M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Sept 1: In a major joint operation launched by the Garhwa police, Palamu police and 172 battalion of the CRPF on the intervening night of August 31-September 1, the contingent nabbed a sub-zonal commander of the CPI Maoist identified as Ravinder Mehta alias Chhota Vyas, according to the press note issued by Garhwa SP Anjani Kumar Jha.
Chhota Vyas, who hails from Palamu, was arrested at Burhi Kharn under Garhwa district’s Majhiaon police station. He hails from the Palamu district. He joined extremism in 2016.
He was hiding in some location in Garhwa following search drives against Maoists. The recent operation against the Maoists on the interstate Burha Pahar which is between Latehar and Chhatisgarh with Garhwa sandwiched between the two, had forced many like Chhota Vyas to hole up in some less hot pursuit district Garhwa. But the Garhwa police came as a watershed on Chhota Vyas who was finally caught by the security forces.
Vyas incidentally has no case against him in the Garhwa district but in all, he has 16 cases spanning over two states and three districts Jharkhand’s Palamu, where he has 5 cases against him, and Bihar’s Aurangabad and Gaya districts.
Chhota Vyas holds strategic importance to his outfit CPI Maoists as he used to operate in Bihar regional committee Madhya (Central) Zone. His operative area stretches from Chakarbandha Jungles to Palamu, Aurangabad and Gaya. He had bombed a panchayat building during the Panchayat elections in Bihar. He was found fighting an armed battle with the security forces 5 or 6 times.
Vyas was first an area commander in the CPI Maoists outfit but for his fighting notoriety, he was promoted to become sub-zonal commander of the outfit.
According to sources, he had an association with Sandeep Yadav the name that used to spell terror and terror only.
The Garhwa SP opined that Vyas’ arrest will be a big dent and severe jolt to the CPI Maoists.
