Patna, Jul 15 (IANS): Aurangabad Police arrested a notorious Maoist operative, Shyam Bihari Chandravansi, also known as Bihari Rawani, from Chandaul village in Rafiganj block in Bihar on Monday.

Chandravansi, a native of Jujharpur village in the Goh police station area in the district, has 17 cases registered against him in Bihar and Jharkhand, with a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head.

Recently, Chandravansi was involved in an incident where an earth mover machine (JCB) was set on fire in Pogar village under Rafiganj block, demanding a levy from the brick kiln owner.

Aurangabad SP Swapna Gautam Meshram confirmed the arrest and detailed the incident that occurred on June 4.

“Chandravansi, along with nine armed Naxal operatives, attacked a brick kiln in Pogar village and assaulted the owner and workers. They set a JCB machine on fire, and threatened them with dire consequences if the levy, which had not been paid for the past five years, was not settled,” Meshram said.

“An FIR was registered against seven identified and two unidentified persons under various sections of the IPC and the National Security Act of 1980. We have constituted a Special Investigation team, headed by SDPO-2 of Aurangabad. The SIT had conducted raids at several locations, leading to Chandravansi's arrest,” the SP said.