Maoist cash caches keep Telangana cops on their toes

HYDERABAD: With emergence of reports of Maoists trying to exchange old currency notes with new ones in some states, the Telangana police have launched a vigil on cash transactions in banks and movements of Maoist sympathisers, especially in Maoist-affected areas, in the state.

The police believe that there are high chances of ‘Maoist money’ from Chhattisgarh being moved to banks in Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal, where Maoists exert some influence. Patrolling of vehicles and keeping a tab on Maoist sympathisers have been intensified on the state’s borders with Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to prevent this activity.

Police said that though Maoist numbers and their activities fell drastically in the state in the past one decade, 11 top Maoist leaders operating in Chhattisgarh are from Telangana. “This is one of the reasons why we expect large-scale demonetised currency movement into Telangana now,” a police source said.

It is estimated that Maoists in the state have about Rs 60 crore to Rs 70 crore in addition to gold worth Rs 100 crore. Similarly, Maoists in Andhra Pradesh are suspected to have about Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore stashed in dumps on the Andhra-Odisha border.

“Until a few years ago, Maoists used to keep the cash that they had collected by imposing a levy or through extortion from contractors in dumps. But later, they changed their strategy and began converting cash into gold and keeping only about 20 to 30% of their reserves in cash,” a senior cop told TOI. While part of the amount is sent to state and central committees, some of it is distributed among the cadres and supporters with the permission of the respective state committees. The cash is primarily used to purchase weapons, medicines and for daily needs.

The new move came when Maoists realised that holding onto large sums in currency in forest dumps can spoil it. Also, only one or two Maoists are tasked with creating such a dump and the organisation feared that in case that person dies in police firing, the money would be lost for ever. Since Maoists can carry gold on them, the prospect of losing their ‘savings’ largely gets eliminated, a senior police officer said.

Police added that in the recent major encounters on the AP-Orissa border, gold biscuits had been seized from the encounter sites.

Cash seized in Telangana since 2000: Rs 5,50,13,879

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Maoist-cash-caches-keep-Telangana-cops-on-their-toes/articleshow/55550662.cms