Maoist leader arrested in Jharkhand

Maoist leader arrested in Jharkhand

Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) general secretary Keshwar Yadav, allegedly involved in attacks on police stations, has been arrested in Jharkhand, police officials said here Wednesday.

Yadav was arrested at Namkom, 13 km from Ranchi, Tuesday ‘after specific information on him’, said state director general of police V.D. Ram. ‘It (the arrest) is a big success for the police,’ he added.

Yadav joined the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in 1993 and gradually rose to become one of the top leaders of the Maoist organisation. When MCC merged with the People’s War Group in September 2004, he was given charge of the group’s activities in Chhattisgarh.

Police had announced a reward of Rs.100,000 for his capture.

Yadav was arrested along with another CPI-Maoist member, and two self-loading rifles were recovered from them, police officials said.

During interrogation, Yadav admitted to his involvement in several landmine blasts and attacks on police stations, claimed police officials.

Maoist rebels are active in 16 of the 22 districts of the state.

- Indo Asian News Service