How do naxals procure sophisticated weapons: It was the LTTE which aided them

New Delhi, Apr 06: In the recent Sukma attack, the naxalites used sophisticated barrel grenade launchers and wireless interception suggested that the movement of the security forces was tracked.

The question that arises is how are the naxalites able to procure such sophisticated weapons. The arms procurement for the naxalites has evolved over the past couple of years.

From begging locals to snatching weapons from police stations, the naxalites today have a dedicated network that has made procurement of weapons easy. At first they would collect the weapons from the locals. There was even a time that they used bows and arrows in operations.

The next step was snatching weapons from police stations. This modus operandi was in place for a long time when naxalites would stage an attack on a police station only with an intention of snatching weapons. There have been a few instances when naxalites have bribed security personnel into parting with their weapon.

Around 15 years back, the naxalites ensured that a bunch of their men trained in arms manufacturing. They were trained by the maoists in Nepal. There were joint exercises conducted by the naxals in India and Nepal.

Following this they set up their own units and made landmines, IEDs, homemade mortar rounds, according to multiple dossiers prepared by the Indian Intelligence agencies.

The first time they decided to procure sophisticated weapons from abroad was through the LTTE based in Sri Lanka. The LTTE not only provided them arms, but also imparted training.

After the fall of the LTTE, the naxalites tapped the NSCN (K) which offered help. The Nagaland based outfit helped the naxalites procure arms and also imparted training. They had created routes through Bangladesh and Myanmar to procure the arms.

The LTTE connect has not only been restricted to procurement of arms. Preliminary investigations into the Sukma attack by the naxalites suggest that CPI (Maoist) leader Basava Raju led the execution.

Basava Raju alias Nambala Keshav Rao took over as the general secretary of the CPI (Maoist) and has been part of the naxal movement since the 1970s. The National Investigation Agency had announced a reward of Rs 1.5 million for any information on Raju who is 67 years old. He is an expert at using the AK-47 according to a Intelligence Bureau report of 2011.

In the year 1987, Basava Raju along with Ganapathy, Mallojoula Koteshwar Rao, Malla Raju Reddy among others underwent training by LTTE cadres in the forests of Bastar in ambush tactics.