Nabbed Naxalite involved in 20 criminal cases,claims ATS

Angela was arrested after a trap was laid in the Talaopali area. An alleged Naxal ideologue since 1996,she is named in 20 criminal cases in the state,including two offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Of these,18 cases are from areas in Gadchiroli with one UAPA case in Gondia district and the other is a 2007 ATS case. She is also wanted for her involvment in the planning of the February 1,2009,ambush in which 15 policemen were killed,the ATS claimed.

“Her arrest follows specific information that a group of senior cadre are trying to spread their wings in western Maharashtra’s urban areas. She is a very important cadre of the Naxal movement in Maharashtra. She is also the member of the central committee and the secretary of the Golden Corridor Committee. In fact,she is high up in the hierarchy,” said Rakesh Maria,ATS chief.

Angela,known in her circles by names such as Kavita,Savita,Sunita Patil and Iskara,was allegedly found with Rs 1,54,000,while the house search at Pune yielded another Rs 3 lakh. In the search at the Pune residence,the agency seized laptops,hard disks,audio cassettes,video cassettes and “considerable Naxal literature and press notes”. Several PAN cards and mobiles,which were fraudulently procured by the group,were also allegedly found there.

According to the ATS,the two women have travelled to many places between Mumbai and Gujarat — the two crucial landmarks on the Golden Corridor project. Searches are being conducted in Surat,Ahmedabad,Thane and Pune. The interrogation so far has found that they were trying to “spread the ideology among students and labourers in the industrial belts”.

“She is heading the base in Pune,which they have been using since 2008. The group targets urban hutments and areas in industrial belts to spread their ideology. The base in Pune ensured that these two organised procurement of weapons,flash cameras and other equipment. She was involved in arranging financial assistance,a safe haven for the group members,medical assistance and procurement and storage of weapons. She was also involved in sending the weapons safely when needed to locations decided,” said Maria.

While Angela,who has many degrees including sociology,used the route of teaching to make inroads into groups of students who took labour as their subject,according to ATS officials. “Sushma was working as a marketing agent in a Pune-based company under the name Shradha Gurav. They probably used this as a cover,” added Maria.