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Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Surrender within 7 months or get neutralised, Andhra Pradesh DGP warns Maoists
Vijayawada: "Surrender within seven months, otherwise you will be neutralised," Andhra Pradesh DGP Harish Kumar Gupta warned Maoists on Saturday following the surrender of a Maoist couple, Jorige Nagaraju, alias Kamalesh, and his wife Medaka Jyoteeswari, alias Aruna, to security forces. The husband-wife duo from Krishna district, who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, ended their decades-long underground life after getting disillusioned with Maoist ideology, the DGP said. He added that 20 active Maoists from Andhra Pradesh are still operating in the AOB area and urged them to surrender and join the mainstream. The surrender of the two senior Maoist leaders marks a crucial step in Andhra Pradesh's counter-insurgency efforts. Nagaraju served as a member of the state zonal committee and previously headed the East Bastar divisional committee under the Dandakaranya special zonal committee. His wife Aruna was a divisional committee member and led the mobile academic political organization school (MAPOS) in East Bastar. Both were active in the Maoist heartland for over three decades. Frustrated with the policies and the waning influence of the Maoist central committee, the couple chose to abandon the armed struggle, the DGP said. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 20 Things You Should Stop Wearing After 40 Undo by Taboola by Taboola As part of the surrender and rehabilitation process, Gupta handed them relief cheques of Rs 20,000 each. In a related development, police unearthed a Maoist arms dump in Alluri Sitharama Raju district following intelligence inputs. The cache included 18 modern weapons — an AK-47, two BGLs, five SLRs, two INSAS rifles, besides 606 live rounds of ammunition, 37 kilograms of CORDEX wire, and other explosive materials. As part of the ongoing efforts to curb Maoist activities, 13 underground cadres, including divisional committee member Madakam Deva, alias Bhagath, surrendered recently and received a total of Rs 22 lakh in financial assistance. Over the past year, 48 Maoist cadres have surrendered to AP police, and provided Rs 64 lakh under the state's rehabilitation scheme. The DGP, who reviewed the anti-insurgency operations conducted in the past one year, said six Maoists — including central committee member Uday, zonal leaders Aruna and Jagan, and divisional committee secretary Ramesh — were killed in five encounters in AP over the last 12 months. Seven others, including a divisional committee secretary, two area committee members, and three action team operatives were arrested. Of the 40 cadres who surrendered, two were divisional committee secretaries and 15 were area committee members. Gupta praised the relentless efforts of police personnel working in LWE-affected areas and reiterated the govt's commitment to facilitate the safe return of Maoists to civilian life. He urged those still underground — particularly the 20 Andhra-origin cadres operating in other states — to surrender and take part in the state's development.
Business Recorder
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
ICAP says AOB in finance bill may not be appropriate forum
KARACHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) has reviewed the discussions held during the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue's session on June 17, 2025, regarding the Finance Bill 2025, relating to proposed insertion of Section 58C into the Sales Tax Act, 1990. ICAP understands the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) efforts to combat financial misstatements, which may be resulting in evasion of sales tax. However, ICAP explains that the Audit Oversight Board (AOB), proposed in the finance bill to conduct inspections of audit firms, may not be the appropriate forum, given its statutory mandate is limited to overseeing audit quality of Public Interest Companies (PICs) only under the SECP Act 1997. ICAP proposes that being national regulators of audit profession and equipped with a robust investigation mechanism under the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961, be designated to fulfil this oversight role. The Institute further explains that its existing Investigation Committee, constituted under the ICAP Bye-Laws 1983, comprised a reasonable number of independent members and a senior legal professional. ICAP reiterates its openness to including a nominee from FBR, AOB, or SECP on the Investigation Committee to enhance transparency. It is also disclosed that over the past five years, many cases relating to complaints received from various regulatory bodies, including SECP, SBP, AOB, and FBR, have been processed under its investigation framework. ICAP emphasizes the effectiveness of this system and informed that it annually publishes a comprehensive investigation report, the most recent of which was shared with members and public on March 13, 2025. The Institute expresses its continued support for legislative and regulatory reform in the national interest and remains committed to strengthening professional accountability across the financial ecosystem but has a concern on the introduction of alternate inspection mechanisms which may not be productive and in line with international best practices. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bodies of three Maoists will be handed over to kin after legal process, say police
The bodies of the three Maoists who were killed in an exchange of fire would be handed over to their family members after following the legal process, Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar said on Thursday. Addressing the media here, Mr. Bardar said the family members of the three Maoists, upon being informed, arrived at Rampachodavaram to receive the bodies. 'The legal process to hand over the bodies is going on. We will hand over the bodies respectfully once the process is completed,' Mr. Bardar said. The Superintendent of Police was responding to the allegations levelled by the family members of slain Maoist Venkata Raavi Chaitanya, alias Aruna, alias Ruppi, that the police had not informed them about the death of Aruna and they were not allowed to see the body. Referring to the encounter, Mr. Bardar said they had information about the movement of the Maoists in the Rampachodavaram area on June 17, following which combing operation was initiated. 'On June 18, between 7 a.m. and 7.15 a.m., an exchange fire had taken place in the Kintukuru forest area under Rampachodavaram police station limits. After the encounter, we found the bodies of three Maoists, two of them women. We recovered three AK 47 rifles, magazines, kit bags and Maoist literature from the place,' Mr. Bardar said. Apart from Aruna, the other Maoists were identified as Gajarla Ravi, alias Uday, alias Ganesh, a central committee member carrying ₹25 lakh reward on his head, and Anju, alias Mase, who carried a reward of ₹1 lakh. 'Uday and Aruna were involved in more than 150 criminal cases, including the killing of an MLA and former MLA in 2018 and IED blasts,' Mr. Bardar said. The Superintendent of Police said they had information that about 30 Maoists had entered Andhra Pradesh via Odisha from Chhattisgarh after the announcement of Operation Kagar in November 2024. 'After the first exchange of fire in April and surrenders, there may be five to six members still moving in the AOB region. The operation is still on,' he said.
The Print
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Wife of slain Maoist linked to 2003 attack on Naidu among those killed in police encounter
'She (Aruna) was a high-ranking Maoist with multiple pending cases and Rs 20 lakh bounty. Her death is a significant blow to the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) structure (of the maoists),' Rampachodavaram DSP GS Prasanth told PTI on Thursday. On Wednesday, three ultras — Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya (Aruna), Gajarla Ravi (Uday) and Anju, were killed in an exchange of fire with Andhra Pradesh police at Kintukuru village in Alluri Seetharama Raju district. Rampachodavaram (Andhra Pradesh), June 19 (PTI) Venkata Ravi Lakshmi Chaitanya, wife of slain Maoist Chalapathi and a key figure in the 2003 attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, was among the three Maoists killed in an exchange of fire with police recently. According to police, Aruna played a crucial role in the fatal attacks on former TDP MLAs K Sarveswara Rao and S Soma in 2018. Aruna hails from Karaka Vanipalem village in Visakhapatnam district's Pendurthi mandal. Her brother Ajath was killed in a previous encounter with police in Chittoor district, said the DSP. Similarly, Gajarla Ravi (Uday), who had a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head, was identified as an AOB Special Zonal Committee member hailing from Velishala village in Chityala mandal of Bhupalpally district in Telangana. The third Maoist was Anju, who had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh. Her exact role within the AOB network is under police investigation. The exchange of fire operation against the Maoists was carried out by the Greyhounds unit of the southern state's police on prior intelligence inputs. According to Prashant, all three rebels were killed in an early morning operation in Rampachodavaram forest on Wednesday and police believe more cadres may have escaped into the dense jungle. The security forces confiscated two AK-47 rifles and other Maoist paraphernalia from the spot. Meanwhile, Search operations have been intensified across agency regions. PTI MS STH ROH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Top maoist leader shot: Gajarla Ravi killed in operation; rebel grip fades, no big leader left in Andhra Pradesh
HYDERABAD: With the encounter killing of CPI (Maoist) central committee member Gajarla Ravi, the banned outfit has lost its last top-level operative deployed in Andhra Pradesh. Ravi, a native of Telangana, was heading the crucial Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) special zonal committee. His death marks the complete elimination of all central committee members either operating in or originally from Andhra this year. A senior official said, "With Ravi gone, the central committee has no one left operating in Andhra. Andhra-origin members have also been wiped out." Though not from Andhra, Ravi had been overseeing Maoist operations in the AOB region, keeping the Andhra structure active after the loss of native leaders. His elimination deals a strategic blow to the organisation's command and coordination in Andhra territory. With no central committee leader now stationed in the state, the Maoist presence has suffered a significant leadership vacuum. While Andhra has been entirely wiped out from the top echelons, Telangana continues to dominate the central committee. Among the key Telangana leaders still active are Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu (Peddapalli), Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devji (Korutla), Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa, and Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram (Peddapalli).
