JOIN USMaoists kill abducted TDP leader in AP
Maoists have shot dead a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.
The slain TDP leader, identified as Sagina Venkataramana, was abducted from his home in Jerrila village of GK Veedhi mandal in Visakhapatnam district on Tuesday.
While Venkataramana was killed as a mark of protest against the ruling party allowing bauxite ore mining in the tribal areas of the district, another tribal—Sivayya—of Sariyapalli of Manchangiputta mandal was killed on Tuesday after being suspected as a police informer.
The body of Venkataramana, 36, was recovered by the police after the killers tipped off the local tribals on Wednesday morning.
His house was also burnt by the extremists.
Venkataramana was a former sarpanch and market-yard chairman.
Security was heightened for the leaders of the ruling party in the tribal mandals of the district following the incident.
The Maoists have warned the TDP government through hand-written wall posters that they will continue to punish those who have been supporting mining activity in the tribal areas of Araku and Paderu.
In June last year, the Maoists had abducted three TDP leaders.
It was only after an assurance by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that he would not act against the tribals’ wishes that the Maoists had released all the three leaders unharmed.
However, by July, the TDP government decided to allow bauxite mining in the Eastern Ghats forest areas in Visakhapatnam district irking the Opposition and civil rights organisations. The TDP government permitted bauxite mining in over 3,000 acres in Narsipatnam forest division of the north coastal region.
Vishakhapatnam-based Human Rights Forum (HRF) felt Opposition parties like the Congress and YSRCP have no moral right to talk about exploitation of the natural wealth in the Visakhapatnam Agency region accusing them of doing the same when in power and hand over the bauxite to private players. It alleged that Naidu had as the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2000 tried to hand over bauxite mining to a Dubai-based private company, hence accusing the TDP as the original culprit.
The HRF also alleged the controversial GO 97 (issued on November 5, 2015) by the AP government, was not shown to the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC). It argued that the TAC ratification is mandatory under the 5th Schedule of the Constitution. Meanwhile, the AP government cancelled mining rights of Laterite ore in villages of Sarugudu panchayat in Natavaram mandal.