India’s hubs of home-grown terror

NEW DELHI – While the Indian government keeps accusing Pakistan of imposing terrorism across India, a study of the state of affairs within India indicate crystal clearly that India has a number of cities, well established for producing home-grown terrorism.
The Daily Mail directed its correspondents across India, to compile a comprehensive report in this direction, which we are publishing here:

CHHATTISHGARH& ANDHRA PRADESH

The Daily Mail’s findings reveal that this place is the deadliest of them all. The activities of Maoist rebels are on an all time high. The training facilities of the militants and saboteurs are undeterred by the Indian Police and other law enforcing agencies. Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In recent years, it has spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
As of 2009, Naxalites are active across approximately 220 districts in 20 states of India, accounting for about 40 percent of India’s geographical area. They are especially concentrated in an area known as the “Red Corridor”, where they control 92,000 square kilometres.

PUNE

The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that before becoming a terror target itself in February last year, Pune was known to be a safe haven for groups like the ULFA, Maoists and IM. These groups were formed to plan attacks and provide logistical support for their activists through their modules here. The busting of IM’s media cell in October 2008 brought Pune into the terror spotlight for the first time.

BELGAUM

The Daily Mail’s findings reveal that according to Indian intelligence agencies, Belgaum has proved to be a soft spot for terror modules as it is easier for them to carry out inter-state operations because of its location — on the border of two states.
INDORE
The Daily Mail’s investigations suggest that Indore has been on the watch-list of security agencies since intelligence inputs indicated that a large number of Naxalite cadres underwent arms training in and around here. A number of weapons was also found to have been distributed from Bhuranpur in Madhya Pradesh.

AHMEDABAD

The Daily Mail’s findings also indicate that a team of senior intelligence officers is questioning more than 50 IM operatives being held in jails in Ahmedabad. These operatives were part of the IM’s Gujarat module, which took to wings after the Godhra carnage in 2002. Ahmedabad became a terror target itself when at least 29 people were killed and over 100 were injured in July 2008, when 16 serial bomb blasts ripped through the city.

AURANGABAD

The Daily Mail’s findings further reveal that over the past few years, groups of different insurgent movements have set up several modules in the city and many IM operatives have been arrested.
Many large hauls of RDX, belonging to the Indian Army have also been seized, leading the police to suspect that the RDX which comes into Maharashtra, is usually dumped in Aurangabad. The activities of Abhinav Bharat are also surfacing here.

MUMBAI

The Daily Mail’S investigations indicate that the financial capital of the country has always been on the terror hit-list. Several operatives of the country’s different separatist movements have been arrested from here and even the e-mails claiming responsibility for the Varanasi blast were sent from here.
The city had its own darkest hour in the form of the 26/11 attacks. On the other side the terrorists belonging to Shiv Sena and other Hindu militant groups are also permanent sources of terrorism.
The Sirojni Nagar terror training camp of Shiv Sena has become a comprehensive security threat for India and Pakistan both. This place is considered to be a permanent source of threat for minorities in India and also a major hurdle in Pakistan-India peace process.

BANGALORE

The Daily Mail’S investigations even reveal that the ATS recently raided a house on Bannerghatta Road here, where activists of the banned SIMI used to meet, to discuss terror plots in other cities.
This raid was followed with the arrest of Abdul Sami, a terror suspect who revealed that he had been taking shelter in the city and that several meetings were held there to layout and finalise plans for the Bangalore serial blasts. Apart from this, the activists of the Maoist Separatist Movement and Sikh separatists of Indian Punjab are also on the rise here.

BHATKAL

The Daily Mail’S investigations highlight that a port town on the Arabian Sea, Bhatkal, hit headlines after it became known that the Bhatkal brothers: Riyaz and Iqbal had founded the “Indian Mujahideen” group, which has been responsible for most of the terror attacks in India since 2007.
The Bhatkal brothers continue to evade arrest while suspected of carrying out attacks like the German Bakery blast in Pune. After this development, the activities of Abhinav Bharat and RSS as well as Sangh Parivar terror networks have also increased here.

OCCUPIED KASHMIR

The Daily Mail’S investigations also indicate that this troubled state is on the arms-smuggling route to Mumbai and big caches of weapons caught in the city have often been attributed to large-scale corruption among civil and military bureaucrats here.
Furthermore, the terrorism by the Indian Army and the Indian security forces and police has also earned this area a very infamous name the world over. Experts say that the growing brutalities by occupying forces have, on one side failed to eliminate the insurgency and the freedom movement while on the other side these inhuman acts were giving birth to terrorism as well.

AZAMGARH

The Daily Mail’S findings further indicate that Azamgarh city’s peaceful image was tarnished with the emergence of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) on its soil.
The arrest of Abu Bashar, a top SIMI activist, from the Saraimir area in Azamgarh was followed up with the nabbing of many terrorists. While Azamgarh has, since, come to be known as a breeding ground for terror, SIMI is believed to have changed its name to “Indian Mujahideen” following a ban on it by the Indian Government.
Even the bombers responsible for the 2008 Delhi serial blasts hail from Azamgarh and several raids have been conducted here since September 2008. At the same time the Hindu extremists of Abhinav Bharat and RSS are also on the rise here.

KASARGOD

The Daily Mail’S investigations reveal that this city, located about 60 kms south of Mangalore, the border town, is under the scanner for being a hub of illegal money transfers that are used to fund terror activities.
Intelligence reports have indicated that fake currency and gold was being smuggled from Bhatkal in coastal Karnataka to Kasargod and then distributed to cities like Hosdurg, Khangad and Kozhikode. Kerala Home Minister, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, told the State Assembly last year that more than Rs 1,000 crore was routed through HAWALA syndicates in the area, many of whom have links with anti-national forces, particularly the Maoist insurgents.

HYDERABAD

The Daily Mail’S findings go on to indicate that the shadow of terror descended on the city of Hyderabad after the Makkah Masjid blast in 2007. The blast was carried out through a pipe bomb and 14 people were reported dead in its immediate aftermath.
The people of Abhinav Bharat, the mastermind of the blasts, are believed to have links with the Bangladeshi Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

BANGLADESH BORDER

India’s most wanted criminals and their associates have shifted their counterfeit note and HAWALA syndicates from Dubai to Bangladesh. The mastermind of the fake currency racket for the gang is believed to be operating out of Bangladesh along with an army of 150 D-gang members.
These criminals and their cronies enjoy logistical support from militant groups here and intelligence agencies suspect that the D Company is getting its arms supply through troubled areas in Bangladesh.