Guj police seeks Kobad Ghandy's custody for interrogation

New Delhi: The Gujarat Police has approached a Delhi court seeking custody of Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy to interrogate him for his alleged role in guiding Maoist activities in the state before he was caught by city police.

The Gujarat police has moved the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav seeking Ghandy’s custody alleging that he was involved in naxal movement in urban areas and a case was registered against him and twenty other co-accused in February 2010.

The Gujarat Police have registered a case against 64-year-old Ghandy and others under Indian Penal Code for waging war against the country, sedition, promoting enmity, criminal conspiracy and various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention (UAP) Act.

He is lodged in Tihar Jail since his arrest by Delhi Police in September 2009 for trying to set up base of banned CPI (Maoist) in the national capital.

An earlier plea by Gujarat police for Ghandy’s custody in June 2010 was dismissed by the court as the Delhi government had put a ban on his movement till the case against him is finished.

The Surat police has now sought his custody in the light of 28 March order of a Delhi court absolving Ghandy of the stringent terror charges for want of proper sanction.

Ghandy now stands charged for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and impersonation under IPC, triable by a court of Magistrate.

The Gujarat Police has in its application said that on 25 February, 2010, a complaint was registered at Kamrej Police station against unnamed CPI(Maoist) organisers and members for preparing an armed force and guerrilla zone in Surat, north Maharashtra and South Gujarat and other areas.

It said the accused were also creating “internal war between religious minorities in these areas in order to obtain militant cadres for guerrilla zone.”

Police have already arrested twenty persons from various regions in Surat, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

PTI