Naxal couple carrying cash rewards held Maharashtra's Gadchiroli

A senior Naxal leader and his wife were arrested in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on Monday. The Naxal couple wanted in several Maoist-related incidents and carrying cash reward on their heads.

Gadchiroli: Police on Monday arrested a senior naxal and his wife, both collectively carrying rewards of Rs 18 lakh on their heads, from forests in Gadchiroli district bordering Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, officials said.

The naxal, identified as Yashwant alias Dayaram Boga (35), was working as a member of the divisional committee of Tipagadh Dalam while his wife Sharda alias Sumitra Netam (32) is an active cadre who has a string of cases pending against her, Gadchiroli Police said in a release.

Boga had joined Tipagadh Dalam in 2009 and was currently working as a member of its divisional committee, it said.

"He was involved in about 35 police-naxal encounters and was carrying a cash reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head. Boga has 87 cases of serious nature pending against him at various police stations in Gadchiroli district," it stated.

According to police, Boga had played a major role in burning down some vehicles in Dadapur in 2019 and in the Jambhulkheda blast on May 1, 2019, in which 15 policemen and a civilian driver were killed.

Sharda Netam, who is carrying a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh, has 47 serious offences registered against her, police said.

Gadchiroli police had arrested 17 senior cadres since 2019, it said.

(with inputs from PTI)