KHAMMAM / MULUGU: Two days after they were taken captive, as many as 15 tribals belonging to Bodanalli and Kurnapalli villages in Cherla mandal were released by the Maoists, on Thursday.
According to sources, the tribals were taken hostage by the members of the banned outfit on December 7 as not a lot of people came forward to attend a public meeting organised on the occasion of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army’s 21st anniversary.
Soon after confining the tribals in their camps, the Maoist leaders told the villagers that those who had been detained would be released only if they bring more people for the meetings.
Bhadradri-Kothagudem SP Sunil Dutt alleged that the Maoists were threatening innocent tribals and forcing them to take part in their unlawful activities.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Venkatapuram and Wazeedu mandals on Thursday after the locals spotted posters and pamphlets, purportedly created and circulated by the members of the Maoist party, warning the police informers of dire consequences. The posters were spotted along the road that connects the two mandals.
In the posters and pamphlets, the members of the Maoist party’s Venkatapuram-Wazeedu committee stated that Bollaram villagers Shayamala Prasad, P Venkata Lakshmi and K Ram Babu, Penka Vagu resident Sodi Narsima Rao, Kalpaka villager K Satyam, and Kursum Ram Babu, belonging to Seetharampuram village, were working for the police by providing information about their activists.