HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Congress MLA Chittam Narsi Reddy and eight others were killed by an `action team' of CPI (Maoist) in Narayanpet town of Mahabubnagar district of the State on Independence Day.

The assailants, suspected to be members of the Nallamala `action team', sprayed bullets with two AK-47 assault rifles as the MLA was about to lay the foundation stone for a road in a Dalitwada. Mr. Narsi Reddy, his youngest son, C. Venkateshwar Reddy, Narayanpet Municipal Commissioner D.V. Ram Mohan were among the nine persons killed on the spot.

Seventeen were injured. Four of them — Revenue Divisional Officer Shiva Reddy, principal of Suryalakshmi Degree College Sudershan Reddy, Market Committee Chairman Ghanshyan Dharaka, and Arif, car driver of Mr. Venkateshwar Reddy, were in a serious condition and rushed to a hospital here.

At 1.30 p.m., eyewitnesses said, the MLA offered a coconut to the foundation plaque and asked the RDO to follow suit as a gathering of about 60 people watched. Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire and the MLA fell dead in a heap along with his gunman Raja Reddy, his driver Srinivas, an employee, Sahebanna, Congress workers Lokeshwar Reddy, Ravinder Goud and Monappa Gowd, apart from the Municipal Commissioner. The armed men then walked over to a car in which the MLA's son was seated and shot him too. The MLA's second gunman was said to have fled the spot along with the crowd.

Police sounded a red alert throughout the Telangana region and areas adjoining the Nallamala forest in the wake of the attack, easily the biggest on civilians since the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Government decided against extending the ban on naxalites in May 2004. They also rushed a large contingent of armed men and launched combing operations around Narayanpet.

The Chief Minister who spoke to the media after presiding over an emergency meeting with the Director-General of Police, Intelligence chief K. Aravinda Rao and other senior police officials, appeared furious at the attack on 76-year-old Narsi Reddy, a non-controversial leader, who was not on the naxalites' hit list.

Dr. Reddy told reporters that the Government was seriously considering re-imposing the ban on the naxalite outfits and going in hot pursuit after the armed squads. He said the Maoists were provoking the Government to take such a decision even though it had displayed extraordinary patience.

The Chief Minister, who had earlier in the day appealed to the naxalites to join the national mainstream and lay down arms, dismissed a query whether his Government had any plans to resume peace talks with the Maoists, which broke down in October last. He later flew by helicopter to Narayanpet for a first hand appraisal.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is deputing AICC general secretary and in-charge of party affairs for Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh to attend the funeral of Mr. Narsi Reddy. Mr. Singh is also carrying her condolence message to the families of victims.

PCC president Keshava Rao and Home Minister K. Jana Reddy will accompany him to Dhanwada village in Mahabubnagar district where the funeral will be held on Tuesday.

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