Forest officials on Wednesday intensified the search to trace Narayanan Namboothiri, aka Narayana Swami, and five others who allegedly trespassed into Ponnambalamedu, a protected area inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, and performed puja.
According to G. Ajikumar, Forest Range Officer, Pampa, cases have been registered against eight people in connection with the incident and two temporary employees of the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) were arrested. Narayanan Namboothiri, a 48-year-old from Thrissur, who is the prime accused, and five others are still at large and are suspected to have escaped to Tamil Nadu.
The accused, including two men from Kumily and three from Tamil Nadu, are believed to have entered the region through the Vallakkadavu-Gavi route on May 8, said the official.
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The Forest department has arrested two temporary employees of the KFDC — Rajendran, 51 and Sabu Mathews, 49 — who had helped the group to enter the forests.
Besides the Forest department, the Moozhiyar police too have registered a case in connection with the incident based on a complaint lodged by the Travancore Devaswom Board.
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