Most-wanted Maoist leader arrested in Bengal's Purulia

Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) In a significant achievement, the West Bengal Police have arrested the most-wanted CPI(Maoist) central committee member Sabyasachi Goswami a.k.a. Kishore Da, thus foiling fresh attempts to resurrect Left wing extremism in certain pockets of the state.

Sources from the state police said that Goswami was arrested by a special team of cops from a secret location in Purulia district late Thursday night.

He will be presented at a district court in Purulia on Friday afternoon and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody for further interrogation, sources added.

It is learnt that Goswami is also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the latter had even announced an award of Rs 10 lakh on him. An original resident of Ghola area in North 24 Parganas district, Goswami was earlier active in the Northeastern sector, especially in Assam.

It is learnt that in March 2022, a case was registered in Guwahati on Maoists attempts to create a red-corridor in the entire Northeastern India and that point of time Goswami’s name surfaced. Soon after that NIA announced the award on him.

This is not the first time that Goswami has been arrested by any security agency. He was first arrested by NIA from the Golaghat area in Assam in 2021. Prior to that he was also arrested a number of times in 2018, 2013 and 2005 by the special task force of West Bengal Police.

However, every time he managed to get released on bail because of weak evidence presented against him and each time after his release he went underground.

After his last arrest in 2021, the police forces of different states as well as NIA tried to nab him. But every time he managed to escape.