State on alert over Maoist bandh call

Ranchi: The state administration is on high alert in view of the bandh called by the CPI (Maoist) on Sunday to protest the alleged illegal detention of their leaders by the police.
Police said operations are under way in the Maoist-affected areas of the state and keeping vigil at public installations like the highways, government buildings and sites of government construction works.
SSP (Ranchi) Kishore Kaushal said, “Police pickets and camps in the sensitive areas have been directed to avoid loose movements.”
SP (Khunti) Aman Kumar said police would conduct operations in the Maoist-affected areas adjoining the Chaibasa district during the bandh.
Notably, the Maoist are claiming that its regional committee member Krishna Handsa and another member, Renuka Murmu, who were arrested from Giridih and Deoghar districts are being kept in detention and tortured by the police. They are demanding the production of the arrested persons before the court.
Police, however, said both of them have been forwarded to judicial custody.
Essential services, including ambulance, milk, water newspaper, medical and hospitals, have been excluded from the bandh, the Maoists said.