After coming to know that the Maoists have procured latest communication gadgets, the police has now stumbled upon the details of the fund-raising that the Maoists have been doing through extortions in Jangalmahal. Sources in the military intelligence added that the Maoists are now targeting traders and businessmen in Kolkata, shifting their base from Jangalmahal. Their sole purpose is to buy modern arms and ammunitions to sustain their extremist movement, besides providing treatment and welfare to their leaders and cadres, the Special Task Force (STF) officers of the Kolkata police informed.
In what has come as a stunning revelation, the arrested Maoist state secretary, Kanchan has disclosed to his interrogators that they had extorted around `3 crores in the past eight months as levies from the common people and businessmen, threatening them at gun-point. Whoever turned down their demands met with death.
The figure in the last fiscal was as hefty as around `5 crores, revealed an STF officer. Out of it, `3 crores came from the three districts — West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia — in Jangalmahal alone, he added.
Interrogating Kanchan, the police has further learnt that the members of two powerful Maoist regional units — Bhagirothi Tista regional committee and Bengal Jharkhand Orissa regional committee — have been entrusted with the task of extorting money. Keeping nearly 70 per cent of the money with them, its members send the rest to their leaders.
The STF has also found the existence of an account at a public bank in the name of “Shubhendu” at Chandernagore in Hooghly. Kanchan had opened this bank account to stash the collected levies.