Internal Security Watch

[jimmyray]

One UP dacoit vs 400 policemen: 3 cops killed, IG, DIG hurt

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/one-u ... rt/478112/

why 400 policemen needed for one dacoit? Dacoits didn't have greater firepower than police as earlier said by ADG police.

probably because he had local support among the village/villagers. Might have been a robinhood do-gooder type with popular mass appeal.

It also reflects the training and motivation in the police force. After IG and DIG were wounded and 3 policemen died, ADGP of UP police Brij Lal had to himself take the charge and give a pep talk to the policemen. He ultimately led the final assault on the house from where the dacoit was firing. Better trained and equipped, specialized units are absolutely necessary to deal with groups of highly motivated and trained individuals or groups of outlaws. Most policemen in UP have not fired a practise round in years, are armed with .303 (which often doesn't work) and are conditioned only to intimidate poor law abiding citizens. What can they be expected to do when faced with trained, motivated professional criminals?

[Sanku]

One UP dacoit vs 400 policemen: 3 cops killed, IG, DIG hurt

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/one-u ... rt/478112/

why 400 policemen needed for one dacoit? Dacoits didn't have greater firepower than police as earlier said by ADG police.

probably because he had local support among the village/villagers. Might have been a robinhood do-gooder type with popular mass appeal.

This one particular dacoit was initially a police asset and highly trained and motivated by police to bring down a rival gang. Which he did however post that he himself along with the rest of his gang became a headache which had to be fixed.

[Jamal K. Malik]

Elite anti-Naxal CoBRA forces begin operations in Lalgarh
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/elite ... rh/478770/

Is it a radical operation or just palliative surgery.

[Sanjay]

Regarding the UP incident - has anyone considered that the vast majority of those policemen would have been cordoning off the village and the surrounding area to prevent the dacoit escaping ? Witness what happened in Delhi when terrorists escaped because of insufficient perimeter security. Look at what happens in the US - cops form a perimeter and the attack is spearheaded by a small SWAT unit - closest parallel I can think of is Ruby Ridge.

The media should analyse the operation and not trivialize the incident with idiotic headlines such as 500 vs 1 or rubbish like that. No doubt he was a good shot and the police need improved tactics and motivation and training but I am certain the assault was led by a relative handful of personnel.

One other thing - whenever called on (besides clobbering muslims for fun and other such obscenities) the PAC has performed better than most other Armed Police Units in armed incidents.

[Rahul Mehta]

It also reflects the training and motivation in the police force. After IG and DIG were wounded and 3 policemen died, ADGP of UP police Brij Lal had to himself take the charge and give a pep talk to the policemen. He ultimately led the final assault on the house from where the dacoit was firing. Better trained and equipped, specialized units are absolutely necessary to deal with groups of highly motivated and trained individuals or groups of outlaws. Most policemen in UP have not fired a practise round in years, are armed with .303 (which often doesn't work) and are conditioned only to intimidate poor law abiding citizens. What can they be expected to do when faced with trained, motivated professional criminals?

A state can give weapons, trainning and ammunition ONLY as per the cap allowed by center.

IOW, if center says that Gujarat policemen will have only 1000 AK47, Gujarat Govt cant make it 1001.

And same applies for training and equipment.

And MMS does not allow States to have good police. Neither did past PMs.

.

[Sanjay]

To support my argument - I would advise a study of Ruby Ridge where to take down Weaver the US deployed over 400 armed personnel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge
"A stand-off ensued for 12 days as several hundred federal agents surrounded the house and negotiations for a surrender were attempted"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2130182/posts
"At least 400 people equipped with sophisticated militar hardware, including "humvees," armored personnel carriers, an. various aircraft, were eventually deployed in the woods around Randy Weaver’s plywood cabin. "

[ramana]

Folks, Internal security means riots, local mass disturbances and spies and things of that nature. Dacoits etc is local law and order problem and can be handled in the police reforms thread in Tech Forum.

The news paper was indulging in psy-ops reinforcing the image of incompetent police. So dont fall for that. If the police felt they needed 400 people and they had the resources they used it. And not senior officers were injured leading from front.

Suggest writing to the editor.

[putnanja]

Most wanted: food

Bhimpur, June 19: What Russia taught Napoleon Bonaparte around 200 years ago, the Bengal government has not learnt even now: an army marches on its stomach.

Several state police personnel taking part in the Lalgarh operation queued up this morning in front of a grocery store in Bhimpur, not looking for Maoists but waiting to buy bread and puffed rice.

“I had my last proper meal on Tuesday night. There is hardly any provision for food and drinking water,” an assistant sub-inspector said.
...
...
“The central force moves with their ration but the state forces normally procure these items locally, which is the responsibility of the local police administration. In the middle of all the action, they may have forgotten to make the arrangements,” said an RAF officer.

Such amnesia can be disastrous. Napoleon had learnt the importance of supply lines from his own experience in Russia from where he had to retreat because his troops were emaciated by the time they reached Moscow in 1812.
...

[Sanjay]

A word of caution on the Lalgarh operation - there are going to be setbacks and humiliations for the security forces. The Maoists have entrenched themselves and the terrain ensures that the security forces are operating on their terms. There is an additional problem of command and control of the forces - who is in charge of the operaiton ? If it is the WB police, there is a major issue as to their competence and ability to coordinate such an offensive. The CRPF, BSF and even the COBRA unit seem to be in a supporting role - getting the cops out of trouble when they screw up.

More air support is desperately needed in situations such as this.

[Pranav]

Arms Plane from Diego Garcia violates Indian airspace

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news ... ce/478874/

Mumbai A military cargo aircraft AN-124 of Russian origin carrying ammunitions and five persons on board tonight intruded into Indian airspace and landed at the international airport here.

IAF PRO Wing Commander T K Singha said the plane, which entered the Indian airspace at around 2000 hrs, did not have the permission to fly over the Indian airspace. The plane was then asked to land at the Mumbai airport which the aircraft did at 2240 hrs, he told CNN-IBN. Singha described as "untrue" earlier reports that the plane was escorted by Indian Air Force planes up to the airport here. IAF officials and central intelligence sleuths were questioning the people on board the aircraft. IAF sources said the plane apparently belonging to the United States took off from Diego Garcia island, a military base near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and was headed for Kandahar in Afghanistan.

-----------------------------------------------------

This is reminiscent of the Purulia Arms drop case. The excuse of being on the way to Kandahar is not convincing. Mumbai is way off the flight path. In the Purulia case, the pilots were let off by NDA govt without any public accountability. Could be arms for Maoists.

[Pranav]

Revealed: Lashkar's links with Maoists
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/ ... aoists.htm

June 19, 2009 18:35 IST

Investigators on Friday told a Delhi [Images] court that Mohammad Omar Madni, a suspected terrorist, has disclosed about the links between Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] and Maoists in Jharkhand.

"He (Madni) revealed that LeT was acting in coordination with CPI (Maoists) in Jharkhand. He has acted as conduit for LeT and provided training to recruits in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and sent them to India to carry out terror strikes," the public prosecutor told the court which extended the police remand of Madni for seven days.

Delhi Police, which is interrogating Madni, contended that his custodial quizzing was necessary to ascertain his emails details and bank account, which revealed transactions to the tune of Rs 25 lakh.

Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi allowed the plea of the police, which has arrested the militant under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

50-year-old Madni, a resident of Bihar who acquired Nepalese citizenship, was arrested on June four from near Qutub Minar area in South Delhi and produced before the court after the completion of 14 days police custody.

The investigating agency sought police remand of Madni under the recent amendments of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which empowers them to interrogate an accused in custody for 30 days.

Bakshish Singh, who was appointed amicus curiae, opposed the plea of the police, saying they had already been provided with enough time to interrogate the accused.

[shyamd]

The Madurai bombs
------------------------------
Algerian held in Chennai

Police sources said Saleem claimed he was a businessman who came to India to discuss solar energy projects. He was to proceed to Bangalore from here. The intelligence officials are learnt to have conducted a check and found nothing against Saleem in India.

On Friday, the CBI, which represents the Interpol, took Saleem into custody and contacted their counterparts in Algiers for further action.

Saleem, son of Algerian Islamist leader Madhani Abbasi, was allegedly involved in the bombing of the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algeria in August 1992, which killed nine and scores of others.

[aditya]

Interesting videos:

[aditya]

After Chitrakoot fiasco, Mayawati wants police modernisation

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after ... on/479608/

Chief Minister Mayawati has ordered the setting up of a committee headed by Director General (PAC) P P S Siddhu to recommend purchase of arms and state-of-the-art gadgets to strengthen the state police force.

Typical knee-jerk. Gadgets is the priority to deal with a country gangster? Sounds like an excuse for some contractors and middlemen to make hay.

I am aware there is a distinction to be made between law-and-order and internal security, but this is the mindset that dominates everywhere in India.

Whether it was a terrorist or a gangster, the police response was downright pathetic. The facts - 4 policemen getting killed, an IG and DIG taking bullets along with a dozen cops - suggest poor tactics and deficient training rather than the lack of "gadgets". While the commitment and dedication of PAC IG Vijay Kumar Gupta and DIG Sushil Kumar Singh is commendable along with UP ADG Brij Lal who was seen donning BPJ+patka and wielding an AK-47, one must wonder what purpose such acts serve other than endangering senior officials' lives. It is reminiscent of Hemant Karkare. Do these senior officials (senior being the operative word) have the requisite fitness levels and reflexes to be of any operational utility? Certainly the images on TV don't suggest so.

[Rahul Mehta]

Whether it was a terrorist or a gangster, the police response was downright pathetic. The facts - 4 policemen getting killed, an IG and DIG taking bullets along with a dozen cops - suggest poor tactics and deficient training rather than the lack of "gadgets". While the commitment and dedication of PAC IG Vijay Kumar Gupta and DIG Sushil Kumar Singh is commendable along with UP ADG Brij Lal who was seen donning BPJ+patka and wielding an AK-47, one must wonder what purpose such acts serve other than endangering senior officials' lives. It is reminiscent of Hemant Karkare. Do these senior officials (senior being the operative word) have the requisite fitness levels and reflexes to be of any operational utility? Certainly the images on TV don't suggest so.

Before we start showering all praises on IPS and praise their commitments, lets also take into account the FACT that most tall criminals become tall only because at too many points, they get support from IPS. IOW, if IPS in general had commitment, we would not be seeing so many tall gangsters.

I dont know about the 2 specific IPS you mentioned. But if they have commitment, I would assume that they would set traps on other IPS and bring detailed information about corruption of IPS before public, and try their best to get them expelled. Getting a corrupt officer out of force is as important as killing a gangster. And if these IPS have chosen not to take any action against corrupt IPS, then their commitment is non-existent.

Many times, a gangster becomes so tall and so rude that he starts defying orders from IPS. And so IPS are left with no option but to kill him. IOW, IPS often kills true criminals only to protect their turf. Killing criminals who defy IPS while protecting criminals who obey IPS is hardly a show of commitment.

My point is : lets not waste praises on IPS just because they killed a criminal who did not obey them. We should praise IPS ONLY when they ALL stop supporting criminals openly. And IPS of UP or India are miles away from that, and worse, moving in wrong direction.

[sum]

Saleem, son of Algerian Islamist leader Madhani Abbasi, was allegedly involved in the bombing of the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algeria in August 1992, which killed nine and scores of others.

Today's paper reporting that Saleem has been let off after Interpol revoked their earlier warrant on him...

[Stan_Savljevic]

Newspapers inform that Abbasi was a globe trotter who has not been caught all these years. So much for global war on terror! It will be interesting to know how many times Abbasi had visited India and where all he has invested and who are his contacts here. But if our past experience is any guide, Abbasi would be set free because India has no extradition treaty with Algeria and he had not committed any offence in India (at least not in public knowledge).

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpap ... r3262.html

[Jamal K. Malik]

India has most number of domestic terror groups

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/New ... 695178.cms

[Rahul M]

A small article on COBRA from the newspaper bangla statesman.

NOTE : The article is a bit high on rhetoric(not that I'm complaining) and there are some obvious factual mistakes (e.g H&K MP5 is referred to as MP3. Wonder if the force members meant MP5 A3 and the journalist shortened it.) and expansion of CIJWS is wrong. What is commendable however is that the journalist has interviewed a few COBRA members and has some nice information but keeping in mind his limited knowledge of security affairs I've modified wherever I felt appropriate.

Keuter thekeo khipro COBRA (COBRA is quicker than the cobra)

Tarun Ghosh

The garb consists of olive coloured trousers and T-shirts of the same colour. The small backpack contains emergency medicines, water dry food, anti-venom ampules and syringe, not to mention six different types of knives. ( ) An automatic pistol adorns the waist. The weapon of choice is the Heckler and Koch MP5, the other hand cradles a Dragunov rifle.{INSAS and AK-47 are also mentioned as options elsewhere. Accompanying picture shows a jawan with an AK} Everyone's age is between 18 and 24, their movements are as quick as a snake strike, eyes are always darting around, taking in the situation. They speak less and depend on sign language for the most part. This is the first time this force has been deployed in WB's lalgarh.
They are the COBRA.

The T-shirts have raised questions have been raised in some quarters. The answer lies in their short history. The decision to raise this advanced force was taken by the Central Govt in August 2008. The force was created out of CRPF's youngest, most motivated and most competent jawans. Their training period is of 2 years. Since their training is still incomplete the uniform hasn't been decided upon yet. Hence the olive casuals.

COBRA would eventually consist of 10 battalions totaling around 10,000 men. Currently the battalions have been raised with the very low strength of 40-45 as against the normal 900 for a single battalion. Training is going on at two places -- koraput and variengte CIJWS. {I thought the second was in chattisgarh. It might be that the initial members would do a course at CIJWS}
COBRA members are being taught jungle survival and emphasis is being given on living off the land in jungle environment.
They prefer eliminating enemies by hand or with knife, a bullet can alert the others.
All of them are sharp shooters {a bit skeptical about this} They are taught to fire accurately from 300 meters. In stead of the familiar bulls eye, they use coconuts adorned with a red dot which are hung from trees and the coconuts are given a firm push. The dense forests in which such training is conducted adds to the difficulty of hitting the red dot on the oscillating coconuts ! Of the two years, around 8 months is expended in creating a "perfect sharp-shooter" out of the jawans.

The currently deployed force in lalgarh has only 3 months worth of training. But a CoBRA member claims that any of their member would do better than an Army jawan.

There are some thoughts in army quarters {the word used is sena-bahini but I'm not sure the author means the army} of using this force as an advance platoon, they would aliminate nearby enemies and inform the larger forces back home of the enemies' position.
Not only in jungles COBRA will also be deployed in hilly terrain, the training site for that hasn't yet been decided upon.

In lalgarh, the police are outsiders while the maoists know the place like the back of their hand. Coupled with the coming rainy season, the area could become a death trap for the joint forces. This is why this specially trained force has been brought in even before their training has been completed. The CRPF officials initially opposed this but finally agreed to send in the COBRA as a covering force for the joint forces.
The two battalions of COBRA are currently spearheading efforts to gain control of the maoist dominated areas. If the maoists attempt to break the cordon into the "free-zone", the first resistance would come from the COBRA, CRPF forms the second line of defence.

Currently there are no plans for any major offensive operation. Unless attacked, the forces would advance in small steps, gain control of the villages and send in relief and supplies for the residents. This is a time consuming process but will hopefully keep loss of life at a minimum.

[shyamd]

LeT had plans to hit Chennai

BANGALORE: Was Chennai also supposed to witness serial blasts along with Bangalore in July 2008? If Bangalore blast accused Sarfaraz Nawaz’s statement is to be believed, then ‘Yes’; the city was on the LeT radar.

Sarfaraz’s interrogation has revealed that terrorists had planned to carry out blasts in Bangalore and Chennai simultaneously.

However, the LeT leaders in Pakistan changed the plan at the last minute as carrying out blasts in two places at the time requires lot of planning, logistical support and more number of people.

LeT member Sarfaraz Nawaz and Ummer Haji, a Indian Mujahideen member of the Kerala module, who fled to Bangladesh, had hatched a plan to carry out serial bomb blasts in the two state capitals.

But the plan to execute blasts in Chennai was ‘postponed’ by a top LeT leader Wali, alias Reehan, alias Shameem, who is in charge of Gulf region, in January 2008.

Wali asked Sarfaraz to convince Ummar Haji, alias Naseer, to target a single city, using as few people as possible, so that the loss could be minimised in case something goes wrong.

This revelation was made by Sarfaraz Nawaz to the investigator from ATC, Bangalore, after his arrest in February this year.

In January 2008, Ummer Haji called up Sarfaraz and told him that an important operation had to be carried out in two places (Chennai and Bangalore).

He said around Rs 2 lakh rupees would be required for the operation and asked Sarfaraz whether he could arrange for the money.

Sarfaraz, with the help of Ali Abdul Aziz Hooti, (said to detained by Oman police) met Wali in Sharjah as instructed by him.

Wali suggested Sarfaraz to carry out blasts in Bangalore as it was the nerve-centre of Indian IT industry. Besides, an attack on Bangalore would attract the attention of the media and the world.

In the discussion, Wali told Sarafaraz that Ummer Haji would not have any direct involvement in the blasts; and that he would leave the place before the blasts happened.

Wali also agreed to make arrangements for the money (Rs 2 lakh).

[IndraD]

17 years, 48 extensions later Liberhan Commission submits Babri report to PM

According to Times Now, the report could reveal role of BJP's L K Advani and Bajrang Dal in Babri incidents. Report could also shed light on number of other top BJP leaders.
Justice M S Liberhan told Times Now that certain witnesses weren't non-cooperative during the probe. "The report got delayed due to uncooperative attitude of witnesses," he added.

The probe panel was one of the costliest commissions having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff

didnt know where to post this.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Babr ... 719166.cms

[Jamal K. Malik]

Police in mega cities to get helicopters
http://www.ddinews.gov.in/National/Nati ... mbaram.htm

Police forces in mega cities will be provided with helicopters like in New York and London and other big cities of the world, Home Minister P Chidambaram said.

[sanjaychoudhry]

Badal dedicates sophisticated security vehicle to nation
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/109 ... hicle.html

Giving the details of the vehicle, Punjab DGP K K Attri informed Badal at Chief Minister's residence that this Low Carrier Vehicle has been designed by the special wing of Punjab police to enable the police forces to have a facility of hydraulically raised bullet proof chamber with two machine guns rising 16 to 20 feet above the ground level for deterrence and domination in terrorism affected areas.

[Nihat]

Massive operation to flush out militants from Manipur's Pumlen Lake

Imphal, July 1 (ANI): After a successful operation in the Loktak Lake area, security forces have now focused their efforts on flushing out militants from Pumlem Lake, the second largest freshwater wetland in Manipur.

Pumlen Lake is situated in Thoubal district, 40 km from Imphal.

As a part of flushing out militants from the lake area, a combined team of police commandos along with 21 Assam Rifles and 12 Maratha Light Infantry troops cordoned the Toppa Chingjao hillock at Pumlen Lake.

During the operation, security forces burnt down thatched houses that were being used as shelters by the militants.

While returning from the operation, the police gunned down two militants at Mayai Lambi in Imphal West.

"One AK-56 rifle, two magazines with 42 live rounds, one mm pistol along with three live rounds were recovered during the combined force operation," said Ch. Anand Singh, sub inspector, Imphal West.

Toppa Chingjao hillock was once a hotbed of militant activities. This has caused enormous problems to around 100 villagers from 20 households who have been residing around the lake area.

Security forces have started conducting regular search operations in the area to restore peace and normalcy.

The villagers of lake had to vacate their villages and take shelter at the homes of relatives or friends in the neighbouring villages.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090701/8 ... milit.html

[IndraD]

Intelligence input indicates terror threat to west coast: PC

There is an input that there could be a threat to the west coast. We have, therefore, shared it with (the governments of) Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra

During the Mumbai terror attacks last year, the attackers had also used the sea route exposing the loopholes in India’s 7,000-metre long coastal security and the western coast alone is 3,500 kms long.
In 1993 too, Dawood Ibrahim had used the same coast to land his consignment of arms and ammunitions for carrying out the bomb blasts in Mumbai.

[AjayKK]

Indian Fault Lines: Perception and Reality : Maloy Krishna Dhar . Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

[Avinash R]

Chidambaram inaugurates Chennai's NSG hub
1 Jul 2009, 1038 hrs IST, PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 723326.cms

CHENNAI: Special forces of the army will be used to set up anti-terror hubs in Bangalore and Jodhpur, home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said.
...
"We are also using special forces of the army. Bangalore hub is by the special forces of the army. I am trying to set up a special forces of the army in Jodhpur and one in Guwahati using the Border security force", he said.

"Establishing NSG hubs will increase its flexibility and reach and it does not mean that terrorist threat has gone up in the country", he told reporters here.

Asked whether there would be more NSG hubs, he said the four metros of Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata are covered in the first phase.

...
The Chennai hub is built on a 85-acre plot in Nedunkundram in Kanchipuram district, a 12-minute drive from the airport here, with pre-fabricated and permanent structures constructed by the National Building Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) to station the NSG commandos.

"I am grateful to the state government for providing 85 acres of land," he said, adding, the full-fledged NSG campus would be ready by the end of November.

Chidambaram also said the NSG hub would impart training to the state police and the level of training would be on par with that given to NSG cadres.

He said each NSG regional hub comprises 241 commandos.

[RamaY]

Indian Fault Lines: Perception and Reality : Maloy Krishna Dhar . Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

^^^

This comment captures one problme with dilli billis....

Meisam Abhimanyu Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I am happy that you have given an unbiased report on Outer India, especially Manipur. We are a Hindu family. But in Delhi people treat me as a Chinese. Please send hundreds of Indian students to outer India to learn about us.

[vsudhir]

Indian Fault Lines: Perception and Reality : Maloy Krishna Dhar . Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

^^^

This comment captures one problme with dilli billis....

Meisam Abhimanyu Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I am happy that you have given an unbiased report on Outer India, especially Manipur. We are a Hindu family. But in Delhi people treat me as a Chinese. Please send hundreds of Indian students to outer India to learn about us.

Why dilli billis alone?

Once transit to NE via BD becomes reality (no thanks to BD's generosity or realism btw), I for one certainly expect things to improve in that respect.

[Abhi_G]

Indian Fault Lines: Perception and Reality : Maloy Krishna Dhar . Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Sometime back, I posted about the loss of Sylhet during the partition in the "Story of Pak" thread. The INC hand of creating divisions among Hindus (Bengali speaking and Ahamiya speaking) and the complex scenario of Hindus fleeing East Pakistan is very nicely put forward by M. K . Dhar. Two paragraphs are important in this post.

The other shadow area of India, Assam presents a story in contrast that betrays Delhi’s attitude towards the peripheral states and peoples of India. Timeless Assam (Pragjyotishpura) witnessed dingdong battle between the Ahom-Bengali speaking people on the one and the Congress and Muslim League on the other. Right from 1916 planned infiltration of Bengali speaking Muslims started in the Barak and Brahmaputra valley. The allegations of collusion between the British rulers and the Muslim League were clearly discernible. However, fear of Bengali speaking Hindu superiority continued to haunt the Assam leaders even to the days of referendum for Sylhet district. The Assam Congress leaders did not want Sylhet’s merger with India; so also the Muslim League. Jinnah was keen for merger of entre Assam with Bengal forming a part of Pakistan. Nehru was not averse to the idea and said that Assam could hang in balance and to decide later if it wanted to be in India or Pakistan. Fortunately some Assam leaders, some leaders of Bengal and Mahatma Gandhi finally settled for Assam’s inclusion in India. According to authorities Pakistan and Bangladesh still nurture the scheme of greater Bangistan as envisaged by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali (1936). This latent dream of Muslims now disturbs the non-Muslim peoples of Assam.

Why would JLN care? After all, he had already bade "Goodbye Assam" in 1962.

And do you see another creation of Bhindranwale here?

Amidst these dins and dusts of agitations and countermeasures two important developments took place. Some Mottuk (Thai-Ahom) youths of Upper Assam formed what they claimed as United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) allegedly at Rang Ghar near Jorhat on April 7, 1979. The initial top leaders were Paresh Baruah (Commander-in-Chief), Arabinda Rajkhowa (Chairman),Anup Chetia (General Secretary) (in Government of Bangladesh custody) and Pradip Gogoi (Vice-Chairman) (in Government of Assam custody). Most of these youths were related to Congress and Left parties. The allegations that a former chief minister of Assam encouraged the Muttock youth (himself a Muttock) to form the ULFA with a view to belittle and disarray the AASU and AGP cannot be denied as rumors. The history of ULFA’s alleged struggle for liberation of Assam between 1982 and present day has been a unique subject of study by sociologist, economists, political scientists and strategic thinkers.

[sanjaychoudhry]

Nehru was not averse to the idea and said that Assam could hang in balance and to decide later if it wanted to be in India or Pakistan.

The man had a remarkable penchant for treating parts of India as his personal dowry and offer them to his favourite guests and friends .. Offer Assam to Pakistan, Coco Islands to Burma, Tibet to China ... But woe unto anyone who would offer some peice of land to India. JLN rejected with contempt Nepal king's suggestion of merging Nepal with India. "I will give away parts of my kingdom to my friends but will never accept an inch of land" -- this was his motto. He was an "inverted" ruler. It is amazing he never thought of consulting the people of India for the decisions he was taking on their behalf.

[Rahul Mehta]

....It is amazing he never thought of consulting the people of India for the decisions he was taking on their behalf.

sanjaychoudhry,

Not in this holy thread, but some other thread such as neta-babu thread or good governance thread, pls reply the following question - do you believe that we commons should be consulted on political matters?

Or you use "follow/consult the commons" as a selective tool to say bash JLN? Because I dont know of even one MP across all parties in India who ever "consults us commons", and worse, almost every intelligent, articulate, well read, knowledgeable etc person I know believes that commons so stupid that they must not ever be consulted on any damn political issue. And those who believe that commons should be consulted are looked down upon by the knowledgeable ones.

So once again, I would request you to reply in neta-babu thread if you seriously believe that "we commons should be consulted" by leaders.

[Abhi_G]

Manipur kids return home.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090701/j ... 180680.jsp

The children, all of whom are from Senapati, were brought to Imphal today by flight and then taken to their district by bus. “They are safe now. We have informed their parents,” Salony said.

Senapati SP Nishit K. Ujwal said an inquiry found that the parents had willingly handed over the children to the pastors.

June 18: Manipur kids rescued.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090618/j ... 126225.jsp

A group of 25 children from Manipur, aged between six and 14 years, was rescued at Howrah station on Wednesday morning while being taken to Andhra Pradesh.

Three men who were accompanying the group told police that they were pastors and the children were being taken to an Andhra village, Tadetalligudam, where they would be admitted to a good school.

[Jamal K. Malik]

Terror threat to west coast: Chidambaram
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 724018.cms

"There is an intelligence input (and) as is the practice established recently, we share all inputs immediately with the state governments concerned.”

[sanjaychoudhry]

‘More NSG hubs on cards’
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/stor ... 20Ministry

[shyamd]

Bangalore police almost knew it, but they blew it

Not once, but on three occasions, Bangalore police came within sniffing distance of preventing the July 25, 2008 serial blasts in the city, but they blew it. This was revealed by Sarfaraz Nawaz, the Lashkar-e-Taiba member, who provided logistical support to the blasts, to police after his arrest, sources said.

‘LeT rebels tried to stop Fahim from joining outfit’

Fahim Ansari, one of two Indian Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives accused in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, was discouraged from joining the Pakistan-based terror group by LeT recruiters based in the Gulf who had fallen out with the outfit, according to accounts provided to the police by Sarfraz Nawaz, a key accused in the July 25, 2008 Bangalore blasts case.

Nawaz, who himself came into contact with the LeT through the Gulf-based recruiters — Ali, an Oman national, and Jasim alias Tahsin, a Pakistani — said Ansari, however, did not listen to the two and crossed over to Pakistan for training.

According to Nawaz, Ali told him that he was disillusioned with the LeT and was distancing himself from the outfit since it was “deviating from its objectives and misleading people”.

“He (Ali) also conveyed the same message to Fahim Ansari, a Maharashtrian who was motivated to go for training in Pakistan and had come to Muscat en route. As he was already motivated, Fahim Ansari decided to go ahead with the training,” claimed Nawaz.

Nawaz told the police that Ansari went ahead and told the LeT leaders in Pakistan that he had been discouraged from going for training by Ali and Jasim, following which the two were removed from the operations circle of the outfit.

Ansari was arrested in February 2008 in connection with the January 1, 2008 attack on the CRPF camp at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh along with Sabahuddin, the main accused in the December 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Ansari and Sabahuddin are the two LeT trained men of Indian origin who are accused of facilitating the attack on Mumbai. Ansari is accused of offering maps and videos facilitating the November 26, 2008 terror siege.

Sarfaraz Nawaz, 31, who is from Kerala, is a former SIMI activist accused of being a key player in the Bangalore serial blasts case as well as a conspiracy to send youths from Kerala for terror training in Kashmir.

Though not officially acknowledged, Nawaz was believed to have been picked up in Oman and brought to India. He was based in Oman and, according to his own accounts, came into contact with LeT operatives including Ali and Jasim and a Gulf region in-charge Wali alias Rehan alias Shameem, a Pakistani who motivated him to take up jihad, in May 2007.

Nawaz has told the police that while initiating him into the LeT, Ali told him that the LeT was created by former military officers and is involved in fighting the jihad in India. Ali said the LeT motivated people to fight in the name of Islam through religious groups but ended up making religious leaders the scapegoats for terrorism in the bargain, according to Nawaz.

According to Nawaz, the Oman national tried to dissuade him from joining the LeT saying the outfit had lost support due to the “mishandling of various issues”, including the training of militants where trainees suffered injuries and deformities.

According to Nawaz, it was Wali alias Rehan who suggested that an attack should be carried out in Bangalore rather than Chennai since it would attract more attention on account of “IT development and economic growth”.

According to the police, Nawaz himself did not undergo training. The funding and logistics for the Bangalore blasts were handled by him, along with Ummer Haji alias Nasir Tadiyandavede, an operative from Kerala who is yet to be arrested.

[sum]

Riots on in Mysore over a mosque...

3 people killed so far.

[AjayKK]

From ibnlive

Police claim the situation is under control but Mahadevapura main road continues to be blocked by protestors.

The clashes are reportedly over attempts to build a mosque on a disputed piece of land. In fact, two years ago a group had tried to build a mosque on this site but the Huliyamma temple trust had questioned it in court.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/clashes-in-m ... om=rssfeed

[Jamal K. Malik]

Govt bans Assam militant group
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 730337.cms

[shaardula]

joisre ella kushaala?