Anna Reddy Of CPI ML Arrested in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Bommai Narasimha Goud. That's Anna Reddy who headed CPI (ML) Janashakti in Orissa. When the police arrested him, he was wearing a Moustache brand shirt, a Park Avenue trouser, an Omega wrist watch and Bata shoes.

A day after three radicals were picked up from a private hospital, police went on record saying one of them was him. A native of Ankireddygudam village of Andhra Pradesh's Nalagonda district, Reddy was the son of a 'toddy-tapper.'

He was into revolutionary movement since his student days and joined CPI (ML) Janashakti in 1992. Soon he was member of the provincial committee of the outfit's AP unit. In 2004, the central committee decided to expand base in Orissa and Reddy was the chosen one.

Reddy reportedly showed up at Kalinga Nagar in 2005 when displacement issue was beginning to boil in the industrial hub. After the police firing on January 2, 2006, police entry to the area was blocked and it facilitated his activities. His armed cadre strength swelled to 40 fanning out to Keonjhar and Dhenkanal besides Jajpur.

The outfit was getting into extortion big time. ''The annual collection could be to the tune of Rs 20 lakh or more. And it is the sharing of the booty, which led to a rift in the group,'' police sources said. On January 31, 2007, three forest officials were killed in Kandhar forests of Dhenkanal.

But police ran over a training camp in June that year dealing a body-blow with several local cadres breaking away. Meanwhile Nanika Jamuda, his partner who led the women's radical outfit, was garnering support. Her bank balance reportedly stands at Rs 3 lakh.

''One who led the mass struggle for poor and downtrodden had a rather lavish life style. When his followers would get treatment at government hospitals, his partner was admitted to Kalinga Hospital. That says a lot,'' an officer said.

Meanwhile, Nanika Jamuda, 23, who Anna and his aides the were attending to at Kalinga Hospital, has been shown as arrested but she continues to be hospitalised. The ultras, however, were said to have been arrested after their faction group tipped off police.