Funeral held for Maoist Swami killed in Gadchiroli encounter
They described the killing of those fighting for people’s rights under “Operation Kagaru” as cruel and said that Loketi Chander Rao and his family had fought for the rights of the poor.
Kamareddy: The funeral rites of Maoist leader Loketi Chander Rao alias Swami alias Prabhakar, who was killed in an encounter in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, were held on Sunday at his native village Isrojiwadi in Kamareddy district.
Chander Rao was among seven Maoists killed in an encounter in Gadchiroli four days ago. He was stated to be the west zone bureau in-charge. His son Ramesh, who had surrendered two months ago, along with other family members, travelled to Gadchiroli on Saturday and brought the body to Telangana. The body reached Isrojiwadi village in Kamareddy mandal on Sunday.
Former Maoists, representatives of the Civil Liberties Committee and the Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Committee, people who had earlier worked with Chander Rao in the movement, villagers from neighbouring areas and relatives attended the funeral and paid their last respects.
Addressing the gathering, Civil Liberties Committee State president Civil Liberties Committee G. Lakshman and Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Committee State representative Padma Kumari criticised the killing of Maoist leaders, alleging that those in power were resorting to force instead of addressing people’s grievances.
They described the killing of those fighting for people’s rights under “Operation Kagaru” as cruel and said that Loketi Chander Rao and his family had fought for the rights of the poor.
