Bhadrachalam, December 25: Maoists kidnapped five tribal people from Danavaipet village in Cherla mandal in Khammam district early this morning.
Over 150 Maoists, including Gottikoyas, entered the village, which is very close to the Bhadrachalam- Cherla main road, and were split into five groups. They went to the homes of the targeted persons _ Payam Chalapathi (22), Kunja Venkateswarlu (28), Sunnam Subbaiah (55), Borra Achyut (35) and one more tribal. They dragged them out and took them to a forest in the neighbouring Chhattishgarh.
It is believed that Venkatapuram area Maoist dalam secretary Sunita executed the operation on the suspicion that the tribals were serving the police as informers. Danavaipet villagers tried to thwart the kidnaps but the Maoists told the villagers that they would not harm any of the five and send them back after quizzing them who belong to the CPM, Adivasi Girijan Sangham and the Congress. It is learnt the five tribals were kidnapped for abetting smuggling of teak wood from Chhattishgarh.
CPM divisional secretary and former MLA Sunnam Rajaiah appealed to the Maoists to release the tribal who he said were innocent and very poor.
Moreover, they were not police informers, he said. Police launched a combing operation on the Andhra- Chhattishgarh border to trace the tribals and are checking vehicles in the Agency area. The Greyhounds and CRPF forces fanned out into the forest area in search of Maoists and tribals, according to Kothagudem-based anti- Naxalite operations officer K Raghurami Reddy.
–Agencies