With a post-Diwali offensive against Maoists due soon, the police scored another success as the state criminal investigation department (CID) nabbed Chhatradhar Mahato, the public face of the people’s movement at Lalgarh.
As part of the ploy to catch the 44-year-old Mahato, a CID officer had posed as a journalist eager to interview him at Beerkand village, about 250 km west of Kolkata.
Mahato is the leader of the Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) at Lalgarh. Though officially he is not a member of the CPI (Maoist), the PCAPA is believed to be propped up by the Maoists.
Last Sunday, the police had arrested Kobad Ghandy, a top Maoist leader, in Delhi.