In what is giving the government considerable concern in the ongoing battle against the Maoists, it is learnt that following the recent imposition of President’s Rule in Jharkhand the ultra-left rebels have started shifting their operational base from that tribal-dominated state to parts of West Bengal.
The intensified heat from the security forces following President’s Rule is understood to have given sleepless nights to some senior Maoist leaders, sources said, following which the decision was taken to shift their operations base to areas around Lalgarh in southern Bengal.
Intelligence sources claim that inputs received from the field indicate that the Maoists have relocated their training camps from Ghatshila, Chatara, Palamau and Latehar in Jharkhand to areas around Lalgarh, Baita and Jhargram in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
Moreover, they are also shifting their operational camps located in certain parts of Hazaribagh in the tribal state to villages around Lalgarh, particularly Salboni and Belpahari.
“Available inputs also reveal that top Maoist leader Koteswara Rao, alias Kishenji, is hiding in the dense forests of Lalgarh. He is in touch with other Maoist leaders of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa,” the sources said.
Interrogation of some Maoists recently arrested in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand has also revealed that they are shifting their base to West Bengal. Jharkhand had been chosen as a base as it was strategically well-located for the Maoists, being close to the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, the sources added. It was further learnt that top Maoists leaders had recently held a meeting in the dense forest of Lalgarh, at which the decision to shift operational bases from Jharkhand to West Bengal was taken.
The sources say the Maoists regard West Bengal as far safer for them than Jharkhand at present.
The Naxalites have also decided to step up “revenue collection” from Orissa as they fear it is going to get increasingly difficult for them to collect “levy” — meaning extort funds — from contractors in Jharkhand after imposition of President’s Rule there, the sources added. Interrogation of some arrested Maoists has revealed that they have been asked to impose the “maximum levy” on contractors and industrial houses working in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
This does not mean they will not collect levies in Jharkhand, the sources said, only that they will depend less on that state.