Two aides of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda arrested: Police

Berhampur: Two alleged aides of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, including one who acted as his courier, were arrested from Badagada in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said on Monday. Bubu Mohapatra and Agni Pollia were apprehended by a special police team on Sunday night about 100-km from here, Ganjam superintendent of police Ashish Kumar Singh said. Police also seized a bagful of medicines from them. Mohapatra was identified as the one who acted as a courier between Panda in hiding and his wife Mili Panda outside, the officer said. He was also involved in handing over of arms, ammunition and cash of Rs 3.99 lakh to Sabyasachi Panda through two ultras. These were seized by police last week from Talapatama jungle near Badagada. [caption id=“attachment_691090” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. AFP. [/caption] “The arrested duo have revealed a lot of information regarding operation of Panda’s group,” the SP said, adding that Agni’s link with the Maoist outfit was being verified. Police had arrested two Maoists - K Anita, head of the women wing of Panda’s group and Bikram Mallick, one of the overground workers of the left wing extremists, from Talapatama jungle on Wednesday night. Several arms, ammunition, cash and Maoist literature were seized from them. Four persons who had handed over the items to the Maoists, however, managed to escape from the spot. During interrogation, Anita and Mallik allegedly confessed to handing over of certain items to the Maoist leader and that these were given by Mili. Meanwhile, in Bhubaneswar, Mili claimed that she had no link with her husband. “The police is trying to implicate me in a false case. I have not handed over any bag to any person,” she said.