Gopalan, a native of Karinkanni colony, has not dared to enter the forest area after the incident. “The gang, comprising three men and four women landed here around 5.30 pm and collected rice, sugar and tea powder from the families. They left around 7.30 pm after having food,” said the mooppan.
According to Gopalan, though they passed on the information to the Padinjarethara forest section officer around 6 pm risking their lives, the police force reached the colony only the next day. He added that the gang had warned him of dire consequence, if he informed the police.
There were many instances of Maoists killing civilians branding them as police informers in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, he added.
“They cannot be termed ‘informers’, ADGP (Intelligence) T P Sen Kumar told ‘Express’.
“Police informants are those who work closely with security forces to provide information about criminals. It’s not appropriate to use the term in this case. Of course, we will have to find out what exactly are their demands regarding police protection,” he said. District Superintendent of Police K Balachandran said the delay occurred as it took time to mobilise the paramilitary forces. “The insurgents were reportedly well-armed and it would have been senseless to send security personnel without getting a clear picture of the situation.
Also, providing security on a permanent basis is not a solution. However, the area is under strict surveillance of the Thunderbolts commandos,” he added. “We have not received any request for the relocation of the residents of the Karinkanni colony. The district administration will certainly consider it seriously,” said District Collector K G Raju. The colony with about 50 residents comes under the first ward of the Thariode grama panchayat and no electricity or mobile network is available in the area.