Dantewada town acquitted him of all charges due to lack of evidence
Gopanna acquited by court and arrested again on charges of murder and extortion
Raipur: A day after he was freed from a jail in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district after being acquitted of charges of involvement in Naxal violence, Gajala Goppanna, an alleged member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), was on Wednesday arrested by the police on charges of murder and extortion.
Forty eight-year-old Goppanna, a resident of the Subba Reddy Guddam area in the Nalgonda district of Telangana, was released from Jagdalpur Central jail on Tuesday after a fast track court of Dantewada town acquitted him of all charges due to lack of evidence.
Goppanna had been imprisoned in Jagdalpur jail as an undertrial after he was arrested at Gariaband in Chhattisgarh in 2007 for involvement in Naxal violence. He was one of the eight jailed alleged Naxals whose release was demanded by the Maoists for freeing of former Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, held captive by them some years ago.
“Goppanna has been arrested again on the basis of 5-6 warrants pending against him in Bijapur district (in south Bastar). The due legal process will be followed for handing him over to the Bijapur police,” Bastar superintendent of police (SP) Ajey Yadav told this newspaper.
Forty eight-year-old Goppanna, considered by the security establishment as a ruthless Naxal, is believed to be involved in a number of incidents of Naxal violence leading to the killing of at least 55 security personnel.
He, however, denied any link with Naxals while interacting with local reporters after his release from Jagdalpur jail on Tuesday.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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