The district police have beefed up security and are conducting area domination exercise in Balapam panchayat of Chintapalli mandal in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam to prevent any backlash by the Maoists or within the tribals.
This measure was taken after the Sunday’s incident where members of CPI (Maoist) shot dead Gemmili Sanjeeva Rao, a spiritual leader and native of Veeravaram village, after branding him as a police informer near Balapam on Sunday night. In retaliation, about 300 Girijans surrounded the Maoists and killed three of them, including Sharat a Divisional Committee Member of Korukonda area committee and two militia members- Korra Nageshwara Rao and Palla Ganapathi.
According to SP K. Praveen, there may not be an immediate retaliation from the Maoist side, as they are a political party and would not antagonise the tribal people further. “They will first review the incident at the divisional level and at the most may call for social boycott of the village,” said Mr. Praveen.
But he was fast to add that there may be a backlash between the villages. Sanjeeva Rao was a Khond and militia members who were killed were Bagatas from Gillebanda and Sabbapalli villages of the same Balapam panchayat.“There is a traditional rivalry between the two tribes and we have posted our forces just as a precautionary measure,” said Mr. Praveen. Sources say Sanjeeva Rao’s popularity as spiritual leader attracted the wrath of the Maoist. As per a letter recovered from Sharat’s kit bag, Sanjeeva Rao was branded as category-I threat, as he was trying to wean away tribals from the Maoist path through his spiritual preaching.
