27 Maoists killed carried total bounty of 12.3 cr; 25, including 12 women, were for Basavaraju's protection
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NEW DELHI: The 27 Naxalites killed in Wednesday's anti-Maoist operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh — including top CPI (Maoist) leader Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju — carried a total bounty of over Rs 12.3 crore, which is likely to be distributed among personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) who executed the operation.
Among the 27 Maoist cadres neutralised — all now identified — 15 were men and 12 women. As many as 25 were part of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army's (PLGA) Company No.7, the dedicated armed wing of CPI (Maoist) that handles protection of top central committee leaders like Basavaraju and former general secretary Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy.
'PLGA Company No.7 is estimated to have a total strength of 60. Of these, 25 were in Basavaraju's security detail.
All the 25, including 12 women cadres, one of whom was deputy commander of Company No.7, were neutralised on Wednesday,' a top intelligence officer told TOI.
The large women's component in PLGA units is not unusual. Among the 31 Maoists killed in the operation at Karregutta Hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, 16 were women, most of them part of CPI (Maoist)'s most lethal armed wing, the PLGA Battalion No.1. The women guerrillas go through the same rigorous training as their male counterparts, their tough bodies and steely resolve easing their transition into brutal sharp-shooters.
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There was one important casualty in the Narayanpur operation other than Basavaraju. Jangu Naveen alias Madhu, a senior leader of the Dandkaranya Zone Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), who was likely heading the CPI (Maoist) central committee secretariat, was with Basavaraju when they were challenged by DRG personnel. Hailing from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, Naveen, 45, was secretary to central committee and central regional bureau (CRB).
While Basavaraju carried a total reward of Rs 10 crore, announced by NIA and various state govts, Jangu Naveen had a bounty of Rs 25 lakh. A Rs 10 lakh reward each was declared against four other senior cadres — Sangeeta, Bhoomika, Company No.7 commander Roshan and his deputy Somli. All four were Company Party Company (CYPC) members.
The remaining 21 members — all from PLGA Company No.7 — carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each, with their total bounty adding up to Rs 1.7 crore.
'Since this was exclusively a DRG operation, the bounties declared on the 27 killed Maoists will be split among the DRG personnel who were part of it. This will follow the due process, which includes a magisterial inquiry. Since the operation was in Chhattisgarh, the state DGP may write to the other state govts to give the rewards declared by them, to the DRG personnel,' Bastar IG P Sundarraj told TOI.
The age profile of the 26 Maoists killed with Basavaraju show that 15 of them were less than 25 years old, with the youngest being a woman barely 20 years of age.
Only five of the 26 Maoists eliminated in Narayanpur hailed from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana; the rest were all from Chhattisgarh, hailing from Bijapur, Sukma, Indravati, West Bastar, South Bastar and Narayanpur.
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