Andhra Pradesh Police deny custody of top Maoists Devuji and Malla Raji Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Police told the High Court that top Maoist leaders Devuji and Malla Raji Reddy are not in their custody, refuting claims made in a habeas corpus petition. The court asked the petitioner to provide evidence and adjourned the matter to Friday

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Police told the state High Court on Thursday that CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Thippiri Tirupathi, alias Devuji, and another top Maoist leader, Malla Raji Reddy, were not in the custody of the state police.

The police conveyed this to the High Court when it took up a hearing on a habeas corpus petition filed by one Gangadhar of Telangana, seeking direction to Andhra Pradesh Police to produce Devuji and Raji Reddy in the court.

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The police, however, denied that the two leaders are in their custody. It informed the court that Maoists who were arrested in five districts on November 18 had already been produced before the concerned courts.

The High Court directed the petitioner to submit the evidence in support of his claim that Devuji and Raji Reddy are in police custody. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the police issued a press statement that key Maoist leaders are in their custody. He sought time to submit the statement to the court.

The court adjourned the hearing on the petition to Friday. Additional Director-General of Police (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha had clarified on Wednesday that the police are unaware of the whereabouts of Devuji.

“We don’t have any information on where Devuji is now. He must be from Chhattisgarh or Telangana. He is not with us. We arrested his protection team. Once we talk to them, we will come to know what their plan was,” he said.

A native of Korutla town in Telangana, Devuji is most wanted by the Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra governments. Nine members of the protection team of Devuji were among 50 Maoists arrested in five districts on November 18, hours after an encounter in the forests of Alluri Sitharamaraju district in which top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, his wife Raje, and four others were killed.

A day after Hidma’s killing, seven Maoists, including explosives expert Metturi Joga Rao alias Tech Shankar and six others, were killed in Alluri Sitharamaraju district. Civil liberties groups have alleged that both the encounters and arrests were fake. They also claimed that Devuji is in police custody.

Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) and the CPI-ML New Democracy alleged that the police have taken Devuji into their custody in the operation. APCLC State general secretary Chiluka Chandrashekar demanded that the police produce Devuji and other Maoist leaders in the court immediately.