Two Notorious Naxalites Arrested from Saranda Forest in Jharkhand, Weapons Recovered

West Singhbhum Police achieved a major success in a special operation against Naxalites in the Saranda forests. The police arrested two notorious Naxalites, who are accused of being involved in over 40 Naxalite incidents. Weapons and other materials were recovered from them. The arrested Naxalites have been identified as Sandeep alias Hidima Padeyam, a sub-zonal committee member from Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, and Shiva Bodra alias Shibu, an area committee member from Jojodih, Saraikela. During their arrest, the police recovered a pistol, 11 live cartridges, two magazines, two walkie-talkies, detonators, and materials for making IEDs. Rakesh Ranjan, the Superintendent of Police of West Singhbhum, said that this action is a major success in the ongoing operation against the Naxalites. The operation will continue to maintain peace in the region. He added that on August 30, a tip-off was received that top leaders of the banned Maoist organization, including Anal alias Ramesh, Misir Besra, and Ajay Mahto, were planning to carry out a major incident with their squad in the Saranda area. Based on the information, a joint team of Chaibasa Police and Cobra 209 Battalion was formed under the leadership of Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation) Paras Rana. During the operation, a search operation was conducted in the forests of Jaraikela police station area, from where both the Naxalites were arrested. According to the police, a serious revelation has come to light from the interrogation of the arrested Naxalites. They revealed that Anal alias Ramesh, a central committee member of the Maoist organization, has been sexually exploiting the members of the women’s squad for a long time. Not only this, but illegal abortions of several female members were also carried out. Sandeep alias Hidima Padeyam has more than 30 serious criminal cases registered against him in various police stations in Jharkhand, including murder, attacks on police, explosions, Arms Act, UAPA, and CLA Act. He has been active since 2015 and has carried out many Naxalite incidents in the state.