Police yet to identify man killed with Maoist leader

The identity of the person killed along with top Maoist leader Azad in an encounter in Adilabad district is yet to be established even as a section of media reported that he was a journalist from Chhattisgarh, police said today.

The identity of the person killed along with top Maoist leader Azad in an encounter in Adilabad district is yet to be established even as a section of media reported that he was a journalist from Chhattisgarh, police said in Hyderabad today.

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"We are yet to establish the identity of the deceased... We are also watching on TV channels and other media about his identity. We are yet to establish it," Andhra Pradesh DGP R R Girish Kumar said.

Media reports suggested that the person killed along with Azad was Hemachnadra Pandey who was working for various Hindi newspapers in Chhattisgarh.

Azad alias Cherukuri Rajkumar, who carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head, was killed in a police encounter near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from Hyderabad.

The extremist was said to be number three in the Maoist hierarchy and was a member of the central committee of the outfit and associated with the Maoist movement for four decades.

Azad was gunned down by police two days after Maoists killed 27 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh.