Besides a timely tip-off from its sources, the factor that helped the criminal investigation department (CID) of West Bengal (WB) Police nab Maoist leader Telugu Dipak was the infighting in the state committee of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M).
CID sources said as the agency was mulling action on a tip-off from Andhra Pradesh Police, it received an anonymous alert about Dipak’s presence at the Sarsuna bus stand in Behala.
A CID source said, “The input of Andhra Police was that Dipak was staying somewhere in the Behala region, whereas the anonymous informer told the exact time when he would be present at the Sarsuna bus stand to receive a courier. Only someone who is closely associated with the movement of leaders of Dipak’s stature would have such specific information.”
Sources said there was a sharp division in the West Bengal unit of CPI-Maoist ever since Sandip Chanda alias Kanchan was made state secretary, ignoring the claims of Dipak. Kanchan was appointed after the arrest of former state secretary Shomen. A cold war started between the associates of Dipak and Kanchan since then. “It is possible that by giving CID the information, a Kanchan associate must have made life easier for his leader,” sources said.
Director general of West Bengal Police Bhupinder Singh said initially, it was decided that Dipak would succeed Shomen, but since he hails from Andhra, he was denied the opportunity.
Meanwhile, underground Maoist leader Kishenji said on Thursday their proposed dialogue with the Centre would take shape only after Dipak’s release. “We will spell out our terms and conditions in the next couple of days,” he said.
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