New Delhi: One of the big catches among the 29 Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattigarh’s Bastar Tuesday was history-sheeter Shankar Rao, who had 96 criminal cases against him and carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, ThePrint has learnt.
Rao, 40, was a division committee member of the local Maoist unit in Bastar region. He had been evading the police for nearly two decades. According to his dossier, accessed by ThePrint, Rao had cases against him in at least 10 police stations, namely Bande, Tadoki, Durgkondal, Partapur, Amabeda, Chhotebethiya, Koyalibeda, Pakhanjore, Badgaon and Antagarh. The initial cases lodged against him date back to 1998-1999.
Rao had a ‘weakness for money’ and joined the movement after being motivated by Maoist groups, read the dossier.
On Tuesday, in a massive crackdown against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the Binagunda-Koragutta jungles, security forces including District Reserve Guard and Border Security Force (BSF) gunned down 29 Maoists in an operation that lasted for over five hours.
According to sources, the operation was launched after receipt of “solid intelligence” about the movement of Maoists in the area. Three security personnel were injured in the gunfight that took place just three days before polling was slated to be held in Bastar as part of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from Rao (also known as Sripalli Suhakar, or Murli), another divisional committee member Lalita Gotta, 39, was also killed in the operation. She carried a reward of Rs 9 lakh.
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School dropout, trained in guerilla tactics
While Rao was a native of Challagarige village of Telangana’s Warangal district, Lalita is from Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.
According to the dossier, Rao studied only till Class 6. His area of operations included Partapur, Badgaon, Koyalibeda, Siksod, Durgkondal and Chhotebethiya. Over the years, his movement was noted in the villages of Kandari, Aldand, Kheiripahar, Keregaon, Kondagaon, Kuli, Rampur and Urpanjure Patelpara.
His wife, Ranjitha, also known as Ranita, according to the police, is still a member of the Maoists’ Partapur area committee.
Rao’s source of funding, like most other Maoists, included levying (tax) paid by tendu patta contractors, road contractors and transporters. Tendu leaves, which are harvested primarily in the month of May, are considered as a major source of income for Maoists.
Shankar rose through the ranks for the first time in 2010-2011 when he was made secretary of Raoghat area committee. He was later appointed secretary of Partapur area committee between 2011 to 2017. He was, however, demoted and made an area committee member in 2018.
Lalita, also an active member of the Partapur area committee, was also in incharge of this unit at some point in time.
According to the dossier, Rao’s daily routine included moving with his unit (Partapur area committee) at dawn to safer places and visiting villages to motivate others to join the Maoist movement. It added that Lalita spent time reading “Naxal literature and articles”.
Rao, it said, received training in use of AK-47, INSAS, SLR and 12 Bore guns and also jungle warfare, guerilla tactics. While Rao mostly used the INSAS rifle, Lalita used an AK47, said the dossier.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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