RAIPUR: In a significant revelation, the Chhattisgarh police has disclosed that the Maoists in the state are in midst of an ongoing inter-rivalry which has resulted in killings of 3-4 local Maoist cadres on instructions of senior Maoist leaders hailing from other states.
In the latest episode a Maoist cadres hailing from South Bastar region has been killed by his accomplices on alleged charges of espionage. Vijja Madkam, an Area Committee Member of the outlawed Maoist outfit was killed in the forest of Malampenta under Patepur police station limits of Kanker on September 6.
According to the information received, Vijja was executed on the instruction of senior Maoist leader, Vijay Reddy suspecting that the former was an informer of the police. Though according to the police, cases linked to the killing of local Maoist cadres on instruction of senior cadres hailing from Telangana and other adjoining regions indicates the breach of trust between the Maoist outfit.
Underscoring the growing mistrust between the local cadres and those hailing from other states, Inspector General (IG) of Police, Bastar range, Sundarraj P on Tuesday, September 10 said “For the past 30-40 years, Maoist cadres from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra used local Bastar Maoist cadre as human shield during encounters with security forces and escaped using them as shield.
But in 2024, a large number of bodies of Maoist cadres from outside were recovered. Due to this outside Maoist cadre are suspicious of local Bastar Maoist cadres and are torturing them. In 2024 alone, 3-4 incidents of murders of local Bastar cadres have occurred. There is just one option before the local Maoist cadre – leave violence, surrender before the government and join the development process of Bastar.”
#WATCH | Jagdalpur (Bastar, Chhattisgarh): IG Bastar Sundarraj P says, “For the past 30-40 years, maoist cadres from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra used local Bastar maoist cadre as human shield during encounters with security forces and escaped using them as… pic.twitter.com/knzm5FVGwo
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) September 10, 2024
Several top Maoist cadres including Randhir and Joganna, both members of the Dandkaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), the most powerful unit among the outlaws have been killed in action. The other notable names include of Vinay, a divisional committee member and Sagar a commander of the CRC unit. In all bodies of 153 Maoist cadres killed in separate encounters this year have been recovered which has panicked the top brass of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), he added.
Allegation of exploitation and discrimination with local cadres
It is worth mentioning here, that news pertaining to discrimination by the Telugu cadres who largely forms the top brass of the banned outfit with their local accomplices have been keep emerging on regular intervals indicating a possible division among the outlaws on regional lines.
Many of the local Maoist cadres in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have parted ways with the violent group labelling similar charges in the past as well. Notable among them is Maharaj Pramanik, a zonal commander carrying a reward of Rs10 lakh who had surrender before the police citing discrimination on regional lines in the year 2021. Following his revolt, the Maoist had also issued a decree against Pramanik alleging him for treason.
Other than the discrimination part, it is being further speculated that the continuous operations of the security forces in core insurgency zones have also dealt a severe blow to the organisational strength of the banned outfit, triggering a state of panic in the proscribed group many of whose cadres are leaving, citing various reasons. Notably 540 former members of the outlawed group have surrender before the authorities citing disgruntlement with the Maoist’s ideology in the state as of August 25.
