Abujmarh's oldest Maoist with Rs 16 lakh bounty gunned down

NAGPUR: The most dreaded guerrilla of Dandakaranya forests, Ankalu Dasru Tulavi alias Saoji Tulavi, who had 226 cases against him — the highest in Maharashtra’s criminal history — was neutralised during the dramatic siege of the Maoist headquarters of Abujmarh on Oct 21.

The body of the 65-year-old, who carried a bounty of Rs 16 lakh after killing 54 cops and informers and engineering 84 gunbattles with commandos, was identified by surrendered guerrillas after the corpse was flown to Gadchiroli from the encounter site.

A key member of the Maoist supply team, Tulavi provided logistics support to People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army ( PLGA ) fighters and other top cadres operating from the once-fortified, booby-trapped Abujmarh hills. He was shot along with another male cadre and three women guerrillas.

Tulavi was, perhaps, one of the oldest Maoists, who remained loyal and deeply entrenched in the rebel movement for 33 years, refusing to surrender in face of depleting ranks or state allurements despite his advancing years. He joined the Tippagarh Dalam as a party member in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become a divisional committee member.

Tulavi’s criminal case tally overshadowed those of other top Maoists. These included Joganna, who was shot dead in May 2024 and had 195 cases. Slain guerrilla Diwakar Kurchami had 190 cases. Surrendered Maoists Giridhar Tumaretti and Vilas Kolha were booked for 179 and 191 offences, respectively.

“A Gadchiroli tribal, Tulavi was an experienced PLGA fighter who knew the region and the terrain like the back of his hand. He also knew routes and strategic locations, which made him pivotal to the rebel army,” said a security agency official. Tulavi, who was moved to the difficult and challenging terrain of Abujmarh, had spurned multiple offers to surrender even as his junior cadres gave up the gun, got married and settled down with police help.

While Tulavi cheated death many times, particularly during the 2021 Mardintola encounter in which Maoist central committee member Milind Teltumbde was neutralised, he was unlucky this time. The joint team of C-60 commandos and CRPF teams had surrounded the Koparshi forests in Abujmarh, leaving little room for guerrillas to wriggle out of cordon.

The Oct 21 encounter was spearheaded by SP Neelotpal, Addl SPs Yatish Deshmukh and M Ramesh, DIG, Naxal Range, Ankit Goyal, and IG, State Anti-Naxal Operation (ANO) chief Sandip Patil.