Woman Maoist led attack on Araku MLA

Visakhapatnam: A woman Maoist is suspected to have led the team of rebels which gunned down Araku TDP MLA Sarveswara Rao and a former legislator in the tribal area of Visakhapatnam district on Sunday. The police on Monday released the names and pictures of three Maoists including two women who took part in the attack near Lipittuputtu village.

Based on the information gathered from witnesses, the police identified three Maoists who took part in the attack. They include Aruna alias Venkataravi Chaitanya, a Special Zonal Committee Member (SZCM) of the Communist Party of India-Maoist. Aruna, who heads Nandapur Area Committee on Andhra-Odisha Border, is suspected to have led a group of 50-60 Maoists. 

The police have identified three crucial Maoists who had participated in gunning down of Araku MLA Kindari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma near Liviriputtu area under Dumbriguda Mandal in Visakha Agency. Among the three were two women members whose details and photos were released to the media here on Monday.

The police assert that Jalumuri Sreenu Babu alias Sunil Rino, a native of Dabbapalem village in Addateegala police limits in East Godavari, and Kameswari alias Swaroopa alias Sindri-Chandri from Bhimavaram town in West Godavari, and Venkata Ravi Chaitanya alias Aruna from Pendurthi mandal in Visakhapatnam district participated in the murderous attack.  

Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma said it came to their knowledge that Maoist top leader Aruna, wife of AOB Special Zonal Committee Military Commission chief Pratap Reddy Ramachandra Reddy alias Chalapathi, led the attack. “We have deployed forces at all the strategic places to flush out the rebels and also to provide protection to police stations and other government establishments. We are also investigating the case from various angles to ascertain the involvement of a few others in the incident,” the SP informed.

Aruna heads the Nandapur dalam. The Maoist cadres apparently moved from the Odisha side of AOB. More forces are being deployed along the AOB. Combing has been intensified and checks stepped up all the entry and exits points along the AOB. 

The SP disclosed that the security forces of Andhra Pradesh with the support of Odisha police, CRPF and BSF personnel have launched a massive combing operation in the region on Monday. The security forces were combing the tribal belt along the inter-state border with Odisha to flush out the insurgents, he added.

It is learnt that 25 greyhound teams besides 550 special armed forces with the help of the local police are involved in the combing operations. The armed forces have rushed into the dense forest with the help of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) maps. Senior police officials including one SP from Odisha studying the GSI maps to locate all the vulnerable locations.

Top police including Additional DGP Harish Guptha and Intelligence Chief A B Venkateswara Rao are monitoring the anti-Maoist operations in AOB. According to the information, the police came to a conclusion the incident was a result of intelligence failure. 

The DGP has already ordered the suspension of Amman Rao, Sub-Inspector of Dumbriguda police station for dereliction of duty. The action came amid allegations by the supporters of the slain leaders that the police failed to protect them. The villagers on Sunday staged violent protests against the alleged police negligence.  They ransacked Dumbriguda and Araku police stations and attacked police personnel.

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended bus services while shops and business establishments remained closed. Some effort to fix responsibility on officers for the serious lapse is afoot, the police sources added.

Director General of Police R P Thakur is closely keeping watch on the situation. A team headed by Visakhapatnam Deputy Commissioner of Police K Fakeerappa, probing Sunday's incident, on Monday visited the scene along with Visakhapatnam Rural Superintendent of Police, Rahul Dev Sharma.  The team spoke to the eye-witnesses and the villagers.