‘Maoists seeking to infiltrate govt intel machinery, bring jungle warfare to metros’

“Following a heavy crackdown on their urban leadership in 2018 during the Koregaon-Bhima strife, Maoists started rebuilding their urban networks in 2019 with seven central committee members of the CPI (Maoists) being deputed to implement the plan,” a source said. “Already, they have reorganised their networks in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Delhi, Kolkata and a few other cities. They have appointed organisers in these cities and have been conducting regular Zoom meetings to discuss and implement their agenda,” a source said.

“The Maoists are generally trying to tap into the social and communal divide caused by politics of caste and religion and have been focusing on working classes, Dalits and minorities, Muslims in particular. Among these, as is their way, they are trying to radicalise young minds,” sources said.

The sources added, “Maoists already have a strong network in premier universities in Delhi and Kolkata. Among all cities, their activities have gathered a lot of momentum in Delhi.”

“What is alarming, however, is that they are planning to use guerrilla warfare tactics in a big way by collecting pinpointed information by infiltrating government’s intelligence machinery and developing urban militia along the lines of jungle warfare. Maoists feel right-wing agenda and activities present an ideal situation to capitalise on to endear themselves to sections of the society at the receiving end of what they term fascist Hindu rashtra agenda,” the sources said. “If authorities fail to grasp the seriousness of the Maoists’ urban plan early, we might get to see the kind of violence in urban areas like what we have been witnessing in the jungle,” the sources warned.

‘Coordinating with similar outfits across country’

“Among the other major Maoist programmes in operation is to put in place coordination with like-minded outfits in Manipur, Bangladesh and Nepal. Their plan is to build a system of coordination to facilitate unhindered movement in different parts in these territories and exchange arms and ammunition and information,” sources said.