Published Jun 18, 2025 | 10:30 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 18, 2025 | 12:10 PM
Gajarla Ravi alias Uday and Aruna.
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds killed three Maoists following an encounter in the Maredumilli forest in the Alluri Sitahrama Raju district.
The Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds killed three Maoists in the early hours of Wednesday, 18 June, following an encounter in the Maredumilli forest in the Alluri Sitahrama Raju district.
Banned CPI (Maoist) Central Committee leader Gajarla Ravi, aka Uday AOB (Andhra-Odisha Border), Andhra Pradesh Zonal Committee Member Aruna, also known as Venkata Chaitanya or Ravi Chaitanya, and Area Committee Member (ACM) Anju were killed by the security forces.
Official sources said weapons, including AK-47s, were recovered from the scene.
Ravi, a native of Bhupalally in Telangana, was carrying a reward of ₹20 lakh and was involved in the infamous Balimela reservoir attack in Odisha in 2008 that killed 38 Greyhounds. He is also accused of the 2003 assassination attempt on the then-chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, of the undivided Andhra Pradesh.
An official release said the three Maoists were killed following an exchange of fire with the Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds near Kondamodalu village under the Maredumilli Police Station limits. The release said a combing operation is underway since inputs suggested more Maoists in the region.
Meanwhile, CPI (Maoist) Telangana State Committee has called for a bandh in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on 20 June against the killing of top Maoists Chalam alias Gautham, Mailarapu Adellu alias Bhaskar and seven others in encounters in Chhattisgarh.
They claimed that the ‘Operation Kagar’ has led to the extrajudicial killings of senior Maoist leaders and cadres.
A joint operation, dubbed Operation Kagar, was conducted from 21 April to 11 May by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), and state police.
In a statement released to the media, State Committee official spokesperson Jagan said the Union government, which vowed to eliminate Naxalism by March 2026, had killed as many as 550 Maoists since January 2024 as part of ‘Operation Kagar’.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sumit Jha.)
