India Timeline - Year 2009

January 1: A three-and-a-half-year-old girl was wounded when a locally-made bomb, reportedly kept in a plastic bag, exploded in front of a footwear shop opposite the SMV Higher Secondary School in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. 

In a search operation, the Thiruvananthapuram Police recovered 10 locally-made bombs and a sword from an abandoned house on the Valiyakulam road, near Karikkakom in the Pettah Police station limits.

At least 12 Pakistan nationals are wanted for their alleged involvement in funding and assisting and communicating the perpetrators of the November 26, 2008 multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai, a senior Police official said in Mumbai.

The Government decided to set up subsidiaries of the Multi Agency Centre, a nodal agency within the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which, on the line of US Homeland Security, is responsible for co-ordination and dissemination of information, in all State capitals. Subsidiary Multi Agency Centres (SMACs) will also serve as a data bank of terrorists and extremists, including Naxalites. SMACs will process and analyse local intelligence inputs in coordination with the nodal agency in New Delhi. The subsidiaries will also be linked with the local areas through the Police Network project, which is being implemented by inter-linking all the Police stations across the country.

January 2: Explosive material, including eight kilograms of sodium nitrate, eight steel containers for making crude bombs and a bundle of wick were seized, during a Police raid in the Kommath Vayal area of Kannur District in Kerala.

January 3: Police arrested six persons from an unspecified location in the Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh following an encounter. About 5200 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 41 bundles of fuse wire, 300 detonators, 157 detonator chargers, and a locally made pistol, a rifle and some cartridges were recovered from their possession.

January 4:The Sunday Times reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has given evidence to Pakistan, indicating the involvement of terrorists, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) handlers based in its territory, in the multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The London-based daily stated that the evidence proves the attacks were orchestrated by militants based in Pakistan. It added that Zarar Shah, a communications specialist of the LeT, has confessed during interrogation in Pakistan that he advised the terrorists over phone as the attacks unfolded.  

January 5: Indian Government handed over evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai multiple terrorist attacks to Pakistan. "The material is linked to elements in Pakistan," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement adding "It is our expectation that the Government of Pakistan will promptly undertake further investigations in Pakistan and share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice."

An IM cadre, identified as Anwar Ali Bagwaan, was arrested for allegedly obtaining two apartments for the outfit in Pune in Maharashtra. Bagwaan also reportedly trained the IM militants on administering sedatives on persons they were planning to kidnap. The rent and cash deposit for the apartments were provided by the IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother, both of whom are still absconding. Bagwaan was produced before a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court which remanded him to Police custody till January 16.  

January 6: The lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, was remanded to Police custody till January 19 by a magistrate court for his role in the shootout at the Cama and Albless Hospital in Mumbai. The Joint Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Maria, told journalists that Ajmal was informed that his application seeking legal aid had been forwarded to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) for the Mumbai terrorist attack and pointed out that there was enough evidence to show that the attack was executed with military precision and also had the support of some official agencies of Pakistan. Speaking at a conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said terrorism was largely sponsored from outside the country, mainly from Pakistan, which "utilised terrorism as an instrument of State policy." "We must convince the world community that States that use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy must be isolated and compelled to abandon such tactics. We must engage vigorously in debates to press the point that ‘soft’ support for terrorism cannot any longer be endorsed," Dr. Singh stated. While admitting that India’s problems were compounded by the fact that "we have a highly unpredictable and uncertain security environment in our immediate neighbourhood," he said the Governments in some of our neighbouring countries "are very fragile in nature." He cautioned that the "more fragile a Government, the more it tends to act in an irresponsible fashion. Pakistan’s responses to our various demarches on terrorist attacks are an obvious example."

Addressing the Chief Minister’s conference on internal security in New Delhi, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the banned SIMI and other terrorist groups associated with it are trying to spread their networks in the State and some top operatives of these outfits have even made "confidential visits" to its prominent cities like Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur in this connection, in past few years. He also informed that the State Government has decided to convert one battalion of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) into a Commando Battalion for countering such attacks in urban areas. "Setting up of Anti-terrorist Control Room and Analysis Group in all Districts of the state is also going on for collecting intelligence inputs, its analysis and sharing of information with other states and the Centre," he added.

January 7: Gujarat Police arrested a suspected terrorist, identified as Mohammed Allarakha alias Ghulam Mustafa, said to be involved in the bomb blast at Modasa town on September 29, 2008 and other terrorism-related acts, from Chutia Bellari under the Shambhuganj Police station in the Banka District of Bihar.

In the Chief Minister’s (CM) meeting at New Delhi, the CMs of seven CPI-Maoist affected States – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal - broadly agreed to a suggestion of the Union Minister of Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram, for launching effective joint operations by the States to deal with extremist elements in inter-State border areas. All the seven CMs agreed that the battle against the extremists must be fought on twin fronts of security as well as development. Among their priorities was employment generation for local youth in the violence-affected areas and construction of roads. The CMs recognised the need to effectively implement the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The CMs informed the meeting about steps taken to fill up vacancies in State Police forces. The Home Minister also drew the attention of the CMs to the need to train the Police in jungle warfare.

Chidambaram had also asked the States to work jointly to arrest senior leaders of the People''s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) — the armed wing of CPI–Maoist.

January 10: A suspected agent of Pakistan’s ISI was arrested by the Meerut Police from Meerut. He was identified as Amir Ahmed alias Bhura of Nukkud in the Saharanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. Hand-drawn maps of Army units in Dehradun and Meerut, a four-page classified document containing detailed information on anti-tank guided missile,  an eight-page document on radio communication brigaded mortar shoot and a four-page document containing restricted information on infantry weapons and a mobile phone were recovered from his possession. The Meerut Police said they had received intelligence that some youth in western Uttar Pradesh had contacts with the ISI. Amir had reportedly passed secret information about Army bases in Dehradun, Ambala, Meerut, Agra and Roorkee, using code words over phone. The Police also said Amir had been to Pakistan five times using a fake passport.

The Union Government has asked the States to work out a joint strategy and pool their intelligence to trace and arrest the senior CPI-Maoist cadres, including their ‘supreme commander’ Muppala Laxamana Rao alias Ganapathi. At present, neither the State Police nor central agencies have any inkling of the whereabouts of 14 top CPI-Maoist leaders. These leaders — all members of the CPI-Maoist politburo — reportedly take all the decisions on the entire Maoist operations across the country. Though the central agencies have some background and identification details of these leaders, the profiling has so far not produced any result. The report adds that seven of the 14 CPI-Maoist politburo members are from Andhra Pradesh. While 60-year-old Ganapathi of Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh heads the command of the over 11,000 armed cadres, Prashanth Bose alias Nirbhay alias Kishanda works to propagate the Maoists'' agenda through various means.

January 12: the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials said that large scale illegal cultivation of opium and ganja (marijuana) takes place in the left-wing extremist affected areas especially in States like Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It also said that at places where the Maoists do not directly get involved in the illicit cultivation, they charge money for providing protection to those involved in the practice. "Illicit cultivation does take place especially in those areas where the local administration is not strong enough. Three main States where it takes place as per the inputs that we receive are Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal," an unnamed senior NCB official said.

Of the total 107825 kilograms of ganja seized in the country in 2007, the States where it was seized in heavy quantity included Nagaland (15,489 kilograms), Madhya Pradesh (14,815 kilograms), Maharashtra (12,551 kilograms), Chhattisgarh (7,470 kilograms) and Andhra Pradesh (7,059 kilograms). "They (Naxals) operate in very remote areas which usually have thick forests. What happens inside those forests is anybody’s guess. But yes, they do charge protection money of all illegal business carried out in their areas," another senior official said, adding, "narcotics business is highly profitable. Since the areas where the Naxals and insurgents operate from are usually out of bounds for local Police and other security agencies, it is difficult to curtail this source of income."

The MHA has asked a special committee, set up earlier to come out with measures to strengthen local intelligence gathering units, to act fast by strengthening local intelligence gathering units, in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack. The committee for strengthening the Special Branches of Police forces was constituted by former Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shivraj Patil, and included the DGP of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Delhi Police Commissioner and senior Intelligence Bureau officials. "There is a focused scheme for strengthening the Special Branches of the State Police forces and ensuring their systematic structuring, which is now lacking. The central Government is providing all help to the States in this regard," MHA sources said. The Government has advised State Governments to form and sanction a dedicated fund (up to 5 per cent of their annual allocation) under Modernisation of Police Forces scheme for strengthening of Special Branches. "All State Governments have been asked to submit their action plan and action taken report in this regard. Most of the Naxal-affected States have submitted their plans. The central Government has also released funds based on their approved Action Plans. We have advised State Governments to hire retired Policemen and other professionals to strengthen the intelligence gathering mechanism," MHA sources said.

Describing the Mumbai terror attacks as a "direct strike" at India’s economic development, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee warned the hydrocarbon sector to protect assets from the risks from "state or the so-called non-state actors". Cautioning that the global hydrocarbon sector would increasingly be even more vulnerable to such threats, he said, "protecting these assets would not simply be a law and order problem for an individual country, whether an energy exporter or a consumer." He asked the global community to co-operate to protect the supply routes and hydrocarbon assets to ensure stability of energy supplies.

A LeT terrorist, identified as Safique Iliyas alias Deepak, was arrested by the West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from Malda District. Safique, a resident of Rajshahi in Bangladesh, was instructed to spy on the movement of Army personnel in Siliguri, CID officials said. Safique had planned to set up a shop near the Army establishment in Siliguri to execute his job, Gupta said, adding "Safique had confessed that he helped two Lashkar-e-Toiba men to cross over to India via the international border in the State last year. One of them, Sikandar-e-Azaam, was later arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in June."  The Delhi Police had reportedly arrested him in 1998 on the charge of transporting RDX from Bangladesh to Uttar Pradesh during 1997-98. He was lodged in the Tihar jail till 2003, before being granted bail and escaping to Bangladesh. Nine pre-activated SIM cards, fake Indian currency worth INR 50,000 and a forged voter identity card were recovered from him.  

Two LeT militants, identified as Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Sabahuddin, who were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police for carrying out an attack on a CRPF Group Centre in Rampur on January 1, 2008, and who are allegedly involved in the November 26, 2008-terrorist attacks in Mumbai, were remanded to Police custody till January 23.

January 14: The Orissa Government has tightened security in Paradip port, one of the major ports along its Bay of Bengal coast, in view of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, officials said. Authorities have reportedly installed at least 20 Close Circuit Television Cameras in the Paradip port area in Jagatsinghpur District, about 100 kilometres from the State capital Bhubaneswar, at a cost of INR 40 million. The Indian Coast Guard has also beefed up security measures along the 480 kilometre coastline of the State by regular patrolling as well as deployment of additional ships and aircraft for better surveillance, State Home Secretary A.P. Padhi said, adding one coast guard ship remains deployed at all times off the coast of Orissa and West Bengal to monitor maritime activity.

January 15: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized two Pakistani boats and arrested 17 Pakistani nationals aboard the boats near the Cori creek coast in Gujarat. After seizing the boats, the ICG ship towed it to Jakhau coast, where all the arrested Pakistani nationals were being interrogated. "While carrying out patrolling inside our International Maritime Boundary (IMB), one of our fast patrolling craft P-142 apprehended two Pakistani fishing trawlers with 17 Pakistanis on it, 12 nautical miles off the Cori creek coast in Gujarat," a Coast Guard official said. The official did not rule out the possibility of the two boats being used for carrying out anti-India activities.

An Indian Mujahideen terrorist, identified as Mohammad Hakim, was sent to 14-day judicial custody by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, in connection with the September 13, 2008 serial bomb blasts in New Delhi.

The Special Additional District Sessions Court (Marad cases) sentenced Latheef Assainar, manager of the Juma Masjid (mosque), in Kozhikode in Kerala, to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of five years and a fine of INR 2000 under Section 7 of the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse Act), 1988. He reportedly used the mosque and its premises for storing arms and ammunition and allowed the entry of the said arms and ammunition into it.

Radha Vinod Raju, a senior Indian Police Service officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, was appointed as the first Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Raju will head the NIA till January 31, 2010 or until further orders, a Union Ministry of Home Affairs order said. "He [Raju] has been requested to join immediately and quickly begin the recruitments," Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.

January 16: The Maharashtra Control of Organized Crimes Act (MCOCA) court remanded 21 Indian Mujahideen cadres to judicial custody till January 30 in Mumbai. Only six suspects were produced in the court as the rest are in Gujarat for questioning. The suspects are allegedly involved in bomb blasts across the country - in Delhi, Bangalore, Surat and Ahmedabad.

January 17: A 3200-page supplementary charge-sheet was filed in the designated metropolitan court hearing the Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts related cases. It lists 44 persons as absconders, including the alleged mastermind Amir Raza Khan who is reportedly in Pakistan and Ansar from Kerala. It also lists 19 persons as accused. The first charge-sheet had 26 persons as accused. The supplementary charge-sheet clarifies the role of all those accused in the Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts which killed 57 persons. Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqubal Bhatkal, along with Abdus Subhan alias Tauqeer have been named as prime accused who are still at large.

Seven top militants of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) were arrested from unspecified locations in the national capital New Delhi in an operation code named ‘Operation Grand Slam’ conducted by a joint team of Army, Manipur Police and the Delhi Police. They have been identified as N. Amumacha Singh, who had recently been nominated as the president of the newly unified group of the KCP (Mangang, City Meitei and Lamphel) factions, Chongtham Manglemjao Singh alias KK Nangba alias Chouba alias Koi alias Irabot, a leader of the KCP-Mangang group and presently general secretary, home secretary and foreign secretary of the newly unified group Chongtham Ibomcha Singh, leader of the KCP-Lamphel group, presently nominated collector of the newly unified group Chongtham Ning Lamba Singh, son of KK Nangba and nominated military head of political section of the unified group Ng Ratan Singh, deputy finance secretary of the group and two lady cadres. Details of the group’s extortion activities and a draft of a press release meant to be released on January 26 were recovered from the hideout.

January 18: Four locally-made live bombs were recovered by the Gujarat Police from the Karanj area of Ahmedabad.

January 19: Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the November 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, was remanded to Police custody till February 2 in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus firing case. Kasab has been in Police custody since his arrest on the night of November 26, 2008 and has, thus far, been booked in 12 cases by the Mumbai Police.

All seven States affected by left-wing extremism (LWE) have agreed on a "joint action" to confront the menace "firmly and decisively" and the Centre will provide them full support in terms of Security Forces and funds, said the Union Minister for Home Affairs (MHA), P. Chidambaram, during a meeting with the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh in Raipur. He said Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal had so far adopted different approaches but what was needed was a joint plan where the "principal focus is on confronting the extremists." "Left wing extremists have to be confronted squarely and boldly. We have to deal with them firmly and decisively," he added, saying, "I will be visiting all these States to know better about the problem of left wing extremism, Chhattisgarh being the first where I have visited today.

January 20: An IM cadre and alleged key suspect of the July 2008 serial bomb blasts in Bangalore (capital of Karnataka) and Surat (Gujarat) was arrested by the counter intelligence wing of the Andhra Pradesh Police in Hyderabad. The arrestee, identified as E. T. Zainudheen alias Abdul Sattar, a native of Malappuram District in Kerala, was actively involved in terror activities in different parts of the country. Sattar, a radio mechanic, is an expert in timer devices and prepared circuits placed with timers used for the Bangalore bomb blasts on July 25, 2008, a Police official said, adding, "We strongly suspect his role in last year''s Bangalore blasts. He also made timer devices for Surat bombs." Sattar was closely associated with Riyaz Bhatkal, a key leader of the IM, he said. During interrogation, Sattar confessed that he hosted Riyaz and Jabbar for two days in October 2008. "Jabbar escaped from Kashmir after the encounter of four Kerala youth with the Indian Army last year. He used to call Riyaz only through land phones," said the unnamed Police official.

The Maharashtra ATS filed charge-sheets against 11 accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai. The 4500 page charge-sheet lists 389 witnesses. The MCOCA court will give its order on it on January 21. The accused have been charged under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 326 and 324 (causing grievous hurt), 427 (damage up to INR 50), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

A group of 26 refugees, including 10 women and seven children, from Sri Lanka''s Vavuniya District reached the Paraiyadi coast near Rameswaram, official sources said. They were later sent to the Mandapam transit camp, officials said.

January 21: Five Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadres, identified as Mohammed Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Saquib Nissar and Mohammed Shakeel, were remanded to judicial custody till February 4 for their alleged involvement in the September 13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts. The court took cognizance of the chargesheet filed against them in the serial blasts in the Capital and posted the matter for February 4. The court also issued production warrants for January 29 against the alleged co-founder of the IM, Mohammed Sadiq Sheikh, and member, Quamuddin Kapadia, who are in Police custody in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

The special investigation team of the Kerala Police probing the alleged terror links in the State filed a chargesheet against 22 alleged terrorists before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court in Thalassery. The accused have been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. While four of the 22 accused were shot dead by the Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir, the whereabouts of five others, identified as Naseer, Shafas, Ibrahim Moulavi, Sabir alias Ayub and Umar Farooque, is yet to be ascertained. The Court, however, granted bail to Jaleel who was the first to be arrested on October 19, 2008 in connection with the investigation.

The influx of Sri Lankan refugees to Tamil Nadu saw a sudden increase in the last few weeks following escalation in the war between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. More than 100 refugees have arrived during the last 20 days. On January 20, a group of 27 refugees landed on the Kambipadu shore near Dhanushkodi in a fibreglass boat.

A letter purportedly written by the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed has threatened to blow up a dozen railway stations, including in Delhi, Meerut and Ghaziabad, cinema halls and the zoo in Delhi and target top politicians on Republic Day (January 26).

January 22: Two KCP militants, including their leader, were arrested by a combined force of Manipur Police, Army, Delhi Police and Bangalore Police in Bangalore city. The Army said, "Pursuant to its drive against the KCP cadres, the 57 Mountain Division, Manipur Police and Bangalore Police apprehended Leader of the KCP (City Meitei) in Bangalore yesterday." The militant leader confessed his identity as chief of City Meitei faction and Mobile Task Force of the KCP, Naorem Brojen. His confession led to the arrest of another cadre of City Meitei, identified as Naorem Ramesh Meitei, at Hennur Road in Bangalore on the same day.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) restructured two of its divisions, the Internal Security (IS) and Police, by assigning more senior officers to look into operational aspects of anti-terror and anti-Maoist efforts. The restructuring was also done in view of creation of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), set up recently to probe terror-related cases across the country, and the proposed expansion of paramilitary forces like the CISF, CRPF, NSG and BSF. Both the IS and Police wings of the MHA now have two divisions each, headed by joint secretaries. While one division of IS would look into communication monitoring, law and order, internal security schemes and terror outfits, the other would look after issues concerning extradition, prosecution sanction, VIP security, legal matters and arms related matters among others. "The Police division in the ministry, which is the cadre controlling authority of IPS [Indian Police Service] officers, will have two joint secretaries now in view of increased work pressure," Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said, adding, the NIA too would come under the IS division.

Germany held the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit LeT responsible for the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack but refrained from stating if other groups having al Qaeda links could also be involved. "Based on whatever investigations we have conducted till now, we feel it is Lashkar that is responsible for these attacks," president of Germany's Federal Police, Joerg Ziercke, told journalists In New Delhi. Ziercke also said that the LeT was active in Germany also but it did not pose any "operative risk". Adding there were two or three persons with suspected links with the LeT, who had undergone training in tribal areas of Pakistan but no investigation could be conducted there.

Times of India quoting the CRPF sources reports that the paramilitary force killed as many as 218 terrorists, including 103 in Jammu and Kashmir, arrested over 2,200 suspected terrorists, and recovered 8,744 kilograms of explosives during joint counter-terrorism (CT) operations with State Police forces across the country in 2008. CRPF spokesperson Ajay Chaturvedi said the paramilitary force also lost 67 of its personnel during CT operations. The report adds that though ammonium nitrate and gelatin sticks constitute the maximum of the explosives recovered by the force, the RDX, which is mainly brought by terrorists from across the border, account for over 800 kilograms of the seizures. During 2008, over 66,300 rounds of ammunition and 1,723 arms, including AK series rifles and Chinese pistols, were also seized by the force from Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and Maoist-affected States. "A maximum of 105 out of 270 encounters took place in Chhattisgarh where 26 Naxalites were killed, 303 apprehended and two surrendered, followed by Jharkhand where 56 encounters took place, 33 Naxalites were killed and 116 apprehended and 16 surrendered," the CRPF spokesperson said.

January 23: Two arrested LeT cadres, identified as Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Salahuddin, were remanded to Police custody till February 5 in connection with the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

January 25: Two suspected Pakistani terrorists on their way from Ghaziabad to New Delhi were intercepted and shot dead by a combined force of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police and the ATS during a pre-dawn encounter in Noida's sector 97 at about 2.15 am. A constable of the UP ATS was also injured in the encounter. "ATS was following a terrorist module for one and half months. Yesterday, ATS received information that two suspects with AK-47s have been seen in Lal Kuan, Ghaziabad on their way to Delhi," said Brij Lall, Additional Director General of UP Police. Police recovered two AK-47s, two hand grenades and a bag from the vehicle in which two terrorists were traveling. "Two AK-47 rifles, four magazines, 120 live bullets, five hand grenades, detonators, nine RDX shells, a Maruti 800 car, Pakistani passports, some documents and Rs 18,000 were recovered from the terrorists," he added.

Two children, Goutam Oraon and Ravi Oraon, were injured when a low intensity bomb exploded in the Sonapur area of Jalpaiguri District in West Bengal.

January 29: Pramod Muttalik, the founder of Hindu vigilante group Sri Ram Sene, who is currently in the custody of the Mangalore Police, could be interrogated by the Maharashtra ATS for his possible and alleged involvement in the September 29, 2008 Malegaon blast. A three-member ATS team was dispatched to question Pramod Muthalik in Mangalore, where he was produced in a court on January 29. "We have sent a team of officials to Mangalore to interrogate Mr Muttallik. It is likely that he is known to some of the key accused in the Malegaon blast including Lt. Col. Purohit, who he met in Pune. Mr Muttalik has reportedly also condoned the role of Sadhvi Pragya in the blast. We would like to know if he is in any way involved in the blast. So far we have not got any fresh leads," said an unnamed senior Maharashtra ATS officer.

January 30: The Maharashtra Government rejected Pakistan's claim that the lone captured LeT terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, is dead. The Additional Chief Secretary Chitkala Zutshi said: "Kasab is very much alive and in custody of Mumbai Police." Officials in the State Government said Pakistan was making such statements to divert attention from the main issue. Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor told Times of India that "Kasab is safe and sound with us."

February 2: The lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai multiple attacks of November 26, 2008, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, was remanded to Police custody till February 13 in connection with the hijack of a fishing trawler and killing of its crew.

February 3: The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that the Union Government is ready to examine any proposal from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) towards bringing an early solution to the Naga problem as long as the proposals are within the ambit of the Indian Constitution. "We are ready to examine any proposal as long as it is within the Constitution," he said at Chumukedima Police guesthouse in Dimapur.

February 4: The Ahmedabad city Police filed five more charge sheets in connection with the July 26, 2008 serial bomb blasts in which 57 people were killed. All the charge-sheets blame the IM and SIMI operatives for the explosions, Crime branch officials said. The documents give details of how the different IM modules worked in co-ordination to successfully execute the terrorist attack. "Roles of Gujarat, Mumbai, Delhi and Karnataka IM modules, who worked in tandem to carry out the attack, as well as that of each individual in the modules, have been described in detail in the documents," the Crime branch officials added.

A convoy of Indian construction workers came under attack from suspected Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan but no one was injured. A vehicle, carrying three Indians, was badly damaged when an improvised explosive device went off around 7.45 a.m. when the convoy was on its way to a construction site in Khost. The attackers also fired at the convoy of the workers of Indian company which is constructing a road between Khost and Gardez. Security Force personnel accompanying the convoy retaliated, forcing the attackers to flee, sources said.

February 5: A suspected LTTE militant, identified as Kamlesh, a citizen of Sri Lanka, was detained at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh. Police sources said that Kamlesh, a Tamilian, was to board a London-bound flight.

Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said in Paris that the terror organisers are clients of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency. Addressing the Institute Francais des Relations Internationales, he said, "The perpetrators planned, trained and launched their attacks from Pakistan, and the organisers were and remain clients and creations of the ISI,". "We, in India, are next to the epicentre of international terrorism in Pakistan," Menon added.

February 7: The Bangalore Police arrested nine Kerala-based terrorists of the IM outfit in connection with the July 25, 2008 serial bomb blasts. They were identified as Abdul Sattar alias Sainuddin, his son Sarfuddin, Abdul Jabber, Mujeeb Mohiddin, Faizal Abdul Rehman, Abdul Jaleel Moosa, Manaf Mohammad alias Rahees, Badruddin Noor Ahmed and Sakariya. Most of the arrested had been named in the charge-sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Thalassery. Four others from Kerala — Abdul Raheem, son-in-law of Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Fayas Hamsa, Fayis Abdul Rahaman and Mohammad Yasin alias Rimon — who were also involved in the case — were killed in an encounter with the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir when they were attempting to cross over to Pakistan between October 4 and October 7 in 2008.  Investigations revealed that the terrorists had formed a unit, the Shahbuddin Ghori Brigade, of the IM to orchestrate destructive activities in south India.

Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said that the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is "existing and active." The number of camps "on the other side" can "safely" be placed between 30 and 50, he said, adding that there had been a significant increase in such camps from 32 in 2005 to 53 in 2008. He mentioned that by and large most of these camps are located parallel along the Line of Control (LoC) and between 10 and 50 kilometers away from the LoC.

February 8: A high-powered Government panel said that the threat from the CPI-Maoist has increased due to their increasing militarization, acquisition of sophisticated firearms and access to technology of fabricating rockets and rocket launchers besides expertise in Improvised Explosive Devices.

February 9: An Indian from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu held captive by militants in Afghanistan for nearly four months is dead, his family and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi. P. Simon, employed in the Italian food chain Ciano International, was abducted in October 2008. The company had been negotiating with the captors belonging to an unnamed militant outfit, which had sought a ransom of USD 200000. However, the negotiations "to work out a reasonable ransom" reportedly failed to break the deadlock.

A SIMI cadre, identified as Amil Parvesh, a native of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, who was arrested by the Kerala Police from Indore in Madhya Pradesh in connection with his suspected role in the training camp of the outfit held in the Vagamon hills, was remanded by the Kanjirapally First Class Magistrate Court in Kottayam to 15 days Police custody.

The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in Kollam that a coastal Police station will be sanctioned for the Malappuram District soon. Inaugurating the State's first coastal Police station at Neendakara near Kollam, he said that there was no reason why Malappuram District should be left out. The community policing system already implemented in 20 Police stations would be extended to another 20 Police stations this year.

A top al Qaeda commander, who was reported killed in a US drone strike in 2008, has appeared in a 20-minute video in Arabic received by BBC in London, warning India of more Mumbai-style terror attacks if it tried to attack Pakistan. "India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan," Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, reportedly to be al Qaeda''s military commander in Afghanistan and ranked behind Number 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri. Yazid, who the Pakistani military said may have been killed in August 2008, in the Bajaur Agency, said: "The Mujahideen will sunder your armies into the ground, like they did to the Russians in Afghanistan" he said and added, "They will target your economic centres and raze them to the ground." The al Qaeda leader is said to have been involved in a number of terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Danish embassy bombings, in Pakistan and had claimed the responsibility of assassinating former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

February 10: The Criminal Investigation Department of Mumbai Police arrested an aide of underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim, identified as Vijay Krishnaji, from Jai Prakash Nagar area in Behrampur in Orissa.

February 11: 18 Pakistani nationals were arrested along with two boats by the Indian Coast Guard near the Jakhau coast in Kutch District. An official spokesman said the fishermen were taken to Jakhau, where after preliminary investigation they would be handed over to the Kutch Police for questioning. It was the second time in the last few days that Pakistani boats were found in the Indian territorial waters and seized. Three boats with 24 Pakistani nationals were reportedly seized near the Jakhau port last week.

The arrested SIMI militant, Amil Parvesh, confessed at Wagamon in Kerala that he had given training in bomb-manufacture to around 40 cadres, who had participated in the SIMI camp in the pine forests. 27 year-old Amil Parvesh, a native of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, is said to be an expert in the making of bombs and was allegedly involved in the Bangalore serial blasts.

February 13: The Bangalore Police arrested two unidentified Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadres from an unspecified place in the capital city for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Sources said that the main accused in the Bangalore blasts case, Abdul Sattar, who is presently in Police custody, had revealed the whereabouts of the other two accused during interrogation. These militants, along with Abdul Sattar, are reported to be part of the Shahabuddin Brigade, a south India module of the IM.

India said certain actions taken by Pakistan with regard to the Mumbai terror attacks were a "positive development." It, however, urged Islamabad to take credible action of dismantling the terror infrastructure on its territory. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) offered to share "whatever" it can after examining the issues raised by Pakistan in its communication to the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad. "They are still in the process of investigating the attacks, and have taken certain actions, including the arrest of some of those involved, and filing a first information report. This is a positive development," the MEA said. The MEA stated that the information was communicated "officially" by the Pakistan Foreign Secretary to the dossier that India gave to Pakistan on January 5. "The Government of India will now examine the issues raised in the response by Pakistan. After that examination, we will share whatever we can with Pakistan," said the statement.

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, the lone LeT militant arrested during the Mumbai terrorist attack on November 26, 2008, was remanded to Police custody till February 26, in connection with the bomb blast in a taxi at Vile Parle.

The US asked the United Nation to declare a Pakistani national, Asif Kasmani, as an international terrorist, for his involvement in the February 2007 Samjhauta Express bomb blasts. Kasmani is considered to be a link between the LeT and al Qaeda. The reasons cited by US to get Kasmani declared an international terrorist are his involvement in the Samjhauta Express blasts. 66 persons, including some Pakistani nationals, were killed and 13 others injured in explosions in two coaches of the Delhi-Attari special train on February 19, 2007.

February 15: Police recovered seven locally-made bombs from a vacant land near the Port Complex in Puducherry. The bombs concealed in a bag were recovered after the local people informed the Police about the presence of the "suspicious looking" bag, sources said.

February 17: A "brief statement'''' on "activities and achievements'''' of the Ministry of Defence released, mentioned that the Army killed 330 terrorists and arrested 172 others in Jammu and Kashmir in 2008, while it neutralised 717 United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants in Assam. Moreover, relentless operations by the Army and Assam Rifles in Manipur led to 209 militants of various outfits being killed, and another 863 being arrested, during the year. The statement also mentioned that the Army''s counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir successfully targeted the terrorist leadership, killing 60 middle-level leaders during 2008.

The Mumbai Police filed a 1,809-page chargesheet against 21 militants of the IM who engineered bomb blasts across the country since 2005. The accused have been charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967, the Information Technology Act 2000, and the Arms Act. Most of the accused are from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and are well-qualified professionals. The chargesheet states that "The Indian Mujahideen wanted to have bases in Mumbai and Maharashtra and therefore hired premises (in Sewree Cross Lane, Mumbai) and in Ashoka Mews and Kamaldeep Apartment at Kondhwa (Khurd) in Pune. Regular meetings were held at these premises for planning and carrying out terrorist operations and to harbour their members." The IM, an offshoot of the SIMI, was responsible for bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Surat and Hyderabad. The IM’s media cell had its headquarters in Pune, conducted recces of places, hacked Wi-Fi networks in the city and sent threatening emails under its banner and from the email id ‘ alarbi.alhindi@gmail.com’ before and after the blasts, the chargesheet added. Six persons are wanted in the case, including the masterminds Riyaz Bhatkal alias Roshan Khan alias Aziz alias Ahmadbhai his brother Iqbal Bhatkal alias Mohammad bhai, and Amir Raza, the head of the IM. The chargesheet states that Raza was assisted by the SIMI and LeT. He formed the Sahabbuddin Brigade for attacks in the south, Mohammad Gajnavi brigade for attacks in the north, Shaheed-al-Zarkavi brigade for attacks on VVIPs and media groups. Riyaz gave the orders to the militants while Iqbal played a key role in indoctrination. Non-bailable warrants have been obtained for 13 militants in the chargesheet.

Intelligence sources confirmed that Taliban pose a threat to India. Sources revealed that the Taliban have plans to attack western cultural centres in Indian cities. However, no specific intelligence inputs on the nature of the threat, the specific target, the timing or the group have been received. In the view of current security situation prevailing in Pakistan, security has been increased in foreign mission and other places of interest of western countries in India, the report said.

February 18: The Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said that terrorists may use shipping containers for the movement of nuclear weapons and called for augmented safety measures at ports. "Container is the most likely means for the terrorist organisations for illegal transporting of nuclear weapons. Hence, the serious concerns about container security," Mehta told reporters at a seminar on "Port Sector - Developments and Security" in New Delhi. He said the country from where a container leaves should issue safety certificates. "Countries should certify that whichever container leaves the port is safe," Mehta added.  

February 19: The Mumbai Police has obtained crucial evidence from the FBI, the internal investigation agency of US, which indicates that the plot to execute the 26/11 terrorist attack was hatched in Pakistan. A three-member team led by the Deputy Inspector General Deven Bharti received the evidence that also include the information collected by the FBI, which it had gathered by sending its team to Pakistan. This evidence, ranging from details of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), satellite phones used by terrorists, exchange of emails, intercepts and forensic examination of bullets used by attackers and others substantiates the links between the terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan. The FBI is believed to have got minute details of the VoIP services and satellite phones, which the terrorists used to call up their leaders in Pakistan. The forensic examination of the bullets used by the terrorists in Mumbai was also a part of the evidence gathered from FBI.

The Intelligence Bureau has warned at least six State Governments of potential LeT attacks against power grids and hydro-electric projects across the country. According to the report, the LeT has recently collected information regarding these projects and grid stations.

The Guardian reports that Mumbai was one of the 320 worldwide locations on the list of potential targets for commando-style terror strikes. The report suggested that the LeT, the outlawed terrorist group that planned much of the attack from Pakistan, "had ambitions well beyond causing mayhem in India". "Western intelligence agencies have accessed the computer and email account of Lashkar’s communications chief, Zarar Shah, and found a list of possible targets, only 20 of which were in India," Guardian reported. Two of the November 2008 attack’s key planners – Shah and Lashkar’s operations chief, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi – are now in police custody in Pakistan, it said.The Guardian also said "there has been some speculation that raids in Spain which netted 12 men – an Indian and 11 Pakistanis – were a result of the investigations into Lashkar’s role in the Mumbai attacks".

February 20: The FBI investigations into the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attack had revealed that payments were made from Pakistan for the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) card from Callphonex of the US, which the terrorists used in the November 26 attacks in Mumbai. VoIP allows one to make cheap phone calls over the Internet and payment for it can be made by wire transfer from anywhere in the world. ‘‘We have traced the financial transactions to Pakistan,’’ a senior FBI official said.

February 22: The officials of the United States’ FBI questioned two LeT militants, Fahim Arshad Ansari and Shahbuddin, arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in 2008, and confronted them with the lone surviving terrorist of Mumbai multiple attacks, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab. During the questioning, Ansari, a resident of Navi Mumbai, allegedly told his interrogators about his training in Pakistan, including the 21-day ''Daura Aam'' (ordinary tour) basic combat course which was followed by a rigorous three-month advanced ''Daura Khaas'' (special tour) and later by ''Daura-e-Ribat'' (intelligence course).

MHA sources said that Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa together accounts for about 86 per cent of incidents related to the CPI-Maoist and casualties, including both civilian and SF personnel, in the country. In the 1,591 incidents in 2008, the number being slightly higher than those in the previous year, 231 SF personnel and 490 civilians were killed, MHA sources said. Chhattisgarh accounted for the highest number of 620 incidents, followed by 484 incidents in Jharkhand, 164 in Bihar and 103 in Orissa. In Chhattisgarh, 85 SF personnel and 157 civilians lost their lives in Maoist violence in 2008, while in Jharkhand the corresponding figures were 38 Policemen and 169 civilians. Bihar accounted for the deaths of 21 SF personnel and 52 civilians and for Orissa the respective figures were 73 SF personnel and 28 civilians. Figures available till first week of February 2009 show that 53 incidents of Maoist violence have already taken place in Chhattisgarh, followed by 48 in Jharkhand, 17 in Bihar and 10 in Orissa. Maharashtra has accounted for 15 incidents, including the one in Gadchiroli on February 1, in which 15 Policemen were killed.

February 24: In a report submitted in the Parliament, the Standing Committee on Defence recommended to constitute a "Federal Central Intelligence Agency", which will also have a military espionage network under its control. The report stated, "Lack of coordination among different intelligence gathering agencies including those of the military intelligence resulted in the loss of precious lives of defence service and police forces personnel as well as those of civilians". In its recommendation to the Government, the committee said immediate steps must be taken to constitute a central espionage agency that will also have the tri-service (Indian Army, Indian Air force, Indian Navy) intelligence gathering network under its gambit. It asked the Government to put in place an effective mechanism for establishing better coordination between the Coast Guard and Navy. It also asked the Government to set up a committee to "reorganise, reform and restructure the armed forces" on the basis of the Kargil review committee report and a Group of Ministers report on security of 2001.

The Union Ministry for Home Affairs reported that the Union Government’s policies for rehabilitation of militants in Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern and left-wing extremists (LWE) affected States have resulted in the surrender of more than 1,500 Maoists and Islamist militants in 2008. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament), the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sriprakash Jaiswal, said that out of 1,550 left-wing extremists and militants who surrendered in 2008, a maximum of 724 were from Assam. Among a total of 710 surrendered Maoists and militants, 38 surrendered in Jammu and Kashmir, 325 in Tripura, 197 in Andhra Pradesh and 150 in Maharashtra, Jaiswal added. The Minister also said over 2,000 left-wing extremists have surrendered across the country in the past three years with Andhra Pradesh alone recording surrender of 651 extremists between 2006 and 2008. Though the worst extremist affected State Chhattisgarh topped the list with the surrender of as many as 901 CPI-Maoist in a single year in 2006, Andhra Pradesh remained the most consistent during 2006-08. It recorded 282 surrenders in 2006, 162 in 2007 and 197 in 2008.

February 25: The Mumbai Police filed a chargesheet against 47 accused persons in the case of November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. The 47 include 35 wanted LeT terrorists from Pakistan, the lone arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab and arrested Indian nationals Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Sabahuddin. The 11, 280 pages chargesheet includes the names of trainers, people aboard Al-Husseini (the ship which sailed from Karachi carrying the terrorists), those involved in purchasing boats, and those who were present at training and lodging sites. At a press conference in Mumbai, the Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Police, Rakesh Maria, named top LeT leaders Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, Abu Hamza, Abu Kaahfa, Zarar Shah and Hafiz Mohammed Saeed among the 35 listed. The wanted list also has names of two Pakistan army personnel, including a Major-General. However, it had to be ascertained whether these two belonged to the army or to the LeT hierarchy, Maria said. The chargesheet contains 2202 witness statements, including those of officers of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. It incorporates forensic evidence, fingerprint reports, and documentary and oral evidence collected in India and abroad. Transcripts of communication among the terrorists and their handlers, CallPhonex and Global Positioning System (GPS) records, and purchase and sale details of the Yamaha outboard motor also constitute the evidence. Maria said that the terrorist attacks were the handiwork of the LeT. The role of its marine wing was established after the trawler Kuber was taken over. However, the chargesheet did not mention any role of Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the ISI

February 26: The local court in Hubli in Karnataka extended the judicial custody of 17 suspected SIMI cadres till April 1. The 17 cadres include SIMI leaders Safdar Nagori and Qamaruddin.

In order to boost major infrastructure development in eight left-wing extremist affected States - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh - the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting, approved projects worth INR 73 billion for the construction of 7,471 kilometers of roads in 33 identified Districts where violence was reported from more than 20 percent of the Police Stations in 2007-08. "A comprehensive road development programme in these Districts has been drawn up. The Planning Commission has been requested to make as much funds available as possible in 2009-10," said the Union Minister for Home Affairs P. Chidambaram after the CCEA meeting. The roads to be constructed in these States will include 1,320 Kilometers of National Highways, 4,560 Kilometers of State highways and District roads and 1,591 Kilometers of rural roads. Depending upon the availability of funds, road works would be prioritized by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the concerned States, Chidambaram added.  

February 27: A top Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadre, identified as Sadiq Sheikh, who is in Maharashtra ATS custody, revealed the modus operandi of the Delhi blasts on October 29, 2005, and Mumbai blasts on July 11, 2006. "All five of us arranged local train passes for the first class compartments beforehand. We also had local train-timetable with us so that we could find out the train as per our convenience," said Sadiq in the recorded confession. "We purchased bags and pressure cookers in Mumbai. On the day of blast that is on 11 July, 2006, all five of us assembled and we filled seven cookers with explosives. We kept the bombs ready. We had planned the bomb to blast at 6:30 pm," he confessed. He also confessed to masterminding the pre-Diwali blasts in Delhi on October 29, 2005, saying "Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj, Govindpuri were the targets for the blast. We used to stay in a flat at Jasola. Atif, Shadab, Aarij, Shakeel and Sakib were involved in the group. I used to accompany them in making bombs. I and Atif were now trained in making bombs. I left for my native place before the Delhi blast and on the day itself I got the news of the blasts in the Capital city." Sadiq was one of the first IM cadres to be arrested by Mumbai Police in October 2008. His interrogation led to the subsequent arrests of 20 other IM cadres. The ATS had secured the custody of Sadiq on February 21, 2009, in connection with the July 2006 serial blasts.

Two suspected SIMI cadres, identified as Shibili and Hafeez Hussain, who were arrested for reportedly attending a secret training camp held by the outfit in 2007, were remanded to a 15-day judicial custody. About 40 cases were pending against the duo in various parts of the country, including in Gujarat, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Malegaon in Maharashtra. Nearly 40 SIMI cadres had participated in the camp for about three days, the Police mentioned, adding that till date, ten cadres were arrested in this connection.

The Delhi Police filed two fresh chargesheets in connection with the September 13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blast case, registered at Connaught Place and Tilak Marg Police stations. The two chargesheets accused Abu Al-Kama, a Pakistan-based LeT ‘commander’, who is suspected to be involved in the 2005 Sarojini Nagar and other bomb blasts in Delhi, and was termed as one of the conspirators. The two chargesheets also named IM terrorists, Mohammed Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Saquib Nissar, Mohammed Shakeel, Mohammed Sadiq Sheikh, Quamuddin Kapadia and Mohammed Hakim, as the accused. According to Police, the bombs at Central Park in Connaught Place, which claimed three lives and left 39 injured, were planted by accused Saif, Zia, Sajid and Khalid. Out of the four, Sajid and Khalid are still absconding. The Police also claimed that the bombs recovered from a dustbin near India Gate were planted by Mirza Shadab Beg and Shahzad, who are still at large.

February 28: An Indian Mujahideen militant, identified as Mohammed Mansoor Ashgar Peerbhoy, was sent to 10 days Police custody by a Delhi court. Peerbhoy, a former computer engineer in Yahoo India, is accused of sending emails on behalf of the outfit about several bomb blasts in the country.

March 1: According to investigators of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had plans to set up an operational base in a rented accommodation in the posh Colaba area in south Mumbai in early 2008 to coordinate the 26/11 terror plan. The plan could not materialize because of some reasons, and finally the base was set up in Room Number 14 at Batatawala Chawl in Nagpada, also in south Mumbai.

According to the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police on February 25, maps of target locations of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks were handed over to the LeT commanders in Nepal. Nepal was chosen for exchanging the maps because it was a rendezvous point for the LeT, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria, adding, with no visa restrictions on the entry of Indians into Nepal, it was a convenient transit venue for the outfit’s activities. The role of two Indian nationals, Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Sabahuddin, is the only instance of local involvement in the case as per the chargesheet. Nine maps were prepared by Ansari, which were handed over to Sabahuddin in Kathmandu in Nepal some time in January 2008. The latter in turn passed them on to LeT operatives, identified as Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Kaahfa.

March 3: Two persons, including a minor girl, were injured when a grenade exploded at a scrap shop in the Allahabad District.

A team of the Research and Analysis Wing (R and AW) tracked down an absconding accused in the Bangalore serial blasts case in Muscat, and sneaked him out of Oman, since India doesn''t have an extradition treaty with that country. Sarfaraz Nawaz, 32, who allegedly played a major role in financing the Bangalore blasts, had reportedly sought refuge in Muscat. Investigating officials told that an R and AW team managed to track down Nawaz in Muscat. They added that Nawaz was ''smuggled into'' Bangalore on a chartered aircraft and the Bangalore Police are currently questioning him. Abdul Sattar, the prime accused in the case, had revealed Nawaz''s role in the serial blasts during his interrogation. Nawaz was reportedly close to Riyaz Bhatkal, a key LeT operative, who later took over the charge of the Indian Mujahideen.

The Pakistan Army and ISI, Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, have set up a dedicated communication network inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) for terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir, intelligence sources said in New Delhi,. "Dedicated communication towers have been set up in Tum, Nikral, Samani and Zaffarwal in PoK for assistance to terrorists operating in Poonch, Rajauri, Naushera and Kathua regions respectively," intelligence sources said. The communication network developed in PoK includes wireless radio communication for point-to-point basis using radio sets. "With the help of these radio sets, similar to the ones used by our troops, terrorists communicate with their contacts in India and also with their handlers sitting across the border," Pakistan Army sources revealed. The revelation from intelligence agencies comes after the chargesheet of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack named Colonel Sadatullah of the Pakistan Army as an accused. Sadatullah was allegedly in touch with the terrorists involved during the Mumbai attack.

March 4: An Indian Mujahideen militant, identified as Asif Bashir Sheikh, was remanded to nine days Police custody by a city court in Delhi. He was reportedly a member of the IM’s media cell and accused of translating the email drafts sent to different media houses immediately before the serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and Delhi.

Investigations into the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks have revealed that Mazhar Iqbal, a resident of Mandi tehsil (revenue division) of Punjab province in Pakistan, was code-named as Abu Al Qama by the LeT, official sources said. The central security agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) carried out detailed interrogation of LeT terrorists arrested worldwide to know the identity of Abu Al Qama. The other LeT terrorist identified by the security agencies was Zarar Shah whose actual name is Abdul Wajid, a resident of Sheikhpura District of Punjab province in Pakistan, the sources said. Iqbal, who reportedly is in-charge of LeT operations in India except Jammu and Kashmir, is wanted in other cases including the Red Fort encounter, attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat and serial bombings on the eve of Diwali festival in 2005 in national capital Delhi.

March 6: The Kolkata Police arrested a suspected LeT explosives expert, identified as Abu Taher alias Mohammad Zakaria, at Sealdah railway station when he was stepping out of Lalgola Passenger train. Taher confessed that he had fled to Rajshahi in Bangladesh in 1997 after carrying out low-intensity blasts in Delhi, Ludhiana in Punjab and Rohtak in Haryana. Taher is reportedly close to the LeT’s Bangladesh chief, Abdul Karim Tunda, who had sent him to the LeT headquarters in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan to be trained in handling explosives.

March 8: An important SIMI leader, Sarfaraz Navaz, who reportedly funded the Bangalore serial bomb blasts on July 25, 2008, confessed during interrogation that the LeT was behind the July 25, 2008 Bangalore bomb blasts. Sarfaraz, who hails from Ernakulam in Kerala, was earlier arrested by the Research and Analysis Wing from Muscat in Oman on March 3. He was sent to Police custody till March 14. According to Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari, Sarfaraz collected about INR 320000 from like-minded people ahead of the bomb blasts. He also took part in reconnaissance of various spots and attempted to send a suspected terrorist involved in the blast across the border to train with the LeT in Pakistan. "Sarfaraz has links with LeT and has been in touch with Wali a.k.a. Rehan, a key member of LeT. We are sure that some more men will be picked up based on information provided by him," the Commissioner said. Sarfaraz reportedly completed a three-year course (1995-98) at Nadwat-ul-Ulema (Institute of Islamic Scholarship) in Lucknow and joined as office secretary at the SIMI head office in New Delhi in 2000. Subsequently, he kept in touch with SIMI leaders from Kerala as he traveled to Muscat and Oman for work.

Special Task Force (STF) sources said that the LeT has opened a new wing to create unrest in India’s Northeast and the Districts of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh. This was discerned after interrogation of a LeT militant, identified as Abu Taher, who was arrested from the Sealdah station in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, on March 6, a senior STF officer said. "The Lashkar-e-Toiba had opened a new wing named Tanzeen-e-Mohammedi, especially to create unrest in Northeast and the Districts of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh. Abu Taher was specially deputed by the LeT to develop a strong organisation for the purpose," the officer said.

March 9: The first hearing of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attack case would start from March 23 in the Arthur Road jail premises of Mumbai. The Special Sessions Court set up at the jail would convene for the first hearing of the case, according to an order by the Metropolitan Magistrate N. Shrimangale.

A trial court in Delhi remanded an IM cadre, identified as Mohammed Mansoor Ashgar Peerbhoy, to seven-day Police custody. He was accused of sending emails on behalf of the outfit about various bomb blasts across the country.

March 12: A city court in New Delhi sent two IM terrorists, identified as Mobin Kader Sheikh and Asif Bashir Sheikh, to five-day Police custody in connection with the September 13, 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts case. The duo reportedly helped the prime accused, Mohammed Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, in sending the e-mails to different media houses minutes before the serial bomb blasts at Delhi and Ahmedabad.

March 15: The Government of Rajasthan has approved setting up of 15 new counter-intelligence units after restructuring the special branch of Police. These units will work in close co-ordination with the ATS and intelligence department. The Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), M. K. Devrajan, said the structure of the units is being prepared. "The idea is to cope with the intelligence used by terrorists," he added.

March 16: A city court in New Delhi remanded three IM cadres, including computer engineer Mohammad Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, to 14-days judicial custody. They were reportedly members of the IM's media cell and allegedly drafted the e-mails relating to serial bomb blasts across the country.

March 17: 185 people from Kerala were reportedly selected by the LeT and provided preliminary training at camps conducted in various centres in Kannur and Ernakulam. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the terror link to Kerala obtained this information from three Kashmiri youngsters, identified as Fiyaz Ahammed (26), Sajad Ahammed Reshi alias Hanzulla and Shabbir Ahammed Tali alias Abu Saquib (20). These three youngsters took part in the terror camp organised by the LeT in Kupwara and Dorusa forest areas in Kashmir during October 2008, along with a five-member team from Kerala. The Lashkar camp had 17 members, including seven Pakistanis and three Kashmiris. Yasin, Fayaz, Shakeer alias Rahim and Fayiz who were killed in encounters with the Police in Kashmir and Abdul Jabbar, who had escaped the scene, constituted the militants’ team sent from Kerala to Kashmir. "The Malayalis joined the camp in the second week of September. Shakeer alias Rahim was their leader. He could speak Urdu," said Fiaz Ahammed. Shabbir Ahammed Tali told the Police that 180 more youngsters were waiting in Kerala after the preliminary training to join the Jihad. "One Ustad had indoctrinated them," said Tali.

March 18: Two civilians, identified as trader Sanatan Das and Akhil Adhikary, were killed and at least 17 others were injured when a powerful bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded at a busy marketplace in the Alipurduar town of Jalpaiguri District in West Bengal. Police suspected the involvement of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) - its "10th batch trained in Bangladesh - and the ULFA in the blast to destabilize North Bengal before the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) election.

The Kerala Police recovered 34 locally made bombs during a search operation near Panur in the Kannur District.

The Punjab Police neutralised an ISI sponsored espionage ring with the arrest of four persons, including two of them with a terrorist background. The arrestees were identified as Naib Singh, Baldev Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Randhir Singh, all residents of different villages in the Faridkot District. Naib Singh and Baldev Singh have a terrorist background and several cases under The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) ACT, 1987, were registered against them, a Punjab Police spokesman said. Sensitive documents relating to important military installations, photographs, charts, movements of military units, diaries containing Pakistani telephone numbers and mobile phones and fake currency of the face value of INR 20,000 were seized from the possession of the arrested persons.

The Bhakra Nangal Dam located on the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border is on the radar of terrorist outfits, including that of the Pakistan-based LeT, intelligence sources said in Chandigarh. Intelligence inputs spoke of a possible terrorist attack on the dam, the sources said adding security had been beefed up around the vital installation.

Intelligence agencies have sounded an alert about Pakistan-based terrorist groups plotting to target Indian leaders in the run-up to the general elections scheduled to be held in April and May. Top level Government sources said, "The aim apparently is to target certain leaders", including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janta Party leader L.K. Advani, Gujarat Chief Minister (CM) Narendra Modi, Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah and former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa.

March 19: Shawaz Ismail (27), a former Pakistan Rangers soldier, who was apparently headed for Kashmir to ‘revive’ the Al-Badr militant group was arrested in the vicinity of Writers’ Buildings in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. This is the second such arrest in the city in less than a fortnight. Earlier on March 6, LeT explosives expert Abu Taher was arrested from the Sealdah railway station. Shawaz Ismail is reported to have confessed to having served with the Pakistani border guards - service number R39409. He also admitted to be an Al Badr operative. Security sources said he was going to replace the outfit’s head of operations in Kashmir. Investigation has revealed that Ismail was sent from Karachi to Bangladesh a few months ago. From Dhaka, he moved to the India-Bangladesh border a couple of days ago and sneaked in through the Rajshahi-Malda corridor on March 18. After entering India, Ismail boarded a Howrah-bound train from Murshidabad. Security Forces arrested him in the busy BBD Bag area. Additional Commissioner of Police (STF), Rajeev Kumar, said Ismail was supposed to take a train from Howrah to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Police neutralized 26 illegal mini gun factories across six Districts of Bihar and seized firearms and ammunition during pre-election operations launched in Bihar.

March 20: Security was stepped up in all the three international airports in Kerala following an alert about the LTTE threat to the key installations, Police sources said in capital Thiruvananthapuram. The Air India Security office in Thiruvananthapuram reportedly received the alert message from its Mumbai office.

March 23: Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman alias Kasab, the lone arrested LeT militant in the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks, acknowledged before the trial judge that he was a Pakistani national and also accepted the proposal of a Government-provided lawyer to defend him.

March 26: The Udhamsingh Nagar Police neutralised an illegal arms factory in the jungles of Tanda near Pant Nagar area in Uttarakhand. One person, identified as Abdul Hanif, was arrested in this connection.

Intelligence sources said that the LeT is planning to infiltrate its trained cadres through the fenced borders in Rajasthan and Punjab to carry out subversion during the general elections scheduled to be held in April and May 2009. An unnamed MHA official said, "The LeT, which lost 17 of its cadre in an encounter with Army in Hafruda forest area of Kupwara District in J&K in the past few days, may try to push in its men through the fenced border - the way it did in Kanachak in Jammu sector last year. Their plan is to send small batch of jihadis for quick action in Rajasthan and Punjab, instead of focusing only on the Kashmir Valley."

March 29: The Union Government has alerted the Kerala State Police of the possible infiltration of about 15 cadres of the Bangladesh-based Jama''atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) outfit into India through the southern sea shores by the end of March 2009. ''The message came from the Ministry of Home Affairs and we had immediately alerted all the agencies concerned, including the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Enforcement,'' said a top Police officer. According to intelligence inputs received by the State intelligence wing, about 30 suspected JMB militants, aged less than 28, have landed in Negombo area of Sri Lanka recently. About 10 to 15 of these cadres were reportedly located in Udappuwa, about 40 kilometres north of Negombo. The leader of the group is said to be Moosa Jaleel alias Ravi, a narcotic smuggler, who was providing logistic support to the group in Sri Lanka. Jaleel is also known to be operating from Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts.'

March 30: E. T. Zainudheen alias Abdul Sattar, who was a key operative in the suspected terrorist network having links with the LeT, was sent to the Police's SIT custody till April 13 for interrogation in connection with the ongoing investigation into the operations of terrorist recruitment modules in the State.

Security has been beefed up across all prominent hotels in Mumbai after Hotel Taj Mahal Palace in south Mumbai and the group''s seaside resort on the outskirts of Chennai, the Fisherman''s Cove, received two threat e-mails each. The Internet Protocol (IP) address of the e-mails was traced to Rawalpindi in Pakistan by the State ATS. All Taj Group hotels across the country are also said to have been placed on a high alert. The first threat e-mail was sent simultaneously to Mumbai and Chennai from sania_shfq@yahoo.com at around 1.15pm (IST). According to Mumbai Police sources, the e-mail ID was created in 2006. "The email was sent to the group''s internet address for reservations," said a Police officer. A second set of e-mails were sent soon thereafter, but unlike the first e-mail, they weren''t identical. However, the e-mail sent to Fisherman''s Cove contained a digital thumb impression and a few cartoon images.

April 3: The arrested LeT cadre, Sarfaraz Nawaz, revealed during interrogation that the outfit plans to target senior scientists and engineers of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), especially those working on the space programme. Nawaz was brought to Bangalore recently from Muscat, capital of Oman, in connection with the probe into the Bangalore serial bomb blasts in July 25, 2008. Nawaz named a Pakistani terrorist, Jasim, as saying that the LeT planned to send terrorists to target the scientists, including ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair. Jasim also named a woman Muslim scientist from Uttar Pradesh working on the Agni missile project as a potential target. Officials said Nawaz’s statement had detailed accounts of how the terrorists in Kerala operated on instructions from their leaders in Pakistan and Gulf. The Police said, "Nawaz attended a meeting with Jasim and Ali, both members of LeT in Muscat. Things like how to carry out terror activities in India came up during discussions. This included attacks on top scientists. Nawaz told us that these things were at a discussion level during meetings in Muscat."

Four persons were detained from the southern Chennai suburb of Thiruvanmaiyur by the SFs neutralising yet another LTTE ring that sought to smuggle war material to the outfit. The detainees included a LTTE cadre identified as Sahanthan who belonged to the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka. He had arrived in India about a year ago and his mission was to coordinate activities aimed at supplying the LTTE war material, sources told. Detained along with him was a British national of Sri Lankan origin, Jayanathan, who flew into Tamil Nadu recently and who reportedly has had links with the LTTE in the past. The other two detainees were identified as Babu of Rameswaram and Guhan of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Both are Indians and said to be linked to the Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a pro-LTTE group in Tamil Nadu that is now allied to the ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam. Seized from them were several satellite telephones, Global Positioning System, night vision devices as well as medicines. It is the first action on the LTTE in 2009 in Tamil Nadu.

April 5: A LeT militant, identified as Shahanawaz alias Chandan, was arrested by the Special Task Force from Lalgola in the Murshidabad District. Shahanawaz, an explosives expert, reportedly hails from Raghunathganj in Mushidabad. Police records show that he was also involved in human trafficking earlier.

April 8: The Reserve Bank of India has alerted all the banks in Kerala to step up security following intelligence reports that the LTTE militants might attempt bank robbery. According to bank sources, a note has been circulated to authorities of all major banks, including the State Bank of India, telling them that "LTTE has plans to attempt bank dacoity" and wanted their branches to be on alert to take "preventive measures". Intelligence reports said that LTTE might infiltrate into the State through the coast and might try to loot banks to boost their financial resources.

An Indian Mujahideen (IM) militant, identified as Mohammed Arif Badruddin Shaikh, who made bombs for the outfit has said in his confession that he was taught how to make bombs by a Pakistan Army Major, identified as Nasar. Arif said he was sent to Pakistan in May 2005 via Bangladesh and after landing in Karachi he was taken to an unknown location. "The training camp in-charge was Major Nasar... Apart from guns we were taught how to make high and low intensity bombs," Arif has stated in his confession. The bomb maker has said he was sent to Pakistan on a fake Bangladeshi passport and entered the country through a flight from Dhaka. Later, he returned to India through the Bangladesh border, Arif said. After his explosives training, he first made timers for bombs that were used in the October 29, 2005 Delhi bomb blasts, Arif said, adding he made two sets of timers in January and February 2006 which were used in the blasts at the Sankatmochan temple and Varanasi Railway Station in March 7, 2006.

The Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and her children - Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra - face a threat from the banned LTTE prompting the Union Home Ministry to issue an alert to States to provide tight security cover during their visits. The ministry has issued a general alert asking the director generals of police of all States to maintain strict vigil when the Gandhi family members travel to the States. Officials said the alert specifically asked the southern States to keep a close watch of the visit of Gandhi family keeping in mind that the LTTE had carried out an attack on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, assassinating him during the run-up for elections in 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

April 9: The Kannur Police recovered seven locally made bombs and two swords during raids in different parts of the District. The Police team found the bombs inside a plastic bag from a pit at Kolari under the Mattannur Police station limits.

An Indian Mujahideen (IM) militant, identified as Mohammad Saddik Shaikh, has revealed that Pakistan had rewarded the financier of the outfit to carry out terrorist activity in India. The revelation was made in the confessional statement opened by the Special MCOCA court in Mumbai. "Amir Raza, financier of IM, was paid handsomely by high ranking officials from the Pakistan Army to conduct terrorist operations in India," Saddik said in the statement. According to the statement, Saddik had gone to Pakistan in 2003 where he met Colonel Atif, who had given him two envelopes to be delivered to Raza. Raza used to transfer money through the Western Union Money Transfer firm and hawala (informal money transfer system) for conducting weapon and explosives training in Pakistan and for other IM requirements. Saddik reportedly first visited Pakistan after the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and underwent training. From February 2005 to September 2008, the IM conducted blasts in several cities like Gorakhpur, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Surat, Saddik has said in his confession. The confessional statement also revealed that IM militants used the information and photographs posted on matrimonial websites to get themselves fake student Identity cards, which could be used to procure fake driving licenses. An IM cadre and a computer professional Anik Sayyed, in his confessional statement recorded by the magistrate in October 2008, has said that he downloaded photos from websites like Shaadi.com and Bharti.com and used them on forged documents. Anik also said that he also used information from the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited telephone directory to forge details for procuring SIM cards.

April 10: The Pune Police arrested a gangster, identified as Asif Dadhi alias Asif Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh, from the Laltopi Nagar area in Pune. Asif was suspected to have links with radical Islamic groups, including the banned SIMI, and the underworld. The Police have recovered a pistol, two live cartridges and a mobile phone, all worth INR 54000, from his possession.

April 11: A senior BJP leader and former Union Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, received a death threat from the Indian Mujahideen (IM), warning him against contesting the ensuing Lok Sabha (Lower house of Parliament) elections. The letter warned Joshi, a BJP candidate from the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh against holding meetings and chanting Har Har Mahadev (a Hindu slogan). The letter, reportedly written in broken Hindi and ped at a local media office, was a photocopy with no name of the sender, but with Commander IM inscribed in it in the end, sources said.

April 12: The Madhya Pradesh Police arrested an Indian Mujahideen (IM) cadre, identified as Saif ur Rahman, from a Mumbai-bound train in Jabalpur. Rehman was a resident of Azamgarh and reportedly planted bombs in Jaipur on May 13, 2008 and in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008. Rehman became a IM cadre after 2005 and was trained to plant bombs and explosives after conducting a recce of potential targets, said an officer. His modus operandi was to purchase a bicycle, plant bombs on it and then posing as a student, park it at a local railway station.

April 12-13: The West Bengal Police arrested a HuJI-B militant, identified as Mufti Ibrahim, from an apartment at Ashwini Nagar in Baguihati of North 24 Parganas District. Ibrahim was reportedly the mastermind in the grenade attack on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh in 1999 and is the nephew of HuJI-B commander Mufti Abdul Hannan. He hails from Kotalipara in Gopalgunge and joined the HuJI-B after Hannan returned from Afghanistan in 1993 where he fought for Taliban.

April 14: Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said in New Delhi that women were being "trained" on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) to infiltrate into India. "We have information that women are being trained on the other side to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir," the Army chief said, when asked about the possibility of involvement of women handlers in the Pulwama encounter that ended on April 13 with the killing of two militants. "It is possible that women may be involved in giving directions to the terrorists," he added. On the issue of infiltration of Taliban in India, Kapoor said, "As far as the Indian Army is concerned, we have had no trace of Taliban." Kapoor also said the Army had expected "calibration" in infiltration around the election time. "We did expect that there would be a certain amount of calibration from the other side to push in infiltrators because of elections, which is what they are trying," he stated. A three-tier Defence system had been put in place on the LoC to deal with any situation as the Army was aware of plans to escalate infiltration bids in the run-up to the elections, General Kapoor added.

April 15: A second supplementary chargesheet in the September 13, 2008 serial bomb blasts case in Delhi was filed against four suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) militants by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police before a trial court. The Delhi Police had so far registered five cases in the case. The chargesheet was filed pertaining to the case registered at Barakhamba Road Police station bearing First Information Report number 418, against IM cadres, including its media cell head Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy. In the 18-page chargesheet, the Delhi Police sought prosecution of Peerbhoy, his two associates Mobin Kader Sheikh, Asif Bashir Sheikh and Mohammed Hakim under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act and Information Technology Act.

The Designated Metropolitan Court sent two militants from Kerala in Police remand till April 28 in connection with the July 26 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case. The two were identified as Sainuddin E.T. Mohammed alias Abdul Sattar and his son Sarfuddin E.T. Mohammed alias Sharif. They were arrested by the Bangalore Police in connection with the serial bomb blasts on July 25, 2008.

April 16: In Uttar Pradesh, an estimated 48 per cent of polling was recorded in 16 Parliamentary constituencies, which included the CPI-Maoist affected areas of the State. "Approximately 48 per cent votes were polled in the first phase of the elections. As compared to 47 per cent polling in 2004, the poll percentage has gone up roughly by one per cent," said Chief Electoral Officer Anuj Kumar Bishoi in Lucknow.

On April 18: One LTTE militant was remanded to judicial custody in capital Chennai. Officials from the ‘Q’ wing of the Tamil Nadu Police dealing with extremist activities said the militant, identified as Muthanna, was arrested in the night of April 17 along with global positioning system equipment. Muthanna, who had come from the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka, was arrested after specific information disclosed by one Jayanathan, another LTTE militant arrested earlier.

11 refugees, including five women, four men and two children from Puthukkudiyiruppu area in Mullaitivu in Sri Lanka, landed at Velankanni coast in two fibreglass boats at around 8pm (IST). Intelligence sources told that the Velankanni Police immediately informed the Nagapattinam District Police who took them to custody.

April 17: A Mumbai-based private news channel received an email threat warning of at least five bomb blasts across the country during the parliamentary elections. The email was sent from indian.agentshubham@yahoo.com and has been traced to Lahore in Pakistan, Police said. "The email has been traced to the same person who had earlier threatened to blow up Taj hotel in south Mumbai and one of its properties in Chennai,'' said an investigator.

April 20: Intelligence agencies have recently ascertained that a joint meeting between militants of the LeT, JeM and the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh was held in Rawalpindi in Pakistan during February 2009, where they planned terrorist attacks in Punjab during the Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in the fourth and fifth phases on May 7 and May 13. Sources in the agencies said the Pakistan-based terrorist outfits had planned to take help of local BKI cadres for logistical support. A similar meeting had also taken place in December 2008 when Pakistan-based terrorist outfits had planned to infiltrate their cadres through the fenced western border in Punjab and Rajasthan, sources added. Meanwhile, the MHA has alerted the State to take adequate measures in coordination with central intelligence and security agencies to foil any such attempts. Agencies believed that Wadhawa Singh continues to be a vital link between terrorists in other countries and some radical elements in the Sikh community in Punjab. Wadhawa Singh, hiding in Pakistan, is one of the 40 most-wanted terrorists India has sought to be deported from Pakistan.

The prosecution proposed 312 charges against the accused in the November 26, 2008, Mumbai attack case. The charges are against LeT militant Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, Fahim Ansari, Mohammad Sabahuddin Ahmed and 35 wanted accused. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam filed the draft charges before the special sessions court at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. This step comes before framing of the charges. The charges of criminal conspiracy are applicable to all the accused. The charges include: committing terrorist acts with an intent to overawe the government, striking terror, waging war, organising and imparting training in Pakistan with the object of attacking major cities of India, destabilising the Indian government by engineering violence and through subversive activities, weakening India’s economic might, killing foreign nationals, adversely affecting Hindu-Muslim harmony, attacking territorial integrity by planning to capture Kashmir, smuggling firearms and explosives, exchanging maps of locations, aiding, abetting and facilitating terrorist acts, assisting criminal conspiracy and committing acts to further the objectives of criminal conspiracy.

April 21: A court in Delhi issued non-bailable warrants against 16 suspected IM militants, including its founder Amir Raza Khan, who were involved in the September 13, 2008 serial bomb blasts in the national capital. "Efforts were made to arrest them but they were still absconding," the Special Cell of the Delhi Police said.

April 22: Two persons suspected to be accomplices of the gangster Chhota Shakeel’s gang were arrested along with two firearms and six live cartridges recently near the J.J. Hospital in south Mumbai, ATS officials. The duo was identified as Manoj Dubey and Sunil Navner. "We received a tip off that the duo would arrive near the junction with firearms. Accordingly, we laid a trap and caught the accused," the officials said.

During a search operation, the Kannur District Police in Kerala recovered four locally-made bombs from Mattannur. Four ball-like plastic ice-cream containers packed with explosives were found in plastic bags abandoned inside a pipe in Mattannur.

India voiced its unhappiness over the continued killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka and asked the LTTE to stop its "barbaric" attempt to hold civilians hostage. "We are very unhappy at the continued killing of innocent Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. These killings must stop," Mukherjee told journalists. He said the Sri Lankan Government had a responsibility to protect its own citizens. At the same time, he said, "the LTTE must stop its barbaric attempt to hold civilians hostage."

April 23: Polling for Phase-II of the parliamentary elections, covering 140 Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) constituencies in 12 States, was held with about 55 per cent of the 194 million voters exercising their franchise. In Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, where legislative Assembly elections were also held for 140 and 77 constituencies respectively, the voter turnout was 68 and 55. Chief Election Commissioner Navin. B. Chawla told the media that he was "extremely satisfied" with the election and it was held "without any large incident." With this phase, more than 50 per cent of the 543 Lok Sabha seats have been covered. In Phase-I held on April 16, 124 constituencies went to the polls.

India rejected Pakistan's allegations that it was supporting the separatist outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) for fuelling unrest in Balochistan. "These are entirely baseless allegations and we see no reason to dignify them with a response," the External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in New Delhi while commenting on allegations by the Pakistan Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik that India is supporting the BLA. Malik claimed in the Senate that "The BLA was raised with funding from the Soviet Union (during the Soviet-Afghan war) and it is now backed by India."

India will despatch the National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to Colombo to urge the Sri Lankan Government to immediately stop hostilities in the conflict zone. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and attended by the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi.

April 28: The MHA on the recommendation of the Tripura Government, extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in 40 Police station areas of Tripura. Official sources said the MHA accepted the proposal of the Tripura Government and extended the tenure of the promulgation of AFSPA for another six months. Even as the insurgency has come down drastically, it has not been wiped out completely, so the MHA extended the Act fully in 34 and partly in six police station areas of the State to flush out militants, an unnamed Police official said. The AFSPA was promulgated in Tripura in early 1997 following a spate of violence by tribal insurgents, the official added.

Infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, helped by the Pakistani establishment, has increased substantially, with March recording the highest influx as compared to the corresponding month in the last seven years. The Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said in New Delhi that there was information about more militants preparing to infiltrate into India and that his force has "refined" the pattern of deployment to foil these attempts. "As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, infiltration has increased in March because of the elections being held there and to disrupt the electoral process in the State," he told reporters. "The figure upto March 31 says that 54 terrorists have come into Jammu and Kashmir," Gen Kapoor added. Sources said the infiltration in March 2009 was the highest for the corresponding month in the past seven years. The infiltration has increased both in terms of quantity and quality, considering the weapons brought by terrorists, the sources said. "It cannot happen without the conscious decision of the establishment in Pakistan," they added.

The Army and the Navy have been placed on a high alert along the southern coast to prevent any infiltration bid by the Liberation LTTE militants fleeing the military offensive against them in Sri Lanka, an Army commander said. "There is a high alert in the southern command," Indian Army vice Chief Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj said in New Delhi. He added that "the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy form the first tier (of defence). We have some troops deployed to ensure LTTE don't enter (Tamil Nadu)".

April 30: Around 50 per cent of 144 million voters exercised their franchise in 107 constituencies in nine States and two Union Territories in the third phase of the Parliamentary elections. The Election Commission said the polling process was extremely satisfactory and held in an absolutely peaceful atmosphere, barring a few minor incidents. Reports indicated that there were incidents of Maoist violence in West Bengal, group clashes, Police firing and poll boycott in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar. There was no loss of life in any poll-related violence.

May 1: The CPI-Maoist has attacked mobile telephone communication systems in six States, particularly in the last three years. During this period, the Maoists have blown up as many as 62 mobile telephone towers in six Maoist-affected States. Sources in the MHA said the highest number of towers, 20, was destroyed by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh where during 2008 alone 14 mobile telephone towers of both private and Government networks were attacked by the insurgents. In Bihar, the Maoists blew up 14 towers in 2008. Four other States which faced Maoists attacks on mobile telephone towers are Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. "Maoists believe many Police informers use mobile network to inform security forces about their movement and activities which resulted arrest of several of their leaders and that is why they try to target the towers," an unnamed official said. Jharkhand, which did not see any attack on mobile towers till 2007, saw nine such attacks which disrupted the communication network in several Maoists-affected regions. In 2005, the Maoists had blown up eight mobile towers while in 2006, they targeted just five. Further, in 2007, the Maoists destroyed six mobile towers and in 2008, 43 towers were attacked.

May 2: Mohammed Nissar, an alleged LeT militant from Hyderabad who disappeared in 2003 while facing trial in a terrorism case, was arrested by the Police in Hyderabad.

May 3: At least 20 LTTE sympathisers were arrested for the attack on an Army convoy near Coimbatore a day earlier. Cases have also been registered against 200 people belonging to political groups sympathetic to the banned LTTE. The arrested include Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and Tamil nationalist leader K Ramakrishnan, Police sources said. Supporters of the LTTE reportedly stopped five Army trucks and soldiers on way back from training at Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh and proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

A suspected LeT militant, identified as Mohammed Nissar, who was arrested by the Police on May 2 from Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh, was remanded to judicial custody till May 18. According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), R.S. Praveen Kumar, Nissar alias Osman Bhai had been staying in the Manna Ekhelli village of Bidar District in the Karnataka State. "In August 2001, he along with Abdul Aziz alias Gidda was arrested for indulging in subversive activities and released on bail after three months. Later, he stopped attending the court and went missing,’’ the DCP added. It is learnt that the Police had then recovered two pistols, one forged passport, Compact Discs containing jihadi material and an electronic detonator from him.

May 4: According to military intelligence, a group of 935 Pakistani women being trained by the ISI, Pakistan's external intelligence, in the Faridkot District of Punjab province to entice men and motivate them into becoming terrorists in India. According to a military intelligence report, the group is also being trained at a camp in Kotli, Pakistan. It said a joint meeting of senior ISI officers with representatives of al Qaeda, LeT, Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) on April 23 near Talwandi (in Pakistan) was attended by Neeta, KZF leader, and Nazira Begum, the wife of Kotli training camp principal Shah Mohammad. Taught to breach national boundaries, these women generally enter India through West Bengal and Bihar borders and are equally adept at using computers and in blackmailing youth.

May 6: The Special Sessions Court in Mumbai framed 86 charges against the main accused of the November 26, 2008 terrorist attack. The accused includes Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, and 35 others who are yet to be arrested. The charge of criminal conspiracy applies to all the accused. Ajmal and Ansari have other independent charges against them. Judge M.L. Tahaliyani stated that Ajmal, Ansari and Sabahuddin had committed offences punishable under Section 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

May 7: Sarfras Navas alias Hakim, an accused in the suspected operation of terror modules in Kerala, was remanded till May 19. He will be in Police custody till May 18 for interrogation, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate V.K. Rajan ordered.

About 57 per cent of the 94.6 million voters exercised their franchise when Phase IV poll in 85 Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) constituencies in seven States and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. Six deaths were reported - one in Rajasthan in Police firing, three in West Bengal in group clashes/hurling of bombs and another two in West Bengal due to sunstroke, as the victims were waiting to cast their vote. Chief Election Commissioner Navin B. Chawla said that he was quite satisfied with Phase IV poll as it was "by and large peaceful barring a few stray incidents of violence in West Bengal."

May 9: The LTTE, pushed to a narrow stretch in Sri Lanka by its Army, is trying to infiltrate into India through the western coast, an Indian Navy said. "As the Navy is closely monitoring the Tamil Nadu coast, we realised that people from Sri Lanka, including LTTE cadres, were trying to illegally enter from the west coast," said flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice-Admiral S.K. Damle.

May 10: The MCOCA court in Mumbai discharged the Indian Mujahideen co-founder Sadiq Shaikh from his involvement in the July 11, 2006, serial train blasts case. Sadiq, an electrician from Trombay, was arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad on February 20. He was booked in the July 11, 2006 train bomb blasts, which killed 181 people and injured 890.

May 12: A Delhi court extended the judicial remand by 18 days of five Indian Mujahideen cadres accused of carrying out the serial bomb blasts on September 13, 2008. Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi sent accused Zeeshan Ahmed, Mohammed Shakeel, Mohammed Hakim, Saquib Nissar and Zia-Ur Rehman to judicial remand till May 30. The court also issued fresh warrants ordering accused Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Sadiq Sheikh, Quamuddin Kapadia, Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, Mobin Kader Sheikh and Asif Bashir Sheikh be produced on May 30. Saif, Sadiq and Quamuddin are currently in the custody of Gujarat Police while Peerbhoy, Mobin and Asif are in Maharashtra for their involvement in other cases.

May 13: The ATS of the Kerala Police questioned the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Nazer Madhani for several hours, in connection with his terrorism linkages. Madhani is suspected to have links with the LeT militants. According to unnamed sources, the Police questioned Madhani based on the confessions of Sarfras Nawas and Sainudheen, who were arrested in connection with the July 26, 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts case. Nawas had told the Karnataka Police that he had met Madhani in his residence at Kollam a few months after the PDP leader was released from Coimbatore jail, where he had been housed as an under trial in the Coimbatore bomb blast case.

The ATS of Rajasthan Police has announced a cash reward of INR 100000 each for anyone providing clues leading to the arrest of any of the five terrorists wanted in connection with the May 13, 2008 serial bomb blasts. The five terrorists wanted in connection with serial blasts are Shahdab, Khalid, Arif, Shajid Bhai and Salman. The ATS has so far arrested four accused, including Shahbaz Hussain, Mohammed Sarvar, Saif-ur-Rehman, who are currently lodged in the Jaipur jail, and Mohammed Saif, who is currently at Tihar Jail in the national capital Delhi. There are 11 cases related to serial blasts.

In last phase of Parliament elections, approximately 62 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in seven States and two Union Territories, covering 86 constituencies. During the whole five phases of election, 37 persons including Security Force personnel, Election Commission staff and civilians, lost their lives. While 23 were killed in violence, Maoist attacks and Police firing, the others died in accidents. The Chief Election Commissioner, Navin B. Chawla, briefing journalists along with Election Commissioners S.Y. Quraishi and V.S. Sampath, said the Commission was "highly satisfied’ with the conduct of the polls, which were "by and large very peaceful."

May 14: The Mumbai Crime Branch extradited an aide of underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel, identified as Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, from Bangkok. Deputy Commissioner of Police Nisar Tamboli told that Bhullar was involved in a murder case and there was a red corner notice against him.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report stated that Police stations across the country are still depending on outdated weapons as the availability of sophisticated arms was far below the actual requirement. According to the CAG report, the weapons procurement data on each state showed that sophisticated arms like AK-47, 7.62mm SLR and 5.56mm INSAS rifle were far below the requirement of the States. "As a result, Police stations continued to depend on outdated weapons," the CAG said in its audit evaluation of modernisation of Police Force in India' report. The report indicated that adequate weapons were not supplied to extremist prone Police stations in West Bengal while there was a shortage of 9540 sophisticated arms in Rajasthan. The report also pointed out that AK-47 rifles were placed at the disposal of bodyguards of VIPs in violation of MHA instructions. "In Uttar Pradesh, outdated .303 bore rifles and .410 muskets were in use," it added. The CAG also mentioned that in Kerala where 1000 second hand rifles were procured for INR 5 millions from Assam Rifles when the Government had earmarked INR 2.5 millions for procuring 100 7.62 mm SLRs.

May 19: The Bangalore Police filed a chargesheet against 26 persons, including four foreign nationals, for their involvement in the July 25, 2008 serial bomb blasts case. Among the Indian nationals whose names figure in the chargesheet are Abdul Sattar, his son Sarfuddin, Abdul Jabbar, Mujeeb Mohiddin, Faizal Abdul Rehman, Abdul Jaleel Moosa, Manaf Mohammad alias Rahees, Badruddin Noor Ahamed, Sakariya and Sarfarz Nawaz. The chargesheet also mentions the names of Abdul Sattar's son-in-law Abdul Raheem, Mohammed Fiaz Hamsa, Fayis Abdul Rahman and Mohammed Yasin, who were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir in October 2008. The four foreign nationals include a Pakistani national and an Omani national. "We have established their involvement in the conspiracy. We are not revealing their names as they are yet to be apprehended," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar. The accused have been charged with waging war against the country under Section 121A of the IPC and causing grievous injury and conspiracy under Section 120B of IPC.

May 20: The Government handed over additional information to Pakistan on the involvement of its (Pakistani) nationals in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The Ministry of External Affairs handed over to a diplomat of the Pakistan High Commission the details sought by Islamabad, official sources confirmed. The information consisted of the confessional statement of the lone arrested terrorist, Ajmal Amir alias Kasab and DNA samples of all the terrorists. Pakistan had reportedly complained that one of the DNA samples was a duplicate. The Government while acknowledging the clerical error has sent fresh samples.

May 24: According to a countrywide alert given by Central Security Agencies, veteran cadres of the SIMI could be regrouping. Police of 11 States, including Gujarat, were alerted some time ago, said an unnamed senior official of the Gujarat Home department. The alert focuses on possible re-grouping of estranged SIMI cadres who have remained elusive for many years. "We are concerned about the men who were associated with arrested SIMI members. The alerts have been sent to States including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, UP, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. A list of specific cities and towns has been prepared by a nodal intelligence agency and then circulated to all States. Gujarat Government will procure a revised list soon. But, we are in a state of alert already," the official added. Gujarat Police have been asked to keep a special watch over Vadodara and Surat region. The surveillance list has 73 names procured from call lists of SIMI members arrested from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

May 25: The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that terrorism, Naxalite violence and insurgency in the Northeast are key challenges that need to be addressed. He said the new Government would respond to any threat to security, public order and communal harmony with speed and decisiveness. "We will raise the level of preparedness to meet the increasing threat to Security, public order and communal harmony," he said in New Delhi on the first day of his joining office in the MHA. Chidambaram also said the Government would respond to any of these threats using modern systems, highly trained human resource and advanced technological tools.

May 26: According to information posted on the London-based Akash Radio Website, the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) has claimed responsibility for the May 24 attacks on a Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) in Vienna. The Website claimed that it had received an e-mail, written on the KZF's letterhead, was signed by one Ranjit Singh. The KZF is said to have said the incident occurred because "these people did not heed to the warnings that they should not disrespect Guru Granth Sahibji by sitting parallel to Sri Guru Granth Sahibji; letting people bow before them in the Guru Sahib's presence and committing various unacceptable anti-maryada (Sikh code of conduct) acts. As they continued to commit such sins, the KZF was forced to take this action."

Another outlawed militant outfit, the BKI, which also figures on the U.S. list of terrorist organisations, has condemned the killing of Sant Rama Nand in Vienna. Akash Radio claimed that the BKI chief Wadhawa Singh Babbar said in an e-mail that the entire Sikh Panth regretted the attack on Sant Niranjan Das and Sant Rama Nand. The e-mail said: "Everyone knows that this attack was not done by the Sikh Panth. Indian agencies are behind this attack; and they are trying to split the Ravidasiya community from the Sikh Panth. The Khalsa Panth will continue to cherish this relationship formed since the times of Guru Nanak Devji… The Khalsa Panth requests the Ravidasiya community to maintain peace. The Khalsa Panth will always stand by the Ravidasiya community and will not let the Indian agencies succeed in their mal-intensions."

India ruled out resumption of talks with Pakistan until it showed more evidence of, and commitment to, action against terror groups responsible for the Mumbai attacks. "That is the policy we are pursuing as of now," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said. Asked by NDTV whether there was any possibility of 'out-of-box' thinking and negotiations resuming with Pakistan in other sensitive areas, he said: "We have taken a position that unless this is resolved, there could not possibly be any dialogue with Pakistan." On the new US aid package for Pakistan, Krishna said: "We have no comments except that it should not be used against India." He noted that Pakistan earlier used such aid against India and New Delhi drew Washington's attention to this.

May 27: The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested a suspected ISI agent at Bithoor in Kanpur District. He was identified as Waqas Ahmed alias Zahid alias Ibrahim alias Rajesh Kumar alias Vikki, from Lahore in Pakistan. He was in possession of a voter identity card in the name of Ibrahim and an EPR (exempted from police reporting) visa, which is issued to those whose credentials are not in doubt. Incriminating documents and maps relating to the Army, fake driving licences, a pocket diary containing names and phone numbers and a Western Union receipt were also recovered from his possession.

May 28: The Mumbai Police recovered 917 live cartridges and arrested one person in this connection. The Joint Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Maria, said that Mumbai-based Mansood Khan was arrested along with 500 live cartridges and another 417 were found atop a public toilet. All the live rounds were reportedly of firearms .30, .32, 9 mm and .375 and 12 bore. They are good quality foreign-made cartridges, Maria added.

The Madhya Pradesh Police claimed to have arrested a terrorist who allegedly planted a bomb in the Chennai Express train nine years ago. "Ishaq Khan was arrested on a tip-off from Madhavganj in Morena on Wednesday night. He planted a bomb in the Chennai Express while it was passing through the District on May 20, 2000," the Morena District Police Superintendent Amrit Meena said, adding, "Ishaq Khan was produced in a court today and remanded to four days of Police custody." A probe revealed that the bomb was wrapped in a newspaper published from Gwalior. On that basis, the Chennai Police investigated in Gwalior and Morena, but no arrest could be made then. The bomb had been defused by the Police then, the report added.

May 30: A Delhi court extended the judicial remand by 28 days of five suspected IM terrorists accused of carrying out the serial bomb blasts on September 13, 2008. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja sent accused Zeeshan Ahmed, Mohammed Shakeel, Mohammed Hakim, Saquib Nissar and Zia-Ur Rehman to further judicial remand till June 27.

May 31: A suspected ISI agent, Mohammad Sajid, who allegedly carried out printing work for the Indian Army, was arrested in Bikaner District. Sajid, a resident of Bilalganj at Lahore in Pakistan, infiltrated into India via Bangladesh and Nepal and had established himself as a resident of Bikaner as a tenant under the assumed name of Lakhan Joshi since 2005, the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), M. K. Devarajan, said. Sajid had been reportedly running a printing press in the city where he purportedly managed to get some job works for Army units located there. Devarajan affirmed that the ISI gave him training in intelligence work and Hindi in the Lahore Military Hospital for three months. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Police have registered a case against Sajid under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Reports indicated that as many as 300-400 LTTE militants may have infiltrated into India in the guise of refugees fleeing Sri Lanka. Sources said intelligence agencies had received reports that lower level LTTE cadres may have infiltrated into India and could be among those currently being held in high security camps for screening.

June 1: One bomb and a letter of the SIMI were recovered between the rail lines at around 50 metres from the Anand railway station, the Police said. The bomb, defused later, was reportedly attached to a timer device and had metal shrapnel and glass pieces. The letter was typed in Gujarati and signed in the name of the banned SIMI, asking the people to join ‘jihad’ and follow the SIMI. The origin of the letter was being investigated, the Police added.

A court in Bikaner remanded the arrested agent of Pakistan’s ISI, Mohammad Sajid, to five days’ Police custody to facilitate investigation into his local contacts and his alleged espionage activities. The accused was also sent to the P.B.M. Government Hospital in Jaipur for medical examination. As reported earlier, Sajid, who allegedly carried out printing work for the Indian Army, was arrested in Bikaner District on May 31.

June 2: India strongly objected to Pakistan’s attempt to link the Kashmir issue to terrorism in the region and maintained that bilateral dialogue would resume only when Islamabad creates conditions for it. "It (terrorism) has nothing to do with Kashmir. Terror whether it is in Kashmir, in Mumbai or elsewhere, it is abominable," External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna told reporters in New Delhi. He was responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s remarks that Kashmir issue "holds the key to durable peace in the region" and said that it must be resolved through "sincere dialogue". Krishna pointed out that Kashmir is a part of the composite dialogue that India had initiated with Pakistan. "Now it is in Pakistan’s court to create conditions for the dialogue to be resumed," he stated. The composite dialogue, which began in January 2004, was suspended by India after the 26/11 attacks carried out by the LeT terrorists based in Pakistan.

Responding to the release of Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JuD, the LeT front) chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, Krishna said it demonstrates Pakistan’s lack of seriousness to fight terror and raises serious doubts about its commitment to probe the Mumbai attack. "It is regrettable that Pakistan has released Hafiz Saeed who has been part of terror outfits in Pakistan. The organisation (JuD) with which he has connections has been declared terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council," he said while reacting to the development in Lahore. "This only shows that Pakistan’s seriousness to fight against terror is still under a cloud," he said.

Expressing "disappointment" over the release of Saeed, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said: "It is regrettable that notwithstanding this background and the international obligations it entails on Pakistan, he has been released." He said Saeed’s release "raises serious doubts over Pakistan’s sincerity in acting with determination against terrorist groups and individuals operating from its territory". Prakash noted that Saeed is the head of JuD and LeT, which are listed by the UN under UNSC Resolution 1267 as being affiliates of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. "Hafiz Saeed is specifically listed as linked to these terrorist groups," he said, adding "the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa have a long and well established background of planning and launching terrorist acts against India. His professed ideology and public statements leave no doubt as to his terrorist inclinations".

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said: "It is a commentary on the commitment of Pakistan to investigate the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack." Commenting on Saeed’s release, he said "We are unhappy that Pakistan does not show the degree of seriousness and commitment that it should to bring to justice perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack." He, however, underlined that the development will not cause any setback to India’s investigations into 26/11. Saeed was put under house arrest on December 11, 2008 after the UN Security Council banned the JuD, declaring it a front for the LeT, which is blamed by India for the November 26 Mumbai attacks.

June 3: Security at the residence of the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Naresh Yadav has been tightened following a threat from the Indian Mujahideen outfit to assassinate him, Police said. A letter from the militant group's ‘area commander’ Sarfaraz Khan was received at the Congress leader's residence in capital Lucknow. According to Police Inspector Ajit Singh Chauhan, the letter states that Yadav would be killed soon, along with his family. "We have informed the Anti Terrorist Squad and intelligence officials about the letter. We are making every effort to trace the origin of the letter and nab its sender," said the Deputy Inspector General of Police N.K. Srivastava.

According to intelligence sources, Pakistan's LeT is planning its next, more spectacular attack in India. Even before the LeT chief Hafiz Mohamed Saeed was released in Lahore, the LeT masterminds have reportedly been planning the next attack. According to intelligence officials, in terms of preparedness, LeT leaders in Pakistani prisons - Zarar Shah and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi - have had full access to communications facilitating the planning process. In preparation for more terrorist attacks, security agencies have found new terror modules sprouting up in Nepal and Bangladesh as well as in India.

June 4: A key LeT operative, identified as Mohammad Omar Madini, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police near Qutb Minar in south Delhi. He was reportedly operating from India and Nepal for the past several years. The Police have recovered USD 8000, some Nepali currency and a diary containing a list of suspected LeT conduits and militants active in and outside India. Meanwhile, security and intelligence agencies suspect he was in direct touch with top operatives of the outfit in Pakistan, including its chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. Madini reportedly disclosed that he infiltrated into India recently on a ‘talent hunt’. Madini had allegedly been directed by his LeT leaders to create a large network of operatives in major cities through whom deadly attacks could be carried out in the future. His job was to spot talent, cultivate them, initiate them to join the outfit and fight for its cause.

Police sounded a high alert in Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh, following a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that three LeT terrorists had infiltrated into the country to carry out a major terrorist attack in a South Indian city. The specific advisory from the IB mentioned that three Pakistani nationals had crossed the border in Jammu and Kashmir on June 1 and had started their journey from Srinagar in a Tata Sumo vehicle. The weapons to be used by them would be delivered to them in Hyderabad, the city Police were told. The three terrorists were identified as Sharif Ahmed Bhatti alias Abu Masab (23), Nazeer Ahmed aliasAbu Jahangir (31) and Mohammed Ahmed alias Abu Jharkavi (21). They were likely to arrive in the city by the Deccan Express train. Following the specific alert, the Hyderabad Police is reported to have ordered checking of vehicles and frisking road users on a massive scale. Security was also beefed up at all vital installations, malls, religious places and places where people are likely to gather.

June 5: The Government ruled out a resumption of dialogue with Pakistan until it takes concrete measures to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism that was conceiving and executing violent activities against it. "We will not talk unless they take concrete measures to prevent terror attacks emanating from the soil of Pakistan aimed against India," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told journalists when asked to comment on reports that there were attempts to resume dialogue with Pakistan. Pointing out the release of Jama’at-ud-Da’awa chief Hafiz Saeed, Krishna mentioned, "This only shows that Pakistan is not serious about terror and all that terror spells out."

The Orissa Police have asked the Coast Guard to patrol the State's 480-long coastline during the annual Rath Yatra (Car Festival) of Lord Jagannath at Puri on June 24, reports Times of India. The move, part of enhanced security preparedness for the famous festival, has been influenced by the Centre's advice to States to step up Policing along the coast. Orissa's coast is reportedly unmanned with only a thin security presence. But, with a view to prevent entry of subversive elements to the pilgrim town during the Rath Yatra attended by millions of devotees, the top Police brass has requested the Coast Guard to remain extra vigilant, said the Inspector General of Police Arun Sarangi. "We are taking all possible steps to ensure peaceful celebration of Rath Yatra,'' he added. 

The arrested LeT militant Mohammad Omar Madani reportedly ran a logistical hub that funnelled dozens of militants through Nepal to targets across in India, Delhi Police sources told The Hindu. Working with fugitives like LeT commander Mohammad Saifullah, the Bihar-born Nepal national Madani provided LeT operatives with passports, cash and communications facilities that allowed them to travel from Pakistan to India through Kathmandu and then secure their escape. Fahim Arshad Ansari, who is now being tried on charges of having generated the videotape that facilitated the training of the perpetrators of November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai, is among those alleged to have benefited from the logistical infrastructure Madani helped set up. Sabahuddin Ahmed, Ansari’s immediate superior and the first Indian national to have commanded a LeT’s field unit, also used the Lashkar’s transit hub.

June 10: In order to tighten maritime security, the Centre is planning to substantially increase the number of coastal Police Stations along the country’s 7,516 kilometre coastline besides increasing the areas under "No-Fishing Zone" around vital installations, including nuclear establishments, coastal dams and minor and major ports. The matter was discussed at a meeting, for the review coastal security. The meeting also reviewed steps taken for better coordination among different organisations — Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police of States — besides the intelligence agencies to increase security vigil.  Sources in the MHA said that Navy and Coast Guard were asked to provide assistance to States in recruiting and training executive and technical staff for coastal Police Stations.

June 11: An Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist, identified as Akbar Ismail Choudhary, brought to Delhi from Hyderabad by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, was produced in a court, which remanded him to 10 days' Police custody. Akbar was reportedly an accomplice of Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, the head of the IM's media cell. Akbar was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra Police in 2008. The Special Cell is to interrogate Akbar to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the serial blasts in Delhi on September 13, 2008.

June 12: A militant of the outlawed SIMI, Abu Bashar, who was implicated by the Gujarat Police for the July 26, 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts, is reported to have confessed about the presence of training camps in the coastal areas.

The Delhi Police filed three supplementary charge sheets in a court against three suspected IM cadres, Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, MobinKader Sheikh and Asif Bashir Sheikh, for reportedly sending terror e-mails to media houses prior to the serial bomb blasts on September 13, 2008. The charge sheets were filed in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, after the Police completed their investigation into the roles of Peerbhoy and his associates. Peerbhoy, a computer engineer who had worked for Yahoo Inc, along with Asif and Mobin, had entered into criminal conspiracy with other IM cadres for carrying out the blasts, the Police said. Peerbhoy, reportedly the head of the IM's media cell, used to hack Wi-Fi networks while Mobin, a graduate in Computer Science, drafted the mails, which were then translated from Urdu into English by Asif before being sent to media houses, the Police confirmed. The accused are facing prosecution under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information and Technology Act.

June 13: A local court in Ahmedabad sent four Indian Mujahideen militants to Police custody till June 25, in connection with the Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case. The four were reportedly brought on transit remand from the national capital Delhi. The four IM cadres are also accused of the serial bomb blasts in Delhi.

June 16: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that it must end all terrorism directed against India. "I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism," Singh told Zardari at a meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Summit at Yekaterinburg in Russia, according to Yahoo News. Later, India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said the "primary issue of terrorism will be discussed by the foreign secretaries of the two countries" before the leaders of the two countries met again in mid-July on the sidelines of the of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt. Zardari's spokesman Farhatullah Baabar said in a statement that the stalled peace process between the two countries had got a "fresh lease of life". The president, he added, had reiterated Islamabad's desire to punish the perpetrators of 26/11. Menon emphasised that the foreign secretaries would discuss what Pakistan had done to tackle terrorism against India and then report to the leaders.

The CPI-Maoist-infested States have asked the Centre to provide nearly 25,000 additional para-military troops and helicopters to counter left-wing extremism. Sources in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Jharkhand, where 19 of the 24 Districts are affected by the insurgency, has asked for additional 12,000 personnel over and above the 6,000 personnel already stationed in the State. Similarly, Chhattisgarh has demanded about 8,000 more para-military personnel. Orissa too has demanded about 5,000 additional personnel of Central Forces and is reportedly also considering the possibility of raising its own anti-Maoist force on the patterns of the Greyhounds force in Andhra Pradesh. All left-wing extremism hit States have also asked for at least one if not more helicopters to help in the movement of troops and early evacuation in case of an emergency. The demands came after the MHA asked the States to come up with a Plan of Action for launching a new counter- offensive measure.

June 17: Indian Navy rescued four Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, including a former LTTE cadre and an Indian national, who spent 24 hours on an unmanned islet near Dhanushkodi before reaching Rameswaram.

June 18: The Government set up a high level committee to review coastal security measures at regular intervals, with Defence Minister A.K. Antony asking the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard to optimally deploy their assets to enhance surveillance in the wake of November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. "The Government has decided to set up a high level committee under the chairmanship of the cabinet secretary to review the measures taken for coastal security at regular intervals," a Defence Ministry statement said. "The other members of the committee will include the chief of naval staff, secretaries of all concerned ministries such as Defence, Home, Petroleum and chief secretaries of coastal States," the statement added. The meeting reviewed the progress made in the acquisition of systems and platforms already approved by the Government in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack.

There are 42 terror-training camps directed against India operating in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir PoK. The latest assessment of the MAC, the nodal agency for all terror-related intelligence under the Union Home Ministry, holds there are 34 'active' and eight 'holding' camps operational across the border. Both Pakistan/Northern Areas and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have 17 `active' and four `holding or dormant' camps each, says the MAC assessment, based on inputs from various security agencies. "It is estimated that around 2,200 militants are housed in these camps. After 26/11, many of these camps emptied out or relocated. Some are back to their original status now, while new ones have also come up,'' said an unnamed official.

June 19: Mohammed Omar Madni, a suspected LeT militant, has disclosed about the links between the Pakistan-based outfit and Maoists in Jharkhand, investigators told a court in New Delhi. "He (Madni) revealed that LeT was acting in coordination with CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand. He has acted as conduit for LeT and provided training to recruits in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and sent them to India to carry out terror strikes," the Public Prosecutor told the court which extended the Police remand of Madni for seven days. The Delhi Police, which is interrogating Madni, contended that his custodial questioning was necessary to ascertain his e-mail details and bank account which revealed transactions to the tune of INR 2.5 millions.

50-year-old Madni, a resident of Bihar who acquired Nepalese citizenship, was arrested on June 4 from near Qutub Minar area in south Delhi and produced before the court after the completion of 14 days Police custody.

June 20: A court in Delhi sent a suspected IM terrorist, identified as Akbar Ismail Choudhary, to seven days judicial custody for his involvement in the serial bomb blasts in the capital on September 13, 2008. Choudhary was arrested by the Mumbai Police in October 2008. He is reportedly accused of sending terror e-mails along with the IM's media cell chief Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy and two others to different media groups before the bomb blasts in the capital.