Azad body shown to mother amid tension at Mancherial Govt Hospital

Tension prevailed at the Mancherial Government Hospital on Saturday when  Maoist sympathizers thronged the hospital where the post-mortem of Maoist Leader Cherkuri Rajkumar alias Azad was being  conducted.

The bodies of the two slain Maoists were brought to the Government Mancherial hospital and the post-mortem was conducted on Saturday.

The mother and brother among other relatives of Azad, who was gunned down by the Andhra Pradesh Police a day earlier, came to see the body. Azad's mother C. Karuna and Azad’s brother were allowed to see the body before the autopsy began as per the directions of the High Court.

Maoist sympathizer Varavara Rao and activists of various civil liberties groups were present at the hospital. There were heated arguments between the police and the rights activists as officials refused to let any one except Azad's mother and brother into the hospital.

Mediapersons staged a protest against the police for not allowing them into the hospital.Maoist sympathizers alleged that the police killed Azad in cold blood after capturing him in Maharashtra.

"The government has killed the man who was to participate in the talks, which shows it is not interested in truce," Gaddar, a staunch  supporter of  Maoists told reporters outside the hospital.

The balladeer warned the Government of a mass movement due to the killings of Maoists in what he called were 'staged shootouts'.

Azad, considered second in the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) hierarchy and also the spokesperson of the outfit, was shot dead on Friday by police in a shootout in the forests near Jogapur in Adilabad district, about 300 km from here, police said.

Another Maoist who was killed has been identified as Sahadev.