Arun Ferreira: A Naxal: say police, a Loving Dad: say in-laws, a Social worker: say Neighbours.
Mid-day
Reality or a facade? Arun Ferreira with his son (centre) and a relative
Arun: The student
A brilliant student from St Stanislaus School, Bandra, and St Xavier’s College, near Dhobitalao, Arun is a first class BSc graduate.
His first brush with social activities came in the ’90s after the infamous Elphinstone College rape case (a student was raped by her classmates during a garba festival. The girl’s father withdrew the complaint bowing to pressure).
Arun led the protests launched by a students’ union Vidyarthi Pragati Sanghatana (a leftist outfit), who have now pasted posters at St Peter’s Church, Bandra, in protest.
Arun fell in love with Jennifer and married her five years ago. Jennifer teaches Sociology in a college in the western suburbs. They have a two-year old son.
Poster protest put up by the students’ union Vidyarthi Pragati Sanghatana at St Peter’s Church, Bandra
MiD DAY talks to some people who have known Arun for years to find what he is really like.
Neighbours say “Arun wanted to serve society from a very young age. So, he wanted to become a priest.
He stayed at the Papal Seminary in Pune for a few months to pursue his dream, but did not want to be caged within the four walls of the church.
He wanted to work with the poor,’’ says a neighbour, who was also a close friend of Arun’s father Thomas.
The base: Arun Ferreira's residence on St Martin's Road, Bandra
Relatives in Bandra:
His immediate family, including his uncles Hadrien and Mathew, know Arun as a brilliant boy who did “some kind of social work”. He never attended family functions, but uncle Hadrien is sure his nephew cannot be a Naxal.
In-law says
Jennifer’s uncle Rudolf Coutinho doesn’t believe he is a Naxalite. “He’s a family man. Arun is very fond of his son. He was in Thane with us and used to go to Pune, Nashik and Nagpur for social work. He was involved with issues of the scheduled castes and farmers,” says Coutinho.
The search is on... Yesterday, two officers from the Nagpur police visited Jennifer’s residence in Thane. Jennifer is in Ahmedabad, but they spoke to her uncle Rudolf. The police found 24 books on Sociology, a few books on social work, a CD on the life of revolutionaries and some documents
The police insist Arun is the chief of communication and propaganda of the ultra Left wing of the Naxals.
A Nagpur police officer takes notes based on Jennifer’s uncle Rudolf’s testimony
He, along with three others — Murali alias Ashok Satya Reddy, the divisional commander of north Gadchiroli-Gondia-Balaghat and Rajnandgaon division, Naresh Bansod and Dhanendra Bhurle have been arrested.
They were trying to make Nagpur their headquarters and planning to create law and order problems on July 14.
The Nagpur police have booked him under sections 10, 13 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1969 and sections 353 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Naxalism at a glance
The term comes from Naxalbari, a village in West Bengal, where
a section of CPI (M) led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a violent uprising on May 25, 1967, to develop a revolutionary opposition against the party leadership.
Ideologically, they belong to various trends of Maoism. Initially, the movement had its epicentre in West Bengal. In recent years, they have fanned into underdeveloped areas such as Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
The Naxalites intensified their insurgency this year and are now active in half of India’s states in an attempt to encourage a peasant revolt in response to a government plan to expropriate large tracts of peasant land in eastern India to create special economic zones.
Mumbai: Arun Tries to Escape from Police Custody
Police interrogators fail to break silence of man who they claim is a top functionary of the dreaded PWG
Bandra resident Arun Fereira (35), who was arrested by Nagpur police on Tuesday morning with three companions for alleged Naxalite activities, assaulted two policemen, as he attempted to escape from custody on Thursday.
“Arun is a strong man. He attempted to escape when we arrested him. Police officers interrogating him could not make him break his silence,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Zone II.
Arun and his companions Mahesh alias Murli alias Ashok Satya Reddy (45), Dhanendra Shreeram Burle (35) and Naresh Bansod (42) are reported to cadres of the CPI-ML and banned People’s War Group (PWG).
Nagpur cops say they retrieved a pen drive and minutes of the state committee meeting of the Naxalites from Fereira, who is said to be the propaganda chief of the Naxalites and the chief of operations in Maharashtra.
The minutes reportedly contain details of the activities of the Naxalites in recent past and the agenda for future work. The police also seized an incriminating CD, mobile phone, and some inflammatory Naxalite pamphlets from Murli.
Said DCP Kumar, “He is educated and possesses a fake identity card of Ranbaxy company with the name of Sanjay Chaudhary.
He has an MA in political science.” Some relatives of Fereiras’ MiD DAY spoke to said Arun Fereiras had wanted to be a priest.Fereira and his associates have been remanded to police custody till May 16.
Ripe For A Red Harvest?
Documents seized from the alleged Naxals mention three events that can be used to make the masses aware of the atrocities committed on the country’s poor
Nandigram – On March 14, farmers were killed in police firing at Nandigram in West Bengal for acquisition of their land for a government backed SEZ
Chhattisgarh (Bijapur) – On March 31, seven tribal Naxal supporters from Ponjer village were killed in an encounter by Chhattisgarh Armed Police in Santoshpur village.
14 July Ambedkar statue desecration: The desecration of Dalit icon Babasaheb’s statue, 10 years ago on 14 July.