Maoist chief most wanted man

Ganapathy has headed the ultra left organisation for almost 25 years

Muppala Lakshman, alias Ganapathy, the shadowy head of the outlawed CPI-Maoist, tops the list of the most wanted persons in the country.

The National Investigation Agency in its latest list of the “most wanted” has put a reward of Rs1.5 million (Dh74.918) on his head.

Born in Karimnagar, Telangana, Ganapathy has been at the helm of the dreaded ultra left organisation for almost quarter of a century.

After leading a coup d’etat against the founder chief of the People’s War in early 1990s and taking over the leadership, Ganapathy ushered all the armed Maoist groups towards merger to form a pan-India Communist Party of India-Maoist in 2005.

Though the police and intelligence organisations of several states as well as the agencies of government of India have been chasing him, Ganapthy has always managed to dodge them and is believed to be hiding somewhere in the Dandakaranya forest in the central Inidan state of Chhattisgarh.

However, according to intelligence reports, age is catching up with him and the 69-year-old guerrilla fighter is facing several health issues.

Amid the increasing pressure, he is likely to make way for his lieutenant Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basawaraj, who is No. 2 in the ranks of the Maoist leaders. In the NIA list of 258 most wanted Maoists, he carries a reward of Rs1 million.