Andhra Maoist arrested in Jharkhand

RANCHI - A top Maoist leader from Andhra Pradesh carrying a bounty of Rs.10 lakh was arrested from Jharkhand’s Bokaro district, police said Monday.

According to police, Narasimha Reddy alias Gangana alias Rahulji was arrested from Kudra village of Bokaro district, around 135 km from Ranchi.

Police sources said he was picked up sometime back but police announced his arrest Monday.

Reddy is member of Andhra Pradesh state committee of banned group, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).

According to police sources, he was carrying a bounty of Rs.10 lakh in Andhra Pradesh.

He faces more than 25 criminal cases in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.

His wife Anuradha is the area commander of CPI-Maoist in the neighbouring Chattisgarh state. Reddy was in Bokaro to expand the CPI-Maoist base, police sources said.

Reddy is popularly known as Rahulji in CPI-Maoist’s Bihar and Jharkhand units, they said.

On Aug 4, another top Maoist rebel Rajesh alias Udayji, who was the Jharkhand-Bihar special area committee member of the banned group, was arrested in Ranchi. He was carrying a bounty of Rs.5 lakh.