K. Seetharamaiah, 87; Founded Communist Rebel Group in India
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Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, 87, founder of a Maoist guerrilla group in India, died Friday in Vijayawada in India’s Andhra Pradesh State. No cause of death was announced.
Seetharamaiah began the People’s War Group in 1980, but later had a reported falling out with its other leaders.
The rebel group, which claims to defend the rights of the poor, remains active in southern and central India. Its goal is to create a communist state. More than 6,000 people have died in rebel attacks over the last two decades.
In 1993, Seetharamaiah surrendered to police after his reported break with other rebel leaders. He was jailed for two months, then freed because of his poor health.
A schoolteacher-turned-activist, Seetharamaiah joined the Communist Party during India’s freedom struggle against its British colonial rulers. He left the party after it entered parliamentary politics following India’s independence in 1947.
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