Till about 11 months ago, hardly anybody knew of Chhatradhar Mahato, who over the past few months had become the face of tribal resistance against the police and the administration with alleged support from the Maoists.

Mahato hit the headlines first in November 2008, when there was a bomb attack near the convoy of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee passing through Salboni. Though the CM narrowly escaped the attack, the police launched a manhunt and rounded up some tribals from nearby Lalgarh. Sensing an opportunity, Mahato, whose brother Sasadhar is a prime accused in the blast case, formed the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) and successfully prevented the police from entering the area.

Since the Central-state joint security operations began in June, Mahato became the "most wanted" and even dared the police to arrest him in interviews he freely gave to journalists. In fact, he even held rallies in Lalgarh while security operations were on.

In the process, Mahato not only received support from the Maoists, but also from Kolkata-based intellectuals.

A former active member of the Chhatra Parishad, the Congress's student wing, Mahato joined the Trinamool Congress when it was formed in 1998.

When Mamata Banerjee issued a disclaimer a few months ago that the tribal leader was never a member of her party, Mahato had said, "I am a mere supporter of the party. I never held any post in Trinamool."

Earlier, in 2001, Mahato was held by the police on charges of anti-national activities, along with his brother Sasadhar, and was in jail for three months. After the release, Sasadhar left home and became an active Maoist.