Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC)

Origin

The Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), literally meaning the Third Preparatory Committee, was formed in 2002 after a number of cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Jharkhand walked out of their parent outfit complaining of the domination of the Yadav caste in the decision-making process of CPI-Maoist. The TPC cadres were mostly from the Dalit (downtrodden) Bhokta, Turi, Badai, Oraon, and Ghanju castes.

Since its inception, the outfit has indulged in fratricidal clashes with the CPI-Maoist and other Maoist outfits including the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT) in Jharkhand. The TPC has declared that its "main enemy is not the police machinery, but the CPI-Maoist."

Areas of Operation

The TPC has its strongholds primarily in the Latehar, Chatra and Palamu districts of Jharkhand, although the outfit claims to have extended its activities and influence all over the State. In July 2007, the outfit’s sub zonal commander of Palamau district, Girij, claimed that the outfit has established units in each of the 22 districts of Jharkhand. He said, "Our main enemy is not the police machinery, but the CPI-Maoist. They have diverted from their original principle and are involved in petty activities. And to successfully wage armed struggle against the Maoists, there is an imperative need to strengthen our own organisation. The results of our expansion would give us positive results in near future."

In the year 2007 and 2008, TPC activities were reported from Chatra, Gaya, Ramgarh, Latehar, Aurangabad, Palamu, West Singhbhum, Lohardagga and Simdega districts.

In neighbouring West Bengal, the TPC is known to have some presence in capital Kolkata, as well as Howrah and Hooghly districts. On September 10, the outfit’s Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly district in charge Rabindranath Dasgupta was arrested from Changrabandha in Mekhliganj of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal.

Leadership and Cadre Strength

The TPC is one among the five Maoist groups operating in Jharkhand. A November 2007 assessment by the Jharkhand Police put the cadre strength of the outfit at 70.

No information on TPC’s active leadership is available. The leadership structure of the outfit is divided into zonal chiefs, sub-zonal chiefs, district chiefs and ordinary cadres.

Funds

Extortion from development projects and contractors constitute the major source of income for the TPC. Coal traders in districts including Latehar are also specifically targeted by the outfit for extortion.

Incidents

2008

October 17: A CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in a gunfight between the outfit and cadres of its breakaway group, the TPC near Baruda village in the Chatra district.

October 10: A TPC commander was killed by CPI-Maoist cadres at Kundu village in the Chatra district. The Maoists struck around 3am when a cultural event was in progress at the village, a kilometre away from the Kundu police station. The TPC activist, identified as Nilesh alias Kariman Ganju, was watching the event when about 50 suspected Maoists stormed the venue and shot him dead.

September 10: A left-wing extremist belonging to the TPC, identified as Rabindranath Dasgupta was arrested from Changrabandha in Mekhliganj of Cooch Behar district (West Bengal). A country-made pistol, seven rounds of ammunition and fake notes with face value of INR 3,000 were recovered from the arrested extremist. Cooch Behar district Superintendent of Police Devendra Prakash Singh said, "Dasgupta is a high-ranking Maoist leader and we are interrogating him." The Sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Mekhliganj subsequently remanded him in police custody for 10 days. Police sources said that till 1989, Dasgupta was the Calcutta committee secretary of the MCC, which he had joined in 1974. He had joined TPC in 2004 and was in charge of the outfit’s operations and organisation in Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts.

June 19: Police recovered the dead body of Bigan Mahto, a hardcore extremist belonging to the TPC, who was suspected to have been killed by CPI-Maoist cadres near a school at Dumaria under Dumaria police station of the Gaya district.

April 3: Six cadres of the TPC, including ‘area commander’ Surendra Ganju, were arrested in the Ramgarh district. A special police team led by Superintendent of Police Amol Homkar, intercepted a car carrying the extremists near Topa area. Two locally-made revolvers, cartridges, two knives and an unspecified number of cellular phones were recovered from their possession.

January 10: The TPC cadres, reportedly shot dead a civilian, identified as Revalal Yadav in the Latehar district. Police recovered the dead body from the Balumathon-Murpa road.

January 9: The TPC cadres, attacked Bairiya village under Mali police station of Aurangabad district and set the house of Satyendra Singh ablaze. Dozens of TPC cadres surrounded the village and searched for Satyendra Singh. Not finding him, they asked the members of his house to come out before setting it ablaze. They also set ablaze paddy crops stored in his field. Sources said that the Satyendra Singh a former PWG cadre had joined the CPI-Maoist.

2007

November 19: CPI-Maoist cadres blew up an office of the Jharkhand Agriculture Marketing Board in the Hussainabad block of Palamu district while enforcing a 48-hour shutdown to protest the violence in West Bengal's Nandigram region. After bombing the building in Hussainabad, Maoists left pamphlets claiming responsibility for the blast, said a police official. However, the shutdown evoked a mixed response in the State. While there was no impact on life in the urban areas, rural areas were affected. Long distance buses did not ply and although no train was cancelled, railway stations wore a deserted look. Mining activities were also affected. 'No untoward incidents, except the blowing up of a marketing board building, have been reported in the state. This time Maoists have not damaged railway properties,' said Gauri Shankar Rath, Additional Director General of Police.

November 18: The CPI-Maoist cadres, abducted and shot dead one Mumtaz near an embankment situated 18 kilometers from Panki police station in the Palamu district. The Maoists accused him of being a sympathiser of their splinter group TPC, said police.

Maoists engaged the police in a fierce encounter in the Saranda forests near Chaibasa in the West Singhbhum district.

November 8: The TPC, abducted a doctor couple, identified as Amar and Pratima, near Kuru block of the Lohardagga district. Subsequently, the TPC cadres released the duo after six hours in captivity. "An intensive police combing operation forced the Maoist rebels to release the abducted doctors. The doctors are safe and they have been taken to the Lohardagga district headquarters," said G.S. Rath, the Additional Director General of Police

October 21: Cadres of the TPC, shot dead a local Congress party leader Ram Narayan Yadav at Mangalpu in the Palamu district. The dead body was recovered a day later.

October 14: A TPC zonal commander, identified as Pramod alias Kanna was arrested following a police raid on his hideout in the Paki jungle in Palamu, 190 kilometres from Ranchi. The police seized a pistol and Maoist literature from him.

September 12: TPC cadres abducted four supporters of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Amit Jaiswal, S Sao, Raj Kishore Pareiha and Mahesh Ram on, and killed them a day later in Barwadih village of Latehar district. The bodies were reportedly recovered from Balumath area on September 14.

JLT cadres killed three supporters of the TPC in Bano forest area of Simdega district. Police official described the incidents as power struggles within various left-wings extremists groups to strengthen their holds in the

September 9: A civilian, Arun Vishwakarma, was shot dead by the Naxalites in the Rajwadeen village of Palamu district. Another civilian, identified as Gopal Mahto was also shot dead by the Naxalites in Jamuney village in the same area. A hand-written note left near Gopal's body suggested that the killings were carried out by the TPC as it had a warning message for Beerbal and Karim, two top commanders of the CPI Maoist.

May 30: The TPC cadres reportedly killed two JLT sympathizers in the Latehar district in revenge of the killing of four of its supporters by the JLT a day earlier.

May 29: JLT Cadres shot dead four supporters of the TPC, identified as Arjun Ganjhu alias Tasala Ganjhu, Jahru Ganjhu, Sukhan Ganjhu and Paras Ganjhu, at Barwa Toli near Salechnawa village under Balumath police station area in the Latehar district. The incident occurred when the slain TPC supporters confessed to their involvement in the killing of Mukesh Yadav, brother of JLT ‘area commander’ Vinod Yadav, in a Jan Adalat (People’s court) organized by some 20 armed cadres of the JLT.

May 28: CPI-Maoist cadres abducted and subsequently killed four members of the TPC, a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, with sharp edged weapons in the Latehar district. Jharkhand Director General of Police, J. B. Mahapatra, said, "The killing is outcome of fight for collection of levy from the coal traders. Earlier members of CPI-Maoist were abducted by the TPC over fight for levy collection. And the killing is outcome of retaliation of CPI-Maoist".

(Last Update: November 4, 2008)