Orissa’s top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, alias Suneel, who was involved with the abduction of two Italian nationals in March this year from Orissa’s Kandhamal district on Saturday, ruled out the possibility of surrendering before the state police.
Instead, he said he would continue his fight against the atrocities perpetrated by the ruling BJD and some other political parties in the state. “There are some reports in a section of the local media that I’m planning to surrender. This is a misinformation campaign by some vested interests to destabilise our organisation. Surrender by a dedicated Maoist cadre means suicide and I’m not going to do this mistake,” Mr Panda, son of a former Communist MLA, said in a fresh audio tape released to the media on Saturday.
Dismissing the charge that the Maoists had resorted to large-scale violence in some parts of the state, the rebel leader said it was the ruling BJD under which dalits, tribals and the poor were being oppressed. He citied the gangrape and subsequent death of a scheduled cast girl Babina Behera of Pipili in Puri district by some BJD goons and rape of a tribal girl by a group of policemen as cases of “state-sponsored” atrocities and demanded immediate actions against them.
“The Orissa police is registering false cases against tribals branding them as Maoist sympathisers. Why is it silent to book the culprits who have been harassing the dalits, tribals and innocent poor people?” he asked. He also blamed the Congress and BJP for being party to the atrocities.