Arnab Dam alias Bikram, a member of the Maoist State Committee, was arrested in Purulia village on Monday. Since the arrest of Kishanji last year in November, there had been no significant arrests made and this nabbing is their biggest success for the security forces of Jangalmahal since then. Arnab who was armed with an AK-47 and 30 bullets had not resisted the arrest.

As a dropout from the prestigious institution of IIT-Kharagpur, Arnab was the brain behind many gore incidents such as the murder of 7 members of Forward Bloc Family, murdering police inspector Partha Sarathi Biswas after abducting him and a similar case of a teacher Saumyajit Basu. All these incidents happened in the last three of four years. With the security forces tightening their slacks, coupled with the deaths of his close aides, he was forced to move deeper into the borders of Jharkhand. He had contracted tuberculosis after being on the run all the time.

After learning that Bikram would travel to Biramdih village in Balarampur, near the Ayodhya hill range, the security forces were on the watch. They have also recovered 3 rifles he concealed in the village.

Arnab, a science graduate was influenced by the Maoists early while he was in college and he expressed his wish to be a part of the underground wing. Soon after in less than a week he was selected to go for arms training in Jharkhand. Later he was positioned at Chattishgarh to train further.

With his skill that were beyond most others in both science and politics he soon elevated to the highest ranks within no time. He was regarded as the most important member in the Bengal State committee by the party members. He started his career under the name Rakesh and was made the incharge of Purulia and the Bengal Purulia Border zone. He was assisted by another young enthusiastic maoist Ranjit Pal alias Tarit.

Arnab’s focus was on widening the political base while Tarit supervised the military wing in the areas. Most part of Purulia were turned to liberated areas. They took advantage of the tortuous terrains of the Ayodhya Hills and established the most feared PGLA team in Bengal.

According to a few sources it was understood that Arnab had parted ways with the Maoist groups due to the differences in opinions. With Arnab in custody the police are confident that they can track other key members like Tarit and have a better understanding of the Maoist strategy.

(AW- Anil)