Hyderabad: Following the killing of Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Somu by Maoists in Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana state police has put the bordering areas of the Telugu state on high alert and asked the superintendents of police to be vigilant.
With Greyhound teams and Central Reserve Police Force combat-ready in Maoist-affected areas, the top cops of the state held a meeting in the police headquarters, hours after the killing of the politicos in the neigbouring state.
Director General of Police M. Mahendar Reddy held a meeting with Intelligence and Special Information Bureau officials at his office on Sunday and reviewed the situation in the Maoist-affected areas in Telangana state and also in the bordering areas like Khamm-am, Bhadrachalam, Kotha-gudem, Bhupalapally, Ramagundam, especially in the the Kaleshwaram area.
The police claims to have alerted and advised public representatives campaigning in tribal and Maoist-affected areas ahead of the state elections. The incident that took place just 15 km from the Odisha border in AP may have no effect on the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.
A senior police official said, “We have advised politicos to be alert during campaigns and visit remote areas under police security. So far there is no specific alert in the state from the intelligence, but we have taken all the necessary precautionary measures.”
Responding to a query, the official said, “We are providing security cover to leaders irrespective of the threat perception. No additional security cover is given to any political leader as adequate measures are already in place. Greyhounds teams and CRPF are all ready to prevent infiltration of the Maoists into the state. There are a few areas in the Northern Telangana region alongside the Godavari, but our combing parties are on the job.”
Meanwhile, condemning the AP incident, TS home minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy said “Following the incident of attacks on the MLA and ex-MLA in AP, the state police are on high alert. The leaders who are on election campaign in the tribal and remote areas are given security. No leader in the state has a threat from the Maoists.”
