With Ravi's death, Gajarla family's tryst with Naxalism comes to an end

BHUPALAPALLY (JAYASHANKAR DISTRICT): The Gajarla family's involvement with the Naxal movement could have come to an end with the reported death of Gajarla Ravi alias Uday in the encounter with AP and Odisha security forces in Malkangiri district of Odisha on Monday.

As of Monday evening, the police had identified 11 slain naxals but Ravi's name did not figure in it. Cops suspect he could be among the remaining yet to be identified victims but added that a confirmation can be made only after all the bodies are identified.

Ravi was the representative of the Maoists at the peace talks that the then Congress government headed by YS

Rajasekhara Reddy

initiated soon after coming to power in 2004.

Hailing from Telangana, 45year-old Ravi completed his high school in his native Velishala village of

Chityala

mandal in Jayashankar district. According to sources, he took admission into ITI in Hanamkonda and hoisted the red flag in the college campus for which he was arrested. This led to his younger brother Azad alias

Saraiah

to join the Maoist movement nearly 26 years ago.

Of the five Gajarla brothers, four of them joined the Maoist movement. Rajaiah, the eldest, died due to illness while remaining underground. While the second sibling Sammaiah stayed away from the movement, the third Azad alias Saraiah, was killed in an alleged encounter with the police in Kantanapally forests of Etunagaram in erstwhile Warangal district in 2008. While Ravi is the fourth sibling, Ashok alias Itu, the last of the Gajarla brothers, surrendered before the cops in Hyderabad five months ago and is living with his retired brother Sammaiah in Hanamkonda.Ravi is married to Rama alias

Jilani Begum

, the dalam commander of Malkangiri district. As of Monday , Ravi was the Malkangiri-Koraput-Srikakulam division committee secretary and AOB special zonal committee member “While it is still to be established if Ravi was among the victims, the Malkangiri area where the encounter took place is his area of operations,“ said sources.

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