Intelligence reports warn of Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, March 17 (IANS) Thousands of police and paramilitary troopers deployed in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist stronghold Bastar region were put on high alert in the wake of fresh intelligence inputs that warned of major attacks on forces and civilians bases, officials said Monday. “Maoist guerrillas are desperate to go for major strikes either on police posts or relief camps in the state’s extreme southern Bijapur and neighbouring Dantewada districts,” a top official of the police intelligence department told IANS Monday, referring to recent inputs.

Bijapur and Dantewada along with Kanker, Bastar and Narayanpur districts form the hilly Bastar region of about 40,000 sq km that is rich in iron ore reserves but has witnessed major attacks by rebels since June 2005 including the killing of 55 policemen in March last year in Bijapur.

The officer said that 36,991 people from 201 villages in Dantewada district and 10,949 people from 275 villages in Bijapur are living in 23 government-run makeshift relief camps due to life threats from Maoist after they launched a civil militia movement, Salwa Judum, against insurgents in June 2005.

“Forces in Bastar either stationed at police camps or relief camps for civilians’ security are always on high alert but senior police officials commanding security in Bastar have now been briefed about the latest inputs and are advised to further strengthen security,” the source said.

Police officials say that about 4,000 hardcore Maoists carrying AK-47 rifles, rocket launchers, LMG and SLR are active in the southern tip of the state, backed by another 35,000-40,000 second-rank Maoists with guns, bows and arrows and other traditional weapons.

Somen says his arrest won’t affect Maoist activities

KOLKATA, March 8: Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) state committee, Somen, was remanded in police custody for 12 days by the chief judicial magistrate of Purulia district court today in connection with the blast in a police camp near Bandwan in March 2005.
Speaking to the press at the court premises, Somen, said his followers would continue with the movement against the state machinery and his arrest would not affect the party's day-to-day activities.
Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) brought Somen to Purulia from Dum Dum central jail this afternoon. Somen was produced before the magistrate Mr Jahir Ahmed who remanded him in police custody. Mr Sagar Mondal, the defence counsel, moved a bail petition for Somen, which was rejected by the magistrate. Mr Ahmed instructed the CID officers to produce Somen before his court on 20 March. Mr Mondal today complained before the magistrate that adequate drinking water was not supplied to his client in police custody.
A senior CID officer said, Somen had masterminded the blast the CPI (Maoist) rebels had carried out in a police camp near Bandwan on 8 March, 2005. The CID officers also suspect Somen had ordered the killings of former sabhadhipati of Purulia zilla parishad, Rabindranath Kar, and his wife at their residence on 30 December, 2006. SNS

Maoist activities unabated in state

KOLKATA, March 7: At a time when a majority of the Maoist-infested states have managed to combat the challenge posed by the outfit successfully, the Naxalite activities are unabated in West Bengal.
A recent report prepared by the Union home ministry states the Maoists are steadily spreading their activities in new areas of the state whereas a majority of the Maoist-infested states have slowly pushed the outfit into a corner over the past four years.
In West Bengal, a total of 12 police stations were identified as Maoist-infested in 2006. The number was four in 2003. After 2003, the Maoists have gained ground in the state. In 2004, Maoists made their presence felt in six police station areas and in 2005, the number of affected police stations reached to seven. As the number reached to 12 in 2006, it clearly appeared the state failed to stop the spread of Maoist activities here. In comparison to West Bengal, other Maoist-infested states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand dealt with the problem more efficiently. These states not only stopped the spread of Naxalite violence but also “recaptured” some areas where Maoists had earlier made their presence felt. In Andhra Pradesh, the total number of Maoist-infested police stations were 183 in 2003 but it came down to 93 in 2006. Similarly in Bihar, the number of Maoist-infested police stations came down to 69 in 2006. In 2003, the state had a total of 100 affected police stations. Jharkhand also dealt with the problem efficiently. In 2003, the state had 96 affected police stations in terms of Maoist violence but in 2006 the number came down to 85.
However, in some states like Orissa and Chhatisgarh, Maoists have spread their activities in new areas during the period. Overall in the country, Maoist activities have been curved significantly. In 2003 the total number of Naxalite affected police stations was 491 but in 2006 the number came down to 395.
Though the report was prepared with the the figure available till 2006, the Maoists continued to spread their activities in the state. Mr Raj Kanojia, IG (Law and Order), said till date 13-14 police stations in three districts, Bankura, Purulia and Midnapore West, were affected. He, however, expressed hope that the Naxalite activities would be curbed in the state following the arrest of Somen, the eastern region head of the outfit.

Udupi: Police Arrest Eight Associates of Naxalites

Udupi, Mar 7: On credible confidential information, a joint operation was conducted by Udupi District Police and Udupi units of Anti Naxalite Force today on 7/3/08 at Kudlu, Megadde and Hebri areas. The operation has been partially successful as it has lead to the arrest of 8 associates of Naxalites namely as follows:

1. Suresh Gowda (32) S/o Late Muthappa Gowda R/o Kudlumane, Kudlu, Nadapala Village.

2. Anand Gowda (60) S/o Late Shesha Gowda R/o Gajanana Nilaya, Ajjolli, Nadapalu Village.

3. Kempe Gowda (40) S/o Shesha Gowda R/o Deeranabailu, Kudlu, Nadapalu Village.

4. Satish Shetty (29) S/o Late Raghava Shetty R/o Megadde Nilaya, Megadde, Kudlu, Nadapalu Village.

5. Kariya Gowda (65) S/o Late Shesha Gowda R/o Durga Kripa, Kudlu, Nadapalu Village.

6. Krishnappa Gowda (30) S/o Kariya Gowda R/o Durga Kripa, Kudlu, Nadapalu Village.

7. Dayananda Gowda (30) S/o Anada Gowda R/o Seethanadi, Nadapalu village.

8. Sudhakar Shetty (28) S/o Sadhu Shetty, Ajjolli, Nadapala Village.

The above persons were involved in supplying explosives, weapons, food material and other materials to the Naxalites. It has been found that a few of them have participated in a meeting with Naxalites, where a conspiracy to loot the premises of some persons in Udupi district was hatched. A programme to blast some important areas was also planned.

During the operation, police has seized a large cache of explosive and dangerous substances as follows:

* Two Explosive Gelatin Sticks
* 30- Detonators
* One SBML Gun
* One Motor cycle used to carry men and material to naxalites.
* Packing materials
* Pamphlets printed under the name of CPI(Maoist).
* One Red flag bearing the name of the organization


A case in Cr No- 24/08 U/s 10(1)(B) & 13(B) of Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act & Sec. 4 & 5 of Explosive Substances Act & Sec. 3 & 25 of Indian Arms Act & Sec. 399, 400 of IPC has also been registered. Investigation is being continued.

This raid proves that a set of people in Udupi district are involving in very dangerous activities which can endanger the lives of many. Handing over explosives to naxalites and terrorists is a very dangerous and irresponsible act, which we should all oppose. Any information about such persons or such activities will go a long way in securing the lives of people. It is our appeal that, people should stay away from such activities and help police in providing everyone a safe environment. Such information will also be rewarded suitably.

Cops challenged PLGA,Had to be killed:Maoists

BERHAMPUR: The CPI (Maoist) has claimed that they had no intention of killing cops in Nayagarh but they had to part with their lives to make their operation a success.

A week after owning responsibility for the loot of armouries in Nayagarh to strengthen the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army, the outlawed outfit has sent its second release to mediapersons.

The letter signed by Sunil, the organisational secretary of CPI (Maoist), Orissa State Committee, has called the armouries loot right under the nose of the police a fitting reply to the policy of Central and State Governments to suppress their movement forcefully.

It criticised the State Government for entrusting a ‘frustrated’ police force for combing and search operations, which in reality, is harassing the locals and innocent people, no way related to the operation.

While stating that the cops in Nayagarh had tried to challenge the PLGA, the letter also mentioned that one civilian was killed due to his own fault. "Despite the identity and warning by the PLGA, the youth tried to attack our cadres," said Sunil.

The PLGA also killed the Assistant Commandant and three jawans in the encounter at Gosama forest on February 16, he said, adding, two Maoists - Rambati and Ikbal, also succumbed. Though he did not mention anything about the whereabouts of their bodies, he criticised the Orissa Government for the false claim of Naxal killing.

While stating that the armed revolution of Maoists will continue, he exhorted the public to lend a helping hand to the ultras to save the innocent public from exploitation.

Three Maoists arrested

Malkanagiri (PTI): Four persons, including three Maoist ultras were arrested from Tankalguda and Billiguda in Orissa's Malkangiri district, police said on Friday.

The three ultras arrested on Thursday night were identified as Madhi Desa alias Rama alias Damodar, Madhi Lachha alias Nagraj, Madhi Dula alias Durga. The fourth person was identified as Madhi Kanta alias Kosa, district police superintendent Satish Kumar Gajbhiye told reporters here.

Madhi Desa was involved in the killing of former Motu police station in-charge, D Mishra and Kondapalli and Tankelaguda encounter.

Madhi Kanta is not a Maoist cadre but a member of its frontal organisation Sangam Party, the SP said adding Madhi Dasa and Madhi Lachha had completed training in various places on maoist activities.

A large number of Moist posters, literature, a manual displaying operation of rocket launcher, bomb, landmine.

An attendance register with daily routine work of Maoists was also seized from their possession, Gajbhiye said adding some primary school text books were also found in the Maoist camp.

Later the Maoists on interrogation said a commander of the outfit Ashok believed to have killed in the encounter with the security forces at Kondapalli on March 5 was alive. The man who was killed was identified as a person named Raja, he said.

Seven villages evacuated

BHOPAL: It is not just the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh which is firmly inthe grip of the Maoists. The Maoist threat has moved 337 kms north of the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border where at least seven tribal villages have been evacuated since February 10.

The seven villages — Dhiri, Mahoutkhodra, Mundidadar, Raeily, Godradi, Bhave and Malaida — with a population of 1,200, mostly Gond and Baiga tribes, have been deserted after Maoists demanded a youth from each family to join them.

Though the Madhya Pradesh government claims that only one village falls in the state, Lanji legislator Kishore Samrite told TOI that of the seven, four villages are in MP and three in Chhattisgarh. The tribals deserted these villages fearing retaliation after two Maoists — including a woman commander of Darrekasa 'dalam', Sunanda Bai — were killed in an encounter on January 22. Last week, the Nagpur police had recovered pamphlets and literature, claiming Maoists would avenge Sunanda Bai's killing. This prompted MP and Chhattisgarh to deploy two additional companies of armed forces in the sensitive area.

Balaghat collector Gulshan Bamra told TOI, "We had no knowledge that Naxals were running a training camp at Dhiri — the small village is the corridor for entry into Madhya Pradesh. Since January 12, about 56 Maoists were camping here. After the January 22 encounter, villagers feared retaliation. They said training camps were frequent in this area and that Naxals had demanded one youth from each family to join their movement."

The MP government, however, claimed the evacuation was not at the behest of the administration, rather villagers wanted to leave their remote forest homes. A plot of land at Lanji has been taken for rehabilitation of the tribals who have refused to go back to their forest dwellings, it said.

Former MP CM Digvijay Singh has also raised the issue in the assembly, saying it was not a solution and would only "aggravate" the problem like Chhattisgarh. Singh said evacuation would mean another 800 square km of forest area free for Maoist activities.

naxals woo fairer sex

NAGPUR: When March 8 is being observed as International Women's Day, even the naxals will be singing paens for the fairer sex, to help increase their own tribe.

According to pamphlets distributed by suspected naxals - which have now landed in the office of senior police officers in Gondia - the ultras are now planning to appeal to the women folk in villages to join their "movement."

Police sources said that the pamphlets give descriptive details of women commanders from the naxal dalams who have been killed in encounters and champions their strive to fight for "women's rights."

Apparently, there is a shortage of cadres in the naxal dalams and it seems that the outfits are desperately wooing the poor tribals to join their fold. What's more, they want to increase their women's support base on March 8.

Jail shield rethink after Red threat

KOLKATA: Worried about a Maoist strikeback to avenge their leader Somen’s arrest, the state home department has asked district authorities to conduct a survey of jails and suggest measures to beef up security.

District officials have been asked to inspect perimeter walls and raise the height immediately at all places where the walls are less than 18 feet high.

The additional district magistrate of Hooghly has already visited the district and sub-jails at Arambag, Serampore, Hooghly (Sadar) and Chandernagore. In his report to the home department, he has expressed concern over the condition of Arambag jail, which reportedly has more prisoners than it can accommodate. This might lead to trouble inside the jail, the report mentioned.

All of these measures are being taken as police have information that Maoists are planning a major strike outside their Jangalkhand stronghold in the lead-up to the panchayat polls.

Security agencies say the target could be areas of Nadia and Hooghly bordering West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. Police have reasons to believe that Maoists are taking shelter in some places in Hooghly such as Uttarpara, Tarakeswar, Jangipara and Dadpur.

Much of this information was extracted out of supporters of Naxalite factions such as Shramik Sangram Committee (SSC), who were nabbed recently.

Arms recovered - as in Hooghly in 2006 - show that the extremists are trying their best to extend their network outside their strongholds. Police claim the arms found in Hooghly might have been left behind by Maoists who had entered the Arambag area from the Kotulpur area in Bankura.

Trade unions sympathetic to the Maoist cause have also gained massive support among the retrenched workers of factories in the Hooghly belt.

State police are also conducting combing operations in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore to flush out Maoists.

Hardcore Naxal 'Company' held

SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur Police arrested hardcore Naxal Dhanu Dehuri alias Bhagwan Jhankar from Chamunda in Meghpal area along with Naxal cadre Gobinda Jal of Laikerabahal under Jujomura police station.

More popular as Company in Naxal ranks, Dhanu was involved in all the operations including murder, kidnapping and burning of vehicles and had even smuggled arms from Jharkhand to the region. He has 15 warrants pending against him in Sambalpur, Rairakhol and Deogarh and was a part of reconnaissance of ‘Operation Bargarh’.

Talking to the media in the presence of Sambalpur SP Sanjay Kumar, Dhanu, who was elected ward member uncontested in the panchayat polls in 2002 from Sarapali, said he was lured into the ultra outfit as they had talked about social justice.

"But I was dejected when I saw innocent people were being killed and money collected for self and family," he revealed. He said Maoists were into extortion from quarry and rice mill owners and he had acted as a conduit in collection of money from one rice mill owner.

Admitting that he had ferried arms comprising one AK-47, 3 SLR, one carbine and 6 rifles (303) from Jharkhand on foot via forests in Sundargarh which had taken him 10 days, he said there were about 25 to 30 well-armed cadres led by Robin still working for the outfit in the region.

He said Naxal Goverdhan Budek had long distanced himself from Maoist activities and his whereabouts were not known. Operation Bargarh and the attack on Nayagarh were planned together as appeared in this website's newspaper, Kumar said and added Dhanu had been given charge of social networking and identifying forest escape route to Chhattisgarh.

But due to some last minute problem, Operation Bargarh had to be shelved, Kumar added.

Jal said he was associated with the Naxals for a couple of days and had been sent off to Punjab after the killing of Kadar Singh on January 23, 2003, the first murder in the district by the Naxals.

Maharashtra: Systematic Naxal Penetration Deep into the Mainland

Anti-migrant backlash in Mumbai and other parts of the Maharashtra have been at the centre stage of the local, national and international media since last couple of days. Vandalism by Thackeray and Co and corresponding verbal duel amongst the political parties has been covered in its full length. Even the heightened security at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) following the interrogation of six suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, who were arrested in Uttar Pradesh was also highlighted with due importance in several media. In the midst of these on going vulnerable security scenario, another potential security threat emanating from the Red guerrillas seems to have been underestimated and downplayed by media. Naxalite menace is today considered as India’s gravest security threat and to quote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, `not a day passes without an incident of Leftist extremism taking place some place or the other’. Elaborating the alarming network of naxalites, Ajit Doval, a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau had earlier stated that Naxal activity affects approximately 40 per cent of the country\’s landmass and at least 35 per cent of the total population. Naxal violence in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh has been of late a regular affair. But what is worrying to security agencies is the penetration of rebels deep into Maharashtra.
According to media reports, eight Naxalite rebels were killed and five others seriously injured on 25 February in an encounter with the security personnel in bordering eastern district of Gadchiroli. Security personnel also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunitions including double-barrel rifles, grenades and country-made weapons, cartridges, communication equipments from their possessions. This latest encounter is the biggest anti-naxalite operation in the recent past. In an incident of largest ever surrender of arms by rebels in the state, earlier in 12 January, 55 Maoists had surrendered to the security agencies in Gadchiroli. Prior to this, four Maoist rebels were injured in an encounter with security forces in the forest region of Kachaler in Gadchiroli. In January, security forces had seized a firearms production factory and a printing press of suspected Maoists from Ballarpur of Chandrapur district and arrested three Maoist rebels. Prior to this, on 3 January, four Maoist rebels were injured in an encounter with security forces in the forest region of Kachaler in Gadchiroli. Last year in December, rebels had blown up a mobile tower owned by a private company, followed by an encounter at Bandiya Bridge of Gadchiroli, in which two Maoist cadres were injured.
Gadchiroli along with the five eastern districts, like Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia, Yavatmal and Nanded are considered as worst naxal hit areas in the state. Systematic targeting of land lords, contractors, defence establishement, government infrastructure, security personnel, police informers and surrendered naxals have been common occurrences in the in the eastern regions of the state. Timber merchants, contractors, tendu leaf traders and local businessman happen to be the prime prey of Naxal extortion in those areas. There are several factors contribute to the rising red terror network in these areas. A deeper analysis of the six Naxal affected regions in the eastern part of the state indicates that all the districts fall under economically backward Vidarbha region- a legitimate ground for Naxalite consolidation in the areas. As these areas share boundry with other naxalite affected states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, infiltration gets easier. Eastern parts of the naxalite affected regions of the state shares boundary with worst red-terror hit Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh and Rajnandgaon, Bastar, Kanker and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. Hence, besides the natural cover provided by the forest region and porous borders, the socio-economic backwardness in the region have provided impetus for red extremism.
However, significantly, Naxalite menace is not limited to rural forested regions of the state. Special task force constituted for anti-Naxalite operations in the state have been monitoring the increasing red terror network in some urban locations of the state following the arrest of two top Naxalite leaders in Mumbai in October 2007. Prior to this in May, a suspected Naxalite who was a resident of Bandra, was arrested from Nagpur and had revealed plans to sneak into sensitive places in Mumbai, Nashik and Pune.
According to the ministry of home affairs (MHA), seven fatalities in Naxalite violence were recorded in 2001, 29 in 2002; 31 in 2003; 15 in 2004, 27 in 2005, 49 in 2006 and 19 in 2007. However, media reports and database of various think tanks claim that actual figures of the casualties are much more than the statistics shown by the government. State security agencies might be boasting off achieving significant success in anti-Naxalite operations in the state but increasing naxalite activities over the years amplified by the reports of Union Home Ministry as well as security analysis agencies contradict the claim. Shift in Naxalite operational strategy from rural to urban areas of the state will certainly be a headache for security brass.
This `unacknowledged civil war\’ in the area in particular and other naxal affected states in general have the potential to be transformed into LTTE-kind phenomena of neighbouring Sri Lanka. Although, much has been said about combining improved policing with socio-economic measures to address grievances that instigate the naxal movement, it seems government is more concerned about policing and less about enhancing the capacity and capability of the deprived and the destitute

Maoists strip factory to fund Nandigram fight

KOLKATA, March. 3: In order to purchase firearms to fight against armed CPI-M cadres in Nandigram, the CPI (Maoist) had raised funds after selling old machines and scraps stolen from an abandoned factory owned by Burn Standard Company Limited near Nandigram last year, according to a report prepared by the state police.
Mr Debashis Chakraborty, officer-in-charge of Nandigram police station, said: “Reports suggest that the Maoists raised as much as Rs 45 lakh after stripping the Jellingham factory and later selling the scraps in the open market. The factory was abandoned in 1990. They also felled 70,800 trees across Nandigram and sold the timber to merchants to raise funds.” The police are looking for 14 persons for helping the Maoists set up camps to smuggle iron scraps and timber out of Nandigram and selling them to traders in Kolkata and the districts. Ships and vessels were used to ferry the machines and scraps to Kakdwip. South 24-Parganas police had arrested three Nandigram residents in Kakdwip a few months ago after they were caught with a large quantity of iron scraps stolen from the Jellingham factory. “The stolen objects are worth Rs 56 lakh,” Mr Chakraborty said.
“While some of the money was spent on acquiring firearms and explosives to fight CPI-M cadres in Nandigram, the rest was sent to other districts and states where the CPI (Maoist) is active,” another senior police officer said.
Himadri Sen Roy alias Somen, secretary of the CPI (Maoist) West Bengal State Committee, who was arrested last month by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths, confirmed the presence of Maoists in Nandigram when it was under the control of BUPC. Jawans belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recovered explosives, mines, and firearms from various places in Nandigram in December last year. Mr Alok Raj, deputy inspector general of the CRPF also believed that Maoists had been present in Nandigram during the year-long violence.

Slain Maoist rebel’s husband vows to kill top cops

Bhopal, March 3 (IANS) Maoist rebels in Madhya Pradesh have reportedly vowed to kill top police officials to avenge the death of their slain commander Sunanda Bai. The state police were informed about a recent meeting of Maoists in Nagpur, Maharashtra, where Sunanda’s husband Rajesh Markam pledged to kill senior police officials who they hold responsible for their commander’s death, informed sources said.

Sunanda was recently killed at Dhiri village in Balaghat. The police had seized a .30 bore automatic US-made rifle after the gun battle with Maoists in which she was killed.

Police said they had been informed of the threat.

“Yes, a message in the above context has been received by us from Maharashtra but there is nothing to worry about,” Inspector General of Police (Balaghat range) Anwesh Mangalam told IANS by phone.

“The security in the area has been strengthened in view of the Maoist threat. We are giving the rebels a tough time and Markam too will soon be in police custody,” he said.

“Two companies of the Special Task Forces (STF) have already been deployed in Dhiri and security will be strengthened further,” Mangalam added.

Markam was reportedly appointed commander last week after his wife’s death Jan 20.

Though the death was not confirmed immediately after gun battle, pamphlets were later recovered from Nagpur, hailing Sunanda as a martyr.

“Maoists at the meeting held at Nagpur distributed pamphlets describing their colleagues killed in police encounters as martyrs and vowing to take revenge. They also faxed one such pamphlet to Nagpur police on Feb 28. They in turn alerted their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh,” a police official said.

Naxals trying to regroup!

SAMBALPUR: With completion of the harvest season, reports of regrouping of Maoists in the forests of Sambalpur- Deogarh-Sundargarh districts are being received.

Suffering a setback after Sambalpur police gunned down two Naxals on January 6, the ultras have now reportedly decided to be back in business.

If reports are any indication, the Left wing extremists are working to reorganise the party since most of their top leaders are behind bars. Reports said leaders from Jharkhand have started making foray into the forests and are trying to restore the lost link with the people.

It is also learnt that the senior Maoist leader Manjulata Muduli, who was arrested by the Ganjam police in the aftermath of the Nayagarh incident, has disclosed before Sambalpur police, who had gone to get her on remand, that the central committee of the banned Left ultra outfit was seriously contemplating to rebuild the organisation. Based on her information, Sambalpur police led by its SP Sanjay Kumar raided various places but it proved futile. Kumar said that the Maoists were trying hard to regroup and begin their activities.

However, they are finding it difficult with people refusing to support them now, he added. He also said that as the intelligence has been strengthened, the Maoists are finding it difficult to organise meetings and assemble in the forests of the region.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that the Maoists have now set their eyes on banks in a bid to create red corridor. As looting banks could provide them adequate money after being equipped with enough arms, the outfit is planning to mobilise funds locally to run the organisation

Mahasweta Devi demands Somen’s release

The Bandi Mukti Committee, which spearheaded the campaign for the release of political prisoners, has demanded the release of Maoist leader Himadri Sen Roy alias Somen.

He was arrested by the CID on Saturday evening in North 24 Parganas on charges of conspiring against the national integrity. Mahasweta Devi, the president of the committee said: “Somen is a product of this unscrupulous system. The CPM-backed state government is responsible for the situation. I strongly oppose the role of the CPM government in arresting him.”

The 83-year-old noted litterateur also came down heavily against the state government for not providing basic necessities to political prisoners in the state’s prison and called for launching a movement for their liberation.

The committee today announced that all political prisoners lodged in jails across the country will hold a “symbolic” hungerstrike on Thursday to press for their demand of unconditional release.

“When the Left Front Government came to power in 1977, it had promised that there will be no political prisoners in the state. But it has failed to keep its promise,” said Choton Das, general secretary of the committee.

According to the committee, the total number of political prisoners in various jails in the state is 434, which includes people arrested in connection with the violent protests in Nandigram and Singur. While 94 of them were arrested from Singur, another 64 were detained in Nandigram.

It also includes about 40 Forward Bloc supporters lanhuishing in jail since the February 5 Dinhata police-firing incident.

Apart from these prisoners, there are several others who have been arrested over the years for being associated with terrorist activities in Cooch Behar.

Contractors under scanner after Naxalite arrest

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.

Maoist scent in CPM murder

Poragachha (Nadia), Feb. 28: A CPM leader was shot dead in Nadia, hours after suspected Maoists burnt down his party colleague’s house 80km away to avenge the arrest of state chief Somen.

Amanul Haque Biswas’s son alleged that the killers were Maoists, saying villagers had heard them shout slogans.

But police said they could not confirm the claim yet. “It’s too early to say. Our officers have gone to the spot to investigate,” Nadia police superintendent H.K. Kusumakar said.

Amanul’s son Mamud Hasan was indoors when the 58-year-old local CPM committee leader was gunned down outside his house in Nadia’s Karimpur this evening.

“Villagers later told me the assailants had said that they were Maoists and had come to teach my father a lesson,” Mamud said.

A gang of around 10 marched to Amanul’s house at 7pm, the police said. “He was sitting outside, speaking to some local people. They surrounded Amanul and fired twice from a revolver at point-blank range. The bullets hit him below his right ear. When he slumped to the ground, one of them pulled out a sickle and hacked him to make sure he was dead,” an officer of Karimpur police station said.

In Poragachha village in the same district, the Maoists are believed to have carried out their first revenge strike since Somen landed in the CID net on Saturday.

A group set fire to the house of Narayan Roy Biswas, a member of the CPM’s Krishnagar (west) local committee, last night. Biswas, however, escaped as he spent the night in Krishnagar town.

The rebels left behind leaflets and pasted posters on the walls of the charred house. “If Somen is not set free, many houses in Bengal will burn like this,” they warned.

Some posters told villagers to observe the 24-hour bandh the Maoists had called in Nadia and Murshidabad today “to protest the arrest of our leader Somen”.

Biswas, 45, is thanking his lucky stars. “Had I stayed back, I would have been burnt alive. The Maoists knew that I often stay in my ancestral home alone,” he said.

Suspected Maoists torched a CPM branch office at Chandpur village, 5km from Biswas’s house, around 11 tonight. Pamphlets, demanding Somen’s release and warning of more strikes, were strewn around the office

12 Maoist guerrillas get punishment

DHAKA: Twelve suspected Maoist guerrillas were awarded death punishment by a court in Chuadanga district town yesterday in a triple-murder case.
Chuadanga Additional Sessions Judge Motahar Hossain delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom, also fining the convicts 10,000 taka each.
According to the prosecution, Afzal Hossain, his son Alam and neighbour Monjer Fakir were shot dead and then slaughtered at Kutubpur village in Sadar sub-district of the district on May 28, 2004 afternoon over previous enmity.
Alam’s brother, Abul Kalam Azad, filed a case with Chuadanga Sadar police station the following day, accusing 23 persons.
After the triple murders, outlawed Maoist group Janojuddha claimed responsibility for the killings.
Police submitted charge sheet to the court on September 23 of the same year after investigation. The court acquitted eight others of the charge, as they were found innocent while three others died in â€کcrossfire’ with police during the trial

Nayagarh plotter is CPM MLA’s son

Maoist leader Sabyasachi, reported to have orchestrated the Nayagarh attack in which 15 policemen were killed, is the son of a three-time CPM legislator.

Hindustan Times spoke to Sabyasachi’s elder brother Sidartha who stays in Baramunda area of Bhubaneswar. “There are many senior Naxal leaders in Orissa. But since my brother is from a political family, he is getting more attention,” Sidartha said. “My father was thrice-elected MLA on a CPM ticket from Ranpur Assembly constituency,” he further said. Sidartha said he is loath to be identified as Sabyasachi’s brother.“Why should the media or other people identify me as Sabyasachi’s brother? I get annoyed when people call to ask about Sabyasachi. I’ve severed ties with my younger brother and last met him in 1998.”

Sabyasachi is secretary of the Bansadhara division of the CPI (Maoist) Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC).

“Sabyasachi was doing B.Sc in Mathematics at SCS College in Puri. He was associated with the Student Federation of India (SFI). Then suddenly, he quit studies and we were told he had gone to work in Koraput and Rayagada districts.”

“For a couple of years, he would come home once or twice a year. But after 1998, he has stopped coming. We came to know from newspapers that he is involved in Naxalite activities,” Sidartha said.

Naxalbari has not died and it will never die.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) Naxalbari has not died and it will never die. Charu Muzumdar, founder of the Naxalbari movement wrote in 'Liberation' in 1971.
Naxalbari lives and Maoist strikes have been adding up in the new millennium. And with extreme inequity, the 'two Indias' will irrevocably remain two. And often, at war with each other, says a new book.

From 2004 Maoist strikes have been spectacular even before their two dominant groups- CPI (ML) Peoples War and Maoist Communist Centre India (MCCI) joined together to form the agglomerate that now controls the show across the country: the Communist Party of India (Maoist) or CPI (Maoist), the book 'Red Sun, Travels in Naxalite country' by journalist Sudeep Chakravarti says.

Nearly every other week there is news of strikes and counter strikes by the Maoists and the security forces. But what stands out is are the precisely planned and focused Maoist attacks on the security, on vigilante groups like the Ranvir Sena and Salwa Judum. In Maoist parlance this is known as Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign or TCOC.

They (the Maoists) carry, according to intelligence estimates, between six and seven thousand regular weapons-AK series of automatic rifles, INSAS rifles used by the army, ancient .303 Enfield, and a range of revolvers and pistols- some bought, but mostly grabbed from polie and paramilitary personnel or guards at railway stations in snatch-and-run or kill-and-take strikes.

(About the book: Red Sun, Travels in Naxalite Country by Sudeep Chakravarti, Penguin Viking, pages 352, price Rs.495)PTI