266 Maoists arrested, 32 killed, 30 surrendered in Jharkhand during Jan-Sep period: Police

Ranchi, Oct 14 (PTI) As many as 266 Maoists have been arrested, 32 killed, and 30 have surrendered before security forces across Jharkhand this year till September end, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

Two regional committee members, one zonal commander, two sub-zonal commanders and nine area commanders belonging to CPI(Maoist) and its splinter groups were among those arrested, he said.

"A total of 32 Naxalites were killed in encounters with security forces since January 1. Vivek alias Prayag Manjhi and Anuj alias Sahdev Soren were among the prominent red rebels who were killed in encounters. Both were central committee members of CPI(Maoist) and were carrying Rs 1 crore bounty each," IG (Operations) and Jharkhand Police spokesperson Michael Raj S told reporters.

He said a total of 30 Naxalites surrendered before the security forces during the period.

Zonal commander Ravindra Yadav and sub-zonal commander Anand Singh of CPI(Maoist) and sub-zonal commander of Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), Lavlesh Ganjhu alias Lokesh Ganjhu, were among those who surrendered.

Police also seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during the period from January 1 to September 30.

"As many as 157 firearms, including 58 weapons looted from the police, 11,950 cartridges, 18,884 detonators, 394.5 kg of explosives and 228 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized and 37 Maoist bunkers were also destroyed in the last nine months," the police spokesperson said.

A levy amount of Rs 39.53 lakh was also confiscated during the period.

The police department also claimed to have launched a major crackdown against cybercriminals this year.

A total of 128 FIRs have been filed against cybercriminals, and 105 individuals have been arrested for such crimes in August and September.

Furthermore, operations have resulted in the seizure of 128 mobile phones, 166 SIM cards, 60 ATM cards, 15 passbooks, two laptops, 11 cheque books and Rs 2.81 lakh in cash, he added. PTI SAN SAN ACD