PALAKKAD: A group of suspected Maoists attacked a forest office at Attappadi and two restaurants at Chandranagar in Palakkad district of Kerala in early morning on Monday. In another incident, a forest outpost at Vellamunda in Wayanad was also attacked by the alleged ultras. No casualty was reported.
Sources said the outlets of KFC and McDonald on the Palakkad - Coimbatore national highway were attacked in the wee hours. Anti-US pamphlets and posters calling for armed revolution were found on the spot.
According to sources, a group of 19 people stormed into the building which houses the Silent Valley office around 1.30 AM and set fire to a jeep of the forest officials parked outside the complex. Furniture and other documents inside the office were destroyed.
The gang had sped away before the forest officials and police arrived. Walkie talkie, Camera and other valuables were found missing from the office. Police have recovered pro-Maoist posters from the spot.
A batch of Thunderbolt force was stationed just around 300 metres away from the spot. Locals said the assailants had guns and other weapons. Security has been stepped up in the area.
The attack came a few days after the police and naxals exchanged fire in Wayanad which had been a hotbed of Naxalite activities during the late 1960s and early 1970s.