65 terror groups active in India: Govt

Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers, in Magroom area, near Agartala. Minister R.P.N. Singh said 65 terror groups are active in India currently.

The government has identified 65 terror groups active in the country, out of which a maximum of 34 are in Manipur, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh said available intelligence inputs show that militants/terrorists active in India are often supported and funded by their parent outfits based abroad, particularly in Pakistan, in terms of shelter, training, weapons and finance.

“The existing statutory and legal structure provides adequate provisions to deal with funding of terrorism”, he said in a written reply. The list of terrorist groups active in various states shows Jammu and Kashmir has five such organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul-Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-e-Mujahideen and Al Badr.

In the North-east, Assam has 11, Meghalaya four, Tripura two, Nagaland four, Mizoram two and Manipur 34.

Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Zindabad Force and Khalistan Commando Force are the three militant groups active in Punjab, the statement said.

“Various terrorist groups like LeT, IM, HM, HuJI, Al Badr are active in the hinterland of the country, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi”, the Minister said.

To a supplementary, Mr. Singh said the government has banned 36 outfits and 9 organisations in the country.

“As regards the initiatives taken in the Left Wing Extremism (affected) regions, we have a two-pronged approach in the LWE states. One, we deal very effectively as far as the Naxalites are concerned. The approach of the central government is to deal with LWE in a holistic manner in terms of security, development, good governance and public perception management”, he said.

Ministry of Home Affairs has banned the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War, all its formations and front organisations, the Maoist Communist Centre, all its formations and front organisations in LWE hit areas.

In reply to another supplementary he said while some states are doing extremely well in tackling Naxalism, some are doing moderately well and some are lagging behind. “This is a matter of great concern”, he said.

Two Kuki tribal militants injured in Moreh encounter

Two Kuki tribal militants were seriously wounded among cadres of two factions at Moreh, the border town on Friday night, a delayed report said.

The cadres belong to the factions of the Kuki National Liberation Front. They are signatories to the suspension of operations which means that they cannot resort to insurgency related activities including use of firearms.

The injured militants were rushed inside the 9 Assam Rifles camp at Moreh for treatment. Tension is mounting as fresh encounter may take place in this border town. The government is concerned over the increasing violation of the ground rules with violence and kidnappings for extracting ransom.

Garo rebels kill one, injure three in Meghalaya

One person was shot dead and three were injured in two separate incidents carried out by outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels in insurgency-ravaged Garo Hills in western Meghalaya on Tuesday.

Heavily armed GNLA rebels shot dead Jenipar K. Sangma and assaulted his teenage son Arsen Marak at their residence in Rangmai area under South Garo Hills district allegedly for extorting money in the name of the outlawed outfit, police said.

In another incident, a GNLA rebel lobbed a grenade at a wine store in Jaddigittim market area injuring two people and damaging the wine store. Police said the grenade attack was to mount pressure on businessmen in the area to comply with the GNLA’s extortion demands.

The injured were rushed to a hospital and were released after first aid.

Police have registered a case and a man hunt is on to nab the rebels.

The GNLA, one of five Garo rebel groups fighting for a separate Garoland in western Meghalaya, is headed by police officer-turned-rebel Champion R. Sangma.

Champion Sangma is presently lodged in a Shillong jail after he was arrested from the India-Bangladesh border last year.

The GNLA, which has over 100 rebels, is operating in East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills, has been declared a terrorist outfit.

Over 40 people, including security personnel, have been killed while more than 10 people were abducted for ransom by GNLA rebels in the last three years.

Independence Day boycott call by northeast outfits

GUWAHATI: Like in the past, 11 militant outfits of the region six from Manipur, three from Assam and one each from Meghalaya and Tripura have jointly called for a boycott of Independence Day in the northeast, which they now describe as Western South East Asia (WESEA) region.

The outfits include Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak-Pro, Revolutionary People's Front and United National Liberation Front (UNLF) of Manipur, which operate from one platform called Coordination Committee, Hynniewtrep National Liberation National Liberation Council (HNLC) of Meghalaya, Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO), National Democratic Front of Boroland, Ulfa (Independent) of Assam and National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) of Tripura.

The joint statement said the "boycott call is a mark of solidarity and the strike will be observed from 1am to 5.30pm in the entire region of the Western Southeast Asia."

People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak owns up to blast near Okram bungalow

IMPHAL: The underground People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak-Pro) claimed responsibility for the grenade explosion in front of the main gate of the high-security bungalow-cum-office secretariat of chief minister OkramIbobi Singh in the heart of Imphal on Saturday evening. No one was injured in the blast.

A senior cadre of Prepak (Pro), which is one of the major underground groups fighting to restore Manipur's past sovereignty, informed the media that the attack was triggered by its 'special task force -II '. However, the state government has ordered a probe to ascertain the veracity of the grenade attack.

The Prepak (Pro), along with 10 other militant outfits of the region, has called for boycott of Independence Day celebrations and Saturday's blast has forced the government to ensure watertight security measures in core areas of Imphal city.

The chief minister's bungalow is guarded by three layers of security forces, the inner being manned by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and the outer area by state forces, including CID sleuths.

Deputy chief minister Gaikhangam said the incident would not be taken lightly as the explosion has occurred right in front of the high-security bungalow of the chief minister.

It seems the attackers were trying to demonstrate that they can attack the bungalow though they cannot sneak inside, said Gaikhangam, who is also the home minister.

When asked about defunct CCTVs in the city, the home minister said the gadgets could not be used properly due to irregular and insufficient power supply. However, he added that efforts are on to prepare a detailed project report for setting up a back-up power line by tapping solar energy.

2 insurgents of Achik National Volunteer Council lynched in Assam's Goalpara district

GOALPARA: Two Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) insurgents were lynched allegedly by locals and two others nabbed in Assam'sGoalpara district along Meghalaya on Friday and arms recovered from them, a top police officer said here.

A group of 10 ANVC militants from the Garo Hills in Meghalaya had come to Darangthop under Agia police station to collect extortion money, said DSP Shyamal Prasad Saikia.

Seven Persons Kidnapped in Manipur

Seven persons, including two senior engineers of the Irrigation and Flood department, have been kidnapped by suspected militants from an interior village in Manipur, police said today.

The seven persons -- superintending engineer N Karnaraj, executive engineer N Surachandra, their two drivers, contractor Sanayaima Sharma, Abhijit Sinha and Debajit Sinha were abducted from Pukhuo Terapur area in Imphal East district, about 15 km from here, yesterday.

Both Abhijit Sinha and Debajit Sinha belong to a Kolkata-based construction company, sources said.

The seven persons who were returning to Imphal after inspecting a worksite were taken to an unknown place by the armed abductors, the police said.

As per preliminary investigation, monetary demand from the officials appeared to be the cause of the kidnapping.

An IFCD official, on condition of anonymity, appealed to the kidnappers to release the officials unharmed as their abduction would severely affect the development programmes of the department.

No individual or group has claimed the responsibility for the incident, the police said.

Close aide of NDFB-S chief arrested in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: In a major breakthrough, Assam Police's operations wing arrested AnnaiNarzary alias Kangphu, a close aide of National Democratic Front of Boroland (S) chief I K Songbijit, on Thursday.

Police said Narzary is a self styled sergeant major of the outfit and acted as a major link between the outfit and its counterparts across the borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"Narzary was on his way to Latumbai in Meghalaya when we arrested him. From there, he was supposed to travel to the Barak Valley. We believe he was planning to join some other outfit members who are currently hiding in the jungles of Bangladesh," said a policeman who was a part of the operation.

Police found three mobile phones from his possession. "Narzary works as a link between the outfit's bases in the region and several Myanmar-based ultra groups. He helps to procure arms from Myanmar too," he added.

Narzary, who hails from Udalguri district, was also wanted in several extortion cases in the district.

"Udalguri Police are on the lookout for Narzary for a long time. He was involved in many extortion and abduction cases too," said a policeman in Udalguri who confirmed Narzary's identity.

Militants of NDFB (Songbijit) faction have been building bases in the jungles of Meghalaya bordering Assam. Admitting to the presence of NDFB rebels in the state, a policemen from Meghalaya said, "We have been coordinating with Assam Police and sharing information on the developments. NDFB ultras are setting up bases in Ri Bhoi district. The district has some areas where Bodos reside and these militants are taking advantage of it."