…Mili’s statements throw several contradictions
He will never surrender as surrender is equal to suicide.” These were the words of Mili Panda, wife of arrested Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda. Sabyasachi was leading Maoist movement in parts of Kandhamal, Gajapati and Rayagada and was in the Most Wanted list of the State Police.
There are 61 cases pending against him. No Odia has ever been accused of in such a large number of heinous crimes involving loot, murder and organised attack on police etc.
However, his arrest entails a series of events that emerged in a chronological order, with sudden change of tone and usage of words by couple of persons, which made the very arrest look like a planned surrender. It would not be wrong to say that he had no option and rather to recreate this mirage, he surrendered in order that he could meet all his resourceful, strong links who are in jail. It could be also be that the State repression escalated so much that getting arrested was a forced on him. Of course, a sustained effort was on to bring him back to the mainstream and there were a few intellectuals who wrote a letter to Panda to come to the mainstream. But, surely some strings somewhere accelerated the process and finally he is under the State custody.
After his arrest, the police revealed that `2 lakh in cash, a laptop, five pen-drives, 10 cell phones, 500 grams of gold and many other articles were recovered from him. Mili, who was very cordial and was ready to answer to the Press, made statements that were fraught with several meanings.
After the initial worry about her husband’s health, she said five things which are pertinent. Mili said (1) law will take its own course but claimed that her husband has no links with crimes and he has been falsely implicated in several cases. And she is going to extend all support required by the police. (2) She emphasised that for the last two years, Sabyasachi was not involved in any violent activities and was rather maintaining a distance from the violent Maoists. (3) Many political leaders also do have criminal backgrounds but still they are elected and acquire top positions. Similarly, he will also be soon acquitted. (4) When she was asked that he has been involved in killing so many security personnel, she rubbished it and claimed that there are no evidences to prove the charge. (5) She also claimed that all the information given by the police is completely forged as far as the seizure of articles from Panda is concerned.
Mili trying to prove that Sabyasachi is clean is quite contradictory to what police said that he has been involved in several cases in Rayagda, Gajapati, Nayagarh and other places. She claimed that law could not prove anything against her when she was arrested and she was released after two and a half years. Does it mean that our law has many loopholes and any criminal can simply escape from itIJ The police officials or any security personnel who risk their lives and work in the Maoist regions leaving their families behind in danger make arrests and don’t even get any reward for it. How can they satisfy their morale, hearing such statements that a dreaded Maoist like Sabyasachi would also be released one dayIJ
The stay of Sabyasachi in the same house for the last 25 to 30 days is quite contradictory as research shows that leaders with such a stature always change their places once in two days or four days to go unnoticed and evade any kind of arrest. But in this case, he was staying in the same place for the last 25 days as if waiting to be arrested by the police.
The democratic organisations and their sympathisers will appreciate Sabyasachi’s effort and the extremists will lambast it. Now that he is in jail, what will be the fate of his alliesIJ If charges against him are proved false and he gets released after a couple of years, will it not play a cruel joke on the suffering of those who have lost their near and dear ones in the cross fire with the Maoists whom Sabyasachi once ledIJ
Maoist operation in the State will certainly go through twists and turns after the police manage to fish out information on their modus operandi, source of funding and several other things from the arrested leader during several stages of interrogations. Many more episodes will unravel in times ahead.
(Dr Anuradha writes regularly on the political economy)