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Arrest of Naxal elements in Pune put authorities on alert

The arrest of 16 suspected Naxals in Pune region over the past few days including ten on Thursday has prompted authorities to step up vigilance in the jurisdiction of nine police stations.

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The arrest of 16 suspected Naxals in Pune region over the past few days including ten on Thursday has prompted authorities to step up vigilance in the jurisdiction of nine police stations, covering the adjacent semi-rural areas in order to prevent the movement from taking roots in Western Maharashtra.

The anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) recently nabbed the Naxal suspects who included Angela Sontakke, a 42-year-old woman, for an alleged nexus with the Naxalite network operating in Maharashtra, giving rise to the speculation that the movement which had so far remained confined largely to Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts in Vidarbha, bordering Andhra Pradesh was slowly spreading to other parts of the state.

Angela, who reportedly headed the "Golden Corridor" unit of the naxals shared an accommodation with one of her female accomplices at Pirangut, about 20 km from here.

On Thursday, Maharashtra ATS arrested ten Maoists hailing from West Bengal operating at Shirur near Pune. Among the "vulnerable" areas identified by Pune rural police having a potential for Naxalite infiltration in the region are -Chakan, Haveli, Lonikalbhor, Vadgaon-Maval, Dehu road, Lonavala, Paud, Talegaon and Lonikand.

"Pune is fast expanding to the proportion of a metropolis and along with a growing population (five million), the number of unemployed youths too is going up. This could be one of the factors responsible for the apparent penetration of the Naxalite activists in this region," Superintendent of Police (Pune rural) Pratap Dighavkar told PTI.

 

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