Patna police round up activists who had come to attend a rally to celebrate the formation of the CPI (Maoist). Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Dec. 5: Police today went hunting for ?Maoists? in and around the capital after the administration decided last evening to ban a rally organised to hail the joining of hands by the People?s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Hundreds of people headed for Gandhi Maidan were rounded up in different parts of the state in a crackdown that began last evening itself. The government had placed notices in newspapers this morning announcing the ban on the rally, which, it claimed, was being organised by the CPI (Maoist).

But the organisers argued that the rally had been called by the Krantikari Janasangharsh Ekjutta Samiti. ?We had applied for space at Gandhi Maidan and deposited the necessary fees well in advance. The district administration had granted us permission for the rally. It is strange that the authorities suddenly discovered that the rally was being organised by the CPI (Maoist),? Samiti member Triveni Singh said.

He added that at least 300 people were injured as many arrested in the ?state repression? unleashed since last evening.

Left-wing organisations and civil rights groups condemned the sudden ban and arrests. CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said, ?The ban is a denial of the democratic rights of people and we condemn it. But it is also a political conspiracy to conceal the RJD?s hobnobbing with the People?s War, which has killed a number of people in Bihar.?

People?s Union for Civil Liberties said the sudden haste with which the rally was banned indicated the ?lethargic functioning? of the government. ?The ban is an attack on the right to freedom of speech and expression available to all citizens. The organisers had been campaigning for the rally since a fortnight and taken the necessary permission. We appeal to the government to stop such repressive action by the police,? PUCL secretary Daisy Narayan said.

The Samiti has given a call to observe ?Black Day? on December 10, which also happens to be Human Rights Day. ?The RJD president has called for a party rally on December 23. Today?s ban will have an adverse impact on the RJD rally. We will work to highlight the RJD?s anti-poor face,? Triveni Singh said. Prominent leaders to be arrested include Rajkishore, Tara Singh, Sukhwinder Kaur, Ramadhar Singh and R.C. Prasad.

?The government claims that it was a rally of armed Maoist extremists. Did the police recover any weapon or bomb from those arrested? Innocent and poor people have been targeted and the government will have to repent for its undemocratic action,? the organisers warned.

They said since the rally was banned, programmes to hail the formation of the CPI (Maoist) were held in places like Bihta and the Bankipore camp jail, where the arrested people were kept.

After months of talks, the MCC and PW officially merged on September 21 this year. The two outfits had their areas of influence in parts of south and central Bihar. The organisers said the coming together of the two groups was a ?positive signal? at a time when the Left in the country is acutely divided.