Pune Police: Probing links of activists with Naxals

New Delhi: The Pune police has, in a report to the Centre in connection with the nationwide crackdown on alleged Left-wing activists, claimed that in December 2012 the UPA government had sent a list of 128 organisations with links to the banned CPI(Maoists) to states, asking them to initiate action against them and those linked with these outfits.

The report, sent on Wednesday, also states that the role of the seven of those arrested — Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Mahesh Raut — needs to be investigated for alleged links to the 128 organisation mentioned in the list.

The Maharashtra government’s new spin to justify the 6 am raids and subsequent arrests by linking them to an alleged eight-year-old list, and dragging in the Congress-led UPA government, comes in the wake of nation-wide outrage. The arrests are being described as “absolutely chilling” and a “virtual declaration of Emergency”.

While Mr Rao, Ms Bhardwaj, Mr Ferreira and Mr Gonsalves were arrested on Tuesday, Mr Gadling, Ms Wilson and Mr Raut were arrested on June 6. Both Mr Ferreira and Mr Gonsalves, two of the five arrested on Tuesday, were held in 2007 too and spent several years in prison. Mr Rao too has been arrested several times by the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana police in the past.

Security sources said that in the present case also Pune police is investigating the possible links of those arrested with the CPI(Maoist), a banned organisation, and the possible support they may have provided to the Naxal outfit.  

The Pune police has stated that these individuals cannot escape responsibility for aiding and abetting the violent acts committed by the underground cadres of CPI(Maoist).

Security sources also claimed that urban movement was one of the main source for providing leadership and other resources to Naxal groups, particularly the CPI(Maoist). The main task of provision of supplies, technological assistance, expertise, information and propaganda as well as   other logistical support was being organised by some of the so-called overground activists of these Naxal groups in urban areas, sources added.

“Though the matter is subjudice and still under investigation, but the modus operandi of CPI(Maoist) reveals that it attaches a lot of importance to its main aim of getting political power through a protracted so-called people’s war and disrupting the democratic norms. Thus, CPI(Maoist) and other Naxal groups focus a lot on their urban movement or overground cadre in an attempt to create United Front in support of their movement,” a security official added.

Intelligence agencies, which have been closely monitoring the activities of CPI(Maoist), claim that the outfit is responsible for disrupting development activities in a number of states, including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra. The outfit is also responsible for killing 6,956 civilians and 2,517 security personnel since 2001.

Home ministry officials claimed that since law and order was primarily a state subject, investigations into the case were being conducted by an independent agency, in this instance the Pune police.

The investigating agency, officials added, will conduct foolproof investigations into the case and file a detailed chargesheet in court with evidence against the accused persons who were free to approach courts for any legal remedy.