Jharkhand Police arrest Naxal couple

Hazaribagh, Oct 15 (ANI): Jharkhand Police on Thursday confirmed the arrest of a high-profile Maoist couple-Ravi Sharma and Karuna.

Sharma, an agriculture scientist and Karuna were allegedly behind a series of violent activities in the state.

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Sharma was also known among the Red Ultras as Arjun, Mahesh and Ashok. His wife Karuna, was also known as Rajitha and Anuradha in the Maoist ranks.

Producing the couple before the media, Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Kamboj claimed that they were running the Maoist outfit in Bihar and Jharkhand since 1999.

Fifty-year-old Sharma, was a member of the Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Maoist) and in-charge of Maoist operations in the Bihar-Jharkhand special area committee.

According to SP Kambhoj, "At present, his (Sharma) main work is to give military - related training and hold camps and distribute literature to his cadre. Apart from Bihar, we are investigating in Bengal and Orissa where he (Sharma) is in touch with fellow rebels."

The couple were arrested in the Ichak police station limits in the district and were responsible for a sudden increase in Naxal violence in these two states. With their arrest, the Maoist movement is jolted," SP Kambhoj claimed.

Karuna (45) left her public sector bank job in Hyderabad to fight for the cause of oppressed people against capitalism in the country.

The Maoists Central Committee deputed Karuna to Bihar to expand the Women Liberation Organisation in 2007.

"I think that if we don't change the source of oppression in society we can't do anything. We have to finish the inequality. There is a gap between educated white collar and labour class people. In a country like India that gap is huge. If we have to bridge that gap, we will have to change the system," said Karuna.

Police claimed they found the whole strategy of movement recorded in a laptop seized from them.

Vital information related to Naxals was also found in the diaries and letters of the couple, police said.

Police recovered a laptop, bank passbooks, Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards, cash of about Rs.60, 000, a nine MM foreign-made revolver, cartridges and documents relating to the Maoist operational strategies for Bihar and Jharkhand.

Jharkhand Police are hoping to get major information from them on Maoists' activities and also about their involvement in its activities that shook Jharkhand and Bihar states in the recent past. (ANI)