Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CHENNAI1976
2005-08-16 10:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

INDEPENDENCE DAY TERROR: MAOISTS SLAUGHTER

Tags:  PGOV PINR PTER IN 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 001976 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER IN
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENCE DAY TERROR: MAOISTS SLAUGHTER
LEGISLATOR, EIGHT OTHERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 001976

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER IN
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENCE DAY TERROR: MAOISTS SLAUGHTER
LEGISLATOR, EIGHT OTHERS


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On Indian Independence Day, Andhra
Pradesh Maoists gunned down a senior Congress
legislator and eight others at a public function in
broad daylight. The biggest Maoist attack since the
peace process broke down in January has sent
shockwaves among politicians who are getting ready to
campaign for the September Municipal elections. An
insider journalist contact believes that the
government will soon re-impose its ban on Maoists and
go for tough police action in the wake of the
incident. If that happens, more tit for tat violence
is likely. END SUMMARY

--------------
DAYLIGHT ATTACK STUNS ANDHRA PRADESH
--------------


2. (SBU) A suspected action team of the Communist
Party of India (Maoist) shot dead 75-year-old Congress
legislator Narsi Reddy, his son Venkateswara Reddy,
Municipal Commissioner Rammohan and six others on
August 15. The legislator was opening a road in a
Dalit colony in Narayanpet in Mahaboobnagar district,
near the border with Karnataka, as part of the
Independence Day celebrations when two terrorists
sprayed bullets from AK 47 rifles. Deputy Inspector
General in charge of intelligence operations against
Maoists, Thirumal Rao, told Post that about five
Maoist militants, including one female, participated
in the attack. According to Rao, vehicle-checking
police spotted the suspects 130 kilometers from the
attack site on motorcycles, but were "unable" to
arrest them. He did not elaborate.


3. (U) Apart from the nine who died, 17 suffered
injuries in the incident, the biggest Maoist attack
since the AP Congress government's peace process broke
down in January.

--------------
LEGISLATOR IGNORED MAOIST WARNING
--------------


4. (SBU) Regional English Daily "The Deccan Herald"
reported that the Maoists had recently declared that
they would kill Reddy, his daughter Aruna, also a
legislator, and son-in-law Bharat Simha Reddy, a
former MLA, alleging that they were responsible for
the sale of illicit liquor in the district. The
Speaker of the AP Assembly, however, described Narsi
Reddy as "a personification of discipline and
decorum," and the Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara
Reddy described him as "a gentleman to the core and
one of the most respected leaders."

--------------
CHIEF MINISTER SEES CHANGE IN MAOIST STYLE
--------------


5. (SBU) Chief Minister Reddy told the Press in
Hyderabad that since the Peoples' War Naxalite group
merged with the Maoist Communist Center (MCC) in
October 2004, their style of operations has changed.
"Earlier they were killing only their targets; now
they are opening fire indiscriminately against
innocent civilians", he said. "This is like the
mindless violence you see in Bihar, he told the
media." Journalists recalled that in April, Maoists
triggered a claymore mine in a crowded place in their
attempt on the life of Prakasam, District Police Chief
Mahesh Chandra Laddha.

-------------- --------------
AP GOVERNMENT MAY REIMPOSE BAN; TOUGHEN ITS STAND
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) After presiding over an emergency meeting
with senior police officials, Chief Minister Y.S.
Rajashekhara Reddy told journalists that the
government was seriously considering re-imposing the
ban on Maoists and going in hot pursuit after the
armed squads. The Hindu senior Correspondent
Sreenivasa Reddy, covering Maoist militancy for
several years, told post that the state government
would soon take the decision to re-impose the ban on
Maoists. "Not that the ban would cause any major
setback to the Maoists; it would help project the
Maoists as persona non grata, thereby giving a
psychological edge to the police in their operations,"
he said. He ruled out the chance of the government
going soft on the Maoists again in view of the
upcoming municipal elections.

--------------
BACK TO THE DAYS OF BLOODY ENCOUNTERS?
--------------


7. (SBU) COMMENT: The symbolic significance of the
Independence day terror is not lost on the AP
politicians who are worried about carrying out their
public contact programs. Campaigning in the upcoming
Municipal elections will be tough. Some Telangana
politicians, particularly those of the Telangana
Rashtra Samithy, believe that the July 1 killing of
Naxalite (Janashakti) leader Riyaz started off the
present chain of bloody encounters. Reverting to the
ban and tough police action against the Maoists could
result in more bloody incidents, at least in the near
term. END COMMENT

CANDADAI