Papa Rao emerges as alleged mastermind in Dantewada massacre

New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI) As security agencies hunted for
Naxal leaders behind the Dantewada massacre, Papa Rao, a
Maoist leader from India's southern state Andhra Pradesh, is
emerging as the alleged mastermind and a massive manhunt has
been launched.
Born in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district, 50-year-old
Rao, a general seceretary of Maoists' Jagarbandhu area
committee, is known to be the right hand man of Ramana, the
Special General Secretary of Dandakarnya region. 75 Central
Reserve Police Force men were killed in the country's
worst-ever Maoist attack in Chattisgarh, in central India.
Rao has been engaged in armed activities in the region
and a massive manhunt has been launched to nab him, official
sources said here on Friday.
Dandakaranya is the forest tract in the country's
central-southern region covering parts of Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra
where the banned CPI (Maoist) virtually run a parallel
government envisioning a "liberated" zone.
Investigators from the central and state security
agencies claim that the tell-tale signs of the audacious
attack pointed to the involvement of Papa Rao who is known to
have a detailed knowledge about the area's topography.
CRPF personnel, who were out on an operation against
Naxals in thick forests, fell victims to the deadly attack
on the morning of April 6.
Earlier, the names of Ramana and Hidma, military
advisor to the Jagarbandhu area committee, were also doing the
rounds as those responsbile for the attack.
Ramana hails from Warangal area, once the hotbed of
Naxalites, and has been active in Dantewada region for long.
He is involved in many strikes on security forces. PTI SKL
RBT


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