Three Maoists arrested, one surrenders

BHUBANESWAR/RANCHI - Three Maoist guerrillas were arrested from Orissa and Jharkhand and an area commander surrendered to the police Tuesday, officials said.

Two men were held in Orissa’s Sundergarh district and another in Bokaro in Jharkhand.

Salim Barla and Jablin Munda were caught during a combing operation of the Orissa Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the forested area of Sundergarh, more than 500 km from Bhubaneswar.

Police Officer of Banai Sudarshan Sethy told IANS that two landmines were recovered from them. According to police, the two had killed a Marxist trade union leader, Thomas Munda.

Pandu Manjhi, a sub-zonal area commander of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, was arrested in a forested area in Bokaro, around 130 km from Ranchi.

Manjhi was wanted in many cases. A 9 mm pistol and Rs.10,000 in cash were seized from him, Superintendent of Police Saket Kumar Singh told IANS.

In Orissa’s Keonjhar district, a Maoist area commander surrendered before police. He was identified as Suresh Sundhi.