Papa Rao emerges as alleged mastermind in

Dantewada massacre
As security agencies hunted for Naxal leaders behind the Dantewada massacre, Papa Rao, a Maoist
leader from Andhra Pradesh, is emerging as the alleged mastermind and a massive manhunt has
been launched.

Born in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district, 50-year-old Rao, a general seceretary of Maoists'
Jagarbandhu area committee, is known to be the right hand man of Ramana, the Special General
Secretary of Dandakarnya region. 75 CRPF men were killed in the country's worst-ever Maoist attack
in Chattisgarh.

Rao has been engaged in armed activities in the region and a massive manhunt has been launched to
nab him, official sources said in New Delhi on Friday.

Dandakaranya is the forest tract in the country's central-southern region covering parts of Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa, the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra where the banned CPI (Maoist)
virtually run a parallel government envisioning a "liberated" zone.

Investigators from the central and state security agencies claim that the tell-tale signs of the
audacious attack pointed to the involvement of Papa Rao who is known to have a detailed knowledge
about the area's topography.

CRPF personnel, who were out on an operation against Naxals in thick forests, fell victims to the
deadly attack on the morning of April 6.

Earlier, the names of Ramana and Hidma, military advisor to the Jagarbandhu area committee, were
also doing the rounds as those responsbile for the attack.

Ramana hails from Warangal area, once the hotbed of Naxalites, and has been active in Dantewada
region for long. He is involved in many strikes on security forces.

Sugar price eases in metro cities

The government on Friday said that the price of sugar, which had skyrocketed to around Rs 50 per
kg in mid-January, has declined in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.

"According to data collected by the Department of Consumer Affairs, sugar prices have declined at
Delhi, Shimla, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Thiruvananthapuram and remained steady at all other
reporting centres, barring Bhubaneswar," the government said in a statement.

The price of the sweetener has fallen sharply in the last two months and is likely to remain under
pressure going forward on expectations of higher availability from two leading sugar producing
states - Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Sugar prices are hovering in the range between Rs 34 and Rs 36 a kg in the metros.

Meanwhile, wheat prices have decreased at Delhi, Lucknow and Bangalore and remained steady at
all other reporting centres except for an increase at Bhopal, the government said.

The prices of pulses, potatoes, onions and edible oil were unchanged at most places during the first
week of the month.

eases in metro cities