Jamshedpur, Feb. 27: Police have started scanning activities of civil contractors working under Subernarekha Multi-purpose Project (SMP) in Ghatshila and other places after top CPI (Maoist) leader Somen ’s arrest in Bengal on February 23.
A police officer revealed that SMP contractors are under scanner because they are suspected to be funding Naxalite outfits to get their work done smoothly. A revelation to this effect has been made by Somen to the Bengal police.
The state police have decided to keep a close eye on civil contractors engaged in various development projects in Ghatshila. The officer said the contract firms have to fix payment of levy to extremists for initiating work on road construction or irrigation in Ghatshila. Those who refuse, face dire consequences. Contractors engaged in SMP work are main financiers of Naxalite operations, he alleged.
Now, the police, along with the intelligence department, would prepare a data bank of contractors working in Ghatshila, Patamda, Chandil and Ichagarh. “The data bank would consist of information about the kind of contractors, the place of their origin and if they had demanded police security at the project site. Whether any of them have licensed guns or revolvers for operating in Naxalite-affected areas would also be checked,” he said.
Sources said the police would also consult Jamshedpur Builders’ Association about those working in the rebel-affected areas without police protection.
Meanwhile, East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh (in picture), who was to grill Somen today, could not leave for Bengal. “I was supposed to interrogate Somen. But the trip did not materialise due to some engagement here,” he said.
Spokesperson of state police R.K. Mallick denied that a police team from the state was sent to Bengal to interrogate the arrested rebel. “No police team has been sent from the state to Bengal to interrogate the Naxalite leader,” he said.
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