ANDHRA PRADESH POLICE SEIZE CACHE OF CRUDE ROCKETS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 002145 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DS/IP/SCA AND DS/IP/TTA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINS PTER PHUM ASEC IN SUBJECT: ANDHRA PRADESH POLICE SEIZE CACHE OF CRUDE ROCKETS REF: Chennai 1705 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Police Chief confirmed to Post the seizure of hundreds of Chennai-made rocket shells and dozens of rocket launchers from the storehouses of a transport company in the Mahaboobnagar and Prakasam Districts of AP on September 8. With no evidence of LTTE involvement in the manufacture and sale of the crude arms, the search is on for the key Maoist players in the inter-state transaction. AP Maoists have allegedly test fired from the ground at least 56 rockets, which are said to have a 20 feet backfire and doubtful accuracy. According to the Police Chief, 2005 was bloodier than any recent years due to a period of state government laxity in its anti-Maoist drive. End Summary -------------- -------------- ROCKETS ARE CRUDE AND INACCURATE, SAYS DG OF POLICE -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Mr. Swaranjit Sen, Director General of Andhra Pradesh Police, confirmed to Post press reports of a September 8 arms haul by the state police. South Indian media had widely reported the seizure of 875 empty shells of rockets, 28 rocket launchers, 35 improvised landmines in plastic buckets, live .303 rounds and detonators from the storehouses of a transport company in the Mahaboobnagar and Prakasam districts of central AP. Sen said the focus of investigation is on Maoists who, he added, had test-fired 56 of the rockets in a forest area. According to Sen, the rockets are crude with a doubtful accuracy, and they have a 20 foot backfire. Sen also said that the state police are still trying to trace one of the three consignments sent from Chennai consisting of over 200 rockets and to apprehend the main perpetrator behind the inter-state transaction. -------------- LTTE HAND RULED OUT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Sen stated that investigation of the source of the rockets is over. It has been confirmed that they were manufactured and assembled in Tamil Nadu. Chennai police had worked together with the AP police in checking out the fabrication units in Ambattur Industrial Estate near Chennai. After holding discussions with the Director General of Tamil Nadu Police, Sen told Chennai journalists on September 13 that LTTE involvement in the manufacture and sale of these arms has been ruled out. Two days later at another press meet, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police Mukherjee agreed, saying, "There is no LTTE link as of now." Currently, the investigators are said to be on the lookout for a Maoist couple from Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh: Raghu alias Srinivasa Reddy and Sudharani, resident in Chennai since 2002, who allegedly played the key role in the weapons manufacturing and transport. Seven persons including the proprietors of the lathes and foundries at the manufacturing site have been arrested. -------------- -------------- KILLINGS INCREASED DUE TO STATE LAXITY IN THE INTERIM -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) DGP Sen also noted that conflict between the state police and the Maoists had been bloodier in Andhra Pradesh in 2005 than in previous years. Maoists killed 186 civilians and 25 policemen in 2005 while the police killed 82 Maoists. According to Sen, the increase in 2005 killings was due to government laxity, implying the failures during the last eight months of 2004 when the newly installed state government held peace talks with the Maoists. Those talks ended unsuccessfully and the police campaign against the Maoist was resumed. Sen believes that the Maoists are focusing on areas north of AP, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand where, he said, the tribal population is a fertile ground for Maoist extremism. -------------- SEN UNRELENTING IN MAOIST HUNT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Criticized by opponents as trigger-happy and confrontationist, Sen is clearly unrelenting in the pursuit of Maoists. This was evidenced in July 2006 when the state police shot dead the State Secretary of CPI(Maoist) Madhav and seven others after a week of combing operations involving over 700 policemen including the elite Greyhound police force. (See reftel.) The seizure of the rocket shells is a morale booster for the AP state police amid criticism that AP Maoists are now exporting terror to CHENNAI 00002145 002 OF 002 other Indian states. HOPPER