The state police have information about some hardcore Maoists taking shelter in districts close to the Jharkhand border. To weaken the sources of income of the extremists, the state police have started to confiscate their property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Since 2012, illegal assets belonging to the Maoists worth Rs 6.75 crore have already been seized and proposals to attach property of Rs 8.97 crore have been sent to the Enforcement Directorate. The property of 10 top most Maoist leaders, including Sandip Yadav, Pradumna Sharma, Masafir Sahni, Arvind Yadav, Rambabu Rajan, Pintu Rana, Binay Yadav, Anil Ram, Dilip Sahni and Abhijeet Yadav has been seized. In addition, standing crops of Opium on 2523 acres of land were also damaged by police as part of the drive to check sources of income of the extremists. The police also seized Rs 57 lakh in cash which were collected as levy by Maoists from businessmen, contractors and other affluent people. The seized money was collected by Maoists between 2020 and 2024. The Special Task Force (STF), which has been raised to contain Naxal menace, is being revamped for the purpose. Meanwhile, the state police have launched a manhunt for the arrest of Vivek, a Maoist leader operating in Aurangabad and its adjoining districts. Suresh Koda, who is active in Lakhisarai, Munger and Jamui districts, is also on the run after the state police stepped up its operation in the region, ADGP Amrit Raj claimed.
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