No impact of Maoist blockade call in Andhra Pradesh
27 June, 2007
No impact of Maoist blockade call in Andhra Pradesh
The blockade called by Maoists in protest against the 'anti-people' policies of the government had no impact even in districts with a long history of Maoist violence.
Police said Maoists set afire a bus in Visakhaptanam district in coastal Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday to protest the killing of their leader S. Rajamouli in a gun battle last week. Delayed reports reaching the state capital said a group of 20 Maoists torched the bus of state-run Road Trasnport Corporation at R.V. Nagar in the district, about 650 km from here.
The Maoists also set afire records of forest development corporation and coffee board research centre in the same area. Barring these incidents, the state has not witnessed any Maoist violence since Tuesday.
However, police in Khammam district bordering Chhattisgarh, and Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam bordering Orissa remained on alert to foil any attack by the guerrillas.
Police officials said the blockade had no impact on normal life in the state because of their recent successes in firmly handling Maoists.
Police were already on alert amid reports that the Maoists, who suffered many setbacks in recent months, were trying to regroup. Fearing attacks on electricity plants during the blockade, the authorities had stepped up security.
Maoists lost many of their top leaders during last few months. Police on June 22 gunned down another top leader S. Rajamouli in Anantapur district bordering Karnataka.
Rajamouli was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on then Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in October 2003. He was a prominent member of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and was also heading the outfit in Karnataka.
Andhra Pradesh has been one of the strongholds of the Maoist movement.
More than 6,000 people have been killed in Maoist violence since 1969.
New kerala
posted by Bimal 27.6.07,
