Countdown For Naxal-Free Bastar Begins: Security Forces Close In On Dreaded Paparao, The ‘Last Maoist Commander Of Bastar’
“He has a tremendous knack for giving slips to the security forces during encounters. Six Maoists including his wife Urmila and a close aide Dilip Bedje were killed in an encounter in a forest in the Indravati National Park area in Bijapur district under south Bastar on January 13 but he managed to escape”: Senior police officer
RAIPUR: Security forces are in ‘hot pursuit’ of dreaded Paparao alias Mangu, the ‘only senior Maoist leader’ active in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, for his ‘elimination or neutralization’ before the state is declared Naxal-free by the end of March.
The hardcore rebel, who heads the West Bastar Division of Maoists, is the only remaining Naxal leader enjoying considerable following among the native red cadres of Bastar after the slain top ultra-Madvi Hidma, and still maintains defiance refusing to lay down arms despite the collapse of the banned CPI (Maoist) structure.
A native of Nimalguda in Sukma district in south Bastar, Paparao has been linked to almost all major attacks on the security forces by the Maoists in Bastar in the last two decades, including the 2010 Tadmetla massacre of 76 CRPF personnel.
“He has a tremendous knack for giving slips to the security forces during encounters. Six Maoists including his wife Urmila and a close aide Dilip Bedje were killed in an encounter in a forest in the Indravati National Park area in Bijapur district under south Bastar on January 13 but he managed to escape”, a senior police officer said.
Paparao (55) who carries AK 47 and a bounty of Rs 25 lakh has split his around three dozen division cadres in small groups of three to four to go into hiding in the jungles in Indravati National Park which extends from Bijapur district in south Bastar to Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, police sources said.
“His (Paparao’s) hideouts have been raided several times in recent times, leading to encounters but he managed to slip every time”, police said.
The Naxal leader’s kin have been roped in by the security forces to make appeals to him to lay down arm and lead a dignified life, police said.
“We are closing in on him”, a police officer has revealed.
More than 580 Maoists including top Naxals such as CPI (Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju were killed and over 2,500 ultras surrendered in Bastar in the last two years.