Rourkela: Two most-wanted members of a Maoist organisation were arrested Thursday afternoon from Rourkela railway station during a joint security inspection aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring passenger safety.
The accused were identified as Abdhesh Kumar Yadav (26) of Deora village under Lesliganj police limits in Jharkhand’s Palamu district and Upendra Yadav (24) of Manika village under Manika police limits in Latehar district.
Both had long-standing ties with Maoist outfits and were wanted by Jharkhand Police for multiple criminal cases registered in Palamu and Latehar districts.
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The arrests were made around 3 pm by teams from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and Rourkela’s Plant Site police station, under the supervision of Rourkela Superintendent of Police Nitish Wadhwani.
According to RPF officials, the duo had travelled by train from Jharkhand to Rourkela. Around 8 am Thursday, RPF personnel noticed the two loitering suspiciously on Platform No. 5 and detained them. Officers recovered three mobile phones, four SIM cards, and Rs 1,780 in cash from their possession.
The phones were found in flight mode, and upon inspection, investigators discovered photos and details related to arms and ammunition.
Following the arrests, SP Wadhwani, accompanied by DSP Amarendra Sahu and Plant Site IIC Bibas Pradhan, visited the RPF post to interrogate the suspects. During questioning, the two confessed to being active members of the Third Conference Preparatory Committee (TPSP) of the Latehar Maoist organisation, involved in extortion and various criminal activities.
Jharkhand Police was immediately informed, and a team led by Avneesh Kumar, officer-in-charge of Manika police station in Latehar, arrived in Rourkela to take custody of the accused and transport them back to Jharkhand.
RPF officer Kamalesh Samaddar confirmed the arrests, stating that both suspects are active members of the Maoist network. He said further investigation is underway.
