NIA takes over probe into shootout between police and Maoists in Kannur forest

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the shootout between a Maoist group and police in the Uruppumkutti forest area of Kannur on November 13, 2023, sources said on Thursday.

The agency has recently filed a re-registered FIR before the NIA court in Kochi.

As part of the probe, the agency is set to question several Maoist activists who have either surrendered or been arrested by police in Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, sources said.

The incident occurred when Thunderbolt, the Kerala Police's anti-Maoist commando unit, was conducting a combing operation at Njettithodu in the Uruppumkutti forest under the Karikottakari police station limits in Kannur.

Eight armed cadres of CPI (Maoist), who had trespassed and unlawfully assembled in the forest, opened fire at the police with the intention to kill them and obstruct official duty, the FIR said.

The case has been registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and the Kerala Forest Act. No individual has been named as an accused in the case at this time.

A month after the encounter, CPI (Maoist) leader Jogi, spokesperson of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee, issued a statement claiming that a cadre, Lakshmi alias Kavitha, had succumbed to injuries sustained in the exchange of fire.

Police investigations had revealed that the Kabani Dalam of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), associated with the CPI (Maoist), was involved in the incident as its members were holding a meeting in the forest area.

Last year, the NIA had also taken over a similar case of exchange of fire between police and Maoists at Thalappuzha in Wayanad on November 8, 2023, just days before the Kannur encounter. Several Maoist activists were arrested in connection with that case.

It is the sixth Maoist-related case in Kerala being probed by the NIA, sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)