SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Rise of Unapologetic Jihadism
On September 5, 2024, a 22-year-old man was beaten by a mob on the premises of the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Police in the Sonadanga area, over a social media post allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), however, asserted that the person was being treated under Army supervision, and was out of danger.
On September 4, 2024, a 15-year-old Hindu boy, Utsav Mondal, was brutally beaten by a mob inside a Police Station in the Sonadanga area of Khulna District after he was accused of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad on social media. The incident occurred around 11:45pm [BST] when a group of local madrasa (Islamic Seminary) students brought Utsav to the Police Station, accusing him of posting “objectionable comments” about the Prophet, on Facebook.
On September 3, 2024, the Sufi Shrine of Ismail Pagla, was vandalised and looted by a violent mob in Haripur village of Sadar Upazila (sub-district) of Sirajganj District.
On August 29, 2024, the Sufi shrine of Baba Ali Pagla located next to Bamanjani Bazar in Kazipur, Sirajganj District, was destroyed by a violent mob.
As reported on August 29, 2024, the ‘Deepto Shopoth’ sculpture built in memory of Police officers killed in the terrorist attack at Gulshan’s Holey Artisan Bakery (July 1, 2016) was demolished and replaced with a poster of the banned terrorist outfit, Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT).
On August 6, Ahmadiya mosques in multiple locations were attacked, including the Ahmadiya Mosque in the Bamnail village of Rajshahi District; the one at Choraikhola in Nilphamari District; the mosque at Madarte in Dhaka city; and an Ahmadiya mosque at Rangtia in Sherpur District.
On August 9, 2024, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) reported that 205 incidents of minority persecution had occurred across 52 districts of Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster on August 5. Nirmal Rosario, the president of the organization, stated,
We seek protection because our lives are in a disastrous state. We are staying up at night guarding our homes and temples. I have never witnessed such incidents in my life. We demand that the government restore communal harmony in the country.
The Interim Government formed on August 8, 2024, led by Mohammad Yunus as the Chief Advisor, has overwhelmingly failed to stop the violence perpetrated by jihadis and Islamist extremists, and has made the situation shoddier by lifting bans on radical Islamist groups and releasing terrorist accused and suspects from prison.
On August 28, 2024, the Bangladesh Interim Government lifted the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS). The Home Ministry stated in its gazette that the government has rescinded the previous circular that banned JeI-ICS, citing the absence of specific evidence linking them to terrorist activities. The present Government believes that these organizations are not involved in such activities. The Awami League (AL) Government had banned JeI-ICS on August 1, 2024.
Earlier, on August 26, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) ‘chief’ Mufti Jashimuddin Rahmani was released on bail from Kashimpur High-Security Central Jail in the Gazipur District of Dhaka Division. He had been sentenced to five years in jail in 2015 for inciting the murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider through his sermons. Deputy Jailer Mohammad Farhad Sarkar stated that Rahmani was released because there were no objections from the court or prison authorities, despite the four cases against him.
Bangladesh has been grappling with violence and vandalism since July. The protest against the Quota System, which finally saw the resignation and expulsion of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, was indeed a bloody agitation. The violence commenced after a High Court decision reinstated a 30 per cent quota for family members of freedom fighters, who had fought during the liberation movement of 1971. According to the High Court, the Government was free to reform the quota if it saw fit. However, on July 10, the Supreme Court suspended the High Court’s order for a month, and was set to hear the Government’s challenge on August 7. However, commencing on July 14, the protests took a dark turn after a statement by Prime Minister Hasina on television in which she refused to accept any demands of the protestors, referred to them as razakars (members of an East Pakistan paramilitary force that opposed the freedom struggle of 1971 and collaborated with the Pakistan Army in its genocide). Violence intensified as BTV’s building was torched on July 18; protestors attacked the former Mayor of Ghazipur, Jahangir Alam, and killed his bodyguard on July 19; and in Narsingdi District, protestors stormed a jail and freed hundreds of inmates before setting the building on fire. Under pressure, the Supreme Court preponed its verdict on July 21, curtailing the quota of Mukti Jodhha’s families from 30 per cent to 5 per cent, with 93 per cent of positions now to be filled on merit. The remaining two per cent were assigned to people with disability, ethnic minorities, and transgender individuals. The Court also urged student protesters to return to their classes. Meanwhile, on July 31, Hasina government announced a ban on the JeI and its student wing, ICS. The Government claimed it had sufficient evidence that JeI and its front organization ICS were involved in killings, destructive and terrorist activities directly and through incitement. Following this ban, situation became more tumultuous and countrywide protests, increasingly led by Islamist radical elements, ultimately forced Hasina to flee Bangladesh and take refuge in India.
On August 15, 2024, the Health Ministry formed a 13-member Committee to prepare a complete list of the casualties that occurred during the agitation. Subsequently, as reported on September 4, the committee identified over 17,000 cases of fatalities and injuries at various hospitals across the country between July 17, 2024, and August 5, 2024. An unnamed member of the Committee stated,
So far, we’ve confirmed 600 fatalities. Of them, at least 440 people were declared dead on arrival at different hospitals. As such the death toll between July 17 and August 5 is believed to have reached 1,000.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations, in its report titled Preliminary Analysis of Recent Protests and Unrest in Bangladesh, published on August 16, 2024, observed,
…between 16 July and 11 August, more than 600 people were killed. Of these, nearly 400 deaths were reported from 16 July to 4 August, while around 250 people were reportedly killed following the new wave of protests between 5 and 6 August. The number of reported killings in revenge attacks since that time still remains to be determined… Those killed include protesters, bystanders, journalists covering the events and a number of members of the security force.
There is no doubt that various radical organisations have started aggressively projecting their political demands and aspirations after the formation of the Interim Government.
On August 9, 2024, supporters of HuT organised a rally at the North Gate of Baitul Mukarram in Dhaka city and demanded the establishment of the Khalifah (Caliphate) in Bangladesh based on Sharia law, which they claim would ensure “true justice and welfare” of all the citizens of the country. They also called for the ouster of foreign companies and annulment of annul strategic agreements with non-Muslim states.
On August 30, 2024, Nayeb-e-Amir (deputy chief) of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), Mufti Syed Muhammad Faizul Karim, declared at a rally in Shahbagh,
We will not engage in politics that disregards Islamic values… No syllabus can ignore the thoughts and beliefs of 92 per cent of the population. Any curriculum that goes against Islamic principles will not be accepted.
On August 31, 2024, Muhammad Yunus met with Hefazat-e-Islam leader and secretary general of the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Maulana Mamunul Haque, in Dhaka. After the meeting, Haque addressed the Press and disclosed that the Majlis had given a proposal according to which no individual could become the Prime Minister for more than two-term. Mamunul Haque also mentioned that the Majlis emphasised the need to implement reforms within a reasonable time frame and to hold the national elections. He stressed the importance of avoiding unnecessary delay.
On September 5, 2024, during the opening session of JeI’s Majlis-e-Shura at Al-Falah Hall in Moghbazar in Dhaka, JeI Amir Shafiqur Rahman, asserted that Sheikh Hasina’s government had carried out a clear genocide to suppress the Anti-Discrimination Student and Public Movement. He stated,
No one has the right to forgive those people who were behind this genocide. For the past 15 and a half years, we have faced hostility, our registration was revoked, our offices were sealed, we were not allowed to carry out our activities freely, and we were subjected to repeated harassment. In the end, a desperate government, in its last moments, banned us to soothe their own feelings. We have said we will not take revenge… Not taking revenge means we will not take the law into our own hands. However, those who have committed specific crimes will face legal action and punishment.
The ongoing situation in Bangladesh is volatile and the mainstreaming of jihadi voices is evident. In the coming months, various Islamist parties will demand an increasing share in the policy and decision-making processes of the country. Eventually this is likely to become problematic for the Interim Government, which has sought to appease all sections of the Islamist formations.
Telangana: Bhadradri Kothagudem: A Vanishing Red
On September 5, 2024, six Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed in an encounter during a combing operation by the Security Forces (SFs) in the forest area near Raghunathpalem village in the Karakagudem Mandal (an administrative subdivision) of the Bhadradri Kothagudem District of Telangana. Two commandos of the Greyhounds, the elite anti-Maoist force of the Telangana Police, also sustained injuries in the encounter. According to the Police, the dead included Lachanna, a ‘divisional committee member (DCM)’ and ‘commander’ of a Maoist squad with a reward of INR 1 million on his head. The other dead included Tulasi, Sukhram, Ramu, Durgesh and Kosi – all of them belonging to the same Maoist squad.
On August 21, 2024, Maoists allegedly killed Pallepati Radha aka Neelso aka Banti Radha, a female cadre who worked as a ‘protection team commander’ in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) area, in the forests near Chennapuram in the Cherla Mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem District. In a letter purportedly written by the Maoists that was found on the woman’s body, she was accused of being a ‘Police informer’. Bhadradri Kothagudem Superintendent of Police (SP) B. Rohit Raju stated Radha’s killing laid bare the atrocities being committed by leaders of the banned organisation against cadres who wanted to surrender.
On July 25, 2024, a CPI-Maoist cadre, Nallamuri Ashok aka Vijender (34), was killed in an exchange of fire between the Police and the Maoists in the forests near Damaratogu-Rangapuram in the Gundala Mandal of the Bhadradri Kothagudem District. The SFs had launched combing operations following a tip-off that Maoists Bhadru and Lachanna and 15 others from the Maoist ‘Kothagudem area committee’ were moving about in the Damaratogu, Gundala, Karakagudem and Tadwai Forest areas, with weapons, threatening businessmen, farmers, and contractors and demanding money for the Maoist party. During the subsequent search, the body of a Maoist in olive green uniform, some arms, ammunition, revolutionary literature, and other items were recovered from the encounter site.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least eight Maoists have been killed in Bhadradri Kothagudem District in the current year, thus far (data till September 8, 2024). During the corresponding period of 2023, two Maoists were killed in the district. The number remained the same for the whole of 2023. Just one Maoist was killed in the district in 2022. Since June 2, 2014, when Telangana was created and the district came into being, to September 6, 2024, at least 25 Maoists have been killed in the district.
Significantly, in the fight against the extremists since 2014, the SFs have emphatically dominated the ground and have not lost a single trooper in the district.
However, civilian fatalities, a key index of security, have also been contained in the Bhadradri Kothagudem District. The district recorded a maximum of two fatalities in 2018, while a low of single fatalities was recorded in 2017, 2020, and 2022. 2023, and 2024 have not recorded any fatalities in this category. The last civilian killing was reported on August 30, 2022, when Maoists hacked the deputy Sarpanch (head of the Panchayat, village level local self-Government institution) of Kurnapally Panchayat to death, accusing him being a ‘Police informer’. Bhadradri Kothagudem has recorded a total of five civilian fatalities since June 2, 2014.
At least 24 Maoists/associates have been arrested during search operations and combing raids in the district since the beginning of the current year (all data till September 8, 2024). During the corresponding period of 2023, there were 42 such arrests, and another seven arrests during the remaining days of 2023. 20 Maoists were arrested in 2022. Between June 2, 2014, when Telangana was created and the district came into being, and September 8, 2024, at least 256 Maoists have been arrested in the district.
In addition, 17 Maoists have surrendered in the district in the current year (data till September 8, 2024). Two surrenders took place in the corresponding period of 2023, and another one during the remaining days of 2023. 20 surrenders took place in 2022. Since 2014, at least 240 Maoists have surrendered in the district.
The Maoists are facing intense combing operations in neighbouring Chhattisgarh under the Centre’s ‘Operation Kagar’, and have taken to sneaking across the Telangana border for shelter. Bhadradri Kothagudem occupies an area of 7,483 square kilometres, with 4,286.98 square kilometres, about 57.29 per cent of its total geographical area, under forest cover, spreading over Bhadrachalam, Manuguru, Bergampahad, Kothagudem, and Yellandu. The physiography of the district comprises plains, hills, and mountains, which make the district a particularly safe haven for the rebels.
Meanwhile, according to a September 7, 2024, media report, the state’s Intelligence Security Wing (ISW) is likely to review security arrangements for Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Tummala Nageswara Rao, following a warning letter issued by the Maoists in the wake of September 5, 2024, encounter in Bhadradri-Kothagudem District. According to Intelligence inputs, Jagan, Maoist ‘secretary’ for the ‘BK-ASR (Bhadradri Kothagudem-Alluri Sitharamaraju) division’, issued a letter warning the Congress leaders and Ministers from the district, following the encounter in which six Maoists were killed.
While the Maoists have certainly long been on the defensive in the district, their efforts to restore capacities and operations persist.
On June 10, 2024, 70 booby traps were unearthed and 4,396 iron spikes were recovered from the booby traps, which had been laid by the CPI-Maoist, to target SFs in the Pusuguppa Forest area in the Cherla Mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem District. Innocent Adivasi people living in the border areas live in perpetual distress due to Maoist atrocities, as well as the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and booby traps planted by Maoists in areas where tribals and their animals roam. Many lives have been lost and seriously injuries inflicted in recent times, as a result. SP Raju divulged that the Tribal people living in the border areas have been advised extreme caution while moving in these areas.
On February 16, 2024, Police arrested five cadres of the Pedda Chandranna faction of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist-New Democracy (CPI-ML-New Democracy-Pedda Chandranna) from Bhadradri Kothagudem District, who confessed to the Police that they had formed a Dalam (armed squad) in September 2023, to wage an armed struggle against the government and to carry out a campaign against its failures. Police also seized a pistol, 16 live .303 rounds, five gelatin sticks, 10 detonators, kit bags, and revolutionary literature. The cadres were identified as the CPI-ML-New Democracy-Pedda Chandranna faction’s ‘state committee secretary’ Kurasam Vanjaiah aka Ashok, its member Danasari Sammaiah aka Gopi, armed ‘commanders’ S. Muthaiah aka Pullanna, Shaik Madar Saheb, all of Mahabubabad District; and Kalakonda Suresh of Khammam District.
Significantly, SP Raju disclosed, search operations had been scheduled to arrest the escaped Naxals, Guruguntla Devi Reddy aka Yellaiah, Nayini Komaraiah aka Kondanna, Danasari Suresh, Kranthi, Abbarla Rajaiah, and Upender aka Umar. The SP also appealed to the Maoists to surrender to the Police along with arms, join mainstream life, and continue their struggle in a democratic manner. He also asked the public to inform the Police if they found any Naxals moving with arms in their areas.
At least seven incidents of recovery of arms have been recorded in the district in the current year, thus far (data till September 8, 2024). A total of 66 such recoveries have been registered in the district since June 2, 2014.
The Maoists are taking a manifest beating in Bhadradri Kothagudem as well as across Telangana state. Their residual capacities in the district are being progressively eroded by SF operations, and the Maoists are under increasing threat in what were their erstwhile areas of dominance. With determined SF consolidation and declining Maoists appeal among the locals, the possibilities of an enduring peace in the district is becoming very real.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
September 2-8, 2024
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.