Odishatv Bureau
Karimnagar: The family members of slain top Maoist leader Kishenji today alleged that he was killed in a "fake" encounter and demanded that his body be handed over to them for performing last rites The 58-year-old Molajula Koteswar Rao, better known as Kishenji, was gunned down by security forces in a forest in West Midnapore district of West Bengal yesterday. He hailed from Peddapalli in Karimnagar district.

Talking to the media at Peddapalli, Anjaneyulu, elder brother of Kishenji, maintained the killing was result of a conspiracy hatched by the West Bengal and Central Governments. Anjaneyulu alleged his brother was killed in a "fake" gunbattle. He appealed to Government to handover the Maoist leader`s body for cremation at his native place. The body of Kishenji was first taken to Jhargram hospital morgue and then to the Midnapore police morgue for post-mortem.

After coming to know about the death of the top Maoist leader, his relatives and friends visited his house. Meanwhile, police are maintaining strict vigil in the district after the killing of Kishenji. Police today collected blood samples of Anjaneyulu to conduct a DNA test for establishing Kishenji`s identity. Kishenji`s old mother Madhuramma cried inconsolably, when she came to know about her son`s death. She said that her son had left the family about 33 years back to join the Maoist movement.

Kishenji was the second of Madhuramma`s three sons. While Anjaneyulu was a government employee, Kishenji`s younger brother Molajula Venugopal Rao is also one of the top Maoist leaders. Kishenji was booked in 14 cases in Karimnagar district, police said, adding that he was involved in the murder of the former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Duddilla Sripada Rao in 1999.

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