In a major breakthrough, Khunti District Police raided Chutia area of Ranchi on late Tuesday night and arrested notorious hardcore insurgent, Harihar Mahto alias Harihar Sahu who has a bounty of Rs two lakh on his head. Police also recovered two pistols and half dozen cartridges from Mahto.

Addressing a press meet on Wednesday, Khunti Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Shekhar said that Harihar is a hardcore rebel belonging to People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI). “Mahto, a resident of Karra Police Station of Khunti district was hiding at Chutia area in Ranchi. Karra Police raided the area on late Tuesday night with the help of Chutia Police team and arrested him.

PLFI’s hardcore militant Mahto was living in Yashwant Keshari’s house for the last one year in front of Chutia Kali temple,” he added. Shekhar further informed that the Police also recovered two pistols and half dozen bullets from the spot. Mahto was staying with wife and children at Keshari’s house by submitting the identity card of Assam, he added.

According to figures with the Ministry of Home Affairs, at least 18 of 24 districts in Jharkhand are LWE-affected. Apart from the main CPI (Maoist), there are at least 17 splinter outfits active in the tribal hinterland.  A majority of splinter outfits, police say, are involved in extorting money from businessmen, trafficking children and killing for sport. They have unleashed a reign of terror on innocent villagers here. PLFI, one of these splinter outfits, was formed by Dinesh Gope, an ex army man, in 2003.