MAOIST INSURGENTS EXECUTE WEST BENGAL COMMUNIST PARTY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000109

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PINR ASEC KRIM PHUM PGOV IN
SUBJECT: MAOIST INSURGENTS EXECUTE WEST BENGAL COMMUNIST PARTY
OFFICIALS

REF: CALCUTTA 00105


1. (SBU) Summary: March 4-5 Communist Party of India - Maoist
(Maoist) insurgents killed two Communist Party of India -
Marxist (CPM) workers in separate attacks in West Bengal. These
attacks come just a week after a Maoist-emplaced landmine killed
three West Bengal policemen. The recent spate of violence
reflects the Maoists' seriousness in following through on their
repeated threat to disrupt the April-May West Bengal(WB)state
elections (Reftel). Though apparently unrelated to the
incidents in West Bengal, more Maoist violence also occurred in
the neighboring states of Bihar and Jharkhand. On March 5,
three Maoists were killed when they attacked a police station in
Bihar's Gaya district. On March 3, more than a hundred Maoists
disguised as a marriage party attacked a Central Industrial
Security Force (CISF) checkpoint, killing five security
officers. The number and nature of the latest attacks reflect
an increase in the frequency and brazenness of Maoist activity
in East India in recent months. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On March 4, in WB's West Midnapore district, eight
Maoists shot local CPM leader Kartik Singh. The Maoists
kidnapped Singh with nine other CPM members in Harulia village,
held a peoples' court against the CPM officials and as an object
lesson, sentenced Singh to death. Singh was taken to the nearby
Jhitka forest and executed in a rain of gunfire. Singh's
bullet-ridden body was found the next day, tied to a palm tree.
A message left near his body read, "The death penalty has been
awarded to this police tout." The following day, on March 5
seven armed Maoists entered the home of CPM election worker
Gotilal Tudu in WB's Bankura district and stabbed him to death.
The Maoists later distributed pamphlets and shouted slogans
against the CPM and the state assembly elections.


3. (SBU) A Senior Police officer from West Midnapore district
of West Bengal told Post that such violence is escalating due to
the upcoming elections and the Maoists' desire to work for a
"revolution" at a faster pace. He said, "They are no longer
Maoists, we should rather regard them as terrorists. On the
basis of some warped ideology, they are working in very
underdeveloped rural areas and using people who are very poor.
These people are actually supported by a section of our
intellectuals -- these supporters should think whether this kind
of mindless killing deserves support."


4. (U) On the same day, March 5, in neighboring Bihar three
Maoists were killed and two constables injured as police stopped
an effort by the Maoists to loot firearms from a police station
in Bihar's Maoist-infested Gaya district. Deputy Inspector
General of Police (Magadh range) Arvind Pandey told media that
the three Maoists were shot when approximately 100 insurgents
attacked the Dumaria police station close to the Jharkhand
border. The encounter lasted nearly four hours, with reportedly
hundreds of rounds of gunfire exchanged and several small,
improvised bombs exploded. In addition to the two injured
policemen, Pandey said that the Maoists also were seen dragging
away the bodies of their injured. The DIG added that the
Maoists had planted landmines and placed felled trees on the
Sherghati-Dumaria road, which delayed police reinforcements.
Senior police and civil officers are presently camping in
Dumaria to supervise pursuit of the insurgents. The injured
policemen have been admitted to a hospital, with one in serious
condition.


5. (U) A few days earlier in Jharkhand, in the afternoon of
March 3, approximately 100 Maoists disguised as a marriage party
attacked a CISF checkpoint near Bokaro-Jharia (Southeast
Jharkhand) area and killed five security officers. In
retaliation, the Jharkhand government launched "Operation
Thunderbolt" to track down and kill the Maoists. Meanwhile, in
Western Jharkhand in Palamu district, the CISF along with the
state police managed to kill the Maoist Palamu zonal commander
Jagannath Mahato and arrested the Maoist Patan-Chattarpur area
commander Vijay Kaushal with three other insurgents.



6. (SBU) Comment: As WB's April-May state assembly election
approaches, Maoist violence will likely increase in frequency
and intensity in the state. Maoist activity throughout East
India continues unabated and as many observers note, has grown
in intensity and brazenness in the early months of 2006. Law

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enforcement officials appear unable to effectively combat the
Maoist threat and are reluctant to go into areas with a strong
insurgent presence. The Maoists effectively have a free hand in
consolidating their position and in conducting attacks with
impunity in the remote rural areas of the East Indian states.
JARDINE