The Bhadradri-Kothagudem district police claimed to have arrested four Maoist couriers and thwarted their bid to supply explosive material and spectacles to the Maoist rebels based in the insurgency-hit south Bastar region of the election -bound neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Police sources said the four Maoist couriers were apprehended by a joint squad of police and CRPF men at R Kothagudem crossroads in Charla mandal on Friday morning while they were allegedly proceeding towards Chhattisgarh carrying a consignment comprising 50 gelatin sticks, four bundles of wire, 27 pairs of spectacle frames, an eye testing kit, among others.and 128 glasses, three mobile phones and a bike were seized from their possession, sources added.
Producing the arrested persons at a press conference in Kothagudem on Friday evening, Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt said Telangana Youth Forum (TYF) Mahabubabad district president Bukya Srinivas, 31, Nalgonda district vice-president S Sanjeeva, 34, former members of the “CP Bata” outfit M. Ganapathi, 30, and Hari alias Pratap, of Jayashankar-Bhupalpalli district were nabbed with explosive material at R Kothagudem crossroads in Charla mandal.
"They confessed to working as Maoist couriers at the behest of some leaders of the outfit," he said, adding that Sanjeeva, who owns an optical shop in Nalgonda, was carrying spectacle frames, an eye testing kit and several pairs of glasses when caught along with the remaining three heading towards Chhattisgarh.
Ganapathi and Hari had plans to join the Maoist ranks, Mr Sunil said, pointing out that one Bikshapathi of Jayashankar Bhupalpalli district recently joined the outlawed outfit at the instance of Srinivas.
All those aiding and abetting the activities of the banned Maoist outfit would be brought to book, he said.