KOCHI : Kerala Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), which is probing the extremist links of Viyyur resident Manoj who was recently arrested from Kochi, found that he had received training in using advanced automatic weapons. Thirty-year-old Manoj was produced before Ernakulam Additional District Sessions Court which sent him to ATS custody for six days on Saturday.
According to ATS, Manoj is involved in 11 Maoist cases registered in Kerala. He had gone into hiding in February 2023 when the police intensified a search for him. ATS sources said that since his college days, he became a follower of Maoist ideology. After joining the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PMLA), he underwent training in handling weapons, including automatic rifles.
“On several occasions, he was spotted by people in Wayanad and Kannur along with Maoists. He was part of an armed Maoist group that visited houses on forest fringes to buy essential goods. When we arrested him, his hands were pale and greased which was due to handling of rifles like AK-47. He had received training in handling rifles and other weapons. He is the first accused in a case registered at Kelakam in Kannur in May 2023 wherein he and three others trespassed into a house holding automatic rifles and threatened a family there demanding essential items,” an ATS official said.
ATS suspects that Manoj was involved in the attack on Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) office at Kambala in Wayanad on October 2023. ATS will interrogate Manoj in connection with the recovery of lethal explosives laid by Maoists on the patrolling paths used by the Kerala Thunderbolt unit at Makkimala last month. Similarly, the NIA will also question him as part of the probe into the firing at Thunderbolt unit that was patrolling Chapparam area in Periya, Wayanad, on November 2023.
“Manoj is close to Maoist leaders who are active in Kerala including Vikram Gowda, C P Moideen and Jayanna. He is not cooperating with the interrogation. We suspect he is trained not to crack during police interrogation. We are looking to extract information regarding Maoist activists associated with Kabani Dhalam which is active in ]Wayanad forest,” the officer said.
When produced before the Additional District Sessions Court on Saturday, the court asked the ATS special prosecutor regarding the reason for seeking 12 days custody of Manoj. The court observed that the reason stated in the affidavit filed by ATS was not enough for granting 12 days custody. ATS counsel submitted that Manoj has to be taken to Kelakam in Kannur as part of the probe.
He has to be questioned regarding the weapon he handles and other members of the Maoist group. Manoj told the court that after his arrest, ATS officers did not let him sleep in the night. To this, the court ordered that the accused should be given sufficient resting time to sleep after he undergoes interrogation. The court sent Manoj to six days ATS custody and ordered the agency to produce him back on July 26.