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Top Maoist leader gunned down in Andhra Pradesh


HYDERABAD: In a major blow to the Maoists, their top leader and spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was killed in a gunfight with police in Andhra Pradesh Friday, police claimed.

The shootout took place near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from here.

Another Maoist guerrilla, who is yet to be identified, was also killed. Police also recovered an AK-47, a 9mm pistol and two kit bags from the scene of the gunfight.

Azad, who carried a reward of Rs.12 lakh on his head, was a member of the central committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Hailing from Krishna district, he was associated with the Maoist movement for four decades.

Following the killing of Azad, security agencies have sounded a high alert in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhatttisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Azad was gunned down by police two days after Maoists killed 27 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chhattisgarh.



Top Maoist leader gunned down in Andhra Pradesh - India - The Times of India
 
Maoist leader Azad had gone 'missing' in March


Top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, who was killed by police in Andhra Pradesh early Friday, had apparently gone 'missing' four months ago.

The politburo member and chief spokesperson of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) had gone 'missing' March 12. The Maoist outfit had alleged that the Special Investigations Bureau of Andhra Pradesh Police had picked him up and it even threatened revenge if security forces harmed him.

There were apprehensions that Azad could be killed in a 'fake encounter'. However, Maoists issued a second statement March 21, saying he was safe.

But Dandakaranya special zone committee's spokesperson Gudsa Usendi had informed the central leadership of CPI-Maoist that Azad remained untraceable.

He was supposed to meet Shakamuri Apparao March 12 somewhere in Maharashtra. However, Apparao and another Maoist, Kondal Reddy, were killed in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh the same day.

The Maoists suspected that the police picked up Azad along with Apparao and kept them in illegal custody. The confusion was because Azad could not contact top leaders for a week and also did not reach the base in Dandakaranya March 17. The dense Dandakaranya forest touches Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Azad's mother Cherukuri Karuna had also moved the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), complaining that there was a threat to her son's life. She demanded that he be produced immediately in court.

The SHRC directed the Director General of Andhra Pradesh Police R.R. Girish Kumar to submit a report to the commission. The police chief informed the commission that Azad was not in police custody.

Police claim that Azad was killed in a gunfight with policemen around 3 a.m. in the forests near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from here

After Azad's killing Friday, Maoists have alleged that the Andhra police picked him up in Maharashtra and eliminated him in a staged shootout.



Maoist leader Azad had gone 'missing' in March
 
Good job AP police!! We need to knock down few of these ba$tards on a daily basis.
 
Top Maoist leader gunned down in APHyderabad: Top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, considered second in the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) hierarchy, was gunned down by police in Andhra Pradesh Friday.

Azad, who was also spokesperson of the outlawed group, was killed in a gunfight with police around 3 a.m. in the forests near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from here, police said.

Another Maoist guerrilla, who is yet to be identified, was also killed. Police also recovered an AK-47, a 9 mm pistol and two kit bags from the scene of the alleged gunfight.

Azad's killing is a major blow to the Maoist outfit as he was considered the second key leader in the party hierarchy after politburo member Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji.

He carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head and was a member of the politburo politburo of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Hailing from Krishna district, he was associated with the Maoist movement for four decades.

The police, however, did not give details of the incident.

Officials said Azad was involved in dozens of murders, including the killing of Congress legislator Narsa Reddy and a failed assassination attempt on former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Janardhan Reddy.

The CPI-Maoist has alleged that Azad was killed in a staged shootout. The outlawed outfit has said police picked up Azad in Nagpur, Maharashtra, brought him to Adilabad and killed him.

Maoist sympathiser and revolutionary writer Varavara Rao said here that he would approach the high court against the "fake encounter" and seek that cases be filed against the policemen involved.

This comes as the second biggest blow to Maoist movement after the arrest of London-educated leader and ideologue Kobad Ghandy in New Delhi last year.

Like Ghandy, Azad was also seen as the intellectual face of the outfit. Azad, who did his MTech in Warangal, used to write articles for magazines on Maoist ideology.

Following Azad's death, security agencies have sounded a high alert in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhatttisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Azad was gunned down by police two days after Maoists killed 27 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chhattisgarh.Top Maoist leader gunned down in Andhra Pradesh
 
Hyderabad: Breaking News! The Andhra Pradesh Police admitted that the "unidentified" person, who was killed along with Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias "Azad", was a freelance journalist.



The freelance journalist was identified as Hemchandra Pandey, who was working with the Hindi newspaper Nayi Duniya in Chhattisgarh. The Adilabad police dubbed him as a Maoist.



The encounter took place on Friday near Jogapur in Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. Azad, who was also a key spokesperson for the Maoists, carried a cash reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head. He was associated with the Maoist movement for over 40 years.



Journalist killed along with Maoist Leader Azad
 
What a journalist from Chhattisgarh was doing in Andhra Pradesh with a Top hardcore Maoist leader???????

He must also be a Maoist as they work behind the facade of journalist, human rights activist, social worker etc.
 
As a responsible Indian citizen,it was his[reporter\\\'s] duty to inform about the whereabouts of the anti-social elements. Instead,he was working with them and the fact that he works for the media is even more disturbing :x. Kudos to the AP police for killing a fit for nothing person.
 
People, please don't pass judgement about the dead person without any proof. Journalists often meet top maoist leaders (Azad was into public relations) and maoists arrange it. In such meetings the journalist has no clue about the whereabouts of the leadership and still they risk their lives to do their job.

Whether media should or should not give publicity to maoists and their PR is a different question, a policy matter for newspaper management and not the field journalist. So its possible that he was innocent - we don't know. since we don't know, lets just show respect to the dead. A request.
 

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