Security forces neutralise 9 Maoists in Chhattisgarh
According to police sources, an intense search operation was initiated by security forces based on intelligence
The Thunderbolt commandos of the Kerala police and Maoists exchanged gunfire in the interiors of a forest area at Kambamala near Thalappuzha in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tuesday morning.
Labourers working in the nearby tea estates reported hearing nine rounds of gunshots from the forest, where the Thunderbolt commandos had been conducting combing operations for the last few days. Police sources said that the Maoists first opened fire on the Thunderbolt search squad, who retaliated in self-defence.
A day ahead of the Lok Sabha elections last week, a group of four Maoists, led by CP Moideen, arrived at Kambanmala and urged the people to boycott the polls. They emphasised that decades of democracy had failed to bring about significant changes in people’s lives and advocated armed uprisings as the only viable solution. Following this, the Thunderbolt squad was deployed in the area to carry out search operations. These efforts culminated in an encounter with the Maoists.
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In September last year, a gang of Maoists forcefully entered the office of the Mananthavady divisional manager of the forest development corporation at Kambanmala. The five-member armed gang ransacked the office in a show of solidarity with the workers before leaving.
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