Bihar witnessed mass protests against the recently launched Agnipath Scheme.
Patna:
Top Maoist leaders were involved in the violence during the protests against Agnipath scheme in Bihar, the police in the state said on Friday, claiming a big breakthrough. The Maoist link came to light following the arrest of a top leader on Friday, they said.
The Maoist leader, police officials said, has told investigators that he along with sympathisers played a role in the burning of a train in Lakhisarai during the protests in June.
“The group motivated a section of the protesters to indulge in arson and vandalise railway properties,” senior cop Pankaj Kumar said.
Maoist leader, Manashyam Das, was arrested from Lakhisarai city following a tip-off from the intelligence wing of the Telangana police. He was conducting the operations for Maoists from a house he had rented a few years ago, the police official said.
“Manashyam Das was assisting Maoists for years by staying in Lakhisarai city, in direct contact with the top leaders of Naxalite organisations in the state of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Telangana. Many suspicious items including mobile, Maoist literature were found in his room,” the police official added.
“Manshyam Das used to go to the forests to meet Maoist leaders. It has also come to light in the investigation that half a dozen leaders of the city also have connections with him,” the police official said.
The Maoist, police officials say, also revealed that a professor in a university in Bhagalpur was close to Naxals although the professor has denied his role.
The arrest of the Maoist leader from an urban area has raised questions on the information system of the police.
Bihar witnessed mass protests against the recently launched Agnipath Scheme. Railway properties were vandalised, torched or attacked as protesters went on rampage demanding the scheme be rolled back.
Properties worth several crores and more than 2000 trains were affected due to the Agnipath protests across the country.
