KHAMMAM: BHADRADRI Kothagudem was gripped with fear on Saturday as alleged Maoists launched attacks at three different places in the district within a 13 km radius. According to the police, a tribal man was killed after being branded a police informer, a political leader was shot at and nine vehicles including heavy machinery used in sand mining were set on fire.
The fresh violence, coming after a long gap of 15 years, has unnerved locals and tribal folk. Police suspect that Manugur area committee secretary of the banned outfit Sujatakka could have been behind the attack.
“In Umeshchandra Nagar, Maoists attacked tribal man Podem Jogaiah with axes killing him instantly,” police sources said. In Sundaraiahanagar, they allegedly fired three rounds at CPM mandal committee member Madavi Ramesh, but he managed to escape and was later admitted in a hospital with the help of villagers.
It’s the fourth time that Madavi Ramesh is being attacked allegedly by Maoists.
Incidentally, Ramesh’s father was killed in Chhattisgarh by members of the banned outfit a few years ago. It was after that, that Ramesh moved to this village and joined the CPM.“Both of them attacked today were accused by Maoists of being police informers. Podem Jogaiah had worked in Maoist party in Chattishgarh state. They strongly believe Jogaiah was behind the encounter of nine Maoists in March 1, 2016 at Bottem village of Chattishgarh,” police added.
In the third case at Bhupathiraopet, four earth movers, four lorries and a tractor were torched. After burning the vehicles, they left behind a letter addressing several of its issues. It warned the BJP-ruled Centre and TRS-ruled State against illegal detention and encounter of ‘innocent tribals.’ The latter claimed the State was encouraging sand mafia and warned Chief Ministers of Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra against handing over tribal lands to corporate companies.
According to information, about 20 to 30 armed Maoists including eight women participated in the attacks. Police said a Sujatakka dalam had been formed a month ago. Sujatakka came from Chattishgarh and it is suspected that after the incident, the dalam moved back to Chattishgarh. According to eye witnesses, members of the group were speaking in Hindi and Gottikoya.
Cops join hands with ISRO to curb Naxal violence
On a day when Maoist violence witnessed a sudden uprising, the tech-savvy Telangana state police has decided to join hands with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to tackle Left-Wing Extremism in the state. The technology will be adopted mostly in the Left-Wing Extremist affected areas. Apart from narrowing down on the movement of Maoists, the technology will also be used to locate ganja plantations grown in any region.