Kalikot, the home district of spokesperson of Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN Khadga Bahadur Bishwokarma, has become sensitive from security perspective.
Bishwokarma, who hails from Malkot in Narharinath rural municipality 6, has expanded 'challenging influence' in Malkot, according to the police. Construction of a 2100-square foot martyr memorial building and party headquarter has been started at Malkot under his leadership.
A 16-kilometer access road to the party headquarter is being constructed. The Maoists are digging 14 kilometers of road in Khulalu-Lalu-Malkot stretch, according to the police.
Malkot is 11 kilometers away from district headquarter Manma across the Karnali river. The government has constructed road only up to the Karnali river from Manma. A bridge is being constructed over the Karnali there. A police source said Chand's cadres have started to open track of the road by taking two bulldozers, that cost almost Rs 12.50 million each, across the Karnali.
The party has already completed seven kilometers of road spending almost Rs 50 million. The police have stopped construction of the party headquarter and road after recent rise in destructive activities and extortion drive by the party.
"Bishwokarma is leading all these activities. We have stopped construction of the party headquarter and road," chief of Kalikot Police DSP Binod Sharma told Setopati. "Chand Maoists are challenging the police. But we have not allowed their campaign to succeed."
DSP Sharma said search is on for around a dozen leaders including Bishwokarma who is said to be in Province 1 now to expand the party's organization.
The place where Chand-led CPN is constructing the party headquarter.
Kailali is the area of influence of Chand-led Maoists in Karnali. Thirteen leaders of the party including politburo, central and Bheri-Karnali bureau members come from the district and the police cases have been lodged against all of them, according to DSP Sharma.
Bishwokarma has handed the party's command in 45 districts including Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, and all the districts in Karnali to those from his district. Bhirendra Upadhyaya is the party chairman in Kathmandu and Navin BK in Lalitpur. BK is considered to be the mastermind of Nakkhu bombing and is said to be hiding in Kalikot.
"We have received information that BK is in Kalikot. We are looking for him," DSP Sharma said.
Nepal Police understands that Chand, who has gone underground, is busy in Nuwakot and Kavrepalanchowk districts. Bishwokarma is heading organizational expansion across the country after being released by the Supreme Court.
Police posts under target
The Chand-led Maoists are trying to target police posts, according to the police. "They have plenty of arms and we have heard that they are planning to loot weapons from the police," DSP Sharma said.
Kalikot Police carried out operations at a few places in the district Tuesday night after the Cabinet banned activities of the Chand-led party in the evening. Police personnel were mobilized at Kumalgaun, Kotbada and other places but nobody was arrested.
There are three municipalities and six rural municipalities in Kailali. There are a total of 350 police personnel in the district under 15 units including the District Police Office.
Kalikot is the base of Chand-led Maoists and almost every household has Maoist cadres. The Maoists had attacked almost every police posts in the district during the recent general election but there was no significant loss.
A man was killed in police firing in Naraharinath after the Maoists obstructed polling during the local election. "The jail here cannot accommodate the Maoist cadres if we were to arrest all of them in the district. We will need around three schools to keep them," DSP Sharma said.
The party used to hold mass assemblies in the district until the government's ban. The leaders during such programs claimed that it has 11,000 combatants including around 7,000 disqualified by the UN.
The government had called many armed, semi-underground groups raising ethnic, regional and other demands for dialogue. It had formed a dialogue team under federal lawmaker from the ruling CPN Som Prasad Pandey. The team held dialogue with many groups but failed to bring the Chand-led Maoists and CK Raut's group to the mainstream.
The team's mandate finished last month and the government did not extend it.
Raut has already joined the mainstream renouncing secessionist agenda under initiative of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
"We brought all the groups to dialogue but could not bring the Chand-led Maoists. We had submitted the report to the government recommending that the issue should be resolved through political dialogue," Pandey told Setopati.
