Chhatradhar Mahato, an influential tribal chief and an energetic employee of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Jangalmahal, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday in a case associated to the hijacking of the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Rajdhani Express in October 2009, an company official informed News18.
Mahato, a former Naxal chief, “was arrested around 4am from his residence in Amliya in Lalgarh police station”, the official stated.
The case includes 500 suspected Maoist cadres laying siege to the premium practice on October 27, 2009, close to the Banstala station in Jhargram, demanding the discharge of Mahato, who was then behind the bars. The practice was underneath their management for round 5 hours, earlier than Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and state police commandos reached the spot and compelled the hijackers to retreat.
NIA is more likely to produce in court docket pictures of graffiti written on the practice in assist of Mahato, alongside different items of proof. The company’s first info report (FIR) contains Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 121 and 121A (waging warfare in opposition to India), 506 (prison intimidation), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 148 (rioting), in addition to costs underneath the Railway Act.
The TMC raised questions over the timing of Mahato’s arrest, which got here a day after the primary section of elections in West Bengal. While a number of seats in the Jangalmahal space went to polls on Saturday, some are but to vote. Observers really feel that chief minister Mamata Banerjee has roped in each Mahato, who has actively campaigned for the TMC in Jangalmahal, and his spouse Niyati to strengthen the occasion in tribal dominated-areas, the place the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained a foothold in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“He was evasive during questioning”, and due to this fact the choice to arrest him was taken, the NIA official informed News18. “NIA allowed him to exercise his democratic right to vote. He also continued his electioneering process uninterrupted,” the official added.
Mahato can also be underneath the scanner for the homicide of a Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), chief in Lalgarh on June 14, 2009. Back then, he was the convener of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), believed to be a frontal organisation of the outlawed CPI(Maoist).
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh stated: “The matter is sub-judice and I will not be able to comment on this…But yes, the timing of his arrest is questionable as polling in all the Jangalmahal seats are not yet over.”
Mahato was the face of an alleged Maoist-backed tribal agitation in Bengal’s Jangalmahal from 2008 to 2011. He launched the Lalgarh motion underneath the banner of PCAPA after police carried out raids at a number of tribal properties and arrested a big quantity of native residents, allegedly with none proof. Under his management, Lalgarh was a so-called “liberated zone”, posing a problem to the then Left authorities, till Mahato’s arrest underneath the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in 2009.
BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya stated: “There are several charges against him…I don’t see any political angle behind his arrest.”
Mahato was first arrested on September 26, 2009 by the state’s CID (prison investigation division) from Jhargram for an alleged try on the life of then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on November 2, 2008. In September 2012, the Calcutta High Court declared him a political prisoner. On February 1, 2020, he was launched from jail after remaining behind the bars for 11 years.
After his launch, CM Banerjee introduced his identify as a key employee who would take care of the welfare of tribal folks in Jangalmahal. His spouse Niyati welcomed the choice. During her husband’s jail time period, Niyati was actively concerned in social work in Jhargram. Later, the state authorities nominated Niyati as a member of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights in West Bengal. She can also be the member of Rajya Samaj Kalyan Parishad in Jhargram district that tackles Corona-related instances.
