Beltangady: After a lull of five months, Naxals sighted at Shishila?

Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Jul 1: As per reliable information, a gang of five naxals led by Vikram Gowda and Sundari visited two houses on Shishila-Sudegundi Road on Friday June 28, and moved ahead after consuming food. This gang had visited Shishila village twice during last year too.

It is learnt that fearing police harassment, the villagers are not willing to speak about the latest visit. The gang asked the villagers to support their efforts towards opposing the government’s initiative in evicting people settled in sanctuaries and also to issuance of title deeds for the land the residents have occupied inside the forests. However, identities of two families visited by the naxals could not be established.

The villagers say the police have been tipped off about the visit by their informers. They revealed that after the visit of this gang to their village on July 10 and 13 last year, this information had been covered by the media, and anti-naxal force had begun operations. The villagers had feared that they would have to face the ire of the naxal gang for leaking information about their visit. During the combing, a naxal named Dinkar had died in exchange of fire with the police sometime later.

Some villagers said that the others in the village had wrongly identified some workers who had come to take part in road development work as naxals. The policemen too have been unable to get any clear information about the latest naxal visit, it is learnt.

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