Cop slain, claim Maoists

Sept. 2: Maoists claimed to have killed one of the four policemen taken hostage during an encounter in Bihar, driving a chilling bargain to get eight jailed comrades freed and igniting a crisis for development advocate Nitish Kumar.

Till late night, it was not confirmed beyond doubt that the Maoists had carried out the execution — the body had not been found — and initially officials felt that the claim was a pressure tactic, though hope faded by the evening.

If the policeman has been killed, it will be a big blow to the election-bound Bihar chief minister who has consistently differed with the Centre’s security-oriented approach to neutralising Maoist expansion. The policeman has been identified as Abhay Kumar Yadav, officer-in-charge of Manikpur police station at Lakhisarai.

Unconfirmed reports said the Maoists were also demanding safe passage for their comrades trapped in a forest after Sunday’s encounter during which the four policemen were captured.

Nitish, who has advocated the development line to deal with the Maoist problem, said this evening that his government was ready for talks with the rebels and assured them safe passage if they decided to sit across the table. “We are ready for talks with them (the Maoists) and we assure them that there will be no police action against them if they come to us for dialogue,” Nitish said in Patna.

But he ordered the police to continue combing operations in the forests of Jamui, Lakhisarai and Munger districts on the Bihar-Jharkhand border to flush out the Maoists. The rebels, who are holding the four policemen hostage, have been ringed by security forces.

The Maoists have set several deadlines for the government to release eight colleagues jailed in eastern Bihar, but the administration has so far refused to acknowledge that any demands have been made.

This evening, Avinash, a spokesperson for the Bihar-Jharkhand central committee of the CPI(Maoist), informed the media over the phone that Yadav had been killed at 4.16pm. He claimed that the execution had taken place at Pasraha forest near Bhimbandh, 18km from Munger town.

Avinash claimed that Yadav, whose family members were camping in front of the chief minister’s residence in Patna, was killed following a decision taken by the members of the section committee of the organisation at a “jan adalat” (Maoist kangaroo court).

He, however, said that the three other policemen — sub-inspector Rupesh Kumar, Bihar Military Police (BMP) havildar Ehtesham Khan and BMP jamadar Lucas Tete — were safe in their custody.

Six BMP personnel and the officer-in-charge of Kawaiya police outpost were killed in the gun battle with the Maoists in the botched operation on Sunday.

Avinash said the outfit had decided to extend the deadline for the release of their eight jailed leaders till 10am on Friday.

He said Yadav’s body would be sent to Munger or Jamui by 8pm today. Till 10pm, officials did not report that any body had been found.

Avinash said the district magistrate of Lakhisarai had talked to him over the phone yesterday, but no steps had been taken since. “We are ready to hold talks with the government. But they should take the initiative first,” he said.

Government sources in Patna said they would not confirm the death of Yadav until the body was delivered. The sources said the Maoists could be using the “execution” ploy to pressure the government into relaxing the security ring around the hills.


Ramashankar and Gautam Sarkar, The Telegraph