Asim Mandal, also known as Akash, is the top Maoist talks with the Kolkata Police Special Task Force (STF) under the West Bengal Government in Purba Medinipur district. Mandal is a member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee, and a secretary of CPI (Maoist) West Bengal State Committee-I. It’s said that he was on the loose from law enforcement for over 15 years in forests in several states.
The arrest was made in Patashpur district in East Midnapore, while the security forces stepped up their operations in the area after remaining Maoist cells of West Bengal are also in the neighboring state of Jharkhand. West Bengal chief Suvendu Adhikari praised the Kolkata police’s STF for tracking and arresting Mandal saying it was the outcome of “technical intelligence” and police coordination.
Security forces were actively scouring for Maoist leaders such as Mandal in the area. It was reported that a reward of over ₹2.20 crore was placed on his head by Jharkhand and Odisha governments.
His arrest comes in the wake of a series of stepped-up anti-Mao operations in Jharkhand. In July, Maoist Politburo member Misir Besra was arrested in Dhanbad and in the ongoing operations, several more cadres were arrested, killed or surrendered themselves.
The state government “will not tolerate any efforts to revive or expand” the Maoist network in West Bengal, Adhikari said. He also disclosed extremism would not have the capacity to pose a danger to the public, or to hinder the development of the State.
Mandal’s arrest is an important development in an unstoppable security sweep of CPI (Maoist) networks in eastern India, specifically in West Bengal-Jharkhand border area, the report said.