According to sources, a worker in the rubber plantation claimed that he had sighted a woman in the forest area who was not from the village.
File video grab of ANF combing Karnataka Forests for nabbing Naxals
Frequent sightings of strangers suspected to be Maoists in the Koojimalai forest area have prompted Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) jawans to take up combing in the forest area, and a contingent of ANF has been stationed in Koojimalai village, sources said on Thursday, 28 March.
Another sighting of a suspected Maoist had been reported from a heavily wooded forest area on Thursday, they said, quoting the villagers who encountered the suspected ultra.
According to the sources, a worker in the rubber plantation claimed that he had sighted a woman in the forest area who was not from the village.
After thorough searches in both Ainekidu and Koojimale estates in the areas where the woman was found by the ANF jawans, it was revealed that she was from Rajasthan and was going from place to place in search of work.
She was the cause of rumours that led to extra combing by the ANF on Thursday.
The Kodagu district armed reserve policemen who were involved in the combing operations had secured the woman who was then taken to Madikeri where she was interrogated.
Upon knowing that she had no Maoist connection, she was sent to the district hospital and will be soon rehabilitated, said Ram Rajan, Kodagu Superintendent of Police.
Sources within the ANF have suggested that Maoist groups, previously detected in these regions, may still be active on the fringes of the Pushpagiri Forest Sanctuary.
ANF sources have confirmed that they have received complaints of strangers frequenting the area between Sampaje and Koojimalai.
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