Mumbai-Surat, Raipur-Bilaspur: Maoists had ambitious expansion plan

Hyderabad: The CPI (Maoist) had worked out a corridor-based expansion strategy stretching from western industrial belts to eastern coal regions, while also sustaining ideological and training links with left-wing groups in several countries, senior surrendered Maoist leader Tipiri Thirupathi alias Devji told interrogators, according to sources in Telangana police. The disclosures, emerging from Devji's interrogation, also indicate that the outfit viewed these corridors as part of a wider plan to extend its organisational reach beyond its existing strongholds, even as some of those plans did not fully materialise.Corridors for expansionDevji said the expansion blueprint was discussed during the 2007 Unity Congress meeting, where the Urban Subcommittee (USCO), formed by Cherukuri Raj Kumar alias Azad, identified specific corridors for organisational growth. These included the Bombay-Surat "Golden Corridor", the Raipur-Bilaspur corridor and the Dhanbad area.The interrogation details suggest the idea was to build links across zones and urban centres. Devji also referred to efforts to organise on both banks of the Mahanadi River and to extend the party from Gadchiroli into the Bastar area.Maoists also later attempted redeployment under pressure. Devji stated that the party's failure to expand into new areas of the country was a political mistake that added to its present stagnation. He also referred to a 2018 resolution to pull back forces from Chhattisgarh to other regions to avoid total repression, saying the plan was never fully implemented.Overseas links and ideological channelsThe interrogation also sheds light on what Devji described as the outfit's fraternal and ideological links with left-wing organisations abroad. Through the International Communist League, the CPI (Maoist) is said to have maintained ties with organisations in the Philippines, Italy, Greece, Colombia, Turkey, Nepal, Afghanistan, Brazil and Peru.According to sources in Telangana police, Devji said these international affairs were earlier monitored by Azad and later by Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu dada, who operated under the pseudonym "Amruth".The interrogation also names specific instances of such engagement. Kobad Gandhi is said to have attended meetings in Germany on behalf of the CPI (Maoist). In another case, a Philippines instructor is said to have travelled to the Maad area in 2000 to provide communication-related training to Maoist cadres.Nepal figures prominently in the account given by Devji. He is stated to have said that Basavaraj travelled to Nepal in 1995 for training-related work with Maoists based in Nepal. The interrogation further says other leaders too visited Nepal to train cadres of the Nepal Communist Party.Another disclosure relates to an international meeting attended in 2016 by Prof. Saibaba on behalf of the International Association of People's Lawyers. Devji is said to have stated that Saibaba walked out of that meeting because of ideological differences with the Communist Party of the Philippines.