RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: The family of top CPI (Maoist) leader Thentu Lakshminasimha Chalam, alias Sudhakar, who was killed in an encounter in the Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, has appealed to the State and Central governments to hand over his body to conduct his last rites in their native village of Satyavolu in Pedapadu mandal, Eluru district.
Sudhakar (66), originally hailed from Vizianagaram district, but his father Ramakrishna Naidu, belonging to the BC community, migrated to Pragadavaram in the erstwhile West Godavari district in 1970 before settling in Satyavolu. Speaking to TNIE, Sudhakar’s elder brother Anandarao (75) and sister-in-law Satyavati expressed a deep desire to give him a proper farewell.
“Sudhakar was a brilliant man. He chose his own path and left home in 1983. We last met him around 30 years ago in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail,” said Satyavati. She said police have been visiting their home for the past 24 hours.
Recalling Sudhakar’s life, she said he could have lived a peaceful life had he married his cousin in Vizianagaram. “His father even allotted him an acre of land. But fate took a different turn,” she said. Sudhakar’s sisters are now settled in Vizianagaram and Vizag. The family lost contact with him for decades after he joined the Maoist movement. The second brother, who settled in Guntur, passed away recently.
Sudhakar, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore, was elevated to the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee in 2021.