Ajay Kanth By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The Kerala police now face a new challenge in their operations against the rising threat of Left Wing Extremism (LWE). Maoist cadres in the state are totally discarding mobile phones for communication, giving a tough time to investigating agencies to trace their locations or gather information.

Though special teams of Kerala police have been combing four districts (Wayanad, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Malappuram) for a while, they have not been able to track the details of the CPI (Maoist) cadres though they have appeared in public with arms a couple of times.

Police officers said that the insurgents have stopped using mobile phones or other digital communication devices with the clear intention of avoiding any sort of tracking by the enforcement agencies. “They are more into using conventional communication methods, such as using human couriers,” said a senior police officer.

Kannur Range Inspector General Balram Kumar Upadhyay said the police were taking all necessary steps to track the activities of the Maoists in the forest areas of Wayanad. “They know that we are in hot pursuit of them as we have strengthened the combing operations,” he said.

Another intelligence officer said that the Maoists have gone back to using longhand notes for communication with their cells. A detailed analysis by agencies based on documents seized from Maoists had found the guidelines issued by the central leadership on the usage of mobile phones and internet.

The cadres have been warned against carrying mobile phones or downloading any data using them. They have also been asked to access internet with great caution. All this to avoid the tracking of location by the investigating agencies.