In a major development, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police has arrested Maoist (left-wing terrorist) Asim Mandal, who carried a bounty of ₹2.2 cr on his head. He had been on the run from law enforcement authorities for 40 years.
Asim, who his also known by his alias Akash, was wanted in both Jharkhand and Odisha. He was a top Maoist who was tracked down in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district.
He had been successful in operating underground for 4 decades. Asim Mandal was finally nabbed using pinpoint technical intelligence of the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police.
The Maoist joined left-wing terrorism in the 1980s as a student. Asim was the top Maoist following the death of Kishenji in 2011. His arrest was facilitated by security operations in the Dalma-Jungle Mahal belt and the recent capture of another Maoist Ram Prasad Mardi.
The arrest of Asim Mandal by the Kolkata Police was praised by the West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. He reiterated that there is a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and no extremist outfits will be tolerated in the State.
In the meantime, security forces are interrogating the Maoist to uncover more details about weapons and terror networks across Saranda and Dalma forest zones.
