29 April,2011 06:07 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga
The ATS and ANS have their antennae up after Naxal queen bee Sontakke's arrest alerted them of a burgeoning naxalite movement in urban areasu00a0
The arrest of Anjali Sontakke has alerted the city's Anti Naxalite and Anti Terrorism squads that naxalites are lurking in discrete corners of the city, covertly attempting to extend their sway into the urban areas. Sontakke, who had been on the wanted list for long, repeatedly managed evade the cops, assuming several aliases.
Vantage point : Naxals want to entrench themselves in the urban
regions to be in close proximity to sophisticated medical facilities. File Pic
Heading the Golden Corridor committee, she was on a mission to spread the naxalite ideology, roping in people from Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad and Thane into the order. Keeping Pune as the base, and Mumbai as the centre their operations, these Naxalites have been regrouping in the urban areas.
Foraging for funds
According to the police, the naxalites have been trying to accrue funds from the urban areas. They also wanted to be in close proximity to sophisticated medical facilities. Sontakke was leading the financial campaign.
During the arrest, she and her subordinates were found in possession of Rs 4.5 lakh. The cadres were also on the lookout for suitable hideouts. ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, "They have their stronghold in Pune, but are trying to expand in Mumbai, Thane, Surat and Ahmedabad."u00a0
Close ties
According to the Anti Naxal Squad in Gadhchiroli, Sontakke's name has cropped up in the connection with every individual arrested as a naxalite in Mumbai, in the recent past. Some of them are Govandi residents Vernon Gonsalves and Srinivasan Vishnu, arrested in 2007. Also named were Arun Ferreira from Bandra, arrested in 2008, Chandramouli Oge and Shantanu Kamble, arrested in 2005, and Ashok Satya Reddy (alias Murli).
Allegedly, all were in touch with Sontakke. Also in constant communication with Sontakke was Surya Dewra Prabhakar, (alias Sunil), another active cadreu00a0 nabbed by the Mumbai ATS.
Elusive
Police claimed that Sontakke always eluded them owing to her constant change of avatar. Everytime a cadre was arrested, she promptly changed her location and identity. She moved from Mumbai to Thane, finally reaching Pune. Another factor hindering her arrest was that her picture could not be obtained by the police.
Spreading the word
Sontakke owed allegiance to Anuradha Ghandy, wife of Kobard Ghandhy. The two were a powerful couple in the committee. Sontakke was inducted into Anuradha's group and was preparing to step into her shoes. The first step was to recruit as many new cadres as possible. She got in touch with numerous students and labourers in Mumbai, and started disseminating the core beliefs of the ideology among them.
Police have also revealed that most of the senior naxalites of the wing are highly educated, and have remarkable communication skills. Most of them are teachers, and have easy access to impressionable stustdents, whom they can indoctrinate with their philosophy.
Urban targets
Sontakke was on a mission to spread the naxalite ideology, roping in people from Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad and Thane. Keeping Pune as the base, and Mumbai as the centre and vortex of all their operations, these Naxalites have been regrouping in the urban areas.
