He was inspired by Mamata,organised rallies in Kolkata

Born in 1964,Mahato hails from a tiny hamlet of Amlia and is the eldest of three brothers. If his PCAPA

is an alleged frontal organisation of the Maoists,his brother Sashadhar remains underground and is considered the mastermind of the Salboni blast.

After Higher Secondary from the Lalgarh Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith,he joined Midnapore Day College,where he became an active member of the Chhatra Parishad,the student wing of the Congress,inspired by Mamata Banerjee,then a Youth Congress leader. Later,after Mamata formed the Trinamool,he joined her.

However,after he was picked up for his agitation against administrative corruption in West Midnapore in 2001 and sent to custody for three months,Mahato left the Trinamool. The three months in jail would become a turning point in his life,and when he came out,he joined the CPI(Maoist).

In 2008,he formed the PCAPA and spearheaded a movement against alleged police atrocities in Lalgarh. The local administration was rendered powerless,with Mahato under the aegis of the Maoists ruling the area for nine months.

To win over tribal support,Mahato started various developmental works in Lalgarh and adjacent areas. He is accused of threatening the administration and extorting money from villagers with the help of Maoists to undertake works like construction of an embankment near Kangsabati river,providing irrigation facilities,constructing roads and running health centres in the area.

He managed to unite tribals of the entire Jungle Mahal area,including the three districts of West Midnapore,Purulia and Bankura. However,Mahato did not restrict himself there. He roped in support of Kolkata-based intellectuals as well as Naxalite leaders in the movement and held several tribal rallies and meetings in Kolkata.

Despite his frequent trips to the city,the police did not arrest him as there was no substantial evidence and case against him at that time. By the time an arrest warrant was issued against him,Mahato went underground. On June 15,the West Bengal Police,supported by central paramilitary forces,initiated the operation to flush out Maoists from Lalgarh in West Midnapore District.

In four months that followed,the joint forces were unable to arrest Mahato. Finally,on September 26,he was arrested by two CID officials posing as journalists from Birka near the headquarters of the Lalgarh block.

The CID said it had found that Mahato had a life insurance cover of Rs 1 crore and property in Bihar. Twenty-two cases were slapped gainst him and he was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. At present,he is in Presidency Jail in Kolkata.