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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bodies of three Maoists will be handed over to kin after legal process, say police
The bodies of the three Maoists who were killed in an exchange of fire would be handed over to their family members after following the legal process, Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar said on Thursday. Addressing the media here, Mr. Bardar said the family members of the three Maoists, upon being informed, arrived at Rampachodavaram to receive the bodies. 'The legal process to hand over the bodies is going on. We will hand over the bodies respectfully once the process is completed,' Mr. Bardar said. The Superintendent of Police was responding to the allegations levelled by the family members of slain Maoist Venkata Raavi Chaitanya, alias Aruna, alias Ruppi, that the police had not informed them about the death of Aruna and they were not allowed to see the body. Referring to the encounter, Mr. Bardar said they had information about the movement of the Maoists in the Rampachodavaram area on June 17, following which combing operation was initiated. 'On June 18, between 7 a.m. and 7.15 a.m., an exchange fire had taken place in the Kintukuru forest area under Rampachodavaram police station limits. After the encounter, we found the bodies of three Maoists, two of them women. We recovered three AK 47 rifles, magazines, kit bags and Maoist literature from the place,' Mr. Bardar said. Apart from Aruna, the other Maoists were identified as Gajarla Ravi, alias Uday, alias Ganesh, a central committee member carrying ₹25 lakh reward on his head, and Anju, alias Mase, who carried a reward of ₹1 lakh. 'Uday and Aruna were involved in more than 150 criminal cases, including the killing of an MLA and former MLA in 2018 and IED blasts,' Mr. Bardar said. The Superintendent of Police said they had information that about 30 Maoists had entered Andhra Pradesh via Odisha from Chhattisgarh after the announcement of Operation Kagar in November 2024. 'After the first exchange of fire in April and surrenders, there may be five to six members still moving in the AOB region. The operation is still on,' he said.
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Wife of slain Maoist linked to 2003 attack on Naidu among those killed in police encounter
'She (Aruna) was a high-ranking Maoist with multiple pending cases and Rs 20 lakh bounty. Her death is a significant blow to the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) structure (of the maoists),' Rampachodavaram DSP GS Prasanth told PTI on Thursday. On Wednesday, three ultras — Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya (Aruna), Gajarla Ravi (Uday) and Anju, were killed in an exchange of fire with Andhra Pradesh police at Kintukuru village in Alluri Seetharama Raju district. Rampachodavaram (Andhra Pradesh), June 19 (PTI) Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya, wife of slain Maoist Chalapathi and a key figure in the 2003 attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, was among the three Maoists killed in an exchange of fire with police recently. According to police, Aruna played a crucial role in the fatal attacks on former TDP MLAs K Sarveswara Rao and S Soma in 2018. Aruna hails from Karaka Vanipalem village in Visakhapatnam district's Pendurthi mandal. Her brother Ajath was killed in a previous encounter with police in Chittoor district, said the DSP. Similarly, Gajarla Ravi (Uday), who had a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head, was identified as an AOB Special Zonal Committee member hailing from Velishala village in Chityala mandal of Bhupalpally district in Telangana. The third Maoist was Anju, who had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh. Her exact role within the AOB network is under police investigation. The exchange of fire operation against the Maoists was carried out by the Greyhounds unit of the southern state's police on prior intelligence inputs. According to Prashant, all three rebels were killed in an early morning operation in Rampachodavaram forest on Wednesday and police believe more cadres may have escaped into the dense jungle. The security forces confiscated two AK-47 rifles and other Maoist paraphernalia from the spot. Meanwhile, Search operations have been intensified across agency regions. PTI MS STH ROH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Top maoist leader shot: Gajarla Ravi killed in operation; rebel grip fades, no big leader left in Andhra Pradesh
HYDERABAD: With the encounter killing of CPI (Maoist) central committee member Gajarla Ravi, the banned outfit has lost its last top-level operative deployed in Andhra Pradesh. Ravi, a native of Telangana, was heading the crucial Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) special zonal committee. His death marks the complete elimination of all central committee members either operating in or originally from Andhra this year. A senior official said, "With Ravi gone, the central committee has no one left operating in Andhra. Andhra-origin members have also been wiped out." Though not from Andhra, Ravi had been overseeing Maoist operations in the AOB region, keeping the Andhra structure active after the loss of native leaders. His elimination deals a strategic blow to the organisation's command and coordination in Andhra territory. With no central committee leader now stationed in the state, the Maoist presence has suffered a significant leadership vacuum. While Andhra has been entirely wiped out from the top echelons, Telangana continues to dominate the central committee. Among the key Telangana leaders still active are Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu (Peddapalli), Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devji (Korutla), Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa, and Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram (Peddapalli).
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Fresh blow to Naxals: Security forces gun down three top Maoist leaders in Andhra Pradesh
VISAKHAPATNAM: CPI (Maoists) in the Andhra-Odisha border (AOB) area suffered a severe jolt on Wednesday as three of its top leaders were killed in an encounter in the forest area of Alluri Sitarama Raju district in AP. Police identified the killed Maoists as special zonal committee (AOBSZC) secretary Gajarla Ravi (alias Uday, alias Ganesh), AOBSZC member and east division secretary Aruna, and area committee member Anju. The encounter took place near Kintukuru village between Maredumilli and Rampachodavaram areas in ASR district. Security forces spotted a group of nine Maoists near Kintukuru, leading to the exchange of fire. Bodies of the three Maoists and three AK-47 rifles were found at the spot after the firing ended. Greyhound teams identified them as Uday, Aruna, and Anju. The same squad, with more than 15 members, escaped twice during combing operations by security forces in the last couple of months. Uday and Aruna carried rewards of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 20 lakh on them, and were accused of orchestrating several killings in AP and Odisha. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Have a Makan Culture Feast! Makan Culture Learn More Undo Greyhounds carry out combing ops Vizag range DIG Gopinath Jetti said the bodies of the three Maoist leaders will be brought to Rampachodavaram hospital for postmortem, and later handed over to their family. Greyhound teams are carrying out combing operations in Maredumilli and Rampachodavaram forest areas for the escaped Maoists, who include district committee member Vijayalakshmi (alias Bhumika), and others. Police sources said CPI (Maoists') top leadership tried to provide support to the AOB committee with a 25-member military squad led by Chelluri Narayana Rao (alias Suresh) a couple of months ago, but security forces foiled their attempts. Uday was an accused in the Balimela ambush in which 37 security personnel were killed, and also other attacks in AP and Odisha. He was the secretary for Malkangiri, Koraput, and Visakhapatnam border (MKVB) division for many years. An ITI diploma holder, Uday later became known as Charchala Ganesh. Maoists operating in the AOB area have suffered serious losses in the past decade, and now their main leadership has been eliminated. Gajarla Ravi (60), from Velisala village in combined Warangal district of Telangana, joined the then People's War Group (PWG) in the 1990s. When the PWG suffered losses in north Telangana, he was sent to AOB in the early 2000s.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Death of Uday, Aruna deepens leadership crisis among Maoists in AOB region
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Greyhounds personnel, during a combing operation in the area near Akooru in Maredumilli forest of Alluri Sitharama Raju district, spotted a group of around 16 armed members of the banned CPI (Maoist). What followed was a fierce gun battle for about an hour, in which three Maoists were killed. Among the deceased were Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, a Central Committee member and the secretary of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), and Ravi Venka Chaitanya alias Aruna, a zonal committee member and secretary of the East Division, which controls the AOB region. The police recovered three AK 47s. The death of Uday and Aruna is certainly a big blow to the Maoists, as the security forces presume it to be the endgame of the Left Wing extremists in the AOB region. After the death of two top Maoist leaders Kudumula Ravi and Bakuri Venkataramana alias Ganesh, there was a leadership void in this region. Both were considered fierce tribal leaders. While Kudumula died of illness in 2016, Bakkuri was among the 30 Maoists killed in the Ramaguda exchange of fire in 2016. It was after their death that Uday, Aruna and Chalapathi took charge of the AOB region. There was a rumour that Uday was also killed in the Ramaguda encounter, but he survived and led the Maoists in the AOBSZC. Hailing from Velishala in Telangana, Gajarla Ravi (58) alias Ganesh alias Anand alias Uday, joined the movement in 1990. He had completed his Intermediate and ITI and was an active member of RSU (Radical Student Union). After going underground, he was posted to AOB region to revive the movement. Trained by Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed in May this year and Akkiraju Haragopal alias RK, who died of illness in 2021, Uday was supposed to be military strategist and also a leader who could recruit more tribal people. Both his brothers—Gajarla Saraiah and Gajarla Ashok— were associated with the movement. Saraiah, a member of the Central Military Commission and Central Committee, was shot dead in Kanthalapally forest in Warangal in April 2008 while Ashok surrendered in 2015. Considered a hardcore ideologist, Uday was said to be the trusted man of the senior leadership. After a series of major encounters such as in Ramaguda in 2016 and Teegalametta in 2021, in which many leaders were killed, a string of surrenders and arrests of mid-level leaders that followed, the movement had died down by 2022. Uday and Aruna, who were heading the operations, had moved to safer havens in Chhattisgarh. It was only in May 2024, after facing the heat in Chhattisgarh and with the idea of reviving the movement in the AOB, Aruna, Uday and Kakuri Pandana alias Jagan moved in with about 30 cadres. Considered an educated and fierce fighter, Aruna was the wife of former Central Committee member Chalapathi, who was killed earlier this year. She hailed from Pendurthi area of Visakhapatnam. Apart from her involvement in many cases, it is said that she had led the squad that killed former Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswar Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma, in September 2018, in Dumbriguda area of now ASR district. On May 7, Pandana, the last of the tribal leaders from the AOB, was killed in an encounter. With the deaths of Uday and Aruna, there is hardly anyone to lead the movement, say security personnel associated with anti-Maoist operations.
