Naxal carrying a cash reward on his head arrested in Chhattisgarh 

RAIPUR: A Naxal `commander', carrying a cash reward on his head, was arrested following an encounter between security forces and the ultras in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district, police said today.

Lachhu Yadav (35) was held from the Irakbhatti village forest by a team of the police's District Reserve Guard yesterday, said a local police official.

The area is around 350 km away from the state capital Raipur. The DRG team came under fire from the Naxals when it reached the village while patrolling and retaliated, he said.

While other Naxals escaped from the spot, Yadav was caught after a brief chase, the officer said.

Yadav, who was active as a militia commander in Kanagaon area, was associated with the Maoists for 13 years, and allegedly involved in killings of villagers, attacks on police, damaging of government buildings, looting and other violent acts, the officer said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head.