Five Maoist rebels arrested in Ranchi, weapons seized

Ranchi, Sep 10 (IANS) Five Maoist rebels were arrested here Wednesday and two pistols and five live cartridges were seized from them, the police said. According to the police, the rebels belong to the outlawed Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT), a breakaway group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).

“The JLT members were arrested by a special team constituted to keep a tab on the activities of the rebel group,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (Ranchi) M.S. Bhatia.

Two locally-made illicit pistols, five live cartridges, three mobile phones, two motorbikes and Maoist literature were recovered from the arrested Maoist rebels, the police said.

“This is a big success for the police. The arrests have damaged the JLT’s network in the state,” said Bhatia.

In Jharkhand, the JLT is also known as the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI).

Maoist rebels are active in 18 of Jharkhand’s 24 districts. In the last seven years, more than 1,300 people, including civilians and rebels, have been killed in Maoist related violence.