APCLC leader hacked to death

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, FEB. 18. The Nalgonda district secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), Azam Ali, was hacked to death by two unidentified persons near Ambedkar Bhavan in Nalgonda town this morning.

Azam Ali was making a phone call from an STD booth when a sword- wielding youth attacked him. He fended himself and began running away when the two youths chased him for about 10 yards and hacked him to death. The duo were stated to have escaped as people ran helter-skelter.

Incidentally, Azam Ali was one of the organisers of a condolence meeting of APCLC leader, Purushotham, who was also hacked to death in Hyderabad by a gang of surrendered naxalites led by Naimuddin a few months earlier.

The brutal killing of Azam Ali has sent shock waves among civil liberties activists as well as residents of Nalgonda town. Minutes later, the police were informed about the killing. The District S.P., Mr. B. Shivdhar Reddy, had ordered sealing of the district headquarters. According to reports reaching here, police were checking all vehicles and teams were keeping a watch on bus stations.

In a statement, Mr. K.G. Kannabiran, president, People's Union for Civil Liberties, said Azam Ali was killed by a ``vigilante'' group organised by the State. ``This crime is not a spontaneous reaction. It needs planning. The manner of execution of the crime in broad daylight puts a premium on our silence,'' he said.

The balladeer, Gaddar, also condemned the killing.

In a statement, he described the killing of Ali, a teacher by profession, as a ``murder of democracy''. He said the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, should own up moral responsibility of the killing.

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Section  : Southern States
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