KOCHI: The state government is facing flak for the alleged encounter killing of four Maoists that took place at Manjikandi in Palakkad on October 28. However, a core team of police officers led by one of the youngest IPS officers in the state is content with having successfully completed a mission they were tasked with – counter Maoist activities in the state. Chaitra Teresa John is the first woman officer to be appointed head of an Anti-Naxal Terror Squad, said state police chief Loknath Behera. “Appointing a young woman officer to the post was a major decision by the government,” he said.
The government chose to appoint Chaitra as SP (Operations) of the squad after thoroughly reviewing the names of different officers. She assumed the post in July. Since then, Chaitra and her team had been doing their homework to counter Maoist operations in the forests of Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts where CPI (Maoist) cadre had based their camps after escaping the police forces of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh who had launched massive offensive against the ultras.
Chaitra said she is happy to have delivered. Still, allegations that the encounter was fake are demoralising, she said.“However, we are just doing our job and cannot go around countering the allegations,” said the IPS officer of the 2016 batch. She said, “Combing the forests is no easy task. The Thunderbolt team is really putting in its best efforts.”
Chaitra hails from East Hill in Kozhikode. She was named the ‘best all-round woman probationer’ and the ‘best woman outdoor probationer’ while undergoing IPS training at National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad.