Bokaro, Nov. 5: The arrested Maoist “commander” is singing like a canary in captivity, if the police are to be believed.

Bokaro superintendent of police Anil Palta confirmed that the interrogation of the arrested rebel leader, Naeem Mian, has yielded a wealth of information and confirmation that Jhumra Pahar, the hilly region close to this steel city, continues to be used by the Maoists to train not only rebels from Nepal but also extremists from Assam.

A batch of 21 extremists recently returned to Assam while a group of seven Nepali rebels is camping permanently here to receive batches of Nepali rebels being sent here for training and to assist the underground Maoist Communist Centre.

The team from Nepal, confessed the commander, was given the assignment to assassinate the Bokaro police chief. The group, led by a Nepali youth known simply as “Thapa”, failed because the assassin’s automatic firearm jammed at the crucial moment, allowing the police officer to drive away, the extremist is said to have confessed to the police.

In sensational disclosures, the rebel is believed to have furnished the police with names of a large number of affluent businessmen, including a liquor baron, a couple of petrol pump and cinema owners each, two transporters and at least 16 contractors who have been funding the underground outfit. The Bokaro SP remained noncommittal on the issue and refused to say if cases would be lodged against them for criminal conspiracy and abetting the crime.

The names of six political leaders belonging to both national and regional political parties have been found in the diaries recovered by the police. The politicians are believed to have kept the MCC informed of policy decisions, strategy sessions and police action.

Police do not rule out the possibility of the leaders actually being paid by the extremists for parting with information. It is also possible, they say, that the political leaders have been paying the outfit for support in the rebel strongholds. Details can be confirmed only after an investigation, they added.

In an even more damaging disclosure, the arrested commander is said to have informed that several transporters have been helping the rebels carry explosives, claymore mines and sophisticated firearms. Goods trucks are being used to carry the clandestine cargo from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Bengal to Bihar, Jharkhand and bordering areas of Nepal. Police officials do not rule out the possibility that the transporters agreed to do so under duress. But unless the trucks are caught transporting the contraband, police officials pointed out, it would be difficult to initiate action against them.

Arrested Maoists in Nepal too appear to have corroborated the statements made here by the MCC commander. The Nepal government has taken up the issue with India and claimed that a large consignment of arms was moving into Nepal from Jharkhand and more specifically Jhumra Pahar. The Union home ministry is learnt to have informed Jharkhand’s director-general of police about Kathmandu’s misgivings.

Palta said while he would not share the information with the media, it was nevertheless true that the information provided by Mian was “mind-blowing”.