After forming an armed wing in Upper Assam, the Maoist rebels are now trying to secure a foothold in southern Assam’s Barak Valley by infiltrating local mass movements.
Security sources in the home ministry said two top Maoist commanders, Aditya Bora and Singhraj Orang, have been entrusted the responsibility of spreading their network in Assam.
The sources told this newspaper that the interrogation of Pallab Barbora, principal of a private school recently arrested by the NIA, revealed the Maoists had recently organised a training camp of nearly 50 new recruits in Arunachal Pradesh.
The sources acknowledged the new recruits’ identity was not known to many top Maoists. Pallab Barbora had gone for formal training at a Maoist base near Banke Bazar, in the Sherghati area of Bihar’s Aurangabad district.
The sources said while there were at least 150 active Maoist cadres in the state, its central committee was against launching an armed wing in south Assam now.