Suchitra Mahato

Calcutta, April 14: The CPI (Maoist) has branded Kishan aide Suchitra Mahato a “traitor” after an internal probe revealed she had informed joint security forces about the guerrilla chief’s whereabouts, which led to his killing.

“Kishan was moving from one village to another in West Midnapore’s Binpur with Suchitra Mahato before he was killed in a fake encounter. She joined hands with the Trinamul Congress and the joint forces and passed on information on Kishan’s whereabouts from time to time,” a CPI (Maoist) state committee member quoted from the “probe report” of the outfit’s central committee.

Suchitra had surrendered on March 9, 2012, around four months after Kishan was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Binpur’s Burishole forest. The report, however, claims Kishan was captured and shot dead by the joint forces.

The report says Suchitra “will not be spared”.

Asked about the threat, additional director-general of police (law and order) Banibrata Basu said: “We have already taken all measures to protect the Maoists who have surrendered.”

According to the report, Suchitra, who has accepted cash benefits of the government’s compensation package for surrendered Maoists, had led Kishan into a trap by requesting him to visit Binpur and its neighbourhood on the ruse that the Maoist organisation had become weak there.

The state committee member said: “Kishan was camping in a remote village on the Bengal-Jharkhand border with Suchitra and other rebel leaders such as Bikash and Akash. Suchitra had repeatedly asked Kishan to visit the villages of Binpur, saying the organisation had become weak there and Trinamul was trying to win over the residents.

“Bikash had suggested that Kishan should not go there as the joint forces were raiding the Binpur villages where the guerrilla chief had stayed during his earlier visits.”

According to the report, Kishan left for Binpur with Suchitra and only five armed guards.

“When Akash urged Kishan to take more guards, Suchitra assured the duo that her men would take care of the 53-year-old politburo member’s security,” the report said.

The probe has revealed that Suchitra used to keep Kishan’s cellphone on at night so that it could be tracked by police.

“On several occasions, some state committee members called Kishan late at night and found the phone ringing. When Kishan was told about this once, he was surprised. He had said he used to always keep his cellphone switched off before going to bed,” the probe report said.