All-out efforts are being made to learn the sources of income of Maoists, who have managed to spread their network in almost 14 districts of the state.
Poppy is cultivated on unclaimed land in Orissa, making arrests difficult
BHUBANESWAR: How do Maoists manage to fund the largescale recruitment and training of their cadres? A question which has for long perplexed Orissa police, whose morale was badly affected after Maoists recently launched a successful attack on police stations and armouries in Nayagarh.
All-out efforts are being made to learn the sources of income of Maoists, who have managed to spread their network in almost 14 districts of the state.
Intelligence sources said that Maoists have started collecting ‘chandas’ from mine owners in the state. This was confirmed after Jajpur police arrested dreaded Maoists Anna Reddy and his beloved from a city hospital. During the interrogation, they admitted they used to regularly collect chandas from mine owners in Kalinga Nagar areas, where Tata’s steel plant is coming up. This extortion has spread to other areas too.
Sources said police have been able to identify the leader, Sabyasachi Panda, who had planned the attack in Nayagarh. He used to come to Bhubaneshwar often to collect the protection money from mine owners. As mining is taking place in dense forest areas, mine owners have no other resort except to agree to the demands of Maoists.
Mine owners have been clearly instructed to ‘donate’ a certain percentage of their profit to the organisation. “Extremism has been overtaken by terrorism, mafia behaviour, and its leaders and cadres are indulging in extortions, drug trade, murder and rape,” admitted chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the assembly.
Another source of income for the red brigade is opium cultivation. Maoists encourage and sometimes force tribals to take up this illegal cultivation. Secretary-cum-commissioner, excise department, GVV Sharma, said: “Police can’t tell with certainty whether naxalites are involved in hemp cultivation or not. But such cultivation appears to taking place in a massive way in the dense forest areas.” DGP Gopal Nanda also refused to comment on the issue.
Sharma said that until Dec 2007, excise department officials with the help of police had destroyed hemp cultivation to the tune of Rs312 crore. Poppy was being cultivated in dense forest land, mostly Maoists dominated areas of Nayagarh, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Samablpur and Malkangiri.
Interestingly, the crop is never cultivated in private land. It is usually grown in land owned by the government or in the dense forest. “That is primarily the reason why we have not been able to arrest anyone in this connection. Since the land belongs to no one, it is difficult to ascertain who is behind the cultivation,” he said.
Another source of income for Maoists is demanding a ‘share’ from all developmental works being taken up in Maoist affected areas of the state. Generally, they charge 5-10% of the total outlay in any construction work being underatken in any territory dominated by them. Those who disobey have to pay a heavy price, said one contractor. Rural development minister Biswa Bhusan Hairchandan admitted that due to Maoist activities, developmental works under Pradhanmantri Grama Sadka Yojana have been affected to a certain extent.
subhashish_m@dnaindia.net
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