Acting on a specific tip-off, the CID first arrested three Maoists from Amtala bus stop at Bishnupur in South 24- Parganas district and subsequently two others from Garia.

According to IG (I), CID Niraj Narayan Pandey, those arrested include 44-year-old Madhusudan Mondal, a member of state committee of CPI(Maoist) and a close associate of Deepak. Mondol, who has several aliases like Narayan, Madhu, Salim and Ravi, had been staying in Nandigram since 2006. “He provided arms training to Maoist cadres and was involved in the murder of Trinamool leader Nishikanto Mondol,” said Pandey.

The others arrested are Sachin Ghoshal (44), a member of the technical wing of the CPI(Maoist), Rajesh Mondal (19), Siddhartha Mondal (36) and Sanjoy Mondal (42).

The CID said that Rajesh accompanied by Sachin was carrying a letter of Maoist leader ‘Debu’ to Madhusudan when the trio was arrested at Amtala bus stop. On interrogation, the CID then arrested Rajesh’s father Sanjoy, who is a zonal committee member of CPI (Maoist), and Siddhartha, a resident of Jhejuri in Nandigram, from Garia.

Siddhartha worked at a factory and resides at a rented house arranged by Sanjoy.

According to sources, Madhusuan, a resident of Durgachawk in Haldia in East Midnapore has been associated with Maoists for the last 20 years. Initially, he was with Sangrami Shramik Mancha and then he joined the CPIM-L. Later, he became a member of MCC, and after the merger of the MCC and PWG, he was selected as a senior member of the state committee.