Maoists call Mar 1 bandh across state

REACTION TO ENCOUNTER Allege ‘ cold blooded murder’ of zonal commander by forces; schools, weddings exempted

RANCHI: The Maoists Koel Sankh Regional Committee has called a Jharkhand bandh on March 1 to protest the alleged ‘cold blooded’ murder of their zonal commander, Sanjay Yadav by security forces.

A spokesperson f or t he underground outfit spoke to Hindustan Times on Sunday and said t hat f orces f i rst nabbed and then killed Yadav, also known as alias Yatin or Mantri, rejecting police claims that that they had killed the zonal commander in a fierce encounter.

Yatin carried a reward of ` 10 lakh on his head.

He was one of the top Maoist leaders in Jharkhand.

“Security forces are creating havoc in the villages, bullying people in order to keep them from supporting us (Maoists). They are also spreading negative propaganda against us. But all their efforts are failing as the masses continue to support us,” said the spokesman, who identified himself as ‘comrade’ Shakti, to Hindustan Times.

T he Maoist spokesman, however, stressed that wedding processions, schools and colleges would be exempted from the bandh.

The Maoists, of late, have been constantly on the backfoot in the state, as security forces have dented their support base in rural areas and broken their supply chain network i n most of t heir strongholds.

Over the last year, the forces have either arrested or killed at least a dozen top Maoist commanders, while a couple of them have opted to surrender.

The spokesman i nsisted to Hindustan Times that the Maoists continue to have a strong presence in their bastions and are always ready to give a fitting response to the forces whenever they are attacked.

“Our forces have not been depleted. They might kill us but they cannot kill our ideology. More and more youngsters are joining our brigade to protect villagers’ land and minerals from being usurped by the capitalists and statesupported armed groups,” the spokesman said.

Police said they did not have any information about a bandh called by the Maoists.

Security forces are creating havoc in the villages, bullying people to keep them from supporting us. They are also spreading negative propaganda against us. But all their efforts are failing SHAKTI, Maoist spokesman