Ranchi, July 31: The Jharkhand police today contacted their counterparts in Assam after revelations that members of the rebel Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) were being trained by Maoists in Jharkhand.

“We are trying to verify the facts from our Assam counterpart. The special branch is seized of the matter,” said inspector-general S.N. Pradhan, reacting to today’s report published in The Telegraph on the ANLA.

Chief minister Madhu Koda, too, expressed his concern at the findings. “We cannot deny the possibility of Maoists, operating both in the country and outside, moving across borders. Central and state intelligence agencies have been keeping a strict vigil and sharing information to foil their plans,”' Koda said, though he didn’t talk of any fresh initiative that was being planned to flush out terror camps running in the state.

Pradhan, who is also the spokesman of the state police, said there were two dimensions to the revelations. “First, we could believe what they are telling. Second, given the fact that they are tribals, they may have been touched by some emotive points and might have crossed over to Jharkhand.”

He said the police did not know at what level they were interacting with the Maoists.

“There are groups like the Jharkhand Liberation Tiger (JLT) which also claims to be Maoists. We also have no clue whether there has been any decision in this regard (imparting training) at the top level of the Maoist outfit,” he said.

The Telegraph had reported how two ANLA members — Mikhail Bina and Raju Gaur — had surrendered before the Golaghat deputy commissioner and revealed that a large number of their cadres were undergoing training in Jharkhand under Maoists.

Salkhan Murmu, chief of the Jharkhand Dishom Party that fights to uphold tribals’ rights and interests, said the ANLA, headed by David Tirkey, did not have any political agenda. “They are into destructive action to achieve their goals,” he said and denied any contact with them.

Murmu said two other organisations — Birsa Commando Force and Adivasi Cobra Militant of Assam — which have declared a ceasefire with the Assam government, were fighting politically to get scheduled tribes status for Assam tea tribals.