Top Maoist leader arrested from Patna hospital

A self-styled Maoist commander believed to have planted an IED in the belly of a dead soldier in January this year was arrested today from a Patna hospital.

A self-styled Maoist commander believed to have planted an IED in the belly of a dead soldier in January this year was arrested on Tuesday from a Patna hospital.

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Inderjeet, a platoon commander of a Maoist group operating in Bihar and Jharkhand, was being treated at a private hospital in Patrakar Nagar, Patna, for injuries sustained in a gunfight with CoBRA commandos of the CRPF near Kumudi Railway station on June 12.

A native of Chakarbandha in Gaya, he is said to be a close associate of central committee member, Arvind Ji.

"He is a big catch. He was injured in an encounter with our commandos sometime back and since then we were on his trail,” director general CRPF Pranay Sahay said.

Police said the hospital authorities had informed the police that a man with bullet injury had been admitted to the hospital. A medical practitioner named Ashok is learnt to have taken R90,000 for his treatment.

Inderjeet, intelligence sources said, was involved in planting an IED in the abdomen of CRPF jawan Babulal Patel, who had been killed in an ambush by the Maoists in Jharkhand's Latehar district in January this year. The IED went off killing three civilians, who had allegedly been forced by the CRPF to lift the body of the soldier.

He was also wanted for many other attacks on security forces, they said. Some of his accomplices had been arrested by the Jharkhand police last month.

Bihar director general of police Abhayanand said the police will soon inform the Jharkhand counterparts about Indrajeet’s arrest, as he is also wanted by them.