Andhra Pradesh   

``I was paid Rs. 25 lakhs for rockets, launchers''

Staff Reporter

Says he manufactured rockets, launchers at the instance of top Maoist leaders

Photo: M.Murali

LONG WAIT: "Tech Madhu" with his wife at the Warangal SP's office after his surrender on Saturday.

WARANGAL: `Tech Madhu', whose real name is Thota Kumaraswamy, was produced before the media along with his wife Sivakavi Sudha Rani by the Warangal Range Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ravi Gupta, and Superintendent of Police Soumya Mishra, several days after he surrendered.

A wanted Maoist, `Tech Madhu', thus named because of his technical skills in making weaponry, said he manufactured some 1,550 rockets and 40 launchers at the instance of the top CPI (Maoist) leadership. As these weapons were never deployed in any operation but only test-fired, he could not comment on their efficacy. Tech Madhu said he was paid Rs 25 lakhs to manufacture and supply rockets and launchers in Chennai.

Two phases

These weapons, he said, were manufactured in two phases. In a pilot project prior to the 2004 Assembly elections, he was asked to make 25 rockets with launch pads. Five rockets each were distributed to Anantapur, Guntur and Nallamalla forest area while the rest were tested or retained for further modification. He received these instructions from top leaders, including Central Military Commission member, Sande Rajamouli alias Krishna, Central committee member, Akkiraju Hara Gopal alias Ramakrishna, State military commission members Sakhamuri Appa Rao and Matta Ravi Kumar alias Sreedhar, who was killed in an encounter recently, he said.

The second phase was aimed at developing shoulder-fired rockets. These were despatched to Darsi and Kandukur in Prakasam district, Mahbubnagar and Kadapa. The remaining were damaged during transportation. Half the rockets sent to Darsi were later recovered by the police.

Long-standing differences

"These consignments were sent from Chennai to Vijayawada and Vedapalayam in Nellore district for onward despatch to other places in Andhra Pradesh," he said. `Tech Madhu' said that on learning about the recovery of the rockets, his wife and he fled from Chennai on his motorcycle to Thiruvallur where they boarded a train on September 9.

He said he had long-standing differences with the Maoist leadership, as it was not taking the cadre into confidence.

The party had deviated from its objective of building people's movement and, of late, was focussing on strengthening the military wing and on attacks.

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