Mumbai: A local court Wednesday granted the Gadchiroli police seven-day custody of the senior-most Maoist leader in the district, Narmada, and her husband Kiran, in a significant development for Maharashtra’s anti-Naxal operations.

Narmada, also known as Alluri Krishna Kumari or Sujathakka, and Kiran were intercepted Monday evening at the Sironcha town along the Maharashtra-Telangana border in an operation that the Gadchiroli police carried out with the Telangana police.

Narmada, allegedly involved in at least 65 Naxal offences according to the Gadchiroli Police, was named in the FIR registered for the 1 May blast at Kurkheda in Gadchiroli. The blast had killed 16 people, including 15 Quick Response Team officials.

“For the last few months, the accused were moving continuously from underground to Hyderabad. There were a lot of to-and-fro movements,” Shailesh Balkawde, SP, Gadchiroli, told ThePrint. “We got specific information about their movements and intercepted them accordingly.”

Narmada is suffering from cancer and was in Hyderabad for treatment.

65 cases, Rs 25 lakh reward

Balkawde added that the arrest is especially significant as Narmada was the topmost Naxal in Gadchiroli district and one of the most wanted. “She has been an active Maoist leader for the past 40 years. She is involved in 65 cases,” he alleged.

Narmada, originally from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, carried a Rs 25 lakh reward on her head, according to an advertisement issued by the Maharashtra police last year. The advertisement sought information on five key Maoist leaders after 40 of the rebels were killed in an encounter in Gadchiroli in 2018.

She was appointed as the divisional secretary of the South Gadchiroli division of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Maoist a few years ago and is said to be fluent in seven languages, including English.

Narmada is also named in the charge-sheet filed against former Delhi University academician G.N. Saibaba.

Police claimed that the wheelchair-bound Saibaba, convicted by a Gadchiroli court for having Maoist links in 2017, was an urban contact for the Naxals. Saibaba allegedly gave one Hem Mishra a memory card wrapped in a paper and told him that he should take it to Narmadakka.

Narmada’s husband, Kiran, hails from Vijayawada and is a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. He allegedly looked after the Maoist propaganda magazine, Prabhat, and other press-related activities.

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