Bijapur: Fourteen Naxalites, including 11 carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 41 lakh on their heads, were arrested in Chhattigarh's Bijapur district, a police official said on Monday. These ultras, comprising six women and eight men, were part of the outlawed Left Wing movement's 'military company number 2' and 'Gangaloor area committee', the official said.
They were held on Sunday from forests of Mutvendi and Pidia villages under Gangaloor police station limits by a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and district police, a statement from Bijapur police said. "Eleven of the 14 Naxalites were carrying cumulative reward of Rs 41 lakh. These include Renu Kovasi, a member of military company number 2, and Mangli Avlam of Gangaloor area committee with reward of Rs 8 lakh each," the release said.
"Gangaloor area committee members Bichchem Uika, Sharmila Kursam and Lakshmi Tati were carrying rewards of Rs 5 lakh each. Four cadres were having bounties of Rs 2 lakh each and two had rewards of Rs 1 lakh each," it added. Based on their questioning, four tiffin bombs, two cooker bombs, detonators, cordex wire, gelatin sticks, firecrackers and other Maoists-related materials concealed by them were recovered, the release said.
Incidentally, security forces had gunned 12 Naxalites in a 12-hour long operation in the forests of Pidia village on May 10 and had rounded up several persons from the site on suspicion. Police are yet to disclose the details of those rounded up amid claims by villagers and activists that the May 10 encounter was fake. These persons have claimed those killed were villagers who had gone to pluck tendu leaves.
All these allegations have been rubbished by police who asserted the deceased were Naxalites carrying cash rewards on their heads.
