Naxalite with Rs 7 lakh reward on his head surrenders in Gondia

A Naxalite with a reward of Rs 7 lakh on his head surrendered in Maharashtras Gondia a police official said on Friday reported the PTIDeva alias Arjun alias Rakesh Sumdo Mudam 27 was part of the Malajkhand dalam and Pamed platoon number 9 of the outlawed Communist Party of India Maoist the official saidHe laid down arms on Thursday in front of Collector Prajit Nair Superintendent of Police Gorakh Bhamre and Additional SP Nityanand Jha He was part of the outlawed movement since 2014 when he just a teen and served in the MaharashtraMadhya PradeshChhattisgarh zone of the Naxalites the official said according to the PTIDeva was involved in firing cases in Tipagarh in Gadchiroli Jhilmili Kashibehra Bakarkatta in Chhattisgarhs Rajnandgaon as well as other incidents of Naxal violence and attacks on security forces the official informedSenior Naxal leader Prabhakar Rao carrying Rs 25 lakh bounty arrested in ChhattisgarhMeanwhile in an another incident earlier this week a senior Naxalite leader carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head has been arrested by security forces in Chhattisgarhs Kanker district a senior police official said on Monday and termed it as a significant success in fight against Leftwing extremism reported the PTIPrabhakar Rao alias Balmuri Narayan Rao a Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Member DKSZCM of the banned CPI Maoist was apprehended on Sunday in the Antagarh police station area of the district Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P saidThe 57yearold Naxal leader incharge of logistic supply and a close associate of top Maoist functionaries carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head he saidFor the past few days the Kanker district police had been receiving information about the activities of senior cadre Prabhakar Rao of the North Bastar SubZonal Bureau of the banned Maoist organization Acting on the information security forces surrounded and arrested Prabhakar Rao in the Antagarh police station area on Sunday Rao is being questioned the IPS officer said as per the PTIThe senior police official said the arrest of Rao an important cadre of the Maoist organization of the North Bastar region was a significant success for security forces and it will give an edge in curbing Naxal activitiesThe senior leader joined Naxal ranks as a member in 1984 He was working for the organization for the last 40 years He was currently incharge of logistic supply and Mobile Political School MOPOS team in the North SubZonal Bureau the official informed the news agency reportedDozens of criminal cases have been registered against Prabhakar Rao in several states including Chhattisgarh He has been a close associate of top Maoist leaders of Odisha Bihar Jharkhand West Bengal and Chhattisgarh He is the cousin of Central Committee Member CCM Secretary Ganapati said Sundarraj the PTI reportedRao has close links with senior Maoist leaders like Central Committee Member CCM Secretary Basava Raju K Ramchandra Reddy alias Raju Devji alias Kuma Dada Kosa Sonu Mallaraja Reddy alias Sangram His wife a Divisional Committee Member Raje Kange is incharge of the Raoghat Area Committee the official addedOriginally hailing from Birpur village in Telangana he had been acting in several states said the IPS officerPrabhakar Rao had been active in undivided Andhra Pradesh Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh North Bastar Koylibeda ManpurMohla areas of Chhattisgarh He worked in the supply team and urban network in the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee from 2005 to 2007 he addedA total of 884 Maoists have been arrested so far this year in the seven districts that form Chhattisgarhs insurgencyaffected Bastar administrative division including Kanker Sundarraj informed the news agency reportedwith PTI inputs