Patna, Dec. 21: The Maoists will organise a fair at Giddha village in Sitamarhi district for the second consecutive year in the memory of a rebel leader killed in an encounter.
Mainuddin alias Ravi, a self-styled zonal commander of the CPI(Maoist), fell to the bullets of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel near Betaura village in East Champaran in 2007.
Though the rebels held the fair for the first time last year, they are planning to organise this year’s event in a bigger way.
The members of the banned outfit are planning the four-day fair at the north Bihar village under Runnisaidpur police station from December 28 under the banner of the Shaheed Organising Committee, Giddha.
With barely a week left to the fair’s second edition, the outfit is busy with last-minute preparations. The members of the organising committee are also leaving no stone unturned to make the event a success.
Sources said a Nepal-based FM radio station, which is popular among the residents in districts along the India-Nepal border, has been contacted for advertising the fair.
“We are organising the fair on a large scale for the first time. Though it was held for the first time last year, the event was a low-key affair,” said Prakash, who identified himself as a spokesperson of the CPI(Maoist).
The sources said a memorial of the self-proclaimed zonal commander, Mainuddin, was installed at the village last year in the presence of several supporters of the banned outfit.
The district administration claimed that they had been informed that some residents were organising the fair.
Sitamarhi superintendent of police (SP) Vivek Kumar said the administration was keeping a close watch on the activities of the residents.
“We have been informed that the fair is being organised by the residents. There will be adequate security arrangements,” he told The Telegraph over phone today.
“Personnel from both the civil and the police administration will be deployed at the venue of the fair. We will not hesitate to take action if anything objectionable is found at the fair,” Vivek said.
The SP, however, did not rule out the possibility of the rebels’ attempt to cash in on the occasion.
“We are, however, on alert and will not allow anybody to exploit the situation in the name of organising a fair,” he added.
Sources said additional armed force has been deployed at Marar village, close to Giddha, to maintain a vigil on the Maoists’ activities.
Residents said the Maoists virtually run a parallel administration in the region. A resident of Purnahia village said: “The situation can be gauged from the fact that even police fear to tread in the area without CRPF or Special Auxillary Police personnel. The Maoists consider Giddha and its adjoining areas a liberated zone.”
