Rajakumar was also a member of the central committee and a part of the Maoist politburo. The other slain Maoist is suspected to be Chandrana, also a member of the central committee. But the police are yet to confirm his identity.
Both leaders had spent nearly 25 years underground in the Maoist movement. The encounter took place 15 km inside the Andhra Pradesh border in Jogapur forest. Police recovered an AK-47 rifle and some small fire arms at the encounter site. Maoist sympathisers like Varavara Rao have termed the encounter as a retaliation killing and suspect the leaders were picked up much earlier. They say top leaders always travel in groups with their own security personnel and it is tough to believe that the two leaders were killed all alone.
Varavara Rao has filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court alleging that this was a fake encounter. The state police fears that the death of the two leaders could lead to retaliation by the Maoists.
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