Two Naxalites, four supporters held in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur

Two Naxalites and their four supporters were arrested and an AK-47 rifle was recovered from their possession in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district on Wednesday, a senior police official said.

They were working as labourers in Jashpur to conceal their identity and evade arrest, he said.

Those held were identified as Tunesh Lakra alias Ravi and Ram Lakra (40), both members of banned outfit- Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP- a CPI (Maoist) splinter group) and their four supporters - Ranjeet Mahto, Herman Kumar, Gulam Sahjada (21) and Tabassum Ahmad (27), Inspector General of Police (Surguja Range) Ankit Garg said.

Jharkhand police had shared information about area commander of JJMP Tunesh Lakra hiding in Jashpur along with his associates, following which a joint team of Jashpur and Balrampur districts police of Chhattisgarh was constituted to trace them, he said.

Jashpur and Balrampur, two neighbouring districts share borders with Jharkhand state.

The joint squad of police led by Kunkuri (Jashpur) Sub Division Officer of Police Vinod Mandavi and Sub Inspector Subhash Kujur (Balrampur) raided Karma village under Narayanpur police station limits (Jashpur) this morning and nabbed Ram Lakra, Ranjeet Mahto, Herman Kumar, all natives of Jharkhand and Gulam Sahjada of Odisha, he said.

Based on their statements, two others - Tunesh Lakra and Tabassum Ahmad - were apprehended from a rented house in Kunkuri (Jashpur), he said.

To evade the arrest by Jharkhand police, the accused were working as labourers in Jashpur, he said.

One AK-47 rifle, a magazine and 90 live rounds, Maoist uniform and literature were recovered from their possession, he said.

Lakra, a native of Lambo village in Jharkhand, was active as an area commander of the JJMP on Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border. At least 13 cases were registered against him in Balrampur district (Chhattisgarh) and 18 cases in Garhwa district (Jharkhand), Garg said.

Earlier, Lakra was arrested by Balrampur district police in May 2012, but he was later released on bail, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)