RAIPUR: Jaggu Kursaam alias Ramesh (28) and his wife Kamla (27) were no ordinary cadres of banned outfit CPI (Maoist), as they succeeded in living in the Chhattisgarh capital for years without letting their actual identities be revealed despite being associated with over half a dozen area sub-divisional committees of the left-wing extremists in Bastar.
The state intelligence agency team was said to be consistently monitoring their specific movements and securing tip-offs about them after a Central Agency got some clues about the Maoist couple from the recently arrested Red rebels.
“Both were under surveillance after their phone call to a senior Maoist leader was intercepted days ago. They carried a bounty of Rs 13 lakh”, said a police officer.
Ramesh, who was a divisional committee member of the Maoists, ironically worked as a security guard and driver in the homes of government officials and even at some private property, while allegedly managing to secure information for their outlawed organisation.
During the last few months, both were staying in a rented house at Changorabhata residential area of Raipur and worked as labourers in some construction sites. Good at speaking and writing English, they usually avoided interaction with others.
The intelligence inputs about them ‘working as urban operatives’ led the police to track and arrest them.
An FIR was lodged against the two Maoists at Deen Dayal (DD) Nagar police station, and both were produced before the NIA court on Friday in Bilaspur. The court remanded Kamla to judicial custody while Ramesh was sent to a 3-day police custody for an extensive interrogation and probe, the officer added.
According to the Raipur police, the arrested couple confessed to working for the banned outfit and had arranged medical support, information, and shelter to enable them in creating urban bases for the organisation in the capital.
According to the sources, Ramesh, presently a Bhairamgarh divisional committee member, joined the Maoists organisation in 2010 and Kamla who was an area committee member, has been working for the group since 2014.
Both hailed from Savanar village in the Gangloor area of Bijapur district, south Bastar. The preliminary interrogation revealed that the couple is suspected to have been living in Raipur at different locations for nearly six years, with a forged Aadhar card.
The case has been transferred from the DD nagar police station to the state intelligence agency. “Now the state intelligence agency is investigating the issue”, said Rajesh Dewangan, CSP, Purani Basti, Raipur.
A gold biscuit, Rs 1.15 lakh in cash, besides other incriminating things were recovered from their rented house.