Gadchiroli Encounter: Following Several Killings, Maoist Had Called Secret Meeting to Boost Self Confidence of Its Activists

To create a good impression among the common village people the Maoists group has set up its own people’s court through which gives punishment to the village money lenders, ‘corrupted forest personnel, school teachers and other government employees of the region, reports said.

Written by: India.com News Desk

Updated: April 25, 2018, 2:01 PM IST

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File Image of security forces during an anti-Naxal operation.

New Delhi, April 25: Witnessing the killing of several activists in the gun-battle with the Maharashtra Police in the recent months, the Maoists on Sunday had called a secret meeting in the Rela-Kasnasur jungle in Gadchiroli district to boost the self – confidence of its comrades and to discuss about the target for raising protection money from tendu leaf (BEEDI) contractors.

But, as soon a hint about the meeting reached the cops, they deployed a special commando unit of Maharashtra police which rounded up the meeting site and started a gun battle in which 16 Naxalites were killed. According to reports, After the 16 deaths, 15 more bodies of the Maoist have been recovered by the police, taking the death toll to 31 in the encounter list.

According to the media reports, People residing in the region said the Maoists raises an amount of around Rs 30 crore from Gadchioli, Gondia and Chandrapur districts, Maharashtra every year during the beedi leaf plucking season between April and June. They also collect money from the forest and road contractors. This year, the target of the Communist Party of India- Maoist was to collect a minimum amount of Rs 50 crore through the tendu (beedi) leaf contractors. (Also read https://www.india.com/news/india/gadchiroli-encounter-15-dead-maoists-fished-out-of-indravati-river-toll-climbs-to-37-3018317/)

The Maoists use a huge part of this amount to buy arms and ammunition including AK-47 assault rifles. The reports say that the rebels face difficulty to keep a large amount of cash and mostly, they hide the money in the aluminium containers or bury deep in the forests. Reports also say that many Maoist activists steal the money and run away.

The CPI (M) rebels are active in the Gadchiroli region since 1980 and later spread to Gondia, Chandrapur, Bhandara and few parts of Yavatmal district, bordering Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the South Gadchiroli region is the main centre for the Maoists of Maharashtra.

The Maoists of the former Peoples’ War Group (PWG) smartly exploited the backwardness of these areas to strengthen the organisation, by paying very less amount to the beedi leaf collectors. The Maoists only pay Rs 4 for 100 bundles. They also reportedly used to force the leaf Contractors to hike the number of bundles to Rs 200-Rs 250 per 100 bundles.

To create a good impression among the common village people the Maoists group has set up its own people’s court through which gives punishment to the village money lenders, ‘corrupted forest personnel, school teachers and other government employees of the region, reports said.