Karnataka, Kerala, TN officials' meet on Maoist activities

The Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), police and forest officials from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu held a meeting at Beechanahalli in the taluk on Sunday, in the wake of the reported increase in Maoist activities in Kodagu, HD Kote and other bordering regions of the three states.

The meeting was attended by the top brass of the departments from all the three states. They include District Superintendent of Police R Dileep, ANF Commandant Vasudevamurthy and Assistant Commandant Shankar, the forest officials of the Nagarhole and Bandipur wildlife zones, the zonal forest officers, the officials of the taluk administration, apart from police officers from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, sources said.

They discussed strategies to tackle increasing activities of Maoists in the region, said Karikalan, assistant forest conservator, Yadiyala wildlife zone.

However, he said that the meeting was held once every three years and there was no need to attach any significance to it.

Speaking to mediapersons, Karikalan said the investigation has found no evidence for the suspected involvement of Maoists in the recent theft of a double barrel gun at a workshop on prevention of wildlife theft in Gundre zone. The officers from the bordering areas of all the three states assembled to take precautionary measures to check Maoists activities, he said.

Dileep, in a bid to avoid the curious media crew, rushed inside the police station in a huff and changed the earlier plan to hold discussion at the pandal put up specifically for the purpose.

The mediapersons were disappointed yet again when the DSP dodged their queries and rushed to his car soon after the meeting.

 There are rumours that more than 120 personnel of the ANF have camped at Bhimanakolli Sri Mahadeshwara temple on the periphery of N Begur wildlife zone, on being alerted about the Maoists’ movements in Gundre or Bandipur wildlife zones.

Divided into teams of five members each, they will soon begin combing operation, with the help of the police and the forest officials, the sources said.

They may comb the forest areas in Doddahalla camp, Banur, Nayisattahalla, Gundre, Kadavinakatte, Kalkere, Rampura, Mavinahalla, Boodana- katte, Soolekatte and other areas and talk to the residents of these areas for gathering information on the suspected Maoist activities in the regions, the sources said.

The DSP is said to have instructed the taluk administration to distribute pamphlets to the residents in villages of these areas, allaying their fear of the Maoists.