The Maoists have suddenly increased their activities across Bihar and Jharkhand since the beginning of this week mainly for recruitment of cadres and to collect levy from business houses operating in the two states’ interiors even as the police claimed to maintain vigil on the outlawed organisations.
Several Maoist outfits in Bihar and Jharkhand celebrated their foundation day with song and dance programmes attended by large numbers of local people not far from some district headquarters on Thursday, but the police forces remained either blissfully unaware or simply inactive.
The rebels also began an elaborate poster campaign in several parts of the two states asking people to join them and warning erring public servants and businessmen, said sources.
In Jharkhand’s Simdega district, hundreds of Maoists gathered along with local villagers at Kurushela village, nearly only 20 km off the district headquarters’ town, to celebrate their organisation’s foundation day.
“They sang pro-people and pro-rebellion songs that encouraged people to keep up the armed struggles against corrupt governments. This programme was led by area commander Khudajee among others,” said a well-informed source. Much-wanted Maoist leader Kundanjee led a similar celebration in Jharkhand’s Palamu district
In Bihar’s Motihari, an outlawed Maoist outfit called People’s Liberation Guerrillas (PLG) celebrated its foundation day and began a poster campaign to coincide with the celebrations.
The posters, pasted on walls of people’s home and government offices, urged young and adult people to join the outfit’s ranks. The police removed and seized these posters and said efforts were on to arrest the rebels.
Machinery belonging to a private road construction company was burnt down by the suspected Maoists at Lodipur village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district on Friday morning.
The rebels also pasted pamphlets on many walls in the area asking the company to pay levy, said the police. Two Maoists were arrested and a motorcycle was recovered from them at Amanpur Bazar in Bihar’s Banka district on Friday.