Jharkhand Police arrest six ultras in Khunti and Latehar, seize arms and explosives

Ranchi, Aug 18 In a major crackdown on extremist activities, Jharkhand Police on Monday arrested six active members of banned organisations from Khunti and Latehar districts, also recovering arms, ammunition, and other materials used in terror-related activities.

In Khunti, police arrested four cadres of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) following an intelligence tip-off.

The arrested ultras include notorious PLFI history-sheeter Ojha Pahan alias Ojha Topno, along with Xavier Kongadi, Santosh Kongadi, and Jibnus Aind alias Dadhiyal.

Khunti's Superintendent of Police formed a special team under SDPO Torpa Christopher Kerketta, which launched a raid near Jibilong Tongri in Rania police station area, where the ultras were allegedly planning to extort money from contractors and traders.

During the operation, police recovered a 7.65 mm loaded country-made pistol, one more country-made pistol, several live bullets, mobile phones and SIM cards, and two bottles of petrol, suspected to be used for arson.

Police said the group was behind several incidents of violence in recent months. On May 27, they set a road roller engaged in road construction on fire, while on August 8, they attempted to burn a JCB machine in Raikera village.

Notably, 17 criminal cases -- including charges of murder, arson, extortion, and violations of the Arms Act -- are registered against kingpin Ojha Pahan in Khunti and Gumla districts.

In a parallel operation in Latehar, police arrested two active members of the banned outfit Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) -- identified as Amin Ansari (30) and Krishna Sahu alias Krishna Prasad (30).

Acting on secret intelligence, a team led by SDPO Arvind Kumar nabbed the duo.

According to police, both arrested ultras have confessed to their involvement in multiple incidents of extremist violence in the region.

Police officials said these operations in Khunti and Latehar are part of the intensified drive to curb the activities of banned outfits that have been attempting to spread terror and extortion in Jharkhand.

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