’Naxal’ dead in police lock-up

“He died around 9.30 pm. The body has been sent for postmortem,” Sukma SP Abhishek Shandilya said. “Uske paas maa ka diya ek shawl tha ((He had a shawl given by his mother). He tore the same to hang himself from a hook at the back of his lock-up door.”

Explaining the circumstances of Mada’s arrest,Sukma Thana In-charge Nand Kumar said a CRPF and police team had found him “running” around 5.30 am on Friday at Nilavaram village during search operations. A .12 bore rifle and live cartridge were allegedly recovered from Mada.

The officer also claimed that Mada had confessed to involvement in the murder of former Janpad member Bhimaram Markam. “He also named three other friends — Joga Pudiyami,Ayata and Kawasi Rama,” he said.

“We were about to send him to Dantewada jail,but since it got late,we kept him in the lock-up for the night,where he committed suicide,” Kumar said.

“Mada was an innocent farmer. They nabbed him on January 9,when he had come to the market to sell mahua. He had no Naxal links,” local Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma said.