The Charla police claimed to have foiled an alleged attempt by the Maoists to exchange demonetised currency through their sympathisers with the arrest of two local traders and seizure of scrapped currency worth Rs 70,000 along with various accessories like rifle slings and “jungle shoes” allegedly meant for the rebels, at Tippapuram near the Taliperu reservoir in Bhadrachalam division on Monday evening.
A police team apprehended two motorcycle-borne Maoist sympathisers – G Rajesh and S Ajit, the local traders of Charla, during a vehicle checking drive near Taliperu dam late on Monday evening, said P Shoban Kumar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Kothagudem.
The duo were heading towards Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, carrying demonetised cash and accessories as well as other commodities, to deliver the consignment to Maoists in the neighbouring State, he told The Hindu when contacted.
The duo made a vain bid to exchange the demonetised currency as per the directions of the Chhattisgarh-based Maoists and were on the way to handover a consignment consisting of various accessories to the Maoists in Bijapur district, when they were nabbed, he said.
The consignment included 10 each whistles, belts, “AK-47 rifle slings” and “tab screen guards” besides five pairs of “jungle shoes”, three wrist watches and 20 "gun cleaning strings."
Vigil has been stepped up around the “santhas” (weekly markets) in tribal areas along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border to thwart reported attempts by the Maoists based in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh to exchange demonetised currency through vendors in the weekly markets in the Agency areas of the district, he said.
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