Maoist zonal commander arrested, arms and ammunition recovered

Gaya, Aug 1 (UNI) Three Maoist guerrillas, including a self- styled ''zonal commander'' were arrested from their hideout near here today.

Gaya Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Jain described the arrest as a major success and said acting on a tip- off a team of armed policemen pounced on their hideout at Jafra village, at the wee hours and arrested the extremists, including the ''zonal commandar'' and two of his accomplices without any resistance.

One sten gun, one self-loading rifle, one pistol, one loaded carbine and several rounds of ammunition besides some explosive powder, some Maoist literature, one mobile phone and a sim card were recovered from their possession, Mr Jain informed.

The dreaded Maoist was wanted by Bihar and Jharkhand police in connection with several cases of murder, loot and extortions for the past couple of years.

Meanwhile, in another well coordinated simultaneous operation in three districts 12 notorious criminals of Manoj Yadav gang were arrested today and some arms and ammunition seized.

Of the arrested, seven criminals were rounded up from Patna and its neighbourhood, while three and two others were picked up from Madhepura and Khagaria districts respectively.

Several currencies of Nepal were also seized from them, police said.

UNI