Fourteen Maoists, including 11 carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 41 lakh on their heads, were arrested in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, it was announced on Monday. The Naxalites -- six women and eight men -- were part of the outlawed Maoist groups Military Company No 2 and the Gangaloor Area Committee, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said. They were held from the forests of Mutvendi and Pidiya villages on Sunday by a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and local police. These include Renu Kovasi and Mangli Awlam with a reward of Rs 8 lakh each. Bichchem Uika, Sharmila Kursam and Lakshmi Tati carried rewards of Rs 5 lakh each. Four cadres had bounties of Rs 2 lakh each and two had rewards of Rs 1 lakh each on their head. Security forces gunned 12 Maoists in the forests of Pidiya village on May 10 and had rounded up several persons from the site on suspicion. Police are yet to disclose the details of those rounded up amid claims by villagers and activists that the May 10 gun battle was fake. These persons have claimed those killed were villagers who had gone to pluck tendu leaves. All these allegations have been rubbished by the police who asserted that the deceased were Maoists carrying cash rewards on their heads.

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