Hyderabad, Oct 9th: Well-known Human Rights activist and prominent lawyer, K Balagopal passed away on Thursday night of a heart attack. He was 57. He is survived by his wife Vasanthalaxmi, a journalist in a local daily, and a son. Balagopal was in the forefront of the Human Rights Movement in Andhra Pradesh for over two and a half decades.

He was a famous civil rights activist in the state. He took up varied issues from killing of naxalites in 'fake' encounters and the arrest of villagers on the pretext that they had given shelter or food to Maoists to the plight of those displaced by the special economic zone. After becoming lawyer, he fought several cases both in the State High Court and Lower Courts on behalf of the poor without taking any fees.

Balagopal began his career as a teacher in Warangal but turned full-fledged human rights activist. He, along with another well known civil liberties activist K G Kannabhiran, led the Andhra Pradesh State Civil Liberties Committee for many years and later floated the state Human Rights Forum after he left the Naxalite movement. He has penned many articles in various dailies. Many civil liberties followers and contemporaries, including Vara Vara Rao, G Kannabhiran, Prof G Haragopal and others, mourned the sudden death of Balagopal.