MANJAKANDI (AGALI) : Since 2016, the state police had been closely monitoring the activities of all small hamlets on the fringes of the forest in Palakkad and the October 28 encounter at Manjakandi at Agali was the result of a year-long police operation surrounding a core group of Left Wing Extremists of Bhavani Dalam (squad) operating from the interior forest in Palakkad.
“Earlier too there had been a couple of firings in the forest when Thunderbolt commandos encountered the insurgents during combing operations. We had specific information that Bhavani Dalam cadre were intensifying their activities in the state. The same core group was seen at other places in the region,” said a senior police official. “Between October 26 and 28, the Thunderbolt team managed to surround the group from all sides forcing the insurgents to open fire at the commandos,” the cop said.
IG (North Range) Ashok Yadav, who visited the encounter site on Thursday, said exchange fire had taken place a few days back. “They fired at least 20 to 30 rounds at the patrol team,” he said. Yadav said the Maoists were strategically positioned at the top of a climb to shoot the commandos approaching from below. The ballistic examination of the weapons seized from the deceased are on to ascertain the weapon from which the Maoists fired, Yadav said. “The Crime Branch will conduct an independent probe into allegations of fake encounter,” he said.
Combing to continue
Thunderbolt commandos will continue combing the area in the coming days as two members of the Maoist group had fled the spot during the October 28 encounter.It is suspected they could be holed up somewhere in the forest between Nilambur and Palakkad. Koya Mooppen, 98, the chief of Manjakandi hamlet, said they first saw Tamil speaking people with guns in the forest around three years ago.
“I still remember it. There were nine persons in the group, including women. They were carrying guns. They did not harm us, though. A few persons used to visit the hamlet at night to interact with people here. They used to ask for food,” he said.
Madan, 18, another resident, said he had seen the Maoists who were killed in the encounter when they came to the hamlet during Vishu this year. “They came to collect food. They also enquired whether we were getting all the benefits from the government,” he said.
CPI delegation to visit Manjakandi today
T’Puram: A day after the CPI state council came down heavily on the police action against Maoist killings, the party has decided to send a delegation to Manjakandi, where the Maoists got killed. A party delegation led by CPI state assistant secretary K Prakash Babu, with state executive member P Prasad, Palakkad district secretary K P Suresh Raj, MLAs E K Vijayan and Mohammed Mohsin will visit Manjakandi in Attappady on Friday.
The CPI team will collect details from the locals about the encounter. The two-day CPI state council which concluded on Wednesday had criticised the Maoist killings. Terming it a fake encounter, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said the party collected details from its local cadre. According to them it was a fake encounter. The Maoists were killed when they were having food, said Kanam. The party had rejected Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s claims regarding the Maoist shoot-out