Two youths were arrested in Telangana’s Toopran after police said they staged a fake Maoist warning at a police station and municipal office to increase social media views and followers, using AI tools to prepare the letters.
The accused were identified as Banda Madhu, 23, and Chintakindi Sridhar, 23, both from Nagulapalli. Police seized a motorcycle and two mobile phones from them, Medak superintendent of police DV Srinivasa Rao said.
According to the police investigation, a masked man entered Toopran police station at about 1.30 am on the intervening night of Tuesday and left a red cloth carrying a letter on the reception table. Another person was waiting outside on a motorcycle. A similar red cloth and letter were placed at the municipal office around the same time.
The letters purportedly carried the names “Alexendar Apth” and “Ganapathi Anna”, along with sickle and hammer symbols. Their contents condemned the recent death sentences awarded to 10 convicted Maoists by a special National Investigation Agency court in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack case. The letters also warned of an intensified campaign against executions.
The Jhiram Ghati attack took place on May 25, 2013, when armed CPI (Maoist) cadres ambushed a Congress Parivartan Yatra convoy in Bastar district. Several senior Congress leaders, including Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and Vidya Charan Shukla, were killed in the attack.
Police registered a case after the letters were discovered and began examining CCTV footage and technical evidence. The investigation received additional attention because a letter in the name of Maoists had surfaced during Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s visit to Medaram earlier this year.
A special team headed by Toopran deputy superintendent of police Narender Goud was formed to trace those responsible. Srinivasa Rao said the investigation indicated that Madhu had staged the incident to gain publicity on social media. Police said an earlier incident at Medaram had not generated the publicity he expected, after which he allegedly planned the Toopran stunt.
According to the investigation, Madhu used AI tools to prepare the letter and made changes to create three versions. Police said he wore a mask and black raincoat while entering the police station, placed the letter on the reception table and recorded the act on his mobile phone. The photographs and video were later sent to people known to him, investigators said.
Police gathered information about the suspects’ movements and traced them to Nagulapalli. Madhu and Sridhar were arrested near Nagulapalli bridge on Thursday night. The SP said CCTV footage, technical evidence and information collected during the investigation helped the special team identify the accused and establish their movements.
Police are continuing the investigation and examining the digital material recovered from the two men.
