Younger bro may take over mantle

NAGPUR: Naxals have asserted in no ambiguous words in one of their pamphlets that the killing of their leader Mallojula Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishanji, would be avenged. The Maoists have said they will teach a lesson to Union home minister P Chidambaram and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Bannerjee, alleging that Kishanji was killed in a fake encounter.The pamphlets, which had 'Comrade Kishanji Amar Rahe' written in prominent lettering, were found on Sunday at Malewada in Gadchiroli district.
The North Gadchiroli-Gondia division of banned outfit CPI (Maoist) carried out the first significant protest against the killing by attacking a gram panchayat at Malewada where they burned documents and decamped with three computers. There is also information of Naxals gunning down a political activist in Pakhanjur in Chhattisgarh. The Naxals also had called a bandh in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, the chief of Central Regional Bureau (CRB) of CPI (Maoist) and younger brother of Kishanji may not only gear up to fill the void but also try to take the reverses in the opposite camp.
Sources in security agencies say that Bhupathi is a good commander who marshals his resources well. Like his elder brother, Bhupathi is also a trained guerrilla and is adept the combat movement. Bhupathi had joined the movement along with his brother and also got elevated to a Politburo member like Kishanji. He had moved as a support into the Junglemahal after Kishanji was injured in a gun battle in 2010.
As chief of CRB and also South Western Regional Bureau, Bhupathi has the reign of the party and movement in his hands in the states of Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The North Telangana Special Zonal Committee, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and Andhra Pradesh Orissa Border too are under him.
Sources in the security forces said that Naxals under Bhupathi have been already consolidating in the central Indian region with Abujhmarh, straddling between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, as their nerve centre.