Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapura (RD)
Pics - Vinay Pais

Kundapura, Nov 15: The policemen from Anti Naxal Force (ANF) have given a new lease of life to Naxals here, this time.  Their plant to catch the Naxals who had camped in the dense forest near Amavasebail-Thombottu area drew blank as the latter managed to escape with relative ease despite exchange of fire with ANF. The policemen after spotting a Naxal camp had hatched the plan to nab the Naxals alive on Tuesday November 13 at 11 am, in the dense forest of Ammigundy, under the jurisdiction of Amavasebail.  The Naxal sentry who was guarding the camp from a distant place alerted his comrades who in turn managed to escape while leaving all their belongings on the spot.

No sooner the Naxals saw the policemen close to their terrain, they, abandoned all their belongings and fled.  According to the Naxals principles, they are not supposed to abandon their weapons at any cost.  However, in this case, the Naxals have abandoned their double barrel gun, plate-full of food etc.  It is perceived that they might have been busy preparing for their lunch as chopped onions and some vegetables were found in the abandoned camp later. 

To the utter shock of the police, they also found contraceptive pill and Velocit kit which is used to check pregnancy status through a urine test.  This has exposed to the outer world another face of Naxals who live in the dense forests.

It seems that Naxals had camped in the area for quite sometime now.  Some locals said that (there are a few Bovi community houses in the vicinity), a few armed Naxals had visited their houses on the previous day.  But the formers had not opened doors to the Naxals and had even refused to give any food items. 

Background:

The combined force of special police and ANF began the combing operations at Kortugundy – Charubachal, on Tuesday November 13, early morning. The Naxals camp was detected when Valentine D’Souza and Suresh Kumar belonging to special police force, were engaged in combing operations near Kortugundy.  Though they could have easily killed the Naxals, they refrained from that in order nab the Naxals alive. 

But Naxal sentry who was guarding the camp alerted his comrades and even fired two-three rounds of bullets towards the police.  By the time police resorted to fire, the Naxals had managed to disappear in the dense woods within a few seconds.  The policemen spotted two Naxal women among the group of Naxals. 

However, the police recovered Naxals literature, a double barrel gun, rice and other items from the abandoned tent.

The locals have informed the policemen that ‘Laxmi’, a local girl who had left her house at Thombottu three years ago in order to join Naxal movement was in the group that escaped.  There two or three more young men who were conversing in Telugu.  Accordingly police have suspected that the group belonged to Varahi group of Naxalites.

The police force led by ANF SP Subhash Gudimane, Venkatesh, Valentine D’Souza, Suresh Kumar was involved in the combing operation, with the help of sniffer dogs. 

Udupi in-charge SP Laboo Ram, DySP Nagaraj have visited the location and recovered the belongings that Naxals left behind when they escaped in the dense forest. ANF has relayed the information of Naxals to the neighbouring police stations at Hebri, Shimoga, since the Naxals were found to be active in the jungles of Kollur and Someshwar Reserve Forest area.