Maoist involved in Dantewada attack arrested in Coimbatore

A Maoist who was arrested by the Special Task Force from a forest near Anaikatti in Coimbatore on November 9, was part of a group of insurgents who ambushed and killed 76 CRPF men in 2010 in Chattisgarh. This was confirmed by a police team from Chhattisgarh which visited the prisoner being held at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital late on Sunday.

Coimbatore: A Maoist arrested here recently is being questioned for his alleged involvement in the deadly ambush on a CRPF team in 2010 in Chattisgarh that killed 76 jawans, police said on Tuesday.

A police team from Chattisgarh led by a DSP level official held inquiries with the arrested Maoist Deepak, who is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital here.

Deepak was arrested by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu from a forest on the outskirts last week and is undergoing treatment for injuries suffered while escaping from a police encounter in Kerala last month, in which four Maoists were killed.

Police had seized a single barrel gun and live cartridges, some explosive mixture, batteries and four detonators from Deepak.

On Sunday, a police team from Chattisgarh led by DSP Manoj visited Deepak at the hospital as part of an investigation, police said.

The Chattisgarh police team is likely to seek a transit warrant to take Deepak into their custody and to Chattisgarh, they said.

In one of the worst Maoist attacks, at least 76 CRPF and district force personnel were killed in 2010 in the Dantewada district of that state when a large group of Naxals ambushed them in the thick Mukrana forests.