul Islam, DC of Sylhet said. In addition, DC of Kurigram District ABM Azad asserted that if there is any information from India, stern action against such militant group(s) would be taken. He added that criminals are criminals and have no territory or country.

AR personals arrested an arms peddler; Moa (40), from his house located in general area of Ward No. 6 in Chumukedima in Dimapur District of Nagaland.

Three suspected CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during a three hour long encounter with SFs at Bukar village under Chauparan Police Station area in Hazaribag District of Jharkhand.

An 'area commander' of the PLFI identified as Sonaram Sundi was arrested from Badlagya village in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand.

The CRPF DG Prakash Mishra reviewed operation of the para­military forces in Naxal-hit southern Districts of Odisha. Mishra reached the CRPF camp at Chandrapur in Rayagada District and met some of the personnel engaged in the anti- CPI-Maoist operation. He said there would be a change of strategies to counter the Maoist threat in Odisha. "As part of the strategy, it has been decided that CRPF camps would be withdrawn from the areas where the Maoist activities have declined and redeployed in areas where the red rebels are more active," Mishra said briefing newsmen in Bhubaneswar. Barring Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Sunabeda and Nuapada areas, Naxal activities in the State are now negligible, he said. "CRPF would take up special measures in the four Maoist-prone areas in the state with special focus on Nuapada district and Sunabeda in Koraput district," Mishra added. He also informed that CRPF camps would be withdrawn from Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Ganjam Districts where the Maoist activities have come down drastically.

The Deverakonda Police unearthed a CPI-Maoist dump on the outskirts of Kambalapalli village under Chandampet mandal in Nalgonda District of Telangana.

In a joint combing operation, Bihar Police and CRPF personnel arrested four TPC cadres identified as Jokham Singh, Singhasas Yadav, Mohammad Amaluddin and Salya, from Rohtas District and recovered a huge cache of arms.

A primary charge-sheet was filed in Berhampur Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate court in Ganjam District by the Police against OMP leader Sabyasachi Panda after almost six months of his arrest in the city.

There are no signs of CPI-Maoist activity in any part of 'The Nilgiris', however, vigil has been stepped up on account of the presence of Maoists across the border in Kerala, said ADG, Law and Order, TK Rajendran at Pandhalur near Gudalur.

Jharkhand stands to get road and bridge infrastructure worth INR 6.4 billion from the Centre's Road Requirement Plan (RRP), an ambitious strategy to combat Naxalism- by linking remote areas that serve as LWE hideouts.

Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag said that Pakistan is continuing to support "proxy war" in J&K. "Pakistan is supporting proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir despite suffering casualties within their country. Threats and challenges have been growing, both in intensity as well as commitment, because of active borders that we have." Talking about the recent attacks against the Army in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "The recent strikes by the terrorists not only reflect their desperation but are also a grim reminder that the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is intact."

According to sources, the four suspected IM operatives arrested in Karnataka last week had planned synchronized blasts in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru on January 26 as the US President Barack Obama is visiting India as the chief guest at this year's Republic Day ceremony in Delhi. Timed for 7.30 am, the blasts were meant to cause massive loss of life and property. One of the accused had been in constant touch with IM handlers on social media, according to the source. The handlers, hailing from Saudi Arabia, had discussed how to spread jihad across India and had allegedly exchanged contact numbers of youth who wished to join the terror outfit. In December, Syed Ismail Afaque, a homeopathic doctor arrested in Bengaluru, had met a second rung IM handler in Sharjah and allegedly discussed plans to carry out the attacks on Republic Day.

The four suspected IM operatives may be grilled in the presence of the outfit's southern commander Yasin Bhatkal, currently in a Delhi jail. Sources in the NIA Delhi wing said that "Yasin is a key person in many terror acts. We'll keep asking these suspects questions to get the right picture of what happened." This comes in the backdrop of reports that the four arrests were made following disclosures by Yasin.

SFs arrested the 'second lieutenant' and "chief recruiting officer", Enon Bargoyary alias Erkhang (30) 'platoon commander of Amteka', Rinen Basumatary alias Majhi (30), from a forested area in Amteka on the Indo-Bhutan border in Chirang District of Assam. He is also very close to the I.K. Songbijit, 'commander-in-chief' G. Bidai and his 'deputy commander-in-chief' K. Batha, sources said. Rinen Basumatary had surrendered after the Operation All Clear in 2003 but rejoined the NDFB-IKS two years back, the sources said. IGP- BTAD L.R. Bishnoi said an AK-47 rifle, an AK-56 rifle, two 7.65mm pistols, two magazines, a grenade and 219 live ammunitions were seized from them.

SFs arrested six more NDFB-IKS militants from unidentified locations in Assam. The arrested militants were identified as Pranjit Basumatary (19), Kerkho Mushahary (21), Pribol Chumpamari (21), Milan Basumatary (28), Anjalus Basumatary (27) and Pradit Swargoyary (26).

SFs arrested six militants of UGPO, from different locations in Baska and Udalguri Districts of Assam. Police sources said six persons including UGPO 'commander-in-chief' Suraj Magor, 'chairman' Lal Bahadur Tamang, 'vice-chairman' Suresh Ghimire and two cadres Arjun Chetri and Birkha Bahadur Limbu were arrested from different locations in two Districts.

Leaders of now disbanded militant formation DHD-N sought a CBI inquiry into the recent killing of its former 'general secretary', Rajesh Naiding. (Assam)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that there will be no talks with militant outfits that indulge in violence, though doors are open for parleys with others.

SFs launched a search operation following information about the presence of valley based cadres and Kuki militants from Old Laljang village in Senapati District of Manipur resulting the arrest of four militants. A source said that of the four arrested UG cadres, two of them are KNO/KNA militants while the remaining two are from URF-Lanheiba. Full details are awaited as the operation continued till the time of filing the report.

SFs arrested a UNLF militant, identified as Hemam Premananda Singh alias Heingamba (31), at Moirang Lamkhai area Bishnupur District of Manipur.

SFs arrested of a person, Mohammad Indra Rahaman (43), from Wangoi bazar in Imphal West District of Manipur.

India and Bangladesh agreed to approach telecom operators in their countries for a system to jam mobile phone signals on either side of the border to curb trans-boundary crimes. "The ability of miscreants and militants to communicate with their accomplices on the other side of the border by using Bangladesh SIM cards is a big concern for India," East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal told reporters in Shillong in Meghalaya.

The 'southern commander' of ASAK, Dimsrang M Sangma alias Nawal, surrendered before the DIG BSF-Tura sector headquarters in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya. The militant handed over a 9 mm pistol with two magazines and eight live rounds along with a Motorola wireless communication handset. "He confessed that he was one of the organizing members at the time of ASAK's formation by former GNLA 'finance secretary' Reding T Sangma," revealed BSF sources.

The DC/DM of the bordering Districts (Meghalaya, India) and Bangladesh have proposed to constitute a Joint Border Coordination Committee to strengthen security along the porous Indo-Bangladesh border. This was decided on the concluding day of the two-day bilateral conference of DC/DM of Meghalaya (India) and Bangladesh held in Shillong."This proposal will be placed before both the Indian and Bangladesh governments for a final decision," East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said, while briefing news persons on the resolutions and proposals agreed upon by the two sides.

The Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has convened a Chief Ministers' conference in Raipur of eight Naxal-hit States to resolve the bottlenecks in construction of road networks in worst-affected Districts. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had taken up improvement of road connectivity in the 34 worst LWE--affected Districts, covering a total length of 5,477 km.

An active member of the Galikonda 'area committee' of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Pangi Bhaskara Rao, was arrested at Chintapalli mandal while a member of the Kalimela 'area committee', identified as Korra Santhi, who was active in Malkangiri District of Odisha till recently and 11 militia members from Pedavalasa area surrendered before the Police in Vishakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh.

Kerala Forest Protective Staff Association has urged the State Government to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of forest rangers and other officials against the backdrop of reports confirming CPI-Maoist presence in the State.

The Karimnagar District Police of Telangana have foiled the attempt of the CPI-Maoist to revive party activities in the District with the arrest one Maoist and two of his associates. The Maoist was identified as Botla Rajendra Kumar (48), and the other two are Sunil Kumar (53), an illegal arms dealer from Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), and his assistant Vikas Kumar (31).

Maharashtra Government is giving a big push to infrastructure development in Naxal affected districts and will also provide additional benefits to civil contractors and employees working there. The State Government has lined up INR 3,942 billion worth of projects in the LWE affected areas to improve connectivity.

Visakhapatnam District Police is upgrading the existing Police Stations in the District to make them attack-proof against CPI-Maoist. Work is under way at the Police Stations in Chintapalli, GK Veedhi and Hukumpeta. "At Chintapalli and GK Veedhi, about 80 per cent of the work is over. At Hukumpeta, we are midway through. They should be ready in a couple of months," said SP Visakhapatnam, Koya Praveen.

The Bokaro Police and the 26th battalion of the CRPF recovered a powerful cane-bomb planted on a railway track under the Gomia Police Station of the District. The cane-bomb was detected and defused by an anti-bomb squad.

Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who spearheaded the anti-CPI-Maoist movement in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, was the main target of Maoists during the massive attack unleashed by them at Jheeram Valley that killed frontline Congress leaders in May 25, 2013, NIA stated in its final charge-sheet.

A top LeT militant, identified as Abu Sufiyaz was killed in a fierce gun battle in Sopore town of Baramulla District of J&K. A Defense spokesman said that based on specific intelligence about presence of militants in Sofi Hamam Chankhan area of the Sopore town, a joint operation was launched by Rashtriya Rifles units of Army and the Police, resulting into killing of one militant and recovery of one AK 47 rifle, 3 magazines, 89 rounds of ammunition, one UBGL, three UBGL rounds and other war like stores.

To gather evidence against alleged JMB member Rejaul Karim, who was arrested in connection with Burdwan blast (October 2, 2014) case, the NIA is now approaching forensic imagery experts to positively identify him as one of the JMB members seen in a video clip of a training session at the Simulia madrasa in Burdwan in West Bengal. Rejaul has allegedly confessed that he attended the session, and that he can be seen on the edges of the frame in the clip shown to him by interrogators. However, only one side of his body is visible, while his face is not seen. NIA sources said they were sending the clip for digital enhancement and forensic analysis to positively identify Rejaul from any distinguishing features on his limbs.

One of the three Kalyan (Mumbai, Maharashtra) youths fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria is learnt to have died in a battle recently. According to the report Shaheen Tanki, a close friend of arrested ISIS operative Arib Majeed, is learnt to have died fighting in Iraq. However, Intelligence agencies are now verifying the information.

The NIA in its report to the Home Ministry said that a group of SIMI terror suspects who have been dodging intelligence agencies since their escape from Khandwa jail in Madhya Pradesh in October 2013 are believed to be involved in the Bengaluru Church Street bombing on December 28, 2014. The report said that the suspects, weeks before they struck at Bengaluru, had also planted an explosive in Roorkee in Haridwar District of Uttarakhand on December 6, 2014 to target BJP MLA Sangeet Som to allegedly take revenge for the Muzaffarnagar riots. In its report, the NIA has also pointed out that Shaikh Mehboob (25), Amjad (25), Mohammed Aslam (26), Mohammed Aijajuddin (30) and Zakir Hussain (32) were members of the banned SIMI and believed to be involved in the Pune Ganesh temple blast in July 10, 2014 and the Guwahati-Bengaluru express blast at Chennai in May 1, 2014. They had also attempt to create an explosive in UP's Bijnore in September 12, 2014. The NIA has based its assessment on the similarity in the explosives and detonators analysed in context of intelligence inputs.

As India prepares to roll out red carpet to US President Barack Obama as the chief guest during the Republic Day parade, PM's Office and UMHA are finalising an elaborate agenda to address Indian concerns in the homeland security dialogue with their US counterparts. According to the report, the two countries are looking forward to hold in-depth exchange of views on common areas of interest and collaboration to further mutual counterterrorism goals that includes checking the spread of ISIS and al Qaeda which recently announced its new wing, AQIS. India is also banking on US for building capacity in cyber security and critical infrastructure protection to counter threats and keep terrorist at bay.

SFs arrested a 'platoon commander', identified as Pradeep Brahma, of the NDFB-IKS from Goalpara District of Assam.

The Army arrested two RVA militants, identified as Ful Kumar Rabha and Bishwajit Rabha, from Kokrajhar District of Assam.

SFs detected a powerful remote controlled IED weighing around one kilogram under a culvert at Sikibung Lamkhai on NH-202 (Imphal-Ukhrul road) under Litan Police Station in Ukhrul District of Manipur.

The identities of the five militants who were arrested by SFs on January 13 have been established. SFs during a search operation at Kalijang village near Taphou Kuki village in Senapati District of Manipur arrested the militants. Of the five arrested persons, one cadre is from the URF-Lanheiba while the remaining four are KRA/ KNO cadres.

'Publicity secretary' of KRA, T Simte refuted the report that four URF [URF-Lanheiba] cadres were arrested in the joint operation on January 13. He clarified that three of the arrested men are cadres of KRA while the fourth one is an innocent driver. There is no camp of the URF at Taphou Kuki, he further clarified.(Manipur)

SFs arrested a UNLF militant, 'Lance Corporal' Thangjam Premkumar Singh alias Chingkheihunba alias Pishak (35), from Lairenpat road in Imphal East District of Manipur.

ENPO appealed to "all the national workers to call back armed cadres if any in the effected villages and Tuensang Town to avoid any unwarranted situation", to bring peace and tranquility in Tuensang District in Nagaland. Earlier, clashes between Yimchunger and Chang tribes from Chendang Saddle and Yakhao village under Tuensang district on January 8. In a press release, ENPO 'vice president' C. Sashi Naga also urged the District administration and security forces, to instruct patrolling personnel "to frisk and check any person" roaming around in suspicious manner.

Joint team of Police and NIA arrested three militants of NDFB-IKS from Kohima District of Nagaland. The arrested militants were identified as ' commander of 3rd battalion', Ajoi Basumatary alias B Buhum (32); ' forest secretary', Dilip Basumatary alias Bir Baisa (40) and ' deputy commander' 14th battalion, Khamrei Basumatary alias udla (35).

A self-styled 'area commander' of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee-2 and one of his close aides were arrested from Barkakhad village under Chainpur Police Station limits of Palamau District of Jharkhand.

Kerala Congress (M) leader and Government Chief Whip PC George while speaking to media persons in Thrissur District said that the State Government should end its CPI-Maoist hunt.

The District Court at Palakkad directed the prosecution to submit solid documents or findings, if any, by January 20 to substantiate the police charge against two college students that they formed part of a Maoist outfit. The students were arrested on charges of attacking outlets of KFC and McDonald's in Palakkad in the last week of December.

The NHRC has dubbed the 'praja court' of CPI-Maoist a 'drama' and slammed the Odisha Police for failing to protect a home guard who was 'convicted' in one such 'kangaroo court' before being lynched to death in Malkangiri District of Odisha on September 5, 2014.

Jharkhand Police arrested two PLFI cadres from Rangamati village under Muffasil Police Station in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand.

Indicating a tough stance of the newly-installed government in Jharkhand when it comes to tackling LWE, Chief Secretary Sajal Chakarabarty said that the fight against LWE is like war and promised to end all LWE activities in three months' time. He was speaking at a press conference organised at the Police Headquarters in Ranchi. He said "There is no time to surrender now. That train has left the station. If you want to get in, run and try." "In three months, there will be no active Naxal activity here. For me, the best Naxalite is a dead Naxalite," he added.

Five militants of JeM and HM, including a JeM group commander, Abu Toiba, a Pakistani national, were killed in a gun battle in the Kellar forests of Shopian District of J&K. Other slain militants were identified as Shakeel Ahmed Wani alias Master, Tahir Ahmed Shah, Parvaiz Ahmed Wagay and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani. Police said that Abu Toiba was instrumental in orchestrating militant attacks in South Kashmir. Three AK-47 rifles, one SLR, one Chinese pistol, magazines, ammunition and other war like stores were recovered from their possession.

GOC, 16 Corps, Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh said that 200 heavily-armed militants were waiting in 36 launching pads across the LoC on the other side of Pir Panjal range. He said that Pakistan-based militants will try to sneak into India and attack soft targets in J&K like schools, religious places and civilian areas ahead of US President Barack Obama's three-day visit to the country on January 25. Singh said 44 terrorist training camps were functional across the border in Pakistan administered Kashmir and added 15 unsuccessful infiltration bids were made in 2014.

Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on the occasion of 67th Army Day said that the fragile peace in J&K was achieved at a great cost, together we need to build on our gains. Referring to J&K, the Army Chief said that the security situation there, though stable, requires consolidation. He further said that the handsome voter turnout in the just-concluded election in the State, the highest ever for Assembly elections, reflects the trust of the people in the security system.

Ahead of the Republic Day parade during which US President Barack Obama will be the chief guest, Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi has warned of possible terror attacks in the National Capital by means of paragliders or drones. In a recent meeting, Bassi informed all the Police personnel to be cautious about possible aerial attacks in their areas. Bassi also ordered the Police personnel to shoot if they found any suspicious drone in their areas. Bassi also told his force that there are specific intelligence inputs about possible terror attack on Delhi-Kabul flight, Lahore-Amritsar bus, Lahore-Delhi bus and Samjhauta Express, two prominent five-star hotels situated in New Delhi District area, private international school in Delhi and the embassies, especially the US embassy in Chanakyapuri area.

Security agencies in Mumbai have gone into high alert mode after two hand written notes scribbled on the wall inside the Mumbai airport found on January 15 evening warned of a terror attack by ISIS on Republic Day. According to the reports, the two notes with ISIS names on them teasingly ask: "ISIS 26/01/2015 is BOM ok' (with a plane drawn next to it)". The notes were found in two toilets, meant for males, by a cleaner.

A team of NIA reached Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to collect information about some absconding members of the banned SIMI. According to reports, NIA team went to the Nizamabad Police station to collect information about Abu Shad and Shah Alam, the natives of Fariha village for some case lodged in 2007. The NIA sources said that despite the ban imposed on SIMI in 2001 it conducted membership campaign in Kerala in 2007. The intelligence agencies had identified 38 such persons of the district out of whom some are absconding. The NIA team wanted to go to the village, but they were advised not to go there, as it may cause tension in the locality.

India is "well-prepared" to thwart any possible terror strike on "soft targets" in J&K and elsewhere with the intention to create trouble ahead of US President Barack Obama's January 24-26 visit, said Defence minister Manohar Parrikar. "They (terrorist) may try to do something to create news. But we are well-prepared," said Parrikar. Parrikar also ruled out any resumption of the bilateral composite dialogue process with Pakistan till it actually takes concrete action against anti-India terror outfits operating from its soil.

SFs arrested two suspected NDFB-IKS linkmen from Lawdangi under Dhekiajuli Police Station in Sonitpur District of Assam. Police sources said the duo was identified as Lakhi Basumatary alias Faila and Debasri Mochahari. A grenade and eight rounds of live cartridges of M16 rifle and a money receipt book were recovered from them.

Some unidentified militants attacked the 20 AR camp located within Machi sub-division of Chandel District of Manipur, injuring two AR personnel. The injured personals were identified as Naib Subedar Bahadur Sunar and T Chentya were hurt in the attack and they were evacuated to the Red Shield Division's military hospital at Leimakhong, informed a source adding that details are being awaited.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Laldeep Singh Kharwar, and three PLFI cadres active in Latehar, Garhwa and Khunti District surrendered at Dhurwa Police Headquarters in Ranchi District of Jharkhand coinciding with the visit of K. Vijay Kumar, Senior Security Adviser of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

SFs arrested two NSCN-IM militants with arms in Lilen Kuki village in Peren in Nagaland. The two militants were identified as Thanglun and Lettin Pao. SFs recovered a point 22 Rifle, one 12 Bore Gun and assorted ammunitions from them.

Around 130 Sarpanch aspirants were taken hostage by the Maoists on January 9 and released them in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. The candidates were set free with a warning not to contest the ensuing rural local bodies elections. In the morning, CPI-Maoist ‘divisional committee’ member Jaggu, along with Kerlapal ‘area committee ‘commander’ Bhime alias Reena, and armed cadres, reached there to warn them against participating in the elections before they were set free.

SF arrested a top LeT commander from Sopore of Baramulla District of J&K. Police and Army arrested the militant commander from the house of a village headman in Sangarhama area of Sopore. Police also arrested the village headman Farooq Ahmad Bhat. The LeT commander has been identified as Zulfikar Ahmad Mughal (24) alias Akhtar Hussain alias Amir Maviya of Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi in Pakistan. Police also recovered one AK-47 rifle, five magazines, three hand grenades and a pouch.

The Hyderabad Police arrested a 32-year-old US-returned engineering graduate, identified as Salman Moinuddin at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad) while he was allegedly on his way to Syria to join ISIS along with his girlfriend, who is based in Dubai. Police said that Salman Moinuddin, the would-be militant, is also an active recruiter for ISIS. Counter-Intelligence wing of the Telangana State Intelligence said they had been tracking Moinuddin through his online activities and nabbed him no sooner did he land at the airport. It were the central intelligence agencies that had tipped off the state officials about Moinuddin, they added. According to Police, Moinuddin had planned to join his girlfriend Ayesha in Dubai from where they were to proceed to Syria via Turkey and establish links with ISIS militants.

Bengaluru Police detained a fifth person in connection with its investigation into revived activities of the IM terror outfit. The detained man was identified by sources as Abdullah Shabandri, a resident of the coastal town of Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka, who has been working in Bengaluru. Sources said he was an associate in the activities of four others who were arrested by the Bengaluru Police last week. "He has only been detained for questioning," Police sources said, clarifying that no fresh arrest had been made.

A senior official said that a Pakistan UAV conducted recce along the Indo-Pakistan Border in three bordering Districts of Jammu region. The senior official said "A Pakistan UAV was noticed last evening (January 15) along the border in Kathua, Samba and Jammu belts." He further said that the UAV was also noticed flying on the bordering belts along the IB by the locals and some of the BSF troops. Though the UAV was flying 200 meters away from the IB but still covered Kathua, Samba, R S Pura and Akhnoor areas.

The Mumbai Metro has been put on high alert after a specific alert from the IB indicating a threat of a possible terror strike on the city's only metro line, which runs between Versova and Ghatkopar. The alert was sent after the technical intelligence unit picked up a mobile phone conversation in which the plot was discussed. IB sources said that two persons living in Andheri West, who are part of the alleged plot, have been identified. Both the suspects were questioned by the Maharashtra ATS and the crime branch. While the names of the individuals have been withheld as the probe in ongoing, the police stations concerned have been informed about the threat, said officials.

SFs arrested two militants of NDFB-IKS from Gauripur under Bijni Police Station in Chirang District of Assam. The arrested cadres were identified as Suwambam Basumatary and Toten Basumatary. SFs recovered a hand grenade from the duo.

The counter-insurgency operation against the NDFB-IKS militants has spread from the India-Bhutan and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas to Assam-Meghalaya and India-Myanmar borders. With the SFs cracking down on the Bodo rebels in the India-Bhutan and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas, the militants are now trying to slip into Bangladesh and Myanmar through Meghalaya and Manipur, respectively.

Normal life was paralyzed in Dima Hasao District of Assam in the wake of a 48-hour bandh (shutdown strike) beginning. The bandh, called by the HPWS, an NGO formed by the ex-militants of the disbanded militant outfit DHD-N, would end at 5 AM on January 18. All schools, colleges, commercial establishments, markets, offices, banks, post office, transport remained closed in the district but no untoward incident has been reported so far, a district police officer said.

Former militants of the ANVC and the ANVC-B under the banner of the AMS have sought the dissolution of the current Executive Committee of the GHADC and requested that their leaders be given a chance to manage the extended term of the Council. (Meghalaya)

Two persons were arrested and about 2000 rounds of ammunition seized by the Special Branch of the Mizoram police at Phunchawng village near Aizawl in Aizawl District of Mizoram. On January 16, Laldinnghaka (28) of Lawngtlai district and Rohmingthanga (38) of Tanhril near Aizawl, were arrested and a total of 1,986 rounds of ammunition of US-made M-16 rifle were seized, police said. The seizure was made following a raid of a taxi parked in Phunchawng village. Police said the accused claimed the ammunition was smuggled from Myanmar to be sold to insurgents in Bangladesh.

Suspense over the death toll of CPI-Maoist cadres in an encounter with Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh Police and Odisha Special Operations Group (SOG) in Koraput District on January 5 continues. Bodies were not recovered and the death toll varies from five to seven.

Addressing the 21st meeting of Eastern Zonal Council in Patna, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said "The Maoist [Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)] problem is the biggest internal security problem the country is facing today and to challenge this menace there should be better coordination between the Centre and the State governments."

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said his Government will "rise to the challenge" posed by insurgents and "decimate extremism and CPI-Maoist violence in the state within six months".

Karnataka State Government is actively pursuing the release of the surrendered Naxalite-Noor Zulfikar.

Merging Chintoor mandal along with six other mandals of Khammam District of Telangana that face submersion due to Polavaram project into the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh received criticism from locals and it also makes the task of controlling activities of CPI-Maoist much tougher for the Police.

Seven CPI-Maoist sympathisers surrendered before authorities in Chhattisgarh.

A Policeman was killed while a civilian injured when militants fired upon them in Kulgam District of J&K. The killed Police man was identified as Zahoor Ahmad Dar, posted as a PSO to MLA-elect of Homeshalibugh constituency in Kulgam. Police said that a civilian, Zahoor Ahmad Elahi was also injured in the attack but is stable.

The Sikh militant Jagtar Singh Tara, killer of former Punjab CM Beant Singh and chief of KTF who was extradited from Thailand on January 16, was remanded in five days' Police custody by a court in Patiala (Punjab) in connection with the murder of Rulda Singh, the chief of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. Tara was brought by a team of Punjab Police after being extradited from Bangkok. Tara had escaped from jail along with Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora and Devi Singh. Hawara and Bheora were later arrested, but Tara and Devi Singh reportedly fled to Pakistan. According to Thailand authorities, Tara entered Thailand as Gurmeet Singh on a Pakistan passport in October, and was arrested in the eastern Province of Chon Buri living in the home of a Pakistani national who has also been taken into custody.

Unidentified persons hurled a bomb near an oil pump at Moirang in Bishnupur District of Manipur. A person was injured in this incidence where a patrol team of JKLI troopers was also present.

The apex civil organizations of 'Eastern Nagaland' have declared the Districts of Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, and Kiphire (Nagaland) as "No tax zone on teaching community" on account of "the poor educational stagnancy and economic condition" the region,.

In a press statement, ENSF appealed to all the NPGs' [militant groups] not to misunderstand the concept of freeing the teaching community from paying tax. "It is never a deviation from our political demand and vision. Neither is it a force to restrain or abstain from collecting tax. Rather it is a heralding call to all the NPGs to come forward in building a strong Naga nation by imparting good education today." (Nagaland)

According to a report, the Centre had lauded the increase in the number of surrenders by CPI-Maoist cadres in Chhattisgarh and termed it a major achievement but recent intelligence reports have revealed that several of them were not genuine. Sources said the Intelligence Bureau is unhappy with the manner in which the surrenders are taking place and has discussed the same with the CRPF, the force entrusted with the mandate of combating Maoist insurgency.

A jawan of the STF, identified as constable Mahendra Singh was killed in an encounter with Maoists in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh. Sukma ASP Santosh Singh said that "A team of the STF and district police came under fire from the Maoists near Kondare village under Gadiras police station at around 3 p.m. when they were returning from a routine patrolling. The firing continued for next one hour. One STF constable died in the incident." There was no report of casualty on the Maoists' side.

CPI-Maoist cadres killed two villagers in a Kangaroo court after branding them as police informers in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh.

Kin of frontline Congress leaders killed in May 25, 2013 Maoist attack have described the NIA probe as 'pedestrian' saying that the premier agency overlooked all aspects pertaining to security lapses that led to the massacre in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

CPI-Maoist cadres retaliated to the killing of one of its senior leaders Sharath and a militia member near Korukonda shandy on October 19, 2014, after it killed a native of Veeravaram village Sanjeeva Rao, by destroying an ashram of Sanjeeva Rao's spiritual guru Simhachalam at Gurramveedhi village in G. Madugula mandal administrative unit.

Pro-CPI-Maoist banners and graffiti asking people to fight against Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats and protect the forest ranges appeared in Shedimane village of Kundapur in Udupi District of Karnataka.

A former Maoist cadre identified as Noor Zulfikar who was remanded in judicial custody after he returned to the mainstream on December 9, 2014 was released on bail in Chikkamagaluru District of Karnataka.

All big operations in LWE ­hit states, which require large-scale mobilisation of SFs, will be cleared after approvals from the CRPF headquarters. CRPF DG Prakash Mishra has taken the decision to monitor first­hand important SFs offensives in the LWE grid after he recently toured some of the worst Maoist violence affected states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

Five persons were reportedly arrested in connection with the CPI-Maoist attack on an Ashramam in G. Madugula mandal in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. Armed Maoists led a few hundred militia members and sympathisers in the attack on the Ashramam, belonging to one Simhachalam who escaped from being tried at a Praja court (Kangaroo Court). Simhachalam escaped after his supporters and others reportedly lynched to death a Maoist leader Sharath.

SFs arrested a PREPAK-pro'corporal' Sagolsem Bairen Singh alias Ratan, at Thoubal in Manipur.

SFs arrested a KCP cadre, Heikrujam Joychand Singh alias Joy t Lamlai Awang Leikai in Imphal East in Manipur.

SF personnel killed two 'divisional commanders' of LeT and JeM during an operation in Saidpora village of Sopore in Baramulla District of J&K. A Police spokesman while giving details about the operation said that Sopore Police along with 22 RR of Army and 177 Battalion of CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Saidpora village. The militants fired upon the joint search party, triggering an encounter in which two militants were killed. Two Pakistani militants Asadullah of LeT and Ramzan of JeM were killed in the gun battle. There was no collateral damage to any person or property during the operation. Two AK-47 rifles, six magazines, 140 rounds and one pistol were recovered from them.

Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to India, the US has asked Pakistan to ensure that there is no cross-border terror incident during the trip and subtly warned of "consequences" if any such attack is traced back to the country. Obama will travel to New Delhi later this week to attend the Republic Day parade on January 26, the first US president to do so. The warning has been issued keeping the track record of Pakistan-based militant groups that have carried out attacks in India coinciding with high-profile visits from the US

Investigations have revealed that the four IM operatives, arrested last week from Bhatkal in Karnataka, had supplied explosives for all the bomb blasts carried out by the outfit in the country since 2008. Report said that the group, being called the 'explosives module' of IM, led by Saleem Ismael Ashfaque, was not known to any agency till now as it took explosives delivery orders directly from Riyaz Bhatkal in Pakistan. Sources said Ashfaque, known very well to Riyaz Bhatkal, used to procure ammonium nitrate used in stone quarries and mines in the Karnataka region. He is also said to have travelled to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, said a source, adding that he must have met Riyaz Bhatkal there. An officer said Ashfaque, is a close friend of Pakistan-based Riyaz and used to take orders directly from him through phone or Nimbuzz chats, before delivering it to the operational modules run by Yasin Bhatkal. More than 70 IM members have been arrested since 2008 but nobody ever revealed the identity of the explosives supplier. The group is believed to have supplied ammonium nitrate and other related articles to operational units for the various attacks in the country since the 2008 Delhi blast.

Police arrested a suspected KLO militant, Govinda Roy, from Golokganj area of Dhubri District of Assam. The militant was arrested on charges of serving extortion notes to businessmen of the District.

At least one AR personal was reportedly injured when militant suspect ambushed a camp of the 44 AR at Nambisa area under Phungyar sub-division of Ukhrul District of Manipur.

Some unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade at Dr Thokchom Dillipkumar (50), Chairman of the Board of Directors, Imphal Urban Cooperative Bank Limited at his Koirou Mamang Leikai in Imphal West District of Manipur.

PREPAK-Pro has claimed responsibility for the attack against troops of 44 Assam Rifles at Nambisa of Ukhrul District of Manipur. The militant formation also claimed grenade attack at the Lilong post of 40 AR on January 11 and for the grenade attack against a patrol team of JKLI at Ngangkhalawai.

The GNLA has made an announcement on Facebook, a social networking site, that its 'chairman', Champion Sangma who is in Shillong jail since 2012, had resigned from the outfit. It also said the outfit is yet to receive any official letter from Champion Sangma on his resignation from the outfit. GNLA is a Meghalaya based outfit fighting for a separate Garoland State. (Meghalaya)

The information was made public by the 'public relations secretary', Garo Mandei Ch. Marak. The post also says the outfit had constituted a 15-member committee of which three are serving jail terms. The chairman's post has been kept vacant. The post on Facebook said the outfit would appoint a chairman if it is invited by the state government or the Centre for peace talks. The 15-member committee is being termed as "decision-making Body". The key members include "vice-chairman" Mikim Marak, "commander-in-chief" Wegara Shira alias Sohan D. Shira, "deputy commander-in-chief" Toding Marak, "general secretary" Raka Marak, "finance secretary" Rakkam Ch. Marak, "foreign secretary" Millam Marak, "political secretary" Bikdot Nikjang Marak, among others. Wegara, alias Shira, has been heading the outfit after Champion's arrest. (Meghalaya)

A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Joru, was killed during an encounter with SFs in Ghatsila Sub-Division of East Singhbhum District of Jharkhand. A Police officer who is the bodyguard of ASP was also injured. A pistol and five live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

The Maoists called for a bandh in Jharkhand and Bihar in protest against the death of its cadres who were killed during an encounter in Hazaribagh District on January 12. The shutdown had an impact in Latehar District where no public transport or heavy vehicles were seen plying on National Highway 75 and 99.

Britain has warned India about possible terror attack by ISIS and said all efforts must be taken to check activities of the Middle East terrorist group. British officials have conveyed this to their Indian counterparts at the India-UK Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group meeting held in London on January 15-16. An Indian official said that "We have asked Britain to be alert about possible attack by LeT there. Britain in turn has warned us that an attack by ISIS could take place in India."

BSF has strengthened its position with deployment of 1200 additional personnel along the IB and intensifying 24×7 patrolling all along the border including the riverine belt where the fencing was not complete. This was in view of the latest advisory by the UMHA and IB to guard against all possibilities of infiltration attempts by the militants both along the IB and LoC in the State ahead of US President Barrack Obama's Republic Day visit in the country.

According to statistics from the NCRB, in the three years up to 2013, registered cases of cyber crime in India were up 350%, from 966 to 4,356. Report said that as cyber crime rises, there are indications that the criminal-justice system is unable to cope, with a minuscule percentage of convictions reported, although there is no reliable, nationwide data. "Illegal gains" and "harassment" are the top cyber crime motives, the data reveal. The majority of crimes are registered under "others"; 2,144 cases were registered in this category in 2013. Data show that the age group of 18-30 accounts for the highest percentage of cyber crime with 1,638 persons arrested in the age bracket out of a total arrests of 3,301 in 2013. Maharashtra accounts for the most persons arrested under the IT Act, 2000, and Uttar Pradesh reported the most arrests under the older IPC.

Police recovered 10,000 detonators from a Ranchi-bound passenger bus and arrested the driver. The bus was coming from Odisha and was stopped at Namkum in Ranchi District of Jharkhand. Ranchi Police said the driver, Ravi Shankar Pandey (35), is from Bihar's Sheikhpura District and worked on the Odisha-Jharkhand route. Ranchi SSP Prabhat Kumar said that "The huge quantity of explosives indicates that some large network is behind its transport." Probe has already started to find who had ordered the explosives. However, the Police did not find any Maoist link.

Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested three persons and recovered a cache of ammunition from them near Welcome Metro station in New Delhi just days ahead of US President Barack Obama's high-profile visit to India. The arrested persons were identified as Shariq, Fahim and Imran. Commissioner (Special Cell) SN Shrivastava said "We have arrested three men and recovered 1,020 live cartridges from them. The arrests were made from near Welcome metro station here." Police said a large part of the consignment consisted of 9mm, a prohibited bore and 7.65mm bullets. They have not ruled out a terror angle and an alert has been issued to beef up security.

Apprehending threat to lives from CPI-Maoist, four ex-Maoists surrendered before Police at Bonai in Odisha's Sundargarh District.

In the past 10 years, the CPI-Maoist has organised as many as 489 training camps for more than 40,000 cadres who have been taught about the use of sophisticated weapons and guerrilla warfare, according to information obtained under the RTI Act from the UMHA. The information provided by the UMHA under RTI shows that while there was a year-on-year increase in the number of training camps - from 16 in 2004 to 93 in 2010, thereafter the numbers decreased to five in 2014.

A civilian, identified as Sewa Ram (35) was injured in a mine blast in forward village of Sariya in Nowshera sector of Rajouri District of J&K when he accidentally stepped over landmine while grazing his cattle. He was seriously injured in right foot, heel and ankle.

Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire by firing at a forward post along the IB in Samba District of J&K. However the BSF did not retaliate and observed restraint. Official sources said that Pakistan Rangers fired three rounds at Chinaz post.

SF personnel recovered two pressure cooker based IEDs at two different places at Mundzi area of Sopore and Mazham area on Srinagar-Gulmarg highway. One pressure cooker based IED weighing approximately 5 Kgs planted under the culvert near village Mundzi of Sopore was recovered. Another IED similarly designed pressure cooker based IED, weighing approximately 5 Kgs planted on the road in the Garbage dump near village Mazhama was recovered.

A close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Tariq Parveen, was arrested by the UP Police from Mumbai (Maharashtra) for his alleged involvement in a 1999 criminal case in UP. Police sources said Parveen was picked up from Sarang Street in Pydhonie in Mumbai by a team of UP Police's ATS, with assistance from the Mumbai crime branch. Parveen was taken to the Sewri court and his custody was given to the UP Police on transit remand.

The Cyberabad Police (Hyderabad) sought 15-day custody of the suspected ISIS recruit, Salman Mohiuddin, from the court for custodial interrogation. According to sources, Police sought Hyderabad-based engineer's custodial interrogation for 15 days saying he was required to be quizzed to ascertain the identities of other members of the dreaded outfit and to interrogate him on charges on waging war against a country.

Suspected operative of IM, Syed Ismail Afaq, the homeopath arrested by the Bengaluru Police (Karnataka) on January 8, was trained by the ISI in Pakistan, a Police source said. Police also said that indoctrinated by Riyaz and Yasin, known as the Bhatkal brothers, Afaq held a high position in the IM's hierarchy. "He was creating Indian Mujahideen modules. His terror connection had become a family problem, and his brother had written to him cautioning him against such activities," the source said.

Hyderabad Police is on high alert following alert from Britain and the Indo-UK Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group about an ensuing ISIS strike. Security has been stepped up at airports and major railway and bus stations. Since a five-member gang of alleged SIMI activists had already struck at a bank in Karimnagar, all the Districts Police has also been on alert in Telangana. Senior Police officers said that special security checks are conducted in various parts of the city and they will continue till January 26. Report added that major establishments in Hyderabad and Cyberabad are under close surveillance. A special wing of the Police is keeping a close watch on Internet users in the city to track down people getting attracted to ISIS and leaving for Syria or Iraq to join the terror group.

India has stepped up security on its western borders to very high levels following credible intelligence inputs warnings that two groups of LeT and one group of JeM are waiting to infiltrate from Kathua and Poonchh sectors in J&K to orchestrate terror attacks before US President Barack Obama's visit. Sources said that a group of 12-15 fully trained and equipped LeT terrorists who are waiting to infiltrate through Kathua under the supervision of LeT commanders Abdullah Shaheen and Taya Rafiq. Another group of 10 LeT terrorists are waiting at the launching pads in PoK to infiltrate through Poonchh under commander Abdul Rashid, said sources.

Sources said that JeM planned to mark the year 2015 as a year of "Inquilab-e-Jihad" and may carry out terror activities before Republic Day. "The LeT is also trying to unleash its sleeper cells already present in J&K to carry out terror attacks," said sources adding that at least 7 LeT terrorists are on the prowl in Kashmir of which 3-4 are foreign terrorists. High threat perception stands from Pakistan based terror outfits despite US telling Pakistan in unequivocal terms to rein in terror groups to ensure that no terror incident takes place, said Government sources. BSF sources said that "There are inputs that rogue elements within ISI and Army may try to stage Chittisinghpura kind of massacre during Obama's visit. We have picked up information about three groups."

More than three weeks after the IED blast in Bengaluru in Karnataka on December 28, 2014 that claimed the life of a woman and injured three others, Police said there is no breakthrough yet in the case and they were following the clues. Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi said that "...... I can only say that there is no breakthrough in the investigation till now, but investigation is being carried out very actively and constructively".

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K J George assured a delegation of citizens from the coastal Karnataka town of Bhatkal that the Bangalore Police had not framed any innocent person from the town in a terrorism probe against the IM.

Jagtar Singh Tara, KTF chief and mastermind behind former Punjab CM Beant Singh's assassination, was extradited to India within a mere two days of his arrest as he did not contest the plea moved by New Delhi in Thailand court. Sources in the Punjab Police said Tara himself requested for extradition, a process that usually took years. The extradition, however, does not bar India from giving him death penalty if any court finds him guilty of committing crime under rarest of rare cases.

Sources said Tara had told investigators that he along with his Pakistan-based associates wanted to carry out killings in Punjab, and that they had even shortlisted some leaders. Tara is learnt to have stayed in Ganganagar, Kurali and Fatehgarh Sahib for a few months before escaping to Pakistan through Nepal and Thailand. Police officials said he was giving some conflicting replies about his whereabouts after he escaped from the Burail Jail in January 2014. However, Police said that his claims were being verified.

Apprehending attack by Pakistan's BAT on forward posts and patrol parties in the run up to Republic Day, Army has sounded an alert along the boundary with Pakistan in J&K. According to officials, there are intelligence inputs that BATs, which are small groups of specialized Pakistani troops, supported at times by terrorists, could strike in the run up to Republic Day, especially as US President Barack Obama will be visiting the country. The BAT could also target Indian patrol parties near the LoC, they said, adding Army is keeping a close watch on LoC and troops are vigilant.

A Maoist was killed in a gun battle with Police in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.

The Maoists in Chhattisgarh have dropped pamphlets in several areas of Bastar region, opposing US President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to India. The Maoists have called for boycott of President Obama's visit and a nationwide bandh on January 26.

At the Central Zonal Council meeting in Lucknow under the Chairmanship of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the State Governments asked the Centre to "share the maximum burden" in controlling Naxalism in the affected areas.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has sought an additional fund from Centre for modernisation of Police in the Naxal-hit State and also demanded a special category status for the State.

Army arrested 18 militants of NDFB-IKS and eight suspected KLPF cadres from across the State. Eleven NDFB-IKS militants were arrested from Panbari forest in Chirang in Assam. The militants include Deven Goyari [an IED expert], Hokom Boro, Upendra Nath, Raton Bengali, Namal Basumatary, Sanjay Goyari, Ulla Basumatary, Raju Boro, Konin Basumatary, Prakash Narzary alias Gahen and Ranjan Basumatary alias Kipihungla. The arms and ammunition recovered from the militants include two improvised explosive devices (IED), nine detonators, two 7.65mm pistols with 10 rounds of ammunition, five rounds of ammunition of 7.62mm pistols and a packet of ball bearings.

SFs arrested five NDFB-IKS militants along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Udalguri District in Assam. The five include "commanding officer" of the '13th battalion' Binku Narzary alias Birlangbai [on the "most wanted" list], Bidai Singh Narzary alias Bugdaw, Lohit Basumatary alias B. Ferkw, N. Araibaw alias Ajak Narzary and Durga Sing Basumatary alias B. Khamshaw. One AK-56 rifle with magazine, one 9mm pistol, 25 rounds of live ammunition of 7.62mm pistol, 54 rounds of live ammunition of 9mm pistol and a hand grenade were also recovered.

SFs arrested 'Nalbari platoon commander' of NDFB-IKS "sergeant" Bimal Boro alias Khwobla (26), from Antaibari under Tamulpur Police Station in Baksa in Assam.

SFs arrested another NDFB-IKS militant, identified as Danswrang Daimary (21), from the Paltan Bazar Police Station area in Guwahati in Kamrup in Assam.

SFs arrested eight suspected KLPF militants from Gandhipur in Karbi Anglong District of Assam. The five were identified as Biren Ingti, Mohan Terang, Andres Teron, Bizu Teron, John Teron, Babu Teron, Rakesh Ingti and Rup Singh.

Police retrieved bullet-riddled dead bodies of two KNA-I militants, identified as Paoneh and Letminthang Haokip in Churachandpur in Manipur. The duo was reportedly killed in a gunfight with KIA. However, a highly reliable report said that two were shot dead at Molnoiphai village under Churachandpur Police Station after they were abducted from other place.

SFs arrested UNLF militant, identified as 'sergeant major' Irom Rakesh Singh alias Thabungtomba alias Apabi from Tera Sadokpam Leikai area in Imphal West District in Manipur.

SFs arrested a KYKL militant, identified as Nameirakpam Devananda Meitei from Wabagai Kadajit Maning Leikai in Thoubal in Manipur. Investigation revealed that he was involved in the recruitment of new cadres of KYKL organization.

Exchange of fire took place between SFs and AMEF militants at Pakgregittim under Rongjeng Police Station in the East Garo Hills in Meghalaya. However, there was no report of any casualty or injury. SP Davis Marak said the AMEF militants, led by its 'deputy chief' Goran, had abducted four traders from Mangsang area but were later released. Meanwhile, the Police have arrested a resident of the village in connection with the kidnapping case and for allegedly harboring the militants.

Two workers of Coastal Project Private Limited, identified as Forman Ranjit Thakur and driver Ramjul Haque, both from Jharkhand, were abducted from Nungkao Part-III under Tousem Sub-division of Tamenglong District of Manipur by suspected ZUF militants.

Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire by resorting to firing by small arms on BoPs along the IB in Arnia sector of Jammu District, prompting the BSF to retaliate. A senior BSF officer said "Pakistani rangers resorted to intermittent small arms firing on border out posts along the IB in Arnia sector of Jammu since January 20 night. BSF troops guarding the borderline retaliated resulting in intermittent exchanges which continued till 7am. There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing."

Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to India, security agencies are concerned that a 'Waqas-2' may be on the prowl or waiting in the wings to enter India from Pakistan. Waqas alias Zia-ur-Rehman, is a Pakistani bomb-maker who executed several blasts in India on behalf of IM until his arrest in Bangladesh in March 2014. The information was worked out on the basis of interrogation and recoveries made from IM's explosives suppliers arrested recently in Bengaluru. Report said the agencies have learnt that the accused were instructed to keep explosives and circuits ready and wait for instructions to hand them over to a bomb-maker who would contact them in the coming days. This person was being sent by IM co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal in Pakistan. It is, however, not clear if this person had already entered India by the time the accused were arrested or is yet to enter. It is suspected that this person may be a fresh face from Pakistan or one of the various IM operatives from India, such as Dr Shahnawaz, Mirza Shadab Baig, Bada Sajid and others, hiding in Pakistan.

A group of five to six LeT militants has crossed over from Pakistan to J&K's Kathua District last week. The infiltrating group was tracked with the help of wireless intercepts picked up from across Pakistan, and is currently lying low in J&K, possibly waiting for an opportunity to sneak outside the state. Agencies fear that the terrorists may be headed for Delhi with a specific mission to stage a spectacular strike coinciding with US President Barack Obama's visit.

Pankuj Thakur, a Constable with the 13th battalion of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force, was injured when a pressure bomb exploded near Murdonda village of Bijapur District in Chhattisgarh.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a "Sahayak Arakshak" (auxiliary constable), identified as Kichche Soya, with sharp weapons at a marketplace at Pollamapalli area in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh.

A joint team of Dantewada and Bijapur Police busted a Maoist camp in Hurrepal forests of Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh.

Three Maoists surrendered before the Police in Dornapal town of Sukma District of Chhattisgarh.

Naxals have set two trucks on fire in a village near Gaya District of Bihar. The incident was confirmed by Gaya city SP Rakesh Kumar.

A CPI-Maoist couple surrendered before Police in Warangal District of Telangana. B Bhikshapathi, a 'divisional committee member' carrying a reward of INR 500,000 on his head, surrendered along with his wife P Rukmini before Warangal Urban SP A.K. Jha. Rukmini was carrying reward of INR 100,000, SP Jha said.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres have killed two persons, including a SPO, near Bundu in Ranchi District of Jharkhand. "One of them was a SPO," Ranchi SSP Prabhat Kumar said.

Security in Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's hometown and other areas in the Naxal affected District in Chandauli has been further revised after the central zonal council meeting in Lucknow under his chairmanship on curbing Naxalism in four states.

In reply to an RTI query, the UMHA has revealed that a total of 12,062 civilians have been killed in Naxal violence till now since 1980. The detail was given in reply to a question filed under RTI rules by a Meerut-based activist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked various ministries to work in coordination to develop strategies for stopping the spread of LWE and instructed the newly-established National Institution for Transforming India Aayog to plan for overall development of tribal areas. Chairing a meeting on tribal welfare, Modi described the tribal communities as a great force for national development.

A low intensity IED exploded from a heap of garbage near Lamlong Bridge under Porompat Police Station in Imphal East in Manipur. However, nobody was injured in the incident.

SFs arrested two UNLF militants, Naorem Robindro Singh alias Ireicha alias Inao and Hijam Sunil Singh from near Adarsh Laboratory, in Kanglapat area in Imphal West in Manipur. During spot verification, it was learnt that the duo brought the third person, namely, Ashem Sanathoi Singh alias Thoiba for recruiting. UNLF.Investigation revealed that the first arrestee, Naorem Robindro Singh alias Ireicha alias Inao was entrusted for extortion of money from general public and recruitment of new cadres. Investigation also revealed that the second arrestee Hijam Sunil Singh was involved in recruitment of new cadres for UNLF militants. The rescued person, Ashem Sanathoi Singh alias Thoiba was handed over to his father, Asem Suresh Singh.

SFs arrested a PREPAK militant, Mohamad Nahachouba alias Chensam alias Achouba from in and around Keirak area in Thoubal in Manipur. Investigation revealed that he was involved in extortion, transportation of IEDs and recruitment of PREPAK.

AR launched an operation at general area of Moidangpok in Imphal West District of Manipur and arrested one PREPAK militant identified as Langonjam Dhanachandra alias Bodhe alias John. ne M-16 assault rifle, three magazines and sixty nine live rounds of 5.56mm were recovered from his possession. Based on his revelation, a follow up operation was launched by the AR in general area of Khumbong in Imphal West District and one PEK (Plastic Explosives) slab, two detonators and one packet containing explosive substances were recovered.

In another operation AR arrested one PREPAK cadre, identified as Md Abdul Majid, from general area of Khudengthabi check post in Manipur.

UNLF has claimed responsibility for the grenade attack at the residence of the president of IUCB Board of Directors Th Dilipkumar on January 18. (Manipur)

CorCom along with NDFB-IKS, KLO, and ULFA-I have called for a total shut down on January 26, the Republic Day of India.

The decision by jailed GNLA 'chairman' Champion R Sangma to walk away from the armed outfit he once jointly established with Sohan Shira has not gone down well within the ranks of the banned organization which has mocked him and accused him of 'absence' of qualities. "The leaders of GNLA bear better moral qualities than Champion R Sangma, though he is a former MPS [Meghalaya Police Service] officer. He no longer bears any qualities to become a leader of GNLA or the people of Garoland," said Garo Mandai Marak.

Pakistani Rangers resorted to mortar shelling and firing in forward villages of Pansar and Manyari along the IB in Hiranagar sector of Kathua District in J&K targeting civilian areas and BSF posts. There were no casualties or damage in Pakistan firing and shelling.

A Bengaluru city court extended the police custody of four terror suspects arrested recently in Bengaluru and Bhatkal (Karnataka) till February 3. They are suspected to be part of a prominent explosives' module of the IM. DCP Crime (Bengaluru) Abhishek Goyal in a tweet said that "Court has extended the Police custody of Aafaaque, Abdus Saboor, Riyas Syeedi & Saddam Hussain up to February 3, 2015 in IM Explosive Seizure case."

A local court in Hyderabad sent Salman Mohiuddin, who was arrested for allegedly trying to leave the country to join the Middle-East terror group, ISIS to 10-day Police custody. Cyberabad Police, in its petition, had earlier sought 15-day custody of Salman and told the court that it needed to further probe his alleged ISIS links.

IB has prepared a list of 200 militants from different terror outfits which could try to carry out a strike to disrupt the Republic Day (January 26) celebrations at which US President Barack Obama will be the chief guest. Top Government sources said that the list has been shared with the security agencies involved in making arrangements for Obama's visit to New Delhi. Report said that this year, maximum number of spotters and informers drawn from IB, R&AW, anti-terror squads of Delhi, Maharashtra, J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, UP and others states - around 2000 - are being deployed in the capital as the authorities are trying to leave nothing to chance. The list includes militants of LeT, JeM, HM, HuJI, JMB, IM, SIMI, Sikh militant groups, CPI-Maoist and North-East based organisations among others. The list also mentions the five absconding SIMI members who fled from Khandwa jail in Madhya Pradesh last year.

MHA Rajnath Singh at a high level meeting to review security scenario in J&K with top security officials in New Delhi has called for strengthening Security Grid, beefing up security all along the borders and hinterland and taking all possible measures to ward off any terror strike in J&K on or before Republic Day celebrations. Official sources told that the Home Minister directed the heads of para-military forces to strengthen anti-militancy Security Grid and maintain constant vigil along 192 kilometers long IB in J&K, which is guarded by the BSF, to ensure that there was no infiltration by the militants from Pakistan.

Ahead of US President Barak Obama's visit, intelligence inputs on terror threats seem to be coming by the dozen. In a fresh input, a Major rank officer from Pakistan's spy agency ISI has been given the responsibility to push in two batches of five LeT terrorists each across the border. There is information about the groups waiting at Rum (Sialkot) in Pakistan before being launched into India. The terrorists have been tasked to launch a fidayeen (suicide) attack inside India during the visit, said Home Ministry sources.

The Government has finally given a green signal to setting up the Uttarakhand's first Cyber Crime Police station in Dehradun. Till date, the state wasn't equipped with a special force to deal with such crimes and cases pertaining to illegal online activities were being referred to police stations spread across all 13 districts. After the government notification all cases related to IT Act would now be transferred to the Cyber Crime Police station, where members of the STF would conduct probe. All matters of cyber crime, including online frauds, bank frauds, crime through social networking websites and mobile applications will be investigated by the STF team.

Police Constable, Dukhiya Murmu (30), who was critically injured in an encounter with the Naxals at Musabani in East Singhbhum District of Jharkhand on January 18 succumbed to his injury at the Tata Main Hospital.

Odisha's DGP Sanjeev Marik said BSF troopers engaged in CPI-Maoist ­prone areas in the State will be redeployed keeping in view the intelligence inputs.

A group of men, suspected to be CPI-Maoist cadres, torched a vehicle carrying mid-day meal for school children and ate the food before taking away the containers at Ijurupa under Lanjigarh Police Station limits in Kalahandi District of Odisha.

34 sympathisers of the CPI-Maoist militia surrendered before the SP M. Ravi Prakash at Rajavommangi in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh Government will strengthen Police machinery in various Districts to curtail crime rate and be prepared to meet any crisis situation. As part of the plan, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister China Rajappa has said armed police battalions in some areas and police sub-divisions in some other areas will be set up.

Murali Kannamballi, the Naxalite leader who initiated many students of the erstwhile regional engineering college Kozhikode into the left extremist movement in mid 1970, has emerged as the tallest Maoist leader from the state.

NIA has revealed that a section of State forest department personnel had teamed up with NDFB-IKS to kill 36 people, including women and children, from the minority community in Assam's Baksa District in 2014. NIA stated that "Some forest officials have joined hands with suspected NDFB-IKS cadres and formed a 30 to 40-member group, who took part in mass killing of innocent people at N.K. Khagrabari village on May 2, 2014, with firearms and sharp weapons like dao (machete)," An NIA source said the forest staff of Bansbari range, who were from the Bodo community, were against people from the minority community staying in the fringe areas of the forest as they consider them as outsiders and because of that they joined hands with NDFB-IKS to carry out the massacre.

Three IEDs exploded in quick succession at a gorge located 10 Kms to the North East of Moreh town in Chandel in Manipur. The gorge is reported to be frequented by AR troops posted nearby for drawing water. No casualty was reported during the incident.

Meanwhile, an IED of medium intensity exploded at the foot of a tree within a crematorium on the bank of Naga rivulet just opposite to Nagamapal Singjubung Leirak in Imphal West District in Manipur.

A combined team of Thoubal District Police Commandos and Indian Army conducted frisking and checking at Pallel bazar area in Thoubal District of Manipur on the National Highway. During the frisking and checking, two militants of UNLF identified as 'corporal' Laishram Ratan Meitei alias Lanjadaba alias Puchoubi and Amom Nanao Meitei alias Itheiba alias Bonee were arrested.

SFs arrested two KYKL militants from pallel bazar in Thoubal in Manipur. The militants have been identified as 'lance corporal' Amom Nanao Meitei alias Itheiba alias Bonee and 'corporal' Laishram Ratan Meitei alias Lanjadaba alias Puchoubi.

A retired teacher, Rovingson B Marak who was abducted from his home in Sibbari area of South Garo hills District in Meghalaya, has returned safe after being released by his captives in neighbouring Bangladesh. He was abducted, in the month of December 2014 Police sources reveal that the victim's family and relatives had to pay a sum of INR 260,000 in two installments to secure his safe release.

Pakistan Rangers opened firing at forward area of Pangdor in Samba sector in J&K violating ceasefire along the IB second time in the past 24 hours as the Rangers had also resorted to shelling and firing at Pansar and Manyari in Hiranagar sector on January 21. Reports said the Rangers fired bursts towards the Indian posts and villages at Pangdor in Samba sector followed by small arms firing. The BSF retaliated. However, there were no casualties or damage.

An Anti-Tank mine was found in a field along the in Samba District in J&K. One Balak Ram, resident of Galar noticed an Anti-Tank mine in his field and he informed the matter to the BSF, sources said.

Police will take recently extradited KTF terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara to Nepal border after his disclosure that he had hidden large quantity of RDX and other ammunition in a village near Indo-Nepal border. Police said Tara had disclosed that he had hidden a consignment of around 4kg RDX, detonators and other ammunition in a village in Rudrapur District of Uttarakhand, which is located near Indo-Nepal border. However, the court had extended Tara's remand only for three days, during which the Patiala Police will take Tara to Indo-Nepal border to recover the ammunition.

Uttarakhand resident Devi Singh, the fourth accused involved in the sensational 2004 Burail Jail break, who escaped along with three assassins of former Punjab CM Beant Singh, is currently living in Pakistan and has converted to Sikhism. This was confirmed by KTF terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara, who was nabbed by Indian security agencies from Thailand recently, revealed a senior Police officer associated with the probe. Significantly, Indian security agencies had the information that Devi didn't move out of Pakistan since he sneaked into that country after the escape from Burial jail by digging a 104-feet tunnel. Three of the four accused in the jail break, have already been arrested by Punjab Police, and Devi is still on the run.

Burgumpadu Police of Khammam District of Telangana seized huge quantity of explosive material from a lorry bound for Malkangiri District of Odisha at Morampalli Banjar village on the Khammam-Bhadrachalam main road in Palvancha Division.

The CPI-Maoist-is slowly finding a fresh foothold in Telangana thanks to a botched up division of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh State. Intelligence assessments point at Maoists re-entering the region from where they had been painstakingly pushed out by concerted effort from State Police and Central Forces towards the close of the 2000 decade.

A senior woman CPI-Maoist 'deputy commander' was arrested by the Gadchiroli District Police of Maharashtra. Aruna alias Punai Devsingh Naitam (24), was picked up from Kangadi village on Gadchoroli-Rajnandgaon border in an intelligence-based operation, a press note issued by the Police said.

The CPI-Maoist has called a 'Dandakaranya bandh' on January 26 to protest US President Barak Obama's visit to India as the chief guest of the Republic Day function. In posters and pamphlets posted in different parts of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, the Maoists termed the US the "biggest expansionist force" and "enemy of people all over the world."

The CPI-Maoist-hit Khunti District was inspected by DGP, Rajeev Kumar along with his officials. Anti-Maoist operation has been continuing in the District for the last couple of days. He also decided to sharpen anti-Maoist operation in other Districts of Jharkhand.

The CPI-Maoist cadres set on fire around 14 vehicles of an Andhra Pradesh-based private company engaged in road construction in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The Maoists roughed up a few labourers and their supervisor when the work on the Gharanji-Pustola stretch was underway for connecting road between Edampayali and Korkoti.

Army defused an IED which as kept inside a white gunny bag along with some rags near the Bongaigaon Railway Engineering workshop, in Bongaigaon District in Assam. Bongaigaon SP stated that We have inputs that the Independent faction ULFA-I has planned to attack local BJP leaders and grenade attacks might be carried out by IK Songbijit faction of NDFB-IKS in the town on the eve or after Republic Day. As part of these plans, the IED was planted close to the security picket."

A 'section commander' of NDFB-IKS Sirkhung Basumatary, who was involved in the killing of Adivasis on December 23, 2014, was arrested at Bangalore in Karnataka. A source stated that he was also suspected to be involved in an earlier incident of killing of Hindi-speaking people.

Four NDFB-IKS militants Binku Narzary alias Birlangbai, Ajoi Basumatary alias B. Buhum, Dilip Basumatary alias Bir Baisa alias Lambu and Khamrei Basumatary alias Udla , who were earlier arrested were shifted to Sonitpur from Guwahati by NIA for detailed interrogation. NIA has registered two cases in connection with killings in Sonitpur and another two in connection with killings in Kokrajhar. A source stated that Binku Narzary, the self-styled 'commanding officer' of the outfit's '13th battalion', and Khamrei Basumatary, the deputy commander of the '14th battalion' of NDFB-IKS, will also be questioned by the NIA in connection with killing of minorities in Baksa district in May last year, which is also being investigated by the central anti-terror probe agency,". More than 40 NDFB-IKS militants have been arrested so far in the ongoing operations.

IED was triggered near an AR post in Churachandpur District in Manipur while another IED and a hand grenade were found in two other places of the state. According to the report, Militants triggered an IED blast at the gate of 27 Sector AR headquarters at Tuibuong, Churachandpur District headquarters. However, there was no report of any casualty.

Troops of 2nd Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry detected another IED at Kangvai village in Bishnupur in Manipur.

A China-made hand grenade was recovered from the house of Khaidem Bala Devi, chairperson of Wangoi panchayat, in Imphal West in Manipur.

A combined team of Thoubal District Police and Assam Rifles conducted cordon and search operations at Ngarouthel, Heirok Part - III in Thoubal District in Manipur and arrested a PLA militant dentified as 'lance corporal' Khundongbam Somendro Singh alias Phamen. According to a statement issued by the Public Relation Office (PRO) of Police, investigations revealed that he came to Heirok Part - III, Ngarouthel Leikai to disturb the forthcoming Republic Day celebrations.

HNLC announced a 24-hour shutdown to boycott Republic Day. HNLC "publicity secretary" Sainkupar Nongtraw said the shutdown would come into effect from 6pm on January 25 and continue till 6pm on January 26 across the six Districts of Khasi-Jaintia hills region in Meghalaya.

Two women, identified as Rekha and Sheetal were arrested from New Delhi Railway Station along with FICN of INR 11,00,000. "The two women were arrested with FICN worth of Rs.11 lakh. Concealed in the boxes of cosmetic products, the women were smuggling the fake notes to Delhi from Bangkok," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said. "The women used to conceal fake currency notes in cosmetic and crockery containers which they carry in flights as part of their business," he added."They have revealed that they were acting as courier agents at the behest of some Pakistan nationals, who are based in Bangkok. Their arrest led us to know of a new fake currency smuggling route to India via Bangkok. Till now, Nepal and Bangladesh route were known," Yadav said.

A cameraperson employed with the ITR in Chandipur in Balasore District of Odisha was arrested on charges of passing on sensitive information about missile tests to Pakistani spy agency ISI. Eastern Range IG Asit Panigrahi said that the man, identified as Ishwar Chandra Behera, was working as a cameraperson in ITR on contractual basis since 2007 and had been engaged in espionage activities for the past 8-10 months. Two computer hard disks, two mobile handsets and a bank passbook have been seized from his possession, the IG said.

Police arrested another Dawood Ibrahim's aide outside Charbagh railway station in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh just when he was about to escape from the city. Sources said that the Hyderabad native identified as Mohammad Usman was wanted in a case registered in the city (Lucknow) over 15 years back. On the basis of a tip off from Tariq Parvin, the other 'D-gang' member recently arrested from Mumbai, the latest crackdown was made by the Police.

Ahead of his second visit to India, US President Barack Obama sent out a tough message to Pakistan, saying safe havens of terrorism within that country are "not acceptable" and those behind the Mumbai attacks (26/11) must face justice. Obama said in an interview that "I've made it clear that even as the US works with Pakistan to meet the threat of terrorism, safe havens within Pakistan are not acceptable and that those behind the Mumbai terrorist attack must face justice." This came amid signs of renewed US pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror networks and evidence of recognition within the Pakistani establishment, in the wake of the massacre of school children in Peshawar, that the terror apparatus set up to hurt India and for strategic gains in Afghanistan has boomeranged on them. Obama pointed out that just as Indians were tragically killed in the 9/11 attack in New York, Americans were also killed in the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai.

India's external intelligence agency, the RAW, has warned that the threat from home-grown elements radicalised by the ISIS has emerged as the topmost terror threat across the globe even as the Afghanistan-Pakistan region remains the epicentre of global terror activity.

According to the assessment of RAW, France is one of the four countries, apart from the US, the UK and Israel, that have prominently figured in the propaganda of the al Qaeda networks and in recent times of the ISIS. In India, the security agencies are keeping a close watch on the international security scenario vis-à-vis the ISIS as recent activities of ISIS-inspired Indian youth have come to their notice. For the Indian security agencies, a joint attack by the al Qaeda and ISIS on Indian cities remains a potent threat and a close watch is being kept on the social media as well as by liaising with counterparts in foreign countries to crack down on such attempts.

A high alert has been sounded in Jammu and Kathua regions following intelligence intercepts that LeT and HM, backed by Pakistan's spy agency ISI, are planning terror strikes in the region coinciding with US President Barack Obama's visit. A specific intelligence input with the Central agencies say a detachment of 5-6 terrorists has been deployed by Badabhai Masroor and is likely to cross over from Shakargarh and Zafarwal Darman area for terror attacks around Republic Day in Jammu or Kathua region. The detachment is in touch with an ISI's Colonel Masood Khan.

To effectively counter the menace of IED, India may soon establish a joint programme to integrate counter-IED efforts of defence ministry, UMHA and agencies involved in dealing with terror incidents. Report said that the idea is being seriously looked at by the Government following the recently concluded counter-IED meet between India and US in Washington. Sources said the four-day meet, which began on January 15, was an experience sharing exercise where officials from the internal security apparatus of both countries exchanged ideas on challenges in their respective countries, ways to counter them, nature of explosives and use of technology. The meet was significant given that India is one of the most dangerous places in the world as far as IED explosions are concerned recording more bomb blasts every year than Afghanistan.

The Maoists have appealed to the people to observe 'Virodh Diwas' on January 26 against US President Barack Obama's visit to India. Gadchiroli Police have recovered an anti-Obama banner at Kamlapur near Repanpalli last week. A press release, issued by the Maoist's DKSZC, also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting the US President.

SFs arrested a CPI-Maoist 'zonal commander' identified as Madan Rai in Giridih District of Jharkhand. A country-made pistol and live cartridges were also seized from his possession.

Three armed extremists, reportedly belonging to PLFI barged into Kurumkela upgraded middle school under Kurdeg Police Station in Simdega District of Jharkhand on the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border and tried to abduct a school teacher at gunpoint, creating panic among students on the campus.

Following a bomb blast in Arrah's Civil Court, where three persons were killed including a Police Constable and 16 injured, Police said that CPI-Maoist involvement in the blast cannot be ruled out.

Wary of CPI-Maoist influence among tribals, the Kerala State Government is planning to distribute food kits, each worth INR 100, in vulnerable tribal colonies every day across the state from February under the assumption that only hungry bellies could be swayed by revolutionary ideas.

CPI-Maoist killed an 18-year-old girl at a village in Khunti District. Police said the body of Birsi Kumari (18) was found by neighbours with two bullet wounds on January 24 at Kitahatu village. Local residents said the girl paid with her life for being a Police informer, but the Police deny the claim.

BSF IG Meghalaya Frontier Sudesh Kumar stated that umber of camps of Indian militant groups in Bangladesh has gone down after security authorities of that country launched a crackdown. He also added that there are only 39 camps of Indian militant groups in Bangladesh and most of these camps are located in inaccessible areas of the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT). He also said that most these Indian militants now do not have any well-mechanized training camps but instead they have set up small sheds from where the insurgents usually operate.

Bangladesh security forces had last year overrun the hideouts of NLFT and gunned down eight of its cadres in Bangladesh CHT. The combined team of army and paramilitary forces arrested a NLFT "commander" Kwaplai Debbarma, 33, alias Karna, from the house of a former ATTF 'commander' Jewel Debbarma in Char Mile area on the Khagrachari-Dighinala road. They also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, which included 263 rounds of ammunition for 9mm pistol, 70 rounds of ammunition for .762 rifles, 11 hand grenades, 17 rounds of rocket-launchers, 19 wireless sets, two very high frequency wireless sets, nine G3 magazines, 1,200 detonators, 18 sets of detonator cable, seven magazines of sub-machine guns, a pistol and a revolver. Number of camps of insurgents was over 100 five years ago.

Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary for North East in MHA stated that a massive security alert has been sounded across North East India after separatist rebels announced a boycott of the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. ULFA, NDFB, KLO and CorCom had earlier announced their boycott through a joint statement e-mailed to several media houses.

An IED exploded on the bank of Nambul River near Keishamthong Laisom Leirak in Imphal West District in Manipur.

Another IED which was found at the residential compound of an individual identified as Abdul Salam, a convenor of Kwakta Government High School, on January 21 was disposed of safely. (Manipur)

Churachandpur SP Kabib stated that personnel of the District Police have been stationed at night-checking spots and a massive around the clock vigil was being kept to check any untoward incidents that would disrupt the Republic day celebrations. (Manipur)

Kohima police personnel recovered three empty cases of 7.65 caliber used in .32 pistol and two bullet heads from the place where three stationary vehicles were damaged by some unknown militants. The incident had happenedherein some unknown miscreants had fired upon three stationary vehicles located at Pezieliecie and Kezieke Colony in Kohima in Nagaland. All the three vehicles were found with ACAUT sticker. ACAUT has strongly condemned the senseless damaging of vehicles in Kohima that reportedly had sticker "I am ACAUT" on it.

MIP of NSCN-IM reacted to the statements made by Governor of Nagaland P.B.Acharya and chairman of CFMG , retired Lieutenant General N.K.Singh, stating that Governor was "less informed about the twists and turns of events in the struggle for Nagas right to 'self-determination'. On the speech of CFMG chairman MIP CLAIMED that his opinion was one sided.

The three workers of ABCI Infrastructures Private Limited, identified as excavator driver Raju Robidas from Assam, excavator operator Vinod Kumar from Bihar and Shiva Narayan of Bihar, who were reportedly abducted by suspected militants of KNF-N from a place in Saramkon area along Kasom Khullen Road in Ukhrul in Manipur.

A UNLF militant was arrested by a joint tem of Narcotics and Border Affairs and Police Commandos. (Manipur)

The Maoists blasted a railway track at Muniguda in Rayagada District of Odisha, leaving movement of trains affected for several hours along the route. The blast spot was a few hundred metres away from a CRPF camp. Though the track suffered damage, no casualty was reported from the incident. CPI-Maoist had given a bandh call in five Districts of the State protesting the visit of US President Barack Obama.

Suspected CPI-Maoist cadres triggered an explosion on the Visakhapatnam-Raipur railway line at Munikhol near Muniguda Railway Station in Rayagada District of Odisha injuring one railway staff and blowing up a portion of the track that led to disruption of train services on the route.

Three militants of ANLA surrendered before the Police at Nengkra Police check post near Williamnagar in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya. The militants have been identified as Simon Momin, Chonseng Marak and Heff Momin. Police said that the militants were on the run after killing their 'area commander', Nengja G. Momin, in 2014. The militants also surrendered one 9mm pistol along with 5 rounds of ammunition and one 7.65mm pistol with two rounds of ammunition.

Nearly two years after he was branded an active HM terror cell by Delhi Police, Liaquat Shah was given a clean chit by the NIA. The Delhi Police Special Cell had in March 2013 arrested Liaquat from the Indo-Nepal border, claiming that a terror bid was foiled as he came with a plot to carry out terror strikes. While absolving Liaquat of the charges, NIA in its charge sheet and probe report named absconder Sabir Khan as the main accused. Sabir had allegedly planted weapons on Liaquat to project him as a terrorist belonging to the HM.

The CPI-Maoist hijacked two buses and one pick up van carrying about 50 passengers and held them captive for two to three hours before releasing them near Katekalyan in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. The incident took place between Paknaar and Katekalyan where the Maoists took these vehicles to an undisclosed destination in the forest. However, the vehicles were later found near Katekalyan Police Station. Sources said the Maoists had pasted posters in the area opposing US President Barack Obama`s India visit.

Police recovered three arms cache belonging to the Maoists in Khadisaru forest under Sorada Police limits in Ganjam District of Odisha. The seized items included three SLRs, 793 rounds of ammunition (318 rounds of SLR, 240 rounds of .303 and 206 rounds of 9 mm, 19 rounds of INSAS and 10 rounds of .22 rifles), 30 magazines (19 for INSAS, nine SLR and two for .303), 20 charge clips, two batteries, two battery stands, two steel containers and belts. The locations of the arms dumps were identified by former OMP leader Pramod Majhi alias Sagar. "We suspect these arms were looted from Nayagarh armoury of when the rebels attacked the district in 2008," said Ganjam SP Narasingha Bhol.

A Sarpanch candidate who was abducted along with more than a dozen other villagers by CPI-Maoist cadres on January 22 was killed in Parcheli village under Katekalyan Police Station area in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. The victim was identified as Somadu Markam. The other villagers were released by the Maoists.

BSF thwarted major infiltration attempt by the militants between Jugnu Chak and Jai Kishan posts in Gharana area of RS Pura sector in J&K. A Police Officer stated that "Pakistani Rangers resorted to intermittent small arms firing on Jogwan border outpost in R S Pura border belt along the IB in Jammu District during the intervening night of January 24 and 25.

Indian Authorities has ordered suspension of cross-LoC bus service between Poonch-Rawlakote and it will be suspended on January 26, as a precautionary measure in view of terror threat during Republic Day celebrations.

Five NFDB-IKS militants were arrested from Ripu reserve forest area of Kokrajhar in Assam. Three militants has been identified as Daneshwar Basumatary alias B Dapung alias Ustad Laoga Basumatary and Girish Soren. Two pistols and three hand grenades were recovered from Daneshwar Basumatary and two hand grenades and eight detonators with fuses were recovered from Laoga Basumatary and Girish Soren.

IED exploded on the bank of Nambul River near Keishamthong Moirang Ningthou Leirak in Imphal West in Manipur. This was the eighth IED explosion in less than five days ahead of Republic day, on January 26. Reacting sharply to the blasts, CM Okram Ibobi Singh said such subversive and violent activities carried out by anti-social elements would not serve any purpose.

A gunfight broke out between troops of 22 AR and underground cadres at Chingjao area, 15 kilo meters to the west of Waikhong police station in Thoubal in Manipur. According to a reliable source, 22 AR troops were conducting a cordon and search operation at Chingjao area from 11 am after getting specific information about the presence of militants numbering around 20. Even as the troops were asking the militants to surrender, a powerful IED exploded suddenly and both the sides engaged in brief gunfight. The militants are suspected to have escaped towards Khoidumpat.

President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the nation on the eve of 66th Republic Day voiced deep concern over repeated ceasefire violations along the LoC and called for “integrated response” through incisive diplomacy and impregnable security mechanisms to the terrorist attacks. Mukherjee said “The multi-nation conflict has converted boundaries into bloodlines and terrorism into an industry of evil. Terrorism and violence are seeping across our borders. While peace, non-violence and good neighbourly intentions should remain the fundamentals of our foreign policy, we cannot afford to be complacent about adversaries, who will stop at nothing to disrupt our progress towards prosperous and equitable India.”

Police is seeking to charge sheet Mehdi Masroor Biswas, suspected operator of a pro-IS Twitter handle. But they are yet to hear from Google on their request to access his three Google accounts. "Once we access these Google accounts, we can find more evidences, especially of any personal communications he had with pro-ISIS supporters or even fighters," said sources. Police have already found over 12,000 direct messages sent on his Twitter account, with the help of Twitter India, which they claim have given them s evidence to prove Mehdi's role in inspiring youths to be part of IS.

NSCN-IM accused AR of repeated violation of the ceasefire ground rules in Naga areas despite much protest. NSCN-IM MIP, of NSCN-IM stated that on November 26 AR of Pfutsero town in Phek District of Nagaland, arrested two militants ‘sergeant major’ Lotoshe and ‘private’ Aom  of ‘Ehoshe Battalion’ and on December 10 ‘lieutenant’ Oriender Jajo was also arrested while he was on his way to meet his parents.

CRPO, SAPF, CAPO and ‘convenor’ of ‘village council chairmen union’, Chozuba area have appealed to NSCN-K to release the two employees of Maytas-Gayatri, who were abducted on January 11 from Sothozu camp in Phek in Nagaland.

A budget hotel owned by a government undertaking in Wayanad District of Kerala was attacked allegedly by CPI-Maoist cadres. The reception counter and restaurant of Tamarind Easy Hotel, at Thirunelli, owned by KTDC, was vandalized by a six-member gang. They left posters protesting against India visit of US President Barack Obama. 

The CPI-Maoist cadres allegedly killed a civilian, identified as Vanthala Bhaskara Rao, in Malkangiri District of Odisha, alleging him to be a Police informer.

The Maoists hoisted black flags near Rollagedda in Malkangiri District of Odisha and the ‘east division committee’ of the CPI-Maoist gave a bandh on January 26 along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border. 

The Maoists also cut a pipeline of Essar company near Rollagedda in Malkangiri District of Odisha.

The armed Maoist group which had ransacked Tamarind Easy Hotel run by the KTDC in Thirunelli in Wayanad District of Kerala, reportedly visited a couple of houses in the vicinity after attacking the resort. According to Sukumarannunni Warrier, a resident of Thirunelli, the gun-wielding persons visited his house and handed over copies of pro-CPI-Maoist newsletters. The gang also visited the residence of Muraleedharan, the owner of a building under construction in the area.

The insurgency-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh witnessed intensified CPI-Maoist activities. The Maoists felled trees and dug up roads leading to traffic disruption. They damaged drill machine of the NMDC’s Kirandul plant in Dantewada District and damaged National Highway 30 in the previous evening. The Maoists also abducted two passenger buses in Katekalyan area of Dantewada on January 24. The Maoists also damaged railway track between Kirandul and Bacheli town and opened fire on Chintagufa and Timilwada Police camps in Sukma District on January 26.

India has said that talks with Islamabad will not be possible till the Islamic Republic addresses all concerns, including those of terrorism, raised by New Delhi. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan, in an interaction with reporters in Islamabad, stated that negotiations between the two nations will not be possible in a 'climate of terror', adding that despite the banning of terrorist outfit JuD by the UN, its 'chief' Hafiz Saeed was still 'operating without any checks'. Raghavan reportedly also sought to dispel any fears of relations between India and US targeting any nation in the South Asia regions, stating that the agreement to boost defence cooperation between New Delhi and Washington DC was a result of the ongoing visit of India by US President Barack Obama.

A Tamil language newspaper, Dinamalar received a letter threatening an attack similar to the one on the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. "We have received the letter from the newspaper and a probe is on," a senior Police official said. The letter, typed in English, says "Yesterday-Paris Charlie Hebdo, Tomorrow — Dinamalar." The words appear against the background of India's map. The letter was sent through post by unidentified elements claiming to belong to an outfit called "The Base Moment," and said to be based at "3/10, Ukkadam, Kovai, Tamil Nadu, India." Below the map is a picture of Osama bin Laden and the words "By al-Qaida," and some Arabic words appearing like a signature, the police official said.

A man, identified as Zahoor Khan was arrested, along with FICN worth INR 5,60,000 from Habibganj railway station in Bhopal District of Madhya Pradesh. "Sehore-resident Zahoor Khan brought the fake currency from Malda in West Bengal. He had arrived in the Dakshin Express. He was dealing in counterfeit currency for the past 7-8 years and is expected to have pumped duplicate currency worth Rs 10 lakh so far," said ASP Shailendra Singh Chouhan.

Suspected militants of ULFA-I triggered two blasts near Digboi town in Tinsukia District of Assam. SP of Tinsukia stated that "While one blast was triggered on the outskirts of Digboi town, another blast took place near a drain in the town. Both were low intensity crude bombs and there is no injury or any damage”. Police also recovered an IED from Jorhat town in Jorhat District.

Bangalore Crime Branch arrested B. Sibigiri alias Sanju Bordoloi, ‘organising secretary’ of NDFB-IKS from Electronic city in Bangalore in Karnataka. NIA Guwahati has sought the custody of Sanju Bordoloi, alias Sibigiri, He allegedly confessed to have participated in the recent attacks in Assam, which had forced Indian Army to intensify its operations in the area.

Police recovered timed IED just hours before the Republic Day celebration in Jorhat in Assam. Police recovered the timed IED planted by ULFA-I from the Hatigarh area of Jorhat under Lahdoigarh Police outpost. The IED was later disposed of safely.

Mohammad Sahidul Islam and Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, DCs of Sylhet and Moulvi Bazaar Districts of Bangladesh, stated that Bangladesh and Sylhet division of the county bordering India, in particular, is free from terror activities triggered by JMB. They also stated that NDFB-IKS ULFA-I or any other Indian militant outfit do not have any hideout inside Bangladeshi territory.

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi said that the process of up NRC intended at helping solve the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh to the State will be completed in the current year. He stated that “The procedure devised for updation envisages use of latest information technology and aims at ensuring that no names of foreign nationals find place in the NRC. The NRC will be published in January 2016. He also added that issue of illegal migration has been a matter of serious concern in Assam for long, and updating the NRC was one step towards a permanent solution. “We are committed to detect and deport foreigners under provisions of the Assam Accord [signed in 1985], but there are certain difficulties too. Our government is committed to the imperative of preventing illegal infiltration from across the international borders and various measures have been taken in this regard.

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi further claimed credit for bringing to the mainstream several militant groups through the strategy adopted by his Government in the past 14 years under the Unified Command Structure. “The success has been reflected in SoO agreements with as many as 17 extremist outfits, out of which four have signed MoS with the government,” he added.

Four low intensity explosions were triggered near the venue of the main Republic Day function in Imphal. The blasts occurred at Polem Leikai (Imphal West in Manipur), Yaiskul (Imphal East), New Chekkon (Imphal West) and Hatta (Imphal East), all near the Kangla Fort.

Further an explosion occurred in Thoubal District at Wangjing Purana Heitupokpi Mamang Leikai and at Bishnupur District at Loukoipat junction. (Manipur)

In view of the strike called by UNLF, KYKL, RPF markets, shops and business establishments were closed in most parts of the State. Transport services between Manipur and the neighbouring states were also cancelled in view of the strike.

There was minimal response to the 24-hour bandh called called by HNLC. The shutdown, which began at 6 pm on January 24, failed to evoke any response from citizens. Incidentally, none of the militant organizations in Garo Hills have announced boycott of the Republic Day celebrations.(Meghalaya)

Influx of illegal immigrants and the inter-state boundary dispute with Assam featured in the speeches during the Republic day speeches. Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister R.C. Laloo announced that a "comprehensive mechanism" to deal with influx and illegal immigration would be put in place at the earliest. Thanking civil society organisations for "productively" engaging with the government in structuring an appropriate, practical and comprehensive mechanism, he appealed to all eminent citizens of the state and stakeholders to extend necessary co-operation and support to the government in this endeavour.

In relation to the inter-state boundary dispute with Assam, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister R.C. Laloo said that the government was "committed" to address and resolve the long-pending contentious issue. are at least 12 areas of difference between Assam and Meghalaya including Langpih, Upper Tarabari, Gizang reserve forest, Hahim, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah-Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah, Blocks I and II, Khanduli-Psiar and Ratacherra. They cover an area of around 2,700 square km, of which the two blocks cover around 1,500 square km.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar stated that his government would not allow any attempt to divide the State. ."A section of people are trying to split the state and to disturb the peace. The Left Front government would resist the move with its all out efforts,", stated the CM.

Terming Naxalism as a "disease" which is standing in way of development, Chhattisgarh Governor Balramjidas Tandon said the State would soon get rid of the Maoist menace completely. Addressing the 66th Republic Day function at Police line grounds, the Governor said "Some areas of Chhattisgarh are Naxal­affected. It is like a disease which is a hindrance to the development of the State." He said the State Government has accepted Naxalism as a challenge and with the coordinated efforts of Centre the menace will be wiped out soon. "I assure you, the day is not far when the state will be completely free of Naxal problem," he added.

A 50-ft tall Maoist memorial constructed in the dense forest of Machanar in Kondagaon District of Chhattisgarh has been demolished by SF personnel.

Marking the Republic day, the CRPF inaugurated two first­ of ­their kind 'battlefield' hospitals (One in Bijapur and the other at Chintalnar in Dantewada) in the Maoist hotbeds of Bastar in Chhattisgarh which will provide immediate first aid to injured security forces personnel undertaking anti­-Maoist operations as well as locals in the area. The mini combat­ support hospital, aided with life sustaining and resuscitation gadgets, are the first operational medical facility for security troops operating in various Maoist­ affected states.

Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed urged the CPI-Maoist cadres to shun violence, join the mainstream and help the State move forward on the path of development, which has been elusive for 14 years since it was bifurcated from Bihar. In his Republic Day address at the historic Morhabadi field Governor Ahmed said "Left Wing Extremism is a big challenge for both the State and the country. The State Government has put tough measures in place to deal with the extremists, besides working for development in the Red-hit areas. People who have deviated from the mainstream should now realize that war is not a solution."

Four persons, including a CO of the Army, a HC of the SOG of J&K Police and two militants were killed in an encounter with militants in Tral area of Pulwama District. Army’s 42 RR and SOG and 185 CRPF cordoned off Handoora village after receiving information about presence of two HM militants. Colonel Munindra Nath Rai and HC Sanjeev Singh succumbed to their injuries. The gun battle continued for about an hour in which two militants identified as Abid Ahmad Khan alias Hamza and Sheraz Ahmad Dar were killed. 2 AK rifles, 4 AK magazines, many rounds of AK rifle and one hand grenade were recovered from the encounter site.

Gujarat Technological University (GTU) in Ahmedabad launched e-Raksha Research Centre that will encourage research and enhance capability to provide solution for issues related to cyber security. "GTU has launched e-Raksha Research Centre where various activities from research on latest techniques of cybercrime to capacity building of the faculties, students and government officers will be undertaken," a statement from GTU said. GTU is collaborating with CPF with the goal of establishing a peaceful and harmonious cyber space through research in this area, it said.

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the IB firing in Arnia and R S Pura sectors of Jammu District of J&K. The unprovoked Pakistani firing was retaliated by the BSF personnel and the exchange of fire continued for three hours. There was no loss of life or property in exchange of fire on the border.

In a ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing at Nawa Pind in R S Pura sector in J&K thus forcing the BSF to retaliate. The exchange of firing continued for a brief period but there was no loss of life or property during the gun battle.

NIA arrested four persons in connection with the October 2, 2014 Bardhaman blast case after carrying out raids across three districts of Birbhum, Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal. Among the arrested is one of the main recruiters for Bangladeshi terror group JMB, Dalim Sheikh alias Faijul Hoque Sheik. The other arrested are Motiur Rehman alias Noor Alam, Habibur Rehman Sheikh and Ghiyasuddin Munshi. While Dalim hails from Birbhum and Motiur from Nadia, the other two are from Murshidabad.

Antony Das, an accused in the FICN case registered in Nedumbassery (Kerala) on January 2013, was arrested at New Delhi’s IGI Airport. He had arrived from Abu Dhabi. The arrest was effected by the NIA, which had previously received an Interpol Red Notice issued against the absconder who was accused of smuggling FICN with face value of INR 9,75,000 to India through Kochi International airport.

SFs arrested three NDFB-IKS militants Sarakpur Dhuli Nalah, a remote village bordering Arunachal Pradesh in Sonitpur in Assam. The arrested militants were identified as Nitul Daimary alias Naihab, Runilush Daimary alias Mwnthai and Sukson Basumatary alias Jondesh. An AK-47 a Chinese rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from the militants. Nitul Daimary alias Naihab was ‘deputy commander’ of the outfit’s ‘third battalion’ and was allegedly involved in the killing of former Sonitpur Additional Superintendent of police Gulzar Husain in an ambush at Thaolo under Dhekiajuli police station in Sonitpur District, on January 28 2014.

SFs arrested two militants of the NDFB-IKS in Kusrabari village in Udalguri District of Assam. The Militants were identified as Dhananjay Basumatary alias Didum and ‘section commander’ Sanjay Basumatary alias Jingabil. Two pistols, three hand grenades, four rounds of ammunitions and an ignitor set were recovered from them.

SFs arrested KPLT militants identified as Binit Tokbi and Francis Teron from Dokmoka bus stand in Karbi Anglong in Assam. One .22 mm pistol, 10 rounds live ammunition, a magazine and one mobile handset were recovered from them.

RPF claimed responsibility for series of bomb blasts triggered in Manipur during the period of January 20 to 26. The claim was made in press statement signed by its ‘secretary publicity’ Roben Khuman. The press statement claimed that explosions were triggered as part of the boycott announced against the celebration of Republic Day , by CorCom , KLO, NDFB-IKS, ULFA-I RPF claimed its hand in the blast occurred on January 20 at 8 am at near Khurai Lamlong Thongkhong in Imphal East District; the blast on Jan 21 at 11 am at Nagamapal Singjubung Leirak near Crematorium Complex in Imphal West District; the blast on Jan 22 at 6 am at near the gate of 27 Sector AR camp, Torbung Bangla under Churachandpur Police Station. Further, it has claimed its hand in the blast that occurred on January 23 at 4:30 pm at Nambul River bank opposite Keisamthong Laisom Leirak; on January 24 at 7:30 am at Nambul River bank opposite Sagolband Meino Leirak and at 10 am of the same day at near Yaiskul Firing Range ground at Imphal River bank; again on January at 9:30 am at Keisamthong Moirang Ningthou Leirak Nambul River bank.

RPF has claimed its hand in the blast that occurred on January 26 at 7 am at Khuyathong Pukhri Achouba near crematorium and Yaiskul Hicham Yaichampat Imphal River bank and also at 8:30 am at Hapta Golapati Imphal River bank under Porompat Police Station. RPF also claimed the blast at 9 am at KR Lane Imphal River bank and Wangjing Purana Heitup Pokpi Mamang Leirak paddy field under Thoubal Police Station and Bishnupur DC office. The statement also claimed that ULFA-I and RPF jointly planned two bomb blasts at two different places in Digboi Town in Tinsukia District of Assam.

A combined team of Thoubal Commandos and of 2 AR arrested a militant of KNF-N during a frisking and checking exercise at Yairipok Top Chingtha in Thoubal in Manipur. One 9 mm pistol loaded with five rounds was seized from him.

The operation of Indian Army at Chingjao, an islet located in the middle of Pumlen pat under Waikhong Police Station in Thoubal District of Manipur continued for the third consecutive day. It is considered to be the biggest Army operation in Manipur in three years.

The whereabouts of the five abducted non-Manipuri workers still remained unknown. The three workers of ABCI Infrastructures Private Limited, identified as excavator driver Raju Robidas from Assam, excavator operator Vinod Kumar from Bihar and Shiva Narayan of Bihar, who were reportedly abducted on January 23.

Also whereabouts of two workers of Coastal Project Private Limited, identified as Forman Ranjit Thakur and driver Ramjul Haque, both from Jharkhand, were abducted from Nungkao Part-III under Tousem Sub-division of Tamenglong District of Manipur by suspected also is unknown.

Close to 500 families of the Bru tribe have reported to the Mizoram government that they have “self-repatriated” themselves into the state from relief camps in Tripura since the last formal process in June last year, when less than 280 families returned. . In all, a little less than 670 families have come home under the formal process, which involves both the Tripura and Mizoram governments announcing dates, arranging for transportation and setting up stalls to facilitate their return. Close to 500 families (455 of them to Mamit district, between 20 and 30 others in Kolasib district) who have reported they have come home on their own await formal verification and thus have not yet been given the rehabilitation packages.

Lalbiakzama, Additional Secretary for Mizoram Home Department stated that MHA convened a meeting on the several issues regarding Bru families lodged in the six relief camps in North Tripura. State Home department officials, however, opined that the proposed renewed repatriation would again be a futile exercise as the Brus in the relief camps refused to return to Mizoram. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, speaking in the NEC plenary session held in Shillong on January 2, proposed that those Brus, who refused to return to Mizoram till date despite concerted efforts, should be settled permanently in Tripura.

Chairman of CFMG expressed dismay over the press statement issued by NSCN-IM In a statement N.K.Singh said, as chairman CFMG, it was his duty to take note of and point out any violation of the CFGR that was agreed to by both sides. He added that that with NSCN-IM blatantly violating several CFGR he, as chairman, has to highlight them and “take necessary action to raise these issues”. (Nagaland)

NIA filed charge sheet before the Special NIA Court Dimapur against five Police officials of Nagaland Police, including an SP on charges of allegedly selling government ammunition to militants. The accused have been identified as Enyimi Chakhesang, Sejongmong Sangtam, James Ovung, Longlise Sangtam and Sashitsungba Longcher They have been accused of being involved in smuggling arms meant for the department to NSCN-IM.

The first phase of panchayat polls will be held in Chhattisgarh amid tight security on January 28. "The preparations have been made for the first phase of polling for posts of 145 zilla panchayat members, 1,134 janpad panchayat members, 4,163 sarpanch and 36,745 panch," said secretary, state election commission, I R Dehari. "The polling parties are on the way to destination amid tight security," he said. The elections would decide the fate of 1,22,384 candidates. Of the total 55,53,149 registered voters, 27,99,756 are males and 27,53,393 females while there are 11,884 polling stations for the first phase, he said. While 3,916 polling stations have been identified as sensitive, 1,670 have been identified as hyper sensitive. Helicopters will be used to ferry polling staff to some hyper­sensitive stations. The polling time in the insurgency-­hit Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur and Jagdalpur, Lohandiguda, Bastanar and Darbha blocks of Bastar district, Antagarh, Koyalibeda, Bhanupratappur and Durgkondal blocks of Kanker District, will be from 6.45 AM to 2 PM because of Naxal threat, and from 7 AM to 3 PM elsewhere.

The next phase is scheduled for February 2. Paper ballot will be used for the voting.

Maoists have asked the villagers to either support their candidates or boycott the elections. According to Police, the Maoists recently held meetings in the interior areas of Sukma, Dantewada, Bijapur and Narayanpur Districts.

The Palakkad Principal Sessions Court of Kerala rejected the bail application of two suspected CPI-Maoist cadres arrested on the charges of attacking a multi-national food joint. The Court observed that providing bail will adversely affect the ongoing investigation.

In Kaliachak of Malda District, the BSF seized FICNs with a face value of INR one million. The fake notes were in denominations of INR 1,000 and INR 500.

In a joint operation Meghalaya Police along with Army and Assam Police arrested finance secretary of a newly-formed militant outfit AJRK as Ramu Sangma.He was arrested from Santipur village in Kamrup District. Police recovered one 9mm pistol, three live ammunition, one notepad, several demand notes, one walkie-talkie, one mobile handset besides AJRK seal from his procession.

GoI closely monitoring the CI operations and has directed the forces on the ground to lay stress on recovery of weapons along with arrest of militants. Meanwhile, for the first time, the militants are feeling the pressure from SFs of Myanmar. Following pressure from India, the Government of Myanmar has moved army personnel towards the area where the militants have their bases. Though a full-scale operation is yet to be launched by Myanmar, the army movement has forced the militants to shift some of their bases.

MHA official stated that stated that more than 70 militants of NDFB-IKS have been arrested since December 23 2014. Sources said there have been reports that some militants gave themselves up in the face of sustained operations. But most of the militants managed to hide their weapons. It is also reported that the militants managed to bury some sophisticated weapons. Also, Bhutan Government is fully cooperating with India in dealing with militancy.

Two KNF militants were killed and three injured in an encounter with AR, at a bridge at Kadangband in Imphal West District of Manipur. The injured insurgents were identified as Helen Kuki, Satmang Kuki and Kholin Kuki.

A hand grenade was found planted at the gate of a school, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Khumbong in Imphal West District of Manipur. The grenade was wrapped in a polythene bag. The grenade was diffused later by Manipur Police. Grenade might have been planted in connection with a monetary demand.

Two militants of PREPAK-pro identified as Thokchom Bishorjit alias Momo and Thokchom Boycha were arrested from Sangaiprou in Imphal West District of Manipur.

Imphal East commandos arrested a militant of KCP-MC Haokhothang Sitlhou from Uripok Cheirap Court gate in Imphal East of Manipur. One extortion letter demanding INR 150000 from the Khuman Lampak Auto-Rickshaw Service Association and other incriminating articles were recovered from him.

An NSCN-IM militant identified as ‘private’ Kh Khumdambring was arrested from Sita road in Chandel District of Manipur.

MCP-M stated that it has entered into an agreement with CPI-Maoist in fighting against “expansionist India.” A statement signed by ‘publicity and propaganda secretary’ comrade Nonglen Meitei of MCP-M stated that the understanding was reached at a meeting held between the leaderships of the two groups on January 26. (Manipur)

Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh has appealed for the safe release of three railway workers who were abducted from a railway construction site in Tamenglong District.

NSCN-KK has welcomed 29 ‘home comers’ who have recently joined its fold. 25 of the cadre belonged to NSCN-K, two to NSCN-IM and one former IRB trooper. (Nagaland)

JMC have intensified their demand for a regional council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for the development of the Mizo-dominated areas in North Tripura District. Over 14,000 Mizos live in the 12 villages straddling Jampui-Sakhantang hills bordering Mizoram, which is part of the Kanchanapur Assembly constituency.

Maoists went on a rampage in Chhattisgarh during the first phase of panchayat polls which have already seen around 50% of the candidates elected unopposed in rebel-dominated Bastar, officials said. Rebels looted ballot boxes from around 30 booths in Sukma, Dantewada and Kanker in Bastar region. Besides, rebels also fired at a polling party in Kanker District. “No injury or causality was reported in the incident,” IG (intelligence wing) Deepanshu Kabra said. According to state election commission sources, 12,524 panch, sarpanch and janpad panchayat members have been elected unopposed out of 24,611 posts in the seven Districts of Bastar.

A CPI-Maoist self-styled 'zonal commander' was arrested in Garhwa District of Jharkhand. SP Sudhir Kumar Jha said that the Maoist, identified as Jagdish Budhayadav, was arrested from Kulhi village under Bandharia Police Station limits following a tip-off.  A country-made pistol, four bullets and INR 1.34 lakh cash were recovered from his possession.

Pamphlets asking locals to boycott the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2015 in Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh were recovered with Police sounding high alert in the Maoist-hit areas of the District, bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Police said the pamphlets were allegedly circulated by Maoists under the name of 'Tada Dalam' and pasted on walls in rural areas of Devarbeli, Songudda and Machhurda, under Roopjhar Police Station limits of the District.

Acting on a tip-off, Police arrested a Naxal ‘commander’, identified as Prakash Kerketta alias Arvind - in Ranchi District of Jharkhand. The LWE was involved in at least 15 cases including murder and extortion. He had launched a separate outfit named Jharkhand Gram Raksha Dal. A country made carbine, gun, bullets and motorcycle were also recovered from him. 

The CPI-Maoist cadres disrupted polling at many places during the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat elections, plundering ballot boxes and targeting poling parties and security personnel. The Maoists plundered ballot boxes at 13 polling booths in Sukma District, two in Kanker District and six in Dantewada District of the Bastar region. The Police and Maoists exchanged fire near Chilparas and Markanar in Kanker District. The Police recovered two guns from the spot of the gunfight. Voting was peaceful in other parts of the State. Overall, 70 per cent polling was recorded.  

Pakistani Rangers resumed heavy mortar shelling and firing in twin adjoining sectors of Arnia and RS Pura injuring three civilians including a woman. Initially, the mortar shells fell in Arnia town at about 8 pm and the shelling and firing continued till late when the reports last came in. The BSF retaliated effectively at all forward places in Arnia sector. Sources said as many as eight BSF posts in Chenaz, Pittal, Vikram and Pindi areas of Arnia sector were affected by Pakistan shelling and firing.

A team of Davangere District Police arrested Mohammed Falbar Hussein, wanted in bomb blast cases in Assam and West Bengal, from Madenahalli village in Honnali taluk of Davangere District in Karnataka. A local court has remanded him in judicial custody. Police said he has been sent to the sub-jail in Davangere. Sources said that Hussein is a suspected operative of JMB, the outfit behind the October 2, 2014 Bardhaman blast. He was staying in Honnali for the past one month, working as a truck driver.

Three women tailors, identified as E Anitha, K Saritha and G Harika and their employer, identified as D Laxmi Narayana were arrested in Hyderabad along with FICN worth INR 36,000. The fake notes were seized after their car was searched during a routine operation in Tappachabutra. The prime accused is at large. Police suspect the fake currencies might have originated in West Bengal.

Three persons, including a woman, were arrested by Crime Branch in Faridabad along with FICN worth INR 2,25,000. Vijender Singh, who led the Crime Branch team, said that the accused woman, identified as one Sandhya, is a resident of Palam in Delhi while the two other gang members are Kasim and Mustkim. Kasim was said to be the leader of the gang and he hails from Bardhaman District of West Bengal. During questioning, Kasim said that, in the last six months, he has shipped FICN of more than INR 12,00,000 to different cities in the vicinity of Delhi. He also revealed that he used to get INR 40,000 in real money against FICN of INR 1,00,000. The gang said that they used to get the FICN from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and were in the process of expanding their network. Police sources said that they are investigating the roots of the racket to ensure that it did not have any terror links.

NSG reviewed security apparatus at state secretariat in Ranchi, both at Project Building Dhurwa and Nepal House Doranda-and assembly building to find out the arrangement in place to fight a possible terrorist attack. These buildings house the office of the CM, ministers and top bureaucrats of Jharkhand. The important buildings in the state might become targets of the terrorists in the wake of growing terrorist activities in Jharkhand. In the past 10 years, over one dozen cadres of IM, SIMI, JMB, and several other terrorist organisations have been arrested from Jharkhand.

A militant of NDFB-IKS identified as ‘sergeant major’ Jornaluis Narzary alias Jankla was killed in an encounter with Police at Ripu Reserved Forest under Kachugaon Police Station in Kokrajhar in Assam. Arms and ammunition including .65 mm pistol, a magazine, and two grenades were recovered from him. He was a close associate of G Bidai, the ‘commander in chief’ of NDFB-IKS. He was the main man involved in the killing of schoolgirl Priya Basumatary and was also involved in snatching of weapons from the Eco Task Force in October 2014.

Two NDFB-IKS militants and three OGWs were arrested from Chirang and Kokrajhar Districts in Assam. One of the arrested militant has been identified as Sansuma Brahma alias B Susrwn, a Myanmar trained militant. One 7.65mm pistol, two–country made revolvers, crude bomb and two hand grenades were recovered during the operations.

Three UALA militants were arrested during a joint operation by Army and Police near Mechelkhowa area in Goalpara District in Assam. Two 12 bore country-made rifles, ammunition, two mobile phones and some cash were recovered.

A ‘second lieutenant’ Sagar Dutta of ULFA-I was arrested from a hideout near the Assam-Nagaland border in Jorhat in Assam.

Deposition and cross examination of Prosecution Witnesses in NIA case against UNLF ‘chief’ Meghen alias Sanayaima, continued for the second day at the special court NIA Guwahati in Assam.

Top bureaucrats of Assam and Bhutan participated in the 10th two-day border District coordination meeting which concluded at the Circuit House in Bongaigaon. The meet among other things discussed law and order in the both sides of the India-Bhutan border. Baksa, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Chirang, four Districts of BTAD have their borders with Bhutan.

NIA has found that laptops, offered to meritorious students in Assam under a government scheme, were used by the JMB militants in the operations. Sleuths of the agency, who came from Kolkata, recovered an unspecified number of such laptops in the state over the last few days. “The JMB had developed its network through these laptops. The first of these laptops was recovered from a madrasa in West Bengal. Subsequently, interrogations of the arrested JMB members led to the recovery of some more laptops from Assam,” an NIA source told the newspaper

Two AR troopers identified as Naik Subedar Kunjumon and Rifleman Deepak and three civilians identified as Maheijuddin, Mohammed Wasim, and Laishram Bobby were injured in a grenade blast, when militants attacked Lilong post of 40 AR, in Thoubal in Manipur.

Claiming that one among two persons, killed in a reported encounter by 8 ARs troops at Kadangband in Imphal West District of Manipur was a civilian villagers of Kangchup Chingkhong have threatened to call a 24-hour State-wide bandh from January 31 if the Government fails to order a Magisterial inquiry.

Police sources state that one small arm along with five live bullets were recovered from the vehicle in which the armed individuals were travelling. Police also stated that a large number of detonators were also found lying on the road near the car and another small arms were recovered from a nearby bush.

One of the militant who was killed has been identified as CAO of KNF, Ngunkhosei alias Robert.

KNF rejected report about KNF cadres attacking troops of AR at Kadangband on January 28 and alleged that it was a clear case of fake encounter. (Manipur)

AR arrested a PLA militant identified as Kiran Wahengbam alias Danny general area village of Wabagai Tera Pishak Mamang Leikai in Thoubal District of Manipur.

The ‘general secretary’ of NSCN-IM Thuingaleng Muivah left Dimapur for New Delhi to resume talks with the GoI. NSCN-IM ‘chairman’ Isak Chisi Swu is already in Delhi. The precise date for talks is yet to be fixed. (Nagaland)

Combing operations have been intensified in Western Ghats of Southern India after an Odisha-based Maoist, identified as Jaghwanth Poojari, was arrested in Tenmalai forest area of Kollam District of Kerala.

A CPI-Maoist, cadre identified as Sunil Ganju who was arrested under POTA in 2004, was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a Special Court in Ranchi of Jharkhand. 

Two Maoists were arrested by a joint contingent of CRPF and CAF during a search operation carried in the jungles of Purugudu under Awapalli Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. The arrested Maoists were involved in triggering a blast in Murdunda on January 21 wherein two CRPF personnel were injured, Police sources said adding they were lower member of the Naxal cadre.

Mumbai Police have busted a major fake SIM card racket suspected to have international terror links with the arrest of three persons including two sales executives of a mobile service providers. 2,173 SIM cards, eight high end mobile phones, thousands of fake Aadhaar card, PAN cards and other government documents which 26 year old accused Sharif Khan procure to activate these cards have been seized from his house in Govandi in eastern suburbs of Mumbai. Two territory sales executive of the two service providers have been identified as Atin Vast alias Sharma (29) and Dharmandra Bangari (31). Police have also recovered a personal diary of Khan in which there are 24 pages containing several code words against various names of foreign countries viz Afghanistan-1, Indonesia-1, Myanmar-2, Pakistan-1, China-1 etc. ``Now our focus will be to decode these codes and his emails and his facebook through which he was coordinating with various people globally.'' Said Dhananjay Kamlakar, Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order). Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria has set up a SIT and have included officers from Crime Branch as well the ATS and Cyber cell to probe the terror angle.

The GFSU signed a MoU with a Finnish company, Codenomicon Software to be able to train and raise a “cyber army” to combat “cyber terrorism”. The technology will eventually also be used to secure critical infrastructure, industrial control systems and other smart-city initiatives in the country. The GFSU developed a cyber intelligence lab in August, 2014 that has the software called “defensics” provided by Codenomicon. The software is the only one available in the country, which makes this lab the biggest cyber monitoring cell among the other labs in the country. The cyber army would be then raised to combat cyber terrorism. The intelligence lab is not just a learners’ ground for the students of the GFSU, it will also host training sessions for the officers from central agencies like CBI, NIA, armed units and Police officers from various states regularly. The intelligence lab will also aid cyber crime detections and help Police in cyber-monitoring. The GFSU and Codenomicon will then develop SCADA in the lab for analysis.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of passing out parade of 333 recruits at Humhama in Budgam District of J&K, IG of BSF P S Sandhu said “The infiltration routes are full of snow but there was no question of lowering the guard as troops are always on high alert”. The IG said a large number of militants are still present in training camps and launch pads in PoK. “Our troops are vigilant, alert and pro-active to foil any attempt by militants to sneak into this side from LoC,” he added.

Fishing boats less than 20 metres in length continue to pose security threat along the West Bengal and Odisha coasts, says the Coast Guard. While larger vessels are fitted with AIS, there is no mechanism to regulate the movement of the smaller boats. Though nearly 98 per cent of fishermen in West Bengal have been issued biometric identity cards, these have to be physically checked by Coast Guard personnel.

Coal mining at Namchik–Namphuk coal block in Changlang was suspended since May 2012 after GoI directed Arunachal Pradesh Government to suspend extraction following involvement of insurgent groups, stated Geology and Mining Minister Kamlung Mosang in response to a question by senior BJP MLA Japu Deru during Question Hour in the State Assembly in Itanagar. GoI suspended mining operation after reports of involvement of two factions of NSCN.

BSF arrested two individuals from Badarpur Market in Karimganj District in Assam and recovered FICN worth INR 198,500. The arrested individuals have been identified as Salim Uddin Barbhuiya and Aftar Uddin.

A member of the Sadar Hills ADC S Thangjamang Kipgen escaped a life attempt bid at Langol Games Village in Imphal West in Manipur. ADC member added that although he has not received any monetary demand from any militant outfits, he earlier had some threats from Kuki militant groups regarding the election of ADC Chairman.

The PREPAK-pro claimed it had carried out the grenade attack which wounded three civilians and two AR soldiers on January 29. (Manipur)

Two employees of Gayatri-Maytas, who were reportedly abducted by NSCN-K from Phek District of Nagaland, were rescued by Sumi Hoho team. The rescued have been identified as Devendra Kumar Gupta and Kalinga Sethi.

Dimapur Police stated that accidental IED explosion of Janaury 5 in Dimapur was committed by Manipur based PLA, identified as Maibam Biren Singh and Katuncha alias M Jiban Singh were have been arrested from undefined location in the Manipur and were taken to Dimapur. According to the police, the arrested persons revealed that the IED were meant for three locations, the garbage collection area at Burma camp below fly-over, garbage collection area opposite Hotel Senti and Dimapur Municipal Corporation (DMC) dustbin at Eros Lane junction. Also different dates were marked on the three IEDs, (January 6, 25 and 26, 2015).In the bomb explosion at Eros Lane junction near Wotsami Complex Dimapur one militant identified as Longjam Ojit Meitei of PLA was found injured. (Nagaland)

The office of the NHAI at Kalamassery in Kochi of Ernakulam District of Kerala was vandalized by unidentified miscreants claiming to be affiliated to the CPI-Maoist. Police said there were no eyewitnesses to the incident. The attackers left pamphlets protesting against the acquisition of land for the National Highway expansion and privatization of public organizations. The pamphlets claimed that the attack was carried out by CPI-Maoist. ‘CPI-Maoist’ was also scrawled in black letters on the walls of the office. 

Three CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Joseph Munda (35), Sipren Munda (31) and Panalal Bhakta (17), surrendered before Police in Rourkela in Sundargarh District of Odisha. Joseph was involved in a murder case and landmine blast while Sipren and Panalal were also involved in many acts of violence. Panalal also cooked food for party members.

A senior cadre of the CPI-Maoist regional military commission identified as Jairam alias Nagender alias Arun alias Mochhu and his accomplice Bhupender Yadav were arrested at Manandohar in Palamu District of Jharkhand. Police recovered one eight round revolver from the possession of Jairam.

Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana stated that MHA has agreed to organise a final six-month repatriation process for internally-displaced Bru tribals, after which all those who do not return home from Tripura will be removed from Mizoram's electoral rolls and further relief to them will also be stopped. It has also been decided that Tripura, where many of displaced Brus live in s six relief camps, would meanwhile improve living conditions there and double the current financial aid allotted to each displaced Bru tribal.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla alleged that BJP was having secret dealings with HPC-D leaders and had promised a separate autonomous District Council for the Hmar inhabited area in the north eastern part of the State adjoining Manipur if BJP won specific number of seats in the village council elections, to be held in March.

Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana stated that MHA has agreed to organise a final six-month repatriation process for internally-displaced Bru tribals, after which all those who do not return home from Tripura will be removed from Mizoram's electoral rolls and further relief to them will also be stopped. It has also been decided that Tripura, where many of displaced Brus live in s six relief camps, would meanwhile improve living conditions there and double the current financial aid allotted to each displaced Bru tribal.

Three major infiltration attempts by the LeT militants have been foiled by the SFs during latest rounds of mortar shelling and heavy firing in Arnia and RS Pura sectors, while the BSF was anticipating more such intrusion bids (by the militants) along the IB in the next few days. Official sources told that three groups of six to eight militants of the LeT outfit made desperate attempts to sneak into the Indian territory during recent shelling and firing by the Pakistani Rangers in Arnia and RS Pura sectors. The alert BSF personnel observed movement of the militants well in time on thermal imagers and successfully foiled the intrusion bid.

Jharkhand Police has formed an elite group of commandos trained to neutralize November 26, 2008 (26/11) -like terror attacks. The commandos have been handpicked from Jharkhand Jaguar, the state's elite anti-Naxalite force, who have completed month-long rigorous training at NSG centre in Manesar (Haryana). The group is armed with advanced automatic assault rifles. Jharkhand is on the radar of multiple terrorist outfits like IM, SIMI, LeT and JMB whose sleeper cells have been found in the state in the last one year. "The group was required because of growing activities of the multiple terrorist organizations in the state. The team is equipped with advanced combating skills and has been trained about the varying techniques terrorists apply during attacks," IG R K Mallick, who heads Jharkhand Jaguar, said while adding the team will react in case of any terror strike.

NIA found that laptops offered to meritorious students in Assam under a government scheme, were used by JMB in their operations. NIA source stated that “The JMB had developed its network through these laptops. The first of these laptops was recovered from a madrasa in West Bengal. Subsequently, interrogations of the arrested JMB members led to the recovery of some more laptops from Assam.

A newly elected Sarpanch has reportedly been killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. SP, Dantewada Kamal Lochan Kashyap said that according to the information, Maoists have killed the Sarpanch Lakhma Siri at Toyalanka village. Lakhma had been elected unopposed in the recently-held panchayat elections, which had incurred him the wrath of the ultras, who had asked for boycott of polls.

The decomposed body of a ‘sub-zonal commander’ of the PLFI, a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, who was killed by a young member of the rebel outfit on the night of January 16, was recovered from Sauka forest in Itki, around 25km from Ranchi District headquarters of Jharkhand. Bikas Oraon (18) had crushed Samdhad aka Maulvi, to death with a stone in his sleep because the PLFI leader was not willing to let him go so that he could appear for his matriculation examination. Police came to know this after arresting Bikas, a resident of Gadri village in Bero who joined the PLFI some three months ago. They found four fire weapons and 68 live cartridges from his possession.

Nine persons from Bengaluru, who arrived in Istanbul (Turkey) on December 24, 2014, have been deported by Turkish authorities after they were allegedly caught trying to cross over to Syria to join the terror outfit IS. The group is being questioned by Bengaluru Police and central agencies after they arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). According to Police, they went to Istanbul from Bengaluru on tourist visas on December 24, 2014, and were sent back by the Turkish authorities on January 30, 2015. Among those sent back from Turkey are engineers Ibrahim Nowfal, 24, from Hassan and Javeed Baba, 24, from Khammam District, Telangana. The remaining seven belonged to a family from Chennai - Muhammed Abdul Ahad, 46, his wife and their five children. Police said Ahad has done masters in computer science from Kennedy-Western University, California, US, and worked in the US for more than ten years.

SF personnel averted a major tragedy by recovering and defusing an IED in Shopian District of J&K. Shopian Police and 44 RR of the Army recovered a 10 kilogramme IED near Balpora in Shopian District. The IED was concealed in a tin can and was planted near the road. A Bomb Disposal Squad was rushed to the spot and the IED was defused.

Police recovered a live grenade from the banks of river Basantar near famous Chichi Mataji temple in Samba District of J&K after a civilian spotted it. Reports said a civilian spotted a live grenade lying on the banks of Basantar River and informed Police. Police teams rushed to the spot, cordoned off the area, restricted it for civilian movement and seized the live grenade.

Two people, Narayan Barik and Sidharshan Barik from Odisha were arrested at the morning market off Vani Vilas Road in Mysuru (Karnataka) for circulating FICN of INR 500 denominations. The duo was exchanging FICN by buying vegetables for less than INR 20-30.

As part of its probe into an alleged terror plot to target the US consulate in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and the Israeli consulate in Bangalore (Karnataka), the NIA received details of an email account from the US, under the MLAT, providing further evidence of the involvement of a Pakistani national, “Shahjee”, in the conspiracy, sources said.The details received by the NIA provide evidence that the email account was created and operated by one “Shahjee” who has been named by Hussain as Sri Lanka based handler Amir Zubair Siddiqui's right hand man. The email account was registered under Shahjee’s name, and the details provided allegedly show that the email account was used to communicate with Siddiqui’s personal account and with email addresses operated from Pakistan.

The Indian security establishment is pushing for the Government to arrive at a policy and frame a law to deal with those going abroad to join the ranks of the IS. The government is concerned that the porous Turkey-Syria border may be used by Indians wanting to fight for IS to enter into Syria, the route also used by thousands of Europeans looking to take up arms with IS. Intelligence agencies believe, given the influence the idea of IS is wielding over the internet, where young professionals from good families are ready to risk everything to fight alongside IS without being invited, it's a phenomenon that cannot be ignored even if there is no immediate threat to India from the outfit.

Three persons, including a rickshaw puller and two pedestrians, were injured in a grenade explosion on Sib Bari Road in Hailakandi town of Hailakandi District in Assam.

SFs arrested three person linked to KPLT an area commander and two linkmen, in Karbi Anglong in Assam. The arrested trio was identified as Munthir Engti, ‘area commander’ of KPLT, while the linkmen were identified as Horen Teron and David Engti.

SFs have arrested more than 60 per cent cadres of the KPLT. Many small militant groups are operating in the Hill District and these groups are involved in a number of extortion cases."Some of these small groups were formed by former members of UPDS or KLNLF We have managed to arrest 66 KPLT cadres while 11 were killed in encounters in the past year. About 50 cadres are still at large, mostly in eastern part of the district and Hamren. Now But the KPLT now has been split into five groups - KPLT (Buche group), KPLT (Pratap), KPLT (Donri), KPLT (Symbon) and KPLT (Sojong). Some of these groups have six-seven members," Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta said. (Assam)

ED has recently filed a prayer before the designated court of PMLA in Guwahati (Assam) seeking physical possession of cash and other assets worth INR 10.3 million recovered from DHD-J and its sympathisers.

Army is facing a tough challenge in tracking down a handful of NDFB-IKS militants who are based approximately in a 15,000 square km area and have mixed among villagers. Intelligence sources said G Bidai, who was behind orchestrating the killings, is believed to have escaped to West Bengal. Some leaders have also escaped to Nagaland. Besides Bidai, the SFs are also in look out for leaders like Batha, Madan and Soha. Army sources said many of the cadres have fled to the foothills of neighbouring Bhutan. Army had set up 80 operation bases on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River to fight the militants. Over 100 to 300 villages are cover by each of the operation base adds the report.(Assam)

Joint team of Mizoram Police and AR, in a joint operation, arrested an arms dealer, Khanthang and recovered arms and ammunition from Vanzau village in Champhai District near the Indo-Myanmar border. One M2 and its two magazines and a 9mm pistol and a magazine, worth INR 300,000 in black market were seized.

A CPI-Maoist couple, Reddaboina Swamy alias Janardhan and his wife Shyamala, surrendered before SP B. Sumathi at the District Police headquarters in Medak District of Telangana. The Maoist couple hailed from Medak District. Swamy is native of Balwantapur village in Dubbak mandal and joined Giraipally Dalam in 2000 and later worked in Narsapuram Dalam and then left for Nallamala along with his wife Shyamala. He worked as a guard to State committee secretary, Akkiraju Harigopal alias RK.

Over 70 per cent of 3.37 million voters across 22 Districts of Chhattisgarh exercised their franchise in the second phase of panchayat polls. Though no major violence was reported, Maoists did manage to loot ballot boxes at some booths and disrupted voting at 24 polling stations.

The Visakhapatnam rural Police arrested four 'militia' members belonging to the CPI-Maoist during a raid at a village in Bothili panchayat in G. Madugula mandal of Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh.

An Adivasi youth, identified as Rajesh Koorankallu (24), from the Koorankallu colony at Odakkayam in Urangattiri Gram Panchayat, near Areekode, in Malappuram District was picked up by the Police for allegedly sending a threat mail to District Superintendent of Police Debesh Kumar Behera.

A higher secondary school teacher, identified as Iqbal Rafique of Tura Christian Girls' School in Meghalaya, was abducted by unidentified militants from Mankachar in Dhubri in Assam. The family of the victim later received a call from an unidentified individual speaking in Bengali, asking for a ransom of INR 5 million.

AR arrested an individual identified as Vizo Angami from general area 7th Mile in Chumukedima in Dimapur District in Nagaland. A Point 22 Rifle was also recovered.

Yaruiwo (president) of NSCN-IM Isak Chishi Swu has reiterated the ‘protracted war’ was waged ‘to achieve an ‘honorable solution’ and would continue and reminded Nagas and others, that the issue of Nagas versus India and Burma (Myanmar) was not a contest of strength but to uphold ‘the historical rights of the Naga people against ‘belligerent powers’.

PM Narendra Modi, his 7 RCR residence and the Indian Parliament are under terror threat from Pakistan based terror groups. Intelligence agencies have warned Delhi Police that terror groups operating in Pakistan have planned for a major terror attack on PM Narendra Modi, 7 RCR and on the Indian Parliament. Apart from terror groups like LeT and JuD, IS has also started spreading its wings in Pakistan. According to the intelligence inputs, terrorists are planning to carry out terror strike during the Budget Session of Parliament that will begin on February 23, 2015 and conclude on May 8, 2015. The terrorists have been trained in PoK. According to the reports groups like IM and SIMI are using the name of IS to attract youths. There are also inputs that they were being trained along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and after training, send them back into India to spread terror," said a top official in the security.

The pro-IS Twitter account, which was suspended after it called for a "car bomb" attack during US President Barack Obama's visit to India last month, is back in a new avatar, this time targeting PM Narendra Modi too. "Modi Obama the two Enemy of Allah. #26 January#flag hosting#car bomb#chemical," said a tweet through the new account @Magnetgas1 on January 25, adding: "The people of kufr is one Millah.#Modi#Obama." The account, suspected to be operated by one of the four alleged IS recruits from Mumbai (Maharashtra), shows the location of its owner in Turkey.

An internal assessment by BSF of the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan has concluded that much of the firing towards the close of 2014 and beginning of 2015 started after news of India bolstering its border defence with state of the art technology appeared in the media. The BSF assessment is that the news of laser walls, ground sensors to detect tunnels and thermal imaging cameras being installed to stop infiltration frustrated Pakistan Rangers who launched an attack to disrupt the process.

Mumbai Police said that the accused Shareef Khan, who was arrested, last week along with his two accomplices for allegedly running a SIM card racket, was chatting with internet hackers from other countries on various chat groups. Police arrested Khan for allegedly procuring 2,173 SIM cards by using forged government documents as identification proof. According to Trombay (northeastern suburb in Mumbai) Police, a resident of Cheetah Camp in Trombay, Khan himself is a hacker and would hack to procure identification documents like PAN cards, Aadhar cards and voting identification cards from the internet and later forge them. DCP, Dhananjay Kulkarni said "Khan was in touch with some hackers from foreign countries and the exact nature of their conversation is being probed." Khan has been in touch with people from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Tunisia. The police, however, denied any terror link in the case.

The widespread use of the internet to foment trouble and brainwash youngsters into joining the terror bandwagon has prompted the Maharashtra Government to seek the Centre's approval for a CERT. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has written to Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in this regard. In the letter, Fadnavis said that CERT will enhance cyber security in the state and boost the National Government's IT infrastructure through collaboration. "We will extend all logistical support." Mumbai is responsible for about 50% of India's total internet load (as per multi-router traffic statistics), he wrote. "Mumbai is more vulnerable to international and domestic cyber attacks. With an expanding cyber environment and resultant vulnerability, the next terrorist attack on Mumbai may possibly be a cyber attack."

A senior IPS officer said the Maharashtra stepped up efforts to combat cyber-linked terror after four youths from Kalyan were found to have flown to Iraq to join IS. "We increased vigil on websites and monitored the online activities of the Kalyan youths," he said. At present, Kerala is the only state with a CERT.

The Odisha Government has requested the Union Government to sanction a special IR battalion to strengthen its coastal security. The request was made during a teleconference between Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth and Chief secretaries of all coastal States, including Odisha Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati. The Cabinet Secretary reviewed steps to strengthen security along the State's vast 480 kilometer long coastline. ADGP (law and order) Vinayananda Jha said that the State Government had submitted a proposal to sanction an IR battalion for coastal security six months back. The demand was reiterated during the teleconference on Monday, he said.

China and Russia decided to back India for moving a proposal at the UN that essentially goes against Pakistan on the issue of terrorism. In order to corner Pakistan for sheltering and facilitating terrorists involved the November 26, 2008 (26/11) carnage and other attacks in the country, India seeks to move a resolution in the UN to punish those who shelter and finance terrorism. And it enlisted the support of China and Russia for the same. "I see this as a major achievement," Exteral Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj thus commented. After the (Russia India China) RIC summit attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Swaraj, a joint communiqué was issued which "underlined the need to bring to justice perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts".

In a major step at augmenting coastal security in the backdrop of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, ICG is planning to base an AOPV at NMP at Panambur in Mangaluru, Karnataka. Coast Guard authorities will base this vessel once the New Mangalore Port Trust allots a dedicated berth to it at the port. Coast Guard has sought 180m of waterfront and one acre of land abutting the waterfront for this jetty. The waterfront is right at the harbour edge on the western docks of the port. Dedicated jetty will add to operational readiness of the Coast Guard in Karnataka and neighbouring Goa and up to Lakshadweep off Kerala.

A station house officer and an assistant constable of Chhattisgarh Police were killed and six other SF personnel, including an assistant commandant of BSF, injured when CPI-Maoist cadres ambushed a joint patrolling team in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh.

CRPF DG Prakash Mishra said the red zone [CPI-Maoist-infested region] is steadily shrinking in Bihar and Jharkhand. It has been possible because the CRPF personnel are not only carrying out operations against Maoists but also helping the common man in many other ways, like distributing essentials such as woolen clothes, utensils etc and enabling them to get their Aadhaar cards.

Jharkhand Governor Dr Syed Ahmed said that the problem of Naxalism can be easily curbed with development of the State. Holding a high level meeting with State Government officials at Raj Bhawan in Ranchi, ahead of the Governors' meeting chaired by President of India on February 11-12, the Governor asked the officials to take on the Naxal problem as a challenge and work for development of the State.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, urging him to provide two additional battalions of CRPF to contain CPI-Maoist in Nuapada and Malkangiri Districts of the State.

SF personnel detected and defused a powerful can-bomb in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand. Following a tip-off, the SFs comprising CRPF personnel and District Police Force, detected the bomb on Tiriposi-Bitkilsoya road while on patrol, SP, N K Singh said.

Villagers rounded up 16 of the 40 armed persons who had allegedly posed as CPI-Maoist supporters and attacked Tangapalli village of Odupa gram panchayat in Sadar block of Malkangiri District of Odisha. They were detained in the local school building by angry inhabitants of Tangapalli. Rest of the members of the group are said to have escaped. Villagers seized several traditional weapons from the attackers. Three attackers and a villager sustained injuries during the scuffle between the two groups.

AASU and 26 organisations representing different ethnic groups of Assam called upon the Government to prepare a handbook of guidelines for the officers to be engaged in the process of updating the NRC 1951. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said that the Government should devise a foolproof mechanism to ensure that no foreign national can get his or her name included in the NRC with false documents.

Movement of Myanmar Army towards the Taga area created panic among the militant groups of the North East, who are taking shelter in Myanmar. Highly placed security sources state that Myanmar Army personnel started moving towards the Taga area on January 18. As most of the camps of the militant groups such ULFA-I and NDFB-IKS are based in the Taga area, the movement caused panic among them. There is no report of any large-scale offensive against militants in Myanmar so far. The real reason for the movement of the Army is also not known. A source stated that "There is one belief that the operation was aimed against the KIA. However, the possibility of Myanmar deploying the Army in Taga area to send a message to the North East Indian militants also cannot be ruled out as the incident occurred a few days before the Republic Day.

An AMEF militant Sengrak S Sangma alias Andalao Matgrik was killed when Police commandos and CoBRA commandos raided a hide out of AMEF in Boldra Abri near Soba Jambal village in North Garo Hills in Meghalaya. AMEF 'chief' Jack Marak, who was inside the camp, had a narrow escape. SFs recovered 23 numbers of plastic explosives along with 65 numbers of detonators along with a 7.65 pistol containing three live rounds, 8 empty cases of AK rifle ammunition, two wireless communication handsets of Kenwood and Motorola, five demand letter pads of AMEF and other incriminating documents. The presence of plastic explosives in the hands of Garo out fits such as AMEF and GNLA has been a worrying factor for SFs.

Unknown militants torched a godown and cultivation fields at Thynroit village in East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya. The godown belonged to an individual identified as Stewmon Nongspung. Fertilizer and farming equipment valued around INR 34,990 was destroyed in the incident.

Unknown militants set fire to piles of bush in a cultivation field at Umaitnai Mawlali, Thynroit in East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, causing a loss of INR 16,000.

Militants set fire to piles of bush in the cultivation field at Langsah village, Thynroi in Meghalaya.

Suspected NLFT and Bru militants abducted two individuals identified as Hokum Singh and Mohammad Buizul Islam, working under the BRTF from at Chikha and Tuipuibari village in Mamit District in Mizoram. Around 10 militants, some of them armed with sophisticated weapons, first abducted 22 people. Later, they released the locals and manual workers, but took the two as hostage.

The CRPF, which handles the anti-Naxal operations in the red zone of the country, has sought a private player to provide choppers for casualty evacuation. In the past, there have been incidents where the IAF pilots refused to fly into conflict zones to rescue the CRPF personnel. Satpal Kapoor, IG, CRPF, signed a contract with Dhillon Aviation Private Ltd, a Jalandhar-based aviation firm, for supplying two Bell helicopters for a period of one year to begin with.

The NIA arrested one more person, identified as Mufazzil Haque from Mokimnagar area of the Murshidabad District in West Bengal bordering Bangladesh in connection with the October 2, 2014, Burdwan blast case. NIA alleged that Haque was running a madrassa in Murshidabad where youths were recruited for JMB and he was a close associate of Sheikh Rehmatullah alias Sajjid, who was arrested by the NIA in November, 2014. The new arrest came days after four JMB militants, who were running terror camps in West Bengal, were arrested in connection with the blast. NIA said the investigation so far has revealed that JMB had established its network in many Districts, particularly in Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Birbhum and Burdwan in West Bengal, Barpeta in Assam, and Sahibganj and Pakur in Jharkhand.

The JJ Marg Police (Mumbai, Maharashtra) arrested Iqbal Kaskar, younger brother of fugitive underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim, for assaulting a real estate agent and attempting to extort INR 3 lakh from him. He will be produced before a court on February 4. Krishna Prakash, ACP, South region, confirmed the registration of an FIR against Kaskar.

A special court in Bengaluru (Karnataka) extended the Police custody of two persons, accused of supplying explosives to the IM terror outfit, by two days. The main accused in the explosives supply chain, Syed Ismail Afaque, a homeopathy doctor from the coastal Karnataka town of Bhatkal and his cousin Abdul Suboor were again remanded to Police custody by the court. Afaque and Suboor were arrested by the Bangalore Central Crime Branch Police on January 8 on the basis of intelligence inputs. Afaque has been identified as the main supplier of explosive material since 2010 to members of the IM for blasts in the country.

Karnataka Home Minister K J George informed the state assembly that 23 suspected terrorists have been arrested in the state during the last two years in different terror related cases. In a written reply to a question by a MLA, he said 18 of them had been charge sheeted and investigation was going on against five others. George said 14 suspected terrorists were arrested in 2013 which includes one each with links to HuJI and LeT, and twelve persons linked to Al Ummah. In 2014, five persons were arrested, that includes three persons with links to Al Ummah, and one each linked IM and ISIS. In 2015, till now four persons had been arrested with links to IM, the reply said. George also said that till now a total number of 29 cases are pending before the court.

The Supreme Court expressed concern over potential misuse of Section 66A of IT Act which makes posting of "offensive" messages on social networking site a crime punishable with a three-year jail term saying that the term 'offensive' is "vague" and highly "subjective". A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Rohinton Fali Nariman said that under current provision a person has to suffer for a long period as there is a long time gap between commission of an alleged offence and when judicial mind is applied to decide whether the contents posted by him is offensive or not.

The Indian Government has decided to carry on investigation against the NGOs which have been funding extremism, stage managing protests or indulging in conversions. The list of 188 NGOs is with the UMHA. This list has been drawn up by the IB after conducting years of investigation which started in the year 2006.

CBI organised a three-day joint workshop with the US Department of Justice on 'Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition' in New Delhi, underlining the increased use of Internet by terror groups like IS to recruit and influence youths. CBI sources said as many as 28 extradition requests are pending with the US and the agency faces difficulties in collecting evidence in the USA, especially when it comes to private companies holding Internet data. CBI Director Anil Sinha said there is increased use of Internet technology by contemporary criminals for the purpose of recruitment and radicalisation, training, financing and coordinating attacks, indicating at IS.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar held a review of coastal security, deciding to set up a dedicated Marine Police Force and to survey all landing points along the entire Indian coastline to identify isolated spots, which could be used for landing arms and explosives and also for infiltration of terrorist and criminal elements. The review was primarily over issues that were flagged by the Cabinet Committee on Security after the Mumbai November 26, 2008 (26/11) attack and are still being implemented. One of the important decisions was to explore possibilities to set up a marine police force. The Government has decided to set up a national Marine Police training centre and also regional training centres. The Centre had asked the states to review the status of non-notified landing points and present a consolidated list of such landing points by October 31, 2014.

Four persons, including a woman, were injured as a private passenger bus they were travelling in was hit by a landmine blast triggered by the CPI-Maoist in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh. Some Police personnel were also on board, but they were not harmed.

A CRPF trooper was injured in a blast of 'pressure bomb' planted by the Maoists in the neighbouring Bijapur District. The incident took place near Cheramangi village under Awapalli Police Station limits while the CRPF was conducting anti-Maoist operation.

The Kochi city Police arrested a man, identified as Jose, for his alleged involvement in the attack on the office of Nitta Gelatin India Limited in November 2014. The man was detained by the city Police from Kannur.

The CPI-Maoist cadres killed a contractor, identified as Laxmi Patnaik (23), at a weekly market in Trilochanpur under Lanjigarh Police Station in Kalahandi District of Odisha. Some posters left by the killers claimed that Patnaik was a 'Police Informer'.

Government is pushing for extension of the road network and build a new web of links in Naxal - affected areas to counter insurgency. Sources said Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is now approaching the Ministry of Home Affairs to provision for at least INR 120 billion in its budget for constructing around 7,300 kilometres. Union Minister for MRTH Nitin Gadkari had said that the government will launch the second phase of Road Requirement Plan in areas which have seen no such development.

Militants from Karbi Anglong hills (Assam) killed a rhino at Kaziranga National Park, and engaged in a gun-battle with forest guards. The incident took place near Borgho forest camp under Burapahar range of Kaziranga Park.

Two unidentified militants of DHNA were arrested from Maibong in Dima Hasao in Assam.

A suspected ULFA militant identified as Rukmoh Chetia was arrested at Borgaon village in Tinsukia District in Assam.

Over 70 NDFB-IKS militants have been arrested since December, after the crack down began against them. NIA found that among those arrested were at least seven militants, who were wanted for their involvement in the killings in Baksa on May 1 and 2. (Assam)

Union Minister for Law and Justice DV Sadananda Gowda expressed his dissatisfaction with the functioning of the foreigner's tribunals in Assam and assured that his ministry would do the needful to make the mechanism more effective. He stated that there was a need for more foreigners' tribunals and promised that his ministry would take steps to ensure that the vacancies in the tribunals are filled up at the earliest as the foreigners issue was crucial for the State.

A KCP militant, identified as Mohammed Riyaz Khan alias Boycha was arrested by SFs from an unidentified location in Imphal East in Manipur. One .32 pistol loaded with two rounds, one empty magazine and three extortion notes of KCP were recovered from him.

A PLA militant, identified as Ngangom Bulu alias Naocha Singh was arrested from Uripok Tourangbam Leikai in Imphal West in Manipur. It was revealed that he had extorted money from the jewellery shops of Nagamapal in Imphal West for PLA.

KNF-N suspected to be behind the abduction of the three workers of ABCI Infrastructures Private Limited on January 23, denied its involvement in the abduction Speaking to media persons from an unspecified location in Sadar Hills in Manipur, 'information secretary' Gogou Vaiphei said KNF-N was not behind the abduction.

IMF and JAC Moirang, Bishnupur District of Manipur has jointly condemned the alleged land encroachment by the leader of KNF-MC In a press conference, president of IMF, retired colonel Rajendro KNF-MC leader, identified as German had forcibly encroached the land.

A teenage girl, identified as Manchi Ch Marak and an unidentified militant of ASAK were killed in a gun battle between ASAK and GNLA at Bolmaram Agalgre in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya. An ASAK militant was injured in the incident too.

GNLA expressed displeasure over the collection of parking fees from vehicles by the Tura Civil Hospital authorities, in West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya. GNLA joint publicity secretary' Garo Mandei Ch Marak stated that it demanded to know complete details about the formation of the Hospital Management Society.

Mizoram police have requested Tripura Police to trace two GREF workers Hukum Singh and driver Thang Chuka near Tuipui in Champai District, who were abducted on February 2, by NLFT. NLFT 'leader' Krishnamohan Jamatia believed to have led the raid. Police, Assam Rifles and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have been put on alert in Kanchanpur in North Tripura District.

BJP dismissed the allegation of Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla that BJP was having nexus with militants of HPC-D.

A militant of NSCN-K, identified as 'lieutenant' Akahoto Yeptho was injured when unidentified gunmen opened fired upon him at Signal Angami road in Dimapur in Nagaland. Police also recovered an empty case of 9mm bullet from the spot.

In a search operation which lasted from February 3 to February 4, a militant of the KRA-U identified as 'private' Thanglunlal Chongloi was arrested by SFs from Haijang village in Senapati District of Manipur. Two AK-47 rifles, one 9 mm pistol, four magazines of AK-47, one magazine of 9 mm pistol, 344 assorted live rounds, two extortion letters, one extortion letter pad, four combat dresses, one combat pouch and one ATM card were recovered from the spot.

Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire and resorted to firing on forward Indian positions along the IB in Samba and RS Pura Sectors. Official sources said the Rangers first opened firing with HMGs at Nawa Pind and Abdullian forward posts and villages in RS Pura sector of Jammu District. Later, the Rangers opened firing with semi automatic weapons at Khora post in Samba sector of Samba District. There were no reports of casualties or damage in the firings.

Months after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting cancelled the registration of Digicable Network, it has now emerged that security clearance was denied to the company after intelligence reports that it had links to fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and his former aide Abu Salem, who is presently behind bars. In September 2014, the registration was cancelled by I&B ministry on denial of security clearance. "As a matter of routine procedure, the I&B ministry sent us the file for security clearance and it was found that the company had links with people associated with terrorist organisation and the underworld," said a senior UMHA official.

Syed Ismail Afaaq, one of the terror suspects accused of setting up a local module of the banned terror outfit, the IM in Karnataka's Bhatkal District, reportedly agreed to become an "approver" in the case. This will help the Police build a case against all the accused, including the other four suspects arrested in connection with the case. Though there is no official confirmation from the Police regarding Afaaq offering to turn approver in the case, sources in the Bengaluru police indicate that he had given his consent to cooperate. Sources in the Bengaluru Police said: "Afaaq has agreed to become an approver in the case by revealing details of the IM module and all the sleeper cells in Karnataka. He took this decision after meeting his family members in jail. This will make our case stronger." He is expected to submit a letter in this context to the court, which is hearing the matter.

As many as 13 'militia' members of Korukonda area committee belonging to the CPI-Maoist surrendered before ASP A. Babujee at Paderu in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh.

Three NDFB-IKS a militant, including Ringsar Basumatary was arrested from Manas Reserve Forest of Chirang District a combined team of Assam Police and Indian Army. Ringsar who is an active terrorist of the outfit and was recruited in 2010.One 7.65mm pistol, two hand grenades and large quantity of ammunition was recovered.

Two KPLT militants identified as Dineson Terang and Jinong Terang were arrested from Diphu Railway Station in Karbi Anglong District in Assam. Police recovered five demand notes of KPLT.

Two unidentified youths were arrested on charges of serving an extortion letter to a businessman at Chandmari in Kamrup Metropolitan District in Assam, demanding INR 500000 in the name ULFA.Police stated they were not members of ULFA.

NIA court extended the remand period of NDFB-IKS militant Bikunas Narzary alias Birlangbai, who was arrested on January 19, for 12 days. NIA source stated that "He is an important member of the outfit. Further interrogation will reveal more about the outfit's presence at Manas National Park and in areas along the Assam-Arunachal border".

16 NDFB-RD cadres joined NDFB-P at Barbari designated camp in Baksa District in Assam. This is the third time that the members of NDFB-RD have joined NDFB-P.

A combined team of SFs conducted a search operation at Kumbi Khuga Wangma IB road area and arrested A UNLF militant Moirangthem Kedarnath Singh alias Ahanthoi. (Manipur)

Two unidentified Bengali speaking petty traders from Mancachar area of Dhubri District in Assam, visiting a weekly market in Kherapara village of West Garo Hills (Meghalaya) were abducted from the Tura-Dalu road.

AMEF stated that the militant killed on February 2, Sengrak S Sangma aka Andalao Matgrik had survived the encounter but was shot dead later by SFs after necessary information was extracted from him. (Meghalaya)

Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers' Association (GHDSTEA) appealed for the safe and unconditional release of Iqbal Rafique, an Assistant Lecturer of Christian Girls' Higher Secondary School who was abducted Mankachar in Assam ON February 1.

Meghalaya Home Department is yet to find an interlocutor for initiating peace talks with HNLC. A senior Government official on February 4 stated that search for interlocutor was ongoing.

India and Bangladesh decided to conduct joint patrolling in Tripura along Indo-Bangladesh border to check cross-border movement of Indian insurgents smuggling of narcotics and trans-border crime. The decision was taken during the two-day Indo-Bangladesh Deputy Commissioner level meeting. While the Indian side raised issues about the presence of insurgents, the Bangladesh side raised the issues of narcotics smuggling in a joint statement signed by both the countries.

J&K was never Pakistan's and will never be, India said in a sharp reaction to observance of the so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' in Pakistan. Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said in New Delhi that Pakistan's "self destructive and "futile quest for territorial aggrandisement" in the State was well known. He was reacting to questions about rallies and speeches by various parties and groups including banned terrorist outfit JuD in Pakistan on February 5, 2015. "It is high time for Pakistan to start paying attention to all the problems that afflict them rather than covet what is not theirs and never will be," he said, asserting that J&K was and will always remain part of India.

For second consecutive day Pakistani Rangers resorted to firing on forward area along the IB in Abdullian in RS Pura sector of Jammu District targeting the BSF posts but there was no report of any casualties or damage. Reports said the Rangers opened small arms firing in Abdullian area of RS Pura sector at 10.30 am targeting forward BSF posts and the BSF personnel patrolling and working in the area. There was no shelling and the Rangers used semi automatic weapons to target forward BSF posts at village Abdullian in RS Pura sector. However, there were no casualties or damage on the Indian side in Pakistani firing.

Pakistan's ISI trained Khalistan terrorists from the UK in Thailand last year (2014) to launch strikes in India, according to senior officials of Punjab Police who along with sleuths of central security agencies interrogated two such terrorists arrested recently in Thailand. The security agencies in Thailand arrested KLF 'chief' Harminder Singh alias Mintoo, in November 2014, and KTF 'chief' Jagtar Singh Tara, one of the alleged assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, on January 5, 2015.

According to the reports, a Lahore posted Lieutenant colonel-rank Army officer of the ISI, identified as "Chaudhary" by Indian spy agencies, was the handler of Mintoo and Tara. He shifted Mintoo and Tara separately from Pakistan to Thailand last year (2014) to "develop sleeper cells in India". Top ranking Punjab Police sources said that this ISI officer later held a camp from July 5 to 13, 2014 at Mea Sot (a town in Thailand bordering Myanmar) in which "five UK-based Khalistan terrorists" were trained in assembling and handling of explosives made from locally available material. IG counter-intelligence Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav said, "Necessary follow-up actions (regarding ISI training UK-based Khalistan terrorists in Thailand) are being taken." Based on the interrogation reports of the two arrested men that the State Police and central agencies are collating, it has emerged that Gursharanvir Singh (living in Coventry of England) and Birmingham resident Piyara Singh Gill, also wanted by Punjab Police in August 2009 killing on Rulda Singh, President of RSS wing Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, were among the five UK-based Khalistan terrorists who attended the training camp in Thailand. Reports said that the central agencies have already approached UK authorities for their extradition.

Some hand written threatening posters of the CPI-Maoist appeared in parts of Chhatarpur in Palamu District of Jharkhand.

Amnesty International India has sought immediate release of persons arrested over the past few weeks on suspicion of being involved in unlawful activities because they had 'pro-Maoist' materials in their houses. In a statement released by e-mail in Thiruvananthapuram, Amnesty International India programme Director Shemeer Babu said ''mere possession of certain kinds of literature cannot be a ground for arresting someone'' and urged the authorities to respect the right of citizens to freedom of expression, which included the right to seek and receive information of all kinds.

A bomb blast occurred at Kazidahar village near Sonai in Cachar District in Assam, injuring a 10-year-old boy Zabir Husain Barbhiuya.

Two NDFB-IKS militants identified as Lwmsao Narzary and Sistu Basumatary were arrested from Baksa and 12 KG of RDX was recovered from them.( Assam)

Fearing human casualty Army and SFs are yet to go full throttle against top NDFB-IKS 'army chief', B Bidai who ordered the massacre of Adivasi villagers on December 23. MHA fear that final assault by the Army in these areas could result in the killing of civilians. A source stated that "These areas are populated and we do not have information about Bidai's exact location. We do not want to rush in forces". (Assam)

According to a senior Army official, only a handful of the outfit's cadres are left but tracking them down is proving to be a challenge. Security agencies estimate that the cadre strength of NDFB-IKS would be less than 300. The Army has about 80 operation bases on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra and each of these bases has more than 100 villages in the vicinity.

Former DHD leaders threatened to stop the ongoing broad gauge conversion and East-West corridor projects in Dima Hasao District in Assam for an indefinite period unless a CBI inquiry was conducted into the killing of its former 'general secretary' Rajesh Naidin on January 9.

BSF Meghalaya Frontier IG Sudesh Kumar stated that Bangladesh country no longer has any full-fledged training camp of any militant outfit. He added that BSF BGB are working in close co-ordination and sharing information on a regular basis. "There are 39 vulnerable locations which have been identified by the BSF.

Police arrested Sharif Uddin from his rented house in the Mohanpur locality in Hailakandi District in Assam. Police suspect all arrested individuals to have links with JMB.

A civilian identified as Addison Jajo was killed and another individual Hillary Keishing was injured when an IED exploded at a place between Nambashi Khunou and Khunthak village in Ukhrul in Manipur. No group or individual has claimed hands in the blast so far.

SFs recovered cache of arms and ammunition from the hilly jungles around Thingsat village of Senapati in Manipur. The recovery included one AK-56 Rifle, one Uzi (MP-2) rifle, two detonators, two kg RDX, one live ammunition of Lathode, one magazine each of AK-47, AK-56 & Uzi and two magazines of 9 mm pistol.

UNLF rejected Police claim that Ashangbam Shyamjit alias Nanao, who was arrested on January 31 was a UNLF militant.(Manipur)

Assistant teacher of Tura Christian Girls' Higher Secondary School, Iqbal Rafique, who was abducted on February 1, from Assam was released. A former ANVC-B militant identified as Silgrak Sangma was arrested was arrested on February 4 at Danakgre in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya. A 9 mm pistol with five live rounds of ammunition was also recovered from the arrested ex-militant. The former militant had come to pick up the ransom in exchange for Rafique, along with two others who managed to escape. Later an amount of INR 500000 meant as ransom was also recovered from the family of the victim. It is unclear if any ransom was paid to the abductors.

BSF Meghalaya Frontier IG Sudesh Kumar stated that Bangladesh country no longer has any full-fledged training camp of any militant outfit. He added that BSF BGB are working in close co-ordination and sharing information on a regular basis. "There are 39 vulnerable locations which have been identified by the BSF. The BGB has assured us of full assistance," IG also stated that "In November 2014, we had a conference with BGB to discuss issues related to border management," he added. "Security-related issues, particularly about the presence of GNLA, ULFA, HNLC, NDFB, NLFT were also discussed."He also stated that Government of India (GoI) has sanctioned INR 300 million for repairing the 443-km road along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.

In response to the demand of the GNLA to immediately put a stop to the collection of parking fees from vehicles at the Tura Civil Hospital the doctors and staff of the hospital have issued a statement clarifying certain points with regard to the practice. (Meghalaya)

GNLA expressed regret over the death of Manchi Ch Marak, who was killed in the firefight that took place between GNLA and ASAK at Bolmaram Agalgre in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya. The gun battle between the two sides had also killed an ASAK militant.

According to Police, a suspected man, identified as Aasif Chunawala, was arrested from Mumbai in connection with a criminal case that led to the arrest of Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar and his associate on February 3, 2015. According to Police, Chunawala was questioned for several hours before being placed under arrest.

Maharashtra ATS along with the Madhya Pradesh Police carried out raid at a house owned by Khusal Madankar in old Pandhurna in Chhindwara District in Madhya Pradesh and recovered huge amount of ammunition and explosive materials. Police have recovered 1,768 electric detonators, 612 sticks of Kelvex power 90 Class-2 explosive, 840 feet Detonating cord, one exploder and other related equipments. Police registered a case against two persons, identified as Mukesh Sankhla and Rajmal Sankhla, both belong to Bhilwada District in Rajasthan. The accused have been booked under the Indian Explosive Substance Act-1908. Investigation of the crime is being done by Chhindwara Police. ATS Nagpur unit is interrogating the accused for any suspected link with anti-national elements, terror outfits or Naxal elements.

An alleged IM operative, identified as Ejaz Shaikh was arrested in connection with a 2010 case (September 19, 2010 firing and blast outside the Jama Masjid in Delhi) related to sending an email to a media house on behalf of the banned outfit warning about terror strikes in New Delhi. Police said that Ejaz Shaikh, who is in jail for his suspected role in the July 2011 Mumbai bomb blasts, was placed under arrest in the 2010 case by Crime Branch. DCP (Mumbai) Dhananjay Kulkarni said the 30-year-old, who once worked in a BPO and is considered tech savvy, was produced before a court which remanded him in Crime Branch custody till February 13. Crime Branch had registered a case on October 10, 2010 against unidentified persons for sending an email to UK-based BBC news channel warning that IM would carry out terror strikes in the national capital, Police said. Investigation suggested that the mail was sent from South Mumbai and accordingly a FIR was registered by Cyber Cell. Police zeroed in on Sheikh, who allegedly sent the email using his mobile phone. Police also added that Shaikh, a Pune resident, is the brother-in-law of top IM functionary Mohsin Chaudhary.

STF personnel arrested a person, identified as Mubarak Alam alias Sk Muba along with FICNs of the face value of INR 8.1 million from B B Ganguly Street in central Kolkata in West Bengal. Report said that this is perhaps the biggest recovery of FICN in West Bengal. Sources said the Kolkata Police were in touch with their counterparts in IB and other intelligence and investigating agencies to ascertain Sk Muba's links with various terror groups that have established bases in West Bengal. The Police, who have recently become aware of the presence of JMB terrorists in Bengal in the wake of the Burdwan blast of October 2, 2014, are unwilling to take any chance. According to reports, Police are planning to slap charges on Sk Muba under sections 120B, 489B and 489C of the IPC.

BSF arrested two men, identified as Ishraful and Md Sahabuddin from Malda railway station in Malda District of West Bengal with FICN of the face value of INR 2.84 lakh. The arrests and seizure were made during a joint operation by the Troops of 125th Battalion and CRPF.

According to a senior Government official, India has approached Saudi Arabia after two Indians were arrested in Riyadh for alleged terror links. Report said that in an anti-terror drive conducted in Saudi Arabia last month (January 12-25), 42 people were detained for various terrorist activities, which also included two persons from India. A senior Indian Government official said that "Through appropriate channels we have got in touch with Saudi authorities. What we have been told is that the two men have been detained as of now for suspected terror links. We have asked them for more details." According to reports, there are 32 Saudi and six Yemen nationals among those who have been arrested. When asked if the detained Indians could have any links with al Qaeda or IS, the government official said, "Nothing can be ruled out for now. But first we will have to get more details, we have started a background check on the two men." However, the official refused to identify the suspects, saying the operation was still on.

A 50-year-old Pakistani businessman based in Dubai (UAE), identified as Safi alias chacha, is responsible for sending "human couriers" to India with FICNs, the NIA has said in its charge sheet against a Bihar resident, who was arrested last year with INR 5 million worth of FICNs. Ekramul Ansari was arrested along with FICNs at the Delhi airport in April 2014. The NIA is investigating this case since June 2014. Chacha uses needy Indian workers in Dubai to send the high quality fake notes into India. He offers a commission of 1% of the fake currency; the human courier carries with himself along with the airfares (return included). NIA has declared Chacha a proclaimed offender. The charge sheet also says, Ansari came in touch with Chacha in April-May 2013. Ansari also admitted that he had smuggled in a similar consignment a month before his arrest. The charge sheet says "He used to procure the FICN and send the same from Dubai to India through different persons of India and Nepal, paying them handsomely." The NIA said, Chacha provided return air tickets to Ansari from Dubai to Delhi and Delhi to Patna, along with a bag containing the fake currency.

Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, while addressing a passing out parade of SSB assistant commandants in Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal District in Uttarakhand, asked the SSB to take the lead role in curtailing the menace of FICN and to remain vigilant on the presence of fundamentalist and anti-India forces in the areas in vicinity of the borders. He said SSB was at the vanguard of porous international borders through which most of the FICN was now being smuggled into the country.

Indersa Parsa (50), elder brother of village Police warden, was killed by the CPI-Maoist cadres, suspecting him to be 'Police Informer' at Ghodezhari village in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra.

Eighteen can bombs, each weighing between 15 to 20 kilograms, suspected to be planted by the CPI-Maoist underneath a kaccha road have been recovered in Khunti District of Jharkhand.

Khunti District Police force arrested one ultra belonging to the PLFI from Karra Police Station in Khunti District of Jharkhand.

A six kilogram pressure bomb, planted by the CPI-Maoist to target SF personnel was recovered in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh.

Two porters were killed and nine AR troopers injured in an IED blast at Monmao village in India-Myanmar border in Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Police arrested Jahangir Alam Sheikh, a trader from his rented house in the Alakulipur locality of Badarpur in Karimganj in Assam.

Six individuals identified as Abdul Mannan Sheikh, Ismail Sheikh, Anwarul Sheikh, Ibadul Sheikh, Sharif Sheikh and Noor Alam, were arrested from ward No. 11 of Hailakandi town in Hailakandi District in Assam in connection with February 1 blast. All of them were arrested from a rented house belonging to Shahid Husain Majharbhuiya.

An individual identified as Gondamei Angam alias Gaikhuilung was abducted by suspected ZUF militants from Marangching in Tamenglong in Manipur.

Police arrested AMEF 'general secretary', identified as Simseng G Momin. He was arrested from West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya, after he had fled to escape a raid on his home in Rongjeng in East Garo Hills District by Rongjeng Police on the same day. Police recovered explosives, detonators, INR 1500000 along with some incriminating documents and a laptop. District Police chief stated that Simseng G Momin was also the General Secretary of FKJGP.

Another AMEF militant identified as Metronath Marak, residing in proper Chandmari in West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya, who was to give shelter to Simseng G Momin was also arrested.

A surrendered ASAK militant, who was the 'area commander' of 'southern command', identified as Dimsrang M Sangma alias Nawal was arrested by South Garo Hills District in Meghalaya for his alleged involvement in the abduction of SBI official SK Mishra who was abducted on August 5 at Barengapara road in Cherengpara village in West Garo Hills. According to police, one of the key conspirators behind the abduction, Dimsrang had surrendered before BSF on January 13.

Koraput District of Odisha has failed to utilize funds under IAP for developing infrastructure critical to fighting the CPI-Maoist. Only 13 per cent of INR 300 million, sanctioned by the Centre for 2014-15, was put to use till December 31, 2014 official sources said. During the ongoing financial year, the administration took up 555 projects, including construction of roads, culverts, electrification, supply of drinking water and education, in the Maoist-affected blocks of the District. Till December-end, only 51 projects worth INR 30.88 million were completed. The remaining projects are in different stages of construction, according to data available with the District Planning And Monitoring Unit.

The Supreme Court ordered immediate release of Sangram Mohanty, son of Jana Adhikar Manch convenor Dandapani Mohanty and member of Odisha Jan Morcha. He was in jail since December 5, 2012, for his alleged links with the CPI-Maoist. Sangram's counsel Suresh Tripathy said a bench of Justices V Gopalgowda and R Banumathi also asked the chief secretary to file an affidavit, within four weeks, as why Sangram's case should not be transferred to the CBI.

In a security review meeting chaired by chief secretary Rajiv Gauba at the CRPF headquarters, he intimated officers of the Government's plan to wipe out CPI-Maoist within six months. To ensure the same, development and security measures would soon be undertaken in rebel-hit areas, he said.

Two porters were killed and nine AR troopers injured in an IED blast at Monmao village in India-Myanmar border in Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh.

KNA militant snatched away keys of some earth movers engaged in the road construction work between Litan and Sikibung in Ukhrul in Manipur, due to the inability of contractor executing the project to meet the outfit’s monetary demands.

Asserting that India has been suffering from the menace of "exported terrorism" in Kashmir, NSA Ajit Doval has said the country's strong democratic structure and genuinely pluralistic society has not allowed any fertile ground for Islamist terror, Doval was participating in a panel discussion on 'War on Terror' at the 51st Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. Successive Indian Governments have pursued a policy of closely integrating all minority groups into the mainstream of the society and as a result radical Islamists could not succeed in propagating their extremist ideologies among the Muslim population, said Doval. He made the remarks while answering a question from one of the participants on what India has done better than many other countries having large Muslim populations to prevent radicalisation and to deny breeding grounds for Islamist terror. Doval said India has been suffering from the menace of "exported terrorism" in Kashmir.

One of AR troopers injured in February 6 IED attack, identified as Rifle man Dattapray Mahajan died at Dinjan Army hospital in Dibrugarh in Assam.

A militant of NSCN-IM identified as KS Vareimi was killed and two other injured in a gun battle with a rival group at a place between Nambashi and Nambashi Khunou in Ukhrul in Manipur.

A powerful bomb was found at a bus stand near BJP Manipur unit office in the high-security Netyaipat Chutek in Imphal West in Manipur.

Police stated that almost a week after two employees of BRTF were abducted from Mizoram-Bangladesh border, a ransom has been demanded for their release. The abductors informed the BRTF officials posted in Mizoram-Bangladesh border's West Phaileng village in Mamit District that they would have to pay ransom.

Mizoram Home minister R Lalzirliana warned that the state government might take strong action against the abductors if they continue to keep the abductees in captivity for long.

Commodore G. Prakash, Director of the Maritime Warfare Centre at the Southern Naval Command said that the security of the seas surrounding India has financial, diplomatic and geopolitical ramifications, hence the need to incorporate coastal and seaward security subjects in school and college curriculums. "Citizens must be made aware of the significance of maritime security and its link to the growth of the country and its ties with nations across the seas," he said while speaking on 'ocean and national security' at the World Ocean Science Congress in Kochi in Kerala.

Mafia don Bannanje Raja, a close associate of Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan, was reportedly arrested in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. The Police in Karnataka, however, had no information about Raja's arrest. The CBI had earlier notified the Interpol to issue a RCN against Raja, who has 48 criminal cases against him in Karnataka.

Six CPI-Maoist cadres including three female cadres were arrested by the BSF personnel during an operation conducted in forested patch near Prokal and Manhakal villages of Kanker District of Chhattisgarh. The operation was conducted on specific intelligence input. The Maoists were identified as Sarita alias Sanoti (26), Rajeshwari (21), Kumari Santo (22), Mangatu alias Jay Singh (25), Raju Upendi and Shaniram.

A CPI-Maoist 'area commander', identified as Navin alias Upendra Paswan and two of his accomplices, Kanda Vishwakarma and Lofar Chaki, were arrested by SFs from Porahat forest under West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand. Paswan was the 'area commander' of Chatarapur in Palamau District. Two pistols, some live cartridges and a vehicle were seized from them.

One of AR troopers injured in February 6 IED attack, identified as Rifle man Dattapray Mahajan died at Dinjan Army hospital in Dibrugarh in Assam.

40^th AR along with Imphal East Police Commandos launched a joint operation at Kongpal in Imphal East in Manipur and arrested a UNLF militant identified as ‘corporal’ Wahengbam Amynacha Singh alias Thengbe.

Army along with Imphal West Police Commandos launched a joint operation in general area Kwakeithel in Imphal West in Manipur and arrested a UNLF militant identified as Wangkhem Khelchandra alias Toto Singh.

Pakistani Rangers again violated ceasefire by resorting to firing at Nawa Pindi and Jugnu Post in RS Pura sector in Jammu District of J&K, but there were no casualties or damage on the Indian side. Official reports said Pakistan started heavy firing targeting forward Indian posts at Jugnu Chak and Nawa Pind at 10.45 pm.

A 25-year-old man, identified as Naresh Yerawar, was killed by CPI-Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra. His throat was slit and the Maoists also burnt his motorcycle, before fleeing into the forest, Police said.

Three CRPF personnel, including an assistant sub-inspector, were injured when a pressure bomb laid by CPI-Maoist cadres exploded near Dubaiguda village under Awapalli Police Station area in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur District.

A man abducted on February 6 was found dead at Marangching (Makhuam) Part-I in Tamenglong District in Manipur. The individual have been identified as Gondamei Angam alias Gaikhuilung. He was abducted from his home by ZUF.

Three BSF troopers sustained splinter injuries when militants attacked a foot patrol by exploding two IEDs on a village road at Napet Palli in Imphal East District in Manipur. Police stated that an IED, planted near the Khabrang Bridge along Napet Palli road, nearly 20km from Imphal, exploded while a BSF foot patrol was passing the area, injuring three troopers. Within minutes, another IED planted nearby also exploded.A trooper identified as constable CT Suman Goshis said to be in critical condition.

A combined team of Thoubal District Commandos and AR arrested a UNLF militant identified as Leisangthem Somorjit alias Purei Singh from an unidentified location in Manipur.

Police Commandos of Imphal West and Indian Army soldiers arrested a UNLF militant identified as Leisangthem Surchand, from an unidentified location in Manipur. Investigation revealed that he and his associates were assigned to hurl grenades at some restaurants and vehicle showrooms situated along Tiddim Road in Imphal.

ANVC militants will get INR 250000 each as onetime rehabilitation package. An official from the Meghalaya Home Department said that before the release of fund, an exercise is being carried out to assess the number of ANVC and ANVC-B militants.

Several ANVC cadres regularly receiving summons from the court in connection with old cases. As per the peace pact signed on September 24 2014 the criminal cases registered against members of ANVC for non-heinous crimes will be withdrawn by the state government, whereas criminal cases registered against them for heinous crimes will be reviewed case by case. (Meghalaya)

ANVC-B leader Bernard Rimpu Marak said that without proper support the disbanded outfit's members will go astray. Bernard Rimpu Marak stated that "The Government had assured many good things to us before disbanding the organization but no initiatives have been taken to rehabilitate the cadres. Frustration is brewing among all members of the disbanded groups. Peace in Garo Hills is like a lull before the storm. We fear, without proper rehabilitation, the cadres will go astray." (Meghalaya)

A 'home secretary' of NSCN-KK identified as Ghukiho T. Zhimo was injured when unidentified armed assailants fired upon him at a place between Naga United village and Old Showuba in Dimapur in Nagaland.

NSCN-KK MIP condemned the "life attempt" perpetrated upon its home secretary Ghukiho T. Zhimo. (Nagaland)

Citing the horrific killings in Syria, France and in a Peshawar school (Pakistan), President Pranab Mukherjee urged the international community to assert itself and take concerted and determined action against terrorism of which India is one of the oldest victims. "We have, in recent days, witnessed the horrific killings of innocent hostages in Syria, the attack on the media in Paris and the tragic killing of school children and their teachers in Peshawar. India is one of the oldest victims of terrorism. There is no good terrorism or bad terrorism. Terrorism respects no religion, ideology or nation. It is no longer a debating issue. The international community must assert itself and tackle the problem by taking concerted, coordinated and determined action," Mukherjee said while addressing the sixth conference of ambassadors and high commissioners who head Indian missions abroad.

As per the ASSOCHAM-Mahindra SSG study, the reporting of cyber crimes in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka went up by 117 per cent during 2012-13 causing havoc in the financial space, security establishment and social fabric. According to the joint study on “Cyber and Network Security Framework”, in 2013, 681 cyber crime related cases were registered in Maharashtra, which saw a 44.6 per cent rise in cyber crimes when compared to 2012. Andhra Pradesh with 635 cases registered in 2013 also saw a 48 per cent rise when compared to 2012. Karnataka with 513 cases registered in 2013 saw a 24.5 per cent rise compared to 2012. Uttar Pradesh with 372 cases registered in 2013 is in the fourth place. Kerala is in the 5th place with 349 cases registered in 2013, highlights the study. Tamil Nadu and Bihar have very few cyber crime related cases with just 54 cases registered in Tamil Nadu and 23 cases in Bihar in 2013. Gujarat and Odisha have also registered just 61 and 63 cases respectively in 2013. Among the Union Territories, the national capital Delhi has registered 131 cyber crime related cases. It has seen a rise of 72.4 per cent when compared to 2012.D.S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM said, “What is causing more concern is that the origin of these crimes is widely based abroad in countries including China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Algeria among others”.

A CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Anil Singh, surrendered before the DGP Rajeev Kumar at a function in Rania of Khunti District of Jharkhand. He also deposited a carbine and a rifle before DGP Kumar.  

DGP Rajeev Kumar has said that the State Police will recruitment 10,000 Policemen and officers to further enhance the Policing in Jharkhand.

Around 40 armed Maoist cadres torched two vehicles and one vibrator machine of a contractor, engaged in road construction, near Badakendu along Turekali-Makhan road in Bolangir District of Odisha. The Maoists also warned the administration to facilitate drinking water and medical facility to the people of the area through some posters.

A militant of DHNA Bishwanath Sengyung was lynched by villagers of Tongikro in Dima Hasao in Assam. Four militants entered the village was celebrating Bushu Dima, and assaulted some villagers and when escaping, one of the militants, brandishing a pistol, started firing and a bullet hit a child identified as Bushit Hojai. The villagers ultimately caught them lynched them, leading to the death of a militant and injuring two others. The injured militants are Diboajoy Daulagupu, Kameswar Haflongbar alias Bouring Dimasa and militant identified as Mikar Langthasa, alias Moton managed to escape.

AGP leaders identified as General Secretary Rusvelt Rabha, Purandar Rabha and Ratna Das were arrested for alleged link with ULFA-I, from Goalpara District of Assam. All three were SULFA members.

Assam ED Debojit Borah received death threats from DHD. ED had launched a prosecution against some of the top DHD leaders, who are accused of being involved in the NC Hills Scam in a special court on January 19, 2015.

One person was killed and two others were injured when Police allegedly opened fire on a group of stone throwing protesters who were protesting against nocturnal raids ahead of anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru at Palhalan in Baramulla District of J&K. As the situation turned volatile, Police allegedly opened fire resulting in injuries to three persons Farooq Ahmad Bhat, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat and Zahid Ahmad Bhat. The injured were removed to hospital where Farooq Ahmad Bhat alias Prince succumbed to injuries while two others are critical.

One 82 mm mortar shell was found in a field in village Challiyari near IB in Samba District of J&K.

Police arrested a henchman of Dawood Ibrahim, identified as Tariq Abdul Parveen in an extortion case where a Mumbai based builder was allegedly threatened and asked to shell out INR 3 crore in November, 2014. Parveen, who was in a jail in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a 1999 criminal case, was brought on a production warrant and placed under arrest in the extortion demand case, said DCP (Crime) Dhananjay Kulkarni. He will be produced before a court on February 10. Earlier, Parveen had been arrested from Nagpada by Uttar Pradesh ATS on January 19 in connection with a criminal case registered with it.

CBI said that a "fresh look" needs to be taken at the specific global laws and protocols which are necessary to effectively crack down on the menace of cyber crime and web-enabled financial frauds. Inaugurating a week-long training programme on "Financial Offences and Cyber Crimes", CBI Director Anil Sinha said that "the problems of today cannot be solved by using the skills and knowledge of yesterday." Sinha underlined the need for an efficient and dynamic capacity-building programme and the "need to have a fresh look at the legislations and protocols to enable better international cooperation to tackle the emerging challenges in the 21st century".

Worried over attempts by outfits such as IS to propagate jihadi ideology among young Indian Muslims, the UHM is studying an "extremism counseling hotline" set up recently by the Austrian authorities, for possible replication in India. Such a counselling facility, if found feasible in the Indian context, will enable parents, teachers and friends of "vulnerable and indoctrinated" youth to seek professional help for their "deradicalisation". Keen to have a domestic counter-radicalisation/deradicalisation policy in place to stem the growing appeal of terror outfits among young Muslims, the Indian security establishment has started examining the best practices followed around the world to wean off sections attracted to jihadi ideology. This includes the US' counter-radicalisation program focused on community outreach, UK's Prevent and Channel programmes as well as Austria's latest deradicalisation counselling initiative.

The SSB started deploying its personnel in some parts of the areas in India-Nepal border, but without lethal weapons. DIG SSB, Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Pratap Singh Chudawat said this new initiative has been taken to avoid a negative perception by the public moving on both sides of the border. The major tasks of these unarmed SSB jawans (troopers) will be combating human trafficking, curbing circulation of FICNs, illicit drugs, illegal trade in wildlife body parts and terrorism.According to him, unarmed SSB jawans will be deployed in plainclothes and a green jacket. The deployment is under "mutual practical group" or "Parasparik Bebaharik Dal". Initially such deployment will be carried out in Sunauli (Bhairawa) and Rupaidiha (Nepalgunj). If this shows positive results, the SSB will extend the deployment of such personnel to other parts of the border, Chudawat said.He further stated that such deployment will be made at eight more border points along the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

The Special Police team formed to investigate into the seizure of 2,173 sim cards have stumbled upon some videos and pictures of arson and riots in troubled Iraq in the facebook of main accused Sharif Khan hinting of his possible links with IS. ``We have taken all pains to find the source of the videos of ISIS and who and how so much money have been deposited in his accounts but he has been giving vague replies. '' said an officer. Moreover even the scrutiny of his facebook account Police found that he was in touch with `friends' from Afghanistan, Israel, China, Myanmar, Denmark, Indonesia, Turkey and other countries which has raised more suspicion of his links with fundamentalist.

Three CPI-Maoist cadres, one of them carrying a cash reward on his head, were arrested during an area domination exercise by security personnel in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. The cadres were arrested by the district force from a forested patch under Bangapal Police Station limits, Bijapur SP
KL Dhruv said. Those apprehended were identified as Barsa Sudru (38), Korsa Sudru (42) and Baisu Jurri (40), working as 'sangham' (lower rung cadres) members in Indravati ‘area committee’ of the CPI- Maoist. Korsa was carrying a reward of INR 5,000 on his head.  

A militant of NDFB-IKS identified as Orga was killed in an encounter with joint team of SFs at Fulkumari forest in Kokrajhar District of Assam. Kokrajhar Additional SP Surjeet Singh Panesar informed that Orga was a close associate of senior NDFB-IKS militant Rangabaja. One 7.65 mm pistol, two magazines, one hand grenade, 9 live rounds of 7.65 pistol, 10 detonators, one magazine of Ak-47, five live round ammunition of AK 47 were recovered from the dead militant.

Four NSLA militants were arrested from Kokrajhar District of Assam. Two 7.62mm Rifles and two muzzle loaded guns and huge quantity of arms and other war like material were recovered during the operation.

Army recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition from Manas Reserve Forest in Chirag in Assam. The recovered items include an IED documents with details of extortions being carried out by NDFB-IKS and details of important and linkmen of NDFB-IKS.

In the previous week, Five NDFB-IKS militants were beaten up by a mob when they had come to extort money during a function in Borsimaluguri village in Baksa in Assam and were handed over to Police.

ULFA-I stated that said the "immigrant" tag reflected how people from other parts of the country think about the Northeast Earlier BJP vision document for New Delhi elections had mistakenly printed that people from North East as ‘immigrants’. (Assam)

NRC project is on schedule with the draft NRC to be published by mid-November this year and the final NRC to be out by January 2016.

Pramod Boro, president of ABSU stated that ABSU will keep mounting pressure on the Government to ensure a violence-free society by taking action against all those in possession of illegal weapons. The student body also demanded that the Assam State Election Commission take help from the Central Government to ensure that the ensuing election to BTC is free and fair.

Election to the 74 urban local bodies in Assam passed off peacefully on February 9 with a turnout of 72%.

SFs arrested a militant of PREPAK-pro identified as ‘lance corporal’ Aheiba alias Umar alias Thokchom Birjit, from Sekmaijin Bridge area in Thoubal District in Manipur. One Chinese Hand Grenade was recovered.

Troops of Red Shield Division recovered approximately INR 2.2 million and a radio set from the house of a ZUF militant identified as ‘captain’ Obedient, located at Rengpang village of Tamenglong in Manipur. According to PRO Defence, the money was collected by the group using illegal means like extortion and taxation.

Several Tangkhul women who were taking out a protest demonstration on February 9 in Kasom in Ukhrul District in Manipur had a narrow escape when a pressure cooker bomb failed to explode while they were passing by. The women were protesting the bomb blast, which happened on February 5 which killed one person and the gunfight between RPF and NSCN-IM.

Two premier Catholic run schools of the identified as St Joseph and Little Flower School, both in Imphal West District in Manipur closed down after threat notes were left on school gated by a group calling itself Manipur Maoist.

PREPAK-pro affirmed to ‘monitor’ the activities of FCI and the condition of National Highway. A statement issued by ‘senior publicity officer’ Melei alleged that a handful of powerful people are controlling the activities of FCI, which is responsible for supply and transportation of food grains for the public. (Manipur)

MCP-M greeted MPA, armed wing of UNLF on the occasion of its 28^th anniversary. (Manipur)

Civil organisations in Nungba area of Manipur’s Tamenglong District served an ultimatum to ZUF for the shooting to death of an elderly person, demanding clarification on or before February 10.

Manipur Government has accepted the recommendations of the all–party committee which was constituted to examine the possibility of enacting a law to check unfettered influx of migrant workers.

The body of a village head man, identified as KN Marak who was killed by unidentified militants was recovered from Chisakgre village in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya.

Mother of a former ANVC-B militant Silgrak M Marak who was arrested on February 4 from near Nehru Park in Danakgre in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya in connection with the kidnapping of Iqbal Rafique, stated that her son was innocent.

Following the move of the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya administration to take on the encroachers at Tura ANVC-B hinted that making Tura “a general area” has resulted in encroachments. ANVC-B leader Bernard Rimpu Marak alleged that “Tura is part of Danakgre Aking under Nokma since the British time but someone manipulated the provisions of the Sixth Schedule 40 years ago by introducing Mauza X and declaring Tura as a general area”.

Mohammad Buizul Islam, one of the two persons abducted by NLF and BDFM was released. He was released at an unspecified location near the India Bangladesh border. The abductors had first demanded INR 1.5 million as ransom but later reduced it to INR 500000 and ten ladies wrist watches. There had been ten incidents of abductions in Mizoram since 2011, and except for a single case of kidnapping at Mizoram-Assam border Kolasib District, all the abductions occurred in the Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border Mamit District.

One 82 mm mortar shell was recovered in a field close to the IB in Samba District of J&K. Report said that one Tarsem Lal, resident of village Londi found 82 mm mortar shell in his field while working.

The NIA named suspected IM operative Ajaz Shaikh as 'accused number 6' in the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts (February 21, 2014) case, accusing him of financing the terror strike. Ajaz was arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell last September form Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. NIA sleuths filed a petition in the Special Court for NIA cases in Nampally, a few days ago declaring Ajaz Shaikh, a BPO executive from Pune (Maharashtra) and part of an IM sleeper cell, as the sixth accused and charged him with financing INR 6,80,000 for executing the blasts. NIA officials sought the court's permission to get Ajaz, now in Tihar jail, to Hyderabad on transit. The court directed the agency to produce him by February 15. It is learnt that the prime accused in the case, Riyaz Bhatkal, used to send money to Ajaz from Dubai and Kuwait through foreign exchange and hawala route. After collecting the money, he used to send it to different people on instructions from Riyaz through the hawala route for funding terror strikes.

The four-phase panchayat elections in Chhattisgarh, which concluded on February 10, recorded an overall voter turnout of 77.71 per cent. “Voting was peaceful, free and fair, barring a few minor incidents. The overall percentage was better than expected. The Maoist-affected Bastar region witnessed 60 per cent polling,” Chief Election Commissioner P.C. Dalai said. Re-polling was held at 109 places.

The Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court in Kerala has dismissed the bail petition of two persons arrested on the charges for allegedly having CPI-Maoist links. The Court dismissed the bail petitions of Tushar Nirmal Sarathi, a human rights activist and Jayson C Cooper, a government employee. 

The Dumka District Administration and Police destroyed poppy crop planted over a stretch of 150 acres in CPI-Maoist-affected villages under Shikaripara Police Station limits of the District. Acting on a tip off, SP Anup T Mathew and SDO Sudhir Kumar along with Police force destroyed poppy crop planted illegally in Hirapur and Dhobaghati village of the District.

The ‘chairman’ of KPLT identified as Donri Kramsa was arrested by a joint team of SFs from Parokhuwa Bazar near Dokmoka in Karbi Anglong in Assam. KPLT is the breakaway faction of KLNLF, with an objective to carve an autonomous Karbi state out of Assam.

Police booked an individual identified as Chandan Kalita under NSA act and took him into preventive custody for 90 days. He was arrested in December 2014 in connection with an abduction case, is an accused in at least six murder, abduction, extortion and arms-related cases. (Assam)

MHA directed Police and SFs engaged in counter-insurgency operations to continue with sustained operations against NDFB-IKS. MHA also said the forces should not be complacent with the recent success of the operations against the militant outfit as the top leaders of the groups were still at large. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Chairman of JIC RV Ravi and other officers of the Ministry reviewed the security scenario and the success of operations at a meeting with senior officials of the State Government, Assam Police, Army and the paramilitary forces involved in the operations.

Sources have revealed that ‘chairman’ of NDFB-IKS, IK Songbijit, commander-in-chief G Bidai and a few others are abroad. Songbijit is in Myanmar, while it is believed that Bidai managed to escape to Bhutan. However, around 40 to 50 hardcore members of the outfit are still hiding in the jungles inside Assam and there is a need to intensify operations in those areas. The meeting also discussed the problem of logistics faced by SFs.

Three tribals identified as Jongkholun, Manglensei and Sotinpai were killed in Churachandpur in Manipur. The bodies were recovered near Vaison Cemetery in the District. Sontinpai was a militant of KIA. from whose dead body, five demand letters to be delivered were recovered. KIA ‘information secretary’ Thomas Kom stated that killings will not serve any purpose.

An unidentified NSCN-IM ‘sergeant major’ was arrested from NH2, when SFs launched an operation based on getting specific input of extortion. The militant later confessed that he had worked as an arms supplier from Bangladesh to India for the last 10 years. One 7.62 mm pistol and seven live ammunitions were recovered from him. (Manipur)

Four LAEF militants were arrested by SFs from an unspecified location along National Highway-2 The militants were on their way to Myanmar. However, Meghalaya Police believe that there is no camp of LAEF in Myanmar.

RPF stated that the NSCN-IM is never considered as an enemy but it would counter any threat to Manipuri's unity through tough political and military strategies. According to a statement of RPF issued by its ‘publicity secretary’ Roben Khuman the outfit is always ready to have talks with NSCN-IM, if the later wants. He also stated that killing of one cadre and injuring of few other cadres of NSCN-IM at Nambasi was an unfortunate incident. He said that RPF was preparing to carry out an attack on AR, however SFs stayed back at Nambasi School compound and NSCN-IM militants came towards the hiding position of RPF. (Manipur)

The killing of Gondaimei Angam by suspected ZUF militants February 8 has been condemned by various social organizations based in the Tamenglong in Manipur.

On the occasion of its birth anniversary, UNLF conferred ‘nongda lairen pakahangba mana’(a prize) and ‘herachandra mana’ respectively to three party leaders and 20 armed cadres and officers of MPA. (Manipur)

Village Council and public of Xuivi village in Zunheboto District in Nagaland have vehemently condemned the attempt on the life of Ghukiho T Zhimomi, the ‘home secretary’ of NSCN-KK by unidentified gunmen On February 7.

NSF started campaign to flush out "illegal Bangladeshi immigrants" from Nagaland. The campaign intensified after the Naga Students' Federation (NSF), the apex students' organisation decided to spearhead the movement.

The UMHA objected to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) buying properties in India, saying the neighbouring country had stopped Air India operations, and such a facility should be offered only on a reciprocal basis. In a report, the IB told the Ministry of Finance that Pakistan had forced Air India to discontinue its services to Lahore and Karachi, leading to a complete monopoly by PIA in these sectors. The report said there had been instances in the past when ISI agents were appointed as executives of PIA and indulged in snooping activities in India. IB also mentioned about an activist of the terrorist group LeT working in PIA’s Karachi office.

Union Law Ministry gave an approval to the proposal of UMHA to declare IS as militant organisation under section 35 of UAPA. Confirming this, a senior UHM official said, "A formal notification banning ISIS and all its formations will be issued in next couple of days and circulated among the states and UTs. This will also mean that any person claiming to be associated with the outfit or attempting to become its member will be prosecuted under stringent sections of UAPA. "The yet to be issued gazette notification, will propose to add ISIS and all its formations and front organizations as a terrorist organization," he explained. Similarly, the case against alleged IS tweeter and Bangalore based techie Mehdi Masroor Biswas was registered for supporting the cause of a terror outfit on the basis of the UN resolution, where ISIL is banned and not ISIS or IS.

While inaugurating the District Armed Police Force office complex in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said the State Government has adopted a two-pronged strategy to deal with the Maoist issue.

Security personnel and the CPI-Maoist cadres exchanged fire in Lanjigarh area of Kalahandi District of Odisha. A joint team of DVF and CRPF was on a combing operation when the Maoist opened fire at them. Cache of arms and ammunition has been recovered from the encounter site. 

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged the UHM Rajnath Singh to waive off INR 14.5 billion charged for the deployment of Central Forces in Maoist-affected areas of Odisha. The claim of Union Government towards deployment of Central Forces appears to be unreasonable, the Chief Minister said in his letter to UHM Rajnath Singh. The Chief Minister pointed out that it is the responsibility of both the Union Government and the States to fight the Maoists.

A CPI-Maoist camp was destroyed and explosives seized from Semlabhata village under Lanjigarh Police limits of Kalahandi District of Odisha.  The seizure followed an encounter between Police and the Maoists.

SFs have busted a CPI-Maoist training camp and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition besides material used for making explosives in forested Gonderas hills under Aranpur Police Station limits in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. The cache included thirty seven gelatin rods, eleven detonators, two hand grenades, a country-made gun, a tiffin bomb, a pipe bomb, explosives, gun powder and materials used in making bombs, he said.

On reports that some NDFB-IKS moved into Arunachal Pradesh, Army sources said that as per provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act, the Army can move into 20 kilometres inside the state and operations are going on in those areas. However, there is need for augmenting the capacity building of Police forces in Arunachal Pradesh.

In separate news, though the Army, Police and Paramilitary Forces achieved considerable success in the counter-insurgency operations since the beginning of this year, recovery of the arms of the militants and ensuring security in the “ethnic fault lines of the State” remain a major challenge.

An army source stated that only about 50 per cent of success in finishing off NDFB-IKS has been achieved despite arrest of around 150 cadres and over ground workers. Sources admitted that the top leaders of the outfit are still at large and they are believed to be in the neighbouring states or countries. Moreover, another area of concern is the weapons of the outfit. Though a substantial number of weapons have been recovered, majority of those are small arms as the hardcore members managed to hide the sophisticated weapons and are now moving around with small arms. “It is a fact that the forces managed to recover some sophisticated weapons like AK series rifles and M16 rifles, but majority of the weapons recovered are small arms.

On reports that some militants moved into Arunachal Pradesh, Army sources said that as per provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act, the Army can move into 20 kilometres inside the state and operations are going on in those areas. However, there is need for augmenting the capacity building of Police forces in Arunachal Pradesh.

ASM lambasted the wrong policies of AASU and categorically stated that if names of those illegal Bangladesh origin citizens totalling 70 lakh in number figure in the NRC as Indian citizens, then the identity of the Assamese people would be at stake.

Demanding inclusive rehabilitation and compensation to Adivasis, who were the victims of the December 23 massacre, activists of AASA All Santhali Students’ Union, BCF and ACF militants and the inmates of the Deusri-Santipur relief camp in Chirang District staged a four-hour sit-in demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office at Kajalgaon in Bongaigaon. 29,375 Adivasis of around 90 villages had taken shelter in 19 relief camps in Chirang of who 20,055 had returned to their respective villages after the situation became normal. The rest of the 9,320 Adivasi inmates have been staying in four relief camps in the Deusri and Santipur areas in Chirag District in Assam.

SFs arrested an unidentified HNA militant from Khomoi in Churachandpur District in Manipur. Four 9 mm pistols, one carbine, four magazines of 9 mm pistol, one magazine of carbine and six live rounds of 9 mm pistol were recovered from him.

UNLF claimed responsibility for the the bomb blast at Napet Palli bridge in Imphal East District in Manipur on February 8.

ZUF ‘secretary’  A Dangmei stated that Angam Gondaimei, whom was killed on February 8 by ZUF,  was given a ‘mild punishment' and that it was unlikely that he died because of the injury he sustained at the hands of ZUF. He alleged that he was killed by AR to fix blaim on ZUF. . ZUF also accused Angam Gondaimei of working as an informer of the AR in collusion with his son, Adin, a former cadre of ZUF who was persuaded to leave the outfit by his father. (Manipur)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Manipur hold a series of meetings with Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh and senior security officials in Imphal to review the situation in the militancy ravaged state.

Pressure groups the State Government to address the issue of illegal immigrants in the state before enrolling people under the NPR. The State Government, meanwhile, clarified that NPR does not ensure citizenship to anyone nor give any individual the right to consider himself as citizens of India.

NSCN-KK inaugurated its designated camp at Apao village under Aboi sub-division in Mon in Nagaland.

NSCN-K reviewing the non-cooperation stand taken by Ao tribe, stated that Ao as a tribe in general, shall be treated as expunged in both the content and context of Naga political struggle under NSCN-K. (Nagaland)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Tripura on February 14 to review law and order situation and assess the repatriation of tribal refugees, sheltered in Tripura. He will then meet (Tripura Chief Minister) Manik Sarkar and (Mizoram Chief Minister) Lal Thanhawla to chalk out a plan to repatriate the tribal refugees to Mizoram

A combined team of SFs arrested two OGWs of UNLF identified as Let Kholel alias Lalboi and Let Chingthang from an unspecified location in Manipur.

AR arrested NSCN-K militants identified as Among Yim, Tsathvii Thiiviiri, Kughato Chishi and Sona Aye from Old Minister Hill in Kohima in Nagaland.

PM Narendra Modi described the expanding footprint of terror groups in neighbouring Pakistan and their link with terror activities as a major security challenge. He also spoke on various issues including ceasefire violations along the LoC, violence perpetrated by Maoists and recent initiatives taken on the economic front.

India and the US pledged to jointly target financial networks and fund raising by Pakistan-based terrorist organisations as also the D-Company of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The two nations vowed to work together to check illicit money transfers for terrorism, money laundering and other illegal activities. The agreement came at a meeting of the 5th Indo-US Economic and Financial Partnership dialogue, which was attended by the US Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Besides LeT and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's JuD, the two nations identified JeM, the Haqqani Network, D-Company, al Qaida and IS among terror networks whose funding have to be cut off. "We reiterated our commitment to target the financial networks and fund raising activities of terrorist organisations such as LeT, JuD, JeM, the Haqqani Network, D-Company, Al Qaida, ISIL, and individual terrorists associated with these organisations," said the statement.

The IS sympathisers active in Indian metros, hunting for potential recruits among the youth attracted to the jihadi group's ideology, are on the radar of the intelligence agencies. Nearly 35 self-radicalised jihadis have been identified for spreading the dogma of the IS, a new intelligence dossier suggests. The dossier also mentions that the IS sympathisers are physically moving around to find recruits. "The campaign is being carried out by word of mouth, not through the internet," an intelligence official said. Some elements seen as "IS sympathisers" and mentioned on the Intelligence list are on a recruitment spree in fertile grounds in Mumbai (Maharashtra), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Kolkata (West Bengal), Bangalore (Karnataka) and Hyderabad. Based on the inputs from the IB and state intelligence units, a dossier has been shared with the UMHA on those now under surveillance.

Train services in the Gomoh-Gaya section of the East Central Railway were disrupted as suspected CPI-Maoist cadres blew up railway tracks during the Jharkhand bandh called by them to protest the amendment in Land Acquisition Act. The track was blown up on the Jamunia river bridge between Gomoh-Telo stations under Dhanbad division of East Central Railway.

The bandh had a mixed response in the mineral-rich Kolhan region comprised of East and West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan Districts. While shops and market in Maoist-stronghold areas were closed, road traffic was also thin, Police said.

The CPI-Maoist called for a bandh in five states, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, on February 20 to protest the anti-people's activities of the State and Central governments. In a press release, the Maoists' Central Regional Bureau ‘spokesperson’ Pratap accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao as well as the CMs of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra of implementing destructive and anti-people policies. He said the bandh would be observed for 24 hours but emergency services would be exempted.

Armed CPI-Maoist cadres hacked a villager to death in Pallahara of Angul District of Odisha suspecting him to be a ‘police informer’. The villagers said a group of armed Maoists stormed into Pattamundai village and took away Samuel Bhadra after locking his family members in a room. They then hacked Bhadra to death and fled to nearby forest. The Maoists left behind eight posters which stated that Bhadra was eliminated as he was a police informer. They claimed that one of their leaders was killed by police on information provided by Bhadra. Angul Superintendent of Police Rajesh Pandit Uttam Rao confirmed that Bhadra was not a police informer.

A trooper of SOG was seriously injured in a landmine explosion triggered by Maoists in Turekala area of Bolangir District of Odisha. "The jawan was engaged in combing operation in a forest area near Kameimunda village yesterday when the landmine went off," SDPO Titilagarh, Dillip Purohit said.

A 35-year-old man, identified K. Benny, was found killed of bullet injuries around midnight on February 12 in a forest area close to the Bhavani river at Chindakki near Attappady in Palakkad District of Kerala. Police said K Benny was shot by unidentified assailants. The incident took place when Benny along with his friend Sheli was fishing in the river. Though the Police suspect it to be a case of CPI-Maoist attack the local people want a probe into the presence of the two youth at the isolated location late night.

Acting on a tip off a joint team of DF and STF destroyed a CPI-Maoist training camp on the hills of Sopiras and Gonderas regions falling under Aranpur Police Station limits of Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. After receiving a tip off, a joint team of DF and STF raided the spot when the Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on them. The security personnel retaliated. Finally, the Maoists ran into the deep jungles.

Unidentified militants placed a hand grenade at the gate of Lalambung Takhellambam Leikai residence of JNIMS director Dr M Shamo, in Imphal West District in Manipur.

ANVC-B leader Rimpu Marak, stated that his demand for early sanction of the rehabilitation packages for former cadres of the outfit ‘in the interest of lasting peace in the State’. In a memorandum submitted to Home Minister Roshan Warjri, he stated that the surrendered ANVC militants cadres were promised a package of INR 250000 each but the Government had failed to announce the same package for   ANVC-B cadres raising doubts that the authorities are being partial. (Meghalaya)

ADE an NGO, expressed concern over the worsening law and order situation in Garo Hills in Meghalaya. ADE Apex Committee, general secretary, N.D. Sangma stated agreement between the Government, ANVC and ANVC-B should be implemented at the earliest. (Meghalaya)

The ITBP deputed to combat Maoists has taken up the task of teaching school children at a village in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh. The children of the Madanwada village have got a new ray of hope with the initiative taken by the 'education cadres' of ITBP.

J&K Police arrested two Punjab residents, identified as Gurav Gulati and Gurinder Singh while they were allegedly smuggling FICNs at Ghagwal in Samba District.  Ghagwal Police SHO Sanjeev Chib said that "On a tip-off, a Santro car on its way to Kathua was stopped at Ghagwal by our patrol team. During search of the two occupants of the car fake currency notes worth INR 20,500 were recovered from their possession."

A Mumbai local court granted bail to an alleged aide of the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Tariq Parveen arrested in an extortion case earlier this week. A police officer said that "The Esplanade (magistrate) court granted bail to Tariq Parveen who had been arrested on January 19." As the Police sought extension of custody, Parveen's lawyer opposed it. The court first remanded him to judicial custody and later granted him bail.

Bathinda Court (Punjab) extended KTF chief Jagtar Singh Tara’s Police remand by another two days.  Previously, Tara was produced in court on February 9 and was sent to four-day Police remand. Police also produced one Amarjit Singh of Dusarna village in Mohali District and accused him of having links with Tara. Arrested on February 12, Amarjjit was also sent in two-day Police remand. Tara is accused of making way for Bathinda-based Ramandeep Singh alias Sunny in getting arms training in Bangkok. Bathinda Police on November 9, 2014 had arrested Ramandeep and claimed that he was member of terror organization KTF headed by Jagtar Singh Tara. Police had recovered explosive material, a revolver and 5 letterheads of BKI. Bathinda District attorney Iqbaljit Singh Kingra said, "During interrogation, Ramandeep confessed that he had gone to Thailand to get arms training on Tara's insistence and had met him in Thailand." Kingra said that Ramandeep also told that Tara had got terrorist training at Pakistan and encouraged him to toe the same path.

The counterfeit currency (CC) wing of CB-CID Police, Trichy arrested a 44-year-old man, C Sakthivel for possessing FICN worth around INR 198,000 in Manapparai in Tiruchirapalli District of Tamil Nadu. Police seized a computer printer reportedly used by him. During interrogation, he reportedly told Police that a person called Mani was his mentor in the illegal business. After learning the techniques, Sakthivel acted on his own. Police said Sakthivel chose the industrial areas Karur, Tirupur, Erode to circulate FICN.

Four Maoists, including three women, with rewards on their heads, surrendered before IGP Yashwant Jethwa in Malkangiri District of Odisha. The Maoists have been identified as Mangala Podiami (25) alias Arjun, Rame Madhi (25) alias Anita, Ganga Kurmi (20) alias Sangita and Kunjame Rajje (25) alias Gita. Podiami, Madhi, Kurmi and Rajje carried reward of INR 400000, INR 400000, INR 100000 and INR 100000 on their head respectively.

Combing operations have been stepped up in the forests and villages along the Nilgiris-Kerala border following reports of Maoist activities in some parts of Kerala.

Armed cadres of CPI-Maoist attacked a road construction company office and set on fire vehicles and four motorcycles in Arwal District of Bihar. The incident took place near Asaula Bazar under Kinger Police Station area when about 20-25 armed Maoists attacked the base camp of the company and set on fire JCB machine, procklain, dumper, truck, pick van besides four bikes. Police said that the reason behind the incident is suspected to be non-payment of levy demand.

A Maoist ‘section commander’ identified as Sukhnath alias Oyami Chaitu was arrested by District Force in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. He was carrying a cash reward of INR 800000 on his head and was involved in Tadmetla incident in which 75 CRPF personnel and a Chhattisgarh Policeman were killed in April 6, 2010.

The UMHA has moved a Cabinet note seeking approval for its new counter- LWE doctrine, which envisages inclusion of additional districts on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu-Karnataka junction under the SRE and seeks control of the IAP scheme hitherto administered by the Planning Commission. The new counter-LWE plan proposes upgrading of SRE scheme to cover at least half a dozen new districts located in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu-Karnataka axis, besides pitching for autonomy to the UMHA to make changes to the list of SRE items (this now requires Cabinet approval). This comes amid concerns over growing CPI-Maoist influence in south India, particularly in certain Districts in North Kerala.

Unknown persons travelling in a cycle hurled a grenade at the house of a businessman, identified as  Biren Agarwal, in Sepon Market in Sibsagar District of Assam, killing his younger brother Situ Agarwal and their driver Dimbeswar Bhuyan. The locals claimed that ULFA-I had recently demanded extortion money from the Agarwal family who refused to make the payment.

ULFA-I militant identified as Bidyut Bikash Khanikar surrendered near Ranghar Sena Camp in Sivasagar District of Assam.

UHM Rajnath Singh stated that process of recruiting surrendered militants from Manipur and Assam to raise two battalions of CSFs would begin soon, but didn’t give any time frame. MHA plan to recruit 750 former militants each to form two battalions in BSF and SSB.

HNLC has called for a 12-hours shutdown on February 16 protesting alleged vandalising of a prominent Christian school in South Delhi’s Vasant Vihar. HNLC publicity secretary” Saiñkupar Nongtraw, stated that HNLC had given call for shutdown, protesting injustice being faced by drivers on the National Highway and the state Government’s actions in making Mookhep firing probe report public. (Meghalaya)

Police stated that LAEF is a militant outfit which originated from   Dimapur and Peter Marak who himself hailed from Dimapur had floated the outfit and he was killed in an encounter in 2007. Most of the LAEF cadres, who hail from Dimapur, are active in Garo Hills in Meghalaya.

Meghalaya Police rescued an individual identified as Niren Rabha, who was abducted by unidentified militants from an unspecified location. According to police, Rabha was rescued after police conducted operations at Lalmati / Kholishabhita areas under Garobadha in West Garo Hills.

Unlawful activities (Prevention) Tribunal, which will meet in Shillong for two days from March 8, is likely to recommend extension of ban on HNLC. HNLC, formed in 1992 was first banned on November 16, 2000 for a period of six months which was subsequently renewed. (Meghalaya)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh would hold meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla for repatriation of about 32,000 displaced Reang (Bru) tribals lodged in evacuation camps in North Tripura. Replying to a calling attention motion in the Tripura assembly, State Revenue Minister Badal Chowdhury said 35,326 people from 6,800 families of the Reang community had fled their ancestral home since October 1997 and Tripura government sheltered them on humanitarian grounds. Chowdhury said state Chief Minister alerted the Prime Minister repeatedly but only 5,294 Reangs from 1,030 families could be sent back since May 2010 to Mizoram. At present 31,223 Reangs of 5,286 families are sheltered in evacuee camps in Kanchanpur of North Tripura District.

An OGW of PREPAK identified as Wareppam Jayenta Singh alias Naoba was arrested from area of Khamran Makha Leikai in Imphal West in Manipur.

A PLA militant, identified as ‘major’ Thounaojam Subhashchandra Singh alias Sanju alias Boney was arrested by SFs from Waikhong Tangsham Leikai area in Imphal West in Manipur.

One militant was killed when Army foiled an infiltration attempt by the militants along the LoC in Poonch District of J&K. Pakistani post across the LoC also fired upon the troops to give cover to the infiltration. In the exchange of firing, troops observed three to four militants running back to Pakistan. One of them was reportedly killed in the retaliatory firing. Northern Command spokesman Colonel SD Goswami said troops observed movement of three to four militants trying to enter inside the Indian Territory and opened firing to neutralize them.

Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire on the IB by firing few mortar shells and rounds at forward village of Nawa Pind in RS Pura sector of Jammu District of J&K. Reports said the Pakistani Rangers fired three mortar shells and few shots with semi automatic weapons targeting forward BSF posts at Nawa Pind in RS Pura sector. The BSF didn’t retaliate and the firing stopped after few minutes. No casualties or damage was reported on the Indian side in the firing.

Aurangabad (Maharashtra) Police Commissioner, Rajender Singh emphasized on creating awareness among internet users to prevent cybercrime. He said the widespread use of internet and smart phones has paved way for unconventional channel of crimes that are difficult to investigate. "Information technology has reached every nook and corner of the society. It has radically changed the way people work, communicate and interact. It has also simplified life of modern people to a great extent. However, it has also altered the work culture of criminals and created new opportunities for them," he said. In 2012, 31 cases were registered under the IT Act and the number rose to 47 the following year. Gautam Patare, Senior Inspector of the cybercrime cell, said over 50 such cases were registered in 2014.

Dawood Ibrahim who has an Interpol Red Corner Notice pending against him for allegedly being a key 1993 Mumbai serial blasts’ conspirator, has been confirmed to be located in Karachi (Sindh, Pakistan) as disclosed by his purported voice in a recent intercept of his telephonic conversation with an aide. In the intercept done by an Indian security agency, a voice, purportedly belonging to Dawood indicated he is in the Pakistani city. Two months ago, there was an intercept of his conversations where he was purportedly talking about his alleged Dubai real-estate investments. The two-minute conversation, which seemed coded in parts, featured Dawood and an aide discussing issues including: pending works at a construction site at an unclear location, arrangements with a Dubai-based aide for a business deal and the need to send “around three lakh Dirhams” to the latter via ‘Yasir’, said an investigator requesting anonymity.

200 gelatine sticks, 230 detonators and a coil fuse were recovered from a Mon bound bus in Bokajan in Karbi Anglong District of Assam. Four individuals, identified as Jakir Ali, Durga Bahadur Chetri, Kishor Sing and Ramada Kumar were arrested from the bus by CRPF. They were travelling to Mon in Nagaland to deliver the explosive items to a certain person residing in Mon.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while on a brief visit to Tripura, appealed to the underground groups to shun violence. He stated that GoI will develop the Northeast in 10 years if insurgency comes to an end. He said insurgency remained a hurdle to restoration of peace and development of the region.

Kuki activists have announced an economic blockade for five days with effect from February 18, in protest against the alleged failure of the Manipur State Government to disclose the report of the magisterial inquiry into the encounter on January 28 at Kadangband in Imphal West in Manipur.

A student of class nine, identified as Lamji Chingmak was abducted from a village in Tuensang District in Nagaland and his body was later recovered from the outskirts of Tuensang town.

Following the abduction and killing of the student, an angry mob ransacked the office of the Deputy Commissioner and also reportedly fired several shot at the office of the Superintendent of Police of Tuensang. Chang and Yimchungrü tribes have been engaged in bitter fight over some land dispute in Tuensang town since November 2014 and in a recent riot two people were killed on February 6.Nine people have been arrested in connection with the incident. (Nagaland)

Two persons in Tuensang town in Nagaland were arrested by AR and IRB. They were found in possession of arms, ammunition and liquor.

In a separate operation, IRB personnel’s arrested an unidentified individual, who was in procession of two country made pistols. (Nagaland)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while on a brief visit to Tripura, appealed to the underground groups to shun violence. He stated that GoI will develop the Northeast in 10 years if insurgency comes to an end. He said insurgency remained a hurdle to restoration of peace and development of the region.

The Bhadrachalam Sub-Division Police of Khammam District of Telangana claimed to have foiled a bid by CPI-Maoist cadres to plant explosives in the Korkatpadu forest area to kill Policemen. This came to light after the arrest of four persons, including a Maoist ‘special guerrilla squad member’ and a ‘militia commander’ in Charla mandal of Khammam District. Police sources said a joint team of Policemen and CoBRA force arrested Madakam Deva (20), an alleged member of the CPI-Maoist SGS, and three others during combing operation in the morning. The team seized one directional mine and one landmine besides 100 metres of electric wire, two electrical detonators and one electric battery from them. The others arrested are ‘militia commander’ Madakam Jogaiah (21), ‘militia member’ Podium Andha (19) and ‘militia member’ Ravva Bhadra (20).

Maoists stepped up poster campaign ahead of the bandh called by the CPI-Maoist in five States on February 20. It has called for bandh in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra in protest against the alleged anti-poor and pro-corporate policies of the Central and State governments. Posters and pamphlets bearing the name of CPI-Maoist ‘central committee’ surfaced near a stream near the mandal headquarters town of Venkatapuram in Bhadrachalam Division.

Adilabad SP Tarun Joshi handed over two cheques worth INR 700, 000 to surrendered Maoist couple Ade Prabhu alias Chandram of Kuntala village in Neredigonda mandal in Adilabad District and Talandi Kantha alias Sujata of Aheri in Chandrapur District of Maharashtra. The dalam ‘commander’ and his wife had surrendered on September 26, 2014. SP Joshi said those who wanted to surrender could do so by calling him on 9440795000.

CRPF organised a health camp in Maoist affected villages of Latehar District of Jharkhand. CRPF personnel, as a part of civic action programme, distributed free medicines and utensils to the poor.

A militant of KCP identified as N Ibotombi was arrested by AR from general area of Serou village in Thoubal in Manipur. He is said to be working in the ‘finance’ branch of KCP and is involved in serving extortion note to Serou market shopkeepers.

Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire along the IB targeting Niki Tawi area of RS Pura Sector in Jammu District of J&K. However, official sources said that the BSF didn’t retaliate and there were no casualties or damage on the Indian side in the Pakistan firing.

Police arrested six people along with FICN with face value of INR 3,65,000  at Godavarikhani town in Karimnagar District of Telangana. Arvind Kumar alias Bablu of Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh is the kingpin of the racket, said SP V. Shiva Kumar. He said Bablu was getting FICN from Bangladesh through one Sunil Kumar Pramanik of Cherapur village in West Bengal, Sudershan Singh of Rampur village in Uttar Pradesh, Jagdish Gujjar of Madhya Pradesh. Other accused are identified as Chetturi Rajaiah of Brahmanapalli village in Nizamabad District of Telangana, Durva Bheem Rao of Mothe village in Karimnagar District.

Goa Police arrested sharpshooter Shyam Kishore Garikapatti alias Black Scorpion, a member of d Dawood Ibrahim's gang, from Saligao in North Goa District, SP Karthik Kashyap said. Garikapatti had been hiding in Saligao for the past 8 years under a fake identity. He was involved in the JJ Hospital shootout of 1992 and 1993 Mumbai (Maharashtra) serial blasts and had been on the run from the Mumbai Police for the past ten years after jumping parole in 2003, Kashyap said. He was convicted under the stringent TADA and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the shootout at JJ Hospital.

Suspected IM operative Ajaz Shaikh, who has been named accused in the Dilsukhnagar blasts (February 21, 2014) case, has not only been a hawala money organiser, but also the one who arranged fake identity cards for others involved in the twin blasts. The NIA is likely to bring Shaikh to Hyderabad and produce him in a local court on February 16. The NIA had named Shaikh as the sixth accused in the case. "Using various software tools, Shaikh created fake IDs and supplied them to IM operatives since 2010. With these fake documents, Asadullah had entered into a rental agreement with a flat owner in Mangalore in November, 2012, and subsequently came to Hyderabad to execute the twin blasts," intelligence sources said.

Police recovered RDX explosives weighing around 20 kilo grams from Kausi Bazar Prem Nagar village in Kokrajhar in Assam.

Three militants of KPLT identified as Birton Timung alias Rock, the ‘finance secretary’, Hemai Singh Kro alias Mysing, ‘auditor’, along with Langtuk Rohang were arrested by a joint team of Army and Police from Karbirongsope village, in Hamren in Karbi Anglong in Assam. One AK rifle, two pistols along with assorted ammunition, including other incriminating documents was recovered from the militants. The Telegraph further adds that SFs have arrested over 70 cadres of KPLT in 2014 and killed 12.

Security Sources stated that after the operations were launched following December 23 massacre, senior NDFB-IKS leaders who were in Assam, managed to escape. Security agencies involved in operations state that there was a need for a full-scale and well-coordinated operation in Bhutan to nab the senior leaders of NDFB-IKS. Security sources revealed according to inputs available, around 25 militant of NDFB-IKS are now in Bhutan. However, they have not been able to set up camps in the neighbouring country as the security forces of that country are also keeping a close watch on the situation.

Village Headmen (gaon burahs) will be asked to assist villagers to enlist themselves in NRC which is to be updated by January 2016. (Assam)

BSF recovered FICN worth INR 70,000 from Vishnupur area near Indo – Bangladesh border under Kadamtala Police Station in North Tripura.

MBDPF asked UHM Rajnath Singh for appropriate security and rehabilitation for the displaced Bru (Reang) people, staying in Tripura since 1997 Bru-Mizo clashes, in order for them to return to Mizoram. 'During the past so many years more than six thousand of the camp-inmates have returned home but they suffer from lack of security and promised rehabilitation package has not been implemented properly' said an ‘office-bearer’ of the MBDPF. The Union Home Minister had promised to look into the matter and discuss the entire gamut of issues with the Mizoram Government and we promised to return home. 'We are worried about the deliberate absence of the Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawala from the talks with the union home minister to which he had been invited ;hopefully the Union Home Minister will mount adequate pressure on the Mizoram Government to resolve the repatriation tangle' said the MBDPF ‘office-bearer’. A delegation of MBDPF had met the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the Kanchanapur Dak Bungalow (North Tripura District) on February 14 and submitted a memorandum containing a ten-point charter of demands. The demands include liberal rehabilitation benefits for the Reang or Bru returnees, appropriate security against possible attacks from majority Mizos in future and a rise in the relief materials given to the inmates of the camps.

Gadchiroli SP Sandip Patil has said that SFs are arresting only such CPI-Maoist cadres whose names or profiles were on Police record. Police have decided to avoid Maoist supporters in villages as a matter of policy. SP Patil claimed Police had also decided to avoid taking Maoist's jan militia members into custody unless their names featured as dalam members. "The gram raksha dal or area raksha dal members are not being arrested unlike in the past," he said.

Unidentified militants shot dead a farmer, identified as Dawang B Marak at Sawakalgitok village in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya.

AR has claimed to have busted an illegal detention centre of NSCN-IM at Sitkipasha in Dimapur in Nagaland. Two persons, identified as Tino Konyak and Imti Sunep Ao were found in the custody of NSCN-IM at the illegal detention centre. Three NSCN-IM militants, identified as Rengamo Patton, Shulemong and Zato Zhimo were arrested.

Troops of 37 Assam Rifles launched an operation and arrested an arms peddler along with four pistols from the general area Ward No – 1 in Chumukedima area of Dimapur in Nagaland.