Hyderabad: The most wanted Maoist couple, who were picked up by the Maharashtra police from Secunderabad area two days ago, are said to be alumni of Osmania University and were associated with Radical Students Union (RSU), a frontal organisation of the People’s War, which used to be active in the university till 2005.
The couple, Kiran Kumar and his wife Aluri Krishna Kumari, both aged around 60, are presently being interrogated at an undisclosed location in Maharashtra.
Sources in the Maharashtra police told Deccan Chronicle that they are being interrogated to ascertain their involvement in a series of attacks on security forces and politicians, including the recent killing of Dantewada BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and the ambush on C-60 commandos in Gadchiroli which led to the killing of 15 policemen. They told their interrogators that they had studied in Osmania University in Hyderabad and in their universities days were associated with the RSU.
“Since they knew Hyderabad very well, they decided to take shelter there instead of any other city. They arrived in Hyderabad in October end last year and were undergoing treatment for different ailments. Both are well educated and Krishna Kumari is also a Hindi translator,’’ senior police officials in Maharashtra police, who are privy to the details of the ongoing interrogation, told this newspaper over the telephone.
Police said that the Maoist couple were all set to return to their base in Chhattisgarh in a month or two as both were slowly recovering from their ailments and were much better now. While Kiran Kumar was suffering from knee and back related ailments, Krishna Kumari had breast cancer.
“They are under medication but had recovered well and are very active at that age. They could have planned more attacks on security forces in the future,’’ police sources said.
Asked whether they had local contacts in Hyderabad, police sources said that it is too early to say anything and everything is part of the investigation.
“Interrogation has just begun and it will take some time before we can say something conclusively.’’
However, they said that the Maoist couple chose to take shelter in Hyderabad because they knew the city like the back of their hands. “Since they studied in Osmania University and stayed in Hyderabad for several years, they had even travelled to some of the Telangana districts. It was convenient for them as they could easily mix with the locals,’’ they said.
While Kiran Kumar, who was underground for the last 28 years, belongs to Vijayawada, Krishna Kumari hails from Gudivada. She was underground for the last 26 years. Both are state committee members and were shortly to be promoted as central committee members of the CPI Maoist and carried a reward of `20 lakh each.
For the security forces, it is a major catch as Krishna Kumari, they say, is the backbone of all major attacks on security forces in Dandakaranya region over the last many years.
‘’Most of the strikes planned by her were carried out with military precision,’’ a Maharashtra police official said. Krishna Kumari was also in-charge of Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangham (KAMS) under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). Together, they have over 50 cases against them in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
