Naxal leader found Goa safe: Bansal

PANJIM, MAY 7
Goa Police today said that the Naxal group Maobadi Trishul Manch (MTM) leader Sambu Beck was staying in Goa for over a one month as he found this to be a safe place to hide.
Addressing press conference in the Goa Police headquarters conference hall, ANC Superintendent Veenu Bansal who headed the joint operation said that Beck was in Goa for the last one and half months because he wanted to lie low.
“Beck saw Goa as a safe place for him to lie low for sometime,” Bansal said giving details of Sambu’s stay in Goa.
Further, he said, based on the information from the Orissa police the Goa police arrested the naxalite leader along with 17 others under section 41 of the CRPC.
“We are keeping a close watch to find out the Naxal leader’s movements in the State,” Bansal said.
Bansal said that Beck and his associate Rajendra Barla will be taken to Orissa within the next few days, while 16 others who were arrested on Thursday evening as suspected naxalites along with them have been released.
Beck and Barla have been remanded to six days police custody during which they will be taken to Orissa by the Orissa police to investigate charges pending against them in that State.
“Beck during his stay in Goa stayed in Bhoma and then shifted to Mapusa from where he was arrested on Friday. Beck also worked as a labourer in a factory in Mapusa for a short while during his stay there,” Bansal said.
The police official said that there was no property that he owned in Goa or possessed any weapons as per their preliminary investigations.
Beck did not interact much with locals and was only known to communicate with persons from his state and district (Sundergad, Orissa) living in and around Mapusa during his one and half month stay in Goa, Bansal said.
Goa DGP had formed a team under the ANC SP to look out for the naxal leader and the police had located him during the last seven days when they were watching his movements, Bansal said.
Crime Branch provided valuable inputs for his arrest. Towards the end of the operation commandos of the IRB were also part of the arrests. ANC also contributed to the manpower during the operation, Bansal said.
Beck tried to escape when tried to make the arrest. He was then arrested after being cordoned off, Bansal claimed.