2 Maoists Carrying Collective Reward Of Rs 10 Lakh Arrested In Maharashtra

Two Maoists collectively carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on their heads were arrested by the police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, an official said on Saturday.

One of the arrested Maoists was sent by his seniors to revive 'dalams' (groups) in north Gadchiroli, which were eliminated in the 2021 Mardintola forest encounter, in which 27 Naxalites were killed, the official said.

The police arrested Krishna alias Sanniram Narote (24) and Sankuram Narote (22) from Sawargaon area in Dhanora during an anti-Maoist operation on Friday, he said.

The state government had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for any information about the two, he said.

Krishna, a resident of Morchul in the jurisdiction of AOP Sawargaon, was part of the Company 10 dalam and had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, the official said.

He was recruited in October 2015 in Tipagad local organisation squad (LOS) and was transferred to Company 10, where he was promoted as the platoon party committee member (PPMC) in 2020, he said.

Sankuram, also a resident of Morchul, belonged to the Jan Militia rank and carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, the official said.

"Preliminary interrogation has revealed that Krishna was sent as part of an advance recce team to reorganise dalams that were eliminated in the Mardintola encounter in 2021," Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal said.

The two were involved in various offences of murder, arson and firing, he said, adding that the police were also investigating their involvement in other offences in Gadchiroli.

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