Almost pushed to the walls by the ongoing Operation Green Hunt—an all-out offensive by security forces — against them, Maoists are now focusing on recruiting young bloods in Bihar’s Gaya district.

Police on Friday recovered posters and handbills of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), a splinter group of CPI (Maoist), inviting applications from interested boys and girls to join their “armed class struggle to liberate the downtrodden and the poor from the fiefdom of landlords”.

The PLGA posters and the handbills were recovered by security men near a government middle school at Guria village in Imamganj police station area, about 80 km from Gaya town.

Issued by the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee of the PLGA, the posters have set a deadline for recruitment. The “interested college and school students” have been asked to submit their applications between December 2 and January 2. The posters have also called for support from farmers and the working class and requested them to join their week-long 18th foundation day celebrations, concluding on December 8.

The police said they had started investigation to arrest PLGA men and their supporters aiding and abetting the Maoist outfit.

“It is for the first time that the Maoists have launched a recruitment drive in Gaya district through posters and pamphlets. We have taken a serious view of the development and efforts are on to trace the people trying to revive Maoist outfits,” a senior Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer, requesting anonymity, said.

Gaya city superintendent of police Anil Kumar Singh also said that such posters had surfaced in the district for the first time. “This is a serious matter and there is an urgent need to initiate stern action. Central forces and district police have been watching the development and evolving strategy to counter such move,” the City SP said.

With the top leadership on the run owing to the Operation Green Hunt, the organisation was taking up intensive recruitment drive to fill the gap, another officer said.

He said security forces had been successful in containing Maoist violence through a combination of rapid socio-economic development measures, improved intelligence gathering and operational skills. Their outer network had been destroyed and they were now keen to rebuilt it, the officer added.

Meanwhile, fear had gripped villagers of Imamganj and Dumaria blocks areas after the PLGA posters surfaced. However, patrolling by Central forces and district police have instilled a sense of security among the villagers to a great extent.

First Published: Dec 01, 2018 12:29 IST