“Mahato has confessed during interrogation that he has an insurance policy worth Rs.1 crore and he has also given two premiums for it. He also bought a house at Mayurbhanj area of Orissa recently,” West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh said at a press conference.
Mahato, head of the tribal body People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) that was at the forefront of the violent agitation in Lalgarh, was arrested Saturday for his links with Maoist guerrillas.
“We came to know that he (Mahato) had close connections with top-rung Maoist leaders like Kishen-Ji and other linkmen. We’re verifying all the information he provided to the police,” Singh said.
According to the police officer, Mahato had gone to Jharkhand in January to hold talks with Maoist leaders.
“We’re probing everything related to the arrest. The police will verify everything he said,” Singh added.
Posing as journalists, police had sneaked in on Mahato and arrested him from Birka near the headquarters of Lalgarh block in West Midnapore district.
The tribal leader had been eluding police ever since he went underground after the central and state governments launched a joint operation to flush out the Maoists.
The rebels had virtually made areas around Lalgarh, about 200 km west of Kolkata, a “free zone” since November last year.