Five arrested in 19-yr-old Maoist attack case: Police

Five people have been arrested in connection with a 2005 Maoist attack in Tumakuru district, Karnataka. The attack claimed eight lives.

Five people were arrested in connection with the 2005 Maoist attack in Tumakuru district of Karnataka, said police on Tuesday. The case pertains to a Maoist attack on a police outpost in the Ventamanahalli village in Pavagada taluk on February 10, 2005, that claimed eight lives.

Five arrested in 19-yr-old Maoist attack case: Police

The police identified the accused as Nagaraju (40) from Ganthimeri, Andhra Pradesh; Padma (35) from Dharmavaram; Boya Obalesh (40); Rammohan (42); and Anjaneyulu (44), all hailing from Ramagiri Tallimadugu. These arrests were made in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the officials familiar with the matter, in 2005, a group of 300 Maoists attacked a 30-member Karnataka State Reserve Police team deployed in Venkatammanahalli and Tirumani in Pavagada taluk.

The five people are among the 42 who were initially missing and not brought to trial in the first chargesheets filed in the case. Local courts had acquitted 29 people in total—six in August 2007 and 23 in October 2011.

The police had earlier issued several non-bailable warrants against the accused. Confirming the arrests, Pavagada rural circle inspector said: “We have produced the accused before the Pavagada JMFC court, which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days”.

The accused “had been working as labourers in Andhra Pradesh and reportedly refrained from participating in any Maoist activities after the 2005 incident. However, their past activities are currently under verification,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

According to the police, in the 2005 attack, at least 200 accused had entered a school where the KSRP personnel were stationed, demanding the surrender of the police personnel. Simultaneously, another 100 Maoists surrounded the building, leading to a confrontation. In the chaos that ensued, the Maoists shot police officer Rajiv in the chest and targeted another officer by the name Swami. A grenade was also hurled at the school, resulting in several deaths . “Seven police officers and one civilian died on the spot,” said an official.

The incident came in the backdrop of an alleged police encounter where two Maoists were killed. Initially, a case was registered against 16 individuals, and the police later named 42 accused in the charge sheet submitted to the court.Telugu singer Gaddar, the eleventh accused, appeared in the Pavagada court in November 2019 but has since passed away.

Among the accused in the case is 83-year-old Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao who was arrested in July 2019 from the Yerawada prison in Maharashtra, where he was lodged in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. He was later granted bail.