AP man poses as top ultra to call up C'garh Cong chief; held

A Vijayawada-based civil contractor has been arrested for allegedly calling up Chhattisgarh Congress president Bhupesh Baghel by posing as Naxal leader Ganapathi and offering "support" of ultras for upcoming assembly elections, police said today.

The person, identified as Bhaskar Rao, was arrested yesterday from his native place in Andhra Pradesh with the support of the AP police, Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Prafulla Thakur told PTI.

"As per preliminary investigation, Rao had no Maoist links and was a civil contractor. Prima facie he was also found to be a worker of the Congress party," Thakur said.

During interrogation, Rao disclosed that he had been making such calls to several persons for extorting money from them since he suffered loss in his business, he said.

The police officer said Rao has admitted to calling up Baghel for the same purpose.

Rao will be interrogated further after he is brought here, he added.

Meanwhile, Baghel questionned the police claim that Rao was a Congress worker.

"Police are making their own theory. Without investigating the matter, they are claiming that the arrested person was a Congress worker," Baghel alleged while speaking to PTI.

Baghel had earlier told reporters that a person, claiming to be top Maoist leader Ganpathi, had called himon July 17.

According to Baghel, the person had said that Maoists holds influence in 37 Assembly seats in Chhattisgarh and they wanted to support the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections, "the way they had supported the BJP in the last two elections.

Suspecting that it was a conspiracy to falsely implicate him, Baghel, an MLA from Patan constituency (in Drug district) had immediately reported the matter to Durg police.