Malappuram: The bodies of the two Maoist leaders who were killed in an encounter with the police on Thursday were taken out of the forest on Friday after inquest by the Perinthalmanna sub-collector Jafar Malik. The bodies of Kuppu Deveraj, one of the top leaders, and Ajitha were taken to Kozhikode Medical College for autopsy, some 24 hours after they were gunned down by the forces. A team led by Malik entered the forest at 6 a.m. and returned by 7 p.m. with the bodies.
The encounter spot is around 10 km from the Padukka forest station near Edakkara, of which only four km stretch is motorable. The officers walked through the rest. The combing operation by the police and the Thunder Bolt special force for the remaining Maoist militants who fled from the encounter spot was going on deep inside the Nilambur south division forest area. The bodies in uniform were found adjacent to a tent covered with plastic sheet.
Bodies of Ajitha and Kuppu Deveraj at the encounter site.
The police found two tents erected by the militants in the area. A stockpile of weapons, electronic gadgets, solar power system, essential food articles, including 50 kg of rice and their personal belongings, was also found inside the tents. According to the police, the Maoists were trying to set up a base camp in the forest region bordering three states for the past few months.
The operation which lasted for over an hour was based on specific intelligence inputs regarding the regrouping of the Maoists in the forest region. Armed Maoists had been sighted several times in the recent past in tribal settlements bordering the forests at Edakkara, Moothedam, Mundakkadavu and Pookotumpadam and they had collected foodgrain from the settlements.
Pinarayi still awaits details of shootout
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday declined to comment on the death of two Maoists in an encounter with security forces at Nilambur on Thursday. The details of the incident are still being collected, he told reporters. The Chief Minister however pointed out that the area had a previous history of clashes between the police and Maoists. The Chief Minister evaded the questions from the media about the encounter even as doubts were expressed by several persons about the veracity of the claims made by the security agencies.
‘People should know truth’; Kanam seeks investigation
CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has raised serious doubts about the police claim on encounter killings of Maoists in Nilambur forest on Thursday.
Kanam said the circumstances leading to the alleged encounter should be inquired into in detail. People of the state should know the truth. “As of now the police has kept the entire episode totally confidential. The area where the said encounter took place is still out of bounds for the media. There is no information being given out on the encounter and how it took place,” he said.
Many people are raising questions about the police version asking if it was exchange of fire then how come there was not even a minor damage on this side. He said the Central Government was pumping crores of rupees for anti naxal operations in several states and providing huge amount of arms and ammunition.
Grow Vasu ready to receive Maoists’ bodies
Human rights activist Grow Vasu has expressed his willingness to receive the bodies of the two Maoist leaders who were killed reportedly in an encounter in the jungle zones of Nilambur in Malappuram district on Thursday. Mr Vasu told reporters here that this was a clear case of fake encounter.
“This has become a new business in the country,” he added. No police man was injured in the encounter, he claimed. “I feel it is my duty to receive the bodies and give them a gentle burial,” he said. “So far we know only the police version. There should be an impartial inquiry into the whole affair. We have a right to know what really happened in the jungle,” he said.
