South Asia Terrorism Portal

INDIA

Gadchiroli: Red Erosion
Kota Mallikarjuna Gupta
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

On May 21, 2021, at least 13 Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed in an exchange of fire that lasted nearly 90 minutes, with Maharashtra Police's C-60 commandos near Kotmi forest in Etapalli Tehsil (revenue unit) of Gadchiroli District. Gadchiroli Additional Superintendent of Police Manish Kalwania disclosed,

The slain Maoists included Satish aka Adve Mohanda, North Gadchiroli Divisional Committee Member (DCM), carrying reward of INR 1.6 million on his head; Yatil Nandini aka Prembatti Madavi, Area Committee Member (ACM) of Kasnusar Dalam (armed squad); Umesh Parsa, ACM, Rupesh aka Linga Mastari Gawde, ‘deputy commander’, and Somri aka Sunita aka Savita Papaya Naitam, member, all of the Kasansur Dalam, carrying a reward INR 600,000 on each of their heads; Kishore aka Shiva aka Shivaji Barsu Gawde, Platoon Member and Guni aka Bukli Dhanu Hichami, ACM, each carrying a reward of INR 400,000; Sevanti Hedo, Platoon Member, Rajni, Platoon Member, Rohit aka Manesh aka Manas aka Sonaru Satru Qarami, Platoon Member, all of the Kasansur Dalam, Saguna aka Vasanti aka Vatsala Lalu Narot, Platoon Member of the Chatgaon Dalam, and Kishore Holi, jan militia member, each carrying a reward of INR 200,000.

On May 13, C-60 commandos killed two Maoists during an exchange of fire at a forest in Morchul village under Sawargaon Police outpost limits in the Dhanora Tehsil of Gadchiroli. The slain Maoists were identified as Raja aka Ramsai Roharu Madavi, with a reward of INR 1.2 million on his head, and Ranita aka Punita Chipaluram Gawde (28), with a reward of INR 200,000. Madavi was ‘commander' of the Tippagarh Dalam, while Gawde was a member of Kasansoor Dalam.

On April 28, two Maoists, identified as Vivek Narote and Vinay Narote, were killed in an exchange of fire with the Security Forces (SFs) in the Gatta-Jambia Forest in Etapalli Tehsil, Gadchiroli District. Vivek Narote carried a reward of INR 600,000 and Vinay Narote of INR 200,000, on his head.

On March 29, 2021, five Maoists were killed in an encounter with C-60 commandos in the Khobramenda forest of Gadchiroli District. The slain Maoists included Rushi Raoji aka Bhaskar Hichami (46) of North Gadchiroli division, carrying a reward of INR 2.5 million on his head. Other slain Maoists were identified as Raju aka Sukhdev Naitam (32), deputy of Tippagarh Dalam, carrying a reward of INR 1 million; Sujata aka Punita Atram (38), carrying a reward of INR 400,000; Asmita aka Sukhlu Padha (28) and Atram, a member of the Tippagarh Dalam, carrying a reward of INR 200,000 each.  

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 25 Maoists have been killed in Gadchiroli since the beginning of the current year (data till May 30, 2021). During the corresponding period of 2021, two Maoists were killed. A total of nine Maoists were killed through 2020. Since March 2000, when SATP, started compiling data on Left Wing Extremism in India, at least 289 Maoists have been killed in the District. 

Meanwhile, the May 21, 2021, encounter is significant as the most successful operation conducted by the Security Forces (SFs) in the District, in terms of fatalities inflicted among rebels, since April 22, 2018, when 34 CPI-Maoist cadres were killed by the C-60 commandos of the Gadchiroli Police and personnel from Battalion 9 of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Boriya Forest in Bhamragad Tehsil, Gadchiroli.

Further, during this May 21, 2021, operation, SFs succeeded in eliminating Satish, who was the one who had pushed the button to trigger the blast at Jambhulkheda, which killed 15 policemen in May 2019. “We were told by Maoist jan militia from the nearby Lavhari village, during our interrogation then, that Satish was the one who had pushed the button to trigger the blast,” revealed Deputy Inspector General of Police (Gadchiroli Range) Sandip Patil. On May 1, 2019, at least 15 C-60 commandos and one civilian driver were killed when Maoist triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion on Dadapur Road near Lendali Nullah in Jambhulkheda village under Kurkheda Police Station limits in Gadchiroli District.

The Police now claims that the Maoist leadership are on the edge of extinction in Gadchiroli District. Sandip Patil thus observed,

Prabhakar aka Lokeri Chandar Rao is the ‘commander’ of the CPI-Maoist ‘Company-4’ and Giridhar aka Nangshu Tumreti is member of the State Military Commission.

The difficult topography of the District – covering a total area of 14,412 square kilometres, of which 11,694 square kilometres fall under forest cover (78.40 per cent) – has, for long, served as ideal terrain for the Maoists to operate, as the task of locating and sanitizing Maoist hideouts was difficult. Though SF successes over the years have proved that Maoists operating out of such terrain can be located and neutralised, the Maoists retain residual capacities that are still a challenge.

The Maoists have already killed three civilians in 2021 in addition to four in 2020 and 18 in 2019, the highest in a year since 2012, when 18 civilians were killed. Though no SF trooper has been killed in 2021, three were killed in 2020 and 15 in 2018 – the highest in a year since 2010 when there were 15 SF fatalities.

The Maoists have succeeded in carrying out major offensives after suffering big losses in the battlefield. Security Forces, consequently, would need to exercise greater vigilance ensure that they are able to confront and neutralize any such counter attack. Aggressive operations must continue to further consolidate the gains.  

INDIA

Assam: DNLA Smothered
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On May 23, 2021, the Assam Police and Assam Rifles, in a joint operation, killed eight Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) militants in an encounter in the Dhansiri area of Karbi Anglong District. Some slain cadres were identified as Amarjeet aka Rounder, Nikhen aka Dhadkan, Balnes aka Zingdao, Pritam aka Nawa, Action Dimasa, and Joreng Dimasa aka Tamil. Two of the slain militants remained unidentified at the time of writing. One Assam Rifles trooper was injured in the encounter.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared, “almost the entire DNLA group has been eliminated today.”

Earlier, on March 20, 2021, Police killed a DNLA militant, identified as Black Dimasa, in an encounter at Purana Hajong village in Dima Hasao District.

DNLA announced its formation on April 15, 2019, with an aim to establish 'independent Dimasa self-rule' in areas supposedly comprising the Dimasa inhabited areas of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao Districts.

DNLA is led by its 'chairman' Naisodao Dimasa. Other prominent leaders include 'army chief', Minom Phonglosa aka Gajaw Dimasa; 'information Secretary', Ringsmai Dimasa; and 'home secretary', Kharmindao Dimasa. The estimated strength varies widely. A militant, Babu Hojai, who surrendered on September 17, 2019, claimed that DNLA had a cadre strength of 90 militants.

The outfit, however, seems to have lost steam before making any significant gains on the ground. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), since its formation on April 15, 2019, the DNLA has lost 36 cadres (data till May 30, 2021). 11 cades of these have been killed in five incidents. 12 DNLA militants, including 'army chief' Minom Phonglosa, have been arrested and 13 cadres have surrendered during this period. Of the 11 DNLA militants killed, 10 were killed in Karbi Anglong and one in Dima Hasao.

On the other hand, DNLA has been involved in only two incidents of killing resulting in three fatalities, all civilians (data till May 30, 2021). Both these incidents took place in 2021:

May 19,2021: DNLA militants killed Sanjoy Ronghang, a priest, in the Dhansiri Police outpost area of Karbi Anglong District.

January 27, 2021: DNLA militants shot dead two civilians, a former militant leader Amit Nunisa and Alta Maibongsa, in the Dhansiri area of Karbi Anglong District.

On March 3, 2021, SFs arrested a suspected DNLA militant, Pinak Sutradhar aka Biju Sutradhar, at the Diphu Railway Station in Karbi Anglong District, before he could carry out explosion.

Reports indicate that DNLA is being supported by a section of National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) as part of a proxy force in the Hill Districts of Assam. The outfits have acted together on at least one occasion. The Hill Districts include West Karbi Anglong, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.

On February 27, 2020, suspected DNLA militants opened fire at a vehicle belonging to a road construction company in the Mailoo area under Langting Police Station in Dima Hasao District. However, there was no report of any casualty in the incident. Authorities believe that NSCN-IM militants also were involved.

The only other violent incident involving the outfit was reported on April 18,2019, when suspected DNLA militants exploded a grenade in front of the house of a businessman, Anil Gupta, at Bakaliaghat in Karbi Anglong District.

Interestingly, on June 3, 2020, Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and DNLA leaders had met in Diphu in Karbi Anglong District, to discuss peace. The meeting was also attended by Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Special branch (SB) Hiren Nath and the then Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police Debojit Deori. Unnamed sources had then told media that if discussions were acted on, all the members of the outfit would lay down their arms and join the mainstream on August 15, 2020.

Later on, January 10, 2021, DNLA representatives attended a meeting called by Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Tuiliram Ronghang, Member of Parliament (MP) from the Diphu Parliamentary Seat Horen Sing Bey, and Superintendent of Police Deori, in Diphu. Though no details are available, this meeting is thought to be a part of efforts to bring all the groups operating in the Hill Districts to the talks table prior to the 2021 State Assembly Elections, which were conducted in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, 2021.

Indeed, on February 23, 2021, at least 1,050 militants from five outfits - Karbi People's Liberation Tiger (KPLT), People's Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK), Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), Kuki Liberation Front (KLF) and United People's Liberation Army (UPLA) - active in Karbi Anglong, surrendered before the then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Over 300 weapons and 11,203 bullets were surrendered by these militants. Though an agreement with these groups is yet to be signed, Chief Minster (CM), Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted, on May 24, 2021,

The CM made this statement a day after the DNLA suffered the big loss, hoping that this would put pressure on the outfit to join the talks process.

However, according to a May 23, 2021, an unnamed Army officer stated,

Though DNLA has been weakened considerably, a complete neutralization of the threat can only be secured through constant pressure to ensure that the group is prevented from any successful revival.

AFGHANISTAN

Prominent leaders from Tajik and Hazara community warn Taliban of "severe consequences" for continued violence: On May 28, two influential political leaders from Tajik and Hazara community warned of "severe consequences" against the Taliban if the group continues violence with the hope to win militarily. The leader of the one of the factions of Jamiat-e-Islami (JeI), Salahuddin Rabbani, said today's generation of Afghanistan is more eager than their previous generation when it comes to defending the country and its values against hostilities. He said the people are ready to safeguard the country's hard-won gains of the last two decades as their "red line." Tolo News, May 29, 2021.

Taliban sets conditions for attending Istanbul summit: The Taliban has set three pre-conditions for it to attend the Istanbul Summit scheduled to deliberate on the Afghan peace process. The conditions set by the Taliban are that the conference must be short; the agenda should not include decision-making on critical issues; and the Taliban delegation should be low level. Bakhtar News, May 26, 2021.

Talban warns neighboring countries against allowing US to set up bases: The Taliban in a statement on May 25 warned neighboring countries against providing bases to US forces by saying that the Taliban will "not remain silent". Taliban was reacting to reports that the US was considering the establishment of military bases in Afghanistan's neighboring countries. Tolo News, May 27, 2021.

Afghanistan pullout 'nearly one-quarter complete', announces US Central Command: US Central Command announced on May 25 that they estimate the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to be somewhere between 16% and 25% complete. President Joe Biden announced earlier that the complete withdrawal would finish by September 11, 2021. Tolo News, May 27, 2021.

Supreme State Council Nearing Completion, says Government: The Afghan Government on May 26 said that the authorities, agenda and working procedures of the Supreme State Council have been finalized and that the council will soon convene its first working meeting. Mohammad Akram Khpolwak, a political aide to President Ashraf Ghani, said that consultations will continue today and tomorrow about the working procedures of the council.Tolo News, May 19, 2021.

Hizb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar will not join Supreme State Council, says aide Humayoun Jarir: A member of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami party, Humayoun Jarir, on May 25 blamed the Presidential Palace for not delivering on its promise about the structure and the authority of the Supreme State Council and said that Hekmatyar will not participate in the Supreme State Council as a member. "The Arg (Presidential Palace) has not followed through on the promises it made in the trilateral meeting with Mr. Hekmatyar and Mr. Karzai," said Jarir. Tolo News, May 19, 2021.

BANGLADESH

Majority of HeI's funds came from Middle East through Bangladeshi expatriates, says DB Joint Commissioner Mahbub Alam: Mahbub Alam, Joint Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) of Police, at a press briefing on May 30 said that majority of Hefajat-e-Islam (HeI)'s funds came from the Middle East through Bangladeshi expatriates. The funds were donated for multiple purposes such as aiding the Rohingya community, helping madrasa students, and the welfare of HeI, adding that some locals also financed them. The Daily Star, May 31, 2021.

1,230 HeI leaders and supporters arrested cross country in past two months, says report: Law enforcer arrested 1,230 Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) leaders and supporters across the country in the past two months in connection with violence centering the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangladesh on March 26-27. Of them, the HeI's Sonargaon upazila unit vice-president and Khelafat Majlish upazila unit president Iqbal Hossain (55), of Narayanganj died at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on May 20. New Age, May 28, 2021.

SRI LANKA

There is no terror threat in Sri Lanka, says Defence Ministry: The Defence Ministry in a media communiqué on May 26 said that there is no terror threat in Sri Lanka. The media statement was issued with regard to the Level 4 U.S. Travel Warning to Sri Lanka. The media statement said that the U.S. travel warning on Sri Lanka is a general travel warning given by the U.S. State Department under the Level 4 Category. Daily News, May 27, 2021.