Rayagada: Rayagada police today arrested six persons who posing as Naxals were involved in extortion. The fake Naxals were arrested within 48 hours of demanding Rs 5 lakh on Wednesday from a villager of Sunger village under Kashipur police limits of Rayagada district.
Addressing a presser at the district police headquarters here, Rayagada Superintendant of Police Vivekanand Sharma said that on Wednesday an unknown person identifying himself as a Naxal informed a villager of Sunger village under Kashipur police limits that a time bomb has been kept on the roof of his house and demanded Rs 5 lakh from him.
The unknown person threatened to kill the villager if he failed to pay the amount, Sharma added.
The SP said that immediately after the villager lodged a complaint at the Kashipur police station in this connection, police reached the spot and vacated the area.
He said that while he himself immediately rushed to the spot, a bomb disposal squad, CRPF personnel, DVF personnel, and sniffer dogs reached the spot.
Five gelatin sticks each weighing 200 gm, 10 electric commercial detonators, and five meters of wire were seized and the bomb was defused, he added.
On orders of the SP, four teams led by Rayagada SDPO Dibyajyoti Dash and Kashipur IIC Padma Muthu were formed.
During the course of the investigation, based on reliable intelligence input, the six accused were arrested from the Rayagada-Kalahandi border, Sharma said.
Police have seized four mobile phones, a cylinder, and a digital watch from their possession, Sharma added.
Rayagada SDPO and Kashipur IIC were present during the presser.
