Visakhapatnam: While suspense on the whereabouts of Maoist top gun Akkiraju Haragopal alias RK continues, family members, front groups and rights activists on Thursday alleged that he was in police custody. Likewise, the fate of other top leaders, Gajarla Ravi and Chalapathi has also remained unknown.
Maoist sympathisers claimed that both RK and Ravi are in the custody of the police and demanded their immediate release. However, Vizag SP Rahul Dev Sarma denied the arrest of RK and other leaders.
Initially when the encounter took place on the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) area in Malkangiri jungle on Monday it was confirmed that RK, who is the head of AOB committee, and Gajarla Ravi, secretary of Malkangiri-Koraput divisional committee, were present at the spot but gave the slip to security forces.
Later it emerged that both were wounded and had taken shelter in the jungle. To capture them, intensive combing was launched over the past three days.
Dismissing the allegations that Maoist leaders were in police custody, Superintendent of Police (Visakha Rural), Rahul Dev Sharma said on Thursday that Maoist leaders Ramakrishna alias RK and Gajarla Ravi and few others were not in their custody after the excha-nge of fire in Malkangiri district on Monday.
Talking to newsmen, he pointed out that there is no need to hide if RK and others were in custody.
“Varavara Rao and some others of various organisations might have not been getting any communication on the whereabouts of RK through the-ir own channel after the incident and he is trying this way to elicit some in-formation,’’ the SP said.
Replying to a question, he said that they were ready to provide medical aid to rebels if RK and others were injured. Cops had done so in the case of two Maoists recently.
“We had no proper infor-mation that RK was present there,” he added.
“RK is in police custody and he should be released immediately. Police are responsible for whatever happens to him,” said Prof Haragopal of Telangana Democratic Forum.
AP Civil Liberties Committee, district president T. Srirama Murthy alleged that the police have some leaders and activists other than RK and Ravi in their custody.
“Police are looking for some more to wipe them out from the AOB zone. Those who died yesterday and today were in their custody since Monday. They are being killed one after the other and cops are announcing that they were killed in the encounter,’ said Mr Murthy.
