How Comrade Saketh Rajan was killed in Treachery

February 6th, 2005 is a most tragic day in the history of the revolutionary movement not only in Karnataka but also for the whole country. On that day, the people of Karnataka lost one of its brave sons; on that fateful day the Party, Communist Party of India (Maoist), lost one of its invaluable leaders and a fighter; on this day the revolutionary movement in Karnataka suffered a severe blow.

On receiving definite information about the movement of the squad and Com. Saketh from a notorious landlord and informer Shesha Gowda, and a Bajarang Dal goon, near Menasinahadya village of Koppa Taluk in the Western Ghats, about 80 policemen, led by Dy. SP Shivakumar, divided into four groups and reached that place from all directions around 1.00 am. At 6.00am, when the squad came out of the house, the blood-thirsty police thugs surrounded them and started firing. Although the comrades were surprised by the sudden burst of firing, the squad retaliated.

But Com. Saketh Rajan and Shivalingu, who fought heroically for the liberation of the poor and oppressed till their last breath, fell to the bullets of the enemy. Other members of the squad retreated safely. The brutality of the killers was evident from the way the crime was committed. The back portion of the head of Com. Saketh was blown off. He was shot from a rifle at point blank range from behind. Com. Shivalingu was also shot in the stomach from behind. Yet, many intellectuals raised doubts about this encounter considering that the police and CM conspired to dispose of the dead body without giving it to his comrades and even the mother. Serious doubts are that it was a fake encounter so as to hide the torture marks from the body.

Enraged by this gruesome murder the revolutionary masses, democrats and intellectuals expressed their strong protest. Suspecting foul play in the whole incident the Citizen Forum for Peace Initiative demanded re-post-mortem of the deceased, to stop the ongoing operation against the Naxalites in Malnad, and to conduct a judicial enquiry into the encounter. They met the vicious CM, Dharam Singh, and requested him to hand over the bodies to them.


The liar CM promised to hand over the bodies but refused to stop the ongoing operation against the Naxalites. Even as the sympathizers and supporters began making arrangements for paying the last tributes and homage to the beloved comrades, the police stealthily took away the bodies from the mortuary and cremated them without the presence of the relatives or the sympathizers.

True to his chameleon nature the CM approved the cremation of the bodies by the police. As the news of the cremation leaked out the supporters and sympathizers, who were in the mortuary protested against this inhuman conduct of the police. Panicking by the growing anger of the revolutionary masses and the sympathy wave among the wider sections of the broad masses, and fear of exposure of their brutalities and conspiracy, the police conducted the cremation by using brutal force. More than 400 policemen were mobilized at the crematorium; and the cremation was completed by deception and at gunpoint.

Long live Comrades Saketh Rajan (Prem) and Shivalingu (Arun)!

Hail the martyrdom of our beloved Martyrs!

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