Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former Araku MLA Siveri Soma have been shot dead by Naxals in a Maoist attack in Dumbriguda Mandal on Sunday, said media reports. Reports say that the two leaders were shot from close range and that the Maoists spoke to them before killing the leaders.

Along with the MLA, his personal attendant has also been killed. Both of the people died on the spot, according to reports.

Former MLA Siveri Soma was also shot dead by the Maoists say media reports. The incident is said to have taken place at Lipittuputtu village of Tottangi Panchayat in Dumbriguda mandal.

Initial reports say that the leaders had attended the interior tribal village programme. A report in that about 40 to 50 Maoists were involved in the attack.

Rao was elected from Araku, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, on YSR Congress Party ticket in the 2014 elections, defeating Soma of the TDP.

In 2016, Rao switched loyalties to TDP.

According to the police, both Rao and Soma had received threats from Maoists in the past.

On August 6, in a major breakthrough for security forces, 15 Naxals were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.

The gunfight took place in a forest area in south Sukma, around 500 km from Raipur. 15 bodies of Naxals have been recovered, and a large amount of firearms were also seized from the encounter site. Chhattisgarh: Three Jawans Injured In IED Blast By Naxals In Sukma District. Four naxals were also apprehended from the area including an area committee member who had a bounty of Rs five lakh. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2018 02:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).