Mandal chief, teacher shot dead

By Our Staff Reporter

WARANGAL, SEPT. 13. The Mandal Parishad President of Chitial, belonging to the TDP, Mr. Kasarla Surendar Reddy (40), and a teacher who is functioning as Mandal Literacy Organiser of Chitial, Mr. Anumala Venkatram Reddy (36), were shot dead by People's War Group (PWG) naxalites at the crossroads leading to Jukal village on Regonda-Chitial highway on Thursday morning.

A gunman of Mr. Surendar Reddy, Mr. Mohd. Ahmed Pasha, and a Mandal Education Officer, Mr. Sudarshan Reddy, suffered injuries in the firing and have been admitted to a private hospital here.

The Home Minister, Mr. T. Devendar Goud, the School Education Minister, Mr. Kadiam Srihari, the Warangal MP, Mr. B. Venkateswarlu, and Hanamkonda MP, Mr. Chada Suresh Reddy, flew to Parkal to pay homage to the slain TDP leader after post-mortem examination of the body. The Home Minister condemned the brutal killing of Mr. Surendar Reddy and said the naxalites were following an outdated ideology.

According to the Parkal Additional Superintendent of Police, Mr. V. Viswa Prasad, the victims were among nine persons travelling by a Tata Sumo from Warangal to Chitial to attend a Village Education Committee meeting when the vehicle was intercepted by naxalites hiding among roadside bushes near a culvert around 11.30 AM. The gunman of Mr. Surendar Reddy noticed a turbaned person standing on the road under suspicious circumstances and alerted the driver, who stopped the vehicle.

Even as Mr. Pasha got down and shouted at that person enquiring as to who he was eight to ten naxalites came out of the hiding and started firing in his direction from about 50 mts. Mr. Pasha ducked and crept his way into the maize fields nearby.

The naxalites then closed in on the vehicle and approached the other occupants. The associates of Mr. Surendar Reddy, Mr. Nalla Sammi Reddy, sarpanch of Jadalpet, Mr. Kamidi Ratnakar Reddy, former president of Chitial mandal unit of the TDP, and a surrendered naxalite, who were all occupying the rear seat, raised their voice against the naxalites even as the latter kept shouting slogans and asked their identity.

CM condemns killings

According to a report from Hyderabad, the Chief Minister, Mr. N.Chandrababu Naidu, condemned the killings. He criticised the act of extremists of injuring a gunman and a Mandal Education Officer, according to a press release issued by the Chief Minister's Office.

Mr. Naidu instructed the Home Minister, Mr. T.Devender Goud, and the Minister for School Education, Mr. K.Srihari, to rush to the spot immediately for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.

In a condolence message, he said the extremists had stooped down to a level where they were `ensuring that education still remained a distant dream to the poor.'

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Next     : Naidu plea to help Indian victims' kin