Internal Security Monitor Vol 1, No 6

Union Home Min Minister Amit Shah, once again, expressed concern at the challenges being posed by drug trafficking, crypto currency and dark web.

The security forces continued to deliver severe blows to the Maoists in the Naxalite hot-bed of Chhattisgarh. However, they suffered eight casualties in an IED blast set-off by the Maoists in Bijapur.

A few arms were recovered in the North Eastern States of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. The master mind of the Bangladesh-based Ansarul Bangladesh was arrested in Kokhrajar district, Assam.

Police in Punjab destroyed five modules of Babbar Khalsi International and Khalistan Zindabad Force with the arrest of 14 cadres.

A huge haul worth Rs 32 cr was seized in Kashmir, while drug smuggling and peddling rackets were busted in other incidents. A FICN racket was busted in Uttar Pradesh and the infrastructure used was seized. It was later learnt during investigations that the technique to print fake currency was learnt through Youtube, thus bringing to light the misuse of technology for evil purposes.

Home Minister chairs meeting in drug trafficking and national security

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, on January 11, 2024, that dark web, crypto currency, online marketplace and drones continue to be a challenge for the country and these have to be checked by strict measures. He was chairing a regional conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’.^[1]

He said the government has not only been successful in eliminating many networks of drugs, but the terrorism linked with them, too, was also destroyed. He said many cases of narco-terrorism were busted in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and these were major achievements.

Eight DRG personnel killed in Maoist mine blast

Eight personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a driver were killed near Kutru, Bijapur district, Bastar division, Chhattisgarh when Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) rebels set-off a 60 kg IED.^[2]

The Maoist attack on DRG is the biggest strike on security personnel by Naxalites in the last two years, PTI quoted an official. On April 26, 2023, 10 police personnel and a civilian driver were killed after the Maoists blew up their vehicle, which was part of a convoy carrying security personnel in neighbouring Dantewada district.

Four Maoists, one DRG personnel killed

On January 5, 2025, four Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres and one Security Force (SF) personnel were killed during an encounter in Abujmad area, Narayanpur district, Bastar division, Chhattisgarh.^[3] “Based on specific inputs about the presence of Maoists in Abujhmad, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel, along with the Special Task Force (STF), left on the search operation. In the encounter that ensued bodies of four Maoists were recovered. A head constable Sannu Karam of Dantewada DRG was martyred.

Five Maoist cadres killed in Chhattisgarh

On January 12, 2025, five Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including two women cadres, were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) in a forest in the Indravati National Park area, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh.^[4] During intermittent exchange of firings between the Maoists were killed. The SFs later recovered five dead bodies of the Maoists along with a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), two rifles, a 12-bore gun, a grenade launcher, country made guns and explosives from the encounter site.

NIA files charge sheet against four Maoists

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against four Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres for the abduction and brutal killing of a youth in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, media reports said.^[5] The accused, identified as Doba Wadde, Ravi Pallo, Sattu Mahaka, and Komati Mahaka, have been charged with the abduction and murder of Dinesh Pusu Gawade in November 2023. They kidnapped and killed Gawade suspecting him of being a police informer and a member of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).

Four JeM associates arrested

Police in Kashmir arrested four JeM militant associates, media reports said oj January 1, 2025. They have been identified as Mudasir Ahmad Naik, Umar Nazir Sheikh, Inayat Firdous Rather and Salman Nazir Lone – all residents of Tral. Incriminating material was also recovered from their possession. They were involved in providing logistics support and transportation of arms and ammunition to the active terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Tral and Awantipora areas.^[6]

Arms cache recovered in Arunachal

Assam Rifles in a joint operation with Army and Arunachal Pradesh Police, on December 28, 2024, recovered a cache of weapons near MS 27 along the Miao-Vijaynagar axis in Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh. During the operation, 10 Chinese-origin MQ 81 Assault Rifles were recovered. It is suspected the weapons were buried by Eastern Naga National Government (ENNG) before their surrender in 2023.^[7]

Arms cache recovered in Manipur

Media reports of January 3, 2025 said, in a joint operation the State and Central Forces recovered a cache of arms and ammunition during search operations conducted in vulnerable areas of Churachandpur district.^[8] The ammunition is suspected to have been hidden by armed miscreants. The recovery, made from the forested area of Saiboh village Churachandpur district, included one SLR with magazine, three SBBL, two 9mm pistol with magazine, three 7.62mm live rounds, and four live ammunition of SBBL. The operations are a part of an intensified crackdown by security forces, which has also led to the destruction of illegal bunkers used by armed insurgents in the Imphal East district.

Two PREPAK cadres arrested in Manipur

Manipur Police arrested two active cadres of People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), on December 29, 2024. They were identified as identified as Leishangthem Napoleon Meitei (35) and Thokchom Amujao Singh (33) from Sangaiprou Mamang Leikai, Imphal West District, Manipur.^[9]

ABT mastermind arrested

Media reports, December 30, 2024, said, in a major crackdown against the sleeper cells of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a banned terrorist outfit affiliated with Al Qaeda in Bangladesh, the Assam Police Special Task Force (STF) has apprehended Gazi Rahman, the 35-year-old mastermind behind anti-national operations. Summit Rahman was arrested in a special operation conducted in collaboration with the Kokrajhar police, on December 30, 2024.^[10] This arrest marks a significant breakthrough, bringing the total number of ABT cadres arrested by the Assam Police STF to 11 in the past 13 days. The operations have targeted areas across Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts, dismantling sleeper cells and preventing potential terror attacks.

14 BKI, KZF cadres arrested

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said, on December 30, that all eight bomb blast incidents in November and December targeting police installations across Punjab had been solved with the arrest of 14 cadres linked to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF). He said that five terror modules, with handlers based in the United States of America (USA), Canada, Europe, and Pakistan, were behind the blasts, which involved grenades and Royal Demolition Explosive (RDX).^[11]

Drugs worth Rs 32 cr seized in Kashmir

On January 8, 2025, police busted a major drug racket by arresting two drug peddlers and seized 10 kilograms of heroin, allegedly smuggled from Pakistan, valued at over Rs 32 crores.^[12] “A police team from Police Post Qamarwari, during a routine checkpoint at Barthana Crossing, intercepted a Tata Sumo bearing registration number JK05D-1837 with two individuals on board,” a senior police official said.

A thorough search of the vehicle led to the discovery of six kilograms of heroin concealed beneath the driver’s seat. Additionally, personal search of the suspects revealed two more kilograms of the narcotic substance. “Each individual was concealing one kilogram of the substance in polythene bags,” the SSP added. The arrested persons have been identified as Anas Ajaz Awan, son of Ajaz Ahmad Awan, a resident of Dildar Tangdar, Kupwara, and Zahid Ahmad Sheikh, son of Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Channipora, Tangdar, Kupwara. Preliminary investigations revealed the narcotics were smuggled from Pakistan

Drug peddler’s property attached in Anantnag

Police in Anantnag, Kashmir, on January 7, 2025, attached a double-storey residential house worth Rs 1 crore under the NDPS Act.^[13] According to authorities, the house-linked to proceeds from drug trafficking-belongs to Khurshid Ahmad Dar, son of Abdul Gani Dar, a resident of Satkipora. “The property, built on 1 kanal of land and valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, was attached under Section 68-F of the NDPS Act. The house has been linked to proceeds of drug trafficking,” police said.

Drugs smuggling racket busted

Media reports of January 3, 2025 said Punjab Police busted a cross-border drug and weapon smuggling cartel arresting 12 people, of whom five were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir with the help of J&K Police.^[14] Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the arrested people included the kingpin identified as Manjeet Singh alias Bhola of village Jhanjoti in Ajnala. Police recovered 2.19 kg heroin, three sophisticated pistols including two automatic and Rs 2.60 lakh drug money from their possession and their Toyota Fortuner car.

FICN racket busted in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh police, on January 2, 2025, neutralised a Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) racket with the arrest of five individuals.^[15] During the raid, FICN worth Rs 35,400 along with laptops, a colour printer, multiple ink bottles, and paper used in the printing process were seized. Police said that the racket’s mastermind, Mubarak Ali, learned the techniques for printing FICN through YouTube.

Endnotes

^[1] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/many-networks-of-drugs-linked-with-terrorism-destroyed-shah/ [2]
^[2] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-naxals-blow-up-vehicle-security-personnel-casualties-bijapur-bedre-kutru-road-101736156211093.html [3]
^[3] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/4-maoists-1-cop-die-in-chhattisgarh-gunfight-101736101442524.html [4]
^[4] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/chhattisgarh-5-maoists-shot-dead-in-bijapur-toll-14-this-month/articleshow/117177111.cms [5]
^[5] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nia-chargesheets-4-naxals-for-killing-man-over-suspicion-of-being-police-informer-2659537-2025-01-04 [6]
^[6] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/4-jem-associates-arrested-in-tral/ [7]
^[7] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/security-forces-recover-cache-of-arms-in-changlang/articleshow/116774518.cms [8]
^[8] https://assamtribune.com/north-east/security-forces-recover-arms-cache-dismantle-insurgent-bunkers-in-manipur-1563279 [9]
^[9] https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/manipur-police-arrest-2-cadres-of-proscribed-group-prepak-recover-cache-of-arms-and-ammunitions-1146130-2024-12-30 [10]
^[10] https://assamtribune.com/assam/stf-continues-crackdown-on-abt-sleeper-cells-mastermind-arrested-in-kokrajhar-1562796 [11]
^[11] https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/state-editions/punjab-dgp-claims-all-8-blast-cases-at-police-stations-solved-with-14-arrests.html [12]
^[12] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/10-kg-heroin-valued-rs-32-cr-seized-2-held/ [13]
^[13] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/police-attaches-property-of-drug-peddler-5/ [14]
^[14] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/punjab-police-bust-cross-border-drug-cartel-arrest-12-including-five-from-jk/ [15]
^[15] https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/fake-currency-printing-racket-busted-at-madrasa-near-indo-nepal-border-101735824818798.html [16]