Kabir Kala Manch brainwashed them, say families of men with alleged Maoist links

It was nearly four years ago that Prashant Jalandhar Kamble 30 and Santosh Vasant Shelar 28 left their homes in Pune saying they would return soon Since then however the duo has been missing and their families have not heard from themPrashant Kamblersquos mother Laxmibai says he had been listening to songs by Kabir Kala Manch right before he disappeared On Monday the Anti Terrorist Squad ATS confirmed that they were looking for the duo and had charged them for Maoist activities after an eyewitness claimed he had seen them with alleged Maoist operative Arun Bhelke midday visited the accused duorsquos families and spoke to them about their experiences since the pair went missing in 2010Santosh Shelarrsquos brother Sandeep filed an FIR against the group suspecting they were involved in his disappearance PicsShashank SaneLaptop and PainterPrashant a Tadiwala resident used to run his own laptop repair shop after a Masters programme in Commerce at Savitribai Phule Pune University The last time his family heard from him was on November 3 2010 when he told his parents he was going to Mumbai for some work and that he would return in a few daysSantosh on the other hand didnrsquot get past high school but always had a knack for drawing and painting which his family encouraged him to pursue In November 2010 Santosh too left home telling his family he would return in a couple of monthsATS Inspector Sunil Tambe confirmed that along with a missing complaint a criminal case had been registered against both Prashant alias Laptop and Santosh alias PainterPrashantrsquos mother Laxmibai Jalandhar Kamble told middayrdquo I still remember the day my son left the house He said he had some work and that he would come back in a few days but he never returned I have not seen my child for the last four yearsrdquoWhile there were reports that Prashant had called his parents and told them that he had joined Naxals and was helping them with his computer skills his mother denied it and said they never heard from him after he left homeShe went on to allege that ATS officers had threatened and harassed them several times ldquoEvery six months ATS officers would come and enquire about my son During their last visit in May they threatened my husband and me and said they would take us into custody and beat us unless we gave details about our sonrdquo Laxmibai addedlsquoNo reason to do itrsquoldquoHe had opened a shop where he use to repair laptops and his younger brother Praveen would repair mobile phones There was no reason for him to leave home and go out like this I do not know why he did itrdquo said LaxmibaiWhile Prashantrsquos family are finding it hard to digest that he has been accused of being a Maoist operative his mother mentioned that before he had left he was beginning to be influenced by the philosophies of Kabir Kala Manch a cultural group which sympathises with the Naxal movementldquoOf late he used to listen to Kabir Kala Manch songs which were about how the only cure for corruption and poverty in India was to investigate all the black money from the country that had been deposited in foreign banksrdquo she saidlsquoBrainwashedrsquoThe story is similar to Santoshrsquos according to his brother Sandeep Vasant Shelar 33ldquoI know my brother is innocent and he cannot get involved in any bad activity People brainwashed my brother and forced him to leave his family I will be glad if he returns to Pune at least then we can meet himrdquo he saidldquoDue to poor health Santosh was unable to complete his education As he had a knack for painting we always used to encourage him He used to participate in painting and cartoons exhibitionsrdquo Sandeep recalledAccording to him Santosh met a neighbour mdash Rupali Jadhav in 2009 and thatrsquos when everything changed ldquoRupali introduced him to members of Kabir Kala Manch A couple of times Sheetal Sathe a Kabir Kala Manch member had come to our house to meet him But they told me they are unaware of his whereaboutsrdquo said Sandeep adding that he had filed an FIR against the group suspecting that they had something to do with his disappearance