Hyderabad: What appeared to be a late-night Maoist warning at Toopran police station and municipal office turned out to be a publicity stunt aimed at generating social media views and followers, with police arresting two youths from Nagulapalli in connection with the incident.The arrested men were identified as Banda Madhu (23) and Chintakindi Sridhar (23). Police seized a motorcycle and two mobile phones from them.Medak SP DV Srinivasa Rao said around 1:30 am on the intervening night of Tuesday, a masked man entered Toopran police station, placed a red cloth carrying a letter on the reception table and left. Another person was waiting outside on a motorcycle. A similar letter and red cloth were placed at the municipal office around the same time.The letters were purportedly issued in the name of Maoists and carried the names “Alexendar Apth” and “Ganapathi Anna”, along with sickle and hammer symbols. The contents condemned the recent death sentences awarded to 10 convicted Maoists by a special NIA court in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack case and warned of an intensified campaign against executions.Jhiram Ghati attack took place on May 25, 2013, when armed CPI (Maoist) cadres ambushed a Congress Parivartan Yatra convoy in Bastar district. Several senior Congress leaders, including Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and Vidya Charan Shukla, were among those killed.Police registered a case after the letters were found and began analysing CCTV footage and technical evidence. The investigation was given special attention after a letter in the name of Maoists had surfaced during chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s Medaram visit early this year.The SP said a special team headed by Toopran DSP Narender Goud was formed to trace those behind the letters. “The investigation revealed that the main accused, Banda Madhu, staged the incident with the intention of gaining publicity on social media and increasing followers and views,” Srinivasa Rao said.Police revealed that Medaram incident had not generated the publicity Madhu had expected, following which he allegedly planned a similar act at Toopran.According to the investigation, Madhu used AI tools to prepare the letter and subsequently made changes to create three versions. Madhu then allegedly wore a mask and black raincoat, entered the police station and placed the letter on the reception table. He also recorded the act on his mobile phone, police said. The photographs and video were later sent to people known to him, according to the investigation.Police subsequently gathered information about the suspects’ movements and traced them to Nagulapalli. Madhu and Sridhar were arrested on Thursday night near Nagulapalli bridge.“The CCTV footage, technical evidence and information gathered during the investigation helped the special team identify the accused and establish their movements,” the SP said.Police are continuing the investigation into the incident and examining the digital material recovered from the accused.
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