Angry villagers gave the Maoists a chase and caught a member who was handed over to the police. Later, two more Maoists were arrested. The chain of incidents, which began last night, continued till early Sunday morning.

According to the police, night guards appointed by villagers first spotted a group of suspected Maoists loitering in the area around midnight. When they approached the group, the latter opened fired at them. Meanwhile, villagers gathered at the spot. In the ensuing fight, three villagers — Dedar Sheikh, Abdul Azim and Zahirul Sheikh (4) — were injured. They were rushed to Amtolla Hospital where they are stated to be out of danger.

As the villagers gave the group a chase, they caught Babon Sutradhar, a Maoist, and beat him up. Sutradhar was later handed over to the police. There were about six Maoists in the group, including a woman, said the police. A pistol and seven rounds of ammunition have been recovered from Sutradhar, who sustained head and facial injuries. He was rushed to the Behrampur New General Hospital.

After interrogating Sutradhar, police arrested Zalim Sheikh and Yasin Sheikh of Nowda in Murshidabad, his accomplices.