Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Indranil Chanda alias Raj,the man arrested by the NIA and described as Maoists chief in Assam,had made his name as a supplier who routed arms from one insurgent group to the other.
He was primarily hunted for his links with the top leaders of these groups,not only in Assam but in states across the eastern and northeastern regions,say members of the team who had arrested him in the first place.
Chanda was arrested in Kolkata a month ago on April 21 by the Special Task Force of the city police before the NIA took him into custody. He was taken to Guwahati this week and produced in court in a case registered in Assam; the Assam police have procured a warrant against him.
In Kolkata,Chanda,37,reportedly declared that he is a member of the CPI(Maoist) in Bengal and admitted his links with various groups. His alleged contacts included leaders of the Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur,from whom he is said to have helped procure arms,ammunition and communication sets before routing them to Maoists.
Known as Jhulan in Maoist circles,Chanda hails from Baruipara village of Burdwan district. He studied commerce but dropped out before graduating and started his business as a supplier of arms,leading to the inevitable contacts with insurgent groups. Chanda started supplying arms,ammunition and explosives to Maoists in Bengal,Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and to some insurgent groups in the Northeast, said an STF officer in Kolkata.
He was a key man in the supply of arms from outside for Maoists. This kept him in touch with several senior Maoist leaders,including slain politburo member Kishenji Koteswar Rao,politburo members Kishenda Prasanta Bose and Sumitda Amitava Bagchi,and central committee member Sagarda Misir Besra, said the officer.
Based on leads from his statement,the STF raided many places in Kolkata and adjoining areas and seized laptops and hard disks he had helped route,besides documents and cash,the total worth Rs 53,000. During his arrest,the STF had seized 16 rounds of .315 ammunition.
