Naxals strike again...

Naxals strike again, take away Rs 10 lakh from SBH

Khammam, Sept 14:

 After a lull of about two years, the Maoists struck in Andhra Pradesh again. On Monday, a group of armed extremists raided the local branch of State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) in Satyanarayanapuram town of Charla mandal in Khammam district in the Telangana region and decamped with Rs 10 lakh.

According to police, seven Maoists, a woman among them, carrying sophisticated weapons, entered the bank premises, between 12.30 and 1 pm threatened the bank staff at gunpoint and took away Rs 10 lakh in cash available with the bank at that time.

The bank is located in a rural area in Charla mandal in the agency belt in the forest range of Khammam district. The local branch manager of the bank lodged a complaint with Charla police and investigation is on. The Maoists were lying low for the past three years and suddenly struck in the extremist stronghold in Khammam district  bordering Chhatisgarh. Police suspect that the Naxalites from the neighbouring Chhatisgarh state might have crossed the border and entered the district. However, this is a major set back to the police set up in the state coming at a time when the top echelons in the police are fighting among themselves for supremacy.

According to reports, the top brass in the police, Director General of Police S S P Yadav and the Intelligence Chief, Mr Arvinda Rao, have openly criticized each other. The rivalry between the top officers is an open secret. In fact, a section of the media on Monday reported that Mr Arvinda Rao suspected an organized campaign by some senior officers of his own department against him to tarnish his image in public.