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Top Maoist leader Prashant Bose nabbed in Jharkhand
An intelligence official said that Bose had been arrested for the first time and police were trying to work on leads provided by him during his interrogation. The arrest comes in the backdrop of a series of reverses the Maoists have faced in several states.
The Jharkhand police late on Thursday night arrested a senior Maoist leader, Prashant Bose alias Kisan Da (81) after specific inputs from intelligence agencies. But, police officials are tight-lipped about the arrest as of now
The arrest of Bose, also known as Nirbhay, Kajal, Budha and Maneesh, is possibly a big blow to the Maoist movement, as he is alleged to be the head of the Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), which includes Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Bose hails from the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
People in the intelligence agency familiar with the development said that Bose, along with his wife Sheela Marandi, was arrested between Jamshedpur and Saraikela when they were on their way to Saranda forest to attend a secret meeting.
Bose, who has been underground for over three decades, is one of the senior most Maoist leaders and currently held the charge of central committee member, central military commission and politburo member, while his wife is believed to be a member of the central committee. She is a native of Dhanbad.
An intelligence official said that Bose had been arrested for the first time and police were trying to work on leads provided by him during his interrogation. The arrest comes in the backdrop of a series of reverses the Maoists have faced in several states, notwithstanding their capabilities to inflict deadly blows on security forces in Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar.
According to the police, Bose was also the former chief of the Maoist Communist Centre of India and was one of the ideologues, who oversaw the reunification of the revolutionary forces, which led to formation of the CPI (Maoist).
Bose had suffered paralysis earlier and he is unable to move anywhere on his own. “His associates were taking him to a safe place but he was nabbed midway,” the official said.
The arrest of the duo will have an impact on the morale of the Maoist cadre and the revolutionary activity in north India.
However, SSP (Jamshedpur) Dr M Tamil Vanan denied that Bose had been arrested in his jurisdiction. Saraikela SP Anand Prakash said over the phone that in case of Bose‘s arrest, he would be informed immediately.
ADG (Operation), Bihar, SM Khopde said in the last five years no cases have been registered against Bose, but he was trying to gather details from concerned districts. He, however, said that he had got news about Bose’s arrest from the media and not from his Jharkhand counterparts.
