Andhra Pradesh   

Maoists losing their hold, says DGP

Staff Reporter

They are gunning down `unmarked targets' to prove their existence, he says

VISAKHAPATNAM: Director General of Police M.A. Basith here on Tuesday has claimed that Maoist activity has decreased in the State.

He was here to inaugurate some development programmes and conduct review meetings with police officers in the region. He visited the agency areas in the morning to take stock of the situation following the murder of Zilla Praja Parishad Vice Chairman S. Ravi Shankar at Hukumpeta on Monday night.

When his attention was drawn to the growing attacks on Congress leaders in view of the State Government's insistence on going ahead with the bauxite mining project against the wishes of tribals, at a media conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Basith said that the Maoists were gunning down `unmarked targets' to prove their existence. While former sarpanches and Home Guards were being targetted in the past, now soft targets like political leaders who were residing in the tribal areas without any fear were being killed.

Mr. Basith described the late Ravi Shankar as a popular leader who took keen interest in promoting development schemes of the Government in the tribal areas. The Maoists were upset over his growing popularity and shot him dead. He said that the police had advised him to take adequate safety precautions but he risked his life by staying in the agency.

New police stations

He said that a Master Plan has been prepared for the city and new police stations would be sanctioned in stages in view of the city graduating into Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. The Government has accepted, in principle, the Master Plan proposal.

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