By IANS,
Kolkata: Three people were arrested Monday for suspected links with Maoists from a village in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district where a joint forces trooper and a rebel were killed in a shootout Sunday.
The three – Buddhaeshwar Mirdha, Tarini Ahir and Sita Ram Murmu – were arrested from Ghrita village during an operation in the Jitushole forest area under Jhargram sub-division, police said.
The arrested people were produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate court in Jhargram and remanded to police custody for 14 days. “We suspect they may have links with the Maoist cadres,” said Superintendent of Police Jhargram (police district) Praveen Tripathi.
“Seven people were picked up from a spot Sunday night and after hours of grilling, three of them were arrested,” he said.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Umakanta Mahato, one of the prime accused in the May 28 Gyaneshwari Express derailment in which 148 people were killed, assembled at the spot along with his close aide Jayanta Mahato and some cadres.
Umakanta is still at large. The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced a reward of Rs.one lakh for anybody providing information leading to his arrest.
“We were informed that Umakanta Mahato and Jayanta Mahato were frequenting the area for the past three-four days. Even during the gunfight (Sunday), Umakanta and Jayanta were said to be present there, but the exact reason behind their presence in the area is yet to be ascertained,” Tripathi said.
“Umakanto, who is still at large, might have taken shelter to evade the arrest by the CBI or he might have gone there to chalk out fresh attack on police or innocent people,” said the officer.