Rourkela, Sept 1: In a significant breakthrough, security forces have arrested two senior Maoist operatives during a joint combing operation in the dense Saranda forest of West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. The operation, carried out on Sunday, led to the arrest of Sandeep alias Hidima Padeyam, a Sub-Zonal Committee member, and Shiba Bodra alias Shibu, an Area Committee member.
The duo was reportedly involved in the May 27 looting of explosives from a stone quarry at Banko Pathar under the Balanga police station in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, personnel from the CRPF and CoBRA units launched an extensive combing operation in the Maoist-infested Saranda forest under the Jaraikela police station limits. Upon encountering the forces, a group of Maoists attempted to flee. While six managed to escape into the forest, Sandeep and Shibu were apprehended.
According to police sources, Sandeep, a resident of Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, has been active in Maoist operations for over a decade and is wanted in 35 cases across various police stations in Jharkhand. Shibu, a native of Kuchai area in Sadeikala, Jharkhand, is implicated in nine cases related to Maoist violence.
The security forces seized a cache of arms and Maoist materials from their possession, including:
The joint operation is part of an ongoing crackdown on Maoist strongholds in the region, and search efforts in the Saranda forest are continuing.
Authorities have termed the arrests a major success in weakening Maoist infrastructure and disrupting their operational networks in the bordering regions of Odisha and Jharkhand.
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