Seven Maoists nabbed in Jharkhand, Bihar; demonetised currency worth over 31 lakh recovered

Dumka: Seven Maoists were arrested in Jharkhand and Bihar in separate operations, including one in which around Rs 31.53 lakh largely in the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes were also recovered, police said on Tuesday. One of those arrested in Bihar was a ‘zonal commander’, who had been absconding for the past 11 years and was carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. [caption id=“attachment_2898590” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Five Maoists were arrested from different areas of Jharkhand’s Dumka district on Monday, Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar told reporters here. One of the arrested Maoists, Mithilesh Mandal, had escaped during transit while returning from a court in Giridih in 2012. He faced several naxal-related cases under different police stations and was the self-styled area commander of the banned outfit, Kumar said. Two country-made pistols, two four wheelers, five ATM cards, five cheque books, seven mobiles, naxal literature, five passbooks of different banks were recovered from the possession of those arrested. The seized Rs 31.53 lakh in cash included four new Rs 2,000 notes while the rest are the defunct Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the SP said. In another operation, two armed Maoists were arrested from the jungles of Chalho in Bihar’s Aurangabad district on Tuesday. Superintendent of Police Satya Prakash said a rifle was also seized from the two, who were identified as Ram Pravesh Yadav, a ‘zonal commander’ of Chalho jungle, and ‘sub-zonal commander’ Sunny Mistry alias Brahmdeo. Yadav, who has been absconding for the past 11 years, carried a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on his head, the SP said, adding that around two dozens of criminals cases have been lodged against the two rebels in various police stations of the district. On the basis of information given by them, police are conducting raids at various places to nab their accomplices.