Bihar: Three Maoists arrested for planning to attack Aurangabad politician during private visit to Gaya

PATNA: Three suspected Maoists including an area commander were forwarded to judicial custody on Thursday in Aurangabad after being arrested allegedly for planning to attack a politician of hailing from the district and to target brick kiln owners for levy.
Police said all three were nabbed hiding inside the residence of one Yogendra Rajak alias Chotu Rajak at Kauwakhap village under Rafiganj police station area of Aurangabad on Wednesday night.
Though police confirmed about their plans for extorting levy from brick kiln owners in Aurangabad but denied that they were planning to attack a politician.
However sources said that the politician, who was on target of these Maoists, cancelled his private programme of visiting Pathra in Gaya on Wednesday soon after being alerted about the plan.

Sources said that the attack on the politician was to take place on his way to Pathra from Aurangabad and Maoist had accurate information about his movement plans.
Sources said that the crackdown on Maoists took place after the central agencies shared the intelligence input urgently with state police which had originated from Gaya.
They said a meeting of a group of Maoists had took place in Gaya on December 28 in which some of the reds had reached from Jharkhand. They also that attack was planned in this meeting.
Rafiganj police station SHO Anand Kumar Gupta on Thursday said arrested Maoists were identified as Sunil Ji alias Sunil Lal Khatri (40), Ravi Ranjan Paswan (27) and Bhuwaneshwar Yadav (55).
He said two single shot sten-gun and two live cartridges of 9mm along with a cellphone and Maoist literatures were seized from their possession.
He said Ravi identified himself as area commander of Goh in Aurangabad and is accused in five cases of Maoist violence. Gupta said he was wanted in a case registered with Konch police station in Gaya.
“Sunil is accused in 12 and Bhuwaneshwar is accused in six cases of Maoist violence. They had already distributed pamphlets to kiln owners for paying levy and had reached to collect money,” he said.
Meanwhile in Arwal, police were yet to identify the Maoists who had pasted at least three posters demanding Rs 20 lakh extortion as levy from a BJP leader Deepak Kumar Sharma.
Maoists had threatened him to pay money or face dire consequences within three months. Sharma lives in Bambhai village under Karpi police station area in district.
Sharma, who had unsuccessfully contested in this year’s assembly election, lodged FIR against unknown Maoists with Mehendia police station on Wednesday.
Mehendia police station SHO (in-charge) Ramnaresh Rai on Thursday said that posters were pasted Uridih Bazaar that were spotted on Wednesday after which Sharma was informed.
“The BJP leader had not received any such threat earlier. Investigation was going on to identity and arrest the accused persons,” he added.