Maoist leader Ramanna dies of cardiac arrest

Raipur: A top Maoist leader, who was at the helm of Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region and carried a reward of Rs 40 lakh on his head, has died of heart attack, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

Ravulu Srinivas alias Ramanna, who was in his late 50s, died at a forest in Bijapur district last week, he said.

However, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) is yet to issue a statement on this, as the outfit usually does in the event of a leader's death.

"We have information from various sources that Ramanna, the secretary of Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of Maoists, died on Saturday night and was cremated at a forest between Pamed and Basaguda villages in Bijapur district," Inspector General of Police, Bastar range, Sundarraj P, said.

"The police have got a lot of evidence to corroborate this information, but we are still waiting for a conclusive evidence to come to our knowledge," he said.

Ramanna was instrumental in several killings and attacks on security forces, including the 2010 Tadmetla massacre that claimed lives of 76 troopers, he said.

He was also involved in the 2013 Naxal attack in the Darbha valley where 29 people, including some senior Congress leaders and policemen, were killed.

Ramanna, a native of Telengana's Warangal district, was also a member of the central committee of Maoists and carried a reward of Rs 40 lakh on his head in Chhattisgarh, the senior police official said.