All’s not well on the Maoist front

Expulsions, surrenders deal a bloody blow to the CPI (Maoist)

Recently a key Maoist leader from Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) region, Naveen, was expelled by the party for alleged anti-party activity. He was expelled along with another senior woman cadre, Jeevani, from the same area, as the party was not happy with their alleged relationship.

In the recent past, senior leaders in the CPI (Maoist), have reportedly not been happy with some of the top and medium rung leaders and have been openly condemning them.

Setbacks

A recent document recovered by the Intelligence Department (Extremist Wing) from an encounter site reportedly revealed that the party had been receiving severe setbacks following surrender of some senior leaders, and the forcible expulsion of a few senior leaders allegedly due to anti-party activities.

The document reportedly mentioned about Oggu Satwaji alias Sharat alias Sudhakar, who surrendered along with his wife, Neelima, before the Telangana police in February 2018. Sudhakar, part of the central committee and politburo — the highest decision making body of the party — was on the ‘most wanted’ list of the NIA and he and his wife carried a reward of ₹1.5 crore on their head.

According to the document, Sudhakar’s surrender was allegedly engineered by the police as part of its low intensity conflict (LIC), and had Sudhakar not surrendered, the party would have expelled him.

‘Ulterior motive’

The document reportedly revealed that Sudhakar and Neelima, who were heading the Eastern Regional Bureau of the party, allegedly had an “ulterior motive” of weakening the party both politically and organisationally, reportedly with support from the security agencies.

Ganesh, secretary of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), also in his letter had reportedly stated that Naveen was towing the line of Sudhakar and not adhering to the decision and commands of the organisation’s high command.

Both, the document that was recovered from the encounter site and the letter from Ganesh, spoke about the alleged dissident factor and leaders such as Sudhakar, Naveen, Ranjit Pal, Vikas, Saketh and Neelima, had been responsible for weakening the party and were part of the LIC.

Internal bickering

There reportedly is internal bickering and many senior leaders who are in charge of various zones and area committees have been allegedly indulging in anti-party activity such as extorting money from contractors, hobnobbing with ganja smugglers and indulging in extra-marital relationships, which are against the party norms, said a senior police officer.

Disillusioned with the movement, especially with the character and attitude of such leaders, the rate of surrenders had been on the rise in the AOB region, the officer said.

In 2016, the number of surrendered extremists was 10, in 2017 it was 29 and in 2018 it was 25.

When it comes to militia members it was 23 (2016), 33 (2017) and 35 (2018), the officer said.

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