Bihar: Police in India's eastern Bihar state arrested two Maoists and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from their hideout, officials said on Tuesday, June 15.
After receiving specific information about a Maoist training camp in Mohanpur in Gaya district, a special team of the security forces was sent there.
"Two days ago Gaya police received information about a training camp of Maoists in Hazaribagh district. They could have planned a destructive incident on the basis of this information a special team was formed," said Amit Lodh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Gaya district.
After a fierce gunfight that continued for two hours, security forces finally overpowered the rebels and destroyed three of their camps.
"When the team went to the dense forest of the Badgada forest area, Maoists opened fire on the special team. About 150 rounds of fire were opened and after that the forces retaliated by opening fire on the Maoists. They crawled up the mountain and chased the Maoists, and then blasted three of their camps. Police have received huge cache of arms and ammunitions including ammonium nitrate, nine cane bombs, one rifle, detonators, their literature, uniform, bullets and tents," Lodh added.
The SSP also identified the capture Maoists.
"Two people hailing from Jharkhand state have been arrested from the training camp. Their names are Krishna Ravidas and Laxmi Ravidas," he said.
The Maoists, described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country's biggest internal security threat, started their armed struggle in Naxalbari town of West Bengal in 1967, giving them the name Naxalites.
The Maoists say they are crusading against the prevailing political system and in cause of the poor and marginal farmers and landless labourers.
They have spread into rural pockets in 20 of India's 28 states and the movement has upset business prospects worth billions of dollars in mining industries in central and eastern India.