Maharashtra ATS arrests four more Naxals

Close on the heels of arrest of two prominent Naxals in the neighbouring Thane district on Monday, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Friday said they have nabbed four more members of the group, including three women, from Pune and Nashik.

The alleged Naxals, Mayur Bhagat alias Jenny (23), Jyoti Chorghe 19) and Anuradha Sonule (23) were apprehended from Pune on Wednesday night while Sonule's aide Siddharth Bhosale (24) was caught from Chandwad area in Nashik last night, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.

All the four booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were produced before a local court in Mumbai on Friday, which remanded them in police custody till May 3.

Maria said Rs 1.90 lakh in cash, Naxal literature, five mobile phone handsets and SIM cards were recovered from the rented houses of Bhagat and Chorghe. "The Naxals have some bank accounts that were freezed," he added.

On Monday, the ATS had arrested Angela Sontakke (42), an alleged Naxal and wife of Milind Teltumbde, secretary of Maharashtra's Communist Party of India-Maoist committee, with Rs 1.54 lakh in her possession from Talaopadi area in Thane while her aide Sushma Ramteke (27) was held from Pune. The two had good academic background.

Sontakke was also working as a secretary of 'Golden Corridor Committee' formed in February 2008 to spread Naxal ideology among students and labourers.