Maoist Active in Tri-junction, Says Q Branch

MADURAI: A fresh alert issued by the Tamil Nadu Q Branch police to districts bordering Kerala has stated that there was increasing movement of Maoists in the tribal villages in Wayanad and Palakkad districts of Kerala.

According to police sources, in the alert issued this week, the Q branch police have claimed at least two sightings of Maoists in the last week of June in two different tribal villages in Wayanad and Palakkad districts.

One incident happened in Vallavetti village under the Agali police limits in Palakkad district in which around 35 Maoists in uniform, including five women, camped for a night. They allegedly spoke about their ideology to Tamil-speaking tribals, police sources said.

Another incident happened in Kurichiya colony, a tribal hamlet in Wayanad district in which five Maoists including two women distributed copies of their clandestine publication “Kaatuthee” to the villagers.

The alert gains significance given the recent arrest of four people with Maoist links in Coimbatore. Police said at least three such alerts had been issued in the past one month which showed increased movement of Maoists in tribal villages in the three-state junction of Kerala, TN and Karnataka. The alert was issued to bordering districts of Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul, Nilgris and also Madurai and Erode. Police personnel have been asked to keep their eyes open to any suspicious movement in their respective districts.