Kishenji aide, three other Maoists sent to police custody

KOLKATA - Four top Maoists, including an aide of rebel leader Kishenji and wanted for the 2007 killing of Jharkhand MP Sunil Mahato, were remanded to police custody for five days by a lower court Saturday.

Rajesh Munda, a prime accused in the murder of the Jharkhand MP, and the three other rebels were brought before the Midnapore chief judicial magistrate court, which remanded them to police custody for five days, a police source said.

The three others were identified as Rajesh Hansda, Mongol Soren and Gopinath Mandi.

All four were nabbed from Pitrakuli area near Ranjha forest in Salboni by joint forces personnel during routine patrolling early Friday.

According to police, the four were responsible for carrying out operations and expanding Maoist bases in Jharkhand and used to often come to Bengal as part of their activities.