Uttar Pradesh: Couple active as ‘Urban Naxals’ from UP held by ATS

Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS), in a swift operation, has nabbed two Urban Naxals (Urban handlers/ Overground workers of the outlawed CPI Maoist) from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh and Raipur of Chhattisgarh. The arrested Maoists have been identified as Brijesh Kushwaha (43) and his wife Prabha Kushwaha (38), both residents of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh.

According to the details, the Maoist couple were under the scanner of the ATS for some time and were arrested in separate raids conducted by the ATS in connection with a case filed by the UP ATS in July 2019. Following the arrest of the accused, the police informed that the couple had been named along with five other accused in a 2019 case in which another couple, identified as Manish Shrivastav and Varsha alias Amita Srivastava, were arrested in July 2019. While electronic devices of all of the accused, including Brijesh and his wife, were sent for data extraction and examination.

“A number of letters, literature of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), an armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) have been recovered from the electronic devices of the accused following the data extraction process, while letters of others cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) indulged in anti-national activities have been also recovered from the devices”, read the press release of the UP police.

“Both Brijesh and his wife Prabha are associated with the ‘Kisan Ekta Manch’ and ‘Savitribai Phule Sangharsh Samiti’ and were indulged in anti-national activities in the guise of supporting the Communist ideology”, read the press release further. It’s been reported that the houses of both the accused are being searched while Prabha is being taken to Lucknow on transit remand after she was produced in a local court in Raipur.

It is pertinent to mention here that the arrest of the Maoist couple has come at a time when the UP ATS have recently busted a Maoist network and nabbed as many as five active cadres of the outlawed CPI Maoist indulged in reviving the Maoist insurgency in bordering regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand from Ballia.

(Read the full report here)

During the initial interrogation, the arrested cadres revealed that the group was recruiting youths from colleges and universities to further augment the Maoist ideology by brainwashing them. The agencies also informed that the group has been constantly roaming around different cities of Uttar Pradesh such as Varanasi, Chandauli and Ballia to recruit youths and establish a solid network.

Maoist couple surrender in Chhattisgarh

In other news pertaining to Left Wing Extremism, hours after a hardcore Maoist and Area Committee In-charge of Maded area of outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), Nagesh Padam was killed in an encounter between the security forces and the Maoist in Bandepara area. A Maoist couple active in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh have turned themselves before the police and surrendered.

According to the details, the Maoist couple, one of whom identified as Area Committee Member (ACM), Lacchu Farsa, turned themselves in before the officials of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and surrendered on Wednesday, October 18. The other surrendered women cadre has been active as a cadre in the same area committee.

It’s been learnt that both Lachhu Farsa and his female companion were associated with the Bhairamgarh area committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and were actively involved in various major incidents. As many as 11 cases are pending against Farsa in Bijapur and Dantewada districts, informed Bijapur police in a tweet.

It’s been reported that the surrendered couple will be rehabilitated according to the ‘surrender and rehabilitation scheme’ and have been provided immediate financial aid as per the scheme.