South Delhi a safe haven for Maoists?

The arrest of three suspected Maoists in 24 hours has once again proved that Delhi is fast turning into a safe haven for these rebels. Call it coincidence or something else, most of the arrested outlaws used to live in south Delhi.

The arrest of three suspected Maoists in 24 hours has once again proved that Delhi is fast turning into a safe haven for these rebels. Call it coincidence or something else, most of the arrested outlaws used to live in south Delhi.

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“At least eight of the 12 arrested Maoists used to live in south Delhi. They would chose unauthorised colonies and won’t interact with their neighbours,” a senior police officer said. In the past one year, seven Maoists have been arrested from areas like Badarpur, Basant Gaon, Govindpuri and Katwaria Sarai.

Police say verification does not help as they normally furnish false details. Kobad Ghandy, a top Maoist leader, was arrested from Badarpur in 2009. He had been living in Delhi since 2006.

"Maoist activity in Delhi has increased only recently. Ghandy was the first one to be arrested. It’s not that they chose Delhi per se to live in, but the fact that metro cities spell safe hide-outs," the officer added.

“As long as these outlaws are not active, it becomes very difficult for us to trace them. It all depends on local intelligence, and inputs from the state police,” a Delhi police officer said.

Last year, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had alerted the police that Maoists are setting up bases in areas adjoining Badarpur and Faridabad. Police said the rebels’ presence is also being felt in NCR areas of Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra Hisar, Rohtak and Sonepat.

Following Ghandy’s arrest, Delhi Police had accepted in its chargesheet that they had identified two students who head the Maoist body in Delhi but had failed to arrest them.

“So far, they were using Delhi as hideout but recent arrests prove that Delhi is also being used to receive consignments of arms and ammunition. We will now be in regular touch with the police of Maoist-affected areas to gather relevant intelligence,” the officer added.