Arya News - Mandal, active in the extremist movement since the 1980s, later rose through the CPI (Maoist) ranks and held responsibilities spanning across India`s Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha regions.
NEW DELHI – A decades-long hunt for senior Maoist leader Asim Mandal alias Akash ended in West Bengal on Thursday, with the Kolkata Police Special Task Force taking into custody a man wanted in around 55 cases across three eastern states.
Mandal, who also operated under the aliases Timir and Manoj, carried rewards totalling Rs 2.20 crore in Jharkhand and Odisha. He was taken into custody in the Patashpur area of East Midnapore, according to police sources.
The Jharkhand government had announced a Rs 1 crore reward for him, while Odisha had placed a bounty of Rs 1.20 crore.
Two bags were reportedly recovered from Mandal. Investigators found Maoist literature, booklets and electronic communication equipment inside, according to police sources.
Who is Asim Mandal alias Akash?
Mandal is from Fulchak village under Chandrakona Police Station in the West Midnapore district. His association with Left-Wing Extremism is said to date back to his student years in the 1980s.
He later joined the People’s War Group and operated in the Sarenga and Goaltor regions of West Bengal. His activities also extended to Gurabanda in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district.
After the CPI (Maoist) was formed in September 2004, Mandal returned to Jangalmahal, which covers parts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.
He was active during the Lalgarh movement and was subsequently entrusted with the responsibility of secretary of the outfit’s West Bengal State Committee in 2010. He later held positions in the Bengal-Jharkhand-Odisha Regional Committee.
Mandal has also been identified in current reports as a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist).
Around 55 cases across Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha
Security agency records cited by police link Mandal to nearly 55 serious criminal cases across West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Several concern armed encounters and attacks on security personnel in Jharkhand.
Mandal had remained underground for years after senior Maoist leader Kishanji was killed in an encounter in November 2011.
His wife, a resident of Patashpur and an alleged CPI (Maoist) activist, was arrested by the STF in 2010 and is currently in judicial custody, according to police sources.
Mandal’s detention comes just days after reports that he had disbanded the CPI (Maoist)’s Bengal committee.