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Two PW commanders killed in gunbattle

By Our Staff Reporter

ADILABAD JULY 4. In a major anti-extremist operation, the Adilabad district police shot dead three People's War action team members including two LGS commanders -- Janjepalli Sridhar alias Shankar and Ippa Hanamanthu alias Narsanna -- in Bellampalli town on Friday evening.

Today's killing of two Local Guerrilla Squad commanders is a severe blow to the already beleaguered PW movement and has sent shock waves in the town. The PW which faced two major reversals in the last three months with the killings of two District Committee Secretaries, is set to plunge into further crisis.

The Superintendent of Police, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, told The Hindu that the police received a tip off that three most wanted action team members were holed up in the house of Posham, a Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) mine worker in the Kannala Basti area. Twentyfive heavily armed special party police and Greyhounds personnel rushed to the colony and cordoned off the area and took positions.

The police appealed to the naxalites to surrender. Hearing the police announcement, Posham and another person, Manikya Rao, who were speaking to the three naxals rushed out and surrendered. In a split second, the police parties came under fire from the trio holed up in the house.

In a fierce gunbattle lasting an hour, the naxals fired several rounds from automatic weapon and hurled grenades forcing the police to take cover and return fire. After the firing stopped, the police searched the house and found the three extremists dead. Police identified the dead as Jaipur LGS commander, Janjepalli Sridhar and Allampalli LGS commander, Ippa Hanamanthu and another armed naxal, who is yet to be identified. Police suspect him to be Krishna, an action team member. The police recovered one carbine, a pistol and a revolver besides some cash and party literature.

Janjepalli Sridhar was the most wanted PW action team leaders by the Adilabad police. Sridhar was involved in over 15 cases of murder. He was part of the PW special guerrilla squad which assassinated the then Sirpur MLA, Palvai Purshottam Rao, in Kagaznagar town in 1999. Sridhar also raided the house of the TDP district chief, Arigela Nageswara Rao, in Asifabad town and made a vain bid on his life. He also participated in the killing of two police personnel in the Bellampalli market area in 1999.

Ippa Hanamanthu served as the Sirpur LGS commander before he was shifted to Allampalli LGS and asked to take charge of the action team also. Krishna, another suspected victim had been an action team member for the last two years.

Our Guntur Staff Reporter writes:

Naxalites killed a Telugu Desam leader, K. Brahma Reddy (45) and his son, Suman Reddy (19), at Veerapauram village of Dachepalli mandal this morning.

According to information reaching the district headquarters, four armed naxalites came to the village centre and called him when he was having tea at a small kiosk at 11 am. Soon, they shot him dead from a point-blank range. When his son tried to prevent them, they also shot him dead. The naxalites killed the TDP leader as part of the Tactical Counter-Offensive Campaign (TCOC).

The PW's district secretary, P. Mohan, called a two-day district bandh on July 5 and 6. The PW announced that it would continue to implement the TCOC effectively. The PW also said that it would prevent the Janmabhoomi programmes and asked officials not to participate in them.

The SP, Ravishankar Ayyanar, said at a press conference that the Durgi police recovered a landmine of 30 kg, 55 gelatin sticks, two claymore mines, two soap-box bombs, one tin bomb, 50 slings, 50 jungle caps, 50 whistle cards, 50 rain sheets from the possession of three naxalites.

Woman naxal Killed: A report From Ongole said a woman naxalite was killed in an encounter with the police in the Nallamala forest, 10 km from Pedarutla, this afternoon.

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