The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Maoist held in Hyderabad

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Saturday, Jan 05, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Maoist held in Hyderabad

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO: G. Krishnaswamy

Cornered: S. Prabhakar Reddy, Commissioner of Cyberabad Police, displays the AK 47 seized from Srinu (standing behind) in Hyderabad on Friday. Beside him is M. Kantha Rao, DCP (LB Nagar).

HYDERABAD: A Maoist squad member who planned to extort huge sums of money from businessmen in Rangareddy district and later surrender to the police was arrested from Vanasthalipuram locality on Friday. The police also recovered an AK-47 assault rifle with 50 bullets from his possession.

The Maoist, identified as D. Srinu alias Vikram, was allegedly involved in the killing of Amangal Mandal Prarishad president Panthu Naik in Mahabubnagar district recently. The assault rifle recovered from him was snatched by naxals after they blasted a landmine at Laxmapur village in Mahabubnagar district ten years ago. A police Sub-Inspector and four constables were killed in the blast.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner S. Prabhakar Reddy told newsmen that Srinu (21) was taken into custody when he allegedly tried to extort Rs. 10 lakh from a businessman. Mr. Reddy said that Srinu along with Shyam, member of the Mahabubnagar District Committee, and Shekhar, a squad member, had extorted money from five persons. The other two Maoists had already surrendered before the Mahabubnagar police two days ago.

Srinu had earlier collected at gunpoint Rs. 10,000 from the businessman in Vanasthalipuram in December. He had gone to the same businessman again with a fresh demand for Rs. 10 lakh. But this time, the police was tipped off and a team from Vanasthalipuram station lay in wait for Srinu. The arrested naxalite is a native of Tirumalapur village in Mahabubnagar. Srinu and Shekhar allegedly participated in the killing of Panthu Naik at Maisigandi on December 1. He was also accused of killing a Congress leader, Muddula Rao, at Thimmayapally village on June 28, 2005 and a ration shop dealer S. Narasimha at Ajilapur village five months later.

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