4 Maoists arrested in Orissa

Sambalpur, Nov 14 (UNI) In a major breakthrough, the Sambalpur police nabbed four Maoists, one of them a hardcore, from the Jarang forest.

Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Sanjya Kumar said police nabbed one Ganesh Mirdha (29) from the Jarang forest yesterday.

Later, based on his information, three others- Anil Xess (20) of Dhama, Dasarathi Pradhan (24) of Sitlenpali, and Nandlal Mirdha (27) of Laikerbahal were arrested. All of them were produced before the court today, the SP said.

Police seized 30 pairs of shoes, one 303 rifle, 39 rounds, live cartridges, one mobile phone set, one BSNL SIM card, a TV set, one solar panel, nine pairs of uniforms and some important papers from the training camp, he said.

Ganesh, one of the hardcore Maoists, is believed to have started the activities in Sambalpur and neighbouring district with one Ramdeo of Jharkhand during 2002.

While narrating his days in the forest and the training period in Sundargarh and Jharkhand camps, he told mediapersons that Ramdeo deserted him and fled with Rs 6 lakhs.

Ganesh claimed that his wife Sulochana alias Gita was alive. Last year, police at Deogarh claimed to have gunned her down. He added that his wife was still active in Maoist operations and appealed to her to leave such activities.

The SP said as many as 22 cases were pending against Ganesh, including four murders.

UNI