A day after a joint team of the police and the CRPF personnel seized booby traps from three alleged Maoist militia members in Charla mandal, the police have scaled up anti-Maoist operations in the interior tribal pockets of Bhadrachalam Agency to ward off trouble during the CPI (Maoist)’s People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Week slated to commence on December 2.
The Charla police claimed to have arrested three “Maoist militia members” — Bheemaraju alias Rakesh of Kistarampadu and Sunnam Nageswara Rao alias Muttaiah and Pentaiah of Battinapalli village — while checking vehicles on the Charla-Pedamidisileru road on Sunday evening.
Six booby traps and wall posters related to the PLGA week were seized from them, according to police sources.
Police said the three Maoist militia members were nabbed after a brief chase during the vehicle checking drive. They were allegedly trying to plant booby traps targeting police when caught.
They were wanted in connection with two separate incidents — blasting BT road at Pedamidisileru and planting of three pressure activated mines at Kaliveru in October this year, police added.
The trio belongs to two interior villages — Battinapalli and Kistarampadu — in the Agency mandal bordering Chhattisgarh.
As many as 33 “militia and village committee members” of the outlawed outfit hailing from the two remote villages surrendered before the district police in Kothagudem a week ago.
