Security personnel on Wednesday swiftly launched an operation based on inputs gathered from interrogating Maoist military commission member Anup Thakur (30). A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from Patki jungles in latehar.
Thakur — mastermind of an ambush killing 11 people, including civilians, at Katia jungles of latehar, as well as other attacks on security personnel across the State — was arrested with his girlfriend from a hotel in Muzaffarpur in Bihar on Tuesday and later brought to latehar.
He was sent to judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. His girlfriend is still being interrogated by Bihar police.
Wednesday’s recovery includes two 303 rifles, two country-made rifles, two UB grenade launchers, 57 SlR bullets, 53 Insas bullets and Naxal literatures. The operation continued till late evening.Thakur’s arrest is a body blow to the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee of the Naxals, of which he was secretary.
“A special team of latehar and Chatra Police arrested Thakur and Vinita from Sanskar Hotel in Mazaffarpur with the help of Bihar Special Task Force. His girlfriend is also said to be involved in several cases in Bihar,” said DGP Rajiv Kumar.
Thakur is suspected of being involved in leading almost two dozen Maoist operations in Jharkhand, Bihar and neighbouring States, active over the last 13 years. “He was mastermind of almost all Maoist operations, including planting bombs in dead bodies of our security forces,” said the DGP.
According to the DGP, Thakur was entrusted with the task of consolidating the stronghold of Koel-Sankh in Palamau, Garhwa, latehar, lohardaga, Gumla, Gaya, Aurangabad and north Chhattisgarh districts.
latehar SP S Michael Raj said, “Thakur is wanted in as many as 24 cases in latehar, Chatra, Palamau, Garhwa and Gaya. He led the attacks against police in Chainpur block of Palamau, the district council member at Bhandaria in Garhwa, among others.”