Police arrest suspected Maoist and arms supplier

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police special cell arrested a 48-year-old suspected Maoist from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra Saturday on alleged charges of supplying illegally-procured ammunition to Maoists operating in the area, the police said Sunday.

The accused, Ajeet Roy, is said to be a key aide of and main supplier of illegally procured ammunition to Narmada Akka, alias Alluri Usha Rani, a senior Maoist leader, Delhi Police officials said.

The police recovered 45 INSAS and self-loading rifle (SLR) cartridges, used by security forces, from Roy, against whom the Delhi Police had declared a ₹2 lakh reward.

The police said Roy, a civil contractor in Gadchiroli, who joined the CPI (Maoist) in the early 90s, was allegedly involved in unlawful activities in Odisha and Maharashtra. He had allegedly been supplying illegally procured ammunition to Maoists for almost 25 years, the police claimed.

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said Roy was also a key ammunition supplier to the CPI (Maoist)’s Perimili Dalam group, led by commander Sainath alias Dolesh Madhi Atram, who was killed along with top Maoist commander Vijendra Ramlu and 38 others by the Gadchiroli Police during anti-maoists operations in April this year.

“After the death of Sainath, Narmada Akka took the charge and became the military commander of Gadchiroli division of the CPI (Maoist). Roy became a key aide of hers and the main supplier of ammunition. The Delhi Police had charge-sheeted Narmada Akka in the case in which a Delhi University professor and others were arrested for links with Maoists in 2014. She was not arrested,” Kushwah said.

Kushwah said Roy’s arrest came following the interrogations of Ram Krishna Singh and Sanjay Singh, who were arrested between July and October this year, for allegedly supplying illegally procured cartridges to Maoists in Gadchiroli.

“Interrogations revealed that they illegally procured cartridges from contacts in Bihar’s Arrah and used to supply them to Maoist commanders through their contacts in Gadchiroli. Ajeet Roy’s name cropped up during their interrogation and further investigations,” Kushwah said.