Rourkela, Dec. 4: A joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police has demolished a camp of the People Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a banned outfit, on the Odisha-Jharkhand border and nabbed one of its activists.

The PLFI, the police say, is a criminal outfit and poses as a Maoist organisation involved in extorting money from various people. The Maoists are also at loggerheads with the PLFI and had fought each other on several occasions.

The joint team had been on a regular operation in the forests of Saranda bordering Odisha and Jharkhand to prevent any untoward incidents during the election in Jharkhand when it received a tip-off.

The operation started on December 2, and assistant commandant of the CRPF Sunil Jadha and inspector in charge of Bisra police station Susant Das led the team.

The militants fired at the team when it reached near the Perbringa hill.

“A group of six PLFI members, led by Akash Singh, fired at the security forces,” said Rourkela’s additional police superintendent S. Mohanty.

The gunfight continued for some time before the goons fled from the scene.

But, the forces nabbed Kaleshwar Bhuian, a member of the gang.

Mohanty said Bhuian had confessed to his involvement in many crimes, including the killing of two cloth merchants on June 22 at Gunjore village.

The security forces destroyed the jungle camp and seized two live cartridges, one blank cartridge, three mobile phones, four SIM cards, water bottles, three blankets, notebooks, first-aid kit, medicines, combat uniform and bags.