Gadchiroli, Jul 9 (IANS): Police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli have arrested two dreaded Maoists carrying a total reward of Rs 10 lakh on their heads, an official said here on Tuesday.

The two have been identified as Ravi Mura Pallo, 33, an action team commander, and Doba Korke Vadde, 31, a party member, both hailing from Kavande village in Gadchiroli, Superintendent of Police Neelotpal said.

The duo was nabbed by a patrol team combing the thick jungles of Dhodraj in the Bhamragad region, ahead of the Maoist Week later this month.

Giving details of their background, the police said that Pallo had become a Jan Militia member in 2016 and then started Maoist activities, till he was appointed as an action team member and later a commander in 2022. He has been charged with 3 murders (2018, 2022, and 2023), one encounter with security forces (2019), one arson case in which 19 heavy vehicles like tractors, graders and JCBs were set on fire (2022), and one blast case (2023).

Vadde joined rebel activities as a Jan Militia member in 2008 and then moved higher up in Maoist activities, and was appointed as a member of the Bhamragad Dalam in 2019. He has been charged with 7 murder cases in different parts of the district over the years, the arson case of 2022 in which Pallo was also involved, and a bloody encounter with security forces in 2019.

Given their dangerous subversive activities, the Maharashtra government had announced rewards for their capture – Pallo (Rs 8 lakh) and Vadde (Rs 2 lakh), while Neelotpal renewed his appeal to the rebels urging them to lay down arms and return to the national mainstream.

The latest arrests follow a Maoist couple, with a bounty of Rs 41 lakh, laying down arms on June 22, preceded by a Maoist, with a bounty of Rs 2 lakh and being chased for 10 years, quitting violence and surrendering on June 10.