Kannur: Police on Monday, November 13, engaged in an encounter with Maoists in Kerala’s Kannur district after the outlawed group opened fire on them deep inside the forest. The incident of firing was reported from the Karikkottakari police station limits.
According to authorities, the ThunderBolt squad — formed to tackle the Maoists menace –was on routine surveillance in the deep forests when they saw two Maoists who opened fire on them.
In retaliation, the police fired back leading to an exchange of fire for some time, the locals said.
After half an hour, police inspected the area and saw blood marks besides recovered three guns. Two Maoists are understood to have escaped into the deep forests bordering Karnataka. The police team said their team suffered no injuries.
Incidentally, the police had increased their surveillance after October 30 when forest watchers who were going into the forest camp with food were fired upon by a five-member Maoist gang.
An exchange of fire between Thunderbolt and Maoists had taken place in a forest area in Wayanad last week, leading to the arrest of two ultras. On Monday, a local court granted the custody of the two, including a woman, to police till November 22.
