Two PWG naxals re-arrested

NASHIK, March 9: Seema Gaurichand Hirani and Namdeo Gaikwad, having links with naxalites of the Peoples' War Group (PWG), were re-arrested o...

NASHIK, March 9: Seema Gaurichand Hirani and Namdeo Gaikwad, having links with naxalites of the Peoples’ War Group (PWG), were re-arrested on Saturday night by the Harsul police in the tribal Peth taluka.

Hirani, Gaikwad and Bhimrao Kankalwar had been arrested three months ago and charged with waging war against the State. They were released on bail on Friday last by the Nashik court. While Kankalwar was taken into custody by the Chandrapur police in connection with offences in their jurisdiction, Hirani and Gaikwad were re-arrested on Saturday.

According to police officials, naxalite activities have revived in Balsad and Peth on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. The police recovered gunpowder, cartridges and gelatine rods from a tribal hamlet, Malkapur, about a month ago. The material was apparently left behind by naxalites on the run.

The police have tightened vigil on the border villages. The presence of naxalites in Nashik was first discovered on the eve of 1996 Lok Sabha polls when PWG literature wasfound in some villages of Peth taluka. Later, the State Government had launched a `Jan Jagran Abhiyan’ to wean away tribals from the PWG.