PATNA: As many as five Maoist commanders were arrested in Bihar and police defused 100 IEDs planted by the rebels in neighbouring Jharkhand on Sunday. A gram panchayat head was found shot dead in Jharkhand for allegedly being a police informer.
In Bihar’s southern Aurangabad district, three Maoists, including the founder of the Jharkhand-based splinter group of the outlawed CPI(Maoist), were arrested while two others were arrested in Jamui and
Munger districts, said police officials on Sunday.
“Arvind Ram, the founder of Maoist splinter group Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJPP) wanted in a number of criminal cases, was arrested along with two of his associates in a raid in Khadaha-Sonedila area under NTPC-Khaira police station. Three country-made pistols, 15 live cartridges and an empty cartridge were recovered from the trio,” said Aurangabad SP Satya Prakash.
In Jamui district bordering Jharkhand, hardcore Maoist leader Puran Murmu was arrested while police in Munger district arrested Gopal Das, another hardcore Maoist wanted in several criminal cases.
In a search operation conducted by police in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, a series of more than 100 improvised explosive devices (IED) were detected in the Donki Barmaiya forest under Manika police station area and defused on Sunday. “The explosives were planted by the Maoists to trap and kill policemen patrolling the forest,” said CRPF commandant Pankaj Kumar, who led the search operation.
The leftwing rebels shot dead a gram panchayat mukhia in Ranchi district in Jharkhand in the early hours of Saturday after accusing him of being a police informer. The body of Jiban Singh Munda, mukhia of Jago panchayat Tamar police station, was recovered on Sunday. Handwritten pamphlets left by the Maoists near the body said he was “punished” for collecting levy in the name of the rebels and informing police about their activities.
“Nearly four Maoists came home and picked my father up. Then they shot him dead in cold blood a few minutes later,” said Santoshi Kumari, the teenage daughter of Munda. Rajkumar Lakra, SP (rural) of Ranchi district, visited the site and said a manhunt has been launched to nab Munda’s killers.