E-Paper
Top Maoist leader Haribhushan’s wife also succumbs to Covid-19 in Chhattisgarh forests
Haribhushan, who had been underground for over three decades and led several teams against the security forces, succumbed to Covid-19 on June 21.
Three days after the death of Communist Party of India (Maoist) central committee member and Telangana state committee secretary Yapa Narayana alias Haribhushan (59) due to Covid-19 in the forests of Chhattisgarh, his wife Bejjeri Sammakka alias Saradakka also succumbed to the infection, the Telangana Police confirmed on Saturday.
Mahabubabad district superintendent of police N Koti Reddy, quoting the deceased’s relatives in Gangaram village, told Hindustan Times that Saradakka died sometime during the night of June 24 due to Covid-19 in the forests of Chhattisgarh.
Her relatives were informed about her death on Saturday and her last rites were performed by the cadre on Friday evening. “However, there has been no statement issued by the Maoist party about the death of Saradakka till now,” he said.
Haribhushan, who had been underground for over three decades and led several teams against the security forces, succumbed to Covid-19 on June 21. The Maoist party issued a statement on Thursday confirming his death along with that of another senior Maoist leader Bharatakka, a day after the Telangana police announced their demise.
Hailing from the Gothi Koya tribal group from Madagudem village of Mahabubabad district, Haribhushan married Saradakka from Gangaram, close to his village during the movement, which she joined in 1995. Saradakka was the commander of the Maoist party in Charla-Shabari area bordering the Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
Haribhushan’s family found fault with the Maoist party for not handing over his body to them for the last rites and instead choosing to cremate their leader in the forests.
His younger brother Ashok told local reporters in Madagudem village on Friday that it was not fair on the part of the Maoists to cremate Haribhushan’s body in the forests without informing his family members.
He wondered why the Maoists had announced Haribhushan’s death only after the police disclosed it to the media. “The Maoists should have conveyed the news to us first before conducting the last rites. They should have handed over the body to us through civil rights organisations,” Ashok said.
