The Hindu : Other States / Uttaranchal News : Maoist 'supporters' held

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Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

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Other States - Uttaranchal

Maoist 'supporters' held

By Our Staff Correspondent

DEHRA DUN, AUG. 31. The Uttaranchal police arrested five suspected Maoist sympathisers in the forests of Udham Singh Nagar adjoining Nepal on Monday.

Those arrested are all poor locals acting as carriers of food and other essential items to some activists of the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) who may be imparting arms training to recruits in the dense forests.

Utensils to feed about two dozens persons, a few tents, army and police uniforms, tools that may be used to manufacture arms for MCCI and the hitherto unheard of Peoples' Freedom Guerilla Brigade have been recovered from them, official sources said.

The arrested persons have revealed that the Maoists had held an arms training camp in the forests and a foundation day celebration a few months ago. They were attracting the poor landless labourers by promising education for the children and plots of land.

"This can be said to be the very initial activities of the anti-nationals and this fledgling group has to be contained before it is too late. Also no link between these persons and the Maoists of Nepal has been found so far", a senior police official said.

Unconfirmed reports of Maoists of Nepal crossing over to the Indian side for shelter when the law enforcing agencies get tough there have been coming in and local politicians have been urging the Government to act for over a year now.

Meanwhile, the State Government has stepped up combing operations in the forests adjoining Nepal and is said to have urged the Centre to help in controlling the Maoists menace of Nepal from entering the Indian soil.

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Maoist 'supporters' held