Kerala emerging as hub of Naxal activity, says MHA

Kerala is fast becoming the latest hub of heightened Naxal activity in the southern part of the country, the Union home ministry has warned. The tri-junction of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is on the radar of security forces where operations will be intensified, top sources said. Union home secretary Anil Goswami met the top cops of the three southern Naxal-affected states on Friday where the growing Naxal threat in the region was discussed. The emphasis is on joint itner-state operations by the three states to push the Maoists out of their den.
“The MHA has emphasised on proper coordination between the security forces the central and state police forces as well as the police forces of the three states. Gaps have emerged in such coordination allowing the Maoists to find shelter in Kerala after they flee from the other states,” a government functionary said. Sources said the activities of overground groups in Kerala has been on the rise even as the armed Maoist militia has made their entry in the coastal state raising hackles in the security establishment. The districts of Malappuram, Wayanand and Kannur in Kerala and Mysore, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts in Karnataka are affected by Maoist activities, the sources said.
A top official said the local police in Kerala has been asked to develop strategy to counter the unique challenge of tackling the Maoist menace in the state since the front organisations are active there and take up issues of human rights putting the security agencies on the backfoot. In December, the attacks on food outlets and forest offices in the state were being linked to the Maoists presence in the state. Intelligence inputs have already warned that the CPI (Maoist) has been making efforts to expand its organisational base in Western Ghats and the area around the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu-Kerala-Karnataka over the last couple of years.
A newly elected Sarpanch has reportedly been killed by the Naxals in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday. Superintendent of Police, Dantewada Kamal Lochan Kashyap said that according to the information, Naxals have killed the sarpanch Lakhma Siri at Toyalanka village. He said that last night around 10 rebels dragged him out of his house, beat him up and slashed his throat before fleeing. Lakhma had been elected unopposed in the recently-held panchayat elections, which had incurred him the wrath of the ultras, who had asked for boycott of polls. However, no case has been registered yet as police are on their way to the village, which is in a remote forest area.