Maoist Leader With Rs 40 Lakh Reward For Capture Dies Of Covid In Chhattisgarh: Police

The police said his death was a major blow to the CPI (Maoist)'s activities in Telangana.

A senior Maoist leader, who was handling activities of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border and carrying a reward of Rs 40 lakh for capture, died due to COVID-19, the Chhattisgarh police said today. According to a senior official, the police confirmed inputs that Haribhushan, a Central Committee member and Secretary of the North Telangana State Special Zonal Committee of Maoists, died on June 21. However, Maoists are yet to confirm his death. "We had received information from certain quarters that a few senior Maoist cadres, including Haribhushan, were seriously ill after getting infected with coronavirus," Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said. Haribhushan died on Monday due to the infection near Minaguram-Bhattigudam-Jabagatta jungles along the Bijapur-Sukma inter-district border, he said, quoting reliable sources.