Chhaterpur police in Palamu on Sunday arrested five Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) insurgents and sent them to judicial custody.
SDPO Chhaterpur Shambhu Kumar Singh said, “Our offensive against TPC will be further intensified as 12 more cadres are still at large and police will neutralise them very soon.”
SDPO said police have started to zeroing-in on Udesh – the brain behind TPC here.
About the five arrests, SDPO said that Udesh had called in these people and one of the five was Bijay Singh who was caught first. Singh then told police about four others cooling their heels at Gamaar Kharn jungle, where police conducted a raid and caught them.
The five caught and jailed are Bijay, Hirender, Baldev, Satender and Shambhu Baiga.
Police have seized two motorcycles, five cell phones and Left Wing Extremism (LWE) literature from the five arrested.
SDPO said the call details of these five cell phones are now under police scrutiny. The arrested insurgents have confessed to their involvement in arson and assault of people engaged in stone quarry, crushing plant and bridge construction – all under Chhaterpur police station.
SDPO said that from December 16 to 30 TPC had paced up its activities in Chhaterpur, but now with police’s curbing and containing, the TPC is losing ground.
SDPO further said that TPC rebels strike clandestinely as they move with people who remain bare handed, but at the time of strike get loaded with batons to instill fear in people.
Singh said that very few TPC rebels carry weapons regularly. Most of them carry muzzle loaded guns, he added.
TPC survives on levy collection. And when it does not earn enough, the rebels torch vehicle to make their presence felt.