Indian Maoists abduct, kill two child "informers"
HYDERABAD, India, March 20 (Reuters) - Maoist rebels have kidnapped and killed two teenagers in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after branding them police agents, officials said on Monday.
The teenagers, Nagesh, 15, and Yelisha, 13, were among five minors kidnapped by guerrillas on Friday from a village in Prakasam district, 270 km (170 miles) south of the state capital, Hyderabad.
They were shot dead by rebels who suspected the boys of passing information on the Maoists to police, officers said, adding that it was the first time that children in the state had been targeted in this way.
In the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, police said they killed five Maoist rebels in a gun battle early on Monday in the forests of Balrampur, 510 km (320 miles) northeast of state capital Raipur.
Several Maoists were injured in the fighting, a senior police officer said, adding that the rebels managed to carry back bodies of four of their five dead comrades.
A hunt was on for them in the forests, he said.
The rebels had late on Sunday set off a landmine under a police truck in a forested area elsewhere in Chhattisgarh, killing two police officers and wounding 13 others.
The rebels, who operate out of jungle bases in nine Indian states, mainly in the southern and eastern parts of country, claim to be fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers in an insurgency that has killed thousands over four decades.
Singa Prasad, a leader of a local Maoist committee, claimed responsibility for the killings of the children in a signed statement which was left with the dead bodies.
One of the kidnapped children was released on Sunday and returned home with news of the killings.
"The fate of the other two boys in rebel custody is uncertain," said N. Balasubramanyam, the district's superintendent of police.
Police estimate there are as many as 20,000 Maoists, known as Naxalites, named after the town of Naxalbari in West Bengal state where the movement began in 1967. They have links with Maoist rebels in neighbouring Nepal.
Officials say that over 80 people have been killed in Maoist violence in the Chhattisgarh since Jan. 1, mostly in Dantewada district which borders Andhra Pradesh. (Additional reporting by Sujeet Kumar in RAIPUR)
The teenagers, Nagesh, 15, and Yelisha, 13, were among five minors kidnapped by guerrillas on Friday from a village in Prakasam district, 270 km (170 miles) south of the state capital, Hyderabad.
They were shot dead by rebels who suspected the boys of passing information on the Maoists to police, officers said, adding that it was the first time that children in the state had been targeted in this way.
In the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, police said they killed five Maoist rebels in a gun battle early on Monday in the forests of Balrampur, 510 km (320 miles) northeast of state capital Raipur.
Several Maoists were injured in the fighting, a senior police officer said, adding that the rebels managed to carry back bodies of four of their five dead comrades.
A hunt was on for them in the forests, he said.
The rebels had late on Sunday set off a landmine under a police truck in a forested area elsewhere in Chhattisgarh, killing two police officers and wounding 13 others.
The rebels, who operate out of jungle bases in nine Indian states, mainly in the southern and eastern parts of country, claim to be fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers in an insurgency that has killed thousands over four decades.
Singa Prasad, a leader of a local Maoist committee, claimed responsibility for the killings of the children in a signed statement which was left with the dead bodies.
One of the kidnapped children was released on Sunday and returned home with news of the killings.
"The fate of the other two boys in rebel custody is uncertain," said N. Balasubramanyam, the district's superintendent of police.
Police estimate there are as many as 20,000 Maoists, known as Naxalites, named after the town of Naxalbari in West Bengal state where the movement began in 1967. They have links with Maoist rebels in neighbouring Nepal.
Officials say that over 80 people have been killed in Maoist violence in the Chhattisgarh since Jan. 1, mostly in Dantewada district which borders Andhra Pradesh. (Additional reporting by Sujeet Kumar in RAIPUR)
posted by Marko at 3/20/2006 08:25:00 AM
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