Naxal activist flees from police custody

ROURKELA, July 28: Pradip Naik, alias Bhuyan, a Naxal activist escaped from police custody here yesterday while he was being taken to be produced before the SDJM court for judicial remand, sources said. Naik had been caught near Bisra on Saturday. However, the handcuffed Naik managed to escape from police custody by jumping from the police jeep near mining colony.
A resident of Koelkera of Jharkhand, Naik was an active member of the MCC. After a fall out with MCC some time back, Pradip joined the Jharkhand Liberation Tiger (JLT) and finally switched his allegiance to People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI). He is reportedly on the hit list of MCC who torched his house recently. As Jharkhand police intensified its movements against naxalites, he sneaked into Orissa and was residing at Katepur near Bisra posing as a buffalo trader but working as a PLFI informer, sources said. He was arrested following an altercation with a local resident over some petty incident. During interrogation Naik revealed his identity. The police had seized two mobiles and many sensitive documents from Naik, sources said. It is believed the mobiles contain vital information.
IG western Range Mr Pranabindu Acharya said, “It will be difficult for Naik to escape too far as he is handcuffed.” n SNS