Warangal Collector fired at, injured

By N. Rahul

ETURUNAGARAM (WARANGAL), FEB. 12 The Warangal Collector, Mr. Adityanath Das, was fired at by naxalites of the People's War Group (PWG) here on Monday while returning to the district headquarters town, 110 km. from here, in his official car minutes after he concluded the 47th governing body meeting of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA).

Mr. Das suffered a minor pellet injury over his right shoulder bone while the car driver, Mr. K. Sambaiah, was injured in his right leg as the bullets pierced through the front right door of the car. The escort police party of the Collector, which was going in a van, was trailing by a good hundred yards from the scene of firing.

The Collector's car, which was said to be going at a speed of 80 km., gradually came to a halt as the firing by naxalites from a distance from both sides of the road started all of a sudden. The firing ceased as soon as it started. The escort vehicle reached the spot immediately and the constables swiftly shifted the Collector into their vehicle to drive ahead. The escort party was in two minds whether to rush to the spot or remain grounded there in the face of firing but the van driver mustered enough courage to proceed as soon as gun shots were not heard.

The Collector's driver and the car were abandoned in the confusion. The naxalites fired one or two more sporadic shots at the vehicles which were following and escaped. One shot burst the tyre of a Forest Department vehicle, which was behind the escort party van.

Two hours after the incident, Mr. Das looked unfazed as he was driven in a wheel chair and given medical attention at MGM Hospital at Warangal.

A head constable, Mr. K. Subbaiah, who was in the escort party, said 10 to 15 rounds were fired at the car soon after it passed the check-post of the Forest Department, one km. from Eturunagaram mandal headquarters village.

The escort vehicle driver, Mr. P. Sambaiah, said he did not know what was happening ahead as the gradient of the road obstructed the vision. The Collector's car was going at great speed which left his vehicle way behind.

The Collector was accompanied by the Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife Management), Mr. B. Srinivas, who was sitting on the left side in the rear seat, and his camp clerk, Mr. Ramesh, and a gunman and the driver who occupied the front seat. Except, the Collector and the driver no one else was injured.

The car driver was shifted to a private hospital at Warangal by one of the vehicles which followed later on. The police prevented the fleet of vehicles of district-level officers from driving down as they heard of the firing.

The incident occurred at a spot where there were sprawling plains on either side of the road and a terrain at a distance. A little ahead was thick vegetation and huge teak trees at the edge of the road. This road often sees deer and monkeys running across as the vehicles pass.

The Collector had resumed duty only on Saturday after a ten-day holiday at his native Bihar town. On return here, he had admitted his mother for illness at a private hospital. He was attending on his mother regularly and on Sunday night too he was with her till past midnight.

He stuck to the schedule of attending a programme at the district courts complex when the Chief Justice of the A.P. High Court and four other judges were present on Saturday. Again on Monday, he promptly left for the ITDA governing body meeting which, however, commenced at 11.30 AM and continued till 4.30 PM.

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