Analysis: India's new terror hotbed

NEW DELHI, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Following frequent terrorist strikes, the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a new terror hotbed as major militant groups have found a suitable base developed by the rebel Harkat-ul-Ansar 14 years ago, Indian security and intelligence agencies say.

"The predawn terror strike on a camp of the CRPF demonstrates that jihadis are determined to make Uttar Pradesh their new major area of operation after military and security forces pushed them to the wall in Jammu and Kashmir," said a top official of the Intelligence Bureau, who asked his name not be used.

CRPF refers to India's paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.

He said militant outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Ansar and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen have a strong presence in the western part of the state. Lashkar-e-Toiba, which India regards as a terrorist group, uses the banned Student Islamic Movement of India's network in the state, the official said, adding the state has been on the radar of terrorists for more than a decade.

Indian security and intelligence officials are baffled at the intensity of militant groups and their growing presence in the country's most-populous state. Over the past five months, Uttar Pradesh has seen seven major terror strikes, while Jammu & Kashmir, home to a separatist insurgency, witnessed none. This is causing serious concern for the police and security agencies.

In the last three months security forces have on the basis of intelligence inputs provided by federal intelligence agencies busted at least 80 terror modules in Uttar Pradesh. Experts say terrorist groups have a ready-made infrastructure in place in the state and also blame the state government's reactionary approach to the issue.

Seven CRPF personnel and one civilian were killed in a predawn strike on their camp by four militants Tuesday. Six others were wounded, police said. The rebels escaped.

On the basis of IB information, the federal Interior Ministry had on Dec. 28 provided the state government specific inputs of a possible terror attack on the Rampur CRPF camp. The ministry suspects Lashkar-e-Toiba had a hand in the attack.

"After this attack, we have stepped up security all across the state. We hope the center will provide us assistance in tracking down those people who are responsible for this attack," said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, who goes by one name only.

On Nov. 23, 13 people were killed in six serial blasts in court complexes in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi towns in Uttar Pradesh. The federal Interior Ministry sought a detailed report from Uttar Pradesh on the militant strike at Rampur.

The Intelligence Bureau has sent inputs to the state administration informing it that the Hapur-Moradabad-Bareilly-Rampur belt in the western part of the state was most vulnerable to militants who have several modules in that area. The police didn't take those specific warnings seriously and never followed the leads. The western part of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly Muslim, and experts say militants could easily get shelter in madrassas using a pretext.

"The police in Uttar Pradesh lack courage to fight terror. They act only when militants strike. The administration has never thought of putting in place a specialized mechanism to combat the scourge," said Ajai Sahani, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management, a New Delhi-based think tank that deals with matters relating to security and terrorism.

The blame game that started in the aftermath of the terrorist strike at Rampur has also exposed India's much-publicized determination to fight terrorism, as the federal intelligence agencies claimed to have passed specific information to the state government.