Agencies
BIJAPUR, Feb 2: The eight Naxalites killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday were senior cadres carrying cumulative rewards of Rs 16 lakh, police have said. The members of the outlawed Maoist organisation were gunned down during an anti-Naxal operation in a forest near Todka village under the Gangaloor police station area. Two personnel of the District Reserve Guard, a unit of state police, were also injured in the exchange of fire.
Of the neutralised Naxalites, Kamlesh Neelkanth (24), a member of the Gangaloor area committee under the west Bastar division of Maoists, carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, a senior police official said on Sunday. Two others, identified as Tati Kamlu and Mangal Tati of the Gangaloor LOS (local organization squad), carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh each on their heads, he said.
The rest, identified as Lachchu Potam (40), Shankar Tati (26), Raju Tati, Vijju Padam (22) and Sannu Tati (40), were active in various wings of Maoists and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, he said.
One Insas rifle, one Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) and its 10 shells, two 12-bore rifles, four muzzle-loading rifles and a huge cache of explosives items were recovered from the encounter site, he said.
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