Documents accessed by ET reveal that the idea is to first knock down district level commanders since they are source for recruitment and peddling terror at the ground zero
NEW DELHI: The home ministry has set a calibrated goal for states to target the brass of Left wing extremists, including 11 CPI(Maoists) central and regional committee members.
States identified district, regional and central committee commanders during a review meeting home secretary Rajiv Gauba held recently.
Maoists’ central committee members Misir Besra, Kishanji and Sitaram Manjhi figure high in the hit-list which includes leaders of other banned groups. The Jharkhand police alone has announced a reward of `1 crore, each, on their heads. The red corridor is now restricted to thirty districts due to concerted effort of the MHA in the last four years.
Documents accessed by ET reveal that the idea is to first knock down district level commanders since they are source for recruitment and peddling terror at the ground zero.
Next is to size up regional commanders and finally take on central committee members. State and central paramilitary forces are hunting for Maoist area commanders Patiram Manjhi, Raghunath Hembrum, Anmol Daa and Ajay Mahto though intelligence agency sources realise that it’s a tough task to smoke them out from their in jungles pocket boroughs spread across Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Jharkhand Police director-general DK Pandey told ET that due to focused action to contain Naxalism, their influence in the state has been reduced to 31 villages, which was 2000 villages in the state before 2014. The state’s rural and tribal population are scattered over 32,000 villages.
“We follow action and development to battle Naxalites in Jharkhand. Due to the success of the police working in close coordination with intelligence agencies, there are hardly about 100 Naxalites left in 31 villages. We have also approached their families to persuade them to give up arms. We are also seizing their assets with the assistance of NIA and ED,” Pandey said.
Jharkhand police have identified 37 district level commander targets. Out of them, 14 are Maoists commanders operating in districts including of Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu, Latehar, Garhwa, Jamshedpur and Chiabasa. Four are from Peoples Liberation Front of India — the most influential Naxal outfit after Maoists in Jharkhand and adjoining states — and same number are also from Tritiya Prastuti Committee. Among PLFI which Jharkhand police is looking for are its supremo Dinesh Gope and his other supreme commanders Jageshwar Singh and Vijay Dang.
Sources said TPC’s supremo Brajesh Kumar Ganjhu, Niraj Ganjhu and Karampal are on the radar of the state police.