In a first, jailed Maoist leader Arnab Dam has cleared the State Eligibility Test (SET). Mr Dam, who was also known by his alias Bikram, was one of the high ranking Maoist leaders of West Bengal during the days of armed uprising in western part of the State, about a decade back.

He was also considered to be a leader close to slain Maoist Polit Bureau member, Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji.

Named in over two dozen cases, Mr. Dam is also an accused under sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, but continued with his studies since his arrest in 2012. Mr Dam completed his Masters degree from Indira Gandhi National Open University, following his arrest. In 1998, Mr. Dam dropped out of IIT-Kharagpur while studying mechanical engineering and joined the Communist party of India-Maoist [CPI-Maoist] and eventually worked out of Bengal-Jharkhand border.

While the civil rights group Association For Protection of Democratic Rights [APDR] earlier alleged that the jail authorities refused to cooperate with Mr Dam to complete studies, Bengal’s Correctional Services Minister Ujjal Biswas said that he is “glad” that Mr. Dam cleared SET. Clearance of SET may ensure a job of a lecturer for the 40-year-old former Maoist leader.