4 Maoists arrested in Sambalpur

SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur Police arrested four suspected Maoists, including a hardcore armed cadre Ranbir Jharna alias Mangal from Budharaja area of the town on Monday. The other three have been identified as Basant Herenj (51), Durga Topno (25), both of Jarang village under Jujumura police limits, and Mangalu Munda (55) of Dehripali in Budharaja area, originally from Rourkela. While Ranbir, Basant and Durga were nabbed on Monday morning, their interrogation led to the arrest of Mangalu who had allegedly provided them shelter in his house at Dehripali. The police have seized a motorbike and Rs 3,430 in cash from their possession.Sambalpur SP Nikhil Kanodia said they were involved in the attack on stone crusher of ARSS Infrastructure on October 25 besides two encounters with security forces in the recent past.He said while Ranbir, a native of Jharkhand, had joined the banned outfit about a year back, Basant, a contractor, was providing logistics and helping in extortion. Mangalu’s place was being used as a transit home and Basant was his brother, he added.While the police have arrested 12 suspected Maoists following the attack on the stone crusher of ARSS Infrastructure, Girish Bhokta alias Ashutosh, who is leading the banned outfit in the region, is still at large.