Team News Riveting
Raipur, June 22
Even as Maoist cadres are battling with the security forces on another front to contend that they are in good “health”, its top leader in neighbouring Telangana has reportedly succumbed to COVID-19.
Senior police officials quoting reliable sources said that Haribhushan, Secretary of the North Telangana State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) died yesterday around 3 pm due to illness. The officials suspect that either he was infected by the contagious COVID virus or food poisoning after consuming contaminated products.
A senior police official in Dantewada had confirmed the information.
The officials had also received vital inputs that over a dozen senior Maoist leaders were seriously ill. They claimed that Commander of Battalion Company no 2 Sonu, Battalion members Jaiman, Nandu, Deve, Rajesh DVCM, Vinod DVCM were among those in the list.
The poor health condition of rebels had reportedly created a rift between the senior and junior ranks. The police had learnt that ailing Maoists developed cracks with the senior cadre for failing to provide better medical care besides contaminated food products.
The officials had appealed to all ailing and other Maoists to surrender before the police and avail the benefits of surrender and rehabilitation policy of the Chhattisgarh Government.
Recently, the CPI (Maoists) had issued a statement contesting the reports that the cadre was combating poor medical conditions in the pockets under their power.
