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Maoists seeking to regain foothold in AP, Telangana

Hyderabad - Recent abduction of six Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders and many other incidents are seen as desperate attempts by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) to stage a comeback.

Are the Maoists trying to regain their foothold in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the prolonged lull in their activity? Indications are that the ultras may be attempting just that after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in June last year.
Police sources say that the recent abduction of six Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders from a remote hamlet in Khammam district, sporadic attacks on tribals branding them as police informers and the open threats to the government against taking up bauxite mining in Visakhapatnam district are seen as desperate attempts by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) to stage a comeback.
According to the sources, there are indications of Naxalites attempting to regroup themselves on the AP-Odisha, AP-Chhattisgarh and Telangana-Chhattisgarh borders and reviving local "dalams" (armed squads).There have also been incidents of attacks targeting public properties and local politicians in the tribal-dominated Adilabad district.
Over 45 Maoist-related incidents, including killings and exchange of fire, have been reported since January in AP and Telangana. After being driven out of the combined AP state more than a decade ago, the Maoists now appear to be regrouping, particularly in the areas bordering Chhattisgarh. It began with stray incidents of pamphlets surfacing in some villages, warning the locals not to be informers, threatening politicians and landlords and warning the authorities of severe action if they did not halt combing operations.
The death of two young Maoists - Sruthi alias Mahitha, 23 and M Vidyasagar Reddy alias Sagar, 32 - in a police encounter in Warangal district in September signalled a spurt in naxal activity.
In Khammam district, the Maoists have intensified a poster campaign as a precursor to their planned celebrations of People's Guerrilla Army (PGA) week early next month. "The activities of Maoists are reactions to the government atrocities. The government is trying to suppress the movement at any cost. But, it cannot stop youth from joining the movement. It is a direct result of the government failure to provide employment to the youth in the State. In a testimony to growing desperation among jobless youth, as many as 36 highly educated young men and women went underground to join the Maoist movement just in the last two months," said noted revolutionary poet and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao.

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