Mandakini, wife of Mr. Kunnikkal Narayanan, Naxalite leader, was arrested in the Kumthala forest in Cannanore district this evening [December 2]. The Police denied that Ajitha, daughter of Mandakini, had been arrested. Earlier reports had said that khaki-clad Ajitha who was alleged to have played a prominent role in the “Pulpalli operations” of the extremists was the only woman member of the team. Two other young women, who were seen in the company of Mrs. Narayanan, were also taken into custody by the police. A top official said to-night that the police were still combing the forest. He hoped that Ajitha and other members of the gang would be rounded up before long. Mr. Mohamed Kunhi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Cannanore, led the combing operations to-day. It was said that Mrs. Narayanan had some bodyguards when the police surrounded them. One of the bodyguards was also apprehended, while others escaped into the jungle. The fully armed police party was divided into several small groups and they had gone into different parts of the jungle. Fortythree-year-old Mrs. Mandakini is a Gujarathi by birth, and was till recently a teacher in the Gujarathi High School. She resigned her post some two months back, apparently in preparation for the Naxalite operations. She was said to have gone to Bombay with her husband and daughter. Ajitha stopped her education when she was studying in the second-year degree course.
