ROURKELA: At Least three members of a family involved in harbouring criminals of Jharkhand-based People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) were arrested on Saturday with arms and ammunition from Khukundubahal village under Birmitrapur police limits in Sundargarh district.
However, a group of about 10 PLFI members present at Khukundubahal, about 25 km from Rourkela, managed to give police the slip.
Sundargarh SP Nikhil Kanodia said eight single barrel rifles, 41 rounds of live ammunition and 11.3 kg of high-end explosive in semi-solid form were recovered from the house of those arrested. He identified them as Surendra Nanda, a Gram Rakshi, his son Afindra and nephew Tureswar Nanda. They were providing logistic support to the PLFI group.
On a tip off, a team of Birmitrapur police, backed by District Voluntary Force (DVF) personnel, raided Nanda’s house on Saturday morning, but about 10 PLFI members present there managed to escape into the nearby forest. Kanodia said criminal antecedents of the arrested trio were being verified. They were produced in the court of Pansposh SDJM at Rourkela. Police claimed that some of the PLFI members present at Nanda’s house were involved in the loot of Malidihi branch of Utkal Gramya Bank under Rajgangpur police limits in the district last month.
PLFI, a banned splinter Maoist outfit in Jharkhand, has been responsible for various cases of criminal extortion, murder and loot in bordering and remote pockets of Sundargarh district. Recently, two PLFI members were gunned down in exchange of fire by Rourkela police at a forest area of Gurundia police limits in the district.