The Kerala Police Thunderbolts special forces, a Special Operations Group (SOG), arrested two Maoists at Periya near Thalappuzha in Kerala’s Wayanad district on Tuesday night after a brief exchange of fire.
The police detained two Maoists – Chandru and Unnimaya – who are the members of a gang of five ultras belonging to the Banasura Dalam of the CPI(Maoist). The duo was detained from the house of a farmer in Chapparam Colony in the forest area of Periya near Thalappuzha in Wayanad after an exchange of fire between the forces and the Maoists. They had come to the farmer’s house to charge their mobile phones and collect rice and other food items.
In a covert operation, the Thunderbolt Squad of the Kerala Police surrounded the farmer’s house When the Maoists were inside the building and asked the ultras to surrender. The Maoists opened fire at the SOG force which retaliated. The SOG personnel then entered the house and took into custody the two Maoists. Three Maoists escaped from the spot while Chandru and Unnimaya were detained by the police.
The Thunderbolt Squad had been in hot pursuit of the Maoists on the basis of intelligence inputs. The police heaved a sigh of relief when they nabbed the two Maoist cadres without any bloodshed on Tuesday night. There were strict instructions to ensure that the operation was carried out without any casualty.
Meanwhile, combing operations are going on in the rural Kozhikode and the Wayanad forest region.