Visakhapatnam: Maoists killed two men and beat up another in Visakha Agency area on Tuesday night. The murder was apparently a revenge to an incident that took place five years ago in which two Maoists were lynched by villagers. The Maoists had branded the two victims as police moles.
The two deceased farmers were identified as Pangi Sattibabu (40) and Gemmeli Bhaskara Rao (50) of Veeravaram village.
The injured person Lingaraju was warned by the Maoists to mend his ways. Bhaskara Rao is survived by five children and wife, while Sattibabu is survived by two children and wife.
On October 19, 2014, a large group of Veeravaram villagers had lynched two Maoist leaders—district committee member Sindri China Ranga Rao (Sarat) and militia network member P Ganapati— after the murder of a villager Gemmeli Sanjeeva Rao. Another Maoist Korra Nagewara Rao escaped with serious injuries. Bhaskara Rao was elder brother to Sanjeeva Rao.
According to sources, the Maoists led by Sudhir and Nageswara Rao entered the village on Tuesday just before midnight. They dragged the two deceased from their houses and beat them to
death. Sattibabu’s wife was tied to a tree while her husband was killed.
In 2014, some families were shifted from Veeravaram after the lynching. Later, however, they apologised to the Maoists and came back after assurance from the ultras’ leader Naveen. Recently, however, Naveen has abandoned the party.
The Maoists had put up posters in the village saying that the killing was in revenge. Rural SP Babujee Attada said the two deceased were not police informers and alleged that the Maoists had done it since they are afraid of losing identity in the belt.
There are only 10 days to go for the Martyrs’ week (from July 28) observed by the Maoists. The act of terror was planned before that.
Attada said they have been taken measures to avoid untoward incidents and deployed forces for combing operations. “The Maoists have lost their grip among the tribals and are now trying to create terror in the areas by killing the innocent,” he said.