Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Oct 30: Following the killing of three naxals in a forest area within Kerala state, the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) has begun the combing operation in naxal-infested areas in the taluk.

Naxal-infested areas like Naravi, Kuthloor, Navara, Yelaneeru, Sulkery, Mogru, Shirlalu, Didupe, Kolli, Kariyala etc are in the ANF radar now to keep an eye on any naxal activity. The national park area in the taluk had naxal influence in the past, but with the elimination of their leader, Saketh Rajan, naxal presence had become feeble.

File photo

The encounter in Kerala of naxals at a time when naxal activities in Kerala and Karnataka was believed to have very much diminished, has given credence to the notion that the naxals are clandestinely building up their base.

On November 13, 2013, a group of five, which claimed themselves to be naxals, had asked a family in Kuthloor to open the door. When the family refused, it had burnt down a car parked there. After the friction between the naxals and the police in 2012 and 2013, no brush with naxals has happed in the taluk although ANF has been keeping an eye on any untoward development.