The encounter broke out between Kerala Police's specialised teams and Maoists in the Periya area, police said.
Published Nov 08, 2023 | 2:56 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 08, 2023 | 2:56 PM
Kerala police. Representational Image. (Wikimedia)
Late on Tuesday night, two Maoists— a man and a woman— were apprehended following a gun battle in a forest area in Wayanad, police said.
The apprehended Maoists have been identified as Chandru and Unnimaya, a police official said on Wednesday, 8 November.
The encounter happened between Kerala Police’s specialised teams and Maoists in the Periya area under Thalappuzha police station limit, police said.
The incident occurred when a group of Maoists, reportedly five in number, sought shelter in a house to charge their mobile phones, police sources said.
During the operation, three members of the group managed to escape from the scene, they said.
The apprehended Maoists have been taken to a police camp nearby for questioning, the sources added.
Kerala Police teams had launched a combing operation in the area based on intelligence inputs received from a Maoist messenger apprehended on Tuesday in neighbouring Kozhikode district.
During the operation, the Maoists opened fire at the Special Operation Group (SOG) and the Thunderbolt Squad, both elite commando forces of the state police, sources said.
Last month, on 3 October, a group of Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, had arrived at a private resort in Makkimala in Thalappuzha and taken control of the manager’s mobile phone to send a statement to the media regarding issues faced by estate workers.
The ultras, six in number, had allegedly insisted on obtaining the mobile phone from the hotel staff, subsequently instructing him to WhatsApp their statement to a select group of journalists.
According to a police source, a total of 23 journalists throughout the state received the statement from the Kabani Area Committee of the CPI(Maoist). This included a PTI journalist who received the statement on Wednesday night.
“As per the information we received, all of them possessed sophisticated weapons, including AK-47s,” a state intelligence official was quoted as saying to the news agency.
While taking possession of the resort manager’s mobile phone, the Maoists allegedly directed him to forward a copy of their press statement to the specified journalists whose contact details they provided.
The group did not issue any threats or create panic within the resort. They left the premises after successfully sending the message to journalists.
Police had then registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act in connection with this incident.
In September, an office of Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) at Kambamala was attacked by a group of Maoists. Since then Maoist cadres were sighted regularly at Kambamala tea plantations.
Following which, the seciurity for the nearby police stations have been increased.
Recently, there have been reports of suspected Maoist presence in various forest fringe hamlets in Wayanad and neighbouring Kannur districts.
(With PTI inputs)
