Raipur: Police in Bastar division of Chhattisgarh will put up posters of 34 most wanted Naxal leaders in village markets and other public places to elicit information and tip-offs leading to their arrest.
As part of the initiative, police on Saturday released the list of these hardcore ultras, including two women, mentioning cash rewards ranging from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 1 crore announced on them.
Among those named in the list are CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Gaganna alias Vasav Raj, his predecessor and politburo member Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganpati, politburo members Kattakam Sudarshan alias Anand and Mallojula Venugopal alias Bhupati, all four carrying cash rewards of Rs 1 crore each on their heads, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told Media.
"This list of 34 will be circulated on social media platforms as well apart from posters and banners that will be put up in haat-bazaars (village markets) and other places in Bastar. We want to tell people these 34 have done nothing for tribals, only killed innocents, thwarted development works," he said.
Maoist violence in Bastar division in the last five decades has led to 1,800 people dying and works to the tune of several crore rupees being destroyed, he added.
"Now it is time to target top cadres who are from Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and have been trying to exploit the innocence of tribals of Bastar and misleading them. The objective is to expose these ultras who are responsible for the bloodbath in Bastar," the IG said.
"Nine on the list carry rewards of Rs 40 lakh each on their heads, while 17 have rewards of Rs 25 lakh each. The identity of those giving information would be kept secret and they will be given rewards," he added.
However, police admitted photographs of the Maoists leaders on the posters may not be the latest ones.
Bastar, spread across an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, comprises Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma districts.
(PTI Report)
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