SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Mizoram: Arms Nexus
On February 28, 2025, three persons were arrested on the Sakawrtuichhun Quarry Road in Aizawl District and 623 kilograms of explosives were recovered from their possession.
On February 28, 2025, one person was arrested in possession of a weapon and ammunition, from the Saiha area in Siaha District.
On February 27, 2025, Security Forces (SFs) launched an operation based on specific intelligence inputs, in the Lawngtlai town, Lawngtlai District, and arrested two persons in possession of ammunition.
On February 17, 2025, the Assam Rifles arrested two persons and recovered 3,000 electric detonators, 700 metres of Cordtex, as well as explosives, at Vokte Kai in Zokhawtar, Champhai District.
On January 29, 2025, in a joint operation with Mizoram Police, Assam Rifles arrested one person and recovered 4,450 electric detonators, in the Khankawn area of Champhai District.
The frequency of arms and ammunition recoveries in Mizoram has risen significantly in recent times. The South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) has already recorded six such incidents in the state in 2025 (data till March 9, 2025), while there were 16 such incidents in 2024, 11 in 2023, and 13 in 2022. The number of such incidents in 2022 was the highest recorded in a year, since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling data on insurgencies in the Northeast. The upsurge in recoveries was due to increased vigilance by SFs after the February 1, 2021, coup d’état by Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) in Myanmar.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken several steps against the arms smuggling networks in Mizoram.
On December 6, 2024, NIA arrested three persons – Lalrinchhunga, Vanlaldailova and Lalmuanpuia – from Mizoram for their involvement in a trans-border arms and ammunition trafficking syndicate, following extensive searches at six locations in the state. The search locations included Mammit, Serchip and Aizawl Districts. The trio were found linked with previously arrested accused and suspects, and were actively involved in the explosives, weapons and ammunition trafficking network. A significant quantity of weapons, ammunitions, explosives, weapons manufacturing equipment and tools, digital devices and other incriminating articles were seized during the search operations.
On August 29, 2024, NIA charge-sheeted 10 accused – Lalrintluanga, Laldinpuia, Zoremsanga, Lalbiaktluanga, Lalrinsanga, Zothanmawia, Henry Siangnuna, J. Rohlupuia, Laldinsanga and David Lalramsanga – who included some Myanmar-based absconders, in a Mizoram arms and explosives seizure case connected with Myanmar-based insurgent groups. The case, registered in May 2022, followed the seizure of a large cache of weapons near Kelsih Village, Aizawl. NIA investigations revealed a conspiracy by Myanmar insurgents, along with their associates in their country as well as in Mizoram, to procure arms, etc., to support the armed struggle of militant groups fighting against the existing regime in Myanmar. They conspired with Aizwal-based Myanmar national, Lalrinsanga, to illegally traffick arms, ammunition and explosives to supply the Myanmar-based groups.
On February 1, 2024, NIA neutralised an international network of arms, ammunition and explosives smugglers operating in India’s northeastern states and arrested a key accused, Lalngaihawma, from the Aizwal District of Mizoram. NIA disclosed,
Lalngaihawma was working in collusion with various operatives, including insurgent groups situated across the international border… As part of their conspiracy, they had already distributed such terror hardware to various individuals in India and abroad. These illicit weapons & explosives are suspected to have been used in violent terrorist acts and criminal activities across different regions.
Meanwhile, seven terrorists were arrested in the state in 2024. These included three cadres each of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and Hmar People’s Convention-Democracy (HPC-D) and one Chin Kuki Resistance Force (CKRF). 10 terrorists – seven Kuki Chin National Army (KCNA) cadres and three cadres of Myanmar-based resistance groups – were arrested in 2023. In 2022, three terrorists – two cadres of the Maraland Defence Force (MDF) and one of the National Liberation Front of Tripura-Biswa Mohan Debbarman faction (NLFT-BM) – were arrested.
Mizoram has remained almost free of insurgency-related violence since 2015. On March 28, 2015, three Policemen were killed and another two were injured, as suspected militants of the Hmar People’s Convention-Democrats (HPC-D) opened fire on a convoy accompanying a group of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) near Zokhawthiang in Aizawl District. Between March 28, 2015 and March 9, 2025, Mizoram has recorded just one terrorism-linked incident. Three civilians were killed and one was injured in an explosion in the Durtlang locality of Aizawl District on March 18, 2022. Several detonators, along with some Myanmarese currency, were recovered from the blast site. Investigations Examination of the remnants of the explosion later revealed that the explosive PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) used in the blast had come from Myanmar.
Significantly, between 1992 and 2014, Mizoram had recorded a total of 2,774 fatalities (1,345 civilians, 641 SF personnel and 788 terrorists). During this period, fatalities were recorded in each year, barring 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. A high of 495 fatalities (233 civilians, 111 SF personnel and 151 terrorists) were recorded in 1997.
While terrorist violence is now absent, the state continues to be disturbed by rising incidents of weapons and explosives smuggling.
Moreover, following the February 2021 military takeover in Myanmar, more than fifty thousand civilians have fled from the Chin State and Sagaing Region of Myanmar and entered Indian states in the northeast, mostly Mizoram. According to a report by state disaster management and rehabilitation officials on December 23, 2024, there were a total of 32,794 Myanmar refugees in Mizoram as on December 18, 2024. Among these 16,892 individuals were residing in 127 relief camps across seven districts, while 15,902 people live outside these camps. They include 10,002 males, 10,340 females, and 12,452 children. Champhai District maintains its position as the primary host of Myanmar refugees. [As per data available with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on May 1, 2023, over 40,150 refugees from Myanmar were living in Mizoram, and 8,250 were living in Manipur.]
Mizoram shares a 510-km porous border with Myanmar, making it a key transit route for drug trafficking networks in the Northeast region. In this context, Mizoram Governor General (Retired) V.K. Singh, on February 19, 2025, stressed the need to strengthen security along the state’s border with Myanmar to combat the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse. Singh emphasised the importance of safeguarding the state’s international boundary, but noted that the overall law and order situation in Mizoram remains largely peaceful.
The boundary dispute between Mizoram and Assam has been a source of concern for years. However, on August 9, 2024, Mizoram and Assam agreed to continue to promote and maintain peace along the inter-state border, as part of efforts to resolve their decades-long boundary dispute. Both states committed to find solutions to amicably resolve the border dispute and reaffirmed their commitment to continue with the zero-tolerance policy towards transportation of smuggled areca nuts from neighbouring countries. Tensions between the two States have reached a flashpoint on various occasions in the past, including:
July 26, 2021: Violent clashes erupted along the Assam-Mizoram border, resulting in the deaths of at least five Assam Police personnel and injuries to over 50 persons.
October 2020: Two skirmishes occurred within a week over developments in Lailapur (Assam) on territory claimed by Mizoram, leading to injuries and property damage.
February 2018: Tensions escalated when the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) constructed a wooden rest house for farmers on land claimed by Assam. The rest house was subsequently demolished by Assam Police, leading to unrest.
Despite being largely free from insurgency-related violence since 2015, Mizoram remains a significant hub for arms, ammunition, and explosives trafficking, largely due to its porous border with Myanmar.
Militant groups in Northeast India, such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), and Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), are key recipients of these weapons. In Myanmar, groups such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and various factions resisting the military junta also rely on these arms to sustain their operations. Weapons are principally sourced from black markets in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, and are often transported by sea to coastal areas such as Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. They are then smuggled overland through the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), eventually entering Northeast India via states such as Mizoram and Manipur.
The state has witnessed a sharp rise in recoveries of illegal arms and explosives, with SFs intensifying operations in response to the post-coup instability in Myanmar. While insurgency-linked fatalities have been absent since 2023, Mizoram continues to grapple with the challenges posed by arms trafficking, refugee influx, and cross-border insurgent movements. Cross-border insurgent movements in Mizoram remain a significant security concern, primarily due to its porous and challenging border with Myanmar. The state’s proximity to conflict zones has made it a transit route and occasional shelter for insurgent groups. Myanmar-based militant factions, particularly those resisting the military junta, have been known to cross into Mizoram, seeking refuge or logistical support. Additionally, some Northeast Indian insurgent groups utilize the difficult terrain to facilitate the movement of arms and personnel. The arrest of cadres linked to these groups underscores the persistent threat posed by cross-border insurgency. While Mizoram remains relatively peaceful, its strategic location and ongoing security challenges necessitate continuous vigilance and coordinated countermeasures by law enforcement agencies.
Bihar: Maoists’ Odds and ends
On February 25, 2025, Vivek Yadav aka Sunil aka Karu Ji aka Break aka Neta Ji, the in charge of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) South Bihar regional committee and ‘zonal commander’ of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), was shot dead, and his body, with bullet wounds to the head and back, was found at an abandoned spot near Gaibachhia Dam, close to the Majhauli Hills under Dumaria Police Station limits in Gaya District. Vivek Yadav, a resident of Karnad village under Kothi police station in Gaya district, was wanted in over 40 cases of attack, extortion, kidnapping, and murder in Bihar and Jharkhand. At least 26 cases were registered against him across various Police Stations in South Bihar districts. The Bihar and Jharkhand Police had announced a reward of INR 1.3 million for his capture, disclosed City Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaya, Ramanand Kaushal.
This is the lone fatality recorded in the State in Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE]-linked violence in the current year, thus far (data till March 9, 2025).
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Bihar recorded one civilian fatality in LWE-related violence in 2024, as against no fatalities recorded in 2023. Four fatalities (all Maoists) were recorded in 2022.
The sole fatality in 2024 was civilian, and was recorded after no fatalities in this category for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2022. A previous low of four civilian fatalities was recorded in 2015. A high of 46 civilian fatalities in the state was recorded twice, in 2000 and 2010.
For the fifth year in a row, SFs did not suffer any loss in the state in 2024. The last SF fatality was recorded on February 14, 2019, when a sub-inspector of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists, targeting an SF team on a combing operation in the Langurahi Forests of Gaya District. Since then, however, SFs have killed 22 Maoists. These numbers indicate that, over time, the SFs have established complete domination over the Maoist rebels on the ground in Bihar. Further, at least 20 Maoists were arrested in 2024 in addition to 33 such arrests in 2023. At least 52 Maoists were arrested in 2022, 45 in 2021, 34 in 2020, and 50 in 2019. In the interim, mounting SF pressure also resulted in the surrender of at least one Maoist in 2024, in addition to six in 2023. At least three Maoists surrendered in 2022, one in 2021, four in 2020, and seven in 2019.
Other parameters of violence also registered a stark decline. Significantly, the number of LWE-related incidents fell from 40 recorded in 2023 to 25 in 2024. The Maoists failed to carry out a single major incident (resulting in three or more fatalities) in 2024 as well as in 2023 and 2022. One such incident was recorded in 2021, in which four civilians were killed. The Maoists failed to orchestrate any explosion in 2024 as well as in 2023. One such blast was recorded in 2022. The Maoists did not carry out any incident of arson in 2024, as compared to one such incident against a civilian construction company in 2023.
No incident of abduction was reported in 2024, as against one such incident, in which three employees of the Shail Construction Company, including Shahbaz Khan, the manager of the bridge construction company, were abducted and taken to a dense forest area along the Gaya-Aurangabad District boundary by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres in Gaya District in 2023. Two of the abducted employees were released, and were instructed to convey a ransom demand of INR three million to the company’s owner, Shailesh Singh. The third victim was, however, dropped off near Banke Dham in Gaya District after four days of captivity. A Police officer disclosed that the Maoists did not follow up on their demand after a multi-agency search operation comprising the state Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and the CRPF’s special unit, Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA), was started.
The Maoists did not issue any bandh (shut down strike) call in 2024, while there was one such call in 2023, in protest against the killing of five members of the CPI-Maoist in the Chatra District of Jharkhand on April 3, 2023.
The SFs recovered caches of arms, ammunition, and explosives on eight occasions in 2024, in addition to 18 such incidents in 2023. Further, in one significant incident on January 8, 2025, the Bihar Police foiled a major attack by the CPI-Maoist following the recovery of a large quantity of landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and raw materials during a special drive launched against the rebels in the Tarchua locality, a part of the Chhakarbandha Forest, in Gaya District. A cave-like corner of the Chhakarbandha Forest was being used for assembling IEDs and landmines. The huge stock of explosives and raw materials for manufacturing high-quality IEDs indicated that the Maoists had planned to carry out a Chhattisgarh-type operation in Bihar’s Chhakarbandha Forest, close to the Jharkhand border. The seized articles include four cylinders, each weighing four kilograms; two cylinders, each weighing two kilograms; five pressure cookers, each weighing 12 kilograms; steel containers weighing 10 kilograms; 44 tiffin bombs; 20 tin cutters; and 20 hammers, among others materials. Landmines and IEDs were also recovered from the spot.
Meanwhile, according to SATP data for 2024, based on assessments of underground and overground activities of the Maoists, three districts, Gaya, Aurangabad, and Lakhisarai, remained marginally affected. In 2023, Gaya, Aurangabad, and Jamui were marginally affected.
On December 23, 2024, the Bihar Police claimed that the state would be free from the Naxalite menace by 2025. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Operations, Amrit Raj asserted that the Maoists had already been driven out from North Bihar and no major incident of Maoist violence had been reported from this region. According to Police reports, eight districts, including Gaya, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Jamui, Munger, Rohtas, Nawada and Lakhisarai, still recorded a Naxalite presence. ADGP Raj noted,
The state has witnessed a decline of 72 per cent in Maoist related incidents in the last five years. Only five districts – Gaya, Aurangabad, Jamui, Lakhisarai and Munger – have witnessed sporadic incidents but they were not serious… We have decided to set up five forward operating bases in the districts close to the Bihar-Jharkhand border to contain activities of the outlawed red rebels… We hope to make the state free from Naxal menace by 2025, as we have focused our operation in South Bihar.
Earlier, on December 10, 2024, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament), did not include any districts of Bihar in the list of 38 districts (with effect from April 2024) across nine states, affected by LWE in the country.
Meanwhile, taking stringent action to prevent any attempts at revival and to holistically contain Maoist subversive activities, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet on February 22, 2025, against Bihari Paswan, a member of the CPI-Maoist North Bihar Madhya Zonal Committee, for attempts to revive the rebel presence in the Magadh zone of Bihar. Paswan stands charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The chargesheet, submitted to a special court in Patna, identifies Paswan as part of the North Bihar Madhya Zonal Committee, making him the fourth accused in the ongoing investigation. According to the NIA, Paswan was arrested in August 2024, with evidence suggesting his involvement in assembling IEDs. Allegations against Paswan include collaborating with higher-ranking Maoist leaders, such as Pramod Mishra, a ‘politburo’ member, to expand CPI-Maoist influence in places like Begusarai-Khagaria. At the time of his arrest, communication devices and incriminating letters were confiscated, linking him to financial operations supporting the group’s activities through illicit levies.
Similarly, on January 15, 2025, NIA chargesheeted a third accused in a case pertaining to the recovery of an AK-47 from CPI-Maoist cadres in a forest area near Bairiyakala village under the Laukariya Police Station, Bagha, in West Champaran District. In the supplementary chargesheet filed before the NIA Special Court, Patna, top Maoist leader Pramod Mishra aka Sohan Da aka Madan Da aka Bibi Je aka Baba has been charged u/s 120B & 121A of IPC and u/s 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 & 40 of the UAPA Act, 1967. Investigations disclosed that on the instruction of Mishra, two other accused Ram Babu Ram aka Rajan and Rambabu Paswan aka Dhiraj, were engaged in raising funds to carry out Maoist related activities. Mishra was involved in motivating the former cadres of the group to re-join the outfit with the intention of terrorizing the masses and to threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India. During the course of further investigation, it was established that Pramod Mishra was propagating the CPI-Maoist ideology and organising arms and ammunition for the rebels. NIA also filed a supplementary chargesheet against Mishra and his associate Anil Yadav in connection with a plot to revive the Maoist outfit in Magadh zone of Bihar in March last year. In September 2023, the members of the group were organising meeting with the aim to revive the Maoist group in the Magadh region through means of ‘levy’ (extortion money) collection, primarily from contractors, prominent business establishments, and toll plazas. The members were taking instructions from Mishra, who had been directly involved in organising meetings of the active cadres, while promoting and propagating the Maoist ideology.
On January 15, 2025, the NIA chargesheeted a seventh accused in a case relating to the recovery of arms and ammunition from CPI-Maoist operative, Parshuram Singh aka Nandlal, resident of Bistol in Jehanabad District. The case relates to the recovery of arms and ammunition from Singh’s house in Bistol, and his garage/workshop in Danapur. He was charged with conspiring to wage war against the Government of India, and disrupting the country’s unity, integrity, security, and sovereignty, along with other members of CPI-Maoist, by supplying arms, ammunition, and explosives.
Despite dramatic improvements in the security situation, some concern persists. The conduct of the Maoists at the time of the civilian killing on June 13, 2024, raises questions. Jitendra Yadav aka Heera Yadav (40), who was sleeping in his house in Kamal Bigha village of the Konch Police Station area in Gaya District, was shot and killed by a squad of the CPI-Maoist cadres. Significantly, after committing the crime, the squad raised slogans, “Maoist Zindabad, Inquilab Zindabad”, creating an atmosphere of terror by firing in the air while leaving the place
Persistent efforts by the rebels to appeal to the people by taking up local issues also continue. For instance, on May 29, 2024, the CPI-Maoist dropped a pamphlet against the bidi leaf contractor and clerk in Dubhal village under the Imamganj Police Station area in Gaya District. The pamphlet stated that bidi leaf workers should be paid INR 300 per hundred; men and women should be provided with clothes, rice, medicine, etc.; the rate should be appropriate according to the worker; the leaves should not be pulled upside down; and the clerk contractor who cuts the wages of the workers who sweat in the jungles and mountains in the scorching sun should be punished.
The significant SF consolidation across Bihar notwithstanding, according to the latest Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data, as on January 1, 2023, the state continues to reel under crucial deficits in the strength and quality of its Police Force. The State’s police-population ratio (policemen per hundred thousand population) stands at an abysmal 81.49, the lowest in the country, and just over half the national average of 154.84. The police strength:area ratio for the state is 109.03 below the sanctioned ratio of 153.30, (28.87 percent). Further, there is a vacancy of 41,686 Police personnel (28.87 per cent) against the sanctioned strength of 144,350 in Bihar. 19 posts of apex Indian Police Service (IPS) Officers were also vacant, against a sanctioned strength of 242 – a deficit of 7.85 per cent.
A note of caution is, consequently, needed. ADGP Raj has rightly noted that the Bihar has made major progress in countering Maoist influence, reducing the number of affected districts from 22 in 2012 to just eight in 2024 (according to State Police assessments) – Munger, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Nawada, Gaya, Aurangabad, Rohtas, and Kaimur. Some of these have transitioned from ‘highly affected’ to ‘legacy and thrust districts,’ which are still at risk of LWE expansion and require ongoing support. He further disclosed,
Current Maoist activities are primarily concentrated in two areas – the Gaya-Aurangabad axis and the Jamui-Lakhisarai-Munger axis. The Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee operates with three small groups along the first axis while the Eastern Bihar Northeastern Jharkhand Special Area Committee has nine armed operatives along the second.
The state Police leadership is evidently aware of the lingering threat of the Maoists, and their efforts for revival, and SF operations continue to target the affected areas, to neutralize any Maoist efforts to engineer a resurrection. Addressing the existing deficits in the Bihar Police Force would go a long way towards consolidating SF dominance and establishing an enduring peace in this long-afflicted state and its surrounding regions.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
March 3-9, 2025
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.