ATS on hunt for 2 Naxal leaders

Even as the state Anti-Terrorism Squad has launched a massive hunt for two dreaded leaders of Naxalites in the state, one of them a woman, officials suspect they have shifted their bases to Mumbai.

ATS on hunt for 2 Naxal leaders

Even as the state Anti-Terrorism Squad has launched a massive hunt for two dreaded leaders of Naxalites in the state, one of them a woman, officials suspect they have shifted their bases to Mumbai. The police said that a hunt has been launched for Milind Teltumde, state secretary of the Maoists, and Seema Biswas, president of Naxal-founded Golden Corridor Committee that operates in urban areas like Mumbai and Nagpur.

A senior officer from Gadhchiroli division said, "There are only two senior Naxal leaders left in the state, Teltumde and Biswas. The others running Naxal organisations or spreading their ideology are either behind bars or have been killed in encounters." A study by this newspaper has indicated that a majority of the top Naxal functionaries are behind bars, except the two being chased and Teltumde's wife, Anjali Sonatakke, alias Angela.
Massive hunt
Gadhchiroli district's anti-Naxal unit has launched a hunt for Anjali, and also Biswas, the two most wanted women members. The two have left the forests on the state's western border and shifted base to urban centres. Said the official, "In last five-six years, all major members of their organisation have been arrested by the ATS or the anti-naxal teams of Nagpur and Gadhchiroli." After this setback, they had started recruiting members from Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Surat and Ahemdabad. But the arrest of six Naxals by the ATS recently has put breaks on their work."