With the death and surrender of several leaders, the Maoist movement is almost dead in this area, said IG (north coastal zone) Kumar Viswajeet at a press conference held at Narsipatnam on Friday after post-mortem was completed on the bodies of Azad, Galikonda area committee secretary and member of the east division committee of CPI (Maoist), and two other Maoists who were killed in an encounter with the security personnel in the Marripakala area in Koyyuru mandal on Wednesday.
With the division of State, it was time for the Maoists to join the mainstream and help in the development of Andhra Pradesh, said Mr. Viswajeet .
Along with Azad, whose real name is Venkata Ravi Varma Gopala Rao, whose parents have settled down at Karakavanipalem near Pendurthi; Jammuluri Venkata Rao, alias Anand, alias Chinniah, of Veeravaram village in Y. Ramavaram mandal in East Godavari; and Kamala of Pabbiluir village near Anakot in Malkangiri district of Odisha were killed in the encounter.
The IG said it was an encounter and there was no truth in the charges being made by Azad’s family members that it was a fake encounter. An AK 47 rifle, two self-reloading rifles, a pistol, several kit bags, a camera flash, GPS system, mobile phones, a tab, and other material recovered from the spot were displayed at the press conference.
Additional SP (operations) Babujee Attada said the joint forces of Greyhounds and Special Police reached the area on information that the Maoists had gathered there.
