2 Maoists arrested in Latehar

Daltonganj: Two Maoists, including a zonal commander with a Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head, were arrested from Harnamaar locality in Latehar district on Friday, police said on Saturday.

The arrested Maoists were identified as zonal commander Mritunjay Bhuiyan alias Fresh, 42, and Babloo Ram, 22, who had a Rs 2 lakh reward on him. They were sent to judicial custody on Saturday.




Personnel from six police stations — Chhipadohar, Garu, Bareysarn, Mahuadanr, Manika and Netarhat — launched a search operation following reports of the Maoists moving in these areas. “They were caught when they came to buy essentials,” said a police source.

Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav said that Mritunjay, who hails from Chhipadohar locality, had 104 cases registered against him across Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Babloo has 15 cases against him in Jharkhand. Police also recovered Rs 1.10 lakh in cash from Mritunjay, and Rs 40,000 from Babloo.

“Mritunjay’s Naxal journey began over 20 years ago, while Babloo joined the outfit around 4-5 years back,” said the SP, adding that Babloo hails from Bihar’s Arwal district.

“An AK-47 rifle, magazine, 21 rounds of ammunition, wireless set, radio, tab, 2 watches, 4 SIM cards, Maoist literature, audio clips, among others, were recovered from them,” he said.