Amid the Centre’s intensified crackdown on Maoist activities across central and southern India, during which over 200 members, including top leaders and foot soldiers, were neutralised this year alone, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has sounded an alarm over the alleged infiltration of ultra-left activists into Kolkata’s academic institutions.
In a letter addressed to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Governor expressed concern that Maoist sympathisers and members of their frontal organisations are actively attempting to influence young students, particularly in the wake of recent crimes like the gangrape incident at a South Kolkata law college. Governor Bose warned that these groups are targeting fresh minds, aiming to win their trust and gradually draw them into the fold of the banned Maoist movement.
The Governor was briefed on the tactical recruitment methods of the CPI (Maoist) during a meeting with principals of Kolkata-based colleges last week, convened in the aftermath of the alleged gangrape at South Calcutta Law College. The incident involves Monojit Mishra, an alumnus of the institution and a student-wing leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), two current students and a college security guard.
“In the meeting, several college principals voiced serious concern over the frequent visits by suspected activists of the banned Maoist outfit, who have been engaging with students and using the recent gangrape incident as a pretext to gain access to campuses,” said an NIA officer.
According to the officer, the principals told the Governor that a significant number of young students were attending meetings with these ultra-left activists. In his letter, the Governor expressed grave concern over these developments and called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
The NIA officer backed the concerns raised by college principals by referring to last year’s rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as a similar instance of alleged Maoist infiltration.
“Thousands took to the streets, staging overnight protests and demanding the removal of top government officials, including the police commissioner and health secretary. While the movement was portrayed as apolitical, it was anything but that,” the officer said.
He further claimed that leading the frontline of the protests were individuals closely associated with frontal organisations of the CPI (Maoist). “They deliberately kept out all political parties, including the CPI(M) and BJP, refusing to allow anyone to participate with party flags. It was a strategic effort to control the narrative and exploit public outrage,” the officer said.
Sources in the NIA have revealed that the agency has credible inputs indicating that Maoist operatives have successfully infiltrated sections of young doctors in medical colleges located in Kolkata, Bankura and Burdwan, capitalising on public outrage to gain access to these institutions.
“This aligns with the Maoists’ classic recruitment strategy,” said a senior NIA official with extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations, adding, “They wait for public discontent against the state to peak, then use it as a gateway to expand their influence—just as they did during the Lalgarh movement.”
According to the official, the recent crackdowns in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which led to the neutralisation of several top Maoist leaders, have created a leadership vacuum within the organisation. In response, the group is now expected to intensify recruitment efforts in urban areas, particularly targeting youth in educational institutions.
“The CPI (Maoist) politburo and central committee are largely led by individuals from urban backgrounds. Locals usually serve as squad leaders or area commanders. Now, with much of the rural leadership decimated, the organisation is seeking its next generation from cities,” the officer explained.
He said that using high-profile crimes on campuses like rape as rallying points is a deliberate tactic to attract young, disillusioned minds into the Maoist fold. “It’s a dangerous evolution of their playbook, and the state must respond swiftly to prevent deeper radicalisation,” he warned.
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