War Against Maoists In India

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Maoists call for bandh, Azad cremated

PTI | Hyderabad/Kolkata/Raipur

pioneer.com

Rattled by the killing of its top leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, the banned CPI (Maoist) on Sunday called for a two-day strike from July 7 and vowed to avenge his death, prompting authorities to beef up security in Naxal-hit areas.



The body of Azad, a senior member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee who was killed in an encounter in Adilabad district on Friday, was today cremated at Punjagutta crematorium in Hyderabad in the presence of his family members and a large number of people including Maoist sympathisers and revolutionary poets- Varavara Rao and Kalyan Rao.



In a statement, the the CPI (Maoist) alleged that Azad was "murdered" by intelligence agencies of the Centre and Andhra Pradesh government.



Hailing Azad, who was the Maoist spokesman, it said he has become the "mind and soul of Indian revolution through his consistent and efficient work" and vowed to avenge his death.



Stating that it was apparent that the Centre does not want talks, Maoist leader Kishenji, who has been active in West Bengal, called for a 48-hour 'Bharat Bandh' from July 7 to protest against the killing.



Kishenji alleged that Azad was arrested in Nagpur along with another Maoist Sukdeb and taken 150 km to Adilabad where both were shot dead.



Apprehending Maoist backlash, authorities in Chhattisgarh, which has been facing the brunt of Maoist violence, have sounded an alert in the state.



Police have been asked to tighten vigil as the Maoists may carry out a major strike in retaliation against the killing of Azad, top officials said in Raipur.



Nearly 200 people, including security personnel have died in naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh in the last three months.



Kishenji said from an undisclosed location that Azad, who was in his 50's, had been proceeding to Dandakaranya for a meeting of the CPI (Maoist) central committee when he was caught by the police.



He claimed that the committee was to discuss developments in the context of Union Home Minister [color="#FF0000"]P Chidambaram's recent communication to social activist Swami Agnivesh on talks with Maoists.[/color]



Criticising the central and Andra Pradesh leaderships, Kishenji said, "It's apparent that the Centre does not want talks because it is speaking of dialogue and yet killing our members."



Referring to the chief ministers' meet convened on July 24 to decide on whether to use the Indian Air Force (IAF) for anti-Maoist operations, Kishenji said the IAF should not be used against poor people.



"You are Indian citizens, you should not use your guns on the poor," he said in an appeal to the IAF.



Azad, who carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head, was allegedly involved in attempts on the lives of two former Andhra Pradesh chief ministers N Chandrababu Naidu and N Janardhan Reddy.

So Agnivesh, another Commie is involved in chit-chat.