Dipak is believed to be a state committee member and state military commission member of CPI (Maoist) in Bengal and a close aide of Kishenji.

According to the police, he has been operating in Bengal since 1994 and was one of the outfit’s think-tanks here. An explosives expert, he is said to have been involved in major Maoist attacks in Andhra Pradesh and Bengal.

Being the member of the state military commission, the highest decision-making body of CPI (Maoists) regarding armed action in Bengal, Dipak is linked to major attacks within the state, including the recent Silda attack which claimed the lives of 24 EFR personnel.

“We have arrested Venkateshwar Reddy alias Telugu Dipak. He has a dozen aliases. We have made seizures but we do not want to disclose them now. He is in our custody and we are interrogating him,” said Raj Kanojia, ADG, CID. According to sources, the operation was a part of a statewide hunt for top Maoist leaders by the Special Task Force (STF).

Sources said the STF acted on a tip-off from its counterparts in Andhra Pradesh regarding the whereabouts of Dipak.

Hailing from Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, it was in 1994 when Dipak, along with Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, reportedly came to Bengal to set up base.

He was a leader of PWG and worked in the tribal areas to spread the influence of the Maoists.

After the merger of MCC and PWG in 2004, he became a part of CPI (Maoist) and rose to become one of its top leaders in Bengal. He also used the alias Surya.