Two naxals convicted for unlawful activities

Naxal leader Shridhar and Vernon coming out of court after being convicted on Tuesday. 

By Dheeraj Fartode

In a major victory for Maharashtra Police, two hard-core naxal sympathisers- Vernon Stanlase Gonsalves alias Vikram and Shridhar Srinivasan Krishnan Shriwasan alias Vishnu- portrayed as mere dissenting intellectuals by human rights activists, were held guilty under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sentenced by District Court on various counts including supporting unlawful organisation, carrying out unlawful activities.
This is for the first time that two top rank Naxalites have been convicted under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, notwithstanding a massive propoganda unleashed by various NGOs and frontal organisations charging Maharashtra Police with falsely implicating them.
Both the hard-core naxalites were charged under sections 120 (B), 121 (A) of IPC, 3, 35 of Arms act, 6, 9 (B) of Indian Explosives act and sections 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
However, the prosecution led by Special Public Prosecutor Prashant Kumar Sathianathan submitted a near water-proof case before the court producing more than 5,500 pages literature stored in the computers of Vernon dealing with constitution of CPI (Maoists), naxal strategy, jungle warfare, arms and detonators seized from their possession and powerful walkie-talkies in working condition. The video clippings of military training, making of naxal war strategy and origin of many disruptive activities and violence planned was also recovered from their possession.
The prosecution also established that this was not the literature available on internet, as often claimed by human rights activists whenever a naxal sympathiser is arrested, but the duo actively wrote and re-drafted resolutions and strategy papers for the naxalites.
The defence counsels Dhairyasheel Patil and Surendra Gadling as usual claimed that police falsely implicated Vernon and Shridhar and there was nothing unusual about liteature seized. But prosecution confronted with origin of this objectionable literature which was source material for naxalites and countered this point.
District and Sessions Judge P M Dunedar held Vernon and Shridhar guilty and sentenced them to five and six years imprisonment respectively. According to prosecution Shridhar was polit bureau member of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) while Vernon was a leading figure of a frontal organisation and member of the Maharshtra State Committee and their arrest in 2007 was described as a prized catch.
Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Kalachouki unit had arrested Vernon Stanlase Gonsalves alias Vikram and Srinivasan Krishnan Shriwasan alias Vishnu  from Devnor, Govandi, Mumbai on August 19, 2007. Cops had recoved one pistol, one revolver, 14 live cartridge, nine detonators and 20 gelatin sticks during search of their house. Cops had also seized 52 CDs and 6.9 lakh cash from the spot. Their arrest from Mumbai had revealed for the first time growing tentacles of Naxaltes in urban area. Later, based on evidence collected here, the matter was transferred to Nagpur court. The prosecution examined 26 witnesses and most of them deposed against the accused and withstood volley of questions from defence lawyers.
On April 25, 2011, Thane police had arrested Angelo (Angela) Sontakke alias Sharda alias Ishkara alias Sunita Patil, a former teacher, secretary of the ‘Golden Corridor Committee’ of the Maoists and wife of Milind Teltumbde, secretary of the Maharashtra State Committee of the CPI (Maoist). CPI (Maoist), which was formed in 2004. It is believed to be frontal organisation of Peoples war and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). However, since a separate case is registered at Mumbai, the prosecution chose not to press charges here and as a result, she was acquitted by Nagpur court.