Maoist militia deputy commander arrested in Kothagudem

Police have arrested a CPI (Maoist) militia deputy commander in Cherla mandal in the district on Friday

Kothagudem: Police have arrested a CPI (Maoist) militia deputy commander in Cherla mandal in the district on Friday.

Bhadrachalam ASP Paritosh Pankaj in a statement informed that militia deputy commander, Sodi Deva of Komatipalli in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh State was caught during vehicle inspections by Cherla police and CRPF 141 Bn personnel on Lenin Colony and Pusuguppa road in the mandal.

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Deva, recruited as a member of Komatipalli RPC militia in 2019, was working as its deputy commander for the past one year. He was involved in planting landmines in Pusuguppa forest area in Cherla mandal in July 2022 to attack police personnel.

As the Maoist party has lost its base in Telangana, the party leadership was forcing innocent adivasis in Chhattisgarh to work as its militia and dalam members to commit acts of violence to prove their existence, the ASP said.

Maoist underground cadres, who want to come out of the party and join mainstream life, should make use of ‘Operation Cheyutha’ , an initiative launched by the district police to encourage underground naxals to surrender through their family members and live a normal life, Pankaj noted.