Rebels Without a Budget Constraint

Bengal offers Maoists incentives to surrender, Maoists make better offer to police personnel

Maoists have stumped the West Bengal government. The state, which had dangled the carrot of lucre to disgruntled Maoists to surrender with weapons, has now been forced to scurry in embarrassment as the rebels have unveiled a much better deal for armed cadres of the CPM and personnel of police and paramilitary forces who may want to switch camps. 

The Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa ‘Border Regional Committee’ of the CPI (Maoist) has announced a deal that offers up to ten times the amount proposed by the state for weapons. Under the state package, a Maoist surrendering with a machine gun would get Rs 25,000, one with an AK series rifle would get Rs 15,000, while Rs 10,000 is being offered for a satellite phone, Rs 3,000 for a revolver and Rs 1,000 for a landmine. Those rebels who have surrendered would get a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000, apart from a grant of Rs 1.5 lakh. 

The Maoist offer: Rs 1 lakh for an SLR, Insas or AK-series rifle, Rs 70,000 for a sten gun, pistol or branded revolver, Rs 50,000 for .303 and .315 rifles, Rs 25,000 for country-made arms, apart from a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 and amounts ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for participating in Maoist strikes, besides an insurance cover.  

The Maoist package, admit state home department officers, is much better than that of the state. But they say it is a gimmick. “The possibility of any policeman or paramilitary force personnel crossing over to the Maoist camp is next to nil. But we’re sure of many disgruntled Maoists breaking ranks to surrender, and with weapons,” says Home Secretary Samar Ghosh. But top cops say that apart from the Maoist package being an embarrassment for the state, the state’s offer is also not enough of an incentive to Maoists to surrender. A Maoist with a sat phone, they contend, would be a senior one and Rs 10,000 would hardly be an inducement for him.

MaoistsrebelsWest Bengal