Maoists torch passenger bus in the newly formed Alluri Sitharama Raju District of AP

Maoists set fire to a passenger bus after asking all 40 passengers to alight from the bus in the newly formed Alluri Sitharama Raju District of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday night. Protesting over the death of their chief commander Narmadakka, the incident took place on the National Highway near Sarivela in Chintoor agency area. Konta Area Committee members of the banned CPI(Maoist) have conducted this strike.

One of the most common areas where such incidents take place, the Sarivela-Kothuru block is highly targeted by the Maoists. The private bus, which was torched, was heading towards Hyderabad from Jaypore of Odisha. The attack was completely planned. According to sources, the Maoists supposedly chose the area which is isolated and just 3km away from the Chintoor police headquarters and about 7km from the core bases of the Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh. The bus was torched during the strike, and no casualties were reported.

The police who learned about the incident caused by the Maoists in the Alluri Sitharama Raju District rushed to the spot and conducted their combing operations in the surrounding areas. The police have started investigating the matter. The Maoists have also called a bandh in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chattisgarh. The death of the senior leader who was undergoing treatment in a Mumbai hospital was alleged to have happened over negligence.

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