West Bengal Police arrests Maoist leader carrying Rs 10 lakh reward on head

He was also gathering funds for that purpose, he said.Popularly known as Kishoreda among Maoists, Goswami hails from Sodepur Road area in South 24 Parganas district.Goswami was elected as the secretary of the outfits Kolkata city committee in 2000 and was part of the state committee in 2003-04.

West Bengal Police has arrested wanted Maoist leader Sabyasachi Goswami, alias 'Kishore', from Purulia district, a senior officer said on Friday.

Goswami, who carried a Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head, was arrested on Thursday night from a jungle near Chaunia village in Baghmundi police station limits near Jharkhand border, he added.

''We had information about his movement close to the Jharkhand border. We conducted a raid and arrested him from a jungle near Chaunia'', he told PTI.

A few rounds of bullets, a 9mm pistol and a few documents were found on him, he said, adding Goswami was on the most-wanted list of the NIA and was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

Goswami, who is in his mid-50s, was trying to reorganise Maoists from different districts of Bengal including Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and a few areas of Paschim Medinipur, the IPS officer said.

''His arrest is a big success because Goswami was trying to reorganise Maoist movement in Bengal. He was also gathering funds for that purpose,'' he said.

Popularly known as 'Kishoreda' among Maoists, Goswami hails from Sodepur Road area in South 24 Parganas district.

Goswami was elected as the secretary of the outfit's Kolkata city committee in 2000 and was part of the state committee in 2003-04. He was recently given charge of the 'Eastern Regional Bureau' of the group, sources said.

He was arrested by the CID in 2005 and 2013, by Bengal STF from Goaltor in Paschim Medinipore in 2018 and again three years later by a central agency from Assam.