The Hindu : Front Page : Four naxals killed in encounter

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Monday, May 01, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Four naxals killed in encounter

Staff Reporter

Sequel to seizing of two launches from Nagarjunakonda

VIJAYAPURI SOUTH (GUNTUR DT.): On a day of fast-paced developments, five Maoists hijacked two motorised launches along with nine crew members from Nagarjunakonda, but four of them were killed in an encounter at Maddimadugu in Mahabubnagar district on Sunday.

Naxalites seized the launches at 11.30 a.m., took them up to Kallakunta in Veldurthi mandal of Guntur district, blasted them there after releasing all crew members at 4.30 p.m. The Nalgonda police who were hot on the trail of the launches, killed the four Maoists, including a woman cadre, while the naxalites were crossing the river in a `putti,' in Mahabubnagar district.

Tourists safe

The naxalites hijacked the launches from the Nagarjunasagar reservoir in protest against the recent encounters. All 234 tourists on board, who had gone to the island museum, were brought back safely.

The naxalites, all of the armed, reached Nagarjunkonda in `puttis' from Anupu, an Archeological Survey of India-preserved Buddhist site, 5 km upstream the dam in Guntur district, and prevented the tourists from boarding the Shanti Siri and M.L. Krishna launches.

The naxalites told the first batch of tourists that had gone to Nagarjunkonda at 9 a.m. that they would take away the Tourism Department launches and destroy them, but would not harm the crew.

Playing it safe

The Maoists then tied hands of five crew members and asked the drivers of the two launches to keep going.

An employee of Natco Pharmaceuticals residing in Pylon Colony at Nagarjunasagar passed on the information to one of his colleagues and in turn their office informed the launch station here about the hijack around noon. Some passengers also informed the Hill Colony police station. The passengers were brought back at 4.30 p.m. in two launches, each escorted by 15 plainclothes policemen. The police did this to avoid retaliation from naxalites.

Guntur Superintendent of Police B. Sivadhar Reddy, the Nalgonda District Collector and the Superintendent of Police arrived at Vijayapuri South to supervise the rescue operations. Mahabubnagar SP Srinivasa Reddy confirmed the killing of the naxalites.

Mahabubnagar Correspondent adds: The police recovered an SLR and three .303 rifles from the site of encounter. One of the slain naxalites was identified as Bodi Sailu alias Kurmaiah, Central Organiser of the Kalvakolu dalam in Nalgonda district.

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