Maoists getting arms from China: Official

New Delhi, Nov 8 : In a first such comment by any Indian official, union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai Sunday said he was 'sure' that Maoist guerrillas in India were acquiring weapons from China.

The leftist guerrillas follow "the philosophy of Marxism and Leninism and have their own brand of ideology. The Chinese are large suppliers of small arms and I am sure the Maoists get it from them", Pillai told reporters here.

Pillai did not elaborate whether the Maoists were getting arms from Chinese arms smugglers or official agencies.

Asked whether the government had any information if the Maoists' links with China went beyond arms, he said: "You should ask them (Maoists)."

Pillai had earlier linked Indian leftist insurgents with those in Nepal. But he maintained that there was no clear evidence about the Nepali Maoists assisting or providing arms to their Indian counterparts.

--IANS