Kolkata : Maoists might strike in Kolkata some time on the eve of the 2011 assembly elections and have already started scouting targets, arrested Maoist military commander 'Telugu' Deepak has told police.

The disclosure comes just days after Maoist military strategist Koteswar Rao alias Kishanji had told reporters in an exclusive interview that they planned to attack in cities and towns next. Deepak alias Venkateswar Reddy; who has no access to newspapers in police custody; has said the same thing almost matching Kishaji word for word. According to sources, Deepak has revealed that Maoists have started doing intensive homework in the city and are spreading their ideological support base in the suburbs. The CID has mentioned this in its interim report to the state home department. "The report has been prepared after interrogating Deepak. We have added our intelligence inputs as the Maoist leader remains silent on the Maoist's future plans," said a senior CID officer.

According to police, Deepak made no effort to hide their efforts to strengthen their support base in urban areas. He claimed that Maoists had a hand in the violence at Lumtex Jute Mill in Titagarh in May 2008 where a manager was lynched by some workers. The interim report also mentions that Maoists are taking up the cause of labourers in industries where workers do not have faith in recognised trade unions. Deepak, in fact, played a crucial role in expanding the party network among workers in the state's ailing manufacturing sector, the CID says.

Going with the Maoist plan, a large section of rebels who were underground for five years, have become active in urban areas. "This is a continuous process among such outfits. They shuffle their cadres, giving them responsibilities to run the frontal organisations," a police officer said. Former CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Gour Chakrabarty, now in custody, is apparently one such person. However, police have not managed to get more information on the present leaders from Deepak. "We have identified some persons but it is not possible for us to take them in custody because we have nothing against them as yet," a CID officer said.