Azad carried a reward of Rs. 12 lakh on his head.
The state police dealt a major blow to the Maoists when they gunned down top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar, better known as Azad, and an unidentified Naxalite, at Jogapur (Vankhidi mandal) in Adilabad on Friday.
According to police, an AK-47, a 9 mm pistol and 2 kit bags were also recovered from the scene of the encounter. Azad carried a reward of Rs. 12 lakh on his head.
Meanwhile, doubts have been raised by various Maoist sympathisers, on the police version of the shootout. Claiming that the 'encounter' was fake, they claim that Azad's mother had already filed a petition on March 20 with the State Human Rights Commission, claiming that the top Maoist leader was missing since March 12.
Maoist sympathiser and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao said that he would approach the High Court in order to bring Azad's body to Hyderabad.
The police said that they had received information that some Maoists were on their way to the state from Maharashtra, and had set up check posts along possible routes into the state.
The police claim that they saw some persons acting suspiciously at around 10pm on Thursday night and shouted orders to get them to stop. The persons then scurried across into the forest, with the police personnel on duty going after them.
The Maoists then fired at the police, who were forced to retaliate. The exchange of gunfire continued till around 2:30am on Friday.
After the firing stopped, security forces ventured into the conflict area and discovered two bodies.
One of the bodies was identified as that of Azad by Sukkubai, a Naxal who had surrendered earlier. The other body, which has not been identified positively yet, is believed to be of another wanted ultra, Chandranna. Meanwhile, Kagaznagar DSP Shashidhar Rao believes that the second body belongs to Gundeti Shankar alias Sheshanna.
Azad was a member of the Central Committee of the banned Communist Party Of India - Maoist (CPI-Maoist). He is believed to be in his mid-fifties.
Azad hailed from Krishna district, and had been associated with the Maoists since the last 4 decades.
Son of Lakshmaiah Chowdhary, Azad was a leader of the Radical Students Union during his student days. He had completed his M. Tech. from a Warangal college.
A security alert has been sounded across Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal following Azad's death.
Courtesy: INN News