CRPF IG RK Mishra (second from left) arrives at Bokaro aerodrome on Friday, a day after a large group of Naxalites was spotted on the foothills of Jhumra in Gomia.

The CRPF IG held a high-level meeting with North Chotanagpur IG Tadasha Mishra, CRPF DIG BK Toppo and 26th battalion's commandant Sanjay Kumar, among others, to chalk out strategies to step up anti-Maoist operations.

Speaking to mediapersons, Mishra said that he had come to Bokaro to thank his men for putting up a good show during the Assembly elections and to plan a major offensive against Maoists.

'The rebels will have no option but to join the mainstream or face bullets,' the senior CRPF officer added.

Sources claimed that rebels were trying to regroup in Jhumra and Upar Ghat after keeping low during the elections.

Also, The Telegraph in Friday's edition (Rebels, cops in cat & mouse jungle hunt) reported that armed Maoists held a procession followed by a meeting in Jhumra, about 85km from Bokaro city, on Thursday.Text by Shashank Shekhar; picture by Pankaj Kumar