Maoists suspected to be gaining ground in Gujarat

Gandhinagar, Mar 22 (ANI): Gujarat Police suspect that Maoists are slowly gaining ground in the State.

Gujarat, which is one of the states in the country having a large tribal population, has so far remained unaffected from the Naxal menace.

Police suspect that a recent arrest of a Maoist leader from Surat and spurt in Naxal meetings, secret movement of the ultras in the State and distribution of leaflets asking people to join the armed movement indicate that Naxals are trying to spread their network in the State.

Police have arrested Niranjan Mohapatra, a resident of Orissa, from Surat last week for suspected Naxal activities.

According to sources, the Naxal are targeting migrant labourers who come to the State in large numbers in search of jobs from Naxal affected States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and other areas, as their potential cadres.

Gujarat Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Sudhir Sinha the Maoists are using Gujarat as place to recruit potential cadres from the large number of migrant population, especially in Surat and collect funds for their movement.

"CPI-Maoist cadres are brainwashing potential migrant recruits and are sending them back to the State of their origin to work there," Sinha said.

However, Police claim that Naxals have failed in gaining acceptance among local population so far.

"Their attempts to gain popularity among tribal population of the south Gujarat district of Dangs also have not obtained good results so far," Sinha added.

Compared to Naxal affected states Gujarat has good infrastructure like roads in tribal areas and better living condition.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Police is compiling various interrogation reports of Maoists activists arrested in other states and also examining various documents being distributed by them in the tribal belt of south Gujarat. (ANI)