Bhubaneswar, May 29 : The Odisha Police arrested one dreaded Maoist leader following an exchange of fire with the CPI (Maoist) cadres in Koraput district on Thursday.

The arrested red ultra, Kunjam Hidma alias Mohan, hails from Janaguda village in Bijapur district of neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Kunjum was an Area Committee Member (ACM) in the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) organisation. The police sources claimed that upon receipt of credible intelligence regarding the movement of a group of banned CPI (Maoist) cadres in the forest area near Petguda village under Boipariguda Police Station, the Koraput district Police launched a special operation using the District Voluntary Force (DVF) on Wednesday.

'In the early hours of 29.05.2025, the DVF team noticed a group of Maoists camping on the hill. As the team moved to surround it, the Maoists, on being alerted, opened fire at the DVF team and fled into the jungle. In response, the team exercised controlled fire in self-defence. During the subsequent search, one Maoist cadre was apprehended while attempting to hide in the nearby bushes, and others managed to flee,' informed the Koraput district police.

The cops also seized one AK-47 Rifle, 35 rounds of ammunition, 27 electric detonators, 90 non-electric detonators, Gun Powder around 2 Kg, steel containers, radios, earphones, Motorola Walkie-Talkie, spare Battery (for the Walkie-Talkie), Knives, Maoist literature, etc.

The dreaded Maoist Kunjam Hidma joined the Maoist organisation in 2007 at the age of 14, being inducted into Bal Sangham and Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural wing of the Maoists.

Kunjum was promoted to the rank of ACM and provided with an SLR rifle in 2019.

Kunjum is involved in several incidents of exchange of fire, anti-government and anti-national activities in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh areas during the past few years.

/IANS