18 Maoist sympathisers held in AP

"We have arrested 18 Maoist sympathisers belonging to Chhattisgarh last night," east zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Y Gangadhar said today.

The arrested persons were working for Chhattisgarh's Dandakaranya special zonal committee and were members of Chetan Manch cultural organisation, a police officer said, adding they belonged to Kasaram village in Chhattisgarh.

Acting on a tip-off that a cultural troupe having sympathy with Naxals were on their way from Khammam district, police nabbed them from a bus stand here, he said.

The troupe performed a cultural programme in Khammam recently and came here on the invitation of Dasari Hanumanth Rao of State Civil Liberties and N Narayana, a pharmacist working for a private company, police said.

A case was registered against those arrested and they are being produced in a court, the police officer said, adding that some Maoist literature and three CDs were recovered from their possession.