Bhima Koregaon:Naxalite Milind Teltumbde in wanted list

The notorious and dreaded Naxal operative, Milind Teltumbde, has been listed as a wanted accused by the Pune police in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima caste riots case.

Teltumbde, who is in his early fifties, is the secretary of the Maharashtra State Committee (MSC) of CPI (Maoist) and is underground for decades now by police forces of various Naxal-affected states.

In the first chargesheet that the Pune police filed against five human rights activists and civil right defenders - Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut - five others were shown as wanted accused.

Besides Teltumbde alias Comrade M, they include Comrade Prakash alias Navin alias Ritupam Goswami, Comrade Manglu, Comrade Dipu and Kisan alias Prashanto Bose.
According to Pune police officials, Bose is secretary of Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), who is among the top five in Maoist heirarchy.

"For several decades now, Milind Teltumbde is wanted. He is one of the important operatives as far as militarily planning is concerned," an official of State Intelligence Department (SID) told DH on condition of anonymity.

An official of the Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO) said that Teltumbde is very active in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

In fact, after the 22-23 April encounter in which 40 plus Naxals were killed in Gadchiroli district, a massive manhunt has been launched to track down Teltumbde, who originally hails from the Vidarbha region.

In fact, Dhawale was in touch with Manglu and Dipu and trying to gain the support of various organizations.

The chargesheet points out that from Wilson, police seized a booklet - 'Present Situation: Our Tasks' brought out by Central Committee of CPI (Maoist), which spells out the heinous designs of the Maoist movement to foment trouble and disharmony in India.

Wilson also in touch with Bose and underground members to hatch a plan and eliminate the Prime Minister.

Incidentally, Milind's brother is Anand Teltumbde, who is married to the sister of Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Anand is a scholar and is a senior professor at Goa Institute of Management. Anand's residence too was raided by the Pune police.

"Milind goes by various names like Dipak, Pravin, Arun and Sudhir," officials said, adding that his wife, Angella Sontakke was arrested in 2011 in Thane by Maharashtra police.

Milind Teltumbde carries a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head.