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Naxalite vendetta
The Naxalite attack on Sunday may have been an act of revenge for the arrest of Bandra resident and alleged Maoist Arun Ferreira, reports Presley Thomas.
The Naxalite attack on Sunday may have been an act of revenge for the arrest of Bandra resident and alleged Maoist Arun Ferreira.
Police sources said the aim of the attack was to target the police officer, who had been instrumental in getting Ferreira arrested two years ago.
Sources refused to give the name of the officer for obvious security reasons.
The officer is safe, as he did not handle the operations on Sunday. Also, the Maoists could not gather specific information about the targeted officer’s whereabouts.
The officer had reportedly gathered information about Ferreira which later led to his arrest at Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur in 2007.
“Ferreira, for the Maoists, was a very important leader in the region,” said a police official. “Also, his arrest had led to 10 other major arrests in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur region.”
The Naxalite attack in Markegaon village on Sunday had killed 15 police personnel.
Meanwhile, an operation codenamed — Operation Parakaram in Gadhchiroli — the Crack-60 commando force along with other reinforcements have been sent into the forests of Gadchiroli to flush out the Maoists.
Apart from Ferreira, sources said the daredevil officer had been instrumental in arresting a few mid-rung Maoists cadre from Gadchiroli district.
The attack was planned in advance.
The Naxalites burnt three vehicles in Markegaon village to make the police react and expected the officer to lead the team to the village.
A police team from Katgul first reached the spot on Sunday morning. The Maoists, who had waited for three days in Markegaon, were informed about the movement of the police.
The crackdown on Ferreira and others Naxalites had dented the morale of the Maoists, and had affected recruitment drives in the region. “The turn of events in the last two years had made it necessary for the Maoists to make their presence felt,” said a senior commando.
