A large quantity of goods, camping accoutrements, electronic equipment and cash have been recovered from the Maoist camps in the Karulai range in the Nilambur forests, the police have said.
The police said the camps found at Unakkappara area near Padukka must have been set up more than eight months ago. The Maoists had reportedly cut a new and safe path through the jungle to reach Vazhikkadavu and Karulai without being noticed by the police and forest staff.
The police raiding teams were surprised to find four solid tents and a kitchen, with facilities for over a dozen people to survive in the wild. Among the things they recovered were one loaded pistol with 10 bullets, 16 mobile phones, 14 CDs, 32 pen drives, two laptop computers, three external hard drives, one iPad, one e-reader, one printer, a stethoscope, a sphygmomanometer, three radio transistors, four solar panels, utensils, grocery, newspaper clippings, journals, old press releases and notices, batteries, mini-speakers, battery chargers, and medicines.
A sum of Rs.5 lakh was also recovered from the camp, which included four bundles of demonetised Rs.1,000 notes. About 150 mobile SIM cards were also recovered.
The police said there were dictionaries, torches, equipment for root canal treatment, bags, khaki clothes, chappals, shoes, bedsheets, and coats.
The police laid out the seized goods at their camp at Nilambur for the media to examine. Forest Department sources said that Maoists might have chosen to pitch their tents at Unakkappara considering its vicinity to mobile towers and the presence of wildlife. Forest officials generally evaded this thick area because of wildlife abundance. The recovery of medicines and medical equipment indicated the presence of a doctor among the Maoists.
