The anti-naxal squads from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will soon interrogate the three suspected Maoists — Srimathi, alias Unnimaya, Chandru, and Aneesh Babu, alias Thampi — who were arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Kerala Police. The officers from the two States are in touch with the SOG to gather the preliminary investigation details.
Police sources reveal that the two main Maoist functionaries, Srimathi, a native of Karnataka, and Chandru, a native of Tamil Nadu, who were nabbed after a gunfight in Wayanad on Tuesday night are suspected to be the brains behind a series of attacks in south Indian States. The two have been remanded in police custody, but are yet to reveal anything about their activities though the SOG is continuing their interrogation.
Aneesh Babu, a native of Tamil Nadu who was remanded in police custody on Thursday for allegedly working as a messenger for Maoists, has also been evading questions. According to police sources, Aneesh Babu, arrested from Koyilandy on Wednesday night, has contacted the other two many times to exchange various confidential communications and parcels.
The source of an INSAS rifle and an AK-47 rifle seized from the Maoists during the Wayanad encounter is still continuing to be mysterious. Ballistic experts are now at work to find out the origin based on the arms’ serial numbers. The SOG suspects that these could have been weapons stolen after ambushing Central Reserved Police Force jawans at various locations.
Search on for three others
Capturing three other Maoists who escaped during the firing in Wayanad will be crucial in gathering more evidence on the sources of the arms and the activities of the gang. Search has been intensified in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for the three. Tribal settlements in the border districts in these States are under close surveillance based on reports that the escapees are likely to seek shelter in these places.
There have been intelligence inputs that the Maoists are preparing for a planned attack on some of the police stations in the State as part of expressing their resentment towards some government policies and projects. In Kozhikode district, additional security cover has been provided to five police stations — Valayam, Kuttiyadi, Thottilpala, Peruvannamuzhi and Koorahcundu. Surveillance has also been improved at the Thamarassery, Thiruvambadi and Kodenchery police stations and several rural police stations in Wayanad district.
