100 Maoist guerrillas arrested in North Bihar

Jamui, May 21 (UNI) In a major anti-insurgency operation, the Bihar police and paramilitary forces today rounded up about 100 suspected Maoist guerrillas from a remote village in this Naxal-dominated district and seized several country-made weapons from their possession.

District Superintendent of Police Binay Kumar told UNI that the security forces acted on a tip-off that a gang of Maoist ultras, including several women cadres, had been holding a secret meeting at Tokli village, about 80 km from here.

On receiving the information, a joint force of Bihar Armed Police, Seema Sashastra Bal (SSB) and CRPF rushed to the spot at around 0300 hours and cordoned off the entire village.

Responding to the call for laying down their weapons, about 100 ultras surrendered without any resistance and later courted arrest, while some others, including their leaders escaped under cover of darkness. The arrested included 22 women cadres.

Several incriminating documents and some explosives, including detonators, were seized from the surrendred extremists' possession, the SP said, adding that search was on to nab the escaped ultras.

Terming the arrest of so many Maoist guerrillas at a time as a ''major success'' of the state administration's anti-insurgency operations, Mr Kumar said the nabbed ultras would be produced in the Jamui district court here today for their remand in jail custody.

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