Chhattisgarh: 16 Naxalites held from different places in Bijapur

Bijapur: Sixteen Naxalites have been arrested from different places in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, a police official said on Thursday.

Of these, 11 were held on May 28 from Gorna-Padiyapara village by the District Reserve Guard and local police during a ‘bandh’ called by the Maoists, the official said.

“These persons were involved in planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to target security forces as well as other incidents of violence,” he said.

“Five other Naxalites were nabbed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite CoBRA battalion from the forest near Bhusapur village under Usoor police station limits. They were involved in IED blast targeting a police party in April, as well as planting an IED near Nadpalli on May 25,” he said.

All 16 ultras are part of the lower hierarchy of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), the official said.