Kishenji’s brother Venugopal is new Maoist chief of Lalgarh

Underground Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji’s brother Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati, will be the new Maoist in-charge of the red corridor of Lalgarh in West Mindapore district of Bengal.

A Maoist spokesperson confirmed on Monday about the replacement of Kishenji “for the time being”. Venugopal, a CPI (Maoist) politburo member, is part of a special action team for the “liberated zone” in the Dandakaranya area.

Venugopal, who is also known as Sonu and Master, is suspected to be one of the brains behind the recent Dantewada attack that killed 76 jawans of Central Reserve Police Force. Both Andhra Pradesh and Chhattishgarh Police have declared hefty amounts on his head.

Explaining why Venugopal was moved to Lalgarh from his core area of Dandakaranya, the spokesman said that as per the Maoist constitution, only a politburo member can be a full-fledged in-charge of any “liberated zone”. Kishenji would come to the fore when necessary, the spokesman added.

The spokesman said Venugopal had a secret meeting with Kishenji in Orissa recently, where Kishenji apprised him of Maoist activists in Lalgarh.

Bengal criminal investigation department (CID), however, doubted that Kishenji was somewhere in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. “As per the latest information available with us from our counterparts in Orissa Police, Kishenji is ill and under treatment there,” a CID officer said.

According to the officer, the state police had also submitted a report which stated that a high-profile Maoist leader was about to replace Kishenji in Lalgarh.

“Security forces in the region have been alerted. If the information on Kishenji’s injury is correct, there is a possibility that the guerrillas will try to repeat a Dantewada-type attack in Lalgarh,” he said.

Only last week, Maoist leader Bikram, who heads operations in Bengal’s Purulia district, had sent a fax to media houses in Kolkata, threatening to launch a Sukma-type attack in Bengal if Operation Green Hunt was not called off immediately.