22 Maoists arrested in Bijapur district

Raipur: Twenty-two Maoists were arrested and explosive materials seized from four separate locations in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said.

A police statement said that seven low rank cadres were arrested on Tuesday from a forest near Tekmetla village in Usoor region, by a joint team of the CoBRA personnel and local police that was out on an area domination operation.

In another search operation, six other Maoists were arrested from forests in Belchar village near Jangla, while nine cadres were nabbed from a forest in Kandakarka village in Nelasnar area on Wednesday.

Police officials said that separate joint teams of security personnel were involved in these search operations and they have also recovered tiffin bombs, gelatin sticks, detonators, electric wires, batteries, Maoist pamphlets and other items from the possession of the arrested Maoists.

All those arrested are aged between 19 and 45 years, the official said.