The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Anantapur police a worried lot

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 14, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Anantapur police a worried lot

By Our Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR, FEB. 13. The killing of six policemen and a citizen in an attack on a police outpost by Maoists at Venkatammanahalli in Pavagada taluka of Tumkur district, Karnataka, on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border on Thursday night, has sent warning bells ringing in Anantapur district.

In spite of the recruitment drive taken up by Maoists during the period of the unofficial ceasefire with the Government, their activity was low key in Anantapur district, except for the killing of two persons and torching of a liquor shop in January.

Rude jolt

The conclusion of the Tumkur and Anantapur district police that a majority of the participants in the attack belonged to Maoist dalams operating in Anantapur district and their sympathisers has

given a rude jolt to the latter (Anantapur police). The attack has exhibited the preparedness of the Maoists for such major offensives.

Police sources told The Hindu that the Ramagiri Rythanga Guerrilla, Penna Ahobilam, Penukonda and Chitravati dalams and the newly formed Anantapur Guerrilla platoon participated in the attack. The attack also exposed lack of coordination between the police of two bordering districts of AP and Karnataka in sharing information over the activities of Maoists.

It is being perceived in police circles that failure of the intelligence network in tracking the activities of Maoists and sharing the information with the bordering Karnataka districts has enabled the Maoists to have a free run. The murder of TDP leader Paritala Ravindra has forced a let-up in the search operations and intelligence work of Anantapur police, it is learnt.

Nascent stage

The encounter killing of the Karnataka State secretary of Maoists, Premkumar alias Saketraj, and another Maoist earlier this month has exposed the nascent stage of the Maoist movement in Karnataka.

The Karnataka Maoists were not in a position to retaliate against the police, that was the reason why the AP dalams stepped in and retaliated, police sources said.

It is now well-known that the border areas of Karnataka with south-western AP are being used as shelter zones by the Maoists operating in the four Rayalaseema districts as well as those of other areas in the State.

During the attack on the police outpost, the Maoists are also learnt to have escaped with 10 SLRs and several other short weapons and ammunition (officially six SLRs). The possible availability of some of these weapons with the dalams operating in Anantapur has forced the police to be on their guard.

New concern

The improvement in the strength of the Maoists from about 25 before the talks to the current 85 is also causing concern to the Anantapur police, particularly after the attack at Venkatammanahalli.

The spurt in Maoist activity forced the SPs of Anantapur and Tumkur, R.S. Praveen Kumar and Muniswamy, respectively, and the DIG of Police of Anantapur Range, N. Jayarami Reddy, to discuss the issue for more than an hour at Venkatammanahalli yesterday.

Decisions like sharing intelligence information and coordination in efforts to contain the Maoist activity were learnt to have been taken by the police officers of the two districts.

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