Elusive tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato, spearheading an agitation since November last year against alleged police atrocities at Lalgarh in West Midnapore district, was arrested on Saturday.
Trouble continues in Lalgarh in West Bengal state as Tribals and members of the People's Committee against Police Atrocities continue their violent protests.
The CBI took over the Gyaneshwari Express investigation from the state police in June, and announced a reward of Rs 3 lakh for information leading to the arrest of three prime accused -- Bapi Mahato, Umakanto Mahato and Asit Mahato.
People's Committee Against Police Atrocities leader and one of the prime accused in the Jnaneswari Express derailment Bapi Mahato was arrested on Sunday by West Bengal police from Jamshedpur, a senior police officer said.
The People's Committee against Police Atrocities called for a 24-hour bandh on September 10 in Junglemahal area in protest against the arrest of secretary Manoj Mahato and the killing of one of its members in an encounter.
The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities has claimed responsibility for the derailment of the express train in West Midnapore on Friday morning that left more than 100 dead and nearly 200 injured
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested an activist of the Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities from a village in Jhargram in connection with the Gyaneswari Express derailment, the police said on Tuesday.
'The people at Lalgarh die of starvation regularly, there is no health infrastructure, our children don't get proper education, the tribal languages are neglected and no steps are taken for the welfare of the Jangalmahal residents. If the PCAPA is given power, it can really do wonders,' says PCAPA convenor Chhatradhar Mahato.
The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities has called a 24-hour bandh in Jangalmahal in West Bengal on September 19 to protest against alleged torture of its workers by the joint forces and Trinamool Congress workers amidst reports that the extremists are reviving their moribund squads.
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a leader of Maoists-backed the People's Committee against Police Atrocities on Saturday for alleged involvement in derailment of Gyaneswari Express that left 148 people dead in West Midnapore district, the fourth arrest in the case.
Tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who went underground after the anti-Maoist operation began in Lalgarh, on Wednesday dared the government to arrest him and said the administration was scared to do it. "I have not fled anywhere. I am at Lalgarh only and if the administration wants to arrest me, let them come and arrest me," Mahato, the chief of People's Committee against Police Atrocities, which is widely believed to have links with the Maoists, said over phone.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday named three members of the Naxal-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities as the main accused in the Gyneshwari train derailment case. The investigative agency also announced a reward of Rs one lakh each for information leading to the arrest of the three accused -- Umakanto Mahato, Bapi Mahato and Asit Mahato.On May 28, the Mumbai-bound train had been derailed and then hit by a goods train near Jharkhand.
On May 28, 2010, Maoists derailed the Jnaneshwari Express, killing 148 passengers.
Tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato has refused to give a sample of his handwriting to a local court in Midnapore.
Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities leader Uma Kanta Mahto was killed in an encounter with joint security forces in West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Friday, said the police.Mahto was wanted in connection with the Gyaneshwari train disaster case that had claimed 148 lives on May 29 this year. The government had suspected that Maoists had planned the derailment of the passenger train.
The phone number given by Maoists to the media asking Union Home Minster P Chidambaram to call on Thursday for peace negotiations belongs to a police constable who was abducted by the rebels.The Vodafone number 9734695789 belongs to Sisir Kanti Nag, the constable who was abducted by the Maoists demanding the release of the Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities leader Chatradhar Mahato.
'We have to strive to bring these people into the democratic system,' says civil rights activist Sujato Bhadro.
Lalgarh, once a nerve centre of Naxal insurgency in West Bengal, now represents a different place.
Claiming that the Trinamool Congress is not perturbed over desertions by some leaders, she said politics is a solemn ideology and philosophy and one cannot change these everyday like clothes.
Rajeev Kumar, the Kolkata police commissioner, is known for his impeccable investigating and electronic surveillance skills.
