Naxal with Rs 20 lakh bounty arrested in Odisha

September 14, 2021 22:24

Representational pic

A top Maoist leader has been arrested in Odisha's Koraput district during a search operation by security forces, and cash and arms were seized from his possession, the police said on Tuesday.

The Odisha government had announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for any information leading to his arrest.

Dubashi Sankar, a leader of the state military commission (SMC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), was apprehended on Monday morning from a forest area adjoining Noaro village by jawans of the district voluntary force, special operations group and the BSF, DGP Abhay said.

"This is the first time a Maoist leader of such high rank has been arrested in Odisha," the DGP stated.

One Insas Rifle, 10 rounds of ammunition, a mobile phone, radio and cash of Rs 35,500 were recovered from Sankar's possession among other items.

The Maoist leader went by multiple names such as Mahender, Ramesh and Mahesh.

Amitabh Thakur, Inspector General (operations), when contacted by PTI, said Sankar, during interrogation, admitted that he was involved in multiple criminal cases, including a landmine blast in Koraput in 2010 that claimed lives of 11 police personnel.

Sankar had joined the Maoist organisation in 1987. He was promoted to the rank of special zonal committee member (SZCM) in 2003. He looked after the outfit's operations along the Andhra-Odisha border, Thakur said.

He joined the state military commission of the CPI (Maoist) in 2010, Thakur added.

In a related development, a Maoist cadre surrendered before the police in Koraput district on Tuesday.

He will get assistance in accordance with the Surrender and Rehabilitation Scheme of the Odisha government.

Sonal Madvi alias Kiran, an area committee member of the CPI (Maoist), claimed that he was not in favour of the "unnecessary civilian killings" by the outfit, a police officer in Koraput said.

Madvi also stated that Odiya cadres of the banned organisation are "looked down upon by their Telugu and Chhattishgarhi counterparts", the officer added.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Congress stung as Pinarayi gives it back to Rahul

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday, recalled "an old name of Rahul Gandhi" to attack the Congress leader, who a day earlier had wondered why the Marxist veteran was not jailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party government at...

'Babysitter' Pant Strikes Again!

A heartwarming video released by Delhi Capitals shows Pant interacting with the children of his team-mate David Warner and Coach Ricky Ponting.

MI Vs PBKS: Who Took The Best Catch? VOTE!

Pick Your Most Dazzling Catch Of The Night!

Wipro Q4 net profit falls; new CEO flags uncertainty in macro environment

IT service company Wipro on Friday reported 7.8 per cent year-on-year decline in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to about Rs 2834.6 crore, and cautioned that the macroeconomic environment remains "uncertain". The...

Supplier of 'aatank' struggles for 'atta' now: Modi's veiled attack on Pak

Taking a dig at Pakistan without naming it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said a country which was a supplier of aatank (terror) is struggling for aata (flour) these days.