Daltonganj: In a major breakthrough under Special Operation Dragon 228, the Latehar police and personnel of the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) arrested two rebels of the banned splinter Naxal outfit Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) from the Kurumkehta jungles on Tuesday.
Arrested Rebels Identified
SP Kumar Gaurav identified the arrested men as Manoj Lohra, 26, of Panki police station area in Palamu district, and Mahadev Singh, 24, of Latehar district. Both were new members of the JJMP, now led by Shankar Ram, and were arrested on the basis of precise intelligence inputs, he said.
Operation Details
A joint team from Manika and Chhipadohar police stations, along with IRB 4 Battalion personnel, launched a search operation after receiving information that Ram and his associates had gathered in the Kurumkehta forests to plan an attack. The operation foiled the suspected plan and led to the recovery of two self-loading rifles (SLR), one AK-47 rifle, more than 300 rounds of ammunition, five mobile phones, two walkie-talkies, two routers, six SIM cards and nine magazines.
Police said one SLR each was recovered from Lohra and Mahadev, while the AK-47 was found abandoned in the nearby shrubs after the duo disclosed its location. The two allegedly tried to flee, but the strategically cordoned jungle left little chance of escape.
Legal Proceedings
A case was registered at Manika police station on May 5 against the two and squad leader Ram. Both were sent to judicial custody on Wednesday under the Arms Act and Section 17 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act. Police found no previous cases and there was no recovery of cash.
