The killing of two Maoists in the Unakkappara region of the Karulai forests on Thursday is reported to have been the result of a police onslaught rather than an encounter as claimed by the police.
Sources said a police commando team supported by other units of the force acted on the basis of Intelligence reports that Maoists had been camping in the Unakkappara region of the forest some miles away from the Padukka station.
The police team struck at the Maoists as they were reportedly resting in the camps. Police sources who visited the site said there were no signs of a crossfire or an encounter. The Maoists dispersed in haste and took cover in the thick undergrowth of the area. Their leaders Kuppu Devaraj and Ajita, aka Kaveri, fell to the bullets of the police.
Kaveri was hit on the left side of her stomach and on the shoulder. None of the police team suffered injuries. The way the police treated the media too raised the suspicion about the police claims of an encounter.
The police selectively leaked out photographs of the dead Maoists and their tents to the media, raising suspicion. Meanwhile, the government decided to give enhanced security to the seven police stations and Adivasi colonies in the Nilambur region .
Nine other members of the Maoist gang have spread out in the forest. The police said a counter-attack could not be ruled out. The police stations at Pothukallu, Vazhikkadavu, Edakkara, Nilambur, Pookkottumpadam, Kalikavu, and Karuvarakundu will get heightened security.
Police sources who visited the site say there are no signs of a crossfire or an encounter
