JOIN USMilind Teltumbde: From coal mine worker to top naxal commando
From starting off as a worker in an open cast mine to becoming central India’s top Naxal commander, Milind Teltumbde has left a trail of blood.
While he operated in the field and rural areas, he also played a key role in spreading Maoism in the urban areas.
Teltumbde (57) was wanted by police forces in several states including Maharashtra, as well as by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A Central Committee Member (CCM) of CPI (Maoist), he was in charge of the MMC Zone, calling the shots in the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh confluence.
Teltumbde was wanted in 63 cases which include ambushes, blasts, encounters, arson, robberies and killing civilians and police personnel.
Born in Rajur in Yavatmal district, he passed his matriculation and enrolled in ITI.
After that, he began working in an open cast mine in Sasti in Chandrapur and slowly entered the labour movement before joining the Naxalite movement.
Incidentally, Milind's brother is Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, who is married to the sister of Rama Teltumbde, the granddaughter of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Anand is a senior professor at Goa Institute of Management and is currently under arrest in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case.
Milind is a wanted accused in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case.
"Milind went by various names like Jiva, Dipak, Pravin, Arun, Sahyadri and Sudhir," officials said.
His wife, Angella Sontakke was arrested in 2011 in Thane by Maharashtra police for Maoist activities.
Two of the big cases in which he was wanted are the blast in Jambulkhede in which 15 jawans died and the encounter in Koparshi.
In fact, he was responsible for the creation of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh zone of CPI (Maoist), to focus on central India.
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