Deva, a ferocious Maoist leader, who is currently heading Darbha divisional committee of banned CPI(Maoist), led the Naxal attack on the 16-member police party near Netnar on Friday, killing six cops and injuring three others, police sources said on Saturday.
Intelligence sources said the Gondy tribal, aged around 28, has been reared in Maoist camps in dense jungles of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh since he was seven and groomed as a dreaded rebel fighter.
He was heading a 130-strong Naxal militia group including women cadres till he replaced Sujatha as secretary of Darbha divisional committee a year ago. Sujatha has been shifted to eastern Chhattisgarh bordering western Orissa to head Mainpur division, created a year ago.
“Deva has undertaken several deadly operations against security forces in Bastar district, one of five Naxal-infested districts in Bastar region in Chhattisgarh. He has been given charge of Darbha divisional committee to expand Maoist base in Kanger Valley National Park...,” a senior police officer said.