POLICE KILL SUSPECTED MAOISTS IN KARNATAKA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000385

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC PINS PHUM IN
SUBJECT: POLICE KILL SUSPECTED MAOISTS IN KARNATAKA

REF: 07 CHENNAI 500


1. (SBU) Summary: State police ambushed a group of four suspected
Maoist insurgents (also known as Naxalites) before dawn on November
19, killing three, according to press reports. The fourth, reported
to be a woman, escaped the ambush, which took place in southwestern
Karnataka. Press reports also state that the police recovered a
grenade and a revolver. Police officials tell us, however, that
they also recovered a submachine gun with three loaded magazines, an
unusually advanced piece of weaponry for the region's Naxalites, who
have hitherto relied mainly on primitive, often homemade, firearms.
Police have grown concerned recently that the local insurgents have
been working to increase their strength. End Summary.

Police launch pre-dawn assault
--------------


2. (U) Members of a specialist Anti-Naxalite Force (ANF) of the
Karnataka police on November 19 killed three suspected Maoists at
Mavinahola village in Chikmagalur district, 300 km west of
Bangalore, in a pre-dawn assault, according to press reports. One
police officer was also killed in the firefight. A fourth Maoist,
whom police believe to be a woman, escaped, according to the same
reports. The press identified all four suspects as Karnatakans,
including G. Manohar, a 29-year-old former journalist with the
Kannada-language daily "Echharike," who had left the newspaper more
than a year ago. Manohar had spent nearly four years in jail for
involvement in Naxalite activities before being released in 2004.


3. (SBU) A senior Karnataka police official told us that the ANF was
able to set the ambush following intelligence it had received on the
Maoists' presence in the area. He said that local tribal leaders
had reported the disappearance of more than a dozen youths recently
and suspected that local Naxalites were training and indoctrinating
the youth in camps in local forests. The police official said that
he suspected Manohar was personally involved in training these local
youth and that he fears that local Maoists may respond to these
killings with retaliatory attacks.

An unusual arms cache
--------------


4. (SBU) The police official also told us that the arms cache
recovered from the scene was unusual. He said that the discovery of
a Sten gun (a WWII-era British 9mm submachine gun) with three fully
loaded magazines (each capable of holding 32 rounds, according to
the "Sten gun" entry in Wikipedia) should provide vital clues on the
insurgent's weapons supply chain. He told us that Karnataka-based
Maoists generally depended on their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh for sophisticated weaponry. He noted, however,
that it was possible that the local Maoists purchased the weapon
from defense personnel, since the Sten gun remains in the arsenal of
the Indian military.


5. (SBU) He added that the revolver discovered at the scene was
crude and "locally made," as were the four hand grenades (not just
one, as reported in the press). He said that their reliability was
"suspect" and that their main use was probably only to intimidate
the local population.

Fertile ground for Maoist rabble-rousing
--------------


6. (U) The area where the ambush occurred is home to the
government-run Kudremukh Iron Ore company, an iron ore mine
established in the early 1970s that displaced much of the local
Adivasi (tribal) community. Only a fraction of that community has
received adequate compensation for this displacement, according to a
fact-finding commission appointed by the Bangalore High Court. This
shabby treatment has generated significant resentment against local
government authorities that Maoists exploit skillfully to garner
local support.

Comment
--------------


7. (SBU) Karnataka's Maoists have a far lower profile than their
counterparts in Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, but they
occasionally carry out violent attacks (reftel). Police officials
in the state have told us in earlier conversations that the
insurgents' small numbers and lack of firepower prevent them from
becoming as dangerous as Maoists in other states. The discovery of
a submachine gun in the insurgents' hands may give the police
interesting leads to investigate, but it may also give them reason
to question some of their assumptions about the Maoists' abilities.

CHENNAI 00000385 002 OF 002


We will continue to follow this incident and its aftermath and will
report accordingly. End Comment.

SIMKIN