india

Updated: Sep 24, 2018 00:32 IST

A legislator of Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and one of his party colleagues were killed by Maoists in a daylight attack in Visakhapatnam district, the police said on Sunday, in what is seen as the first major strike by the militants in the state after it was bifurcated in 2014.

Kidari Sarveswara Rao, the 48-year-old MLA of Araku, and Siveri Soma, 52, a former legislator of the constituency, were targeted when they were returning from a government-sponsored ‘village visit’ programme, officials said.

Tension gripped Rao’s constituency after his supporters attacked two police stations, alleging that the police failed to provide security to the leader.

“A group of Maoists came along with the villagers, and blocked the MLA’s car. As the personal security officers of the legislator and the ex-legislator got down, they snatched the AK-47 rifles from them and shot Sarveswara Rao and Soma dead,” Visakhapatnam Range deputy inspector general of police Ch Srikanth told news agency Press Trust of India.

Rao won the Araku constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, as an YSR Congress nominee in 2014. He later joined the TDP.

In July, tribals staged a protest against the MLA for allegedly obtaining a permit for the quarrying of black stones, which locals objected to, according to news agency IANS. His stance in favour of bauxite mining, too, has drawn the ire of Maoists, who have traditionally protested development activities in forest areas.

Counter-insurgency operations in the past few years have resulted in Maoists losing their foothold in Andhra. A major campaign in October 2016 led to the killings of 31 Maoists at Ramguda. It was seen as a revenge for the deaths of 37 Greyhounds personnel at Balimela in 2008.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock after the attack on two of his partymen, saying there was no place for violence in a democracy.

Officials could not confirm how many people were involved in Sunday’s attack. Eyewitnesses said a group of 40-50 Maoists, including women, emerged from the forests, intercepted the MLA’s vehicle and snatched away the weapons of security personnel. Both politicians were shot at a close range. Their bodies were taken to a Visakhapatnam hospital for autopsy.

The incident took place around 1pm near Thutangi village, which is close to the border between Andhra and Odisha, around 125km from Visakhapatnam.

The Maoists were suspected to have infiltrated from Odisha to carry out the operation, Bathina Srinivasulu, the inspector general of Andhra’s Special Intelligence Bureau, told HT. “It’s a planned operation,” he said.

The police were put on high alert after the incident, said director general of police RP Thakur in a press release.