As the police forces began recovering from the shock of the deadliest Naxal attack in the country,initial investigations indicated to the almost definite involvement of some high-profile Maoist leaders of the region including at least one member of the highest decision-making body in the banned CPI (Maoist) group in Tuesdays attack in Dantewada which killed 76 security personnel. Hundreds of Naxalites had participated in the early morning ambush of a company of Central Reserve Police Force,which was on an area-domination mission in the forests of Dantewada. Police officials now believe the operation was planned and executed by some well-known Maoist leaders,including Bhupathi or Venugopal who is the head of Naxal forces in this area. The belief of the police is based on the communication intercepts and movement of these leaders in the past few days. Some of the key Naxals suspected to be the masterminds of this attack include: Bhupathi alias Venugopal: Also goes by the name of Sonu. He is believed to be the head of Naxal forces in Dandkaranya region,a reference to the heavily forested southern Chhattisgarh region and including parts of eastern Maharashtra,northern Andhra Pradesh and western Orissa. Bhupathi is a member of politburo,the highest decision-making body of the banned CPI (Maoist). Hidma: He is believed to be the chief of the military commission of the party and very powerful in the Naxal hierarchy. Ramanna: Hailing from Andhra Pradesh,Ramannas exact position in the party is not clear though he is known to be an important leader. He is a technology and explosives expert and a wanted criminal in at least two dozen cases. Pappa Rao: A member of the divisional committee,a relatively lower level of the organisation,Rao is believed to be the one who controls local guerilla forces and village militias. He is understood to have arranged the large number of cadres for Tuesdays attack. Vijayamma: Also a local divisional committee member. Sudershan: He is a member of the sub-zonal committee of the partys southern unit,relatively lower position in the party. He was earlier being confused with another person by the same name who happens to be a member of the central committee,the second most important body in the party after the politburo. All of them have been involved in several earlier incidents and have a number of criminal cases pending against them,police sources said. The police have detailed profiles of these along with photographs but have not been able to apprehend them as yet.
