4 Naxals with total Rs 5 lakh bounty held in Bijapur district; 10kg tiffin bomb found separately

Bijapur, Sep 8 (PTI) Four Naxalites, including three women -- carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their heads -- were arrested in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, while a 10-kg tiffin bomb was recovered in a separate incident, police said on Monday.

One of the arrested rebels is aged 19 and carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh, the highest among all four, they said.

The arrests were made during a joint operation by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) -- a state police unit -- CRPF's 229 battalion, 210th battalion of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and local police in villages of Putkel and Polampalli under Basaguda police station limits on Sunday, an official said.

Of the four, Hemla Bharti alias Jogi (19), a party member of platoon No. 10 of Maoists, carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh, while Jogi Midiyam (22), Deva Hemla (28) and Dodi Hire alias Shanti (25) were carrying a bounty of Rs 1 lakh each, he said.

Explosive materials, electric wires, cordex wire (used in explosives), safety fuses, batteries, digging tools and Maoist propaganda material were seized from their possession, according to the police official.

A case has been registered against them at the Basaguda police station under relevant sections of the Explosives Act, he added.

In a separate incident, a 10-kg tiffin bomb and a BGL (barrel grenade launcher) shell were recovered by security forces in the Gangaloor police station area of Bijapur on Monday, according to the official.

A joint team of the DRG and CRPF's 222 battalion spotted an electric wire on the side of Cherpal-Peddakorma road when it was out on an anti-Maoist operation. On a thorough search of the spot, the team recovered a steel tiffin containing around 10 kgs of explosives and a BGL shell weighing about 3 kgs, he said.

A Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused the explosives on the spot, the official added. PTI COR TKP RSY