Hours after heavily armed Maoists stormed a remote village in The Nigiris district and urged the tribal people to boycott the elections, police booked them on charges of conspiring to wage a war against the government, sources said on Sunday.
Based on a complaint lodged by the village head of Nedukal Kambai, the Kolakombai police registered a case against seven Maoist cadres, including three women, under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 121 (A) (conspiring to wage a war against the government). The police also invoked provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act against the Maoists.
While the Special Task Force (STF) personnel continued combing operations at vulnerable locations along the Western Ghats, the State police were in touch with their counterparts in Kerala and Karnataka on the activities of Maoists in the tri-junction area where Naxals were reportedly attempting to revive the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee, the sources said.
The Maoists spent more than an hour meeting and addressing people in Nedukal Kambai and left on seeing a vehicle approaching the village. “They had dinner and took foodgrains and other supplies from the villagers, some of whom seem to be familiar to them. At least four of the seven Maoists spoke in Tamil. As it was dark, local people could not recognise the three others,” a senior police officer said.
The sudden visit of Maoists and the issue they addressed was unusual considering past incidents. “They normally raise social issues wherever they go. In this case, they spoke only about boycotting the elections. The way they came and left does not point to the signature print of Maoists…pasting posters, carrying many weapons, entering without a recce is not their usual style,” he said. Sleuths of the ‘Q’ Branch CID were making extensive inquiries with tribals of Nedukal Kambai and adjoining villages on the identity of the Maoists.
They had dinner and took foodgrains and other supplies from the villagers, says an officer
