bandits, roving and stationary

WP: bandit, "Thokia," eludes police in central India
"Madhya Pradesh, a region of jungles, forbidding rocky ravines and deep poverty, has harbored bandits and renegades since at least the 12th century, historians say. Between 1957 and 2001 alone, nearly 5,700 bandits have come and gone in the province.
In the past five years, Thokia, 33, has become part of the local folklore, a Robin Hood figure.
He and his gang of 20 have killed several police officers and other bandits. They have abducted businessmen and public works contractors for ransom. They also have managed to build a reputation of never hurting poor people, especially those of the leader's own caste...
When he was a young man, the story goes, his sister was raped. He pleaded with local police and the village council to arrest the perpetrator, but they refused. So at 23, he ran away from home, pledging revenge. He killed the brothers of the rapist, but the man himself is still free."
(SV's related film recommendation: The Bandit Queen)
Ind: bandits strike in Thailand, as rice prices rise
"Reports of widespread theft, although unsubstantiated by police, spread quickly after 220lb of premium-quality fragrant rice was stolen from a granary in Kalasin province, 300 miles north-east of Bangkok. 'Villagers have set up teams and are patrolling the community,' said Urit Poo-aob, a district chief in Kalasin."
AP: and for good measure, the US has its own version: the barbie bandit. of course she's branded, natch.

WSJ: militias in 2 Shiite neighborhoods stock-piling weapons in schools
WP: Sadr called for a strike Monday of shops and taxis in the areas; some fear ceasefire will be called off
LAT: security forces launch crackdown in Basra
since British troops left in December, "Basra has been torn by fighting among Shiite political parties and their militias, which are in competition for the south's lucrative oil reserves."
Gdn: today Sadr called for "civil revolt" in response to Basra measures
Gdn: Q&A on Basra

AP: Comoros retakes Anjouan with AU forces

BBC: Sri Lanka engages LTTE boats

LAT: Shining Path launches attack in coca-producing region of Peru, kill one police officer

AP: royalists win Bhutan's first election

BBC: new PM keeps his word, judges released in Pakistan

BBC: still working out the cabinet in Kenya

BBC: aid not making its way to Afghanistan

CSM: debating engagement with Hamas

BBC: India's Supreme Court orders new investigation of 2002 Gujarat riots

NYT: escape routes from East Germany to Bulgaria
"At least 4,500 people tried to escape over the Bulgarian border during the cold war, estimated the researcher, Stefan Appelius, a professor of political science at Oldenburg University. Of those, he believes that at least 100 were killed, but no official investigation has ever been undertaken...By comparison, the research center in Potsdam says that 134 people were killed trying to escape at the Berlin Wall, though the research is continuing and that figure is contested by those who say it should be higher. Over all, experts say, more than 1,000 people died trying to flee over the East German border."