Still no clue about abducted TDP leaders' whereabouts

Visakhapatnam, Oct 7: Police till late tonight failed to find any clue about the whereabouts of three TDP leaders held captive by Maoists in the Visakhapatnam district.

Earlier in the day, the members of a tribal teachers association had visited a particular area and tried to secure the leaders' release. Superintendent of Police (Visakhapatnam Rural) Dr K Praveen, however, said that the police had no information as to which area the association representatives visited.

"They in any case failed to make any breakthrough," he said. M Balaiah (TDP's G K Veedhi Mandal President) and two other local leaders -- M Mahesh and V Balaiah -- were taken captive by Naxals in a forested area of the district on Monday.

Naxals through their network had asked the three TDP leaders to meet them at Dharkonda. It was suspected that the Naxals abducted them to protest against bauxite mining in the area.

The SP today appealed to the leaders of all the political parties not to venture into the agency area of Visakhapatnam district without informing the police. Family members of the abducted leaders appealed to the ultras to release them. Speaking to reporters at G K Veedhi, Mahesh's wife Kamalamma said her husband had taken part in anti-bauxite mining agitations and he was always opposed to mining.

PTI