The Karnataka police, who arrested Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao on Wednesday, 3 July, are now on the lookout for another Telugu poet Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as Gaddar.
According to the police, both men are absconding in a 14-year-old case where a Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) camp in Pavagada in Tumkur district in February 2005 was attacked by a group of alleged Naxals.
Rao and Gaddar, who were named as accused 11 and 12 in the charge sheet, were listed as absconders during the trial. Later, 19 accused in the case were acquitted by the Second Additional District Sessions Court in Tumkur in 2011, for want of evidence.
This decision was later contested by the Karnataka police in Karnataka High Court. During the hearing, the HC questioned police on the action taken against the absconders and sorted a report.
This resulted in the Karnataka police taking custody of Rao, who is in Pune jail since his arrest in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018, and a fresh manhunt for Gaddar.
Rao was earlier arrested on 28 August for allegedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with four other activists
The Attack
The Naxal attack in question took place on 10 February 2005 in Pavagada in Tumkur district. Police alleged a group of 200 suspected Naxals attacked the ninth battalion of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), while they were camping at a school.
The attack, claimed to be a retaliation to the encounter killing of student leader turned Naxal leader Saket Rajan, left a police sub-inspector, seven constables and a civilian dead.
The police later arrested 109 suspects in the case and charge sheet was filed against 22, including three minors. In the charge sheet police claimed that Rao and Gaddar were instrumental in the planning of the attack.
The Trial
The 19 people charge-sheeted by the cops – M Nagaraju, Srinivas, Bajjappa , Beladara Narasimha, Muttyalee, Govinda Venkataramu , Ashwath, Hrijana Gopala, Suresha, Ganganna, Lakshmi Narayana, Rajendra, Nallappagarihanumantha Reddy, Raju, Narasimha, Jagadeesha, Gopi, Anil Kumar and Peddanna – were acquitted for lack of evidence against them.
In the 2011 judgement, Judge B Balakrishna had said, “You are not being acquitted because you have been proven to be innocent beyond doubt or because it has been established that you are not Naxals or have no connections with Naxal groups. You are being released because the police have not conducted a thorough investigation and provided enough evidence to convict you.”
Gaddar Campaigned in 2008 Election
The arrest of Rao and manhunt for Gaddar are dubbed as a kneejerk reaction from the cops, after the HC pulled them, especially since Gaddar had actively taken part in the Telangana assembly elections in 2018 for the ‘People’s Front’ and even voted for the first time in his life. He was also seen in several public meetings as well.
On Thursday, 4 July, Rao presented before a court in Tumkur and he was remanded to two days of police custody.
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