Who is Ram Chandra Reddy:  14 Naxalites including one with a bounty of Rs 1 crore have been killed in an encounter with security forces on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. Chalapathi was a member of the central committee of Naxalites and remained a mystery to the security forces for many years. 

Who is Ram Chandra Reddy, Chalapathi: Ramchandra Reddy alias Chalapathi, one of the top leaders of the Naxalites, was killed in an encounter with security forces on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. 13 other Naxalites were also killed along with Chalapathi. Chalapathi, a member of the Central Committee of CPI (Maoist), remained a mystery to the security agencies for decades, but in 2016 he was identified after a selfie of him and his wife Aruna was found by the security forces. This selfie helped in keeping an eye on his activities.

Mastermind of Nayagarh attack in 2008

In 2008, Chalpati attacked the police armory in Nayagarh, Odisha, in which 13 security personnel were killed. He made a strategy to carry out this attack and to prevent police help, big trees were cut and placed on the roads. So that the police would be delayed in arriving and he could easily escape after looting the armory.

Connection with underground organization

Hailing from Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, Chalapathi joined the banned People's War Group (PWG) at an early age. After the formation of the CPI (Maoist) in 2004, he rose rapidly in the organisation. He was adept at military tactics and guerrilla warfare. According to officials, he had not gone to school but was a very good student and knew Telugu, Hindi, English and Oriya languages.

Domestic life and disclosure of identity

During his life in the jungles, Chalapathi came close to Aruna alias Chaitanya Venkat Ravi, who was the 'deputy commander' of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC). They later got married. He was a mystery to the security agencies but a selfie with Aruna exposed his identity and a bounty of Rs 1 crore was placed on his head. The selfie of the couple was found in an abandoned smartphone recovered after a gunfight between Naxals and security forces in Andhra Pradesh in May 2016, officials said.