Naxal sympathiser produced in court

Police said that Mallesh, who hails from Raichur district, was nabbed in the city on Wednesday while he was on his way to Bangalore from Agumbe. Police have seized hand-outs and literature related to Maoist movement from him. It is alleged that Mallesh was looking after the supply of ration for Naxals and was provoking the youth in Agumbe and surrounding areas to join the Maoist movement.

Meanwhile, Mallesh told media persons that suspected naxals Devendrappa, Asha Malavagoppa and Tombattu Lakshmi, who managed to escape during Mavinahola encounter in Chikmagalur district last year on the same day, were arrested along with him in Bangalore. He has alleged that police harassed them in the name of inquiry.
However, the arrest of Devendrappa, Asha and Lakshmi is yet to be confirmed by the police.

Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh on the head of Devendrappa, while Asha and Lakshmi carried rewards of Rs 1 lakh each. Devendrappa hails from Vaddigeri village in Sorab taluk, Asha from Malavagoppa near Shimoga and Lakshmi Poojari from Muchattu-Tombattu village near Udupi.

Devendrappa, who is also known by the names Vishnu and Krishna, had joined a law course in the city after completing his post graduation. He was involved in Pragatipara Vidyarthi Kendra, Karnataka Vimochana Ranga and had worked as the editor of ‘Vimukti’ magazine, which was banned as it articulated the causes of naxals. He was made state committee member of Pragatipara Vimochana Ranga in 2000.

Devendrappa was leading a naxal dalam in Malnad. Cases were booked against him in Anavatti police station of Sorab taluk and in Andhra Pradesh.

Asha, who hails from a Sikh family, completed her MA in Political Science from Kuvempu University in 1999-2000. After completing her PG, she was involved in many progressive movements in the region. Tombattu Lakshmi joined naxal movement under the influence of Hajima and Parvathi, who were killed in an encounter in Idu near Udupi.

While police are yet to confirm their arrests, if the statements of Mallesh are true, the arrest is a setback for naxal movement in Malnad.