Andhra saw terror strikes, protests over Telangana

2013 saw terror raising its ugly head in Hyderabad again after two blasts rattled Dilsukhnagar area killing 17 people and injuring over 100 even as pro and anti-Telangana protests across Andhra Pradesh during most part of the year kept the state police on tenterhooks.
The blasts triggered by powerful IEDs planted near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in Dilsukhnagar on February 21 were carried out on alleged instructions of Indian Mujahideen's Pakistan-based founder Riyaz Bhatkal.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the case arrested IM's co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his close associate Asadullah Akhtar in connection with the blasts.
A police team from Tamil Nadu and commandos from Andhra Pradesh's OCTOPUS (Organisation To Counter Terrorist Operations) succeeded in arresting two terror suspects Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik from a hide-out in Puttur town of Chittoor district in the state on October 5.

Besides many other cases, Ismail and Malik were wanted in connection with the planting of a pipe bomb on the yatra route of BJP leader L K Advani near Tirumangalam in Madurai district in 2011 and also in connection with the killing of Tamil Nadu BJP leader Auditor Ramesh and Velliappan, leader of a rightwing Hindu organisation, Hindu Munnani.
The state police arrested 134 Maoists till December 11, 2013 compared to 274 in 2012 while the number of Maoist incidents came down to 23 in the year gone by compared to 39 in the previous year.

Hardcore Maoist Sriramula Srinivas alias Sudarshan, wanted in connection with several cases including the killing of former Home Minister A Madhava Reddy, was arrested in Khammam district in March while another senior cadre Pusa Sivanarayana, who was also the incharge of the Central Committee protection platoon was arrested in Medak district in October.

Police had a tough time dealing with pro-Telangana agitations in the city and different Telangana districts in first half of the year and in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions which witnessed large-scale protests over the Centre's decision to carve out separate state by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
An anti-Congress sentiment swept the two regions as protesters attacked the houses of APCC president and state minister Botsa Satyanarayana at Vizianagaram and several other ministers and leaders.