Maoist with Rs 2-lakh bounty, 3 others nabbed in Chhattisgarh; 10-kg IED seized

Security forces on Saturday (August 30) recovered a 10-kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. On the same day, they arrested four members of the Maoist organisation, including one carrying a Rs 2-lakh bounty on his head, in Sukma, officials said.

The IED was planted beneath the Gorna-Mankeli road within the jurisdiction of the Bijapur police station. It was detected by a team of the District Reserve Guard, local police, and bomb disposal squad when they were out on a demining exercise in the region. The bomb disposal squad neutralised the IED later.

The explosive device was fitted with a command switch and connected to an underground electric wire stretching 70 to 80 metres to target security personnel, an official said.

Maoists plant IEDs along roads and dirt tracks to target patrolling security personnel in the interior pockets of the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur. IEDs have also claimed civilian lives in the tribal-dominated region in the past.

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Militia commander arrested

In another search by security personnel, in neighbouring Sukma district, four Naxalites were arrested and explosives from them were discovered within the limits of Kerlapal police station, a senior official said.

Of the four arrested, Muchaki Deva (29) was active as a militia commander of the outlawed Maoist outfit, while the others were lower-rung cadres, he said. Deva carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh on his head, the official said.

Two tiffin bombs, weighing 5 kg each, four detonators, four gelatin rods, electric and Cordtex wires were recovered from them, he added.

(With inputs from agency)