With police help, banned Naxal group takes on Maoists in Jharkhand
As coming-of-age rituals go, the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) couldn't have planned it better. Acting on intelligence by its cadre, it moved in on a group of Maoists in Chatra district's Lawalong Tola on the intervening night of March 27-28, killing 10. Among the dead was Lalesh Yadav, secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee, and his closest subordinates, thus leaving a vacuum at the heart of an organisation that has long challenged the police forces of Jharkhand and Bihar.
'There is no future. Either the Maoists will die, or I'
In his first media interaction ever, TSPC 'supreme commander' Gopal Singh Bhokta alias Brajesh Ganjhu denies his outfit was formed by Ganjhus (an SC community) against the Yadav-dominated CPI (Maoists). He claims their differences were ideological, that Maoists forced them to take up arms. Excerpts from an interview with Ashutosh Bhardwaj somewhere on the Jharkhand-Bihar border:
On charges of links with the police:
On the reason for parting of ways with Maoists:
On differences with Maoists:
On Maoists' offer of a 'ceasefire':
On giving up the gun:
On the way forward:
In the wake of that episode, the Jharkhand Police has denied allegations that the TSPC works with their tacit support. That's contrary to the evidence on the ground, which indicates that not only does the TSPC, or TPC as it is commonly known, work alongside government forces but that the special branch of the Jharkhand Police was instrumental in its creation back in 2002. This support has enabled the Jharkhand-government banned organisation to remain overground in Chatra's Lawalong block, where it is headquartered. It has won panchayat elections unopposed, established itself as a parallel power centre, and driven the Maoists out.
In Lawalong, only one man's writ counts. Officially, he is called Gopal Singh Bhokta. He is the up-pramukh (deputy president) of the Lawalong panchayat and owns the only institution in the block that teaches up to Class XII: the GSB Inter College, named after him. Villagers such as Baijnath Sahu, the vice-chairperson of the block, say he is much more to them: "Something like a Lok Sabha member or above." Only no one knows Bhokta as Bhokta. To both the state police and Lawalong, he is Brajesh Ganjhu or "Sardarji", the supreme commander of the TSPC.
The non-CPI (Maoist) groups, including the TSPC, accounted for 56 per cent of Jharkhand's left-wing extremist violence in 2012—the same year that the state topped the country in Maoist incidents (479) as well as deaths (162). Brajesh is not the only elected representative with a TSPC background. Mamta Devi, the president of the zila parishad (district council) who was elected unopposed from Lawalong, is the wife of TSPC 'zonal commander' Laxman Ganjhu alias Kohram. Neelam Devi, the chairperson of the block, is the wife of sub-zonal commander Ravinder Ganjhu alias Aakraman. Aakraman is believed to have led the latter half of the March 27-28 encounter, during which senior Maoist leaders were killed.
All eight of the panchayat presidents, their deputies and panchayat samiti members in the Lawalong block were elected unopposed in the November-December 2010 panchayat elections. Same was the case with the lone block representative to the zila parishad and almost all the 80 ward members for the block's 103 villages. It's a nearly 100-strong community of the "nirvirodhi (unopposed)". The TSPC has long been accused of being close to the administration and the state police. At Lawalong, the TSPC is the administration.
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The seeds of the TSPC's birth were sown in early 2002 in an act of "tactical" kindness. The police were at the time hot on the heels of Brajesh, then a 'platoon commander' with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). "He was a terror. Along with Mukesh, another 'platoon commander', he seized the most police weapons," says a source. The police got a breakthrough when they came to know that Brajesh's father was severely ill. "We took the father to hospital and made sure he got treatment," says a policeman, aware of the developments. According to him, that proved the turning point. "Brajesh phoned us, crying. He kept repeating that he did not know that policemen could be humane. We used the opportunity to get closer to him. Eventually, we convinced him to leave the organisation," the police official says. One of the clinching arguments was that the people of the area were not benefitting from the levy being collected by the MCC, and that the money was all being transferred to West Bengal, where the outfit had its origins.
Brajesh left, provoking the MCC into a backlash. "The Maoists held a jan adalat and decided that Brajesh had to die. The villagers came to his help, and the MCC started attacking the people of his community—the Scheduled Caste Ganjhus." Around the end of 2002, Brajesh came to the police for help. "We told him we would help him if he does something in return," says the policeman. According to the official, "We also arranged for Brajesh to meet a senior officer. He already had guns; we gave him another Rs 80,000. Some officers arranged for rifles. Thus the TSPC was born, with 140 of his boys switching over from the MCC to Brajesh's side." Another version says the TSPC was formed in 2004-2005, but it is likely they became active in early 2005. They now have an estimated cadre strength of 450-750.
Jharkhand's Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar denies any TSPC-police links, saying they treat them "like any other extremist group". "They are a splinter group of the CPI (Maoist), which has been involved in internecine clashes. Without them, the Maoists just accounted for 44 per cent of Naxal violence last year," he says... Read more
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-police-help-banned-naxal-group-takes-on-maoists-in-jharkhand/1105385/0In his first media interaction ever, TSPC 'supreme commander' Gopal Singh Bhokta alias Brajesh Ganjhu denies his outfit was formed by Ganjhus (an SC community) against the Yadav-dominated CPI (Maoists). He claims their differences were ideological, that Maoists forced them to take up arms. Excerpts from an interview with Ashutosh Bhardwaj somewhere on the Jharkhand-Bihar border:
"Not a single policeman was present there (at the March 27-28 encounter)... In fact, the first casualty was ours. If anyone has a doubt, check the satellite cameras—I am sure people have it at every place these days."
"People say Ganjhus defected on caste grounds against Yadavs. Nonsense! Many front soldiers of the CPI (Maoist) are Ganjhus and the TSPC has many leaders of other castes. It was purely an ideological divide as the Maoists had deviated from their path and come to indulge in plain violence without mass movement... Yes, the system is bad. So let's change it, but why violence?"
"Maoists apne hi bhai hain, bhatak gaye hain (The Maoists are our own brothers, they have just lost the way). If a brother kills a brother, does he become an enemy? He still remains a brother."
"What will happen with a ceasefire? They will continue to kill innocent people and spread terror. Ceasefire will be meaningful only when they completely denounce violence."
"We do not want violence, but the moment we lay down arms, they (Maoists) will kill us. If they get satisfied by killing me, I am ready to sacrifice myself. But they will not, so I am forced to fight, even teach my son to fight... Who with a family would like to indulge in violence?"
"The CPI (Maoist) is a huge organisation, having many highly qualified and educated members. We are nothing before them. Still they do not realise the futility of violence. We now hear they are sending thousands of Maoists from Nepal and Chhattisgarh to eliminate us. What will they get? Is it revolution? Do you think the TSPC will be intimidated?... Future? There is none. Sab mare jayenge (Everyone will die). Ya to Maobadi mara jayega, ya main (Either the Maoists will die, or I). Future will be secure only when there is no killing, everyone has food and work."
