3 suspected Naxalites held

In stepped up anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand, three suspected Maoists were today arrested in Khunti while police recovered landmines and IED in Latehar and Chatra districts.
Personnel of CRPF and Khunti district police undertook a search operation in the forests near Korba village in Khunti district when they faced a hail of bullets from the Naxalites, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Operation) P R Mishra told PTI.
In swift retaliation, three of them were arrested while the rest fled, he said.
He said the police were ascertaining which group the arrested and their associates belong to, adding the area has presence of cadres of both the CPI (Maoist) and the People's Liberation Front of India.

A carbine, a rifle, four pistols and Naxal literature were among the materials recovered from the encounter spot, he said.
In Maoist-affected Latehar district, the police recovered four powerful landmines, each weighing 30 kg and planted near the Tubed river under Sadar police station.
They were planted with an aim to target the security forces during anti-Naxal operations, Latehar Superintendent of Police Anup Birtheray said.
An IED was recovered near Satbahini river under Pratapur police station, the police said.