Two Maoists arrested in Cherla

Kothagudem: Cherla police have arrested two Maoists in Kurnapally forest of Cherla police station limits and seized explosive material from them.

Speaking at a press meet at Cherla on Monday, Cherla CI B Ashok said Cherla police, Special Party personnel and CRPF 141 Bn 'A' coy personnel, who were engaged in search operation, spotted three persons moving suspiciously in the forest on Sunday. Cops chased and arrested two persons while third one managed to escape.

The arrested were identified as Kovasi Bheemaiah of Dokupadu in Chhattisgarh and Sodi Deepak of Burugupadu village of Charla mandal. The duo was working as couriers for CPI (Maoist) and as militia members of party's Cherla Area Committee for the past three years. They were involved in planting a landmine at Kaliveru junction in Charla mandal four months ago.

At a meeting at Puttapadu in Chhattisgarh in last December, Maoist leaders Haribhushan, Damodar, Sharada, Azad and others gave orders to kill policemen in retaliation to the encounters that took place in the recent past in Cherla area, CI Ashok said.

Bheemaiah and Deepak, with the help of Kurnapalli MPTC Irpa Rama Rao and villagers, were engaged in planting landmines. 10 gelatin sticks, two detonators and cordex wire were seized from them.