Ajay Kanth By

Express News Service

KOCHI: After the state government went slow on anti-Maoist operations following the public outcry over the Nilambur encounter incident, CPI (Maoists) have upped their activities in northern districts with intelligence agencies confirming nearly 30 sightings of insurgents in rural areas of Kozhikode district alone in the past six months.

State Police Chief Loknath Behera begged to differ saying there have been a few sightings of Maoists in the region, but it doesn’t mean their activities have increased. “Also, we have not gone soft on the Maoists. The police have been keeping track of all their activities,” Behera said.

As per information from ground-level, panic has gripped people in several areas of Kozhikode rural, after people in uniform have started walking into kitchens of houses demanding rice and groceries.

Local police sources confirmed though no violence has been reported in connection with any of such incidents, people fear the insurgents will resort to violence if any one refuses to heed to their request for food.

“Due to heavy rain in the past few weeks, the terrain has become harsh for easy movement. It seems Maoists are running short of groceries and they have not been able to connect with their supply chain due to inclement weather,” police officers said, adding even the combing operation in various suspected Maoists-inflicted zones in the region had gone slow after the Nilambur encounter killings of two Maoist leaders.

It was on November 24, 2016, the Kerala police killed Maoist leaders - Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha - in an encounter inside Nilambur forest. Following this, the CPM-led LDF Government came under severe criticism from other Left organisations, mainly the CPI.

Kuppu, a native of Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, was a member of the CPI(Maoist) central committee and Western Ghats committee secretary.

Ajitha, a lawyer by profession in Chennai, was an active member of the outfit in Nilambur forest range and Latha, a native of Palakkad, was working in the tribal belts of Wayanad after giving up her job as an anganwadi teacher.

‘Meppadi incident was indeed Maoists’ handiwork’

Kalpetta: The police on Saturday confirmed the incident in which a four-member gang abducted three migrant labourers at Meppadi in Wayanad, the other day, was indeed the handiwork of Maoist extremists. The identity of the gang members has since been established and a major manhunt is on to being them to justice.

Vikram Gouda, Soman, Santhosh and Unniyarcha are the members of the gang. Though the police and the Thunderbolt commandos had launched combing operations to nab the fugitives, they couldn’t trace them. Late on Friday, three migrant labourers at the Emerald Estate in Meppadi were taken hostage by the armed gang.

One escaped and told the estate owners who informed the police. Later, the two other migrant labourers also escaped. The migrant labourers are now in police custody.