<p>Former Maoist leader Ganti Prasada Rao alias Prasadam was critically injured in a bid on his life in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore town on Thursday. Prasadam, a poet and convener of the Martyr's Committee of Friends and Relatives, was attacked by three unidentified assailants near a government-run hospital in Nellore, 500 km from here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Ganti Prasadam was once released in exchange for Odisha’s Malkangiri district <br />collector. The collector was released after a nine-day captivity when the Odisha government met Maoists’ demands, including the release of Ganti Prasadam, Padma, the wife of top Maoist leader Ramakrishna and another Maoist Sriramulu Srinivas.<br /><br />The assailants fired at him and also attacked him with a knife while he was returning from a meeting. The former Maoist was admitted to hospital, where his condition is stated to be critical. The assailants escaped after the attack. Police said they have formed several teams to arrest them.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Maoist sympathiser and Revolutionary Writers' Association (Virasam) leader Varvara Rao has blamed police for the attack on Ganti Prasadam. “He has no enemies so there is no one other than police to take revenge on him,” he observed.<br />Ganti Prasadam, from Bobbili in Vizianagaram district, was arrested by Odisha Police from Visakhapatnam in 2010, only a few days after Padma and three others were caught at Similiguda in Koraput district. Padma was allegedly on her way to meet her husband in the Narayanpatna forests. Prasadam was said to have facilitated the visit.<br /><br />He had been lodged in Koraput jail till Jan 5, 2011, before the Andhra Pradesh Police took him to Ongole in connection with the 1997 railway track explosion at Julmaly in Guntur district. <br /><br />He was brought back to Odisha in February 2011 after Maoists demanded his release. The Orissa High Court had granted him bail.<br /><br />He was also an accused in various cases, including the attack on then Superintendent of Police of Prakasam district, Mahesh Chandra Ladha in 2005. Prasadam’s brother Ramesh, an active member of Communist Party of India-Maoist, was killed in a shoot-out with police.<br /></p>
<p>Former Maoist leader Ganti Prasada Rao alias Prasadam was critically injured in a bid on his life in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore town on Thursday. Prasadam, a poet and convener of the Martyr's Committee of Friends and Relatives, was attacked by three unidentified assailants near a government-run hospital in Nellore, 500 km from here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Ganti Prasadam was once released in exchange for Odisha’s Malkangiri district <br />collector. The collector was released after a nine-day captivity when the Odisha government met Maoists’ demands, including the release of Ganti Prasadam, Padma, the wife of top Maoist leader Ramakrishna and another Maoist Sriramulu Srinivas.<br /><br />The assailants fired at him and also attacked him with a knife while he was returning from a meeting. The former Maoist was admitted to hospital, where his condition is stated to be critical. The assailants escaped after the attack. Police said they have formed several teams to arrest them.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Maoist sympathiser and Revolutionary Writers' Association (Virasam) leader Varvara Rao has blamed police for the attack on Ganti Prasadam. “He has no enemies so there is no one other than police to take revenge on him,” he observed.<br />Ganti Prasadam, from Bobbili in Vizianagaram district, was arrested by Odisha Police from Visakhapatnam in 2010, only a few days after Padma and three others were caught at Similiguda in Koraput district. Padma was allegedly on her way to meet her husband in the Narayanpatna forests. Prasadam was said to have facilitated the visit.<br /><br />He had been lodged in Koraput jail till Jan 5, 2011, before the Andhra Pradesh Police took him to Ongole in connection with the 1997 railway track explosion at Julmaly in Guntur district. <br /><br />He was brought back to Odisha in February 2011 after Maoists demanded his release. The Orissa High Court had granted him bail.<br /><br />He was also an accused in various cases, including the attack on then Superintendent of Police of Prakasam district, Mahesh Chandra Ladha in 2005. Prasadam’s brother Ramesh, an active member of Communist Party of India-Maoist, was killed in a shoot-out with police.<br /></p>
