Eleven Maoists arrested in Lucknow

Lucknow, Feb 9 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Police arrested eleven Maoists including two members of the central committee of the banned Communist Party of India outfit.

"Chintan and Balraj, both members of the apex central committee of the CPI (Maoist), were among 11 Naxalite leaders arrested in a night raid at Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Kanpur," Karamveer Singh, police chief of Uttar Pradesh, told a news conference here on Monday.

Chintan, 64, has PhD and MPhil degrees from JNU. Balraj, 51, also known as BR and Arvind, is a science graduate.

The nine others arrested are Navin Prasad Singh, Ambreesh, Deepak Ram, Shivraj Singh, Rajendra Kumar Fulara, Kripa Shankar, Seema Azad, Viswavijay and Asha Munda.

According to literature seized from the leaders, the Maoists were planning to expand their organisation in Uttar (North) Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Maoists claim they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, but are fast losing credibility after attacking schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects. (ANI)