Jharkhand: Police arrests 9 Maoists allegedly responsible for attacking former BJP MLA

The Jharkhand police on Saturday arrested nine Maoists, who were allegedly involved in the attack on former Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MLA Gurucharan Nayak on January 4. The accused have been arrested from West Singhbhum district with arms and ammunition, added a senior police officer. The former BJP MLA had narrowly escaped a Maoist attack but the red rebels had slit the throats of his two policemen bodyguards and snatched three AK-47 rifles. 

Some of their sympathisers, too, have been taken into custody, the police official mentioned. The arrested Maoists are also known to have taken part in other extremist activities, district Superintendent of Police Ajay Linda said. Detailing upon the arrest, the SP asserted that all the arrests were made on Friday and Saturday from villages adjoining Jheelruwa in Goilkera. According to Linda, Kujri Kerai, a former mukhiya (village headman), was among the sympathizers.

Former BJP MLA attacked by Maoists in Jharkhand

Chakradharpur Sub-divisional Police Officer Dilip Khalkho, at that time, had said that the attack by members of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit took place in Jheelruwa village in the Goilkera police station area after a football match in which Nayak was the chief guest. 

"Soon after the local football match was over, the Maoists, who were in the crowd of football-watchers, suddenly attacked Nayak. He somehow managed to escape with the help of his policemen bodyguards.

More security forces were deployed to the spot which is already a forested area. Nayak had a similar narrow escape when he was attacked by Maoists in the Anandpur police station area in the district in 2012. 

CRPF takes down Maoist camp in Jharkhand

After two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Jawans were injured in an IED blast in the Bulbul-Pesharar area in Jharkhand, the forces along with state police had demolished the Maoist camp of that area. The Jawans were critically injured after the forces had a faceoff with the Maoist group. 

(With PTI inputs)