Security forces in a significant catch have arrested a Maoist courier during a security checking exercise in Mohla Manpur Ambagarh Chowki of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, April 11.
As per the details received, Maoist courier Ashwant Aandhiya was arrested during a routine search cum security check exercise being jointly carried out by the district police and the personnel of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) under the Sitagaon police station limits of Mohla Manpur Ambagarh Chowki district of Chhattisgarh.
The said courier, Ashwant, was allegedly in touch with many top Maoists and had recently interacted with suspicious persons in Raipur in March this year.
According to the reports floating in media, the said courier, Ashwant, was allegedly in touch with Maoists including one Vijay Reddy to whom he met in the month of March and deliver a sealed packet. He was also in touch with several other workers of the banned outfit, including Rupesh, Rita Salame Vinod, and others.
Briefing the media about the development, Superintendent of police Mohala Manpur Ambagarh, YP Singh, informed that “Ashwant Andhiya, a courier of Maoists, has been arrested today, Ashwant was in constant touch with the top Maoist leaders and was also a frequent visitor of Maad region.”
#WATCH | A Naxal courier affiliated with some top Naxal commanders of Chhattisgarh was apprehended in a joint operation of Chhattisgarh Police and 27th Battalion Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chouki in Chhattisgarh: ITBP pic.twitter.com/tlpk7mgSM6
— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2024
“A few days earlier, Ashwant was provided with a sum of Rs 2 lakh by Vijay Reddy, the former was assigned to deliver the cash to the Naxal network, which he delivered successfully. Anti-Naxal operations are on in the district and the arrest is a part of that process,” added SP.
It has been further revealed that the accused, Ashwant, a resident of Manpur block, met with Vijay Reddy between March 12 to 16 and received cash along with some pamphlets related to the Maoist. Ashwant was also provided an additional amount to buy and deliver a memory card reader to Vijay.
The joint team has also recovered Maoist posters, mobile phonesand documents pertaining to the banned Maoist outfit from the possession of the accused, Ashwant. The accused was later produced in court.
Security officials reviewed counter insurgency operations
In another development pertaining to left wing insurgency, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and IB (Intelligence Bureau) director Tapan Kumar Deka have interacted with chief secretaries and Director General of Police (DGP) of 10 states via video conferencing during their two day visit to Chhattisgarh’s capital, Raipur, on Wednesday, April 10.
According to the details, the meeting was called to review the preparedness of the security forces in the Maoist affected States ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Further discussions were also held on the difficulties faced by the security personnel during the counter-insurgency operations, including the resources needed to further amplify the operations in the Maoist affected regions.
It is worth mentioning here that the security forces in recent times have achieved some significant success against the left wing extremists in the Maoist affected Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, the strongest bastion of the Maoists across the country.
Earlier, highlighting the resolve of the government to eradicate the menace of Naxal insurgency across the country, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah remarked on Wednesday that the Modi government is on the verge of eliminating the Naxal insurgency from the country.
Addressing an impressive public gathering in Aurangabad, Bihar, Shah asserted that there was a time when it was not possible to hold a public gathering in Aurangabad in the evening. The Maoists used to herd bombs, but today people are talking about roads, education, and health facilities. We have established around 200 security camps across the country in the last five years alone, and Bihar and Jharkhand are now free from the clutches of Maoist insurgency.
