A member of the CPI (Maoist) Charla Local Organising Squad (LOS) and four militia members were arrested at Kaliveru in Charla mandal on Friday when they were allegedly planning to conduct recce on the movement of political leaders and police squads in a bid to carry out attacks on them ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha election, police said.

During a vehicle checking drive by the Charla police in coordination with the CRPF men, five persons were spotted moving in a suspicious manner near Kaliveru cross roads early on Friday morning.

The miscreants allegedly tried to escape but the joint team managed to nab them after a brief chase, police sources added.

The police identified them as Charla LOS member 30-year-old Kovvasi Bheemaiah and the remaining four as ‘Maoist militia’ all hailing from Chennapuram village in Charla mandal.

Tracking leaders

Presenting the arrested persons before the media in Kothagudem late on Friday afternoon, Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt said they had come to Charla to conduct a reconnaissance operation to track the movement of politicians and police parties at the behest of CPI (Maoist) district committee secretary Azad.

Mr. Bheemaiah was involved in as many as 13 cases of Maoist violence, including three murder, seven attempt to murder and three other offences of damaging government property, planting of land mines and directional mines in Bhadrachalam Agency, the district police chief said, adding that several cases were pending against the remaining four militants.