By IANS
Mumbai : In a major operation, four top Maoists including one from Mumbai, were arrested for allegedly fanning tension in an upcoming special economic zone in Maharashtra and inciting Dalits to violence.
The four were identified by police as Arun Pereira, a resident of Mumbai, Murli alias Mahesh Reddy alias Rajesh, Dhanendra Bhurle and Naresh Bansod.
While Murli is one of the top Maoist commanders, Nagpur police said, Pereira is a communications and propaganda strategy expert.
The propaganda material recovered from the group also revealed that Maoist groups were planning to use the 10th anniversary of a firing incident at the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in July to trigger massive violent protests over Dalit atrocities.
In 1997, the desecration of a Dr Ambedkar statue had sparked off violence in Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slum in Ghatkopar in central Mumbai. The police firing on protesters left 10 Dalits dead and widespread tension in this metropolis.
Murli was in fact, according to police, writing a book on the Khairlanji episode, where last year three members of a Dalit family were brutally killed.
Police seized a 9mm Chinese-made pistol, two magazines, 16 rounds of ammunition, two VCDs, an MP3 CD, a notepad containing information on manufacture of Improvised Explosive Devices and use of walkie-talkies from the four alleged Maoists.
The group was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)