7 more Maoists gunned down in Andhra; cadres looking for shelter in state: ADGP

After top commander Madvi Hidma, another senior CPI (Maoist) leader, Joga Rao alias Tech Shankar, was gunned down along with six others in an exchange of fire with security forces in the Maredumilli forests of Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitarama Raju district. Rao, who headed the technical wing of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), was an explosives expert for the insurgents and was adept in the use of IEDs and weaponry.

Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha said, “In continuation with yesterday’s operation, we have received information that an exchange of fire has taken place again at the Maredumilli area of the ASR district, in which probably seven Maoists have been killed – four males and three females. So far, tentatively, one has been identified as Metturi Joga Rao alias Tech Shankar. We are in the process of identifying the rest.”

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The ADGP said the Maoists were looking for respite because of relentless pressure from security forces in Chhattisgarh and exploring new areas to take shelter and revive the Naxalite movement at a later stage. The cadres engaged in security of the top brass were sent ahead, and then the leaders followed, he said, explaining the arrests of over 50 Maoist cadres and sympathisers hiding in the state. “Initially, they went to Telangana. They are looking for new places for shelter, like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, because of continuous police operations in Chhattisgarh.” He added that the state intelligence was aware of the movement of Maoists and was continuously tracking them, waiting for the right opportunity to nab them. “Our goal is to make AP Maoist-free again, he remarked.”

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar today appealed to the Maoist cadres to surrender and join the mainstream. He said, “ Whether we are in power or not, the BJP has always opposed Maoism. You cannot capture state power through the barrel of a gun. We have been saying that people will not support that path — and today it has been proven true. But innocent people have been sacrificed in the name of Maoism. The main reason is that innocent children are being provoked and losing their lives because of Urban Naxals.”