Two Naxals held in Chhattisgarh with IEDs

Two Naxals, each carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, were arrested when they were allegedly planning to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to target security forces in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.

Two tiffin bombs were recovered from the possession of the arrested ultras. A patrolling team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police nabbed Pandu alias Mangu Madvi (23) and Hurra alias Korma Sodi (22) on Monday near Hiroli village under Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

During interrogation, the duo "admitted to" their link with the outlawed CPI (Maoist) since 2010 and two tiffin bombs- one weighing 5 kg and another of 3 kg, electric wire and batteries were recovered from two plastic bags being carried by them, he said.

While Madvi was an active member of the West Bastar supply team of Maoists, Sodi was a member of the 'mobile intelligence' team in the same area, he said.

The arrested Naxals, both natives of the Gangaloor area in neighbouring Bijapur, had reached there to allegedly plant the explosives on Hiroli road in a bid to cause harm to security forces, Pallava said.

Madvi was allegedly involved in several Naxal incidents, including the killing of six villagers suspecting them to be police informers in Bijapur last year, he said.

Similarly, Sodi was wanted in connection with incidents of planting iron spikes to target security forces, damaging roads and killing a villager last year in Doditumnar village of Bijapur, he said.