Orissa police arrest three Maoists

Rourkela (Orissa), Feb 13(ANI): Orissa police on Sunday arrested three Maoists ultras after a fierce shootout near a densely forested in Rourkela.

Diptesh Patnaik, Superintendent of Police in Rourkela, revealed that the Saranda forest range was being used as a training hub by the insurgents.

"For a very long time, because of the geographical location of the Saranda forest between Orissa and Jharkhand, that was always used as a safe haven by the Maoists to run their national training camps and various organizational activities," Patnaik said.

"We had been getting information of many people from Nepal, from other parts of India, from Assam, from Northeast India, coming to Saranda via Ranchi, Rourkela and then imparting training in arms, explosives and various Naxal strategies," he added.

Patnaik also said that one of the nabbed ultras was a former member of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

"Three people, including an area commander, fell to police bullets. On the same location, we also arrested three people. On verification, they turned out to be from Dibrugarh is Assam," Patnaik said.

"One of them, Aditya Bora, had worked with ULFA 20 years ago. Subsequently, on interrogation, we found out that he had joined the Naxal movement in Assam," he added. (ANI)