HYDERABAD: A senior Maoist leader, who was allegedly involved in triggering a landmine blast in an attempt to kill united Chief Minister N Chandrababau Naidu at Alipiri in Tirupati, was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat.
He was picked up from Hyderabad with the assistance of Telangana police and taken to Gujarat after registering criminal cases against him. The arrested Maoist leader is Sriramula Srinivas alias Sudarshan, a native of Nalgonda district.
According to sources, Sudarshan radicalised a section of youth and people living in Surat in Gujarat by building party cadre. He worked actively at the border of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2010, instigating people to fight against the government.
The Surat Police have registered criminal cases against Sudarshan under Sections 121 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India), 124 A (sedition), 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) of the IPC and other relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act(UAPA).
Sources further stated that Sudarshan, who played key roles in Maoist party’s central committee, has formed Navajawan Bharath Sabha (NBS) and Majdoor Vikas Manch (MVM) and enrolled members to fight against government policies in Gujarat. Srinivas is also said to be involved in the killing of the then home minister Alimineti Madhava Reddy.
During the Nandyal election campaign, the Chief Minister had alleged that his predecessor late YS Rajashekhar Reddy had an indirect role in the landmine explosion at Alipiri.