Woman Maoist led attack on Andhra legislator

A woman Maoist is suspected to have led the team of rebels which gunned down a ruling TDP MLA and a former legislator in the tribal area of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh 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, about 15 km from the Odisha border.

Sarveswara Rao, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA from Araku (Reserved-Scheduled Tribe), and his party colleague and former MLA Siveri Soma were gunned down when they were visiting a village to attend a party programme.

Based on the information gathered from witnesses, the police identified three guerillas 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 (AOB), is suspected to have led a group of 50-60 Maoists who allegedly crossed over to Andhra Pradesh from Odisha.

According to witnesses, a woman Maoist aged about 40 years was heard pulling up the MLA for amassing wealth through mining in agency areas, affecting the interests of tribals.

Aruna, a native of Visakhapatnam district, is wife of Pratapreddy Ramachandra Reddy alias Chalapati, who heads AOB Special Zonal Committee Military Commission.

Swarupa alias Kameshwari and Julumuri Srinibabu alias Sunil also took part in the attack.

Police said they were trying to identify the other Maoists involved. Special police teams have launched a hunt for the guerrillas involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, the slain TDP leaders were cremated on Monday with state honours.

--IANS

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