The body of slain Maoist S. Rajkumar alias Arun, 36, who was killed in an alleged encounter with the police at Kurnapalli in Charla mandal on Tuesday, was handed over to his brother after autopsy at the mortuary on the premises of the Government Area Hospital in Bhadrachalam on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, post-mortem was conducted on the body of Arun, District Committee Member of the CPI (Maoist), amid tight security arrangements at the mortuary.
A posse of police guarded the area until the body was handed over to the brother of the deceased, who had come from Dudekulapalli in the neighbouring Jayashankar Bhupalapally district. The body was shifted to the native place of the slain Maoist later in the day, sources added.
Underground leader
Arun had been underground for the last 10 years and carried a cash reward of ₹ 4 lakh on his head. He was active in Telangana’s Bhadrachalam Agency and the restive south Bastar division of neighbouring Chhattisgarh and allegedly involved in 10 cases of Maoist violence including three murders in the district, police sources said.
His killing came as a jolt to the Charla-Sabari Area Committee of the outfit a few days ahead of the Maoists’ Martyrs’ Week.
Combing intensified
The sub-division police have intensified vehicle checking and combing operations in the Left-wing extremism affected areas of the Bhadrachalam Agency to foil attempts if any by the ultras to carry out retaliatory attacks targeting security forces and erect makeshift memorials during the ensuing Maoists’ Martyrs’ Week beginning July 28.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Human Rights Forum (HRF) State vice-president S. K. Khader Babu alleged that Arun was captured and killed by a team of police in the guise of encounter. He demanded that a detailed inquiry be ordered into the incident and those responsible for it be prosecuted.