The Maoists use red-hot iron rods on new recruits to put initials of their “area of operation” and the “number of their squad” on the right arm below the elbow.
Usually a “cut mark on the right eyebrow” or a “birth impression on the forehead” is enough for identification to satisfy employers. But the CPI(Maoist) is no ordinary employer.
The Maoist group has evolved a special “identification mark” system for recruiting guerrillas into its special action squad (SAS).
An SAS member has to bear the pain of his or her being “special”.
The Maoists use red-hot iron rods on new recruits to put initials of their “area of operation” and the “number of their squad” on the right arm below the elbow.
For example, if the area of operation of a particular member is Bhalukbasha forest in West Midnapore district of West Bengal and the number of the squad is 10, the “tattoo” on his arm or her arm would be BWM10. The branding job, in most cases, is done by the commander of the squad.
The civil society may call it torture, but for the ultra-Left guerrillas, it’s a matter of pride. Arrested SAS guerrilla Sushil Hembram, 19, has revealed this to the criminal investigation department (CID) of West Bengal.
He was arrested from Bankura late on Friday night. Hembram was brainwashed to join the Maoists when he was in Class VII. He received arms training at Bhalukbasha forest in West Midnapore.
CID sources said that after excelling in initial training programme, he was sent for special assault training. He was then included in the SAS.
“He confessed that before being fully inducted in the SAS, the special identification mark was put on his right arm by an area commander. He showed us the mark,” a CID official said.
Hembram also confessed that currently the special action squads in Bengal have a lot of members who are below 18. Hembram himself was one of the most-wanted Maoists and was involved in a number of abduction and insurgency cases.
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