Maoist bandh continues in agency areas of Telangana, AP amid tight police presence

Hyderabad: A bandh called by the CPI (Maoist) continued in several agency areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Friday, following the recent killings of senior Maoist leaders in encounters.

The Telangana State Committee of the CPI (Maoist) had issued a call on June 15, urging the public to observe a bandh on June 20 in protest against what it termed the “Operation Kagar” crackdown by the BJP and Hindutva forces. The bandh was also meant to condemn the alleged custodial killings of senior Maoist leaders.

Among those named in the statement were TLNS Chalam alias Anand/Sudhakar/Gautam, a senior state committee member with 45 years of revolutionary activity, and Mailarapu Adela alias Bhaskar, with over 30 years in the movement. The Maoists alleged that the state killed these and seven others in a deliberate act of repression.

The bandh was further intensified following a subsequent encounter in which two more key Maoist leaders — central committee representative Gajarla Ravi and senior cadre Arunakka — were killed. Although there has been no formal statement from the outfit after that incident, the bandh has continued in Maoist-affected areas.

Reports indicate limited shutdown activity in parts of Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mulugu, Mancherial, and Jayashankar Bhupalpally districts in Telangana. In Andhra Pradesh, bandh-related disruptions were seen in agency zones of Alluri Sitarama Raju district and along the Godavari belt.

Police, anticipating possible mobilisation, have intensified combing operations in all sensitive zones. Security forces have been deployed across the region to prevent any escalation and to ensure the bandh does not gain ground.