Maoism in Jharkhand - For Latehar villagers, a hill once their lifeline now a death-trap // Maoists raise crores through extortion
Even after the end of the anti-Maoist operation in Kumandih forest in Latehar, nobody told villagers in Jharkhand's Barkadih panchayat to keep away from Beang, the hill on which they depend for their survival. Neither the state, nor the Maoists. Till Jaspatia Devi, 45, had her legs blown off by a landmine when she went up the hill with her husband on July 14. Jaspatia had stepped on one of the many pressure bombs planted by the Maoists to fortify their position atop the hill where they set up a training camp. After the June 25-July 11 operation by the police and CRPF, they left this camp and escaped. Although the forces scaled the hill and destroyed the camp, no demining operation was mounted. As a result, an unknown number of landmines lie over a 100-sq-km area. "My parents had gone to Beang hill, 10 km from our village Jobla, at 5 am to pick dori (fruit of the mahua tree). As they were walking back around 8 am, my mother was some three paces ahead of my father. She was suddenly lifted up by an explosion," says Jaspatia's 20-year-old son Vir Kumar Singh. Jaspatia is at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi. Her right leg was amputated below the knee, the left may soon follow.
Maoists raise Rs 140-250 crore a year through extortion
The importance of Beang hill, officially called Rajgarh hill, to the area is obvious from the urgency with which Jaspatia and her husband braved it less than three days after the massive operation. Villagers go up to collect mahua flowers around March and to pluck tendu leaves by May end. The villagers also get their wood and bamboo from the hill. Villagers of Barkadih panchayat, which falls in the plains, are now terrified of climbing the hill. All along the way from Kumandih railway station to Kurumkheta, people offered the same warning: "Don't set foot on the Beang." Vir says the Maoists have since warned villagers not to go up the hill: "Someone from Hata village told me that after what happened to my mother, someone from the party went to Hata village and prohibited people from climbing the hill for the next two years." "Demining is not easy. The landmines cover a hilly area of about 100 sq km," said Latehar SP Michael S. Raj. The police have no intention of clearing the mines till they have to do it for their own safety. "We will demine when we go for operations in the region, which is what we usually do. The tactic exposes the ugly face of the Maoists, how they don't care for the people," he said.
They wield influence in nearly 203 of India’s 708 police districts, routinely kill people and policemen in 90 districts, often have the last word in 27 of them, hope to lead a revolution and — by 2050, according to one account — overthrow the Indian State. So how does the Communist Party of India (Maoist) find the money to keep the fire burning for the revolution? A government-commissioned study concluded this month has told the home ministry that Maoists generate at least Rs.140 crore annually from extortion rackets that target businesses — big and small — industry, contractors executing public works, corrupt government officials and political leaders. “The largest and principal sources of income for the Maoists are the mining industry, public works and collection of tendu leaves,” the study says. Police officer ML Meena has seen some of it first-hand. In January this year, Meena, inspector general of police, Bokaro Range in Jharkhand, ordered a crackdown on trucks carrying coal from illegal mines in remote parts under his charge. In at least one instance, local policemen were also penalised for their brazen collusion with the coal mafia. “Illegal mining is a key source of income for the Maoists,” said Meena, conceding that it was difficult — if not impossible — to put a figure on the size of the annual Maoist budget.
In 2010, the Intelligence Bureau came up with a much larger all-India estimate of Rs. 1,500 crore.A year earlier, former Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwaranjan guesstimated that the Maoist budget was closer to Rs. 2,000 crore while chief minister Raman Singh recently put it at Rs. 1,000-1,200 crore. A senior government official associated with anti-Maoist operations suggested much of this was an exaggeration and that the actual amount could hover between Rs. 140 crore and Rs. 250 crore. Researchers at the security think-tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses — that conducted the study — tried to unravel some of the mystery surrounding Maoist finances.
The Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist) fixes the annual amount to be collected at an all-India level in consultation with various levels. The zonal committee then conveys the decision on the amount to be collected from each source. In mineral-rich Jharkhand — one of the biggest sources of funds for the rebels — police officers have noticed that Maoists generally collect 7% as levy from all development works from contractors in the areas under their dominance. A similar figure — 7-10% levy — is cited as the rate for industrial and mining companies. Often, the armed guerrillas don’t need to come into the picture at all. “Usually, an over-ground member of the outfit is deputed to collect the money,” the study says. Each level retains some amount for its expenses, before sending its collections to the next higher level. Home ministry officials in Delhi — that has been struggling to come up with ways to block the flow of funds to the Maoists — concede that choking the Maoists’ extortion industry is a big challenge for the security establishment. So it was no surprise that when the chief ministers of Maoist-affected states met in June, this was one of the key points of discussion. “It may be difficult to completely cut off their supply of funds but it is possible to curb the flow,” said the IDSA’s PV Ramana. This will be a very important element in the counter-Maoist action plan.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Maoists-raise-Rs-140-250-crore-a-year-through-extortion-protection-rackets/Article1-1095290.aspx
See also:
Jairus Banaji: Fascism, Maoism and the Democratic Left
A Hard Rain Falling - private armies & political violence in India-EPW, July 2012
A Hard Rain Falling - private armies & political violence in India-EPW, July 2012
