Maoists wage pamphlet, poster war with security forces on bandh day

NAGPUR: The Maoists in Gadchiroli, unlike during the failed bandh call on May 4 to protest the Boriya-Kasnasur encounters, showed some desperation during Thursday’s bandh to make their presence felt by distributing pamphlets and erecting posters in some places. They also blocked some roads, including the Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh) state highway. However, no untoward incident or violence was reported during the Maoist bandh anywhere in the district.
The pamphlets, which were found strewn on the main Tadgaon Road in Bhamragarh tehsil, urged the masses to support them in their protest against the C-60 commandos gunning down 40 of their cadres in the April encounters. In South Gadchiroli, such pamphlets were found near Gatta in Etapalli taluka.

Some roads in the interiors were closed by the Maoists by felling trees or tying banners across the roads. Most banners of the Maoists, bearing the name of the banned outfit’s Western sub-zonal committee, had the names of their ‘martyrs’ like Shrinu, Sainath, Nandu, Lata, Shanta and others, trying to incite the emotions of the tribals regarding these leaders.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses had suspended services for the day. Private vehicles ferrying villagers too had discontinued services fearing Maoist threats. The traders, especially in the remote villages, kept their shops closed. The shops at the main centres like Aheri, Etapalli, Alapalli and such places, however, remained open.

The pamphlets, which caused the most furore, were found near the river close to Gurwala village, between Gadchiroli and Potegaon. The place where the pamphlets were found is barely a couple of kilometres away from Gadchiroli police headquarters. In the past, Maoists have not been known to come so close to the police headquarters. A Maoist banner was also found strung on the Potegaon bridge.

Though the Maoists had specifically mentioned Gadchiroli in their bandh call, pamphlets were also traced near Rajoli village at Bharnoli in Gondia district.

SP Gadchiroli Abhinav Deshmukh said the Maoists have started using bikes to visit different places, where they either leave behind posters or pamphlets, and also undertake some actions. “The Maoists have tried to prove their presence through posters and pamphlets, but could not prevail upon the security forces other than spreading their propaganda,” he said. The SP sounded upbeat as the reds could not muster enough courage to take on the security forces, nor could it trap them.

Sources from the district said the Maoists had affected trade between the two states by blocking the Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon Road by felling trees across it. At many places in north Gadchiroli, the Maoists had distributed pamphlets and also put up posters.

In a freshly issued press release, the Maharashtra state committee has urged the tribal population and others in the urban centres to condemn the encounters of April, and asked them to observe the period between May 5 and 12 as ‘Pratirodh saptah’ or week of resistance.