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Naxals on the rampage in AP

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Naxalite violence continues unabated in Andhra Pradesh with over 100 incidents reported in the last fortnight following the killing of three top leaders of the outlawed People's War Group in an encounter with the police earlier this month.

The PWG extremists, who have been on the rampage in various parts of the state in retaliation to the killing of central organising committee members Nalla Adi Reddy, Y Santosh Reddy and Seelam Naresh on December 2, have particularly targeted government buildings, houses of ruling Telugu Desam Party functionaries, railway stations, telephone exchanges and Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation buses.

In the 100-odd violent incidents since December 2, private and public properties suffered a loss of over Rs 100 million. A score of RTC buses, a dozen private vehicles, an equal number of rural telephone exchanges and multi-access rural radio telephone junctions, four railway stations, a couple of banks and 50 private and government properties were damaged by the Naxalites. The APSRTC alone has suffered a loss of Rs 20 million due to torching of buses or disruption of services.

Most of the violent incidents have been reported from the Naxalite-affected north Telangana, particularly Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad districts, followed by south Telangana (Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Medak districts), Rayalaseema region (Anantapur, Kurnool and Cuddapah districts), north coastal Andhra (Vizianagaram, East Godavari districts) and south coastal Andhra (Guntur district).

The major incidents during the fortnight included the killing of a sub-inspector of police, a constable and a private jeep driver in a landmine blast near Khanapur in Adilabad district on December 5, slaying of two constables and a private jeep driver in an ambush near Eturnagaram in Warangal district on December 6, murder of a head constable at his house in Hanamkonda town, blasting of the Rajampet railway station building in Cuddapah district on December 12 causing a damage of Rs 3 million, torching of the Talamadla railway station and Uppalvai railway station buildings in Nizamabad district and the Chalama railway station building in Kurnool district on December 15 and blasting of the house of a Mandal praja parishad president at Basheerabad village in Nizamabad district on December 16 in which five persons of a family were killed.

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