Malkangiri: Two Maoists were arrested in Odisha’s Malkangiri district in the early hours of Friday, police said.
Kesakawasi and Rakesh alias Sanukunjam were both area committee members of CPI (Maoist), and hailed from Chhattisgarh. Each one of them had a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their head, a statement said.
They were nabbed in Sadhieguda and Tentuliguda forests in Mathili police limits by the district voluntary force and the police following an exchange of fire, it said.
A special operation was launched by the district police Thursday night, and in the early hours of Friday, they spotted a group of Maoists fleeing into the jungle.
“The team chased them and asked them to surrender, but ignoring the warning, the Maoists opened fire at the police team and fled into the jungle,” an officer said.
“In response, the police opened fire. During the subsequent search of the area, the two Maoists were apprehended. They were nabbed following a scuffle with the security personnel,” he said, adding that others in the group managed to escape.
A revolver, six rounds of ammunition, along with explosives, were seized from them, Superintendent of Police Vinod Patil said.
PTI