Maoists who abducted intelligence officer arrested

RANCHI - Two of the Maoists who abducted an intelligence officer in Jharkhand and who was later beheaded have been arrested, police said Monday.

Lakshmi Munda and Pawan Munda were caught from the outskirts of Ranchi. Lakshmi was arrested from Ulida village Sunday while Pawan was taken into custody Saturday, police said.

Lakshmi Munda admitted to his interrogators that he was one of five men who snatched Inspector Francis Induwar in October last year when the latter had gone to a market to meet a source.

Induwar, an intelligence officer, was later beheaded last year.

“Lakshmi has confessed that five Maoists on two bikes abducted Induwar from Hembrom market of Khuti district,” Ranchi’s Senior Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar told reporters.

After abducting Induwar, he was handed over to the zonal commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), Kundan Pahan.

Five days later, the decapitated body of Induwar was found near Tamira Ghati on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur highway.

Kundan Pahan is known as the Veerappan of Jharkhand and is active in the bordering areas of Ranchi, Khuti and Jamshedpur.

He is also accused of killing former minister and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator Ramesh Singh Munda in 2008.