Arun Ferriera along with two of his associates were arrested by the Nagpur police for his alleged involvement in Naxal movement.
Residents of building no. 17-A on St. Martin’s road in Bandra (West) are in a state of shock. They still cannot believe that one of the residents – Arun Ferriera, a shy and homely man – has been arrested by the Nagpur police for his alleged involvement in Naxal movement. Arun Ferreira was arrested by the Nagpur police on Tuesday along with two of his associates.
“I have known Arun from the time he was born. I was shocked after two policemen knocked our door on Wednesday night around 11.30 pm and asked about Ferreira and his family. I then learnt that Arun has been arrested by the police in Nagpur for allegedly being a top Naxalite,” said VH Kapadia, a 65-year-old neighbour.
According to Kapadia, Arun was always known to them as a quiet and shy person, who would not mingle with anyone. He would keep to himself and was a loner. “He wanted to become a priest but his family was against it. He got married two years ago and has a child,” said Hema Kapadia, daughter of Kapadia.
Arun has six brothers and six sisters. He is the second eldest among the siblings. He graduated from the St Xavier’s College in Mumbai and after that took up social work.
Two of his brothers are priests and two sisters are nuns. There are eight flats in the building no. 17 on the St. Martin’s road in Bandra. The Ferriera’s occupy seven flats out of the eight, while one flat is owned by the Kapadia family.
The Ferriera family has been staying in the building for the last 43 years. When this reporter visited the building, all flats belonging to the Ferriera family were found locked.
Arun’s uncle Adrian Ferriera, who stays in the adjoining building, told DNA that the whole family had gone out of Mumbai on vacation. “They left 15 days ago. I don’t know when they will come back,’’ Adrian said. He said it was a huge shock to know that Arun had been arrested.
He is a prize catch, say police
Arun Ferreira was a member of the state committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) which clandestinely operates from Mumbai, top anti-Naxalite officials said on Thursday.
Ferreira is the also the first catch from the city in recent times to have had alleged Naxalite links. Ferreira is now being jointly interrogated by the Nagpur police and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). A source said Ferreira was sucked into the Naxalite movement in the 80s and might have “knowledge” of some of the recently drawn-up subversive pan-Maharashtra strategies of the Maoists.
He may have been assigned to carry out other functions apart from managing the propaganda aspect of the violent ultra-Left movement. “Ferreira by virtue of being a member of the Maoists’ state-level committee may be aware of the latest aims and moves of the ultra-Left guerrillas across the state,” said special inspector general (anti-Naxalite operations) Pankaj Gupta, who refused to divulge more information.
Investigating officers, however, believe his interrogation will reveal more information about the Maoist “inroads” inside and around urban centres like Mumbai, Nashik and Nagpur.
Director General of Police PS Pasricha said, “We can’t deny that the Maoist-Naxalites have begun targeting and penetrating newer areas.”
Anupam Dasgupta
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