Bhubaneswar, Sep 26 (IANS) Police Wednesday arrested a local area commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist in Odisha’s Rayagada district, an official said.
Srinath Brekbeda, 21, was apprehended from a forested area during a raid conducted by a joint team of the police and paramilitary forces, a senior district police official told IANS.
Brekbeda joined the outlawed outfit in 2007 as a member. Subsequently, he was a commander of the Bansadhara Division of the CPI-Maoist in the district, the official said.
The rebel, who belongs to Belundi village under Muniguda police station of the same district, was wanted in a series of offences including murder, land mine blasts, attacks on police posts and blowing up of cell phone towers.
He was operating in the districts of Rayagada and Gajapati. He was also accused of collecting extortion money from various shop-owners and contractors.
Brekbeda is an expert in handling landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Besides, he was also the mastermind behind managing dumps of weapons and landmines for the Maoists.
The district headquarters town of Rayagada is about 400 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
