Commandos join police to nab Maoists

Police intensified searches along the Kerala-Karnataka border areas in Wayanad district with specially trained commandos.

Wayanad (Kerala): Police on Thursday intensified searches along the Kerala-Karnataka border areas in Wayanad district with specially trained commandos after they confirmed the presence of Maoists there.

Wayanad Superintendent of Police AV George said specially trained `Thunderbolt` commandos of Kerala police had arrived at Wayanad last night and began a joint operation with forest officials and various branches of police force to flush out the Maoists. Kannur Superintendent of Police Rahul R Nair had yesterday confirmed the presence of Maoists along the borders of the two states. However, he said the exact number of persons in the group and type of weapons they used was yet to be ascertained. He had also said police stations along Kerala-Karnataka border in Kannur and Wayanad districts have been advised to be on alert. Police had conducted intensive searches at Pulingom forest area in Kannur district on Kerala-Karntaka border last Tuesday in the wake of reports of Maoist presence in the area. The combing operations were based on reports from locals in Pulingom and Mankandy on the border of having sighted a group of suspicious looking people, suspected to be Maoists. PTI