The Hindu : `War' against women spells trouble

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

`War' against women spells trouble

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD June 24. The unsuccessful attempt to kidnap the TDP MLA, A. Sharadamba, in Anantapur district on Monday is the fifth in a series of attacks by the People's War (PW) against women since April this year.

Interestingly, the year 2003 has also witnessed a significant trend of people `revolting' against extremists with 17 such incidents being reported since January, according to a note furnished by the Government today.

On April 9, PW extremists attempted to kill a Village Secretary, Pulicherla Pullamma, in Maradugu village of Mahabubnagar district by beating her severely on suspicion that she was a police informant. Nine days later, they snatched the mangalasutram from the wife of Peram Seshaiah, a petty businessman of Veerabhadrapuram village in Prakasam district. Seshaiah suffered a heart attack and died.

At Bandameedipalli village of Rapthadu Mandal in Anantapur district, PW extremists conducted famine raids on houses of three people on April 23 and snatched mangalsutram from two women. On June 26, they severely thrashed two women members of DWCRA, Sangeetha (35) and M. Lakshmi (50) in Annaram village of Nizamabad district for cooperating with police in the surrender of militants.

The note said naxalites had murdered 2,017 civilians since 1990. Of them, 1175 were BCs, 471 OCs, 217 STs and 154 SCs. The highest number of 206 killings took place in 1997. However, of late, people have not been taking the violence lying down.

On May 19, two PW extremists went to the house of Jaguna, Sarpanch of Kandpalli village in Karimnagar district and demanded her resignation. The woman insisted that she would resign only if the villagers asked her to do so. Sensing a threat to the life of her husband at whom a gun was pointed, she bit the hand of a naxalite and raised an alarm. Villagers gathered at the spot and chased away the naxals.

In Adilabad district, there were at least five instances in January and February when villagers either beat up the extremists or resisted them. At Gangapur village, they nabbed a naxalite, thrashed him and seized his tapancha when a group tried to attack a kirana shop owner.

Passengers of an APSRTC bus proceeding from Chilakaluripet to Hyderabad, overpowered and killed a naxalite in Guntur district on April 13 night after a group of extremists torched the vehicle. The retaliation came when the extremists caused an axe injury on the driver when he and the passengers were chasing them.

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