Author: Mateen Hafeez
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 17, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Maoist_menace_spreads_to_urban_areas_/articleshow/2788490.cms
The Maoist menace is no longer confined to
the jungles. Last year, India's financial capital got a Naxal scare. With
the arrest of a few activists in August, the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of
Maharashtra police claimed to have busted a Maoist think tank, which was trying
to indoctrinate and recruit people, and collecting funds for the organisation.
Police believe that the Maoists are slowly
and quietly making a base in the city. The police also suspect that the rebels
might have some dangerous plans for the city. These fears stem from the fact
that during the arrests of the suspected Maoists last year, the police recovered
some detonators, a hand grenade, two firearms and 20 gelatin sticks.
According to police sources, Maoists have
also articulated a new strategy to target urban centres in India, drawing
up "guidelines for working in towns and cities", and for the revival
of a mobilisation effort targeting students and the urban unemployed. In 2006,
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Lok Sabha that Maoists were planning
to target important installations in major cities, including Mumbai.
But, there is no immediate threat. "There
is no armed activity in Mumbai at the moment and the Maoists have kept their
activities limited to propagating their ideology, setting up secret cells
for frontal organisations and recruiting people,'' says a police sources,
speaking on the condition of anonymity. The Maoists are trying to spread their
movement among trade and labour unions, poor people and students.
According to police sources, there are some
75 Maoists in Mumbai. Most of them are not active members of the banned CPI
(Maoist), but they sympathise with the leftist group's cause. "We have
come across several such people and are in the process of identifying them
and preparing dossiers on them," says an officer involved in the investigation.
The police believe that the Maoists come to
Mumbai to regroup. "They are using Mumbai as a place of rest, planning
and recruitment. The guerrillas who get injured in encounters with the police
are sent to Naxal dens in Mumbai for treatment, education and relaxation,"
says the officer.
Apprehending a major problem cropping up sometime
soon, the ATS is getting inputs from the Special Branch and the State Intelligence
Department (SID) about the Maoists and keeping an eye on some people. "Over
half a dozen lawyers are on our radar but we cannot arrest them if there is
no evidence against them," says an ATS officer.
While Mumbai may be safe for the moment, sources
claim that the Maoists definitely have plans to take their war to other urban
centres. The rebels, the sources add, have plans to strike in the industrial
belts of Bhilai-Ranchi-Dhanbad-Calcutta and Mumbai-Pune-Surat-Ahmedabad to
take their battle into the heart of India.
- mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com
