Many Maoists are sheltered in the state, ATS tells court

Police custody of 10 suspected rebels arrested from city and adjoining areas extended by three days

Severalu00a0Maoists were still being sheltered in different parts of the state, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) told a court yesterday. The ATS also told the court that it was investigating the possibility of local cadres being "prepared" by the banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoists). Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Swaroop Bose extended the police custody of the 10 arrested Maoist suspects by three days, up to May 26. The city unit of the ATS had arrested the "wanted" suspects from the city on May 12.


Holed up: The police inspect a hideout of suspected Maoists in Shirur
on May 13. Pic/Satish Dhumal

The police told the court the arrested suspects had committed serious offences in West Bengal. "The arrested suspects were sheltered in Maharashtra after they committed serious offences in West Bengal with the help of weapons like SLR, AK-47, .315 and .303 rifles and bombs," Assistant Commissioner of Police Vinod Satav told the court. "Their accomplices are also hiding in various other parts of the state. But the suspects are not revealing information about the absconders."

Satav added that the police wanted to investigate the propaganda and indoctrination activities of the Maoists.
"The arrested suspects may have also indoctrinated local youths in Maoist ideology. We want to investigate this possibility too," Satav said. "Four country-made pistols, seven live cartridges, mobile handsets, cash and banned Maoist literature in English, Hindi and Bengali languages have been seized from the suspects till now. We are investigating where this literature was printed and distributed."

The suspects
The case against the 10 suspects was lodged by Assistant Police Inspector Sunil Dorge. The suspects were identified as Nripein Mahato alias Sanna (24), Rudra Mahato (19), Anando Mahato (37), Robi Hansda (19), Robi Mahato (19), Sushanto Mahato (36), Satyajit Rana (18), Ajit Mahato (35), Pintu Mahato (19) and Kadu Hembram (21). According to the complaint that was lodged, Police Inspector Peter Lobo got a tip-off that the suspects were trying to flee the city. After Lobo's team summoned the suspects to the ATS Pune unit office for questioning, the suspects tried to run away from the city. The ATS team reacted with speed, nabbing the suspects outside the ticket booking counter of the Pune railway station.