West Bengal police tasted a major success after it nabbed seasoned Maoist Sabyasachi Goswami alias Kishore, a member of the all-powerful central committee (CC) of the outlawed CPI Maoist, informed police on Friday, January 12.
According to the reports, Goswami was nabbed in an operation launched by the police on specific inputs in the Jangalmahal area of Purulia district on Thursday, January 11. Goswami was active as the in charge of the proscribed outfit in West Bengal.
The extremist’s leader was on the run for quite some time, and it was the fifth time that he was apprehended by the police. The police arrested Goswami from the Chauniya forest area under Baghmundi police station limits in Purulia near the Jharkhand border.
During the interrogation, it’s been revealed that the arrested Maoist is a member of the CC of the outlawed Maoist outfit, informed Purulia Superintendent of Police, Abhijeet Bandhopadhyay.
*জঙ্গলমহল থেকে ধৃত শীর্ষ মাওবাদী নেতা*
মাওবাদী কার্যকলাপ দমনে বড়সড় সাফল্য এল জঙ্গলমহলে। পুরুলিয়ার গোপন আস্তানা থেকে পুলিশের জালে ধরা পড়লেন সিপিআই (মাওবাদী)-র কেন্দ্রীয় কমিটির সদস্য তথা বাংলায় সংগঠনের দায়িত্বপ্রাপ্ত সব্যসাচী গোস্বামী ওরফে কিশোর। (১/৩)
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) January 12, 2024
The police team has also seized a 9mm pistol, ammunition, along with extremist literature from the possession of the Maoist leader. We are at the primary stage of investigation, and further investigation into the matter will go on, added further SP Bandhopadhyay.
It’s been learned that Sabyasachi was planning to further the activities of the banned outfit in the Jangalmahal area, once considered a hotbed of insurgents, by building an armed squad under his command.
Wanted by NIA
It is to be noted that the arrested CC member of the banned Maoist outfit, Goswami, was apprehended by the police a number of times in the past as well, and as many as five cases have been pending against him. This includes a case registered against the Maoist leader in Guwahati, Assam for furthering the activities of the banned outfit in the year 2022.
According to the information received, Goswami had kept a low profile for some time after getting out from the prison, following which he became untraceable. He was also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and a reward of Rs 10 lakh had already been announced on him by the investigative agency.
Maoist with a reward killed in encounter
In other news, a Maoist cadre carrying a bounty of Rs1 lakh on his head was neutralised in an encounter with the security forces in insurgency-hit Gangalur area of Bijapur district on Friday, January 12, suggests reports.
According to the reports, the gunfight occurred near the Pusnar village of Bijapur, during which a militia commander of the Maoist outfit, identified as Toya Potam, was killed.
The operation was launched by a joint team of security forces comprising personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) as part of their ongoing offensive campaign against the extremists in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
It is to be noted that off late, the security forces have intensified search operations in the insurgency-hit Bastar division of Chhattisgarh which includes districts like Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, and Narayanpur, considered the hotbed of left-wing insurgency.
