Suspected Maoist killed encounter in Kerala

One person, suspected to be a Maoist activist, was killed in an encounter with Kerala police's Thunderbolt Commandos at Wayanad in Kerala on Tuesday morning.

As per initial reports, the incident took place at around 6 am. The Thunderbolt commandos were said to be on a routine patrolling in the forest areas near Banasura when the suspected Maoists were spotted. There were at least three of them. In a subsequent exchange of firing, one was killed while others managed to escape. Some weapons were also recovered from the spot.

Senior police officers rushed to the spot and combing was launched in the area.

The identity of the deceased was not yet known. However, it was suspected that the deceased was a non-Malayali.

The fresh incident took place close on the heels of allegations that the killing of a Maoist local leader C P Jaleel at a resort at Lakkidi near Vythiri in Wayanad last year was a fake encounter. Three Maoists, including a woman, were killed in another encounter at Palakkad district last year.

Meanwhile, the incident on Tuesday also triggered protests with Congress raising suspicions of a fake encounter and alleging that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was killing Maoists.