From correspondents in Jharkhand, India, 06:01 PM IST

Five Maoist rebels were arrested in Jharkhand's Khuti district Thursday, police said.

Police on a tip-off raided Ulang jungle in Khuti district, some 70 km from Ranchi Thursday morning. The five rebels were arrested after a three-hour long gunbattle with police.

Police have seized three cane bombs and a number of rifles, detonators, Maoist literature from the arrested rebels.

Maoist rebels are active in 18 of the 24 districts of the state. Nearly 1,500 people have been killed in Maoist related violence in the last eight years in Jharkhand.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)