By IANS
Hyderabad : Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Janardhan Reddy and his wife N. Rajyalakshmi, who is a minister in state cabinet, escaped a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists in Nellore district early Friday morning.
However, three workers of the ruling Congress party were killed and five others were injured in the attack on the minister’s convoy near Kovada village in Nellore district, about 550 km from here.
Janardhan Reddy, who is a senior Congress leader and a Member of Parliament from Visakhapatnam and Rajyalakshmi, who is minister for women development and child welfare in the state, were going to Tirupati.
Police said as soon as the convoy of more than a dozen cars reached near the village, the Maoists triggered the landmine, kept under a small bridge. Seconds after the couple’s car passed the bridge, the landmine exploded. The car coming behind them took the impact of the blast, killing three people including the driver and injuring five others.
The incident occurred at 6.45 a.m. when Janardhan Reddy along with his wife was going to the temple town to receive honorary doctorate from Sri Venkateshwara University.
Police officials believe that Communist Party of India (Maoist), who were lying low for the last two years due to a series of setbacks, have now struck in a big way and targeted Janardhan Reddy, who had imposed ban a on Maoists during his tenure as the chief minister (1990-92). He was on the hit list of the extremists and the police had foiled an attempt to kill him in 2003.
Janardhan Reddy had imposed ban on then Communist Party of India Marxist Leninist People’s War Group (CPI-ML PWG) in 1992.
The Maoists had also made a bid on the life of then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2003 near Tirupati. Naidu had escaped with minor injuries.