Maoist with Rs 4 lakh bounty arrested along with arms, ammunition in Odisha
JEYPORE/KORAPUT: Kuniam Hidma, a hardcore Maoist carrying reward of Rs 4 lakh on his head, was arrested during a combing operation jointly carried out by Koraput police and the District Voluntary Force (DVF) near Petguda village in Boipariguda during the wee hours on Thursday.
Addressing mediapersons, Koraput SP Rohit Verma said Hidma alias Mohan (33) of Janaguda village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district was an area committee member (ACM) of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist). A most-wanted Maoist operative in Odisha, Hidma was nabbed when he was trying to flee during the combing operation.
Revealing details about the operation, the SP said acting on a tip-off, a team led by Jeypore SDPO Partha Kashyap launched a search in the forest near Petguda on Wednesday night. During the operation, the team spotted four Maoist cadres.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Maoists opened fire at the police team. The cops responded with controlled retaliation, ensuring no casualties on their side. While three of the Maoists managed to escape, Hidma was apprehended. A huge cache of arms and ammunition besides Maoist materials were seized from the encounter site.
The seized items included one AK-47 rifle, 35 rounds of ammunition, 117 electric and non-electric detonators, gunpowder, walkie-talkies, gunpowder, knives and Maoist literature.
During interrogation, Hidma revealed that he joined the Maoist movement in 2007 at the age of 14. Since then, he has been actively involved in extremist operations across Malkangiri and Koraput districts in Odisha besides Sukma and Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. He is linked to several violent incidents including encounters with security forces at Chandameta, Kondajhari, Kumbhikharri and Kolengabida between 2020 and 2023.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Three held, five pistols recovered
1 2 3 Pune: The crime branch of the Pimpri Chinchwad police on Saturday arrested three criminals on police records and recovered five country-made pistols and 20 cartridges from them. The trio, Umesh Kedari (28) of Punawale, Vishal Khanekar (30), and Manthan Satkar (28), both of Maval, smuggled these firearms from Barwani district in Uttar Pradesh. "They were preparing to sell some of them," senior police inspector Vijay Dhamal of Pimpri Chinchwad police told TOI. He said that police constables Ganesh Sawant, Sumit Devkar, and Vinod Vir received a tip-off about three men travelling in a sedan in Talegaon Dabhade area. The car did not have a registration number plate, and the trio was carrying firearms. "We set a trap and took the trio into custody. We recovered five country-made pistols, 20 cartridges, two empty magazines, a car, and three cellphones, collectively worth Rs 8.6 lakh," Dhamal said. Dhamal said that Kedari is an accused in four cases, including a murder, Satkar has three cases, including murder, and Khanekar has two cases. "The trio has been remanded in police custody till June 4. Our investigations are on," he added.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
2 cousins with same name meet same fate
Ludhiana: Two cousins with the same name have been awarded a life in prison for killing their neighbour over a financial dispute. A fine of Rs 10,000 each has also been slapped on the two convicts. Kulwinder Singh, son of Kulwant Singh, and his namesake, son of Jagjit Singh --- both from Tajpur, were charged with IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) on Jan 29, 2017 by Sadar Raikot police. The victim, Bhupinder Singh (28), was a father of two --- a son and a daughter. Bhupinder's father, Harpal Singh, told police that the accused had an old rivalry with his son. Harpal has a scrap business. On the fateful day, around 7.30 in the evening, he said both the accused took Bhupinder with them on a motorcycle, possibly intending to harm him. Anxious, he along with his wife and brother-in-law went after them. On the way, they were told that the accused were seen taking his son towards Lohatbaddi via the Klasian main road. When they reached a palace near Lohatbaddi, they were told that the suspects had turned left along a drain. As they continued searching along the road lining the drain, about 1km ahead, they heard someone let out a scream. This was around 8.30pm. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Zumbido e perda de audição? Médico revela técnica caseira de 1 real para aliviar! Zumbido no ouvido Undo When they rushed to the spot, they saw the accused attacking Bhupinder with knives. He lay there in a pool of blood with serious injuries, and when they raised an alarm, the attackers fled towards Lohatbaddi, carrying their weapons. Bhupinder died on the spot. The father said the accused had demanded money from Bhupinder earlier and threatened him with dire consequences if he refused to pay them. On his complaint, the accused were booked and subsequently arrested. Police prepared a charge-sheet against them and presented it in court. During the trial of the case, the accused pleaded false implication. The defence counsel argued that the prosecution failed to prove any motive for the accused to murder Bhupinder and that the claim of a money dispute was only verbal without any documentary proof. The court of additional sessions judge/fast track court, Sandeep Singh Bajwa, observed that the argument was flawed and could not be accepted. "It is important to understand that motive lies within the mind of the accused and does not always need to be proven by the prosecution. In many cases, it is not possible to uncover the exact motive behind a crime. While some motives are clear and supported by evidence, others may remain uncertain or hidden. However, when there is strong and convincing eyewitness testimony and clear evidence showing the role of the accused in the crime, the absence of a proven motive does not weaken the prosecution's case," the court observed. Pronouncing the quantum of sentence to the two convicts, the court held, "Looking at the present case, it does not qualify as one of those rarest of rare cases." Harpal Singh has a scrap business. He is the father of two sons and a daughter.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Two lose 75L in online share fraud
1 2 Pune: In separate cases of online share market fraud, two private company officials from Pimpri Chinchwad collectively lost Rs 75 lakh to cybercrooks. Separate cases were registered with the Sangvi and Ravet police on Saturday. A 37-year-old resident of Ravet, who lost Rs 47.45 lakh in the online share fraud between April 4 and May 31 this year, stated in his complaint that an unknown person sent him a message on April 4 about investments in the stock market and earning good money. When the victim responded to the message, he was added to a group of investors on a mobile messaging app through a link. "The victim then went on transferring amounts to the different bank accounts, which were provided to him. He could see that he was earning good profit on his investments," an officer from the Ravet police said. He said that when the complainant tried to withdraw his money, the crooks took more money from him under the pretext of tax and commission. "After transferring Rs 47.45 lakh, the complainant realised that he was being duped and stopped responding to them," he said. The officer said that the police registered the case under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information and Technology Act. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo In the Sangvi case, a 47-year-old resident of Pimple Saudagar, who works with a private company, stated in his complaint that he was added to a group of investors on a mobile messaging app. The crooks offered him 200 percent returns on his investments in the shares and took Rs 27.50 lakh from him to different bank accounts and duped him. The fraud happened between April 19 and May 28 this year, police said.
