Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday expressed shock over the killing of his party MLA and a former legislator by Naxals in Visakhapatnam district on Sunday and said that it was an ‘attack on democracy’.
Naidu, who is currently visiting the United States, sent a message condemning the killings, and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said that such attacks and killings are a "scar on humanity".
45-year-old K Sarveswara Rao, TDP MLA from the Araku (Reserved-Scheduled Tribe) seat and his party colleague and former MLA Siveri Soma (52), were gunned down by Naxals near Thutangi village in Dambriguda mandal, about 125 km from the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
As relatives and supporters of the slain leaders attacked two police stations to protest against the alleged police failure to protect them, Naidu appealed to the people to maintain calm. The Chief Minister directed senior Cabinet colleague Kala Venkatrao to rush to the district.
Meanwhile, Governor for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan also issued a condolence message to the families of the two political leaders and instructed officials to take necessary precautions and ensure the safety of the people.
Speaking to reporters in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, DIG Srikanth said that around 15 to 20 Naxals allegedly stopped the vehicle in which the politicians were travelling and snatched weapons from security personnel before shooting the two political leaders at point blank range. Visuals of the incident showed the bullet-ridden bodies of the two politicians lying in a pool of blood. Both of them were reported to have died on the spot.
Sarveswara Rao was reported to be on the Naxal hit-list, and the attacks may have been carried out as it came close on the heels of September 21, the formation day of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
While Naxal influence in the state has been declining over the years, they continue to operate out of the thick forests along the Andhra-Odisha border.
Chandrababu Naidu himself is under the ‘Z plus’ category protection after he survived a claymore mine attack by Naxals on October 1, 2003 in Tirupati. Naidu, who was then the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, had sustained injuries in the blast.
IANS inputs