WAY OF THE GUN

Bhagalpur, Dec. 4: For some Naxalites, their mission is more important than family and they would not hesitate to kill a relative for the sake of their organisation.

Maoist activist Dinesh Koda, alias Pasi Koda, who was arrested from Gorouni village under Barhet police station in Jamui on November 30, told the police that he had killed his grandfather, along with 10 other people, a year ago.

The police wanted Koda for his involvement in the Phoolbaria Kodasi carnage. He was a member of the Maoist squad that raided the village under Sikandara police station on January 17 last year. Eleven people were killed and 22 houses set on fire in the village. A woman and her three-year-old daughter were burnt to death.

Maharaj Koda, the mukhiya of the village, who was also killed by the Maoists, was Dinesh’s maternal grand-father.

Ram Narayan Singh, superintendent of police (SP), Jamui, said the police raided Gorouni and nabbed Dinesh on November 30. He was hiding in the house of his in-laws.

“We have been trying to nab Dinesh, a resident of Banjhi Piyar village falling under Barhet police station. He is a Naxalite activist. He was involved in the Phoolbaria Kodasi incident,” added Singh.

A junior officer police, on the condition of anonymity, told The Telegraph: “We were shocked to learn that Maharaj Koda, the mukhiya of the village who was also killed in the incident, was Dinesh’s grandfather. In the course of his interrogation, Dinesh confessed that he had taken part in the incident and had killed his grandfather for the sake of the banned organisation. The Maoists had approached Maharaj several times but the mukhiya refused to obey the diktat of the rebels. He was also helping the police, and thus the Naxalites decided to eliminate him.”

The Naxalite operation was carried out in retaliation for the killing eight of their activists by the police. The rebels believed that the villagers have helped the cops. They also wanted to ensure that they had safe passage through the village for they often use the route to escape to Giridhi district in Jharkhand.

The SP said: “We recovered one pistol and live cartridges from Dinesh. He was also wanted for his involvements in other incidents, like the attack on the house of Devachak mukhiya and kidnapping a villager there two month ago.”