TERRORISM AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN BENGAL (1).pptx

TERRORISM AND
TRANSNATIONAL
ORGANIZED CRIME: THE
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF
ORGANIZED CRIME AND
STATE FAILURE
THE NEXUS OF GREED, NEED AND GRIEVANCE

Definitions
• “Organized criminal group” shall mean a structured group of three or more
persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of
committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance
with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or
other material benefit;
• “Serious crime” shall mean conduct constituting an offence punishable by a
maximum deprivation of liberty of at least four years or a more serious
penalty.
• Terrorism is defined as “the unlawful use of—or threatened use of—force or
violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments
or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives.” –
This includes terrorist organizations, home-grown extremists, and like-minded
(politically, ideologically driven) insurgents or guerrillas.

Nexus development
• This intersection can be grouped into three categories:
• Coexistence: the groups operate in the same geographic region at the
same time
• Cooperation: the groups find their mutual interests are both served
by temporarily working together
• Convergence: the groups are likely to engage in behaviours that are
more commonly associated with the other

Similarities between organized
crime and terrorist groups
1. Both are generally rational actors.
2. Both use extreme violence and the threat of reprisals.
3. Both use kidnappings, assassinations, and extortion.
4. Both operate secretly, though at times publicly in friendly territory.
5. Both defy the state and the rule of law (except when there is state sponsorship).
6. For a member to leave either group is rare and often fatal.
7. Both present an asymmetrical threat to the United States and “friendly” nations.
8. Both can have “interchangeable” recruitment pools.
9. Both are highly adaptable, innovative and resilient.
10. Both have back-up leaders and foot soldiers
11. Both have provided social services, though this is much more frequently seen with
terrorist groups.

Factors for convergence
four identifiable factors which have had a notable impact on the
success of terrorist groups and organized criminal networks:
1. Border porosity
2. Population transfers (e.g., freedom of movement, migration)
3. Financial and commercial developments (e.g., globalization)
4. Communications technology.

Tamara Makarenko: The Crime–
Terror Continuum

Stages of convergence
These seven points, however, can be divided into four general groups:
1. alliances,
2. operational motivations,
3. convergence, and
4. the ‘black hole’.

Enablers for the convergence
There are also many drivers and enablers of transnational cooperation
between terrorist groups and organized criminal networks including:
1. Corruption
2. A lack of democratic participation in a country
3. Chronic state failures
4. Crises in political systems
5. Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions
6. Civil and regional conflicts
7. Increased media attention.

Legal implications of transnational
terrorism and crime convergence.
1. Combatting terrorism and organized crime today presents many legal
challenges domestically and internationally. – As these organizations
increasingly cooperate and converge, it becomes more difficult to determine
which legal means to prosecute (e.g., which jurisdiction is responsible when
transnational activities, require cooperation between law enforcement and
intelligence agencies).
2. Typical criminal law enforcement is not sufficient when dealing with
transnational terrorism. If organized crime groups converge and cooperate with
terrorist organizations, it could become more challenging for traditional law
enforcement to prevent their actions and enforce the law.
3. There is the potential within failed/failing states for a organized crime/terrorist
network to operate free from legal prosecution, especially if they control
resources and are working alongside a corrupt government.

Political implications of
transnational terrorism and crime
convergence
• Political instability is a driver resulting in the increased convergence/cooperation
of terrorist and criminal organizations.– Illicit transnational networks pose a
threat to political stability, capitalizing on it where it already exists.
• Democratic participation, or lack thereof, plays a significant role in the success of
terrorist and criminal groups and their potential for convergence.– The absence of
a democratic process, which encompasses a system in which citizens feel a lack of
trust in their ability to legitimately and fairly select leadership, increases the
likelihood of a group’s ability to influence a region.
• Increase in disenfranchised members of society increases the recruitment pool
for both organized crime and terrorist groups and increases the potential for
influence and coordination.– Unemployment/underemployment, resource
scarcity, demographic shifts, and migration all could increase the desire for the
two types of groups to work together.

Technological implications of
convergence.
• Technological advancements and globalization have allowed for simple,
somewhat informal cooperation.– These advancements allow for terrorist
and organized crime groups to communicate without detection (using
encrypted messaging), sharing methods and increasing potential
convergence.
• Terrorist groups use social media to share its mission and grow its base,
regionally and internationally. Their online presence increases the chances
that a criminal organization might find common ground and begin
cooperating on methods and targets.
• Increased cyber capabilities provide new revenue sources, and terrorist
organizations might look to cooperate and align with organized crime groups
already using cybercrime.

• These advancements allow for terrorist and organized crime groups to
communicate without detection (using encrypted messaging), sharing
methods and increasing potential convergence.
• Terrorist groups use social media to share its mission and grow its base,
regionally and internationally.
• Their online presence increases the chances that a criminal organization
might find common ground and begin cooperating on methods and targets.
• Increased cyber capabilities provide new revenue sources, and terrorist
organizations might look to cooperate and align with organized crime groups
already using cybercrime.
Technological implications of
convergence.

legal challenges
Combating terrorism and organized crime today presents many legal
challenges domestically and internationally :-
• As these organizations increasingly cooperate and converge, it becomes
more difficult to determine which legal means to prosecute (e.g., which
jurisdiction is responsible when transnational activities, require
cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies).
• Typical criminal law enforcement is not sufficient when dealing with
transnational terrorism. If organized crime groups converge and cooperate
with terrorist organizations, it could become more challenging for
traditional law enforcement to prevent their actions and enforce the law.
• There is the potential within failed/failing states for a organized
crime/terrorist network to operate free from legal prosecution, especially
if they control resources and are working alongside a corrupt government.

Natural convergence
1. Organised criminal groups have regularly used terror tactics in order to fulfil
specific operational aims. Although these groups have, at times, apparently
engaged the political, it is important to clarify that their intention was not
to change the status quo, but merely to secure their operational
environment.
2. As Dishman notes, criminal organisations use ‘selective and calibrated
violence to destroy competitors or threaten counternarcotics authorities.
3. As such, a violent attack directed by a TCO [transnational criminal
organisation] is intended for a specific ‘anti-constituency’ rather than a
national or international audience, and it is not laced with political rhetoric’.
4. Despite utilising terror tactics, such as bombings and assassinations, the
primary motivation of these groups often remains illicit profit-
maximisation. For example, terror tactics were utilised by the Italian Mafia
in the 1990s in response to a relatively successful government drive to
counter the influence of the Italian Mafia in the country.

• Although terrorist groups have commonly been associated with
trafficking in illicit narcotics, they have also engaged in a wide variety of
other crimes such as fraud, counterfeiting and human smuggling.
• Terrorist groups have similarly used the trade in counterfeit products as a
source of profit.
• The development of these hybrid organisations, it is evident that the
motivations, organisation, and operations of criminal and terrorist groups
have also converged—thus making it analytically difficult to make a
distinction between the two criminal and terrorist groups incorporated
economic and political capabilities into their remit, many groups lost
sight of their original motivations and aims.
Natural convergence

• Transformation thus occurs to such a degree ‘that the ultimate aims and
motivations of the organization have actually changed. In these cases, the
groups no longer retain the defining points that had hitherto made them a
political or criminal group’.
• Although terrorist groups have commonly been associated with trafficking
in illicit narcotics, they have also engaged in a wide variety of other crimes
such as fraud, counterfeiting and human smuggling.
• Terrorists and insurgents increasingly are turning to TOC to generate
funding and acquire logistical support to carry out their violent acts.
• Comparable to criminal groups engaging in terrorism; many terrorist
groups have become well versed in the conduct of criminal operations. In
response to the virtual elimination of state support after the end of the
Cold War, criminality was the most pragmatic avenue to secure finances for
future terrorist operations.
Natural convergence

• Equally important to note is that terrorists who engage in criminal
activities ‘ostensibly retain paramount political objectives, and as
such, ill-gotten monies serve only as a means to effectively reach their
political ends’.
• The most common criminal activity terrorist groups have been
involved in is the illicit drug trade.
• Although the entire crime–terror continuum poses a threat to
international security, arguably the single greatest threat emanating
from the convergence of transnational organized crime and terrorism
is that which is exhibited at the fulcrum point.
Natural convergence

Black hole state
• The ‘black hole’ syndrome encompasses two situations: first, where the
primary motivations of groups engaged in a civil war evolves from a focus on
political aims to a focus on criminal aims; second, it refers to the emergence
of a ‘black hole’ state—a state successfully taken over by a hybrid group as
outlined in the previous section.
• Crime–terror continuum specifically refers to the situations in which weak or
failed states foster the convergence between transnational organized crime
and terrorism, and ultimately create a safe haven for the continued
operations of convergent groups.
• The dynamics of civil wars, just like the dynamics of traditional organised
crime and terrorism, have changed. They have evolved from wars fought for
ideological or religious motivations to wars hijacked by criminal interests and
secured by terror tactics.
• ‘Increasingly, civil wars that appear to have begun with political aims have
mutated into conflicts in which short-term economic benefits are
paramount. While ideology and identity remain important in understanding
conflict, they may not tell the whole story’.

• This began with the discovery of narco-terrorism in the 1980s when it was
found that drug trafficking was also used to advance the political objectives
of certain governments and terrorist organizations. Terrorists are happy to
seize any opportunity to call what they are doing “political”.
• This began with the discovery of narco-terrorism in the 1980s when it was
found that drug trafficking was also used to advance the political objectives
of certain governments and terrorist organizations. Terrorists are happy to
seize any opportunity to call what they are doing “political”
• The close connection between international terrorism and transnational
organized crime, illicit drugs, money-laundering, illegal arms-trafficking,
and illegal movement of nuclear, chemical, biological and other potentially
deadly materials
Black hole state

• The state of west Bengal has been marred with insurgency which has
been initially linked to the ascendance of the present political
disposition to the power through the tacit support of the Maoists.
• The state has been witnessing ethnic violence and cleansing or the
majority of the period for more than 200 riots which has led to the
mass exodus of the Hindus from the bordering districts of Bengal
which coupled with huge illegal immigration has led to a demographic
inversion.
• There area are breeding grounds for terrorists and anti-national
criminal activities including the gun running, cattle trade, narcotics
smuggling and under virtual control of the “crime-lords” who have
incidentally also ascended to political power through the political
mechanism of TMC nd through sustained policy of minority
appeasement.
Black hole state

• The writ of the Indian state and rule of law cannot be extended to these areas
and these have made inroads to also newer and deeper territories like the coal
belts of Asansol and sunder bans.
• West Bengal has become the “safe haven” and parking lot for dreaded terrorist
organisation Jamaat- al- mujahedeen ( JMB) which has been ousted from
Bangladesh by kinetic action of the RAB ( rapid action battalion) has been
rehabilitated and accommodated by the ruling TMC government ministers and
they have opened shops here.
• Many terrorist attack facilitators have been linked to west Bengal and this JMB
group in subsequent investigations.
• Many of these Jamaat leaders and sympathisers also double up as local crime
lords and violent mobsters and mafia.
• The chief minister of Bengal and part leader of ruling TMC is benhaving in
separatist and cessationist manner.
Black hole state

Crime-terror nexus in India
• The crime-terrorism nexus has been delineated across nine major theaters of
terrorist operations that have afflicted India’s cities and towns since the 1980s.
• Black holes are essentially safe havens where the thin line that separates their
activities disappears in a permissive ‘failed state’ environment.
• There are several conditions that make India particularly prone to transnational
organised crime and terrorism. These include, among others: -
• proximity to major heroin producers and exporters, regional drug trade through overland
routes and the sea.
• Moreover, groups willing to take risks, pervasive poverty and
• the protracted nature of ‘low intensity’ conflicts have also created a permissible
environment for the crime-terror nexus in India

• The major conflict zones in India are concentrated in Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K), North Eastern states of Assam, Nagaland and
Manipur. India also faces a Maoist insurgency (termed the Naxalite threat)
in the state of Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas in
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• The main terrorist threat stems from Pakistan-based terrorist groups to J&K
and mainland India where violent and religiously motivated
groups likewise pose as a threat.
• Several major Indian cities, including New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore,
and Pune among others, have witnessed terrorist attacks, but the Indian
city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has been ‘ground zero’ to the deadliest
attacks over the past three or more decades.
• The table below summarises the main theatres in which terrorist groups
operate in India, the prominent attacks they have carried out and the crime
related funding strategies they pursue.
Crime-terror nexus in India

India and the Crime-Terrorism Nexus

• Militants and criminals who operate from across India’s land borders in the
states of Myanmar and Bangladesh, two of India’s eastern neighbours,
further exacerbate India’s crime-terrorism problem in the Northeast.
• Groups based in these countries have been involved in arms smuggling into
India, and smuggling of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FCIN), which help
finance terrorist operations in India.
• Some groups such as the Jamaat-ul-Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) have
established their offshoots in India. In response, India is addressing some
of these problems through improved and enhanced diplomatic and
security cooperation with Bangladesh.

• These groups are a by-product of poor governance in these states.
• These groups run parallel governments in many parts of these states and raise
money through illegal trafficking of drugs, arms and human
smuggling and money laundering.
• The cooperation between the groups stems from the need for terrorists to
obtain arms and money to conduct operations and for the crime groups to build
a client base and act as couriers to smuggle arms, drugs and humans.
• In some cases, local groups also have linkages with international crime cartels
and other transnational groups.
• Almost all the terrorist groups have their own areas of influence, where they
collect money from the common people, act as intermediaries for channeling
state funds to the people and work in tandem with government functionaries to
award contracts to individuals patronized by militant groups.

1. In the North East, the Siliguri corridor with its porous borders along
Bangladesh and Nepal has become a major conduit for ISI subversive
activities.
2. The mushrooming of madarsas along the Indo – Nepal and Indo –
Bangladesh borders is a design contrived by ISI with the help of
sympathetic elements in Bangladesh to step up subversive activities in the
North East.
3. The muslim pockets have become the breeding ground for mafia,
smugglers, gun running, hawala transactions. narco-trafficking, influx of
fake Indian currency and terrorist activities.
State of Bengal and surroundings

4. The growth of communal organisations like Students Islamic
Movement of India (SIMI), Students Islamic, Sevak Sangh (ISS) and
All India Mili Council provides impetus to Pan Islamic sentiment,
which is vulnerable to exploitation by Pakistan.
5. Bangladesh has also become a nodal point for transhipments of
arms and ammunition acquired by the North East insurgents from
the arms bazars in South East Asia.
6. ISI is providing assistance for storage and transhipments through
fundamentalist organisations like JEI of Bangladesh, Quami
Madarsas and Islamic NGOs under its patronage. Some elements
amongst Bangladesh authorities are also suspected to be conniving
with the ISI.

• There is direct link between drug trafficking and terrorism. The
Golden Crescent is a major source of heroine and hashish for the
West, which is smuggled through the Indo-Pak border.
• The golden triangle causes major diversion of this traffic through the
state of Bengal which exceeds Afghanistan in transshipment volume.
• Dimensions of drug trafficking and narco terrorism extend much
beyond trafficking and smuggling. It undermines financial security of
India by generating black money, hawala transactions, money
laundering and above all existence of large cash economy enables
cross border terrorist activities and establishment of links with the
under world as gains can be channeled through the hawala routes

• The quantity of narcotics valued about Rs. 5000 crores are being annually
smuggled through India.
• The Golden triangle produces over 1000 tons of opium which is refined into
very high grade heroin. Very little of it is seized in the North East due to
ineffective surveillance and enforcement.
• A clear indicator of the likely illegal narcotic trade in the NorthEast is the high
incidence of drug addition and abuse in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, open Indo-Nepal border is the main source of
Hashish.
• Drug money acquired from shipments abroad by the ISI and its cohorts
collected from drug pushing cartels is launched through various placements
and made available to its under world links in Gulf and other countries, from
where it moves through banking and other channels to Islamic fundamentalist
organisations over the entire country.
Lifeblood of this terrorism- blood money

Lifeblood of this terrorism- blood money
• The process of money laundering helps in delinking the tainted money
from any association with its criminal origin and long chain of transactions
renders it impossible to locate the original source.
• Money is then pushed through banking channels by way of gifts, donations
and trade accounts.
• This also helps in tax evasion and is well manipulated by professional
facilitators like chartered accountants, auditors, lawyers and traders. Since
bulk of service sector (almost 50% of GNP) is prone to tax evasion, it
facilitates laundering of black money.
• Hawala with its ease, speed and anonymity has made it attractive even to
the migrants due to tedious procedures and delays in our banking system.
Money laundering, income tax evasion and hawala are complimentary to
each other.

Drug Trafficking in West Bengal,
Higher than Afghanistan
• The eastern Indian state of West Bengal that contributes to almost 45 pc of the
country’s child trafficking cases is also emerging as a major hub of Drug
Trafficking.
• According to records, West Bengal has the highest amount of drug-related
backlashes. In 2015-2016, in the Maldah district of West Bengal the NCB has
come across illegal poppy cultivation being carried out across 11,000 acres of
land.
• The amount of opium derived from this region was close to 7 lac kgs, which
outweighs the amount smuggled by similar racquets in countries like
Afghanistan, where such incidents are also very common.
• With the proliferation of economic transactions between WB & other Indian
states, the amount of drug trafficking, especially of that concerning illegal hard
drugs is also rising. The same is a magnifying trend as we have seen in the past
few years.

Drug trafficking in Bengal
1. Diversion of precursor chemicals and other controlled substances.
2. Diversion of pharmaceutical preparations and prescription drugs
containing psychotropic and controlled substances and their
smuggling to neighbouring countries.
3. Trafficking of drugs through illicit internet pharmacies and misuse of
courier services. Involvement of foreign nationals in trafficking and
distribution networks.
4. Trafficking of Ketamine, an anesthetic, from India to certain
destinations in South East Asia.
5. Emergence of new psychoactive substances like Mephedrone in the
country.

• Narcotic Drugs: Opium, Morphine, Codeine, Heroin, Amphetamines, Mescaline,
Marijuana, Hashish & Hashish Oil, Cocaine & Methaqualone.
Precursor Chemicals: Isosafrole, 3, 4-methelenedioxyphenyl-2-Propanone,
Phenylacetic Acid, 1-Phenyl-2-Propanone, Piperonal, Safrole, Toluene,
Piperidine, N-Acetylanthranilic Acid, Ergometrine, Ergotamine, Lysergic Acid,
Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, Acetone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone.
Ketamine: Ketamine.
• There is a significant problem with the manufacturing of cough syrups, as much
of the population can be seen abusing it regularly to get effects similar to legal
but costlier central nervous system depressants like alcohol.
• Most of these are transported to the Bangladesh border, where they are sold at
much higher rates, almost 10 times more than the original cost of the bottle.
West Bengal based drug trafficking racquet involved in smuggling codeine-based
cough syrups to Bangladesh.
Drug trafficking in Bengal

Drug money and social costs
1. The core of insurgents will remain separatist and anti-establishment, and
ethnic for support amongst the people.
2. The politician-bureaucrat-elite-insurgent nexus in the North-East particularly in
the Hill states, unless checked, will continue to provide support to insurgency
to achieve their diverse aims and further intensify deprivation and alienation of
the people.
3. Our policy of pumping in money when under pressure and to meet the ends of
political expediency. Political leaders and bureaucrats have consistently used
their offices to siphon off developmental funds at the cost of real.
4. Corruption, power through money and narrow ethnic loyalties have resulted in
most of the politicians and insurgents being motivated and propelled by
narrow parochial gains. This is the main reason for ethnic cleansing, partisan
killings, extortions and criminal activities of smuggling and drug trafficking.

Bengal Human trafficking
• West Bengal which has recorded the highest number of cases of human
trafficking in 2016, replacing Assam which had aced the list for the previous
year.
• A total of 8,132 cases of human trafficking were reported in the country
with West Bengal reporting the highest number of cases (3,579) the
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in Delhi 2016.
• That's a 44 per cent share of the national total. Rajasthan is in second
position with 1,422 cases or 17.9 per cent cases in the country.
• Bengal ranking number one on commercial sexual exploitation of children in
and around the city and revealed more minors were involved in the sex
trade in private establishments - massage parlours, lodges and residential
premises -- than in public ones, the brothels.

• 4143 sex-workers were documented from 451 public and 131 from 40
private establishments.
• The prevalence of minors in public establishments is 0.8% while in private
ones it was a whopping 18 %. The minors observed in private
establishments were 15 to 17 years old, all from West Bengal.
• Another unique observation was that 80% of contacts (pimps, madams,
traffickers) in private establishments were females
• 77% of them were promised a good job before they were forced into sex
work.
• The minors were subject to violence -- multiple rape, beatings and
threats of murder.
Bengal Human trafficking

Demographic inversion and infiltration
• In the 1981 census, the total population growth rate for West Bengal was 23.2 per cent
while that of the minority community was 29.6 per cent. In the same census, the overall
yearly population growth of the state was 2.3 per cent.
• But in the districts bordering Bangladesh the figures were higher: 2.7 per cent in 24
Parganas, 3.3 per cent in Nadia, 2.55 per cent in Murshidabad, and 2.66 per cent in both
Malda and Jalpaiguri.
• The same pattern continued in the 1991 census. The average population growth rate of
West Bengal was 24.73 percent – quite an abnormally high figure. But the districts
bordering Bangladesh showed even higher figures: North Dinajpore (34 percent), North 24
Parganas (31.69 percent), South 24 Parganas (30.24 percent), Murshidabad (28.20 percent)
and Nadia (29.95 percent).
• This proved that illegal immigration from Bangladesh was continuing. It is continuing
unchecked even today.
• Any attempt to give citizenship to Bangladeshi illegal immigrants may seriously jeopardise
the political, social and economic life of the country, as well as its security scenario too.
West Bengal and the Northeastern Indian states can no longer accommodate the
Bangladeshis.

Table 3 : State-wise Population Proportion of Hindu visa-a-vis Muslim 1991-2011
1991 2001 2011
India/States/Uts Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim Hindu Muslim
Demographic inversion and
infiltration
Assam 67.1 28.4 64.9 30.9 61.5 34.2
Bihar 84.2 15.7 83.2 16.5 82.7 16.9
Jammu& Kashmir * * 29.6 67.0 28.4 68.3
Kerala 57.3 23.3 56.2 24.7 54.7 26.6
Lakshdweep 4.5 94.3 3.7 95.5 2.8 96.6
Uttar Pradesh 81.5 17.7 80.6 18.5 79.7 19.3
West Bengal 74.7 23.6 72.5 25.2 70.5 27.0

Population data trends analysis
• It is very interesting to note that proportion of Hindus at India level has
decreased from 81.2 percent in 1991 to 80.4 percent in 2001 thereby showing a
decline of 0.8 percent.
• Again the decline during 2001-2011 is also of the order of 0.8. On the other
hand increase of Muslim population at country level is from 12.0 percent in
1991 to 13.4 in 2001 thereby showing an increase of 1.4 percent.
• During 2001-2011, the same has increased from 13.4 percent 2001 to 14.2
percent in 2011. It can be seen from the data that in all the states/Uts, the
proportion of Hindu population is declining whereas Muslim population
proportion is increasing.
• Most of increase in Muslim proportion is in North and Eastern parts of the
country particularly Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and
Delhi. Maximum is in Assam with 34.2 percent followed by West Bengal 27.0
percent.

• Another noticeable thing is that in Jammu & Kashmir, the Northern
border of the country, the population of Hindu is declining; the
Muslim proportion in 2011 is 68.3 percent.
• On the other hand, in the southern part of country, Lakshdweep has
population of 96.6 percent Muslim followed by Kerala with 26.6
percent.
• Extreme north and extreme south have traditional Muslim
population, but eastern India do not have the traditional Muslim
Population, of course, one can refer the eastern part or the country
Bangladesh which contain about 90 percent Muslim.
• Assam is just close to Bangladesh. It has shown the highest in the
North eastern part of India.

• If we see Hindu vis-à-vis Muslim growth, it can be observed that growth of
Muslim is more or less double the growth of Hindus across the country.
Here in Assam right from 1901, the population of Muslim is increasing at
the rate double of Hindus except one or two occasions.
• The fertile land of Assam has attracted many migrants from across the
neighbouring states/countries. It is not only the partition of India that
facilitates the state of Assam to have people from other parts, but its easy
habitation access and livelihood has attracted neighbours from time
immemorial.
• The data on population by two religions namely Hindu-Muslim (Islam)
proves the contention.

0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
1971
1981
1991
2001
2011
2021
2031
2041
2051
2061
2071
2081
2091
2101
Chart 3: Proportion of Hindu & Muslim in Assam during 1971-2101
Hindu
Muslim

• Most of increase in Muslim proportion is in North and Eastern parts of the
country particularly Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand
and Delhi. Maximum is in Assam with 34.2 percent followed by West
Bengal 27.0 percent.
• Assam may be a parking lot for the migrants. They may be entering through
Assam, taking rest for a while, then spreading to other parts of India.
• The reason for this conclusion is that the TFR of Muslims do not suggest
double growth or otherwise. In NFHS – 3 (2005-06), the total fertility for
the three years preceding the survey was estimated. According to the
NFHS-3, the TFR for Hindu is 2.65, whereas for Muslim it is 3.09.
• As such the TFR of Muslim is 1.167 times the Hindu’s TFR and therefore the
growth of Muslim should be 1.167 times the growth of Hindus if there is no
migration.

Fake currency Indian notes
• Apart from these, the district of Malda is the ground zero of the fake
currency network in India, with counterfeit notes making their way in
from Bangladesh through a porous border.
• Many residents of the town make their living from this illegal trade,
mostly working as couriers. 15 heists involving fake currency notes have
been reported from the district this year.
• Security officials informed, “From the point of origin of the consignment
in Bangladesh to the destination in Kaliachak, there would be almost 20
couriers in each chain.
• Each person in the chain normally covers a distance of a few 100 meters
to hand over the consignment to the next one in the chain. It is an
intricate network, difficult to trap.”

Gold smuggling
• South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar have rampant cases of gold smuggling.
Earlier in April this year, Directorate Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 105
kg of the precious metals that were smuggled from Myanmar and
Bangladesh. Clearly the alleged smuggling nexus is deep
• Due to Rohingya issue we have identified more vulnerable points and have
strengthened the points by providing extra manpower and equipment. We
are successfully guarding our border and apprehended four Rohingya
Muslims in three cases who tried to cross the border

ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL
• Give in or give up -- that’s the blatant and “dangerous” message of the
‘syndicate raj’ thriving under the Mamata Banerjee government.
Patronised by Trinamool Congress councillors and members and
government officials, these syndicates have spread their tentacles from real
estate to Durga Puja.
• These groups control sale of land, construction and building material and if
the buyer seeks legit means, the syndicates make sure he succumbs to
their demands.
• Trinamool's bastion revealed the shocking connivance of the party and
government officials with notorious syndicates. A councillor, husband of
another councillor, a TMC member, an official and a syndicate operative
were caught right on camera mentioning how the whole system works,
'protection money' that must be coughed up and the use of pressure
tactics.

• Syndicate is a group of unemployed youths, allegedly backed by ruling
party, operating mainly in those areas in Bengal that are witnessing a
realty boom. These youths use muscle power and political
connections and force contractors and real estate developers to buy
inferior building materials from them at a premium.
• The syndicate problem allegedly started in 1995, when the Left Front
government began acquiring land for the Rajarhat Township near Salt
Lake, Kolkata. To please the angry farmers former Urban
Development Minister Gautam Deb started a cooperative of
unemployed youths who would supply construction material to real-
estate companies. Since then the “syndicate raj” started flourishing
across Bengal
ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL

• Trinamool's bastion revealed the shocking connivance of the party
and government officials with notorious syndicates.
• A councilor, husband of another councilor, a TMC member, an official
and a syndicate operative were caught right on camera mentioning
how the whole system works, 'protection money' that must be
coughed up and the use of pressure tactics.
• Das openly admits being a TMC member. Boasting his syndicate's
stranglehold on North Dum Dum, they manage everything-from the
chairman, councilors to building plans.
• These syndicates don't operate out of some underground dens, but
brazenly with official connivance.
ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL

• Harendra Singh, chairman, Dum Dum Municipality, insists buying building
material from syndicates.
• When he is asked why such syndicates are allowed in the first place, Singh
shoots back. "Why should we stop them? What will they eat? You ask us to
stop them. You just want to earn alone? What about that jobless man who
wants to earn two paisas from you. Local men are jobless because of high
population. It's a small city and everyone is doing something. That's why
they are involved in such jobs. They have chosen this as their livelihood.“
• To any real estate developer in Bengal, big or small, the word ‘syndicate’
stands for terror. Having strong political connections in the ruling Trinamool
Congress, these syndicate members, apart from forcibly supplying inferior
quality construction materials, demand money from builders, which no one
can say no to. Every day the government receives complaints from across
the state, but the ‘syndicate raj’ seems to be continuing unabated.
ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL

• Trinamool Congress’ failed development work, and a dead giveaway
of the corruption endemic to the rank and file of the party.
• In the public mind, the chief culprit is the syndicate, a term familiar to
those in Kolkata who regularly read newspapers or watch news
channels, where stories of the syndicate have been a regular
feature for the past three years at least.
• The details vary but the narrative is the same – developers, architects
or even people building their own homes complain that construction
is held up because the syndicate is bullying them to buy building
materials from them.
ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL

• The organism operates on a three-tiered hierarchy. At the highest level, A,
is the left-hand man of the local MLA or MP is the one who does all the
dirty work, who takes the biggest cut and the biggest risks but leaves
behind no traces that may create problems for the person or persons he
reports to.
• At level B are the friends of the left-hand man. And at level C are the
friends and cronies of the Bs.
• The Bs and Cs are the points of first contact with whoever is building a
home or project in the area – they ask to speak with the site in-charge.
• Once the channel of communication has been set up, A enters the picture
and sets up the transaction.
ORGANISED CRIME OR
SYNDICATE IN BENGAL

Political instability and violence
• Murders, clashes, stonepelting, lathicharge, firing, arson, you name it
and some corner of West Bengal witnessed it in this election season.
• Besides this, all the 1,354 onlookers who were injured in poll-related
violence were from West Bengal.
• Reports of the National Crime Records Bureau reveal that in the 18
years between 1999 and 2016, on an average West Bengal witnessed
20 political murders every year.
• The highest was in 2009 when 50 murders were motivated by political
reasons. This was followed by 2000, 2010 and 2011, each of which
saw 38 political murders.

• A feature that is peculiar to poll-time offences in West Bengal in the
past two Lok Sabha elections (2014 and 2009) is that while most
states primarily witness these offences before and on the polling day,
in the case of West Bengal it seems these offences increased in the
post-poll period.
• The all-India data on offences recorded during election period in 2009
and 2014 show that most of the offences (65 per cent in 2009 and 74
per cent in 2014) were recorded in the pre-poll period. This was
followed by offences on polling day and the least number of offences
recorded were in the post-poll period.
Political instability and violence

TERRORISM IN BENGAL
• Burdwan blast has alerted one and all about a lurking threat - that of illegal
madrasas that have mushroomed across West Bengal. The blast has been an
eyeopener: behind these illegal madrasas there are terror networks that have
links with extremists in Bangladesh.
• They have become a threat to India's internal security, compounded by illegal
migration into India from Bangladesh.
• With the Burdwan blast West Bengal has got branded as a breeding ground of
terror logistics. Investigations by the Central agencies have revealed a sinister plot
that will not only affect India's security but will have security implications for
Bangladesh as well.
• And at the centre of these revelations are the illegal madrasas and terror
modules that operate across swathes in West Bengal. There are only about 500
madrasas recognised by the state government while over 4,000 such madrasas
are still unrecognised
• These elements also received tactical support for staying close to the political
formation (mainly the ruling Trinamool Congress party) in the rural belts and
enjoyed several undue benefits as no one could question their identities.

ISIS targeting foreigners in Kolkata
with JMB, planning lone wolf attacks
in Srinagar
• The ISIS has been coordinating with the JMB to create terror in India.
• A top operative of the Bangladesh-based terrorist outfit Jamaa-
ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has revealed that the global
terrorist organisation Islamic State is planning to carry out terror attacks in
the eastern part of the country.
• The security forces and the intelligence agencies are now verifying the
possibility of an ISIS attack from the east following the interrogation of
Mohammad Mosiuddin alias Musa, who was arrested in July last year from
Burdwan in West Bengal.
• During his interrogation, Musa has made chilling revelations that terror
groups now aim at targeting foreigners at Kolkata's Mother House and lone
wolf attacks on foreign tourists in Srinagar.

• The JMB further plans to publicize the activities of the ISIS in India
and recruit for the group.
• It also wants to coordinate with Pakistan-based groups like Lashkar e
Toiba and Jaish-e-Mujahideen and create terror in eastern and
southern India, where Mosiuddin was based, sources said.
• Another aim of the group is to help spread Salafist Islam in states like
Bihar and Bengal.
• The seeds of Islamic State (IS) in the state was sowed by Jamaat-e-
Islami and Popular Front of India (PFI), alleged the he extreme Salafi
group led by preacher Zakkariya Swalah .
in Srinagar

• Abdul Rashid Abdulla, the leader of the IS who is believed to be in
Afghanistan, has sent an audio clip recently in which he alleged that the
extreme Salafi group was the launching pad for the youth who had
migrated to Syria and Afghanistan.
• The entire program concentrated on the role played by Syed Abul A'la
Maududi, the founder of Jamaát-e-Islami in radical in radicalizing Muslims
in the Indian subcontinent and on Syria and Afghanistan.
• Illegal immigration involves transportation of people to another country
with the help of smugglers or middlemen for a fee. It is likely that the
state’s long coast is not under constaant radar of agencies tracking such
illegal migration.
• Starting with 10 terror modules in 2009, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh today has more than 50 units across West Bengal,.
in Srinagar

• The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh is using West Bengal not only
as their centre to spread terror in neighbouring Bangladesh but also
as a means to spread its ugly tentacles in the country.
• As per the plans, in the latter half of 2009, the JMB moved 10 of its
operatives into West Bengal and another 15 into Assam. With the
help and support of political leaders, who were sympathetic to the
cause of the Jamaat, these operatives received passports and voter
identifications.
• Slowly and gradually, these 10 modules grew and today in 2014, they
have 53 active modules in West Bengal.
in Srinagar

• Furthermore, joint investigations by the National Investigation Agency,
Enforcement Directorate, Intelligence Bureau and other central agencies
has revealed how money collected from the poor in West Bengal through
the Saradha ponzi scheme was allegedly transferred using the hawala
channel to fund terror activities of the JMB.
• According to a financial report, one state politician allegedly moved Rs 65
crore through a hawala channel. Out of this, Rs 18 crore was sent in
installments to Assam and West Bengal. The probe has revealed that in
Assam, a doctor identified as Sahanur Alam and his wife were transferring
the funds to operatives.
• the rise of JMB in West Bengal is also owing to the nexus of terrorists with
politicians. An indication of that was the alleged involvement of TMC MP
Ahmed Imran in the Saradha scam, which has been revealed to also fund
terror activities of the JMB.
in Srinagar

• Intelligence Bureau reports suggest that the West Bengal government
ignored the warnings of large scale infiltration into West Bengal and
the red flags that were raised about Imran before he moved to the
Rajya Sabha. All of these warnings had been ignored by Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee, forcing many to believe that she is soft on terror.
• The other allegation is that there are several state officials who are
closet Jamaat supporters and helped in setting up modules in the
state.
• Further, the administration is accused of not taking any action against
the gram panchayats in West Bengal which give easy access to
infiltrators.
in Srinagar

• The rise of the JMB is also a concern for India, as it has been discovered that the JMB may
create many terror hot spots in India. For this, the JMB has sought the help of the Al Qaeda.
• According to a recent post in the Al Qaeda’s magazine, Resurgence, this would be a step
forward establishing the caliphate as per the wish of its supreme leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
• Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist political and right-wing Muslim nationalist movement
founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist theologian and socio-political
philosopher, Abul Ala Maududi.Along with the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928,
Jamaat-e-Islami was one of the original and most influential Islamist organisations,[2] and
the first of its kind to develop "an ideology based on the modern revolutionary conception
of Islam"
• The group split into separate independent organisations in India and Pakistan—Jamaat-e-
Islami Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind—following the Partition of Indiain 1947. Other
groups related to or inspired by Jamaat-e-Islami developed in Bangladesh, Kashmir, Britain,
and Afghanistan. The Jamaat-e-Islami parties maintain ties internationally with other
Muslim groups.
in Srinagar

• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is an Islamic terrorist organisation operating
in Bangladesh. It is also listed as a terror group by the UK. It is the militant wing of
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.
• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh is a "proxy" established by the legal Jamaat-e-
Islami Bangladesh party to "push the center of gravity of the political debate
toward radical Islamism" and make Jamaat-e-Islami appear more centrist.
• many members of the JMB and JMJB have invariably been found to be cadres of
the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a partner in
the ruling coalition" with the Bangladesh National Party "under Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia" that came to power in 2001.
• It was founded in April 1998 in Palampur in Dhaka division by Abdur Rahman and
gained public prominence in 2001 when bombs and documents detailing the
activities of the organisation were discovered in Parbatipur in Dinajpur district.
in Srinagar

• The organisation was officially declared a terrorist organisation and banned by
the government of Bangladesh in February 2005 after attacks on NGOs. But it
struck back in mid-August when it detonated 500 small bombs at 300 locations
throughout Bangladesh. The group re-organised and has committed several
public murders in 2016 in northern Bangladesh as part of a wave of attacks on
secularists
• The JMB was believed to have contained at least 10,000 members, and have an
extensive network of organisations including connections to legal Islamist
organisations.
• The JMB reportedly has a three-tier organisation.
1. The first tier of the outfit consists of activists called Ehsar, who are recruited on a full-
time basis and act at the behest of the higher echelons.
2. The second tier, known as Gayeri Ehsar, has over 100,000 part-time activists.
3. The third tier involves those who indirectly co-operate with the JMJB. According to JMJB
leaders, the whole country has been divided into nine organisational divisions.
in Srinagar

• In two separate incidents in 2015, it was discovered that JMB had been
receiving financing from officers at the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka.
• Visa Attache, Mazhar Khan, was caught red-handed at a meeting with a
JMB operative in April 2015, who said that they were involved in pushing
large consignments of fake Indian currency into West Bengal and Assam.
• JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors
in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have
claimed JMB received funding from international NGOs like Kuwait
based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al
Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul
Ansar Al Khairia.
in Srinagar

Conclusions
• Growing reliance on cross-border criminal activities—facilitated by open borders,
weak states, immigration flows, financial technology, and a highly intricate and
accessible global transportation infrastructure—and an associated interest in
establishing political control in order to consolidate and secure future operations,
have all contributed to the rise of the crime–terror nexus. BENGAL IS NOW A
CLASSIC BLACK HOLE STATE.
• As a result, non-state actors, in the guise of transnational organized crime and
terrorism, are directly challenging the security of the state—arguably for the first
time in history.
• The realization that economic and political power enhance one another, suggests
that more and more groups will become hybrid organizations by nature.
• This is enhanced by the fact that criminal and terrorist groups appear to be
learning from one another, and adapting to each other’s successes and failures.
• Furthermore, given the unremitting existence of territory that is not adequately
under state control environments that provoke and promote strengthened ties
between organized crime and terrorism endure.

• The nexus between terrorism and organized crime presents a major
challenge for India.
• The country has a long history of fighting separatist insurgencies,
terrorism and civil conflicts that are spread across different parts of the
country.
• The role that terrorism has played in funding criminal activities
continues to perpetuate violence and creates instability inside India and
in its neighbourhood.
• It needs to be tackled through greater state capacity and better
coordination among a plethora of security agencies.
Conclusions

• Concurrently, India is also attempting to address the challenge of
counterfeit currencies through demonetisation.
• Through a combination of policing and prosecution, the underworld’s links
with crime and terrorism in Mumbai have been curbed to a large extent,
although the close links that exist between the groups may not be
eliminated in its entirety.
• The biggest threat that India faces is the effects that terrorist attacks
generate in destabilising the Indian economy.
• The use of terrorism to strike India’s economy as a major factor in the
26/11 attacks.
Conclusions

• Although India is not immune from broader developments in South
Asia’s security environment and terrorism trends in the region, over
the past five or more years, mass casualty terrorist attacks directed
against Indian civilians in India’s major cities have declined
perceptibly.
• From an Indian standpoint, cross- border terrorism emanating from
Pakistan is a major challenge for Indian security in the state of Jammu
and Kashmir (J&K) and until recently in many states of mainland India.
• At the core of the challenge is the role of criminal activities that fund
terrorism that continues to perpetuate violence and create instability
both in India and in its neighbourhood
Conclusions

TERRORISM AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN BENGAL (1).pptx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to TERRORISM AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN BENGAL (1).pptx

Similar to TERRORISM AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN BENGAL (1).pptx (18)

More from SaptarshiBasu23

More from SaptarshiBasu23 (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

TERRORISM AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN BENGAL (1).pptx