December 2, 2001	Sunday	Ramazan 16, 1422

HYDERABAD (India) Dec 1: Maoist guerrillas killed a local political leader and blew up a court in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh in a series of attacks in the past three days, police said on Saturday.

A group of rebels, reportedly from the outlawed People’s War Group (PWG), on Friday broke into the house of the local leader of India’s main opposition Congress Party, Venkat Reddy, in Bejugama town and shot him dead.

On Saturday, a six PWG fighters blew up a district courthouse in Asifabad, 350 kilometres north of Hyderabad.

The police went on high alert as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was due to visit the coastal state on Sunday.

Separately, Maoist rebels killed a policeman Saturday in the distant state of Chattisgarh on the Himalayan foothills of northern India, police said.

Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani warned that his federal government could use a new anti-terrorism law —- the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) —- to put down the left-wing insurgency.

“The PWG is outlawed in Andhra Pradesh but I think simply banning them is not a solution.

“Discussions are now on to use provisions of POTO to restrict the PWG which is trying to spread its activities in other states as well,” Zee TV network quoted Advani as warning.

Under POTO, described as draconian by opposition political parties, any person could be detained on suspicions that he or she may possess information relating to terrorism.

In other attacks over the past days, the PWG blew up three industrial units, including a dairy plant partly owned by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu.

They also dynamited a granite factory belonging to India’s junior defence minister U.V. Krishnam Raju and a coffee-making unit owned by India’s leading Tata group.

Last month, they destroyed a Coca-Cola bottling plant here.

Naidu accused the Maoists, who in the past year have killed 21 politicians and 41 police, of striking at the root of the state’s economy.

Tata group officials said the attack on their unit had caused losses, with initial estimates at 50 million rupees (one million dollars).

“This incident has come as a big shock to us. There has been extensive damage to our machines and the building itself,” Tata Coffee managing director M.H. Ashraff told AFP.

Police had warned of possible attacks by Maoist rebels to mark the first anniversary of the formation of the radical People’s Guerrilla Army on December 2. Police say the group is a front of the PWG.

“We cannot rule out attempts by the rebels to foment even more trouble in the next few days,” said state police intelligence chief Anurag Sharma.

The guerrillas have threatened to assassinate Naidu, who has vowed to crush insurgency. The Maoists’ two-decade campaign has cost several thousand lives.

India suspects that local left-wing rebels, especially in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, have links with Maoist guerrillas in Nepal, who last week launched a string of attacks that left more than 400 people dead.

The PWG in Andhra Pradesh has been waging a campaign against exploitation of landless farmers. Their drive is also against what many they say are “anti-poor” state policies.—AFP