The city unit of the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) nabbed an alleged urban operative of the banned Communist Party of India (CPI-Maoist) from the Kasewadi slums in the Bhavani Peth area here on Monday evening.
Arun Bhanudas Bhelke (38), a native of Ballarpur in Chandrapur district, was said to be in-charge of recruiting youths for the banned outfit, said Senior ATS inspector Bhanupratap Barge.
“Our investigations reveal that Bhelke was active in Pune since the past year. He was absconding since August 2008 from Chandrapur after being released on bail by the district and sessions court there. As far as we know, he was in touch with youths aged between 18 and 22 years and associated with an outfit called ‘Mass Movement’ which acted as his front,” Mr. Barge said, remarking that the ATS was probing whether Bhelke was attempting to indoctrinate Pune youths with Maoist ideology.
Police sources said Bhelke, known to be an excellent organiser within the outfit, was a firebrand youth activist in Chandrapur who was active in the district’s Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College.
He had formed an outfit called the ‘Deshbhakti Yuva Manch’, allegedly said to be a Maoist front for recruiting underprivileged youth. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act when he was booked in an arms case in Chandrapur in January 2008. On being granted bail on bail, he went underground along with wife Bhoomi alias Kanchan, who hails from the same area, said sources.
Sources said Bhelke, who used various aliases, lived at different places in the city and avoided using cell phones. He allegedly changed his appearance during this period, said investigators.
Meanwhile, the ATS is questioning members associated with the ‘Mass Movement’ outfit near the Kasewadi slums. The outfit, which constitutes a group of about 20 youths, mostly school dropouts, purports to take an Ambedkarite line in combating oppression.
The police allege that such outfits were a front to lure Dalit youths into the CPI (Maoist) cadre as in the case of Santosh Shelar, a youth from Kasarwadi who joined the Maoists in Gadchiroli. Shelar was among the youths arrested from Mumbai and Thane by the ATS in 2011 for alleged Maoist links.
The ATS said it would hand over Bhelke to the Chandrapur police for further questioning.
