Rs 8 lakh reward to Maharashtra ATS for catching most-wanted Naxal

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The Telangana government has felicitated a team of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) with a cash reward of Rs 8 lakh for catching the most-wanted Naxalite, Krishna Lingayya Ghoshka alias Venugopal, officials said on Wednesday.

A team of 11 police officials from the ATS had, in January last year, had busted a gang of seven CPI (Maoist) members from the vicinity of Kalyan railway station and arrested Venugopal, who was wanted by the Telangana government.

This was a major breakthrough for the state ATS as the gang was collecting funds for Golden Corridor Committee, a CPI (Maoist) cell involved in expanding its base across the country, by indoctrinating the youngsters in slum pockets. The police had also seized a huge pile of 'Naxal' literature from the homes of the gang members.

The Telangana government, which had in December 2012 announced Rs 8 lakh reward on Venugopal, sent a demand draft on June 13 this year to the Maharashtra DG. An official of the Maharashtra government, which cleared the payment of the reward, said on Tuesday the amount "will be distributed to 11 police personnel as per their contribution in this case."

Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohan Kumar Dahikar, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sunil Wadke, Assistant Police Inspector Dasrath Vitkar, and Police Sub-Inspector Vikram Patil will receive Rs 75,000 each. Inspectors Bhaskar Kadam, Sanjay Marathe, and Santosh Sawant will get R1 lakh each, and police constables Arun Deshmukh and Arvind More, and police Naik Shahaji Sonavne and Rajendra Kharat will get Rs 50,000 each.

Who is Venugopal?

Venugopal, who is also known as Venu Velgota and Ajay, held the rank of district committee secretary in CPI (Maoist) and was underground for about 20 years, according to the Intelligence Department of Telangana. Active in trade unions in Mumbai, Venugopal allegedly spread "pro-Maoist ideology."

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