Maoist from Mumbai held in Delhi

A top Maoist politburo member, who hails from a wealthy Parsi family in Mumbai; studied in Doon School and Elphinstone College before getting his accountancy degree from London, was trying to set up a base for his party in the nation’s capital when he was arrested, said the Delhi police.

Khobad Ghandy, 58, was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police on Sunday, from Bhikaji Cama Place in South Delhi. The policemen were tipped off about him by the Jharkhand police. “This is the first time such a senior Maoist leader has been arrested. Ghandy was a frequent visitor to the city,” said a police officer. “Interrogation is in progress.”

Ghandy is known to be a senior member of the CPI (Maoist) politburo. He is one of the 13 senior most members of the extremist organisation in the country. He was produced in court on Tuesday, and was remanded in 14-day judicial custody.

“Ghandy was in charge of the outfit’s publication wing, which was trying to spread the organisation’s influence in urban areas,” said a source.

Ghandy was among the several urban educated youth, who had gone to rural India to take part in an armed revolution. Their aim was to salvage the situation for the under-privileged. Most of them gave up midway. Ghandy and his wife, Anuradha, were among the rare urban elites who continued to be active in the Naxal movement. Anuradha, who hailed from a rich Karnataka family, and was a professor of sociology in Nagpur university, died of cerebral malaria a few months ago.

Ghandy’s family, said sources in Mumbai, deals in antique furniture at Worli Sea Face. It also has an ice-cream business and owns a resort in Mahabaleswar. Delhi police said that Ghandy was in touch with extremist groups abroad. “We’ll try to know from him whether the Left extremists have already set up a base in Delhi, and are planning some kind of action,” said a police officer.