Khukru Haat Maoist attack: Police arrest two more wanted rebels

11 arrests have been made so far

Jamshedpur, Jan. 3: Seraikela-Kharsawan district police have arrested two more wanted rebels involved in the killing of five policemen that took place at Khukru Haat under Tiruldih police station area in Ichagarh on June 14 evening, thus  taking the figure of arrest to 11.

Those arrested were identified as Mangal Topno alias Lallu and Sowana Singh Sardar alias Mota, both members of the Mahraj Pramanik’s squad of the outlawed outfit CPI-Maoist and were arrested last night.

Revealing about the breakthrough, Seraikela-Kharsawan superintendent of police, Karthik S said today that they arrested two dreaded naxals who were directly involved in the killing of policemen at Khukru Haat under Tiruldih police station area.

“Acting on a clue a special team was formed to nab them. Both Mangal and Soyana were seen near Palna dam in Chandil police station area, rushed to the spot and nabbed the two by surrounding the entire area late last evening,� he said.

He informed that both Soyana Sardar and Mangal Topno that during grilling they confessed that they had attacked two of the five policemen with sharp-edged weapons before shooting them to dead.  After killing the cops, the two along with other rebels had fled the spot having picked up pistols from the fallen cops on that eventful evening.

The senior police officer revealed that both Mangal Topno and Soyana were involved in the IED blast taken place Hudongda in Seraikela on May 20 morning when one of the rebels known as Pradeep Swashi.

Karthik said during interrogation, the two arrested rebels confessed that while they had attacked policemen at Khukru Haat, one of the cops had opened fire in self-defence and had inflicted fatal injury to a naxal Selem Munda who succumbed to his injury at a village in Tiruldih the same night.

�We had heard about two rebels’ death in police firing in Khukru Haat and Hudongda respectively, but confirmation about the rebels’ death was made only after the arresting of Mangal and Soyana,�he informed.

Five policemen were killed as CPI-Maoist rebels attacked a patrol party at Khukru block under Chandil sub-divisional in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district, about 70 Kms away from here on June 14. The rebels who had come in two bikes attacked the police party which was patrolling at the vicinity of a weekly-haat  known as Khukru haat under Tiruldih thana area in Khukru block at about 6.30 pm.  The rebels who were reportedly six in number had killed the policemen by attacking them with knives. Having killed them, they took away the rifles of the cops and fled.