Chhattisgarh: Two naxals arrested by security forces in Bastar division

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Raipur: Two Naxals, one of them allegedly involved in the 2012 abduction of an IAS officer from Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, were arrested in separate operations in Bastar division, police said on Saturday (August 21, 2021).

A joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police on Thursday apprehended Rava Ganga from Phulbagdi police station area of Sukma, while Sukhram Kawasi (35) was arrested from a forest under Katekalyan police station limits in neighbouring Dantewada, an official said.

Ganga, who had joined the outlawed outfit in 2011, was allegedly part of the Maoist squad that had abducted then Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon from Manjhipara (Kerlapal) village on April 21, 2012, Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma said.

Menon was later released by the ultras.

Apart from this, the arrested ultra was also involved in triggering an IED explosion, targeting security personnel who were escorting a polling team in 2013, the official said.

Ganga, who was the head of DAKMS (Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan - a frontal wing of Maoists), has served an LOS (local organisation squad) member and militia deputy commander in the banned outfit, he said.

Kawasi was also active as the head of DAKMS in his area, and was allegedly involved in several incidents of violence, such as attacks on police teams, planting IEDs to target polling teams and torching vehicles engaged in road construction work, another official said.

The arrested ultras were carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, it was stated.