Maoist strategist held in Bengal
Bikram alias Arnab Dam, a West Bengal state committee member of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and considered the party’s top strategist in the state, has been arrested and sent to police custody.
“Bikram alias Arnab Dam has been remanded in seven days’ police custody by a court,” Midnapore Range Deputy Inspector General L.N. Meena said Tuesday.
“He was arrested late Monday night close to the Biramdihi railway station in a jungle near the Purulia-Jharkhand border. He is suspected to be involved in many violent activities,” said Meena.
The security forces have been looking for Bikram, who headed the dreaded Ayodhya Hills squad of Purulia district and is accused of being involved in many incidents of violence.
He is wanted in connection with several killings, including that of Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Ajit Singh, Trinamool Congress leader Jitu Singh Sardar and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspector Partha Biswas in October 2010 in Purulia district.
Bikram, secretary of the Communist Party of India-Maoist Bihar Jharkhand Orissa Regional Border Committee, is considered the party’s top strategist in West Bengal after its politburo member Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, who was gunned down last November.
A massive manhunt was launched by the security forces after intelligence inputs pointed towards Bikram’s presence in the area.
“An AK-47 rifle, some ammunition and a still camera have been seized from him. He was produced before a court which remanded him in seven days’ police custody,” said Meena.
The son of a retired judge and an Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur dropout, Bikram was active along the West Bengal-Jharkhand border in Purulia.
Bikram is wanted by police forces to stand trial in over 80 cases in various districts of West Bengal and Jharkhand.
He was also assigned by the CPI-Maoist with communicating with the outside world.
In a signed letter in 2011, Bikram claimed that the Maoists had participated alongside the Trinamool Congress in the protest movements in Nandigram, Singur and Lalgarh.