India

Balaghat encounter: Deceased Maoists carried total bounty of Rs 56 lakh

The four were "area committee members" of the outlawed Maoist movement's Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat division, police said.

Balaghat: The four Maoists killed in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 56 lakh and were named in more than 100 criminal cases, police said on Sunday, June 15.

The four, including three women, were gunned down on June 14 in an operation of MP’s anti-Maoist Hawk Force, the CRPF and its specialised CoBRA unit as well as Balaghat police in Pachama Dadar-Katejhiria forest area under Sonewani outpost of Roopjhar police station.

The four were “area committee members” of the outlawed Maoist movement’s GRB (Gadchiroli-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat) division, a statement from Balaghat police said.

“Rita alias Tubbi Srirangu Hidami, wife of Chandu alias Devchand, was a native of Navejhri in Korchi tehsil of Maharashtra. She was wanted in 56 cases in Madhya Pradesh and carried a reward of Rs 14 lakh. Tulsi alias Vimla alias Imla was involved in 13 cases, while Suman was named in 10 cases. Both carried rewards of Rs 14 lakh each,” it said.

“The fourth, Ravi, hailed from West Bastar in Chhattisgarh and was wanted in 23 cases in Madhya Pradesh. He too had a bounty of Rs 14 lakh on his head,” the statement said, adding search operations were ongoing at the site of the encounter.

Balaghat is a Maoist-affected district that shares borders with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

A grenade launcher, a self-loading rifle (SLR), two .315 bore rifles, other weapons and material were recovered from the site, as per police.

This post was last modified on June 15, 2025 9:58 pm

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