Incident Summary:
07/10/2010: On Saturday, in West Midnapore, West Bengal, India, unidentified militants abducted two villagers, identified as Soumen Bhakat, chief of Kenddangri gram panchayat, and Kamal Mahato. On 07/11/2010, the militants shot and killed the two men. Their bodies were recovered four kilometers from their homes in Jamboni’s Balidiha village. Reportedly, the militants demanded Rs 5 lakh from Soumen but the panchayat chief said he could not pay more than Rs 50,000. According to police, no rebel posters were recovered, but police recovered several AK-47 cartridges form the incident site. No damages were reported and no group claimed responsibility, but it was suspected that Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) cadres were responsible.
Overview
GTD ID:
201007100007
When:
2010-07-10
Country:
India
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
West Bengal
City:
Near Balidiha
Location Details:
The attack took place four kilometers from the victims' homes in Jamboni’s Balidiha village in West Midnapore.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Kenddangri Government |
Specific Description |
Soumen Bhakat, chief of Kenddangri gram panchayat |
Nationality of Target |
India |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
Kamal Mahato, a villager, was also targeted. |
Nationality of Target |
India |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
2 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) killed (not during rescue attempt) |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
Weapon Details |
AK 47's were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
2 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
2 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
South Asia Terrorism Portal, "Suspected Maoists Kill Two Villagers in West Bengal," http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=7/13/2010&id=1#1 (July 13, 2010). |
Telegraph, "Maoists Kill Village Head," LexisNexis Academic, Telegraph, July 12, 2010. |
Telegraph, "Rebels Kill Panchayat Chief," LexisNexis Academic, Telegraph, July 12, 2010. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties