Bhubaneswar, July 13: Security forces will intensify the hunt for elusive Maoist commander Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna, popularly known as RK.

Ramakrishna, who heads the Odisha-Andhra special zonal committee of the Maoists, is believed to be carrying injuries sustained in a gunfight with a joint team of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh police on October 24 in Malkangiri last year.

"He may try to move out of his hideout, taking advantage of rains. This is the chance to catch him," said Koraput sub-divisional police officer Jagannath Rao.

In Odisha, Koraput and Malkangiri districts have been the main theatres of his activities.

He was in news in 2011 when he masterminded the kidnapping of the then Malkangiri collector, R. Vineel Krishna, who remained in the custody of rebels for nearly a week, during which period they forced the state government to accept some of their conditions.

Police sources said arresting Ramakrishna was priority for the security forces as his capture could sound the death knell for the radical movement not only in Odisha, but also in the eastern region.

"He is cunning as a fox and a master strategist. If we take him out, it will be a body blow to the Maoist movement," said a police officer.

Ramakrishna's grip over the Maoists active in Odisha became firmer following the arrest of top Odia rebel leader Sabyasachi Panda from Berhampur in July 2014.

The police said that ever since Sabyasachi's arrest, Ramakrishna's writ runs in the rebel-dominated areas of Odisha. The killing of eight Odisha police personnel in a landmine blast in Koraput's Sunki valley in February is believed to be an act of revenge by the Maoists who wanted to avenge the death of Ramakrishna's son Munna and some other senior rebel leaders in the October 24 encounter.