Wrong information from the police resulted in media reporting that two of the suspected Maoists from Chikkamgaluru district were among three persons who were killed in an encounter in Palakkad on Monday.
This had left friends and family members of Suresh, a suspected Maoist, at Angadi village in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru in shock and sorrow. Earlier in the day, based on the information shared by Chikkamagaluru Police, media had reported that Suresh, who has been facing 21 cases, was killed in an encounter at Palakkad in Kerala.
Chikkamagaluru SP Harish Pandey, based on the information received from Kerala police, told the media that among the three killed in the encounter two were from Chikkamagaluru and he gave names of the deceased as Suresh of Angadi and Srimathi of Belagodu-Kudige near Sringeri.
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Suresh Angadi, a graduate, has been absconding for many years. He has not visited his family members in the last 20 years. His 75-year-old mother Siddamma, elder brother Manjunath were all in shock as they learnt about his death through news channels. There was no official communication from the police on his death to the family.
“We have not seen him in the last 20 years. It is difficult to identify him now. We don't know what made him to join the Naxals”, Manjunath told The Hindu over the phone. He also spoke to media and requested the police to make arrangements to bring the dead body from Kerala as they had financial difficulties to travel and bring the body.
However, by evening the truth came in that the two killed in the encounter were not from Chikkamagaluru. The SP had sent a team to ascertain the identity of the dead in Palakkad. Later, in the evening the officer conveyed to the media that the deceased had no connection with the district.
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When The Hindu contacted Manjunath, Suresh's brother, in the evening he was relieved. “I was prepared to go to Palakkad. Now I came to know that it was somebody else, not my brother”, he said.