Thirteen naxals, including two women, were arrested from insurgency-hit Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh by joint teams of security forces, police said.
Nine ultras, including two women, were held from Narayanpur district, while four janmilitia members from a forested area in Kondagaon district.
"In Narayanpur, a joint team of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the district force apprehended the Maoists from the forests of Becha and Kadenar villages under Chhotedongar police station limits during an anti-Maoist operation," Narayanpur SP Jitendra Shukla told PTI.
The arrested cadres are identified as Sitaram Watti, Munna alias Ravishankar, Shankar, Fagu alias Jaisingh, Sonadhar, Sukman Korram, and Lchhuram Netam.
The two women are identified as Jaldai Watti and Budhmati alias Phulbati, Shukla said, adding that an arrest warrant was pending against each of them.
The ultras are mainly lower-rung cadres who are wanted for crimes like attempt to murder, attacking police party, loot etc.
In Kondagaon, four Maoists were arrested from Rajadongri forests under Mardapal police station limits by a composite squad of the Special Task Force (STF) and ITBP while conducting a combing operation to ensure security to the road construction work in the area, a senior police official said.
"The ultras, identified as Pohduram Korram (45), Sonu Netam (35), Sonsai Netam (45) and Kenvsi Kashyap (32), were apprehended from Rajadongri forests under Mardapal police station limits," Kondagaon Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag told PTI.
After spotting the security forces, the naxals started bursting crackers to escape from the spot, he said.
However, the troopers nabbed them after a brief chase.
The arrested naxals were active as janmilitia members and were allegedly involved in several incidents including loot, arson, attempt to murder etc. in the area, the officer said.
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