4 more suspected Naxals in police net

While Mayuri Bhagat (23) alias Jenny,Jyothi Chorghe (19) and Anuradhadha Sonule (23) were arrested from Pune,Siddharth Bhosale (24) was picked up from near Nashik,ATS chief Rakesh Maria told reporters.

Bhagat,a native of Chandrapur,is a graduate in Arts who shifted to Mundwa in Pune to work with Sontakke. Chorghe and Sonule,also an Arts graduate,stayed in a small room in Bhosri and allegedly worked as couriers for the group¿s activity. Apart from the Rs 4.54 lakh already recovered from the earlier arrest,the agency has now seized an additional Rs 1.9 lakh from the four accused.

“Naxal literature,five cellphones,SIM cards,PAN cards and ID cards,all procured fraudulently,have also been seized,” Maria said. “Some of the press releases are as updated as 2010,narrating the activities and ideas among the group.”

While all the three women were picked up from Pune,Pune-based Economics student Siddharth was picked up from Chandwad in Nashik on Thursday evening. “These were all active members of another core group called Western Region area committee which specifically is concentrated in areas like Nashik,Pune,Thane and Mumbai. Angela,though a secretary in the Golden Corridor committee,was also a chief in this Western Region area committee. The others were all indoctrinated and were paid regular amounts for their active role and membership,” said Maria.

“The only difference between the Golden Corridor committee and this is that the former was outside the purview of the state naxal committee while this one took orders from the state committee and more specifically Angela’s husband Milind (Teltumbde).”

While students and youth of impressionable age were picked up from various institutions and study groups,interrogation has also found that many of them have their uncles or fathers had followed Naxal ideology during their growing up years,Maria said. “These youths were easy to handle as they do not arouse suspicion,Interestingly,in one incident where Anuradha was working in a company in an alias name,a routine company exercise of taking employee pictures led her to quit the firm. They are that particular about their identities not being leaked,” said Maria.

The latest arrests underlined a Maoist strategy of targeting young,impressionable minds from urban areas — Dalits in particular in the post-Khairlanji period,some police sources said,referring to the massacre of a Dalit family in the Vidarbha village in 2006.

The Maoists have been targeting Ambedkarite institutions from urban areas to recruit young cadres,to be trained in jungle warfare and also in spreading party work in urban areas,sources added. Information about at least two such institutions from Pune has come to fore.

And the modus operandi has been to infiltrate under false names into youth programmes like National Service Scheme (NSS),slum organisations and identify “sharp” minds to try and rope them in,it is gathered.

Most of those arrested in the state in the recent past like Bhanu Bhowte and his wife Sunanda Ramteke and Sudhir Dhawle have been Dalits. Three of those arrested yesterday are also Dalits and one belongs to Maratha community.

One of the main reasons for Naxals targeting Dalits then was the beginning of Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh where thousands of tribals were engaged by movement leaders in fighting the Naxals. Also,many villages in Maharashtra had declared gaonbandi (no entry in villages) to Naxals,a phenomenon that subsequently petered out. Khairlanji had later provided ideal opportunity for the Maoists to cash in on the Dalit ire.

(with inputs from aVivek Deshpande in Nagpur)