Naxal leader dies of jaundice

Senior Maoist leader Kudumula Venkata Rao, alias Ravi, died of jaundice here today.

Ravi (40), the chief of central regional committee of the banned CPI (Maoists), carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh on his head.

Superintendent of police (Visakhapatnam rural) Koya Praveen said Ravi's associates took him to a private hospital here, where he was he was declared brought dead.

He joined the Naxals when he was a college student at Chintapalle and operated mostly in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.