Somen’s house

Calcutta, Feb. 24: In an interview to The Telegraph two years ago, Somen, the state chief of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), had spoken about his habits, good and bad.

The rebel sat cross-legged in a corner of a bed in a small room with three chairs and a table in a single-storey house.

He responded to an invitation for a handshake with a smile and a salute made familiar by CPM leaders — a clenched right fist going up to the temple.

The man in a dark-green shirt and grey trousers stammered while answering questions in a hushed tone.

Clutching a packet of Wills Flake cigarettes, he recounted his initiation into the rebel fold as a student and rise to the CPI (Maoist) state secretary’s post.

“I hope you are not carrying a tape-recorder or camera?” he asked.

The talks started with questions related to the boycott of the 2006 Assembly elections and “elimination” of CPM leaders in Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia.

The well-built man with a wheatish complexion spoke of the soldiers’ discipline when asked how he managed to procure cigarettes in forest hideouts.

“There is no question of smoking when I’m in the jungles, I forget that I ever smoked,” he said.

“This is part of our discipline. If you smoke in a forest hideout, dry leaves may catch fire and send a signal to security forces. The police may also find our cigarette butts and figure out our movement. All our members follow the restriction strictly.”

Within an hour, he finished a pack of 10. He extended his right leg to take out a new packet from the pocket.

During the conversation, the owner of the house brought sweets and singaras.

Somen refused the sweets. Munching on a singara, he said: “I left eating sweets because of my blood sugar.”

Asked about life in the forests, in winter and during the rainy season, he said: “If you have a goal in front of you, these things don’t matter. But I’ve developed some problems in my eyes.”

He took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

He spoke about killing CPM leaders and police personnel, but never uttered the word “murder” or expressed any regret.

He preferred the word khatam (finishing off).

The rebel leader admitted one mistake, though — forcing the families of two CPM leaders to witness their murder in a kangaroo court in Bankura (in 2006).

“It shouldn’t have happened. Driven by anger, the action squad members did it. But those killed deserved it.”

After an hour and a half, this correspondent wanted to end the chat with a handshake. The response was the same — a “Red salute”.