Sonadhar, a senior commander of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was among the three Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest near Bhejaguda in Malkangiri district of Odisha on Saturday.
Sonadhar, wanted by the National Investigation Agency in the Jiram Ghati attack case, carried a reward of Rs. 8 lakh on his head. He had allegedly helped organise the attack on a Congress convoy in May 2013, killing more than 30 people, even senior party leaders. He played a major role in the Tahakwada Maoist ambush in March 2014, killing 16 people, 11 of them CRPF men, a source said.
“Sonadhar, the area secretary of the Kanger valley committee of the CPI(Maoist), was killed along with two Maoists of the Darbha division [in Bastar] by the Odisha Police in Malkangiri district today morning. Great work done by Odisha Police,” Inspector-General of Police, Bastar range, S.R.P. Kalluri said in a statement.
“Sonadhar and [another victim] Lachman have been identified. The third deceased also belonged to the Darbha area in Bastar.”
Superintendent of Police, Malkangiri, Mitrabhanu Mohapatra told The Hindu that the Maoists opened fire as District Voluntary Force and Special Operation Group members stumbled upon a secret camp of the ultras. In the exchange of fire for around 15 minutes, the three Maoists were killed on the spot. The rest managed to escape taking advantage of the hilly jungle terrain.
Police sources said a pistol and other weapons, walkie-talkie sets, uniforms and Maoist literature were seized.
“Darbha area is close to the Odisha border and it was easier for the Maoists to carry out an attack in Bastar and then cross over to Odisha safely. Sonadhar utilised this tactic and terrorised the entire Darbha area. His death will hamper many Maoists’ operations in Bastar,” said an officer involved in anti-Maoist operations in Bastar.
Last year, Sonadhar went against his party’s decision by increasing the “levy” collected by the Maoists from truck drivers crossing Darbha.
“The Odisha Police were not so active on the Maoist front, especially in the border area close to Chhattisgarh, which made Sonadhar more complacent. He used to ride bicycles in many border villages with an AK-47 and an under-barrel grenade launcher,” the officer said requesting anonymity.
Odisha police operationSonadhar had suffered a bullet injury in his left shoulder in an encounter with the Special Task Force of the Chhattisgarh Police in Sukma district in February.
“Sonadhar did not recover from the injury and was looking for proper treatment. He was planning to go to a better hospital and was travelling through Odisha when the Odisha Police received inputs about his movement and he was gunned down,” a police press release said.
The “activeness” of the Odisha Police has come as a big relief to the Bastar police, who are planning to launch a major anti-Maoist operation in the coming months.
