Police and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have arrested five Maoists in Odisha”s Koraput District. According to sub-divisional police officer Jalandhar Jali said that the arrested Maoists were working for the Srikakulam-Koraput division of Communist Party of India (Maoist) from past several years and were apprehended near China Sabdam forest.
“Yesterday, five hardcore Maoists of Srikakulam, Koraput division were arrested by the police and BSF staff who were involved in several murder case, one tower burning case and two dacoit cases,” said Jali. During investigation, the arrested Maoists confessed to have committed murders and series of violence in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon areas. The arrested members have been identified as Abhi Pidika, Bulu Pidika, Adana Meleka, Chekiti Prasad and Jetu Meleka, all residents under Bandhugaon police limits. “Two country made guns were also recovered from them and while the Maoists were organising the sabotaging the locality, the police and the BSF force, got the information and apprehended them while others escaped into the jungle,” Jali added.
The rebels are rapidly expanding their insurgency and could move from remote rural areas to cities. Equipped with automatic weapons, shoulder rocket launchers, mines and explosives, the Maoists want to cripple economic activity. The Maoist insurgents are estimated to number 7500 hardcore fighters in nearly a third of India”s 630 districts. While they have made few inroads into cities, they have spread into rural pockets in 20 of 28 states. Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers. Thousands have been killed in the insurgency since the late 1960s. (ANI)