Maoists deny hostage-taking in Kerala, say visit to labour camps regular

Kalpetta: Confirming the presence of Maoists in the district, a letter, purportedly sent by the CPI (Maoist) has denied any hostage-taking by the organisation in the recent past.

The letter, received at the Wayanad Press Club here on Thursday, said the recent reports of three migrant labourers being taken hostage by Maoists from Emerald Estate, near Meppadi, were 'false.'

The letter, claiming to be from the spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist), said the outfit had neither taken anyone hostage nor had harmed people as 'being made out by the police.'

“There were fake reports that Maoists held the labourers, who came to work for a resort in Thollayiram, near Meppadi, hostage and fired at them. These reports spread by the police are baseless. The visits are regular. This is to keep track of the issues faced by Bengali workers.

We check the living conditions, political orientation, and tell of our politics. One of them went out for evening prayers and informed the resort of our presence. The other two stayed back with us until we left. This is being portrayed as keeping the labourers hostage,” the released, signed by one Ajitha, said.

The letter said the Maoists stayed back at the place to meet Malayali workers who were expected to arrive in the night.

“We are not aiming at destruction of resorts in the area or holding back workers. The baseless reports are spread to keep the workers away from us. By spreading false stories about us, the government is preventing workers, living in pathetic conditions, from getting together," the letter added. The police response was not immediately forthcoming.

The reports of Maoists taking labourers hostage came out initially on July 21. The presence of four Maoists, including a woman, was reported. The cadres were reportedly Soman, Moideen, Chandru and Sundari.

The police intelligence had reported the presence of the People's Liberation Guerilla Army, the combat unit of the CPI (Maoist) in the jungles of Wayanad. The police had combed the forests of Meppadi immediately after the reports. The state police deployed its Thunderbolts commandos at stations after a heightened alert was sounded.

Maoist activity has been on the rise in the Kerala districts of Wayanad, Palakkad, Malappuram and the contiguous forest-tri-junction straddling the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

On November 25, 2016, two Maoists, including a woman cadre, had died in a gunfight with the Kerala police in the Nilambur forests in Malappuram district.

Those dead in the encounter then were identified as Andhra native Kuppu Devaraj and Kaveri, alias Ajitha.