AP cops arrest woman Maoist leader

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh East Godavari police on Saturday arrested senior woman Maoist Sake Kalavathi alias Bhavani.

Bhavani, 45 is a member of the Pedabayalu Area Committee. A native of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Bhavani joined the outfit two decades ago. She rose to become a Maoist area committee member and married Maoist leader Pedanna, alias Jagan, the Maoist state zonal committee member. She was injured in the exchange of fire with police in VIizag Agency and she managed to escape from the spot and reached in a village of neighbouring East Godavari district. She received two bullet injuries. While she was talking shelter in the house of a tribal, she was caught by the security forces in East Godavari

East Godavari superintendent of police Adnan Nayeem Asmi said, “Bhavani was injured in the recent exchange of fire that took place at Madigamallu areas in Vizag Agency on September 22. Security forces (combing parties), found that the villages in Buradhakota area under the Gurthedu police station limits, in East Godavari, had given shelter and provided treatment to Bhavani.”

Police shifted Bhavani to the Government Hospital at Rajahmundry. Mr Adnana Nayeem said, “We will produce Bhavani before the court once she has recovered from her injuries.”

Vizag Rural police chief, Babujee Attada, said that Bhavani is involved in over 33 cases, including murder cases at various police stations in the Vizag Agency limits. We appeal to the Maoists to shun violence and surrender before the police.

Police said that the bodies of the five Maoists who were killed during the exchange of fire have been kept at the Government Hospital at Narsipatnam in Vizag district. “If the relatives of the deceased approach the police, we will hand over the bodies to them,” the police said.

Sources said that during the encounter some of the top Maoists managed to escape. It was the presence of the radio sets at the spot that gave police got to know, that the rebels were trying to intercept the communication of the security forces. The police said that Maoists using radios to try to intercept police communication is an old technique. So we use scramblers to distort our communication, the police added.