A female Maoist Commander wanted in about 12 Naxal incidents was arrested during ‘Operation Octopus’, a search operation carried out by a joint team of District Police (DF) and Border Security Force (BSF) in insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said on Sunday.
The insurgent carried cash reward of Rs1 lakh on her arrest. The left wing insurgent identified as laxmi Salaam (32) was nabbed by a joint team of District Force and Border Security Force from Sambalpur village under Kayalibeda police station limits, Superintendent of Police, Kanker, RN Dash informed.We had specific input that laxmi was staying with her husband in Sambalpur. Accordingly, a team 140thbattalion of BSF and local police was sent to the spot, Dash said, adding, she was arrested in the village.
laxmi had long association with Naxals and had joined Naxal cadre about fourteen years back. At the time she was arrested, laxmi was Janmilitia Commander of Sambalpur, the SP said.The insurgent was involved in twelve different criminal cases, including damaging government property, looting of ration and commodities of daily use meant for villagers, dacoity, attacks on police party and others, Dash said.Police was on the look out for laxmi since a long as she was a key person arranging food and money for Maoists.