Police arrest four Maoists in Orissa

Malkangiri (Orissa), Nov 8 : The Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel of Orissa on Friday nabbed four Maoists, including three women, from Malkangiri district for their alleged involvement in several criminal cases.

The four Maoists were arrested during a raid on a Maoists training camp in Jakalkunda forest area, about 700 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar.

The arrested Maoists have been identified as Kumari alias Kona Pangi Sonai of Nallakonda Dalam, Aruna alias Damayanti of Korukonda Dalam, Padma of Chintur Dalam in Andhra Pradesh and Krishna alias J.Durga Rao.

Police said that the arrested Maoists were involved in several attacks in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

"All the four were involved in the recent ambush on Andhra Pradesh police party in Chitrakonda reservoir which resulted in killing of 37 Andhra greyhounds. They were also wanted in at least 10 cases in Orissa and about 40-50 cases in Andhra Pradesh. They were also involved in landmine blast in a security vehicle and attacks in R. Udayagiri and Deogarh guesthouse in Orissa. Maoists literature, landmines, about 10,000 rupees cash, CDs, mobile phones and maps have been recovered from the spot," said Satish Kumar Gajbhiya, Superintendent of Police, Malkangiri.

Maoist rebels attacked a boat ferrying 63 policemen of the 'Grey Hound' force of Andhra Pradesh police in Malkangiri district in Orissa on June 29 this year. On July 16, at least 24 policemen were killed when Maoist rebels exploded a landmine under a security vehicle in the same district.

The Maoists are highly active across a wide swathe of India, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. They are also active in some areas of Orissa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers and regularly attack government property and policemen.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had earlier described the four-decade-old Maoist rebellion, which has killed thousands, as the single biggest threat to India's internal security.

ANI