Kalyansinghpur/Rayagada: Posters announcing cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of Maoist leaders have appeared in various parts of the Niyamgiri hill region spanning Kalyansinghpur, Muniguda, and Chandrapur blocks of Rayagada district.
The posters, spotted Sunday near the panchayat office at Parshali village, as well as at the block and tehsil offices in Kalyansinghpur, call on the public to “catch Maoists and earn rewards.”
The posters displayed names and photographs of several senior Maoist leaders, including Central Committee member Ganesh Uike, special zonal committee member Nikhil alias Shivaji, Sudarshan alias Bikash, Ankita alias Indu, Sukru alias Krishna, Nitu, military platoon commander Shila alias Nagamani, Anwesh alias Renu, divisional committee member Mamata alias Saite, and Nakul alias Chandra, along with the respective rewards ranging from ₹20 lakh up to ₹1 crore.
The posters also mention that anyone providing credible information about the Maoists to the mobile number 9437643839 will be rewarded, and their identity will be kept confidential.
For over a decade, Maoists have been active in the Niyamgiri hills spread across Muniguda, Bissamcuttack, and Kalyansinghpur areas, carrying out several violent incidents. As the Chandrapur and Muniguda blocks border Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts, police have strengthened surveillance in these areas, deploying CRPF personnel to curb extremist activities.
Police sources said that following intensified anti-Maoist operations in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh — where several top Maoist cadres have been killed in encounters and many have surrendered — some extremists may have taken shelter in forested parts of Rayagada and adjoining districts.
Officials suspect that the posters were issued as part of the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign against the active Bansadhara-Ghumusar-Nagavali (Baghuna) Maoist division operating in southern Odisha.
