India news - Maoists may become biggest challenge in North East India

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The Arrest of top Maoist leader Aditya Bora, who was evading arrest since 2011, has revealed that the outfit has already established three leading committees in Assam — Upper Assam Leading Committee, Middle Assam Leading Committee and Lower Ass-am Leading Committee.

Disclosing that the Maoists have identified seven strategic areas in India, out of which two are the corridors stretching between West Bengal-Assam and Manipur-Tripura, authoritative security sources told this newspaper that the rapid expansion of the Maoists in the northeastern states could soon become one of the most challenging internal security menaces for security forces.

Aditya Bora, 41, who jumped the bail to rejoin his Maoist activities in 2011, was arrested with his two associates from Khakandaguri area under the Dergaon police station in Golaghat district of Assam on Wednesday.

The confession of Aditya Bora in police custody has revealed that they have been trying to rope in trained cadres from five adivasi militant outfits of tea garden workers and adivasi currently in ceasefire mode in Assam.

Indicating that inordinate delay in granting Schedule Tribe status to tea garden workers and adivasi was causing unrest among cadres of five militant outfits, security sources said that Aditya Bora and his associates were trying to capitalise it by motivating them to join the Left-wing extremist (LWE) groups.

Another set of people, which was on the radar of the LWE groups in Assam, was the flood victims of Majuli River Island and Dhemaji district, security sources said, adding that since the arrest of Aklanta Rabha in 2012, the Lower Assam Leading Commi-ttee (LALC) was dormant but two other committees were active in their areas.

Informing that security forces have been trying to bust some of the connections of Aditya Bora in New Delhi and outside the state as well, security sources said that interest of the LWE groups in the Northeast was also because of easy availability of arms. Security sources said that confession of Aditya Bora has revealed that he was not having cordial relationship with elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah who was highly upset with his activities in Upper Assam districts.

Security sources, however, said that the Maoists have been trying to forge, at least, tactical alliances with major armed insurgent group of the Northea-st, but they are yet to asc-ertain its present status.