WOMAN MAOIST HELD BY BALANGIR COPS Sunday, 12 July 2015 | SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar

WOMAN MAOIST HELD BY BALANGIR COPS

Sunday, 12 July 2015 | SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar

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Police arrested Maoist Nirmala belonging to Bijapur of Chhattisgarh and a member of the Balangir Bargarh Mahsamund Division of the Maoist outfit on Saturday.

Police also seized a 0.9 mm pistol, four rounds of ammunition from the house of Maoist militia Goutam Bag of Jurabandh village under the Kantabanji police station. This was announced by Balangir SP Dr Deepak Kumar at a press conference here.

The two Maoists were held while they were returning after medical treatment from Titilagarh. The woman Maoist had sustained burn injuries due to coming in contact with an electric wire in a jungle while Goutam Bag, who is a quack, was providing logistic support for the ultras and was also providing them treatment, Kumar said.

However, as her injuries aggravated, Nirmala was sent with Bag for treatment to Titilagarh. "We let off Goutam Bag thinking that Maoists might contact him to secure Nirmala's release and we could nab more Maoists. Bag was in his house in his village for two nights.

However, today morning Goutam Bag came in a state of depression fearing retaliation by Maoists. He was kept in the police barrack at Kantabanji where he committed suicide inside a bathroom in the morning. He was being immediately shifted to the Kantabanji (Government) hospital, but on way to the hospital he died," the SP said.

Nirmala was involved in the murders of Saan Gurji Bhata and Raj Kishore Panda of Telenpali, Krishna Punji of Khuripali and Murali Meher of Rengali and in some other incidents, Kumar said.

While nabbing a Maoist was good news for the police but at the same time a Maoist militia committing suicide in a police barrack has worried the Balangir police.

Nirmala, responding a query of mediapersons, said, "I was working in the Balangir area along with seven other cadres for the last two years and (one) Sanjib was our leader. Goutam Bag was providing treatment to me and police nabbed me while I was returning from Titilagarh."