Dreaded Maoist Kundan Pahan in police custody, cops tightlipped

Kundan Pahan, the once dreaded CPI (Maoist) commander infamous for mercilessly killing police officers and his bete noires in the organisation as well as civil society, has walked out of the jungle and has voluntarily landed in the police hands.

Though police are tightlipped about his surrender, HT has learnt from his close aides in his village and former colleagues in the rebel organisation that Pahan had laid down arms before senior police and IB officials around a week back. He is being interrogated at secluded places and asked to make his other former colleagues in the rebel group, who reported into him, to surrender.

Reliable sources in Tamar, a LWE hit block in Ranchi district, told HT that Pahan has been seen moving in police vans over the last couple of days. An influential politician of the locality said, “He had made up his mind to surrender long time back. Hence, his surrender is no surprise development.”

HT had met Pahan in 2016 in his stronghold besides the picturesque Dassam Fall. He seemed disgruntled by the organisation and had spoken about severing ties with the revolutionary outfit. However, he didn’t let the correspondent feel that he had already walked out of the organisation.

On his request, HT had withheld publishing his photograph and excerpts of the informal chat.

His elder brother, Dimba Pahan, who was Maoists powerful Jharkhand Regional Committee (JRC) member, had also surrendered last year.

Around 40 years of age, dark, tall and healthy, Pahan carries a booty Rs 15 lakh on his head. He joined the rebel outfit in 2000 following a land dispute with influential people in his village Arki. He shifted to Bundu where he allegedly spilled the first blood of a Manki, head of a cluster of villages.

He soon became a sub-zone followed by a zonal commander in-charge of Bundu and Porahat areas. He was also shifted to Saranda, which was once the regional headquarters of Maoists in Eastern India, where he claimed to have trained with former Nepal President and Maoist leader Prachanda among others.

His became an internal terror when he allegedly beheaded special branch inspector, Francis Induwar, in Taliban style in 2009 for spying in his liberated zone. Worse in a daredevilry, he seized a cash van of ICICI bank from NH-33 in 2008 and vanished with the vehicle along with cash in the jungle.

“When he killed the inspector and we waged an all out war against him, his family members came to me offering to negotiate for his surrender. I had tried my best to bring him out of the jungle when I was in-charge of the special branch but couldn’t succeed,” ADG Rezi Dungdung said.