The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal police arrested five Maoists from the city's southern suburban region on Tuesday.
Among those arrested, Madhusudan Mondal alias Narayan alias Madhu alias Salim is a member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)'s State Committee as well as the secretary of the outfit's zonal committee at Nandigram in the Purbo Medinipur district.
Madhusudan Mondal is also a close associate of top Maoist leader Venkatesh Reddy alias Dipak, who was arrested by the CID on March 2. According to CID sources, Madhusudan Mondal was instrumental in organising the outfit's base on the city outskirts as well as arrange for funds.
Additional Director-General of CID Raj Kanojia said the others arrested are Siddhartha Mondal, Sachin Ghoshal, Sanjay Mondal and Rajesh Mondal.
“While Madhusudan, Sachin and Rajesh were arrested from Amtala in the South 24 Parganas district, the other two were nabbed from Garia in the same district based on the statements given by the first three persons,” Mr. Kanojia said.
Madhusudan Mondal is one of the main accused in the case of murder of Trinamool Congress leader Nishikanta Mondal at Nandigram in September last.
All five persons have been charged for offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, and will be produced before a court on Wednesday.
The Maoists had played a key but covert role in the 2007-08 movement against the chemical hub project in Nandigram which forced the State government to scrap the project.
CID sources said that Ghoshal was a member of the Maoists' technical wing and his job was to supplicate the logistical chain of the banned outfit and Siddhartha Mondal was a member of the Maoists' Nandigram zonal committee.
Sanjay Mondal reportedly provided Siddhartha with shelter and helped him find a job at a factory under a false name in the Garia area.
According to Mr. Kanojia, Rajesh Mondal is the son of Sanjay Mondal and had come to hand over a letter written by a top Maoist leader to Madhusudan Mondal when he got arrested.