Wayanad: In the wake of the increased Maoist movement in the Kambamala tea plantation under the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC), ADGP North Zone MR Ajithkumar visited the region on Saturday and assured the trade union leaders sufficient protection.

Ajithkumar said the police have intensified the search for the Maoists and would strengthen the patrolling and night surveillance on the plantation. The senior officer also visited Thalappuzha Police Station.

Maoist attack in the region was first reported on September 28 when a cadre barged into a plantation office. Subsequent visits from the Maoits cadre prompted the 168 workers of the plantation to observe a strike demanding protection.

They alleged that the Maoist cadre manhandled a worker who questioned them for damaging police surveillance cameras.

Meanwhile District Police Chief, Padam Singh, has issued a lookout notice for 20 ‘wanted Maoists’. He has released their photographs on social media offering rewards for information on their whereabouts. The police have given assurance that the identity of the informers will remain a secret.

The published photographs include Soman alias Akbar, a former journalist in Kalpetta, Wayanad who hails from Kozhikode and Jisha alias Rajani, a native of Athimala, Thalappuzha near Mananthavadi.