Jharkhand Police in a joint operation with Intelligence Bureau (IB) arrested top CPI (Maoist) leader Prashant Bose (75) alias Kishan Da, who is wanted in over 100 cases of Naxal violence including the Elgaar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case related to an alleged conspiracy to eliminate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was arrested on the basis of the intelligence inputs of IB. There was a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head.
Other than Bose, police arrested his wife Sheela Marandi (60) and their two associates on November 12 at Kandra toll plaza in Saraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. “We arrested them in the morning when they were travelling from Parasnath in Giridih district to Saranda forest area in West Singhbhum to hold the meeting of CPI (Maoist). They were travelling in an SUV. This is an important catch for security agencies as the Bose carrying a cash prize of Rs one crore on his head was the biggest leader of the organization. He was wanted by several state police and investigative agencies,” a senior IB official told OpIndia.
Bose wanted by NIA in the Elgaar Parishad case
Maoist Bose is known by different aliases like Manish Da, Kishan Da, Budha, Nirbhay, and he is currently holding the post of secretary of the Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) of CPI-Maoist. He is wanted by the National Investigation Agency in the Elgaar Parishad case.
He is accused of plotting to kill PM Modi on the basis of a ‘Maoist communication’ recovered from arrested accused Rona Wilson, he was booked by Pune police as accused number 15. The alleged Maoist communication mentioned a plot to kill the Prime Minister. Pune police had investigated it till the case was handed over to the NIA for a deep probe.
“Com Kisan and few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi Raj. We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance that we might fail, but we feel that the party PB/CC must deliberate over our proposal. Targeting his road shows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices,” the letter read.
Pune Police had claimed that ‘Com Kisan’ mentioned in the letter was Prashant Bose and subsequently in the charge sheet filed by Pune Police in 2018 he was named among the accused.
“Kishan alias Prashant Bose, secretary of ERB of CPI-Maoist, and other underground operatives hatched a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister of India and also participated in the process of procurement of huge arms and ammunition as part of the larger conspiracy of waging a war against the democratic system and Indian citizens,” the charge sheet reads.
Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case
The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case pertains to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada by Kabir Kala Manch called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. On the next day (January 1, 2018), violence took place at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had gathered to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army—comprising mostly soldiers from Dalit community—against the Peshwas in 1818. On January 8 Pune Police lodged an FIR and the probe revealed that the event was organised by urban Naxals. A number of Naxal ideologues and urban Naxals were arrested including Stan Swamy, Hany Babu, Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha.
Who is Prashant Bose
A native of Jadavpur of Bengal, Bose is a former student of Jadavpur University in Bengal. He joined the ultra left-wing outfit in 1996 and quickly rose in the organisational hierarchy. Besides being ERB secretary, he is the Polit Bureau member of CPI (Maoist) and overall in-charge of Jharkhand-Bihar Special Area Committee, Chhatisgadh Special Area Committee and Assam State Special Area Committee. After Polit Bureau member Kishanji Mahto was gunned down by CRPF in Burisole forest in West Midnapore district in Novermber 2011, Bose took over the control of the organisation. Over 100 armed squad of CPI (Maoist) used to protect him. Parasnath and Saranda were his operational area.
An official said that no weapon was recovered either from him or from his wife and associates. “He did not resist or tired to run away. Since 2017 he has been facing physical disability. But depsite this he was actively involved in planning and execution of Naxal activities. A few years ago the CRPF and Jharkhand Police had surrounded around 100 Naxals including him. He was carried away by armed Naxals on a palaquin,” the official told OpIndia.
