A Maoist leader and his wife were killed in an encounter with the police in the early hours of Saturday in Mahbubnagar
district in Andhra Pradesh.

Mahbubnagar Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Mann identified the slain Maoists as Gajji Srisailam alias Santosh, CPI (Maoist) Mahbubnagar district committee member and Nallamala forest area secretary, and his wife and Maoist activist Pushpa alias Venkatamma.

The SP said that following the attack by a group of armed Maoists on Achampet town police station, in which two policemen were killed and another policeman critically injured on March 31, the district police had taken up combing operations. On specific information that the Maoists involved in the attack were hiding in the area abutting Nallamala forests, a special police party organised search and frisking operation at Edukla village.

The police party intercepted an autorickshaw and took the 10 passengers to Gopalpet police station to make inquiries. During interrogation, the couple confessed that they were Maoists.

When they were being brought to Achampet at around 1.30 am, they tried to escape. Srisailam suddenly snatched the pistol of one of the sub-inspectors and fired one round. Pushpa also pounced on one of the constables. The police opened fire on the couple, killing them on the spot.

The SP said that Srisailam was a ruthless killer involved in as many as 14 violent incidents, including the killing of Congress legislator D Raghya Naik in December 2001.

The killing of the Maoist couple came just 10 hours after Director-General of Police Swaranjit Sen visited Achampet to console the families of slain policemen and warned that the Maoists would "have to pay a heavy price for the mindless violence perpetrated by them in the state."

"We have sent a report to the government explaining the escalating activities of the Maoists and recommending that the Naxalite outfit be banned," the DGP had told the policemen.