Central Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy strongly condemns the reign of terror let loose by the Telengana Govt. against the leaders and cadres of CPI(ML)-New Democracy. Yesterday, i.e. on July 31 large police parties had attacked a team of Party activists and killed Com. Linganna, a member of Telengana State Committee of the Party, leader of its North East Telengana Regional Committee and Secretary of Kothagudem District Committee. Com. Linganna was one of the main leaders of the revolutionary movement of the region and one of the principal organizers of the tribal people’s struggle to save their podu lands and means of livelihood.

Thousands of tribals had assembled hearing the news of Com. Linganna’s killing by the police. The police had however not permitted the assembly of village people and fired to disperse the people. According to some reports police fired more than fourteen rounds. Police did not permit anybody to go to the place where police had killed Com. Linganna. A number of comrades including Com. Aruna, Com. Nageshwar Rao and Com. Sitaramaiah were detained yesterday on July 31 and taken to Kachinapalli police station. Police had virtually clamped a curfew in the region, not permitting any person to go to the site.

Since this morning i.e. August 1, police has started arrest and detention of the Party leaders and cadres. Village level leaders of the Party and mass organizations have been arrested. Besides, police has arrested several main leaders of the Party including Secretary of the State Committee, Com. D. V. Krishna, Com. P. Ranga Rao and several other leading comrades.

There are unconfirmed reports that there are more dead bodies of the comrades who had been killed by the police yesterday. This is being cited as the reason why police is not permitting anybody to go anywhere near the site. There are also reports of various injury marks on the dead body of Com. Linganna.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy strongly condemns the total suppression of the democratic rights by KCR Govt. which has gone all out to suppress the movement of tribals and non-tribal poor and has embarked on eliminating the revolutionary leaders.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy demands that all arrested comrades should be released immediately. Party leaders and activists as well as democratic rights activists should be allowed to visit the site without hindrance.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy also demands that postmortem of Com. Linganna should be conducted again with full video record and by a team of forensic experts from outside the district.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy demands that all police personnel who participated in these wanton killings should be arrested and tried.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy calls upon all Party committees, revolutionary organizations, democratic rights and civil liberties organizations and all democrats to join hands and build a strong protest against this wave of fascist repression let loose by KCR Govt. which is hand in glove with Modi led RSS-BJP Govt. at the Centre.

Central Committee

CPI(ML)-New Democracy

August 1, 2019