Bhopal, June 20
Three Naxals, including a member of the divisional committee of ultras, collectively carrying a reward of over Rs 57 lakh on their heads in three states, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district on Monday morning, police said.
The slain ultras, including a woman, were wanted by the police in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, a senior officer said.
This is for the first time when a divisional committee level member and commander-in-chief of Naxals was killed in MP in a gun battle, he said.
The encounter took place under the Bahela police station area in the Balaghat district, located about 450 km from the state capital Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had told reporters earlier in the day.
Talking to reporters on Monday evening, Inspector General (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sajid Farid Shapoo said the slain ultras were carrying a collective reward of Rs 57 lakh on their heads in MP, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh.
On a tip-off, the special operations group (SOG) of the MP Police’s Hawk Force reached Kharadi hills under the Bahela police station area around 5 AM on Monday, he said.
“Spotting the police team, Naxals opened heavy firing. They unheeded the warning of the police asking them to surrender. The firing lasted for about 45 minutes,” he said.
Shapoo said this is for the first time that a Naxal divisional committee member was killed in an encounter with police in Madhya Pradesh.
The slain divisional committee member, identified as Nagesh aka Raju Tulavi (40), was carrying a collective reward of Rs 29 lakh in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, he said. Tulavi was a resident of Batejhari in the Gadhchiroli district (Maharashtra).
Shapoo said two other ultras, Manoj (25) and Rame (23), the woman cadre, were residents of Chhattisgarh. They were carrying a reward of Rs 14 lakh each in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Many criminal cases are pending against them in the three states, he added.
The IGP said an AK-47 rifle, a 303 rifle, a revolver, a 315 single shot rifle, combat pouches, backpacks, a wireless set, GPS trackers, detonators, a pressure cooker bomb and Naxal literature were recovered from the spot of the encounter.
Following the encounter, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised “out of turn” promotion and gallantry awards for the policemen involved in the operation against ultras.
“I appreciate their courage. Madhya Pradesh is proud of these heroes,” he added.
Chouhan said the state government will eliminate Naxals from MP.
“The encounter between the police and Naxals took place in the forests of Lanji-Bahela post-Lodhagi on the border of Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh. Our jawans and policemen killed three hardcore Naxalites carrying rewards,” he said.
In Madhya Pradesh, three districts- Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori- are considered Naxal-affected areas.
