GUWAHATI, July 8 � After the formation of the upper Assam leading committee, the Maoist rebels have started making efforts to strengthen the lower Assam leading committee and to set up bases in the Barak Valley districts. On the other hand, the main aim of the central committee of the Maoists in the North East region is procurement of sophisticated weapons available with the militant groups of the region.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that procurement of weapons is the main interest of the central committee of the Maoists. Almost all the militant groups of North East have abundance of sophisticated weapons and they can easily bring in weapons from China through Myanmar. The Maoist rebels are trying their best to procure sophisticated weapons brought through Myanmar.
Sources said that the Maoist rebels also need trainers to train up their cadres in handling of sophisticated weapons and cadres of the People�s Liberation Army (PLA) trained up Maoist rebels in other parts of the country, while, there were reports of cadres of the NSCN (I-M) also training Maoists in one or two camps.
Commenting on the strength of the Maoists in Assam, sources said that the total strength would not be more than 150 cadres, of whom around 40 to 50 are trained cadres. The cadres were trained up mostly in bases set up near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border areas, while, a few of them went to the camps of the Maoists in other parts of the country.
Sources said that Aditya Bora is now the main person behind the growth of the Maoists in Assam, while, Singharaj Orang is another key member. However, the arrests of several key members affected the growth of the Maoists in Assam. It may be mentioned here that a key member of the Maoists , Pallab Borbora was recently arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Golaghat. Pallab went for training in a Maoist camp in Nawada area of Bihar, which is known to be a strong base of the Maoists.
The Maoists of Assam also have some dispute with the central committee members, who are of the view that people�s movements should be launched before armed revolution. However, sources said that the Maoists have not yet been able to build up any major mass movement in Assam despite their best efforts. They have also not been able to build up any mass support base in Assam.
