Telangana-born Maoist leader Sudhir alias Murali, who carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, was among three Naxals who were gunned down in an encounter
Raipur: Telangana-born Maoist leader Sudhir alias Murali, who carried a bounty of `25 lakh on his head, was among three Naxalites who were gunned down in an encounter with the security forces in a forest along the districts of Dantewada and Bijapur under South Bastar of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. Sudhir whose real name is Ankeshrapu Saraiya is a resident of Taralapali village under Warangal in Telangana.
He had entered the Dandakaranya area in 1999. He had functioned in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Mad division of Maoists in South Bastar. He later became a member of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKZC) of Maoists. He had also served in the North Bastar Bureau and Mad division of Maoists in Bastar.
The bodies of all the three slain Naxals were recovered along with weapons and explosives at the encounter site, Bastar range inspector-general of police P. Sunderraj told this newspaper.
The encounter took place in a forest along the borders of Dantewada and Bijapur districts, he said.
According to the Dantewada district superintendent of police Gaurav Rai, acting on special intelligence inputs on the presence of several senior Maoist leaders in the Girasapara forest under Gidam police station in Dantewada district, a joint security party comprising personnel of the district reserve guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters (BF) launched a search operation in the area.
The security party came under attack by Maoists when the former tried to encircle them, leading to a fierce encounter between them. The other two slain Naxals were Munnu Barsa and Pandru, Rai said. They were members of the security team of DSZC, the police said.
One INSAS assault rifle, one 303 rifle and a 12-bore gun along with ammunition and explosives were recovered at the encounter site.
This was the second major counter-insurgency operation conducted in Bastar in the past one week. 30 Maoists were killed in two separate encounters in Bastar on March 20.
In the last 83 days, a total 100 Maoists were killed in Bastar. Significantly, the Maoists’ annual Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) begins on March 1 and runs till first week of June, during which period the Maoists try to restore their bases in Bastar by targeting the security forces.
