MALKANGIRI/UMERKOTE: In a major success for the security forces, three Maoists were arrested from Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts on Tuesday.In Malkangiri, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with the help of Odisha Police arrested the dreaded Maoist Ranju Khillo alias Chanti from Swabhiman Anchal. The 40-year-old Maoist was carrying a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh. After his arrest, the NIA officials took him to Bhubaneswar for production in court, said Malkangiri SP Nitesh Wadhwani.
Chanti was arrested by NIA in connection with the attack on Border Security Force (BSF) in 2012. Wadhwani said the Maoist leader was involved in the killing of four BSF personnel in July, 2012. A case was registered against him in Chitrakonda police station following which he was arrested in 2013 and sent to jail. Chanti was released on bail in 2018 but thereafter, didn’t appear in the court.
The NIA registered a case against the Maoist and was looking for him. A few days back, posters of Chanti and three other Maoists were put up at different places in the state.Similarly, Nabarangpur police arrested two Maoists including a hardcore woman cadre from Hatigaon reserve forest on the day. The arrested Maoists were identified as Poje Mandavi alias Anita (25) of Sukuma district in Chhattisgarh and Samudra Bagh (32) of Nuapada in Odisha.
While Mandavi was the area committee member (ACM) of Mainpur-Nuapada division of the CPI (Maoist), Bagh worked as a militia member of the banned outfit.DIG, South-Western range Rajesh Pandit said acting on a specific intelligence input about the presence of two suspected Maoists at Kusumpur village within Raighar police limits, a joint combing operation was launched by the personnel of DVF, SOG and CRPF in the morning. During search in Hatigaon reserve forest, the security forces apprehended Mandavi and Bagh.
Mandavi, who was active in Naxal activities since 2010, was a hardcore militant while Bagh was engaged in distributing banners and posters of the Maoists. He joined the outfit in 2017. The duo was active in Odisha’s Kalahandi and Nuapada districts besides Chhattisgarh.
The DIG said the woman Maoist cadre was involved in various firing cases in Nuapada and Kalahandi. “Mandavi joined the Bodchatia LOS as a party member in 2010 under the leadership of Ramesh in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. In 2013, she was transferred to Mainpur-Nuapada division as a guard and involved in many violent activities. She was promoted to ACM in 2020.”
Apart from bannering and postering, Bagh was in regular touch with the Maoists and provided them with information and inputs. He was also proving medicines and other essential items to the ultras.The duo’s involvement in Maoist violence cases in Odisha and Chhattisgarh is under verification, Pandit added.