SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Global Terror: Failure to Launch
On August 22, 2024, the Delhi Police Special Cell uncovered a terrorist network linked to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), arresting 11 suspects and detaining three others, in raids at 15 locations across three states, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Six suspects – Hasan Ansari, Enamul Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farooq, and Shahbaz Ansari – all residents of Jharkhand, were arrested in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, while undergoing weapons training. They had been residing in Rajasthan for the preceding few days. Another five more suspects – Ishtiyaq Ahmed, Motiur, Rizwan, Mufti Rahmatullah, and Faizan – were arrested in Ranchi, Jharkhand, following the arrest of and disclosures by, the six arrested earlier. Three suspects were also detained from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, for questioning.
A cache of arms, ammunition and other materials were recovered during the operation, including one AK-47 rifle, a .38 bore revolver, six live cartridges of .38 bore, 30 live cartridges of .32 bore, and 30 live cartridges for the AK-47. A dummy INSAS rifle, an air rifle, an iron elbow pipe, one hand grenade, some wire, a 1.5-volt AA battery, a table watch, four ground sheets, a target, a camping tent, and various food items such as biscuits, a packet of chips, and a water bottle.
According to reports, members of the terrorist module received training, including weapons handling, at various locations, such as the jungles of the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan. According to the Police, the module, active for several months, with its members coordinating through social media, was planning to carry out a terrorist attack in northern India during the upcoming festive season. A Delhi Police statement noted,
The module, as per the current state of operations, was being led by one Dr. Ishtiyaq of Ranchi (Jharkhand), and it was aspiring to declare ‘khilafat’ and execute serious terrorist activities within the country.
Dr. Ishtiyaq Ahmed, employed with a major private hospital in Ranch, Jharkhand, led the module that was conspiring to carry out terrorist activities across India and was purportedly on the cusp of executing terrorist strikes.
Reports further indicate that the neutralised module was linked to an AQIS module dismantled in December 2015. While five were arrested then, another 12 managed to remain undetected and continued their operations. Some of them have now been arrested. This module appeared to be inspired by Al Qaeda ideologue Abu Sufiyan, who is allegedly in Afghanistan.
This is not the first Al-Qaeda/AQIS module that has bene neutralized in India. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 63 Al-Qaeda/AQIS cadres have been arrested since March 6, 2000, from across India.
Al-Qaeda, a global Islamist terrorist outfit, has continued with its efforts to establish a network and to provoke violence in India since 1996, though with no success at all.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s latest report released in July 2024 observes, “In the medium term, a potential merger of TTP [Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan] and AQIS could escalate the threat against Pakistan, and eventually India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.”
The second major global Islamist terrorist formation – the Islamic State or Daesh – despite having failed to carry out any significant attack since its ‘entry’ into India, continues with its efforts as well. Most recently, on August 8, 2024, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested an Islamic State terrorist, identified as Rizwan Abdul Haji Ali, who is also an operative of the Pune (Maharashtra) module of the Islamic State, from Ganga Baksh Marg near the Biodiversity Park in the Tughlakabad village of South East Delhi District, Delhi. He is a resident of Daryaganj in Central Delhi District, and carried a reward of INR 300,000 declared by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his arrest. NIA had filed a charge sheet against him in March 2024, for his involvement in the Pune Islamic State arms and explosives seizure case of July 2023.
According to the SATP database, 545 Islamic State sympathizers/recruits have been arrested/detained in India (till August 25, 2024), including 316 terrorists and 229 sympathisers. The NIA is investigating around 40 Islamic State modules related cases, in which 182 persons have been arrested; charge sheets have been filed in 35 cases; and 42 accused have been convicted.
In one of the latest charge sheets, filed on August 12, 2024, against two persons – Mohammed Zoheb Khan, who was arrested by NIA in February 2024, and Libya-based Mohammed Shoeb Khan – in the Islamic State terror conspiracy case connected with the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra, linked module, the Agency has revealed a web of anti-India activities involving the two accused. NIA found that the two men had taken ‘bayath’ (pledge of allegiance) toward the self-proclaimed Khalifa of the Islamic State and planned to flee to Afghanistan or Turkey after executing a series of terrorist attacks in India as part of the conspiracy, were also found to be actively involved in developing a website for the promotion of the violent ideology of the Islamic State. Investigations further revealed that Mohammed Zoheb Khan, who was recruited by Mohammed Shoeb Khan, had created a WhatsApp group and had added more than 50 youths from the Aurangabad area to the group with the intent to radicalise and recruit them for furthering the activities of the Islamic State in India. The accused had been sharing videos related to the manufacturing of explosives and fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). They had also prepared a detailed plan of action for the execution of terrorist attacks at multiple places in India and actions to be taken after the execution of attacks.
Additionally, the Hizb-ut Tahrir (HuT), an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organisation whose stated aim is the re-establishment of Islamic ideology, youth radicalisation, conversion to Islam and the implementation of the Sharia constitution written by Hizb ut-Tahrir’s founder Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani, has also been active in India. NIA has arrested and charge-sheeted several terrorists/associates of this outfit as well.
Most recently, on June 30, 2024, the NIA arrested two persons, Abdul Rehman aka Abdul Rahman and Mujibur Rehman aka Mujibur Rahman Altham Sahib, both from Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. NIA investigations revealed that they were involved in conducting secret classes to radicalise persons against ideologies promoting democracy and the Indian Constitution, law and judiciary. The trainees were taught that India was now Darul Kufr (Land of Non-believers) and it was their duty to transform it into Darul Islam by establishing an Islamic state in India by waging violent jihad. Searches led to the seizure of digital devices (mobile phones, Laptop, SIM cards and memory cards) and several incriminating documents, including books and printouts containing the ideology of HuT, Khilafa, Islamic State and the proposed Khilafa Government and its funding structures etc.
Reports indicate that at least 25 individuals associated with HuT have been arrested from across India in 2023 and 2024 (data till August 24, 2024).
Though all these terrorist formations have failed to make any significant inroads and have failed to carry out any notable attack inside India, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), has banned the first two groups and all their manifestations, and is also planning to ban HuT, which has already been banned in 16 other countries, fearing a larger threat.
Meanwhile, to fight the threat of ‘lone wolf’ attacks, which has intensified across the globe post-emergence of the Islamic State, as several Islamic State-inspired individuals have carried out attacks, the Central Government amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist. Before this amendment, only organizations could be designated as ‘terrorist’. By invoking the said amended provision, the Central Government had designated 57 individuals as terrorists.
India has recorded at least four Islamic State ‘inspired’ attacks, all in 2022, though no linkages with Daesh Central’ were established in any of them. These included:
December 14-15: Two terror suspects, Jagjit Singh alias Jagga and Naushad, beheaded a 21-year-old man in Delhi. The incident came on light when the duo was arrested on January 12, 2023, and subsequently based on their revelations, the Delhi Police recovered two hand grenades and a man’s dismembered body on January 14, 2023. Two terror suspects revealed that they were inspired by Islamic State to carry the beheading.
October 23: One person, identified as Jameza Mubin, died in an early morning explosion of the cylinder-laden Maruti 800 near Kottai Eswaran Temple in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore District. He was to target the Temple. NIA investigation has revealed that Mubin was inspired by Da’esh ideology.
June 28 : Kanhaiya Lal Teli, a Hindu tailor, was murdered by two attackers, reportedly having links with Islamic State, in Udaipur in Rajasthan. The assailants captured the attack on camera and circulated the video online.
June 21 : A chemist, Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe was stabbed to death by three assailants in Amravati of Maharashtra over a social media post in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Islamic State role was established in the case.
Meanwhile, on July 4, 2024, a 34-year-old man, identified as Faizan Sheikh, a mechanic who was influenced by the ideologies of the Islamic State and other outfits was arrested for allegedly planning “lone-wolf” attacks on Security Forces, from the Khandwa town in Madhya Pradesh. The Ant-Terrorism Squad (ATS) recovered four mobile phones, a pistol, live cartridges, and literature and videos of Da’esh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Indian Mujahideen, from Sheikh. ATS Inspector General Ashish disclosed, “Sheikh was bringing together and helping the families of SIMI [Students’ Islamic Movement of India] activists killed in an encounter [in 2016] with police. He conducted recces to carry out lone-wolf attacks on police personnel in Khandwa town.”
The Islamic State is using various internet-based social media platforms to propagate its ideology. Cyberspace is being closely watched in this regard by the agencies concerned and action is taken as per law.
Radicalisation by the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, HuT, among others, is one of the most challenging problems faced by countries all over the world. In the Indian context, some foreign agencies inimical to India, along with Global Terrorist Groups, have been making efforts to radicalise people. However, the inclination towards these radical Islamist ideologies has been minuscule among the very large population of Muslims.
The Government has created a Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation Division in the UMHA to help and coordinate with various security and law enforcement agencies to neutralise efforts for radicalisation.
The immediate threat to security from these extremist and terrorist groups is quite low, but they cannot be ignored. A single catastrophic act of terrorism can do enormous damage, and can catalyse a surge in potential recruits to the extremist cause. Continuous efforts are consequently necessary to ensure that these present irritants are not transformed into a major problem.
Chhattisgarh: Dantewada – Crumbling Maoist Edifice
On August 10, 2024, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed by Security Forces (SFs) in the forests near the Ikeli, Nelgoda, and Tumnar villages under Geedam Police Station limits in Dantewada District in the Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh. Following the gunfight, the body of a male Maoist cadre and a weapon were recovered from the site. Prima facie, the slain Maoist was a member of the CPI-Maoist ‘platoon number 16’.
On June 27, 2024, two tribals, including a woman, were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion triggered by the Maoists near the forested village of Tadelbaya under Barsoor Police Station limits in Dantewada District.
On May 23, 2024, a CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter with SFs in a forest along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border area, under the jurisdiction of the Barsoor Police Station in Dantewada District. The Maoists planted a 15-kilogramme IED with the aim of causing harm to the SFs, which was safely destroyed on the spot by the SFs. A huge cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered. The identity of the slain Maoist was yet to be ascertained.
On May 22, 2024, at least seven Maoists were killed in an encounter with the SFs that took place in the jurisdiction of Barsoor Police Station limits in Dantewada District. The operation began at around 11am [IST] when Maoists suddenly opened fire on the Forces, and intermittent firing continued into the evening. As the Forces moved forward, they found the bodies of seven Maoists “dressed in the uniforms of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) and also their weapons”. The identities of the Maoists were yet to be ascertained.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 16 fatalities (one civilian, one SF trooper, and 14 Maoists) have been registered in Dantewada District in eight incidents of killing in the current year, thus far (data till August 25, 2024). During the corresponding period of 2023, at least 12 fatalities (two civilians and 10 SF personnel) were recorded in two incidents of killing. Thus, a spike of 33.33 per cent in comparative fatalities was witnessed. Another six fatalities (all Maoists) were recorded in three incidents of killing in the District in the remaining period of 2023.
Since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling data on Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked violence, Dantewada has chronicled 1,218 fatalities (353 civilians, 422 SF personnel, 437 Maoists, and six ‘unspecified’) in such violence, accounting for 31.92 per cent of the 3,815 fatalities (1,016 civilians, 1,229 SF personnel, 1,546 Maoists, and 24 killings remained ‘unspecified’) in the state.
The rise in Maoist killings in the current year is not surprising, as the recent trend demonstrate the intensification of SF operations to contain the rebels in their strongholds. Significantly, in 2024, the SFs lost just one trooper in the fight against the rebels and eliminated 14 Maoist cadres, a kill ratio of 1:14. The kill ratio was in favour of the Maoists in 2023, at 1.66:1 (10 SF personnel, six Maoists). In 2022, the SFs lost no trooper, but had eliminated eight Maoists. Since 2000, with a total of 422 SF personnel and 437 Maoists killed in the district, the overall kill ratio remains in favour of the SFs, though marginally, at 1:1.03. Paradoxically, Dantewada is the infamous location of the Chintalnad incident, in which 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and one Policeman of the Chhattisgarh Police were killed.
Meanwhile, civilian fatalities, a crucial index of the security situation in an area, have dropped to one in the current year, thus far (data till August 25, 2024). During the corresponding period in 2023, at least two civilians were killed in the district; however, no further civilian fatality was recorded in the remaining period of 2023, keeping the total to two in this category in the year. There was a peak of 155 fatalities in this category in 2006. Civilian fatalities have seen a cyclical trend in the district, and a low of a single fatality was recorded in 2012, 2016, and 2024.
Excluding a couple parameters of violence, the security situation in the district suggests that the situation has improved over the past several years. One major incident (resulting in three or more fatalities) has been recorded in the current year, as compared to two such incidents in 2023. A total of 105 such incidents has been documented since 2000. Five incidents of the recovery of arms have been recorded in the current year, as compared to seven such incidents in 2023. A total of 147 incidents involving the recovery of arms has been recorded since 2000.
The Maoists have triggered explosions on three occasions in the current year, as compared to two such incidents in 2023. A total of 115 such explosions has been recorded since 2000. Maoists have already exchanged fire with SFs on six occasions in 2024, as compared to four in 2023. 169 such incidents have been recorded since 2000.
Meanwhile, combing operations and raids have resulted in the arrest of 647 Maoists in the District since March 6, 2000, including 15 arrests recorded in the current year (data till August 25, 2024). On May 28, 2024, following an IED blast, some suspects were seen trying to escape from the spot, but security personnel chased and arrested 15 Maoist cadres, seven of them women, near the Gumalnar village under Geedam Police Station limits in Dantewada District. Most of the arrested cadres were active in front organisations of the CPI-Maoist. They revealed that they were hiding in a forest to target security personnel. One IED, an electric wire, a detonator, a steel tiffin box, Maoist pamphlets and literature, Maoist uniforms, and items of daily use were recovered from their possession. The identities of the arrested Maoists are yet to be confirmed.
Marking a significant step towards peace and stability in the region, a total of 744 Maoists surrendered in Dantewada to reintegrate into the mainstream society since 2000, according to SATP. Recently, on August 13, 2024, a CPI-Maoist couple, identified as Bheema aks Pavan Madvi (28) and his wife Vimla Madkam (25), carrying a collective reward of INR 700,000 on their heads, surrendered in Dantewada District. Pavan, an active member of the Malanger area committee of Maoists for the past decade, carried an INR 500,000 bounty for his alleged involvement in attacks on Police teams and triggering IED blasts. Vimla, Pavan’s wife, was a member of Maoist platoon No. 31, and had an INR 200,000 reward on her head.
However, according to a media report dated August 14, 2024, Dantewada Police has claimed that at least 861 Maoists, including 193 cadres with rewards, have surrendered under the Lon Varratu (Return to your home/village) campaign in Dantewada since June 2020.
Taking proactive action against the Maoists, on August 8, 2024, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed chargesheets in a special court in Jagdalpur in Bastar District against five individuals, Vikesh aka Vicky Goyal, Balram Tamo, Sumit Dixit aka Chhotu, Rajesham Pogula, and Mallesh, for their alleged involvement in providing logistics and support to the CPI-Maoist. The five accused, residents of various parts of Chhattisgarh, face charges under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Originally, the Geedam Police in Dantewada District registered the case in June 2023, following the seizure of INR 106,335 in cash and several incriminating items from CPI-Maoist members. The NIA took over the case (RC-03/2023/NIA-RPR), discovering that the accused were deeply involved in the outfit’s logistics and in handling demonetised currency to further the organisation’s anti-national agenda. Investigations revealed that Mallesh held the pivotal role of ‘military commander in chief’ of platoon No. 16 and was a Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) of CPI-Maoist.
Meanwhile, threats persist. On January 30, 2024, SFs discovered a 130-metre-long and 10-foot-deep tunnel used as an underground hideout by the Maoists in Dantewada District. Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Rai, disclosing details, stated,
The hideout was camouflaged, and no one noticed it until one of our District Reserve Guards jawans discovered it. This is probably the biggest underground hideout we’ve discovered in the region so far. We believe it served as a Maoist hideout during the movement of force. However, it can be used for other purposes, such as ambush trapping the police force.
Dantewada falls within the perilous ‘Bastar Division’ of Chhattisgarh, which still remains a major challenge for the state. The district shares borders with Bijapur, Sukma, Bastar, and Narayanpur districts in the state, all of which are afflicted by the Maoist menace.
Aggressive SF consolidation in the state, as well in Dantewada, has taken the Maoists by surprise. However, the extremists continue with their efforts to re-claim control in their former areas of ascendancy, though with little present success. Sustained SF operations in difficult terrain are necessary to extinguish the remaining challenge in the district.