naxal-killed-in-bijapur-was-school-cook-say-police

One of the seven Naxalites who died earlier this month in a joint anti-Naxal operation at Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district was a government primary school cook, police said on Sunday.

 

The person has been recognized as Mahesh Kodiyam, a resident of Irpagutta village within Farsegarh police station boundaries. Kodiyam was one of seven Maoist cadres neutralized by a joint force of security forces in a series of encounters conducted from 4 to 7 June in the Indravati National Park region of Bijapur.

 

Among the dead were two top Maoist leaders: Narasimha Chalam, alias Sudhakar, a member of the banned CPI (Maoist) central committee, who had a reward of ₹40 lakh in Chhattisgarh; and Bhaskar, alias Mailarapu Adellu, a Telangana State Committee member of the special zonal committee of the Maoists, who had a reward of ₹45 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

 

During the operation, police confirmed one of the killed as Mahesh Kudiyam and said he was a party member who was part of the national park area committee of the Maoists and had a reward of ₹1 lakh.

 

But a later verification showed that Kodiyam was employed as an assistant cook in the government-run primary school in his village.

 

"His appointment was done by the local school management committee and he was receiving a remuneration for the post, which had been sanctioned till March 2025," Bijapur police said in a statement.

 

Official stated that the situation in which Kodiyam interacted with top Maoist leaders like Sudhakar and Bhaskar is still under probe. "A detailed, unbiased, and professional investigation is ongoing into all the parameters of the case," the statement added.

 

Police again urged people who were linked with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) to disassociate themselves from the organization.

 

"Ongoing connection with this extremist organization is a serious threat not just to public security and local peace but to the lives and futures of the involved," the statement said.

 

In the meanwhile, villagers of Irpagutta disputed the police claim. In an interview with a mediaperson on Saturday, some of the villagers asserted that Kodiyam was not associated with the Maoist outfit and was working as a cook to prepare mid-day meals at the village school.

 

They claimed that he was being paid by direct deposit in his bank account.

 

Kodiyam leaves behind his wife and seven children, the villagers added.