Hyderabad, Dec. 3 :     The outlawed People?s War Group, which runs a parallel administration in several pockets of Andhra Pradesh, received a big blow yesterday with the killing of three top leaders who carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh each. The deaths of Santosh Reddy, Nalla Adi Reddy and S. Naresh ? the brains behind the PWG?s guerrilla activities and members of its central committee for the past decade ? are seen as fatal for the extremist group which is already plagued by internal strife. All the three slain extremists had a running battle with PWG secretary Ganapati, alias M. Lakshman Rao. Ganapati himself is believed to be on the verge of surrender. The police claim that Ganapati escaped during the encounter in Karimnagar district yesterday. But speculation is rife that the Naxalite intelligence wing had sought Ganapati?s help to wipe out his detractors. Another top PWG leader Santosh Reddy has reportedly been arrested in Bangalore. Two more extremists have been taken into custody in Hyderabad. After killing of the three central committee members, the police expect that either Ganapati will surrender or there will be a second split in the PWG, separating the Andhra Pradesh operations from Naxalite activity in other states which is controlled by Ganapati. Several top extremists in the state, including Sudershan, M. Raji Reddy, S. Keshav Rao, M. Koteswar Rao, are opposed to Ganapati?s leadership. The killings have also sparked a row between the police and civil rights activists. Director-general of police H.J. Dora today asked civil rights activists not to indulge in ?politics?. P. Varavara Rao, a prominent poet and activist, was taken into custody in Karimnagar. Rao has been demanding that the police bring the bodies of the extremists to Hyderabad. The police claim the rights activists are trying to gain ?political mileage? out of the incident. People?s Union for Civil Liberties president K.G. Kannabiran and human rights activist K. Balgopal want the post mortem to be held in Hydrabad because they suspect foul play by the police. The bodies of Adi Reddy and Naresh have been handed over to their families after post mortem. But the body of Santosh Reddy and another unidentified extremist is still in police custody at Godavari Khani. The PWG was banned in the state 1992. The Naxalite outfit weakened after Kondapalli Seetharamaiah was ousted by Ganapati with the support of Adi Reddy. In the past two years, serious differences emerged among the central committee members and there was an virtual campaign against Ganapati. The killing of the PWG leaders comes in the wake of the murder of IPS officer Umesh Chandra in Hyderabad before the general elections. Since October there have been over 45 encounter deaths in Karimnagar and Warangal. Six policemen have been killed by the PWG.