Chatra — Jharkhand Police have arrested a senior Maoist commander and seized a substantial cache of ammunition from a forest area in Chatra district, officials announced on Tuesday.
Arjun Ganjhu, a top leader of the banned Maoist group Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), was captured during a raid in Tikda village under Lawalong police station.
Acting on a tip-off about his whereabouts, a special police team led by Simaria SDPO Shubham Khandelwal conducted the operation and arrested Ganjhu.
Chatra Superintendent of Police Sumit Agrawal said a locally made pistol was recovered from Ganjhu at the time of his arrest.
During questioning, Ganjhu revealed the location of a hidden arms cache in a nearby forest. Police recovered 723 live cartridges, including 477 rounds for INSAS rifles and 246 rounds of .303 caliber ammunition, buried underground in a box.
SP Agrawal stated that the seizure deals a major blow to the TSPC’s operational capacity in the region.
Ganjhu is a repeat offender and has previously served jail time for Maoist-related crimes.
Separately, Lohardaga Police arrested another wanted Maoist, Lalind Mahato alias Rajkumar Yadav, who had been on the run for several years.
Lalind, from Semardih village under Kisko police station limits, faces multiple cases in Lohardaga, Latehar, and other districts.
Lohardaga SP Sadique Anwar Rizvi said Lalind was linked to the squad of Ravindra Ganjhu, a CPI (Maoist) zonal commander with a Rs 15 lakh bounty on his head.
Police hope Lalind’s arrest will provide key intelligence on Maoist operations and logistics in the area.
After appearing in court, Lalind is set to be sent to judicial custody.
With inputs from IANS