A Maoist militia member was arrested while allegedly attempting to plant explosive material targeting police in the Pamunuru forest area of Venkatapuram mandal in Mulugu district on Sunday, police said.
Explosive substances including two pressure cooker bombs, two tiffin box bombs, four detonators, electric wire bundles, batteries and a walkie-talkie were recovered from his possession.
The arrested militia member was identified as Madavi Boodu, 40, of Jella village in Venkatapuram mandal.
During a search operation, a joint squad of Venkatapuram police and the CRPF personnel nabbed Boodu after a brief chase, when the latter allegedly tried to flee along with several other militia members on noticing the police in the Pamunuru forest area on Sunday afternoon, police added.
Presenting the arrested militia member and the seized explosive material before the media in Mulugu on Monday, Mulugu District Superintendent of Police Sangram Singh Patil said Boodu was apprehended while trying to plant the landmines/IEDs in the forest area near Pamunuru. He was acting on the instructions of Maoist leaders of Wajedu-Venkatapuram area committee to target the combing parties.
He was involved in around 28 cases of Maoist violence, including the murder of Bheemeshwara Rao at Alubaka in October last year, and planting of IEDs, landmines and spikes in the forest areas frequented by the combing parties in Venkatapuram and Wajedu mandals in the past few years, the SP said.
He added that an innocent villager Soyam Pentaiah was killed when the IED planted by the Maoists went off in Mukunur forest area in March 2019.
