Wife of slain Maoist linked to 2003 attack on Naidu among those killed in police encounter

Rampachodavaram (Andhra Pradesh), June 19 (PTI) Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya, wife of slain Maoist Chalapathi and a key figure in the 2003 attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, was among the three Maoists killed in an exchange of fire with police recently.

On Wednesday, three ultras -- Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya (Aruna), Gajarla Ravi (Uday) and Anju, were killed in an exchange of fire with Andhra Pradesh police at Kintukuru village in Alluri Seetharama Raju district.

“She (Aruna) was a high-ranking Maoist with multiple pending cases and Rs 20 lakh bounty. Her death is a significant blow to the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) structure (of the maoists),” Rampachodavaram DSP GS Prasanth told PTI on Thursday.

According to police, Aruna played a crucial role in the fatal attacks on former TDP MLAs K Sarveswara Rao and S Soma in 2018.

Aruna hails from Karaka Vanipalem village in Visakhapatnam district's Pendurthi mandal.

Her brother Ajath was killed in a previous encounter with police in Chittoor district, said the DSP.

Similarly, Gajarla Ravi (Uday), who had a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head, was identified as an AOB Special Zonal Committee member hailing from Velishala village in Chityala mandal of Bhupalpally district in Telangana.

The third Maoist was Anju, who had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh. Her exact role within the AOB network is under police investigation.

The exchange of fire operation against the Maoists was carried out by the Greyhounds unit of the southern state's police on prior intelligence inputs.

According to Prashant, all three rebels were killed in an early morning operation in Rampachodavaram forest on Wednesday and police believe more cadres may have escaped into the dense jungle.

The security forces confiscated two AK-47 rifles and other Maoist paraphernalia from the spot.

Meanwhile, Search operations have been intensified across agency regions. PTI MS STH ROH