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Jharkhand Maoist leader held in Kolkata; aide surrenders
Bela had been active in Jharkhand since 2005 and she primarily operated in Ghatshila and Purba and Paschim Singhbhum. There are over 20 cases registered against her in Jharkhand, with the Commissioner citing the figure as 23.
The complaint was filed at a local police station in the Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas. (File Photo)
Kolkata Police on Tuesday arrested Shraddha Biswas, alias Bela, a veteran Maoist leader from Jharkhand, from the North Kashipur area. A resident of Chakdaha in Nadia, Bela was a member of the Maoists’ Jharkhand Regional Committee and had been active in that state for long.
In a separate development, Madhai Patra, a Maoist from Hooghly who was also active in Jharkhand, surrendered to police on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference at Alipore Bodyguard Lines on Tuesday afternoon, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand said Bela was apprehended acting on a tip-off. She had recently come to Kolkata for unknown reasons. Investigations are on to ascertain when she arrived in the city and the purpose of her visit. Her physical health is currently poor, the Commissioner said.
Bela had been active in Jharkhand since 2005 and she primarily operated in Ghatshila and Purba and Paschim Singhbhum. There are over 20 cases registered against her in Jharkhand, with the Commissioner citing the figure as 23.
The Jharkhand government had announced a Rs 15-lakh reward for her arrest/capture.
In 2004-05, her name had surfaced in a case in Belpahari, Paschim Medinipur and she was arrested then but did not return to West Bengal after securing bail.
“If required, the Jharkhand Police will come and interrogate her,” Nand told media persons, adding that further information might be obtained by interrogating the arrested leader, he added.
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Meanwhile, Patra, a resident of Jangipara in Hooghly, who had been involved in Maoist activities for years, surrendered on Tuesday. He was first arrested in 2007. After being released on bail, he moved to Jharkhand to continue his activities.
Commissioner Nand said that after years of involvement, Patra now wishes to lead a normal life and return to the mainstream.
He will be assisted under the government’s existing surrender and rehabilitation package.
“When I first joined the party, its principles were good. But later, those principles changed, and society changed as well. Considering all this, I decided to return to the mainstream,” Madhai Patra said during the press conference.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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