In a huge success to the security forces, 26 Naxals have been gunned down in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Milind Teltumbde, a Bhima Koregaon accused, was among the Naxals murdered in the gun battle. Teltumbde, a known Naxal leader, had a bounty of Rs 50 lakh on his head. The encounter occurred in the wee hours of Saturday near Korchi in Gadchiroli district's Mardintola forest. C-60 police commando unit came across the Naxals while conducting a search operation based on information.
It is to be noted that this was one of the biggest operations conducted in the district which started at 6 am and ended around 4 pm. Around 4 policemen have also reportedly been injured in the encounter. Ravindra Naitam (42) Sarveshwar Atram (34) Maharu Kudmethe (34) and Tikaram Katange (41) are the policemen who have been injured. Maharashtra's Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said, "Today's action is historic not only in the history of the State but also of the country. We are proud of our police."
Who is Milind Teltumbde?
Milind Teltumbde was one of the leading Naxals was also implicated in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case. He was also the brain behind many Naxal programmes and used to function at the highest levels. According to the NIA charge sheet in the Bhima Koregaon case, he was booked with over two dozen charges, including UAPA.
According to the NIA's charge sheet filed in 2020, the accused persons Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Anand Teltumbde, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, Sagar Gorkhe, and Stan Swamy colluded with others to spread the ideology of the terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist) and facilitated violence, brought into animosity and precipitated discontentment towards the Government established by law.
A statement by NIA in the past read, "It is also established that as per the evidence on record that in June 2018 absconding accused Milind Teltumbde discussed the Elgar Parishad Programme which was organized at Pune and the subsequent in-roads made by the CPI (Maoist) in the organization and execution through the members of Kabir Kala Munch and other frontal organizations."
