Ex-BSF man under scanner for training PLFI members

ROURKELA: Close on the heels of the arrest of seven operatives of the Jharkhand-based extortionist outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), the Birmitrapur police in Sundargarh district on Monday held six more PLFI members including a retired BSF personnel.Sundargarh SP Pinak Mishra said an identity card has been recovered from the arrested person Yadumani Patra (57) which stated that he had served in the Border Security Force (BSF) from March 1980 to December 1995. The SP said his identification and position in the BSF was under verification.

Patra, a native of Bonai in Sundargarh district, had settled at Barbil in adjacent Keonjhar district from where he was arrested. He was allegedly providing shelter to PLFI goons and extending logistic support to them in criminal activities including extortion. Patra was also running a private security service which provided arms training to PLFI operatives.In course of investigation, search operations were carried out at different areas under Birmitrapur police limits leading to arrest of his PLFI associates, Butru Kharia, Sandip Ekka, Vishal Thakur, Suraj Sahu and Riba Xalxo. All the accused persons will be forwarded to court on Tuesday, informed Kuanrmunda police outpost OIC Manoj Nayak.

Earlier, acting on a tip off, the Birmitrapur police on Saturday raided PLFI’s Khukundubahal forest hideout in Kuanrmunda block and arrested Arjun Rana alias Kapil Pathak (28), PLFI’s zonal committee member, Karan Soy alias Surya alias Paulus Munda (22), PLFI’s area commander for Koida and Barbil areas and Jageswar Singh (30) and Sundar Oriya alias Sulli (23), both PLFI cadres. With the help of information they provided, police on Sunday arrested PLFI operatives Manu Kujur, an employee of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), Manuel Bhengra and Rajmohan Kishan. Total seizure on Saturday and Sunday included one .9mm carbine machine gun, three 12 bore DBBL (Double Barrel Breach Loading) rifles, two .9mm pistols and about 50 live bullets. The seven accused persons were sent to jail custody on Sunday.