VZCZCXRO5584
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0385/01 3250827
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200827Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1985
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3406
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC

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