‘Maoists crippled in west J’khand’

RANCHI: The death of Anurag Yadav and arrest of Prasad Lakra, both top Maoist leaders, have weakened the rebel outfit in the western part of the state.
Known as a Red bastion with districts like Palamu, Latehar and Chatra, the western part has witnessed several incidents of Maoist violence in the past one decade, including the 2013 ambush at Katiya forest in Latehar.
The rebels planted an IED inside the stomach of a dead CRPF jawan. The incident created a ripple across the country’s internal security establishment. Incidentally, the western part shares its border with Chhattisgarh — another Maoist-affected state.
Anurag Yadav better known as RKji alias Doctorji among the Maoists and security forces was a zonal commander, who controlled extremist activities in Garhwa, Latehar, Chhattisgarh border areas and parts of Palamu (northwest Jharkhand). He was killed along with 11 others when police ambushed a group of suspected Maoists in Palamu on Tuesday.
A native of Chatra district, Yadav worked for the Maoists for a long time rising through the ranks to become a zonal commander. He carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh and the police, intelligence agencies and the CRPF were in his pursuit for a long time.
“He has raised many Maoists during his association with the outlawed outfit. He had once left the organization due to some dispute, but the Maoist leaders again brought him into the organization. In the 2013 Katiya ambush, he had opened the stomach of the dead CRPF jawan and planted bombs inside,” a police officer said.
Equally important was Prasad Lakra in southwest Jharkhand. He was arrested with two aides during a gunbattle with security forces at Chainpur area in Gumla district on Wednesday afternoon.
A police officer said he headed the Gumla subzone spread across Gumla, Lohardaga and parts of south Latehar. He carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh. Lakra collected money through his aides who threatened civil contractors, Bauxite mines contractors and businessmen. He is considered to be the righthand man of top Maoist leader Nakul Yadav. A police officer said he was behind the kidnapping of children for recruitment in the banned outfit in Gumla, Lohardaga and Latehar district.
S N Pradhan, ADG (operations) and police spokesperson, said: “Both of them were rebels with high acumen and were key strategists for their organization. They used to plan and execute operations with precision. Their’s is an irreparable loss for the Maoists. It will cripple them in the area.”