Azad, Important Maoist leader and spokesperson in India is murdered

Just recently it has been reported in a number of news outlets that leader and spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, of the Communist Party of India – Maoist, has been murdered by security forces. Here are some of the reports:

From Mynews.in:

Maoist operations took a backseat when their topmost leader and spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was killed by police in a gunfight here in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the reports, the shootout took place near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from here.
Read also: Govt plans to redeploy paramilitary forces in Naxal affected states

For the rest click here.

From The Times of India:

Azad killing a big blow to Maoists
NEW DELHI: Inflicting a major blow on the Maoists at a time when the fight against Naxalism was proceeding very badly, the Andhra Pradesh police on Friday silenced the Maoists' voluble spokesman and senior politburo member Cherukuri Rajkumar, popularly known as Azad. Azad was learnt to be on his way to a destination in Dandakaranya for a meeting of the CPI (Maoist) central committee. Well known in media circles, Azad was the interlocutor with Maoist leaders operating deep undercover and often struck an assertive and boastful note. Though his value in operational terms is debatable, he death is a blow to the Maoists. Azad, along with another Maoist, were killed in an encounter with police in Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. Acting on specific intelligence, police raided the Maoist duo's hideout and killed them following a gunbattle, which continued for nearly two hours. CPI (Maoist), however, expectedly claimed that Azad was picked up by police from somewhere near Nagpur in Maharashtra. Top ultras were supposed to attend the central committee meeting to discuss developments in context of home minister P Chidambaram's recent communication to Swami Agnivesh on talks though the Naxals have already rejected the offer. In fact, they did so in fairly dismissive terms.

For the rest click here.

A statement of support by Chairman Prachanda, from Hindustan Times:

Nepali Maoists have come out in support of their Indian comrades and declared their opposition to the security operations against them.
Speaking over telephone, Nepali Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, told Hindustan Times: “This is the first time we are publicly saying that we oppose state repression and the so-called Operation Greenhunt in India. The problems of the day can be solved only through dialogue and negotiations, not through the use of force.”
Indian Maoists are ideologically the same as their Nepali counterparts, he said, adding: “Politically we are the same, although we have differences on certain issues.”

For the rest click here.

Also reporting on this is the Kasama Project:

Early reports have reached us claiming that armed Indian authorities had succeeded in killing the leading spokesman of the Indian Maoist movement, Comrade Azad (Cherukuri Rajkumar), a comrade believed to be on the leading Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The killing supposedly happened in Adilabad district on Friday.
We have often shared with you the views of Comrade Azad, and express our profound sadness to his comrades and family.
It is important to note that these events are not yet confirmed. There are many cases in the past when the authorities have falsely announced their own success at capturing or murdering someone. And certainly in cases of successful “decapitation” strikes, there are many ways that the oppressors seek to exploit the assassination of leaders to portray real movements as dead or demoralized.

For the rest click here.