mayfair
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The only holes that matter are those in Azad's body. Kishenji should be next.
Naxals/Maoists Watch
- Thread starter Daredevil
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Oracle
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Red Cross and MSF accused of helping India Maoists
Authorities in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh say two international aid agencies are "helping" Maoist insurgents in the area.
A senior police official said Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were "facilitating" treatment of rebels.
The groups have denied the allegations.
Large parts of Chhattisgarh are rebel strongholds, as its dense forests offer protection from government troops.
The rebels are believed to be active in more than two-thirds of the country. They say they are fighting for the rights of the rural poor.
Chhattisgarh police official SRP Kolluri said two rebels arrested with medicines worth $6000 (£3,770) from a local pharmacy had said they were being treated by "people from MSF and ICRC".
MSF has been working in Chhattisgarh since 2006.
MSF's India head Martin Sloot said the organisation offers medical support to people who have limited access to healthcare, with support from Chhattisgarh government.
"But we do not support the Maoists," he said.
ICRC's communications officer, Surinder Oberoi, said the allegation was "baseless".
In 2006, authorities of Dantewada district - a rebel stronghold - made similar allegations against MSF but the organisation was allowed to work in the area.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.
A government offensive against the rebels - widely referred to as Operation Green Hunt - began last October.
It involves 50,000 troops and is taking place across five states - West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Source
Authorities in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh say two international aid agencies are "helping" Maoist insurgents in the area.
A senior police official said Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were "facilitating" treatment of rebels.
The groups have denied the allegations.
Large parts of Chhattisgarh are rebel strongholds, as its dense forests offer protection from government troops.
The rebels are believed to be active in more than two-thirds of the country. They say they are fighting for the rights of the rural poor.
Chhattisgarh police official SRP Kolluri said two rebels arrested with medicines worth $6000 (£3,770) from a local pharmacy had said they were being treated by "people from MSF and ICRC".
MSF has been working in Chhattisgarh since 2006.
MSF's India head Martin Sloot said the organisation offers medical support to people who have limited access to healthcare, with support from Chhattisgarh government.
"But we do not support the Maoists," he said.
ICRC's communications officer, Surinder Oberoi, said the allegation was "baseless".
In 2006, authorities of Dantewada district - a rebel stronghold - made similar allegations against MSF but the organisation was allowed to work in the area.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.
A government offensive against the rebels - widely referred to as Operation Green Hunt - began last October.
It involves 50,000 troops and is taking place across five states - West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Source
Oracle
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Top Naxal woman commander arrested in MP
A Naxal woman, carrying a reward of more than Rs one lakh on her head, was on Sunday arrested from Lanji area in Balaghat district, close to the Chhattisgarh border, said the police.
Jhinia Pusam, 32, was wanted for the 1999 murder of former Madhya Pradesh transport minister Lakhiram Kaware in MP's Balaghat district, police said. She is wanted in more than 45 cases including those of murder, arson and looting in MP.
Both the state police as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was probing Kaware's murder, had announced rewards on her head. Jhinia, a resident of village Rasimata in Balaghat, eastern Madhya Pradesh, joined the Naxals in 1994.
After going underground, she got the names 'Pushpa' and 'Rukma', police said. She was once the commander of Tanda Dalam, which operates along the border between Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district and Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, said the police.
Also, she had been the former commander of Darakasa Dalam which operates in MP and Maharashtra, and ex-commander of Job Dalam of Rajnandgaon, police said. After becoming a Naxal, Jhinia went through two marriages; both the husbands were fellow Naxals, police said.
"We are interrogating her to extract vital information regarding the Naxals," said Inspector General of Police (Balaghat and Mandla districts) C B Muniraju.
Source
A Naxal woman, carrying a reward of more than Rs one lakh on her head, was on Sunday arrested from Lanji area in Balaghat district, close to the Chhattisgarh border, said the police.
Jhinia Pusam, 32, was wanted for the 1999 murder of former Madhya Pradesh transport minister Lakhiram Kaware in MP's Balaghat district, police said. She is wanted in more than 45 cases including those of murder, arson and looting in MP.
Both the state police as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was probing Kaware's murder, had announced rewards on her head. Jhinia, a resident of village Rasimata in Balaghat, eastern Madhya Pradesh, joined the Naxals in 1994.
After going underground, she got the names 'Pushpa' and 'Rukma', police said. She was once the commander of Tanda Dalam, which operates along the border between Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district and Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, said the police.
Also, she had been the former commander of Darakasa Dalam which operates in MP and Maharashtra, and ex-commander of Job Dalam of Rajnandgaon, police said. After becoming a Naxal, Jhinia went through two marriages; both the husbands were fellow Naxals, police said.
"We are interrogating her to extract vital information regarding the Naxals," said Inspector General of Police (Balaghat and Mandla districts) C B Muniraju.
Source
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The best way to deal with these soft targets is not brutality but empathy.... when arrested, they must be asked why they joined and what motivated them. It might sound sheepish but going down their memory lane will give the exact map of how and why people join these Maoists from their POV. We are often left guessing that it is poverty, ill-treatment etc. so let's hear it from them.
SHASH2K2
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Buddhadeb writes to Chidambaram on 'Trinamool-Maoist nexus'
KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday shot off a letter to the Centre alleging a Trinamool-Maoist 'nexus' even as the Mamata Banerjee-led party accused the Left Front government of implicating the opposition in 'false cases' ahead of state Assembly elections.
Lodging a fresh complaint with Union home minister P Chidambaram, Bhattacharjee in his letter cited the arrest of two persons from a Trinamool Congress-run camp in Midnapore on January 31 who allegedly had a Maoist link.
"The chief minister sent a letter to the Union Home Minister during the day on the arrest of two persons on Monday having a Maoist link," CM secretariat sources said.
Asked why the chief minister took three days to write the letter, the sources said he had waited for evidences of the Trinamool's Maoist connection.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee charged that the Left Front had been tarnishing the image of opposition parties by labelling them as Maoists and implicating them in false cases ahead of assembly elections.
In an reference to the police raid on a Trinamool-run relief camp in Midnapore and arrest of two persons, Banerjee said, "I would like to reiterate that the CPM can go to any extent to achieve its end by implicating its opponents in false cases."
"If there is any protest by TC and other opposition parties against the state government, the CPM makes frantic bid to suppress their voice by dubbing them as Maoists with the assembly polls nearby," she told a rally here.
Describing the incident as 'extremely dangerous', Bhattacharjee had stated on Monday that the inmates of the municipality-run camp had obstructed the police on January 31 during the arrest of the two who had been given shelter there.
Bhattacharjee had also said he would shortly inform Union home minister of the incident and added, "I would like to remind Mr Chidambaram about his responsibility in the matter."
"In my last meeting with Chidambaram in Delhi, I referred to the Trinamool-Maoist link. I would again remind him about this continuing relationship between Trinamool and Maoists," the chief minister had said.
KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday shot off a letter to the Centre alleging a Trinamool-Maoist 'nexus' even as the Mamata Banerjee-led party accused the Left Front government of implicating the opposition in 'false cases' ahead of state Assembly elections.
Lodging a fresh complaint with Union home minister P Chidambaram, Bhattacharjee in his letter cited the arrest of two persons from a Trinamool Congress-run camp in Midnapore on January 31 who allegedly had a Maoist link.
"The chief minister sent a letter to the Union Home Minister during the day on the arrest of two persons on Monday having a Maoist link," CM secretariat sources said.
Asked why the chief minister took three days to write the letter, the sources said he had waited for evidences of the Trinamool's Maoist connection.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee charged that the Left Front had been tarnishing the image of opposition parties by labelling them as Maoists and implicating them in false cases ahead of assembly elections.
In an reference to the police raid on a Trinamool-run relief camp in Midnapore and arrest of two persons, Banerjee said, "I would like to reiterate that the CPM can go to any extent to achieve its end by implicating its opponents in false cases."
"If there is any protest by TC and other opposition parties against the state government, the CPM makes frantic bid to suppress their voice by dubbing them as Maoists with the assembly polls nearby," she told a rally here.
Describing the incident as 'extremely dangerous', Bhattacharjee had stated on Monday that the inmates of the municipality-run camp had obstructed the police on January 31 during the arrest of the two who had been given shelter there.
Bhattacharjee had also said he would shortly inform Union home minister of the incident and added, "I would like to remind Mr Chidambaram about his responsibility in the matter."
"In my last meeting with Chidambaram in Delhi, I referred to the Trinamool-Maoist link. I would again remind him about this continuing relationship between Trinamool and Maoists," the chief minister had said.
anoop_mig25
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I ONLY WORRY ONE THING IF TMC COMES TO POWER IN WEST BENGAL(of course in alliance with congrees) home minister must be with congrees or this stupid mamta would ruined everything maoist would start using westbengal as base carrying out excerise in other neighbour states plus they won`t carry out any destruticve activity in WB
Iamanidiot
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S.A.T.A
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Mamatha Banerjee led TMC's alleged secret alliance with the Maoists,evidence supports that its more than a allegation,is one of convenience than coming together of two ideological streams.TMC is well aware that in order to counter the Left wing on the Trinamool level in WB,where besides the docile state machinery,left parties also have an influential and well organized armed militia,it requires an equivalent countervailing force.Maoists are the only people who can provide TMC the maneuvering space as it matches political wit and muscle strength with the left.
The only clamp that has keeps this alliance going is the common desire to see the ouster of the nearly three decade old left govt.TMC's tolerance for Maoists is likely to last only so long as it can oust the left and claim power in West Bengal,it wont last a day longer.
The only clamp that has keeps this alliance going is the common desire to see the ouster of the nearly three decade old left govt.TMC's tolerance for Maoists is likely to last only so long as it can oust the left and claim power in West Bengal,it wont last a day longer.
sesha_maruthi27
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Indian Greyhounds Commandos To Get Latest Israeli Tavor-X95 Sub-Machine Guns
The elite anti-Naxal force, Greyhounds, is all set to acquire the latest Tavor-X95 sub-machine guns for its commandos.
The weapons are currently being used by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the country.
The weapon, manufactured by the Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), which boasts of advanced technology, is considered far more deadlier and sophisticated than the AK-47 assault rifles mainly due to its "higher stability and accuracy." Sources told Express that senior officials recently tested the X95 at the Greyhounds headquarters after borrowing it from the CRPF centre here in Hyderabad.
"It is easy to handle and the beauty of it is that it can be held in any angle (the user can hold it in six different angles). The weapon serves our purpose. A proposal is being sent to the Government so that an order can be placed through the Union Home Ministry to procure the weapons," the sources said adding that they were deciding on the number of weapons to be purchased.
Designed to deal with terror threats and customised to suit urban and "open area" combat, the X95 is an improved version of Tavor and comes with a bull pup configuration __ which means its magazine, receiver and bullet chamber are set behind the handle for greater accuracy and power. It has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds and can fire up to 900 rounds per minute.
Importantly, it comes with an in-built silencer and can be fired even from under water -- a capacity the Greyhounds would need engaged as they are almost always in jungle warfare.
Weighing 2.98 kg, the X95 has also been provided to the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) which again is into jungle warfare.
"It has the semi-automatic mode, burst mode and selective fire system. We are looking at the latest version of X95 which is equipped with an integrated grenade launcher.
This is being developed by the Israeli firm," a senior official said.
http://asian-defence.blogspot.com/2011/02/indian-greyhounds-commandos-to-get.html
The elite anti-Naxal force, Greyhounds, is all set to acquire the latest Tavor-X95 sub-machine guns for its commandos.
The weapons are currently being used by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the country.
The weapon, manufactured by the Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), which boasts of advanced technology, is considered far more deadlier and sophisticated than the AK-47 assault rifles mainly due to its "higher stability and accuracy." Sources told Express that senior officials recently tested the X95 at the Greyhounds headquarters after borrowing it from the CRPF centre here in Hyderabad.
"It is easy to handle and the beauty of it is that it can be held in any angle (the user can hold it in six different angles). The weapon serves our purpose. A proposal is being sent to the Government so that an order can be placed through the Union Home Ministry to procure the weapons," the sources said adding that they were deciding on the number of weapons to be purchased.
Designed to deal with terror threats and customised to suit urban and "open area" combat, the X95 is an improved version of Tavor and comes with a bull pup configuration __ which means its magazine, receiver and bullet chamber are set behind the handle for greater accuracy and power. It has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds and can fire up to 900 rounds per minute.
Importantly, it comes with an in-built silencer and can be fired even from under water -- a capacity the Greyhounds would need engaged as they are almost always in jungle warfare.
Weighing 2.98 kg, the X95 has also been provided to the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) which again is into jungle warfare.
"It has the semi-automatic mode, burst mode and selective fire system. We are looking at the latest version of X95 which is equipped with an integrated grenade launcher.
This is being developed by the Israeli firm," a senior official said.
http://asian-defence.blogspot.com/2011/02/indian-greyhounds-commandos-to-get.html
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^^ Any ideas how much the MSMC has progressed and how fast it can be handed out to counter-naxal and counter terrorist forces?
sesha_maruthi27
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No Tshering bhai. But i will try to find it.
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The MARCOS now all have them. A consignment arrived late last year.
5,500 delivered to the Para-SF as of Jan. 13, this year.
pmaitra
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Maoists set truck on fire in West Bengal
Maoists set truck on fire in West Bengal
ANI, Feb 6, 2011; Times of India
JHARGRAM: Suspected Maoists and Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities ( PCPA) workers on Sunday set a truck carrying sponge iron on fire in West Bengal's West Midnapore district.
The truck was on its way towards a sponge iron factory when the incident occurred in Jhargram sub-divisional municipality in the district.
The fire brigade reached the site and it took them an hour to take control over the fire.
The factory's management group and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) later on reached the spot while the local police have begun the investigations.
A sponge iron factory staff member stated that such incidents have engendered fear in them and they usually don't commute on the strike days to avoid such mishap.
"Today was not a strike day and everyone was walking on the roads without any fear. We were carrying sponge iron on our trucks when they (Maoists) fired at us. We stop our vehicles on strike days for this fear, but now it is happening on workdays too," said Gobinda Senapati.
Read more: Maoists set truck on fire in West Bengal - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-Bengal/articleshow/7437625.cms#ixzz1DDLfhOue
Maoists set truck on fire in West Bengal
ANI, Feb 6, 2011; Times of India
JHARGRAM: Suspected Maoists and Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities ( PCPA) workers on Sunday set a truck carrying sponge iron on fire in West Bengal's West Midnapore district.
The truck was on its way towards a sponge iron factory when the incident occurred in Jhargram sub-divisional municipality in the district.
The fire brigade reached the site and it took them an hour to take control over the fire.
The factory's management group and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) later on reached the spot while the local police have begun the investigations.
A sponge iron factory staff member stated that such incidents have engendered fear in them and they usually don't commute on the strike days to avoid such mishap.
"Today was not a strike day and everyone was walking on the roads without any fear. We were carrying sponge iron on our trucks when they (Maoists) fired at us. We stop our vehicles on strike days for this fear, but now it is happening on workdays too," said Gobinda Senapati.
Read more: Maoists set truck on fire in West Bengal - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-Bengal/articleshow/7437625.cms#ixzz1DDLfhOue
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Any pictures of soldiers with these 5000+ MSMCs?
Are you talking about tavors? Or the Indian made submachine gun?
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Sorry, should have made myself clearer. I'm talking about the Tar-21. Got confused in the contrasting articles about the X95 and the MSMC. Ignore the stupid post.
mayfair
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Extortnomics: Maoists raise Rs 2,000 crore every year
TNN, Feb 15, 2011, 03.20am IST
Maoists entrenched in large parts of the country run an elaborate extortion network to keep the wheels of 'revolution' turning. Police forces in states where the CPI (Maoist) has a robust presence concede they do not have the exact earnings of the outfit but say the Maoist organisation can rival a mid-size corporate house with an annual turnover upwards of Rs 1,500 crore.
"Our estimates put the all-India annual collection of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) to be between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,600 crore. We suspect 10% of this is collected from Orissa," a senior police officer from the state said.
The Chhattisgarh director general of police Vishwa Ranjan recently said the Maoists make close to Rs 2,000 crore through extortion. He called the figure a "guestimate" based on seized Maoist cashbooks and other vital papers recovered in recent months.
In Bihar's Naxalite-dominated districts, police officers have to deal with the same problem. The Maoists have a sizeable presence in districts such as Gaya, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Kaimur, Arwal, Bhojpur, Munger, Lakhisarai and Sheikhpura. From these areas alone, they make about Rs 200 crore every year, an officer fighting the rebels said. In Maoist terminology, this is not extortion but a collection of levy.
Matters are worse in neighbouring Jharkhand. The Indian Defence Yearbook quotes Union home ministry figures to say Maoists extort nearly Rs 320 crore every year from the state. The yearbook acknowledges the Maoist extortion machinery has been eating into the state's development work. Extortion estimates from Maharashtra are relatively conservative. Maoist earnings from the state swings between Rs 5 crore and Rs 25 crore every year.
The Maoist fund collectors spare none. They arm twist government officials and milk central and state funds for development projects. They terrorise industrialists, small businessmen, big and small contractors, tendu leaf traders and even poor villagers.
It is the same story in Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In all these states Maoist cadre take away a share of the development funds. In Orissa, they routinely grab 10% of government money earmarked for development and infrastructure work. "It is common knowledge. District collectors know it. Accountants in the blocks have to find ways to balance their books of accounts," a police officer handling anti-Maoist operations said.
A senior Orissa Police officer from the Naxalite-dominated belt recently wrote to the state government complaining about the drain of government money to Maoists. In this, he laid a considerable share of the blame on non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The Naxalites brazenly grab development funds that reach panchayats and NGOs. This also happens because many elected rural body members are complicit. They often win polls with Maoist help. Once that is done, it is payback time. This problem is particularly serious in the state's Malkangiri district where the Red army has quite a hold.
Early last year, the Maoists blasted pipelines of a leading steel company cutting through Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district. Within a month, the company's infrastructure in the same place was targeted again. A guest house was set ablaze. A pump house, control room and property worth several lakhs of rupees were damaged. Then the attacks stopped. Police sources said this happened only after Rs 2 crore went into the Maoist purse.
Illegal mining in states such as Orissa and Jharkhand is a rich source of revenue for the Maoists. The extortion network is so huge and so well-oiled that a couple of years ago when three hardcore cadres in Orissa deserted the Maoist ranks they took away with them Rs 6 crore.
Maoists are active in West Bengal's Birbhum district where stone crushers and the illegal coal business rake in crores. These industries are now extortion targets.
Police believe that the Maoists will soon go all out to bring major coal mining areas of Bengal and the coal mafia under their control. "They are not directly active in this belt. They are not investing here yet but simply treating the region as a revenue source. Most miners have to depend on the Red brigade because the main trading areas lie in Maoist strongholds," a police officer said.
Maharashtra Police officers have a shocking story. Naxalites extract money from daily wagers and have a programme for this called 'work-a-day', deputy inspector-general of police Ravindra Kadam said. "It is nothing but villagers or tribals being asked to donate a day's earning to the party fund. The Maoists justify their levy arguing that they are fighting for the tribals," he said.
Others in the security agencies said paper mills in Maharashtra were a source of funds. "This begins from the lowest level – like the bamboo cutters – and goes up to the contractors and company officials," a state police officer said.
Maharashtra's private inter-state transporters are often easy targets so are civil contractors. "Those who build roads know that they must pay. Or else, they won't be around to make a living," a villager in Maoist-dominated Gadchiroli said.
Extortion is not necessarily in cash. It is in kind as well. "Sometimes they take away grain, pulses and other material. We don't dare ask for payment. Those who disobey get beaten up," a grocer from Bhamragarh tehsil said.
Like in Maharashtra, the inter-state bus operator in Bihar too is in peril. If his buses happen to drive through the so-called liberated zones, he has to pay the Maoist tax. In fact, the naxalites extort a quarter of their levies from Gaya district alone.
Other than organised extortion, lower-level cadre intervene in personal and local disputes for a fee. This money often does not go to the Maoist central fund and there have been cases of the extortionists deserting the organization. Sometimes, such rogue elements are eliminated by Red squad members.
Much of the extorted money goes in buying arms and ammunition, procuring vehicles, purchasing uniforms and medicines, publicity and propaganda, communication equipment, organizing party meetings, boosting their urban networks and fighting court cases for their jailed comrades.
The CPI (Maoist) is also known to pay monthly remuneration to its cadre. Intelligence reports talk of the cadre getting between Rs2,000 and Rs3,000. "We have evidence of Maoists investing heavily in gold and other assets like land," an intelligence source in Maharashtra said.
Reports from Jangalmahal in West Bengal say Maoist squad leaders set aside Rs 8 lakh-10 lakh for emergencies. Apart from this, they are responsible to collect enough to buy ammunition and equipment, which could cost in the range of Rs 12lakh-15 lakh per annum. Also, each area leader spends Rs 1lakh-2 lakh a month on Maoist frontal outfits and their cadres.
The expense sheets suggest that the rebels spend around Rs 1 crore per month in Jangalmahal for various activities, including military operations and financing a political movement. More than 80% of this expense comes from extortion while the rest is met with funds from their city-based shadow establishments and sympathizers.
TNN, Feb 15, 2011, 03.20am IST
Maoists entrenched in large parts of the country run an elaborate extortion network to keep the wheels of 'revolution' turning. Police forces in states where the CPI (Maoist) has a robust presence concede they do not have the exact earnings of the outfit but say the Maoist organisation can rival a mid-size corporate house with an annual turnover upwards of Rs 1,500 crore.
"Our estimates put the all-India annual collection of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) to be between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,600 crore. We suspect 10% of this is collected from Orissa," a senior police officer from the state said.
The Chhattisgarh director general of police Vishwa Ranjan recently said the Maoists make close to Rs 2,000 crore through extortion. He called the figure a "guestimate" based on seized Maoist cashbooks and other vital papers recovered in recent months.
In Bihar's Naxalite-dominated districts, police officers have to deal with the same problem. The Maoists have a sizeable presence in districts such as Gaya, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Kaimur, Arwal, Bhojpur, Munger, Lakhisarai and Sheikhpura. From these areas alone, they make about Rs 200 crore every year, an officer fighting the rebels said. In Maoist terminology, this is not extortion but a collection of levy.
Matters are worse in neighbouring Jharkhand. The Indian Defence Yearbook quotes Union home ministry figures to say Maoists extort nearly Rs 320 crore every year from the state. The yearbook acknowledges the Maoist extortion machinery has been eating into the state's development work. Extortion estimates from Maharashtra are relatively conservative. Maoist earnings from the state swings between Rs 5 crore and Rs 25 crore every year.
The Maoist fund collectors spare none. They arm twist government officials and milk central and state funds for development projects. They terrorise industrialists, small businessmen, big and small contractors, tendu leaf traders and even poor villagers.
It is the same story in Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In all these states Maoist cadre take away a share of the development funds. In Orissa, they routinely grab 10% of government money earmarked for development and infrastructure work. "It is common knowledge. District collectors know it. Accountants in the blocks have to find ways to balance their books of accounts," a police officer handling anti-Maoist operations said.
A senior Orissa Police officer from the Naxalite-dominated belt recently wrote to the state government complaining about the drain of government money to Maoists. In this, he laid a considerable share of the blame on non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The Naxalites brazenly grab development funds that reach panchayats and NGOs. This also happens because many elected rural body members are complicit. They often win polls with Maoist help. Once that is done, it is payback time. This problem is particularly serious in the state's Malkangiri district where the Red army has quite a hold.
Early last year, the Maoists blasted pipelines of a leading steel company cutting through Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district. Within a month, the company's infrastructure in the same place was targeted again. A guest house was set ablaze. A pump house, control room and property worth several lakhs of rupees were damaged. Then the attacks stopped. Police sources said this happened only after Rs 2 crore went into the Maoist purse.
Illegal mining in states such as Orissa and Jharkhand is a rich source of revenue for the Maoists. The extortion network is so huge and so well-oiled that a couple of years ago when three hardcore cadres in Orissa deserted the Maoist ranks they took away with them Rs 6 crore.
Maoists are active in West Bengal's Birbhum district where stone crushers and the illegal coal business rake in crores. These industries are now extortion targets.
Police believe that the Maoists will soon go all out to bring major coal mining areas of Bengal and the coal mafia under their control. "They are not directly active in this belt. They are not investing here yet but simply treating the region as a revenue source. Most miners have to depend on the Red brigade because the main trading areas lie in Maoist strongholds," a police officer said.
Maharashtra Police officers have a shocking story. Naxalites extract money from daily wagers and have a programme for this called 'work-a-day', deputy inspector-general of police Ravindra Kadam said. "It is nothing but villagers or tribals being asked to donate a day's earning to the party fund. The Maoists justify their levy arguing that they are fighting for the tribals," he said.
Others in the security agencies said paper mills in Maharashtra were a source of funds. "This begins from the lowest level – like the bamboo cutters – and goes up to the contractors and company officials," a state police officer said.
Maharashtra's private inter-state transporters are often easy targets so are civil contractors. "Those who build roads know that they must pay. Or else, they won't be around to make a living," a villager in Maoist-dominated Gadchiroli said.
Extortion is not necessarily in cash. It is in kind as well. "Sometimes they take away grain, pulses and other material. We don't dare ask for payment. Those who disobey get beaten up," a grocer from Bhamragarh tehsil said.
Like in Maharashtra, the inter-state bus operator in Bihar too is in peril. If his buses happen to drive through the so-called liberated zones, he has to pay the Maoist tax. In fact, the naxalites extort a quarter of their levies from Gaya district alone.
Other than organised extortion, lower-level cadre intervene in personal and local disputes for a fee. This money often does not go to the Maoist central fund and there have been cases of the extortionists deserting the organization. Sometimes, such rogue elements are eliminated by Red squad members.
Much of the extorted money goes in buying arms and ammunition, procuring vehicles, purchasing uniforms and medicines, publicity and propaganda, communication equipment, organizing party meetings, boosting their urban networks and fighting court cases for their jailed comrades.
The CPI (Maoist) is also known to pay monthly remuneration to its cadre. Intelligence reports talk of the cadre getting between Rs2,000 and Rs3,000. "We have evidence of Maoists investing heavily in gold and other assets like land," an intelligence source in Maharashtra said.
Reports from Jangalmahal in West Bengal say Maoist squad leaders set aside Rs 8 lakh-10 lakh for emergencies. Apart from this, they are responsible to collect enough to buy ammunition and equipment, which could cost in the range of Rs 12lakh-15 lakh per annum. Also, each area leader spends Rs 1lakh-2 lakh a month on Maoist frontal outfits and their cadres.
The expense sheets suggest that the rebels spend around Rs 1 crore per month in Jangalmahal for various activities, including military operations and financing a political movement. More than 80% of this expense comes from extortion while the rest is met with funds from their city-based shadow establishments and sympathizers.
Army promises maximum restraint against Maoists, says they are 'our own people'
RAIPUR: The chief of the army's central command surveyed Abhujmaadh forests from the air and then landed in Raipur to allay anxieties over a potential conflict escalation in the Maoist controlled forest in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district where the army plans to train its troops.
"We will exercise maximum restraint. This is our country, they are our people," said Lieutenant Gen Vijay Ahluwalia, emphasising that the army would be deployed solely for the purpose of training.
He said the training will be restricted to manoeuvres with no firing drills and that it would be gradually scaled up to the brigade level. A brigade had 3000 troopers.
"The time frame will be dictated by the consultations with the state government," he said, adding that Chhattisgarh government had offered 500 square kilometres to the army for jungle warfare training in 2007. "We are considering 2-3 locations. The area could be 20 x 25 kms or larger".
Later, he added that the process was being delayed since there were no revenue records for the land on offer. This confirms that the training range will be inside Abhujmaadh, and not on its edges, as was indicated earlier.
Abhujmaadh is an unsurveyed forest spread over 4000 square kilometres. It is believed to be controlled by Maoists, who have declared it a liberated area'.
The army's move to train its troops inside a Maoist stronghold has triggered speculation over whether this will eventually result in army deployment against the insurgents.
The leadership of CPI Maoist certainly believes so. In a statement dated January 22, Maoist spokesperson Gudsa Usendi asked people to oppose the army's entry, warning of impending "civil war" in the area.
The army, too, has expressed concerns over the possibility of its troops coming under Maoist attack. "I do not think the Maoists will attack the army, but in case the contingency arises, we have asked the government what will be the legal safeguards available to us," said Lt Gen Ahluwalia.
On Monday, in a television interview, the army chief V K Singh stated even more clearly, "Lets say while training, they come into an ambush, my troops are going to fire back, that's what they are taught. If they fire back and drop people (dead), and some people are able to take their (dead Maoists) weapons away, which is what often happens, then big clamour takes place that army has killed innocents.."
Currently, the army operates in Kashmir and the North East under the cover of Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA). The controversial act, applicable after an area has been notified as 'disturbed area', gives the army immunity from criminal proceedings, that human rights activists allege has amounted to giving the army the impunity to kill.
The army chief said he did not want AFSPA for Maoist affected areas, yet he repeated in the TV interview, " If something happens, somebody should not drag my troops to the court saying they have committed murder.."
"This is a political decision being taken at the highest level," said a senior army officer, on the condition of anonymity. "Even we are concerned about how it will play out".
RAIPUR: The chief of the army's central command surveyed Abhujmaadh forests from the air and then landed in Raipur to allay anxieties over a potential conflict escalation in the Maoist controlled forest in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district where the army plans to train its troops.
"We will exercise maximum restraint. This is our country, they are our people," said Lieutenant Gen Vijay Ahluwalia, emphasising that the army would be deployed solely for the purpose of training.
He said the training will be restricted to manoeuvres with no firing drills and that it would be gradually scaled up to the brigade level. A brigade had 3000 troopers.
"The time frame will be dictated by the consultations with the state government," he said, adding that Chhattisgarh government had offered 500 square kilometres to the army for jungle warfare training in 2007. "We are considering 2-3 locations. The area could be 20 x 25 kms or larger".
Later, he added that the process was being delayed since there were no revenue records for the land on offer. This confirms that the training range will be inside Abhujmaadh, and not on its edges, as was indicated earlier.
Abhujmaadh is an unsurveyed forest spread over 4000 square kilometres. It is believed to be controlled by Maoists, who have declared it a liberated area'.
The army's move to train its troops inside a Maoist stronghold has triggered speculation over whether this will eventually result in army deployment against the insurgents.
The leadership of CPI Maoist certainly believes so. In a statement dated January 22, Maoist spokesperson Gudsa Usendi asked people to oppose the army's entry, warning of impending "civil war" in the area.
The army, too, has expressed concerns over the possibility of its troops coming under Maoist attack. "I do not think the Maoists will attack the army, but in case the contingency arises, we have asked the government what will be the legal safeguards available to us," said Lt Gen Ahluwalia.
On Monday, in a television interview, the army chief V K Singh stated even more clearly, "Lets say while training, they come into an ambush, my troops are going to fire back, that's what they are taught. If they fire back and drop people (dead), and some people are able to take their (dead Maoists) weapons away, which is what often happens, then big clamour takes place that army has killed innocents.."
Currently, the army operates in Kashmir and the North East under the cover of Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA). The controversial act, applicable after an area has been notified as 'disturbed area', gives the army immunity from criminal proceedings, that human rights activists allege has amounted to giving the army the impunity to kill.
The army chief said he did not want AFSPA for Maoist affected areas, yet he repeated in the TV interview, " If something happens, somebody should not drag my troops to the court saying they have committed murder.."
"This is a political decision being taken at the highest level," said a senior army officer, on the condition of anonymity. "Even we are concerned about how it will play out".
