BALAGHAT, Feb 20: The four hardcore women Naxalites, including a ‘commander’ – who were killed in a police encounter in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district – hailed from Chhattisgarh and collectively carried a bounty of Rs 62 lakh on their heads, officials said on Thursday.
The Maoists, killed in the gunfight on Wednesday, were wanted by police forces of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, who all had declared bounty of different amounts for their capture. One of them, ‘commander’ Asha, was facing 18 criminal cases in MP, they said.
A senior official said due to mounting pressure on Maoists from security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, some of them have sneaked into Balaghat to escape police action in the adjoining state, where dozens of rebels have been killed in encounters in the last few months.
He said it was after 29 years that four Naxalites were killed in a single encounter in Balaghat, which shares borders with Gondia district of Maharashtra and Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh and Kawardha districts of Chhattisgarh.
Slain Naxals Ranjita, Sheela and Lakkhe Maravi, along with their female commander — all in 25 to 35 age group — were active members of different committees of the rebel division of the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh and the Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary of Kawardha district of Chhattisgarh, said police.
This Maoist unit was also known as ‘KB’ division, they informed.
Naxal-hit Balaghat district shares its border with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, where the Bastar region has seen a string of encounters between security forces and rebels in the last few months.
According to police, KB division ‘commander’ Asha hailed from Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district and carried a Rs 20 lakh bounty on her head — Rs 12 lakh in Maharashtra, Rs 5 lakh in her home state and Rs 3 lakh in Madhya Pradesh.
On Thursday, Balaghat zone inspector general of police (IGP) Sanjay Kumar said the three other slain Naxals carried a reward of Rs 14 lakh each and they have been identified.
One of them, Ranjita alias Ramli Alami, was a resident of Kondagaon district in Chhattisgarh. She carried a reward of Rs 6 lakh in Maharashtra, Rs 5 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Rs 3 lakh in MP, he said, adding police were gathering her crime records.
The IGP said another deceased cadre, Sarita alias Sheela alias Padam, originally hailed from Sukma district in Chhattisgarh. She carried a bounty of Rs 6 lakh in Maharashtra, Rs 5 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Rs 3 lakh in MP.
She also faced 13 criminal cases, Kumar informed.
The IPS officer said the fourth Naxal gunned down in the encounter, Lakkhe Maravi, also hailed from Sukma and carried a reward of Rs 6 lakh in Maharashtra, Rs 5 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Rs 3 lakh in MP.
“We are gathering her criminal record,” he added.
Another division of Maoists active in Madhya Pradesh was Gondia, Ranjandgaon and Balaghat (GRB). KB and GRB divisions come under MCC (Maharashtra, MP and Chhattisgarh) zone of Naxals, he informed.
The IGP said due to mounting pressure on Maoists in Bastar, some of them have sneaked into Balaghat. As much as 80 per cent of Left-wing extremists active in Balaghat were from Bastar and 20 per cent from Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) and Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh).
The anti-Naxal Hawk Force of the state police and local police teams gunned down the four rebels in a forested area of Balaghat. Weapons were also recovered from the encounter site.
The gun-battle broke out at around noon at a location some 90km away from the district headquarters, and ended in the evening. The gunfight lasted for 5 to 6 hours in which police fired around 100 rounds and Maoists more than 180 rounds, said the officer.
The encounter spot was near Ronda Forest Camp in the Supkhar Forest Range under Garhi police station area, as per an official statement.
Police recovered an INSAS rifle, a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and a .303 rifle besides essential daily-use items from the spot, it said.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a special operations unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), assisted the Hawk Force and the MP police during the encounter and scouring the forest. CoBRA specializes in jungle warfare and guerrilla tactics. (PTI)
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