A poster allegedly put up by Maoists created tension in the town on Wednesday.
A Maoist poster in the name of Khammam- Karimanagar and Warangal district committee secretary Damodar was found near the proposed site of the open cast – II mine in the town. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is planning to acquire the site for the new open cast mine.
The poster said that the Maoist party was against land acquisition and alleged that the State government was forcibly acquiring land belonging to SCs and STs therby rendering them landless.
Speaker’s name
It also said that Assembly Speaker S. Madhusudhana Chary and his three sons were cheating people and they would be taught a lesson. The very mention of the Speaker added to the tension.
However, speaking to The Hindu , a senior police officer said they were inquiring into the veracity of the poster. According to him, the language and the tone and tenor of the poster was not that of the Maoist party. “I don’t think it was put up by Maoists, but more an act of some miscreants. The posters that surfaced in Venkatapuram mandal in July were put up by Maoists or their sympathisers. But this one in Bhupalpalli does not seem to be the handiwork of Maoists,” he explained.
According to sources, some of the influential people were also losing land for the open cast mine. They could have resorted to this to slow down the process.
Other reasons
The police view it more as a land dispute or political rivalry rather than a problem of Maoists.
“There is a chance for such act of putting up posters by Maoists or sympathisers in interior places abutting the Godavari such as Wazedu, Venkatapuram and Euturunagaram but not in Bhupalpalli town which is fool proof from the security point of view. We will soon find out the miscreants behind the poster,” the police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police R. Bhaskaran said they were checking the veracity of the poster.
