Koyyuru mandal — hotbed of naxal activities in Agency

KOYYURU (VISAKHAPATNAM): With nearly 20 out of 35 villages in Koyyuru mandal being Maoist strongholds, the area has witnessed as many as eight encounters in the past 12 years.

Friday’s encounter near Annavaram village is the third such incident in the past one year after security forces killed two hunters Ganga Madkami and Ganga Podiami by mistake at Gadimamidi village in Puttakota forest on February 21 last year. As many as 20 hunters with rifles had come to the area to hunt bisons and sell their meat. However, the deceased were reportedly shown as militia members of Malkangiri area.

Three Maoists including Galikonda Area Committee secretary Gopal alias Azad, Anand and a woman naxal were also killed at Marripakalu forest area in the mandal on May 4 last year. The other encounters in Koyyuru mandal were at Puttakota on July 15, 2005, in which senior leader Malakoti Ramanjaneyulu alias Kailasam alias Ramanna was killed and at Kannavaram on December 5, 2007, where three militia members M Nageswara Rao, M Bangara Raju and Gopala Rao were killed. Two persons including a villager were killed at Gollivasala on November 20, 2010, while East Division Committee member Kadari Ramulu of Warangal was killed on October 7, 2006, at Gurralagondi forest. Woman Maoist Lakshmi alias Rambatti was killed in exchange of fire between Kindagi village and Garikabanda on July 13, 2013.

According to sources, the reason behind more encounters in the mandal is because the naxals take shelter here due to thick forest cover as well as hilly and inaccessible terrain. Former minister Pasupuleti Balaraju was kidnapped at Gudapalli in 1992 as a protest against the check dam works and was released after a month.

Maoists also attacked the polling station at Palakajeedi in Budaralla panchayat during the 2009 and 2014 general elections leading to re-polling. They also attacked the Koyyuru police station with rocket launchers in 2005 but their attempts failed as the rocket failed to hit the target.

The naxals blasted the MRO office and damaged the MPDO office with land mines, beside firing at the Koyyuru police station in 2001. They also blasted TDP MLA MVV Satyanarayana’s house in the early 2000s.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/koyyuru-mandal-hotbed-of-naxal-activities-in-agency/articleshow/57336847.cms