Andhra Pradesh: NIA team in Vizag to probe missing woman’s case

Radha, a nursing student, was allegedly kidnapped by the Maoists and forcefully inducted into the movement in 2017

Officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) came to Visakhapatnam on June 23 (Thursday) to investigate the case of a woman who had been missing since 2017.

Pallepati Pochamma, a resident of Ranga Reddy district in Telangana, had lodged a complaint stating that her daughter, Radha, a nursing student, was kidnapped three years ago by members of the Chaitanya Mahila Sangham (CMS), a frontal organisation of the CPI (Maoist), and inducted into the Maoist movement forcibly.

In her complaint, Ms. Pochamma said her daughter was taken away by the Maoist leaders and CMS activists under the pretext of providing treatment to someone in the Maoist fold.

Ms. Pochamma also said that her daughter was brought to the Pedabayalu forest area in the erstwhile Visakhapatnam Agency, which is now part of Alluri Sitharamaraju district, and brainwashed by the Maoist leaders to join the movement.

Based on her complaint, the NIA officials came to Visakhapatnam and visited Pedabayalu police station, where cases had been booked under relevant IPC sections and also under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act.

It is learnt that the Maoist leaders such as Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, secretary of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zone Committee (AOBSZC), Aruna, Devendra, Dubasi, Swapna, and Shilpa are the main accused in Radha's kidnap case.