The arrest of one of the country's most prominent and ruthless Maoist leaders, Sabyasachi Panda, is certainly a feather in the cap of Odisha Police and a setback to the Maoist movement in the country. He is wanted in over five dozen criminal cases including the killing of Swami laxmananada and the abduction of two Italian tourists in 2012. But the arrest is only a beginning.
The road to ensuring justice for the victims of the nabbed Maoist leader is long and arduous. The prosecution has to present a strong case if it hopes for a court verdict in its favour. For that to happen, Odisha Police has to gather water-tight evidence. We have seen in many past instances how culprits have got away either because the prosecution failed to convince the courts or the investigation agency blundered in its job. Panda will have a lot to tell the police, and if the interrogation is handled efficiently, the police should have enough material to put the Maoist leader in the dock. Since there have been instances where political will sagged in the midst of investigations and adversely affected the outcome of the probe, it is to be hoped that such catastrophe will not strike the Panda case. Of course, there is no reason yet to believe that Mr Naveen Patnaik's Government will go soft; the Chief Minister's appeal to Maoists to give up arms and join the democratic mainstream if they are serious about improving the lot of the lesser privileged sections of society, should not be seen as appeasement. Meanwhile, extraneous issues are already being raised by certain quarters to present Panda in a less negative light. It is being said that Panda had been for some time now seeking an ‘exit' route. In other words, he was exploring the possibility of leaving behind the big, bad Maoist world, and joining the mainstream. Unconfirmed reports have even suggested that he had been in touch with certain Aam Aadmi Party leaders. There is no confirmation of all this, but what is known from police accounts is that he was nabbed while on an assignment to rope in new recruits to his outfit. If he had been having a change of heart, there is no evidence of that. Moreover, facts relating to his sinister past cannot be brushed aside; they have to be addressed to have effective closure. For instance, let's not forget that the killing of Swami laxmananada had triggered massive communal unrest in the Kandhamal region of Odisha in which at least 40 persons lost their lives and more that 25,000 were displaced. It also had political repercussions.
Panda's arrest need not, however, lead to unbridled celebration, although the nabbed Maoist leader is an important catch — he had, after all, survived and flourished after breaking ranks with the supreme commander of the Communist Party of India (Maoists), Ganapathi, whom he accused of being “feudal”. Since a significant section of the Maoist movement in Odisha is managed by the Andhra Pradesh/Telangana-dominated cadre, the Maoists in the State may not have received a body blow as of now. Also, the ruthless Red movement is still strong in several parts of the country, and must be snuffed out. Odisha Police and security forces across the country need to be on their toes since the Maoists will seek to strike back to ‘avenge' Panda's arrest.