IT happened within seconds. On April 4, four unknown assailants in an Ambassador car rammed four bullets into Gaddar, the revolutionary poet of the People's War Group (PWG) and founder of the Jan Natya Mandali. The scene of crime: the balladeer's Venkatapuram residence. Fortunately, Gaddar lived to tell the tale. He allegedly told the media that his assailants were plainclothed policemen. His wife, Vimala, and children, Suri Kiran and Vannela, corroborate his account.
Gaddar's suspicions stem from a recent dharna staged at his house by a group of people from neighbouring districts, who raised slogans against his taking up the cause of PWG men killed in encounters and ignoring the victims of the PWG itself. Many suspect the dharna was orchestrated by the police to restrain Gaddar from speaking against them. In a committee formed with the help of civil liberties activists, Gaddar had assured the kin of PWG victims that they could claim their bodies to perform last rites. Earlier, the police disposed bodies without the routine panchanama (paperwork).
Civil liberties activists and representatives of Dalit organisations have grabbed the opportunity to accuse the state government of being unduly harsh on the revolutionaries. The Andhra Pradesh High Court too, after hearing a public interest petition, ordered the state to record circumstantial
evidence which might have led to such encounters. This has put the police on the mat. And with Gaddar's voice the most strident among those condemning police atrocities, his theory that they might have conspired to kill him sounds credible.
The police stoutly deny the allegation. Says K. Aravinda Rao, chief of the Greyhounds (a special task force constituted by the NTR government to combat Naxal violence): "We will not stoop to such cowardly acts. We are trained to fight extremists in jungles." Rao instead blames the very functioning of the militant outfit. Alleges he: "Never in the PWG's history have the weaker sections been given their due. The upper castes have always called the shots; those belonging to the weaker sections and backward classes suffered the most." His reference is to the suspension of senior PWG revolutionaries like K.G. Satyamurthy and Gaddar, who came from weaker sections.
Gaddar was suspended on grounds of amassing wealth in the party's name. In actual fact, Gaddar's role within the PWG was growing more prominent than that of its founder president, Kondapalli Seetharamaiah. Gaddar defends himself by saying: "My effort has been to present facts, about the exploitation of the gullible by the powerful, through song and dance. I wish to live closer to their problems."
The police are exploiting these differences between Gaddar and the party. Says Vara Vara Rao, general secretary of the All-India League for Revolutionary Culture and member of VIRASAM (Viplava Rachayitula Sangham): "Had Gaddar not raised his accusing fingers at them, the police could have spread the theory of "internal feud resulting in an attempt on Gaddar". He also points to the veiled threats that Gaddar had received from senior police officials when he organ-ised rallies in the Medak and Nalgonda districts. Says he: "We want the government to stop police oppression and review its policy against revolutionary organisations.
" Reacting to the "unfortunate" incident, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu condemned the murder attempt. He ordered a CBI enquiry and instructed police chief H.J. Dora to sound a "red alert" against the culprits. He has also asked the health secretary to ensure all care to save Gaddar.
However, the magnanimity has brought little solace to Gaddar's supporters. They are seeking a review of government policy towards Naxals, especially the banned PWG and its frontal organisations. Says K.G. Kannabiran, president of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL): "The government has no right to ban any political party's activities. It has no option but to lift the ban on the PWG." Meanwhile, north Telangana has become a battlefield for warring policemen and the PWG dalams. About 48 Naxals have been killed in the the last 35 days alone, while 17 policemen have also died in these encounters. A situation that definitely warrants a hard spell of introspection by the Naidu government. Before it's too late.
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