VZCZCXRO0179
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCI #0109/01 0660707
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070707Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL CALCUTTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0829
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 0773
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0304
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0304
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 0183
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0178
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0104
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0127
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA 1012

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000109 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PINR ASEC KRIM PHUM PGOV IN
SUBJECT: MAOIST INSURGENTS EXECUTE WEST BENGAL COMMUNIST PARTY 
OFFICIALS 
 
REF: CALCUTTA 00105 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  March 4-5 Communist Party of India - Maoist 
(Maoist) insurgents killed two Communist Party of India - 
Marxist (CPM) workers in separate attacks in West Bengal.  These 
attacks come just a week after a Maoist-emplaced landmine killed 
three West Bengal policemen.  The recent spate of violence 
reflects the Maoists' seriousness in following through on their 
repeated threat to disrupt the April-May West Bengal(WB)state 
elections (Reftel).  Though apparently unrelated to the 
incidents in West Bengal, more Maoist violence also occurred in 
the neighboring states of Bihar and Jharkhand.  On March 5, 
three Maoists were killed when they attacked a police station in 
Bihar's Gaya district.  On March 3, more than a hundred Maoists 
disguised as a marriage party attacked a Central Industrial 
Security Force (CISF) checkpoint, killing five security 
officers.  The number and nature of the latest attacks reflect 
an increase in the frequency and brazenness of Maoist activity 
in East India in recent months.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On March 4, in WB's West Midnapore district, eight 
Maoists shot local CPM leader Kartik Singh.  The Maoists 
kidnapped Singh with nine other CPM members in Harulia village, 
held a peoples' court against the CPM officials and as an object 
lesson, sentenced Singh to death.  Singh was taken to the nearby 
Jhitka forest and executed in a rain of gunfire.  Singh's 
bullet-ridden body was found the next day, tied to a palm tree. 
A message left near his body read, "The death penalty has been 
awarded to this police tout."  The following day, on March 5 
seven armed Maoists entered the home of CPM election worker 
Gotilal Tudu in WB's Bankura district and stabbed him to death. 
The Maoists later distributed pamphlets and shouted slogans 
against the CPM and the state assembly elections. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A Senior Police officer from West Midnapore district 
of West Bengal told Post that such violence is escalating due to 
the upcoming elections and the Maoists' desire to work for a 
"revolution" at a faster pace.  He said, "They are no longer 
Maoists, we should rather regard them as terrorists.  On the 
basis of some warped ideology, they are working in very 
underdeveloped rural areas and using people who are very poor. 
These people are actually supported by a section of our 
intellectuals -- these supporters should think whether this kind 
of mindless killing deserves support." 
 
¶4.  (U) On the same day, March 5, in neighboring Bihar three 
Maoists were killed and two constables injured as police stopped 
an effort by the Maoists to loot firearms from a police station 
in Bihar's Maoist-infested Gaya district.  Deputy Inspector 
General of Police (Magadh range) Arvind Pandey told media that 
the three Maoists were shot when approximately 100 insurgents 
attacked the Dumaria police station close to the Jharkhand 
border.  The encounter lasted nearly four hours, with reportedly 
hundreds of rounds of gunfire exchanged and several small, 
improvised bombs exploded.  In addition to the two injured 
policemen, Pandey said that the Maoists also were seen dragging 
away the bodies of their injured.  The DIG added that the 
Maoists had planted landmines and placed felled trees on the 
Sherghati-Dumaria road, which delayed police reinforcements. 
Senior police and civil officers are presently camping in 
Dumaria to supervise pursuit of the insurgents.  The injured 
policemen have been admitted to a hospital, with one in serious 
condition. 
 
¶5.  (U) A few days earlier in Jharkhand, in the afternoon of 
March 3, approximately 100 Maoists disguised as a marriage party 
attacked a CISF checkpoint near Bokaro-Jharia (Southeast 
Jharkhand) area and killed five security officers.  In 
retaliation, the Jharkhand government launched "Operation 
Thunderbolt" to track down and kill the Maoists.  Meanwhile, in 
Western Jharkhand in Palamu district, the CISF along with the 
state police managed to kill the Maoist Palamu zonal commander 
Jagannath Mahato and arrested the Maoist Patan-Chattarpur area 
commander Vijay Kaushal with three other insurgents. 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment:  As WB's April-May state assembly election 
approaches, Maoist violence will likely increase in frequency 
and intensity in the state.  Maoist activity throughout East 
India continues unabated and as many observers note, has grown 
in intensity and brazenness in the early months of 2006.  Law 
 
CALCUTTA 00000109  002 OF 002 
 
 
enforcement officials appear unable to effectively combat the 
Maoist threat and are reluctant to go into areas with a strong 
insurgent presence.  The Maoists effectively have a free hand in 
consolidating their position and in conducting attacks with 
impunity in the remote rural areas of the East Indian states. 
JARDINE