Naxals call for bandh in Gadchiroli to protest killing of two women cadres

Banners were put up in the district, terming the killings a violation of constitutional rights of the slain cadres

Naxals have called for a 'bandh' in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on May 19 to protest the killings of two fellow women in an encounter last month, police said.

Naxals had put up banners in some villages in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli on Wednesday night, in which they gave the 'bandh' call, an official from Gadchiroli superintendent of police (SP) office said Thursday.

In the banners, the Naxals alleged that the killings of the women cadres- Ramco alias Kamla Narote and Shilpa Durva- by the securtiy forces on April 27 was an infringement of their constitutional rights.

"The ultras said in the banners that as a mark of protest against the encounter killings, a 'bandh' would be observed in Gadchiroli on May 19," the official said.

The two women Naxals were killed in an encounter in Gunderwahi forest in Gadchiroli when commandos of C-60 squad, police's anti-Naxal unit, were combing the area.

Ramco and Durva were carrying rewards of Rs 16 lakh and Rs 4 lakh on their heads respectively, police said.