Top Maoist leader Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna, popularly known as RK who had been missing since the recent encounter at Malkangiri of Odisha in the dense forest of Andhra-Orissa-Border, was safe, said revolutionary writer Varavara Rao here on Thursday.
“We got word that RK is safe,” said Mr. Rao late in the night at his house speaking with mediapersons. Speculation was rife on the whereabouts of RK with unconfirmed reports doing the rounds about his safety while his wife filed a habeas corpus petition in the the High Court of Hyderabad charging that he was in the custody of Andhra Pradesh police. Twenty four Maoists, including some top leaders, got killed in an exchange of fire with the combined forces of Odisha police and Greyhounds -an elite commando force- of Andhra Pradesh at Malkangiri on October 24. Seven more Maoists died in two more such encounters in the next two days taking the toll of Maoists to 31. Soon after the news of the encounter on first day broke, it was reported that CPI-Maoist Central Committee member RK was present at the spot but managed to escape. While the Andhra Pradesh police denied reports that RK was detained by them, civil rights activists and people’s associations expressed apprehensions that his life was under threat.
HC fiat to RK’s wife
Legal Correspondent adds:
A Division Bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday granted two weeks to K. Sirisha, wife of G. Rama Krishna @ RK, Maoist leader, to produce some material — information to substantiate the allegation that RK was in the custody of the Andhra Pradesh police.
The Bench was dealing with a petition filed by Sirisha who complained that after the recent encounter in AP- Odisha border area, RK was taken into police custody, and sought his production in the court.
The A.P. police also filed a counter in the High Court stating that RK was not in their custody and they had no info on the Maoist leader. The court felt that some material to show whether RK was in the custody of police needed to be placed before the Bench. Two weeks was granted to the petitioner to produce the information.
The Maoist leader has been missing since the recent encounter at Malkangiri
