NEPAL MAOIST LEADER RELEASED THEN DETAINED

UNCLAS CALCUTTA 000430 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINR PGOV IN NP PTER SUBJECT: NEPAL MAOIST LEADER RELEASED THEN DETAINED ¶1. (U) Summary: On September 18 in Chennai, W. Bengal police attempted to arrest Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPNM) Politburo member Chandra Prakash Gajurel upon his release from a Chennai prison after serving a three year term for passport forgery. The W. Bengal police action was in connection with two sedition cases pending against Gajurel since 2003. Gajurel's lawyers have filed two separate petitions to block the W. Bengal charges. The Chennai High Court directed the W. Bengal police not to take Gajurel to W. Bengal until a final decision was taken on the petitions, and Gajurel remains in a Chennai jail. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Earlier in 2004, a W. Bengal police team arrived in Chennai with a prisoner transfer request pertaining to sedition cases filed against Gajurel at the Bhakthi Nagar police station in W. Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. At that time, Gajurel's defense attorneys filed a petition with the Chennai High Court, claiming that the request was really intended to deport him to Nepal at the behest of the Nepali monarchy. The Chennai High Court granted a stay of execution of the transfer on August 27, ¶2004. Recently on September 18, 2006, after learning that the 2004 petition was still pending before the High Court, a local magistrate in Chennai denied execution of the Jalpaiguri transfer request and remanded Gajurel back to prison. Gajurel's lawyers have also filed a second petition challenging the attempted re-arrest by W. Bengal police. Both petitions will now have to be decided by the Chennai High Court, and a hearing is scheduled for September 25. ¶3. (SBU) A W. Bengal police contact told Post that the W. Bengal cases against Gajurel were based on "anti-national activities," likely for his links to Maoists in W. Bengal. However, local journalists told Post that the cases filed against Gajurel in W. Bengal are part of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's plan to detain Nepali Maoist leaders like Gajurel in order to keep Maoist-linked insurgents such the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) and state Maoists in check. Another senior Nepali Maoist Leader, Mohan Baidya, is also presently detained in West Bengal. The CPM has no love for the Maoists, who have been a thorn in the CPM's side for decades, killing CPM workers and officials and engaging in violence in the state. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: The GOWB's effort to detain Gajurel is surprising, as the state is interjecting itself into a case that has international ramifications. However, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury is currently negotiating with officials of the CPNM to lay down their weapons and join the democratic process. Local CPM officials could be trying to buttress Yechury's importance as a statesman in resolving the Nepal crisis, and the arrest of Gajurel would provide Yechury with further leverage in the negotiations. Alternatively, this may be an effort directed and supported by the GOI to help the GOI's overall effort to encourage the CPNM to join the democratic process in Nepal. JARDINE