Bharat Durgam
Bijapur, September 11
In a major breakthrough in the on-going operation against the Maoists, security forces in Bijapur district have arrested 26 active cadres of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).
Of the arrested Maoists, six had been carrying a reward of Rs 13 lakh. The achievement came in the joint operation that was carried out by DRG Bijapur, police teams from Gangloor, Bhairamgarh, Usoor, Awapalli, Tarrem, along with CoBRA 205, CRPF 196 and 62 Battalions.
According to police officials, the forces recovered a huge cache of explosives and banned materials including IEDs, cooker bombs, tiffin bombs, cardex wire, safety fuses, detonators, multimeters, electric wires, batteries, digging tools, and Maoist propaganda material such as banners, posters, and pamphlets from the arrest rebels. The arrested rebels include three from Gangloor, three Bhairamgarh, eight each from Awapalli and Usoor (including 2 rewarded cadres, notably Munna Potam, a member of Battalion No. 1 with a bounty of ₹8 lakh) and four from Tarrem.
The arrested include militia members, section commanders, area committee members, and Janatana Sarkar leaders.
The officials said during interrogation, the accused admitted they were planning to plant IEDs to target security forces. The seized explosives and propaganda materials were confiscated in the presence of witnesses.
Cases have been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act. The arrested Maoists were produced before the court from where they were sent to judicial remand.
