District Additional Sessions Judge V. Anas on Monday extended the judicial custody of two suspected Communist Party of India (Maoists) functionaries till November 22. The police produced the two suspected Maoists, Srimathi, alias Unnimaya, a native of Karnataka, and Chandru, a native of Tamil Nadu, before the court on Monday.
Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Kerala Police arrested the duo after an exchange of fire between them on November 8 at Chapprath tribal hamlet near Periya in the district. Three militants reportedly escaped during the gunfight.
The SOG had invoked various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Indian Penal Code, and Arms Act. The police requested a 15-day judicial custody of the accused.
Public Prosecutor M.K. Jayapramod pleaded that the accused had not revealed anything substantial about the recent encounters even after several hours of interrogation. A fingerprint collected by the police from a resort at Lakkidi in the district after an exchange of fire between the police and the Maoists in 2019 matched that of Chandru, he said
V.G. Laiju, counsel for the accused, said the accused were innocent and no encounter had occurred. The police arrested them while they were having food at a house at Periya. Further custody was not needed as all the agencies had interrogated them and it was being sought to torture them mentally, Mr. Laiju added.
The court extended by 10 days the judicial custody of the accused.
