Maharashtra: Naxalite carrying Rs 16L bounty arrested in Gadchiroli

Gadchiroli, Oct 14 (PTI) A 48-year-old Naxalite carrying a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head was arrested by the police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli on Saturday, an official said.

The police had received information about the presence of hardcore Naxalite Chainuram alias Sukku Watte Korsa near the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli, where he was keeping a watch on the movement of police parties at the posts of Jarawandi and Pendhari, the official said.

Based on the tip-off, an operation was planned by the personnel of C-60 Gadchiroli on the road from Jaravandi to Sohgaon and Korsa was apprehended, he said.

A resident of Tekametta in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, Korsa was involved in the shootout at Hikker in March this year, seven other encounters and a murder, the official said.

He started off as a divisional committee member in the Maad supply team in November 2016 and was later made the deputy commander of the team, he said.

The Maharashtra government had announced a bounty of Rs 16 lakh on Korsa, he said.

Seventy-one Naxalites have been arrested since January 2022 due to intensive operations conducted by the Gadchiroli police, the official said.

Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has appealed to active Maoist cadres to renounce the path of violence and surrender to live their lives with dignity, he said. PTI COR CLS ARU