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Andhra Pradesh
By A. Saye Sekhar
The Director-General of Police, P. Ramulu, during his recent visit to Guntur, went to the extent of alleging that militants of Morjampadu were responsible for the killing of the Piduguralla Circle Inspector (CI), Y. Brahmaiah, and two other constables in a landmine blast. He said the blasting of claymore mines near Brahmamgari temple near Adigoppula in which four Greyhounds were killed was also the handiwork of the militants. However, the police, in their press release after the Chandrajupalem encounter in which three persons were killed in November, specifically mentioned that two of them were accused in the two aforesaid incidents. They were surely not militants. While one of them, Gayam Adi Reddy alias Siva, was the deputy commander of the Bellamkonda dalam, the other person, Iswar alias Madhav, was the commander of the central Palnadu zone local guerrilla squad (LGS). The police, however, did not specify any cases against the AIPRF member who was also killed in the encounter. Interestingly, the Superintendent of Police, Ravishankar Ayyanar, also said that the violence was being unleashed by militants only. Even the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Ray Vinayranjan, said the other day that the "dalam'' had not been sighted for at least 20 days. The DGP was even more forthcoming. He went on to say that the dalams -- Chandravanka, Naguleti, Bellamkonda, South Krishnapatti and Nallamala -- which were operating in the district were sighted at Amrabad in Mahbubnagar district almost a week ago. Of course, Dr. Ayyanar described the difference between a militant and "dalam'' member (full-fledged naxalite) as the one between a "constable and an IPS officer'' in police or a "stringer and a staff reporter'' in newspapers. However, this theory of militants participating in the field is being scotched off as a "conspiracy theory'' by rights activists. They say the police are trying to obtain a "licence to kill'' even civilians in the garb of militants. The Human Rights Forum (HRF) convener, B. Chandrasekhar, felt that the DGP tried to "justify'' the killing of "unarmed persons'' by saying that the naxalites trained the "civilians alias militants'' in killing the policemen. Mr. Chandrasekhar also took exception to the observations made by the DGP that the "police would now shoot to kill. The civilian life would be thoroughly disturbed. Buses would be stopped. Even kids hailing from affected areas would be viewed with an eye of suspicion.'' He felt that such statements might bolster the sagging morale of the policemen. But, the top cop of the State should have thought of what message his statement would send to people. The State vice-president of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, P. Raja Rao, said that the remarks of the DGP and other senior police officers were "unbecoming of '' their stature. Referring to the statement of the DGP that the "police are like wounded tigers on the prowl,'' Mr. Raja Rao said that likening human beings to tigers was only depicting that the police would attack anybody without any discrimination. But, Dr. Ayyanar said that he, being a doctor by qualification, knew the value of life and that innocent people would not be targeted.
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