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PWG-Party Unity merger may spark more violence in Bihar

Bihar might witness increased violence with the newly unified Naxalite group of Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist and Peoples War Group expected to mount an offensive against the Maoist Communist Centre in a battle for supremacy.

Informed sources said the merger of the outlawed PWG of Andhra Pradesh and the Party Unity group of Naxalites of Bihar spelt more violence in the offing. The police, on their part, claimed that they have geared up the machinery to combat the Naxalite menace in the state.

The internecine war between the MCC and the PU cadres for dominance and other factors had led to the gunning down of more than 155 activists since 1995. The toll would be much higher if those belonging to other groups like the one headed by Vinod Mishra was included.

As many as 17 districts of central and south Bihar were affected by Left extremism. The springing up of numerous private armies had led the police to mount a special offensive since December 1997.

Steps were also being taken to strengthen and equip the forces with the latest sophisticated weapons.

The sources said each of the 18 Bihar Military Force batallions was provided with about 300 rifles. The commando forces were also sent to Dehri-On-Sone for training.

Some of the policemen were imparted special training in Punjab on anti-Naxalite operations including mounting counter ambush in field conditions.

Efforts were also on to provide the police with bullet-proof jackets and reliable communication network along with sophisticated weapons for which funds would be no constraint, the sources said.

They claimed that following the adoption of these measures, including strengthening of intelligence mechanism, Naxalite-related incidents had come down from about 740 in 1995 to about 280 till June this year. As many as 868 incidents were reported in 1996 which dropped to 767 in 1997.

While 295 people were killed in Naxalite violence in 1995, the toll peaked at 436 in 1996 followed by 424 in 1997 and 111 till June this year.

The offshoot of Left extremism was the emergence of private armies like the Ranvir Sena, the Ranvir Kisan Maha Sangh, the Sunlight Sena and the Kisan Sena which also unleashed a reign of terror in Bihar, apart from counter violence with the infamous Laxmanpur Bathe massacre proving to be the worst such instance.

According to estimates, the Party Unity had secured about 700 weapons, including AK-47 rifles, maintaining about 1500 cadre strength and 30 armed squads and procuring huge funds through extortions.

The MCC had about 1,000 weapons, including 15 AK-47 and AK-56 rifles, apart from sten guns, light machine guns, pistols, revolvers besides 200 rifles stolen from the police.

While the Party Unity had nine frontal organisations, the MCC had 13, and both the banned outfits were making hectic efforts to spread their network in Bihar.

Significantly, noted Naxalite revolutionary and CPI-M-L Liberation Group general secretary Vinod Mishra recently said that Bihar continued to be a fertile ground for protracted class struggle and hence the Naxalites' concentration in the state of late.

He claimed his group had made incursions into northern Bihar, where the people were the worst exploited by the ruling classes, armed goons and mafias.

Liberation Group's politburo member Swadesh Bhattacharya, welcoming the merger said, less the number of groups, the better. ''The unity will be welcome, provided it leads them to join the ongoing left political movement,'' he said.

Official sources apprehend that the merger might lead to deployment of more sophisticated weapons and even remote-controlled landmines imported from the PWG cadre to run riot in Bihar.

The Andhra Pradesh police had seized highly sensitive documents during the year from Naxalite hideouts, including ''cook books'' and manuals which gave details of manufacturing even hairpin bombs and methods of blowing up rail tracks.

UNI

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