5 Naxalites held in Chhattisgarh; pipe bomb, detonator, gelatin stick seized

Sukma: Five Naxalites, one of them carrying a bounty of Rs 1 lakh, were arrested on Tuesday in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, police officials said.

Two of them, Pottam Bhima (35) and Hemla Bhima (32), were apprehended by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police from the forests in the Chintalnar area in Sukma district during an area domination exercise, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan said.

Pottam, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 lakh, was the Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangh president under the Surpanguda Revolutionary People’s Council of the outlawed Maoist organization, he added.

Hemla was a Surpanguda militia member, the police official said.

A pipe bomb, three pencil cells and bundles of cordex wires were seized from them, Chavan added.

In a separate incident, three Maoists were held with explosives in Bijapur district, another official said.

Nagesh Kattam (22), Suresh Kaka (30) and Dula Kaka (33) were apprehended from near Permapalli village by Central Reserve Police Force and local police personnel, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.

Security personnel seized a detonator, a gelatin stick and Maoist pamphlets from them, he added.

Sukma and Bijapur are parts of the Bastar division.

The Maoist-affected Bastar Lok Sabha constituency is the only one among 11 seats in the state which will vote on April 19 in the first phase.