3 Maoists Arrested In Chhattisgarh. Tiffin Bomb, Other Explosives Seized By Security Forces

Security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district arrested three Maoists and seized explosives including a tiffin bomb, gelatin rods, electric wire, and Maoist literature from their possession.

An official also said those nabbed during the operation were tasked with planting explosives and putting Maoist posters and banners in the area.

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In a joint operation of personnel belonging to the 85th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), and local police, security forces arrested three Maoists and seized explosives on Saturday. During the operation, the officials also seized a tiffin bomb from Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Sunday, as reported by news agency PTI. The joint search operation was started on Friday near Pusnar village under Gangaloor police station limits. An official said those nabbed during the operation were tasked with planting explosives and putting Maoist posters and banners in the area.

The police identified those arrested as Ramesh Punem (28), Bhima Punem (21), and Sukku Dhruva (38). All of them are members of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan, which is a frontal wing of Maoists in the region.

During the interrogation, three arrested Maoisists revealed to the security personnel about their links with the outlawed CPI (Maoist), the official said, as per PTI. Security personnel recovered a tiffin bomb, gelatin rods, a safety fuse, electric wire, Maoist literature, and pamphlets from their possession.

In a separate incident related to a training exercise to counter Maoist insurgency in the area, three police constables, identified as Shankar Lal (24), Lalit Pujari (25) and Khirendra Nag (23), suffered injuries after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded.

The incident took place during a training exercise at a jungle warfare college in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, said police said, as reported by PTI.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said the mishap occurred last Friday when the training session was underway at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare (CTJW) College on the outskirts of Kanker town.

During the training exercise, the IED exploded near trainees and caused splinter injuries to all three constables, reported PTI. Later on, the IG said the three were shifted to the district hospital. He also mentioned that they were out of danger. 

CTJW is a special training school to impart training with special emphasis on counter-Naxal activities. It was established in 2004 in Kanker, which is about 150 km south of Raipur.