Three naxals arrested in Kanker, 8 kg IED and walkie talkie recovered

During interrogation, it was revealed that the Naxalites had planted an IED on the road. Police recovered the IED and found that it was connected to a wire.

Kanker: Three Naxalites, including two hardcores carrying rewards of Rs eight lakh each, were arrested in a joint operation by District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Sunday. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED), weighing 8 kg, planted by them on the road has been recovered, police said.

Police said that a joint search operation by DRG and CRPF was conducted in the forest areas under the Koilibeed police station area. "During the operation, the security forces suddenly spotted three persons some distance away. On seeing the forces, they started running away and were arrested. A walkie-talkie, a torch and Rs 6,000, in denominations of Rs 2,000, were recovered from their possession," Kanker SP Shalabh Kumar Sinha said.

Sinha said that the Naxalites were interrogated and on the basis of which, an IED was recovered that they had planted in Chilparas Dudta Road. This IED was found connected to a wire, he said.

The three Naxalites have been identified as Piluram Aanchal alias Salik Ram (35) and Punau Ram Mandavi (22), both residents of Koilibeda, and Ramesh Punem alias Budhru (25), resident of Bijapur. Among them, Piluram and Punem were hardcore Naxalites.

Piluram was the deputy commander of Section A of Company No. 5 of the Maoists' North Bastar Division while Punem was a member of Maoist Company No. 5. Both had a reward of Rs eight lakh each on their heads, police said. It may be mentioned here that cases of attempts to murder were registered against the two.