Internal Counter-Terror Ops by Indian Security Forces and NIA : News and Updates

Tamil Nadu cop killed in revenge attack for terror arrests

Wilson (57) was shot dead around 9.30 pm Wednesday at a checkpost near Kaliyakkavilai in Tamil Nadu — his body had stab injuries, too. Police identified the accused from CCTV footage as Shamim and Thowfic (27), both from Kanyakumari.

Written by Arun Janardhanan, Johnson T A | Bengaluru, Chennai | Updated: January 11, 2020 7:09:28 am
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Pic: Abdul Shamim and Thowfic

Two days after the mysterious killing of a Special Sub-Inspector in Kanyakumari district bordering Kerala, investigators have identified one of the two accused as Abdul Shamim (25), and described him as a “self-declared jihadi”. The motive for the killing, they suspect, was revenge for the arrests of three alleged terror suspects in Bengaluru this week.

Wilson (57) was shot dead around 9.30 pm Wednesday at a checkpost near Kaliyakkavilai in Tamil Nadu — his body had stab injuries, too. Police identified the accused from CCTV footage as Shamim and Thowfic (27), both from Kanyakumari.

Police said Shamim has been absconding after obtaining bail last month in the murder case of a Hindu Munnani leader in 2014. “He is unlikely to surrender. He is someone who would commit suicide before arrest, if he gets a chance,” an officer, who had interrogated him earlier, told The Indian Express.

Police initially suspected that the two had reached the checkpost in an SUV and shot the S-I fearing that he would identify Shamim. However, sources said, police now believe the shooting was planned to avenge the arrests Wednesday of Shamim’s suspected associates Mohamed Haneef Khan (29), Imran Khan (32) and Mohamed Zaid (24) in Bengaluru.

On Thursday, Tamil Nadu police started the procedure to obtain custody of the three who were allegedly “acting as sleeper cells to carry out terror acts” in Bengaluru.

Praveen Kumar Abinapu, DIG (Tirunelveli range), told The Indian Express: “We have identified both accused (in the killing of Wilson), we will arrest them soon. We have information that they have escaped to Kerala after the murder late on Wednesday. The murder was not committed during a vehicle check.”

Asked whether the motive was to send a message to Tamil Nadu Police for targeting their associates, Abinapu said: “We assume that is the reason behind this attack.”

On Friday, Wilson’s killing led to an unusual development with Tamil Nadu DGP J K Tripathy meeting his Kerala counterpart Loknath Behra in Thiruvananthapuram. Tripathy had also visited the family of Wilson, who left behind his wife and two college-going children. The family will receive a solatium of Rs 1 crore, according to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami.

Sources told The Indian Express that CCTV footage shows Shamim and Thowfic running into a Jamaath office near the checkpost. Police said both escaped through the another door, which opens to a road connecting to Kerala.

According to police, the three arrested in Bengaluru were “assisting” Shamim and two others — S Syed Ali Nawas (25) and C Khaja Moideen (52), who were jailed in the killing of the Hindu Munnani leader, K P Suresh Kumar, near Chennai more than five years ago. “The three of them were absconding for over a month after they came out on bail. Both Shamim and Nawas are from Kanyakumari, and Moideen is from Cuddalore,” said an officer.

Wilson’s killing has also put the spotlight on a month-long hunt for Moideen, who is accused of radicalising the alleged shooters and named in cases of terrorism in Tamil Nadu. Described by police as the “Islamic State chief of Tamil Nadu”, Moideen was arrested Thursday by the Delhi Police Special Cell along with Nawas and another associate Abdul Samad (28).

Apart from the murder of Suresh Kumar, Moideen is an accused in the alleged recruitment of youths for the Islamic State after coming in contact with Haja Fakrudeen (42), a Tamil Nadu man who travelled to Syria from Singapore in 2014 to join the IS.

The NIA registered a case against Moideen, Fakrudeen and others in 2017 and filed a chargesheet on March 13, 2018, alleging that Moideen “knowingly and wilfully assisted Haja Fakrudeen in joining the ISIS/ISIL/Daish in Syria during January, 2014”.

After he jumped bail on December 12, 2019, Moideen is alleged to have held multiple meetings in the south Bengaluru area with potential recruits.

Technical evidence like SIM card purchase data revealed links with a bus driver Ejaz Pasha operating on the Mumbai route of a private company, a car driver Haneef Khan, an engineer Mohammed Zaid and a youth Imran Ahmed, sources said.

“The technical data showed that the persons linked to Moideen and the others travelled to AP, Odisha, Maharashtra and West Bengal but the trail seemed to go dead after a while,’’ sources said.

The four persons in Karnataka were among several who had been radicalised by Moideen in recent months after he came out on bail, sources said. During searches in Bengaluru, police claim to have found a packet with three country-made guns procured by the group.

Interrogation of suspects revealed that Moideen and his associates travelled in two groups by bus and a private Toyota Innova to Mumbai and West Bengal before they disappeared again — by allegedly slipping into Nepal.

“Shamim and Thowfic were also part of meetings held in Bengaluru that was attended by Moideen. Police were looking for them when the shooting in Kanyakumari occurred,’’ sources said.

Around three days before the shooting, Shamim and Thowfic were in Bengaluru where they got a brother of one of the men arrested by Tamil Nadu police to withdraw Rs 15,000 from an ATM, sources said.

Tamil Nadu cop killed in revenge attack for terror arrests
 
Last Bodo militant group leaves Myanmar, surrenders to Indian authorities

Prabin Kalita | TNN | Updated: Jan 13, 2020, 3:23 IST

In the past, Army operation against Bodo insurgents forced them to flee from hideouts

GUWAHATI: Assam’s last Bodo militant group, National Democratic Front of Boroland (S) — a close ally of the Paresh Baruah-led ULFA — left its Myanmar base and surrendered to the Indian authorities on the India-Myanmar border on Saturday.

Security sources said that 50 heavily armed cadres of the group led by its chairman B Saoraigwra have surrendered a large cache of weapons and have been brought to Guwahati.

“Saoraigwra and his family members have been brought to India through Tamu (the border town of Myanmar on the international border with Moreh town of Manipur). Another group, led by the group’s general secretary BR Ferrenga, has crossed the border to Longwa village in Mon district (Nagaland),” a source said.

The return of the last group of Bodo militants is a result of an initiative by chief administrator of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Hagrama Mahilary and joint efforts of Indian and Myanmar authorities.

Mahilary, a former militant leader who had headed the now defunct Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) said he had taken it on himself to bring all the armed Bodo groups to mainstream and make the Bodo autonomous council area under the 6th schedule of Constitution completely free from militant elements.

“The objective was to bring out all the armed groups still in jungles. I appealed to the government of India and the government of Assam to include all groups in the peace talks that Centre is currently holding with two factions (NDFB-P and NDFB-R) and sign one peace agreement with leaders of all the factions as signatories. The government authorized me to initiate the process and I contacted NDFB-S president Saoraigwra and B Bidai (vice-president). They are coming for the peace talks,” Mahilary said.

Mahilary also heads the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is a constituent member of the BJP-led ruling alliance in the state.

However six other Indian militant groups—(two from Assam) ULFA(I) and Kamtapur Liberation Organization and (four from Manipur) Manipur People’s Army, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup , People’s Liberation Army and People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, are still holed up in Myanmar territory.

Bodo Security Force (BSF), which was formed in 1986, rechristened as NDFB in 1994 after rejecting the Bodo Accord of 1993 that was signed between All Bodo Students Union (ABSU)-Bodo People’s Action Committee and Centre and the state government. The accord failed soon.
NDFB overnight became the one of biggest militant groups in the region and carried out several attacks on non-Bodo civilians and security forces, particularly Adivasis and Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants from Bangladesh.

The outfit operated from neighbouring Bhutan alongside ULFA and Kamatapur Liberation Army until they were evicted by Royal Bhutan Army in 2003 and shifted base to Myanmar with help of ULFA, which had already built its base there.

The outfit suffered its first split in 2005 when a majority group led by founding general secretary Gobinda Basumatary signed a unilateral ceasefire with the central government and formed NDFB(Progresive). The remnant group continued to stay in Bangladesh under the leadership of founding chairman Ranjan Daimary.

It was Daimary’s faction that carried out the serial blasts in the state in 2008 that killed more than 100 people in six places, the majority being in Guwahati. Daimary was arrested In Bangladesh in 2012 and soon sat on peace talks but this led to a further split in his group. The breakaway faction, which chose to remain outside the peace process was led by IK Sangbijit alias Songbijit Ingti Kathar and came to be called NDFB(S), which based in Myanmar with Paresh Baruah’s help. Songbijit later left the organization and B Saoraigwra became the group’s new chairman.

Last Bodo militant group leaves Myanmar, surrenders to Indian authorities | India News - Times of India
 
Harpreet (@CestMoiz) Tweeted:
Now that dust has settled about the circumstances under which a flight carrying so many Canadian citizens was brought down & with Canadian PM demanding involvement in a full investigation, let me share the story of another such air disaster - the Kanishka
The Globe and Mail on Twitter ( )


Interesting thread on the Kanishka bombing, the Khalistanis & the criminal neglect of the Canadians.
 
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Harpreet (@CestMoiz) Tweeted:
Now that dust has settled about the circumstances under which a flight carrying so many Canadian citizens was brought down & with Canadian PM demanding involvement in a full investigation, let me share the story of another such air disaster - the Kanishka
The Globe and Mail on Twitter ( )


Interesting thread on the Kanishka bombing, the Khalistanis & the criminal neglect of the Canadians.
Canadians will definitely pay , Karma is a bitch.
 
Multi-State police action nets 12 terror suspects

By S. Vijay Kumar
CHENNAI, January 19, 2020 22:37 IST
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Tamil Nadu Police commando force is deployed in front of Thucklay police station where Abdul Shameem and Thoufiq, the accused in the murder of sub-inspector Wilson, were kept on January 16, 2020.

Dozen persons from sleeper cells across country arrested in Delhi, Bengaluru, Udupi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

In a coordinated, covert operation, special teams of the Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra police, guided by Central intelligence agencies, neutralised alleged sleeper cells across the country and averted a plot to unleash terror in major cities.

Police sources said since provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act were invoked and the terror module had spread to more than four States, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would investigate the case.

The Tamil Nadu police have already sent a report to the Union Home Ministry in this regard.

At least a dozen suspects, hand-picked from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and trained to carry out attacks on individuals and vital establishments, were arrested in Delhi, Bengaluru, Udupi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, sources in the intelligence agencies told The Hindu on Sunday.

Special teams of the ‘Q’ Branch CID of the Tamil Nadu police were working with different State police forces to apprehend a few more suspects who have gone underground after their module was busted and accomplices were taken into custody, the sources said.

Foreign handler

According to officials, the two modules comprising at least a dozen or more youth indoctrinated with a jihadi ideology and prepared to launch fidayeen (suicide) attacks, were reporting to a foreign handler.

Parrying questions on the nationality of the handler and how he managed to form sleeper cells in India, Deputy Inspector-General of Police N. Kannan said it was too early to share details since the operation was still on.

“We can only say that a major sabotage plan targeting individuals and institutions has been successfully averted. Acting on timely and specific intelligence shared by the Tamil Nadu police, Central intelligence agencies worked with the Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal police forces in zeroing in on the sleeper cells,” he said.

The ‘Q’ Branch CID police on Saturday arrested Hussain Sherif of Bengaluru, who provided shelter to Shameem and Thoufic, the assailants who shot dead special sub-inspector Wilson in Kanyakumari district recently.

Digital trail erased

“The suspect has managed to erase some material evidence connected to the case which we are trying to retrieve. The mysterious absence of three accused persons in a sensational murder case and the way they systematically erased their digital footprint and trail gave a clear indication that they were planning something big,” Mr. Kannan said.

“Hussain Sherif was running a front organisation, Al Hind Trust, in Bengaluru to carry out charity activities though his hidden agenda was to pursue jihad,” the police officer said.

Meanwhile, police sources said a couple of gangs were arrested as they were waiting to receive “consignments” from undisclosed locations.

Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police J.K. Tripathy reviewed the security arrangements and further course of action with senior police officials.

Senior investigators said they analysed about 500 SIM card communications to narrow down on a dozen numbers that had suspicious call detail record.

“These numbers only consumed data and had no calls. All the cards were activated in the Salem area in Tamil Nadu but were active in Karnataka,” a police officer said.

“The documents used to activate these SIM cards were genuine, though the original subscribers had no contact with the suspects and they had their own numbers. Enquiries are on with the retail SIM sellers who seem to have activated fresh numbers on the basis of documents submitted by other customers,” he said.

While the source of three country-made weapons and 89 rounds of ammunition seized from suspects arrested in the past two weeks is under investigation, the official said, more information on the contacts of the accused persons will be known after analysing their mobile phones and storage devices that have been referred to cyberforensic experts.

Multi-State police action nets 12 terror suspects
 
Over 600 Cadres of ULFA-I, NDFB-S & KLO to Surrender with Arms in Presence of Sonowal Tomorrow

DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta said a total of 644 armed rebel leaders and cadres would lay down their arms before Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Thursday.


By Biju Kumar Deka | News18
Updated:January 22, 2020, 8:49 PM IST
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The Guwahati Medical College and Hospital auditorium where the rebels would surrender on Thursday. (News18)

Guwahati: More than 600 cadres belonging to different rebel outfits of Assam will surrender before the government on Thursday.

The official surrender event would be held in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital Auditorium.

Director General of Police Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta told News18, “A total of 644 rebel leaders and cadres would lay down their arms before the chief minister in Guwahati on Thursday. All of them have returned from various places along with a huge amount of arms and ammunition and they will officially surrender the same on Thursday.”

“It was a comprehensive effort of the Special Branch of Assam Police, led by Inspector General Hiren Chandra Nath, to bring them back to the mainstream. The cadres have with them over 170 sophisticated arms, including AK-47, AK-56 and AK-57 rifles, Heckler & Koch series rifles and Beretta series pistols, bombs, a huge number of grenades,” Mahanta said.

A number of cadres from the United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Saoraigwra (NDFB-S) and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) members will surrender on Thursday.

Few members of the Rabha National Liberation Army (RNLA), National Liberation Front of Bengali (NLFB) and Adivasi Liberation Force (ALF) will also lay down their arms.

Earlier this month, a number of NDFB-S cadres, led by B Saoraigwra, reached the country and signed a tripartite ceasefire agreement with the Centre and state government on January 16.

This comes after the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) undertook a major counter-insurgency operation last year against the rebel groups on its soil. The main camp of of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) at Ta Ga village in the Sagaing region of Myanmar has also been captured.

The operation is still underway and camps of the NSCN (K), ULFA-I, NDFB-S, KLO, People's Democratic Council of Karbi-Longri (PDCK), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), People's Liberation Army (PLA) and United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in the area have been destroyed over the last few months.

The insurgents had fled from the Ta Ga area to different locations. However, dozens of NSCN (K)’s cadres, including five senior functionaries, were arrested by the Tatmadaw. Soon after, a court in the Sagaing region sentenced 24 rebels from Assam and Manipur to two years in prison.

The Tatmadaw has filed a complaint against the rebels under Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act of Myanmar. It has accused the NSCN-K of violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement it had signed on April 9, 2012, with the Sagaing regional government.

Over 600 Cadres of ULFA-I, NDFB-S & KLO to Surrender with Arms in Presence of Sonowal Tomorrow
 
Naga Accord: NSCN-IM seeks to buy peace with Manipur organisations

Published: 24th January 2020 06:18 PM

There are speculations the Centre will create two autonomous councils, one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, as a part of the final Naga accord

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Nagaland-based terror group NSCN-K.

GUWAHATI: Seen as an attempt to buy peace with the Meiteis (Manipuris) ahead of the signing of final Naga accord, major Naga insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) held a meeting with a delegation of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI).

The meeting was held at the outfit’s central headquarters, Hebron, in Nagaland’s Dimapur district three days ago. The NSCN-IM was led by its general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah.

There are speculations the Centre will create two autonomous councils, one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, as a part of the final Naga accord.

The COCOMI, which is a conglomerate of several civil society organisations, stands opposed to any changes in Manipur’s existing administrative setups. It had staged a series of demonstrations on the streets of Imphal last year to reiterate its stand on Manipur’s territorial integrity when the Centre was about to sign the Naga pact but eventually held it up.

The Imphal Valley, where the Meiteis live, will surely also oppose any autonomous or territorial council that will remotely administer Manipur’s Naga areas from Nagaland or any other state. Secondly, if the agreement largely protects the interests of the Nagas of Manipur, the NSCN-IM will owe an explanation to fellow Nagas living across Nagaland, Arunachal and Assam.

COCOMI convenor Sunil Karam told this newspaper the meeting with the NSCN-IM was held without any agenda on the table.

“It was a meeting where the issue of peaceful co-existence was discussed. It had no agenda. Uncle Muivah also insisted on peaceful co-existence,” Karam said.

He said neither the COCOMI delegation nor Muivah had raised the issue of autonomous/territorial council.

After returning to Imphal, Karam told journalists that if the Naga agreement is about protecting interests under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution or by creating an autonomous council or territorial council, it shouldn’t be based on ethnic lines.

“During a meeting that we had with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in December, he said if the Manipur part comes (while signing the Naga accord), the government will consult the stakeholders of Manipur. We are waiting and watching. If the Centre fails to fulfil what it committed, we will resort to an agitation,” Karam warned.

Centre’s peace negotiations with the various Naga rebel groups concluded last year.

Naga Accord: NSCN-IM seeks to buy peace with Manipur organisations