Over a dozen Maoists and members of the People?s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) have been killed under mysterious circumstances in Lalgarh region in the past two months, hinting at an intense internal churning in Maoist ranks over profit sharing and leaking information to the police. In several cases, the Maoists, after killing their ?comrades?, buried their bodies in the forests.
Sensing that internal squabbles may soon spin out of control, the CPI-Maoist leadership has issued a circular in the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa (BJO) regional committee, to enforce strict discipline within the organisation, confirmed a senior ideologue of the CPI-Maoist.
?We have received several reports of comrades killing comrades over differences. The issue has been discussed in our recent meetings. These internal killings have been reported mostly in the BJO regional committee. The reasons behind these differences among the comrades have been analysed and a circular issued, urging cadres to follow discipline or face punishment,? said a CPI-Maoist leader who is in the central committee.
Since April 19, security forces claim to have recovered six bodies of Maoists or of PCAPA members. The list of PCAPA victims includes Sailen Mahato, uncle of Chhatradhar Mahato former chief of PCAPA.
Fifty-year-old Sailen Mahato, a resident of Purnapani, provided the Maoists with logistics support for which he kept track of the whereabouts of senior Maoist leaders. According to sources, some Maoist leaders became suspicious about him and he was gunned down on April 20 after being branded a police ?informer.?
Recently, the police have exhumed three bodies from the Bhalukbasa forest in Goaltore. Two of the three bodies are of Maoists, claimed an official.
?There is a rift between the CPI-Maoist and its frontal organisations. The tussle has intensified over profit sharing. Frontal organisations use the Maoists to collect taxes from the villagers, and a portion of it is handed over to the Maoists. But for the last few months, the leaders of the PCAPA have stopped paying the Maoists, earning the wrath of the Maoist squad members,? said Manoj Verma, SP, West Midnapore .
Kishenji?s absence from the scene after he was injured is being perceived as another reason for the sharp deterioration in organisational discipline. ?Those deputed to fill the gap in the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa region will obviously take some time to bring things under control and develop the skills that Kishenji had,? said a Maoist ideologue based in Hyderabad.
