PTI

Hyderabad, Sep 7: Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Janardhan Reddy and his wife N Rajyalakshmi, a minister in the state, escaped unhurt while three Congress workers were killed in a Maoist attack in Nellore district on Friday September 7.

The Maoist triggered a landmine blast near a culvert targeting the convoy of Reddy, who is a Lok Sabha MP, at 6.30 am. The bulletproof car in which the Reddy couple was travelling was damaged in the attack, which took place near Chitwedu village in the district.

Three persons died on the spot in the blast triggered using a remote device, police said. Reddy, who represents Visakapatnam constituency in the Lower House, and his wife were proceeding to the temple town of Tirupati to participate in the convocation ceremony of Sri Venkateshwara University when the attack took place.

The blast was clearly targeted at the convoy comprising 21 vehicles. Reddy, 70, was the Chief Minister when a ban was imposed on Naxalites on the first time in May 1992.

Since then he has been on the Maoist hit list. He had earlier escaped a similar attempt in 2003. Condemning the attack, Home Minister K Jana Reddy said it reflected Maoists' desperation to prove their existence.

Such was the impact of the explosion that one of the cars in the convoy was blown to pieces and the bodies were flung in the air and strewn around the area. Reddy's vehicle had just crossed the culvert when the blast took place.

His bulletproof Mercedes Benz suffered minor damage in the attack, police said. The dead have been identified as Nagarjuna Reddy, Beshayya and Babu.

Chief Minister Y S Rajsekhar Reddy, who was camping in his native district of Kadapa, spoke to the Reddy couple over phone and rushed to the state capital to review the law and order situation in the wake of the attack.

A red alert has been sounded and combing operations intensified in Nellore district to nab the culprits, police said. "Both of them are safe and unhurt. We have tightened the security in the area," Information Minister A Ramnarayan Reddy, who hails from Nellore, said.

Meanwhile, the MP and his wife have left for Tirupati for their schedule programme. The attack has taken the police by surprise as Nellore district is considered free from Maoists activity. This is the second major strike by extremists in the last two years.

On August 15, 2005, senior Congress legislator C Narsireddy and ten others were gunned down by Maoists in Mehboobnagar district, prompting the government to re-impose the ban on CPI (Maoists). Meanwhile, Home Minister K Jana Reddy has cancelled his tour of Nalgonda district and is rushing to the blast site.

"We will review the status of security for VIPs and if necessary increase the security cover", he said. Meanwhile, parties across the political spectrum have condemned the attack.