Primary accused in the murder of Araku politicians gunned down

In an encounter at the Andhra Odisha border, five Maoists belonging to the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) were gunned down. The Maoists killed included three women and two men. The Nandapur area committee chief, Swaroopa, was on among those killed. She is the primary accused in the murder of Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma in Livitipittu, in Dimbriguda Mandal, on September 23 last year.

Swaroopa worked as a bus conductor before being handed the responsibility of the agency area by her late husband Ravi; an Agency member who was killed six years ago. The identity of the other two deceased women remains unknown. The deceased men were identified as area committee members Krishna and Sudarshan. The latter was also known as Sattibabu in the Vizag Agency area.

Reportedly, the special operation team carried out the encounter in the forests of Kitubakanti, a part of Odisha’s Koraput district which shares the border with Andhra Pradesh. From the encounter spot, the police had seized 2 SLRs and 3 INSAS weapons in addition to medicine kits and other material.