We are no match for Maoists, say Bihar cops

The modern Maoist in Bihar speaks English, is tech-savvy, and communicates using high frequency wireless networks.

The Bihar police said Maoists who were recently arrested revealed this.

The police recovered a laptop, CDs, a walkman and Rs 2 lakh from the possession of four Maoist activists, including two women in Jamui district recently.

In a statewide operation launched against Maoists last week, the police arrested the four. The police, who were expecting to recover arms and ammunition, were stunned to see the gadgets.

"Those arrested were returning to Jamui from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh after undergoing training in guerilla warfare and use of technology," the police officials said.

"The laptop has loads of important data in it," a police official, who did not want to be named for this report, said.

Police sources said that recovered CDs showed new recruits training in the forest of Uttaranchal, Chhattishgarh and Jharkhand. "The CDs are being used to motivate people to join them," the police official said.

The police were also stumped by fluent English of the activists.

Police officials admitted that it will be a difficult task to take on Maoist as they are now. "We received intelligence reports that the Maoists were using ultra modern wireless sets, which are powerful enough to enable the rebels to keep in touch over a geographical spread of 50 km in forest areas, where interference due to high-rise structures is nil," the police official said.

It is said that the Maoists are even capable of intercepting the wireless communication of the police. They use simple FM radios to intercept the messages. Besides, use of Internet also helping them.

The police official said that the Maoists use encryption software to communicate through the Internet.

The Maoist are in possession of more than a dozen wireless sets belonging to the police, acquired from ambushes.

The officer accepted that the police no match to the Maoist guerillas in Bihar, one of the worst-hit states. "They have become more technology savvy than policemen," he said.