Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh), Jun 24 (PTI) A Naxalite killed in an encounter with police in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district a day go was an area committee member of Maoists and carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for his capture, an official said on Monday.
The cadre, identified as Arun Mandavi, was active in the Sitanadi area committee which handles Maoist activities on Gariaband (Chhattisgarh) and Odisha border, Dhamtari Superintendent of Police Anjneya Varshney said.
The Naxalite was killed on Sunday in a gun-battle with the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) in a forest near Muhkot-Aamjhar villages under Khallari police station limits of the district.
One self-loading rifle (SLR), its two magazines with 15 cartridges, Maoist literature, cordex wire (used to set up and trigger IED blasts) and commodities of daily use were also recovered from the encounter site, police said earlier.
Mandavi was allegedly involved in different Naxalite incidents, including an encounter with security forces in 2022 in the Sonebeda area of Odisha and in another gunfight in April this year in the Borai police station area of Dhamtari, the SP said.
He was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his ahead, informed Varshney.
So far, 133 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters with security forces in the state this year. Of these, 131 Maoists were gunned down in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, while two others were neutralised in Dhamtari district which falls in the Raipur division. PTI COR TKP RSY
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