Suspected PLFI member held

RAJGANAPUR:(SUNDARGARH):  A local member of the dreaded criminal extortion gang People Liberation Front of India (PLFI) was arrested and produced in court on Saturday, while another two managed to escape.The Rajgangpur police under Sundargarh police district chanced upon the gang on Friday night when the three ran away after watching the  police patrol vehicle. The arrested has been identified as Budhua Nanda.Rajgangpur SDPO PK Panigrahi said they were moving suspiciously on a forest road near Buchkupara area under Rajgangpur police limits when police spotted them.Panigrahi said though they ran away police gave them a chase and nabbed Nanda, but the other two managed to flee. The arrested Nanda told police that he had links with PLFI and his two accomplice hailed from Jharkhand. They were demanding ‘tax’ from some Rajgangpur businessmen, Nanda told police.Jharkhand-based criminals owing allegiance to PLFI with the help of their local counterparts have unleashed a reign of terror at bordering areas of Sundargarh district and are extracting hefty ‘tax’ from businessmen.DIG (WR) YK Jethwa said investigation is underway to ascertain his claim about his linkage to PLFI, adding the Sundargarh and Rourkela district police are on the job to bust criminal outfits, including PLFI and Jharkhand Liberation Tiger, besides the lesser-known ‘Pahari Cheetah’, engaged in criminal extortions.PLFI men recently gunned down a salesman of a petrol pump in Nuagaon block over extortion demand.