Thursday, Apr 18, 2024 | Last Update : 10:43 AM IST
Maoists formed anti-fascist front to tackle BJP, says cop
Kadam had looked over the operation in which Pune police had arrested five activists.
Pune: The Pune joint commissioner of police, Ravindra Kadam on Thursday claimed that in 2015, the Maoists allegedly established an anti-fascist front to work against the increasing influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and state-level.
“The anti-fascist front has availed of all the funding to Elgar Parishad. We have over 200 letters that establish the fact that Maoists were behind organising and funding the Elgar. The letters also reveal their plan to spread violence,” Mr Kadam claimed.
Mr Kadam had looked over the operation in which Pune police had arrested five activists Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson having alleged links with Maoists. The police discovered the Maoist links of the arrested while probing whether the alleged provocative speeches made by guests at Elgar Parishad held on December 31, 2017 had caused riots in Bhima Koregoan on January 1, 2018.
Mr Kadam said, “Three letters that got leaked, including the one that had mention of Maoists’ alleged plot to carry out assassination like that of Rajiv Gandhi having mention of Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi, are among 200-250 letters. We had seized all laptops, computers, hard discs and all material from houses of these activists and the operation was video-graphed. Later the material was handed over to the forensic lab that made copies of all the documents.”
“The Communist Party of India (Maoists) in 2005 had begun recruiting cadres from urban areas through united front. They targeted students and labourers.”
“In 2014, after BJP came to power at Centre, the central committee of the CPI(M) could see the threat to their existence and hence they created another anti-fascist front. This front would mobilise support and then recruited victims of right wing policies as their cadres,” Mr Kadam added.
When asked about the letter in which plot to kill Mr Modi was mentioned, Mr Kadam said, “We had to explain this confidential information to the court in order to get police custody of the arrested. We have been probing the matter further.”
