No mediation through Agnivesh, say Maoists

Maoists have indicated that they have not backed out of the talks with the government, but asked mediator Swami Agnivesh not to contact them through their channels alleging that the police was tracking their leaders through the letters sent by him.

In an "open letter" to Agnivesh dated August 3, CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Srikant alias Sukant said the two letters of Swami Agnivesh dated June 26 and July 22 have not reached the top leaders of the party, who are to take a call on the offer.

Azad, who was killed in an encounter in early July, and he himself had received the letters but could not pass it on to their leaders, Sukant said in the letter.

He alleged that Agnivesh opening channels of communication with Maoists for talks were used by police to track Azad and later eliminate him.

Agnivesh had also gone public saying he felt that authorities used his communication and channels to track Azad after which he was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh.

He had also demanded a judicial probe into encounter in which Azad and one Hem Chandra Pandey, a Delhi-based freelance journalist, were killed.

Sukant also alleged that soon after Agnivesh's July 22 letter reached him, the AP Special Intelligence Bureau also reached him.

"Your letter dated 22 July reached me. Not just the letter. Something more, too. The APSIB too reached me. How can we understand this phenomenon? I just escaped very narrowly. On August 1," he claimed in the letter released to media.

Sukant said Maoists cannot afford to reply to Agnivesh's July 22 letter through some channels or send his letter to the top leaders as opening up of any channel of communication might end up in some loss and Maoists "can no more afford
that.

 "I request you to openly publish your letters in the papers," he said.

However, Sukant said Maoists "do not have any iota of doubts in Agnivesh's genuine feelings" regarding the peace process.