In the Shadow of Terror

BY MOST ACCOUNTS, Praveen Nettaru, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing, was doing well running a successful poultry business in Bellare village in coastal Karnataka. His choice of trade was unusual as the business is largely run by Muslim traders. Nettaru is reported to have urged locals not to purchase halal meat and called on them to set up their own businesses and his social media activity and statements provide evidence of his advocacy of Hindu causes along with regular posts eulogising Bharat Mata. On July 26, he became the latest victim of communal violence that has often wracked Dakshina Karnataka, the vicious hacking by sharp swords and knives being the hallmark of such murders. The brazen crime committed on the street as Nettaru was returning home in the evening might have mirrored previous incidents but seemed to be a tipping point as enraged BJP Yuva Morcha members and other supporters protested angrily and called for a bandh. A few days later, angry Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers raised slogans at the Bengaluru residence of Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, some even breaking through the police lines. The saffron protesters identified Nettaru’s killers as “jihadists” and demanded an immediate ban on Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), organisations that have been investigated for violent incidents, including the February 2020 Delhi riots.

The rising public heat, including criticism by BJP supporters, saw Chief Minister BS Bommai promise quick action (see interview) and he handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the wake of the initial arrests, pointing to a likely inter-state angle to the incidents. The arrests have revealed a “revenge” motive with Nettaru being targeted for the murder of a migrant Muslim youth, Masood, apparently after a tiff with a local took a serious turn. This, though, was just an excuse and the real intention was to foment communal trouble through a targeted killing, said state government sources. Although the assault on Masood did lead to tension in the area, there was little anticipation that Nettaru could be singled out for such a violent end. Not long after his killing, a group of masked men attacked and killed Mohammad Fazil, who was chased down a street in Surathkal in Mangaluru in what is seen to have been a deliberate act. The Masood and Fazil murders are being investigated by the state police and while several arrests have been made, there is no certainty on motives as yet although there are indications of provocative actions leading to violence. The incidents pose a fresh set of challenges for Bommai who has just completed a year in office after replacing stalwart BS Yediyurappa. The chief minister is confident that a stern message will be sent with regard to all the cases and he told Open that the rule of law will be upheld, as was the case in the sensitive hijab controversy in January when some Muslim girl students sought to wear a hijab while attending classes at a government junior college in violation of the uniform policy.

But while the probe into the murders is proceeding, the incidents have again put the spotlight on communal tensions in coastal Karnataka and the role of outfits like PFI (which was also at the forefront in the hijab row). The murder of Nettaru was clearly intended to inflame sentiments and possibly trigger rioting. It was not unlike other acts of extremism, such as the murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal on June 28 for ‘supporting’ suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in the blasphemy row regarding comments related to Prophet Muhammad. Apart from providing evidence of growing radicalism, the role of Pakistan-linked organisations like Dawat-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (which has played a major role in organising protests on the issue of blasphemy in Pakistan) point to a plan to sharpen religious faultlines in India and keep communities on the edge.

The unfortunate labelling of coastal Karnataka as a “communal cauldron” is the result of the notoriety gained by the Indian Mujahideen (IM)—the terror outfit that carried out several bombings in 2007-08—and its mastermind Mohammed Siddibappa or Yasin Bhatkal, who hailed from the town of Bhatkal. Attracted to jihadist ideology from an early age, the school dropout was a key member of IM along with two brothers, Riyaz and Iqbal. Yasin Bhatkal set up a chain of cells in several states and organised training of recruits in bomb-making and elaborate reconnaissance before selecting public sites to plant bombs. The IM thrall of terror put the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the mat before Gujarat Police achieved a breakthrough in identifying a car used in the July 26, 2008 bombings in Ahmedabad (incidentally, the same day and month as Nettaru’s murder) that was spotted in Vadodara and a raid on a safe house revealed evidence of bomb-making. Several arrests followed and it came to light that IM comprised members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). A key SIMI leader, Safdar Nagori, was to later provide crucial information on the role and importance of Yasin Bhatkal. The outing of IM was a much-needed break as police forces of several states were struggling to halt the terror outfit’s attacks which were often preceded by mocking emails to the media claiming that a blast was about to take place. Then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi met then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his National Security Advisor (NSA) MK Narayanan in New Delhi to discuss the findings of Gujarat Police. So habituated IM modules had become to staging terror attacks that they would crave the publicity their outrages generated and watch television coverage intently. The Delhi module took photos of the gory scenes after bombs had gone off before it was tracked to a flat in the Batla House area where Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was killed in a shootout. This was largely the “Azamgarh module” and arrests of its key members followed with one accused charged with Sharma’s murder. All the threads in the IM-SIMI network responsible for the serial blasts led to Bhatkal in Karnataka where the idea of forming the terror group was born around 2004.

After the IM arrests, state police forces began coordinating closely to pick up its members but narrowly missed Bhatkal in Karnataka with the mastermind understood to have slipped across the border to Bangladesh sometime in October 2008. He was finally arrested on the India-Nepal border in 2013 and brought to trial and sentenced. Bhatkal’s reputation as a terror seminary, however, persisted and later US national David Coleman Headley (currently serving a sentence for terrorism in a US jail) revealed the existence of a “Karachi project” run by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) which was tasked with fostering jihadist networks in India and carrying out bombings. Riyaz and Iqbal Shahbandari were understood to be in Karachi and active members of the project to stage jihadist attacks in India with the aim of causing public casualties. Headley, a Pakistani-American, carried out reconnaissance for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) ahead of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. He seemed to have been in and out of India and even landed up at a gym used by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul whom the operative claimed to have befriended. Indian investigators got access to Headley and the convict revealed considerable information on retired and active ISI and Pakistan army personnel involved in training and planning attacks in India. Just as the IM members were being picked up, LeT carried out the attack in Mumbai with the entire operation monitored from a control room in Karachi which relayed instructions to the LeT team.

Elements of SIMI found their way into PFI which was at the forefront, along with other outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, in the hijab controversy. Its affiliate, the Campus Front of India (CFI), was involved in encouraging female Muslim students to challenge the uniform code and wear the head covering to the government junior (pre-university) college they attended in Udupi. It is hardly a coincidence that the scene of the confrontation was again a town in coastal Karnataka which has been prone to polarising politics. The demand that the provisions of the Karnataka Education Act be set aside in deference to a claim that the hijab was an essential part of Muslim religious practice was opposed by BJP and the state government. The PFI mobilisation led to a sharp debate on whether the hijab demand was a bid to impose a religious diktat not supported by law. Not unexpectedly, BJP and Congress were on opposing sides of the dispute. PFI shares SIMI’s worldview of promoting hardline Islamist values and the regularity with which it pops up in communal discussions like the hijab demand, or alleged cases of ‘love jihad’, or conversions associated with its linked organisation Sathya Sarini, is clearly a matter of concern and not a random occurrence. In the present instance, reports of PFI’s role, given the short distance to the Kerala border, and the arrest of two accused from Kasargod are being closely investigated as are the statements of the wife of one of the accused that he was a member of the organisation. Despite its long and dubious record—PFI activists were even convicted for the 2010 assault on a professor for allegedly setting a ‘blasphemous’ question for his students—the outfit continues to organise its activities in several states although its base is in Kerala. BJP Karnataka Spokesperson Mohan Krishna said that cases involving PFI members were withdrawn by the previous Congress government. “If the cases had been pursued, we would have had the proof needed for a ban on PFI and its affiliates that would have stood up in court,” he said.

The polarisation in Uttara and Dakshina Karnataka has seen BJP sweep coastal and Malnad regions in the 2018 Assembly polls, winning 28 of 33 seats. The apparent ease with which Nettaru’s murder was carried out by motorcycle-borne assailants has generated a backlash. BJP student and youth wings have demanded a ban on PFI and SDPI, leading to senior ministers promising tough action against groups involved in such attacks. Political sources said their anger also reflects discontent over the functioning of the state BJP organisation. Bommai has spoken of adopting the “Yogi model”, a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose administration has targeted the residences of rioters for demolition. Since its own ranks are upset, bristling with discontent over the murder of Nettaru, the BJP leadership swiftly backed the transfer of the case to NIA. BJP MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the NIA probe and sought a wider investigation into organisations turning Mangaluru into a ‘fertile’ ground for jihadists.

The events of the last month could mean the state government will need to consider a more pro-active approach to curbing the activities of fundamentalist groups in the state, a focus that requires additional attention apart from efforts to highlight Karnataka’s development story that has seen its economy recover fairly rapidly from Covid. The law and order situation and a need to step up intelligence gathering are areas requiring urgent attention which, if left unattended, will undercut the state’s obvious attractions as an investment destination and the salubrious weather of its capital Bengaluru. It’s clear that with state elections due next year, the Bommai government can anticipate more attempts to stir trouble and violence. The polarising politics that has seen BJP and Congress cross swords over issues ranging from the celebration of “Tipu Jayanti” and the alleged saffronisation of school textbooks will almost certainly continue. Reacting to the Nettaru murder, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suggested a link between the incident and internal tussle in BJP. “I was told Nettaru was once driver for BJP state president Nalin Kateel, why did they part ways? If the police interrogate the BJP chief, it may help nab Nettaru’s killers,” he tweeted. For his part, Bommai said the murder was pre-planned. “The murder of district Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru is not being seen as a mere murder case but as a systematic act of terrorism aimed at destroying democracy and rule of law,” he said.

As the police investigation into recent incidents like the Jahangirpuri Hanuman Jayanti riot in Delhi showed, there is a clear plan to instigate violence. In the case of Jahangirpuri, the pattern was the same template that led to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or anti-CAA, violence in Delhi in February 2020. Similarly, communally charged provocations are intended to play on divisions and deepen distrust between communities. The state’s response will be judged in the coming weeks on its ability to anticipate trouble and work out reassuring and consistent political and social messaging and actions that confront fundamentalism. There has been an assertive display of Hindu identity and the influence of Islamist organisations spells a certain social friction. The pull of inflammatory rhetoric—the preaching of controversial cleric Zakir Naik is often propaganda material—and demands from Hindu groups for action against Islamists require decisive action from the state government. As Headley’s testimony revealed years ago, ISI and Pakistan-based anti-India terror outfits like LeT remain committed to funding and promoting violence and social discord in India. The Karachi project was never wound up; it only found newer enterprises and actors to support and prime for acts of terror.

BJPCAAKarnatakapoliticsPraveen NettaruYasin Bhatkal