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‘India never co-operated to arrest Maoists’
KATHMAND, DEC 24 - Officials today disclosed to The Kathmandu Post a number of incidents in the past where Nepali officials shared information and requested the Indian side to arrest the Maoists, but the latter never co-operated in good faith.
This comes as a rejection to Indian Ambassador Shyam Saran’s public assertion that the Indian government was ready to nab Maoist leaders living in India if Nepal shared vital information.
A highly placed Nepal Police source revealed that Nepal had informed India in advance about a central committee meeting of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) held in Gorakhpur, India, on March 30, 2001.
"We had informed them of the meeting venue, date and time but Indian intelligence only monitored the meeting," said the source.
He even narrated in detail the accounts of the meeting. The meeting, according to him, was held in the Rajasthan Dharmashala located at Geetapur Road in Gorakhpur City. Later, the closed session of the meeting was moved to the Agrasen Dharmashala in Alinagar of the same city.
"Later on, we were informed by the Indian authority that they could not nab the Maoists because of lack of co-operation from the state government," the source said.
Indian Ambassador Saran speaking to reporters last Saturday had said that India was ready to arrest Maoist leaders in India if Nepal and India shared crucial information. "Baburamji and Prachandaji could be arrested if secret information is exchanged between the two countries and a mutual trust is developed," he was quoted as saying.
The Kathmandu Post contacted the Indian Embassy today to have its reaction on the Gorakhpur incident. In response, Sanjaya Verma, First Secretary for Press, Information and Culture at the embassy had this to say: "We have thoroughly checked the information regarding the allegation. No information whatsoever of the type was ever received by the Indian Embassy or any Indian authorities." He issued the comment only after consulting with "higher authority".
Commenting on the ambassador’s remarks, a senior minister in the Girija Prasad Koirala-led government said, "The ambassador is uttering a white lie." He added that India has never co-operated with Nepal in apprehending the Maoists who have used India as a safe haven. He also disclosed that similar high level meeting had taken place in Darbhanga of Bihar in 2000. "We had requested India to raid the meeting, which they never did," he said. He, however, could not specify the exact date of the meeting.
The Maoist high command, according to another source, had also attended an important gathering of the revolutionary communists in India. "Many politburo members of the CPN (Maoist) attended a meeting of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) held in Madhya Pradesh in India on July 14-17 this year," the source said.Posted on: 2003-12-25 05:19
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