KOZHIKODE: A Maoist, who was injured in the police firing at Ayyankunnu in Kannur on November 13, died during treatment. A press release issued by Jogi, the spokesperson of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee, said that Lakshmi alias Kavitha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh was ‘martyred.’
The release said the Thunderbolts, the special anti-Maoist force of Kerala police, carried out a surprise attack on the members of Kabani Dalam of the Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) when they were holding a meeting. Lakshmi was injured in the attacks and was shifted from the scene.
The release didn’t say when she died. It said the body was buried with the honours usually given to martyrs.
Lakshmi was the wife of Ramu alias Lijesh, another PLGA member who surrendered to the police in 2021. Before the formation of the Western Ghat Zonal Committee, Lakshmi was a member of the Thungabhdra squad in Karnataka. She joined the Kabani squad in 2015.
Maoists said the Thunderbolts unleashed an attack on them four times last month. They alleged that the attacks were part of Operation Samadhan carried out by the Central government controlled by the RSS. The posters released by the Maoists declared that they would retaliate for the ‘murder’ of their comrade.
Lakshmi is the eighth Maoist, who got killed in police firing in Kerala. Kuppu Devaraj, a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist), and Ajitha, a zonal committee member, were killed in an encounter in the forests in Karulayi in Malappuram in 2016. Four Maoists including Manivasakam were killed in the firing at Manjakkani in Palakkad district in 2019. C P Jaleel, a member of the Kabani Dalam, was shot dead by the police at Vythiri in Wayanad in 2019 and Velmurukan was killed in police firing in 2020. Besides, many Maoist cadres have been arrested or surrendered before the police.