Suspected armed Maoist gang attacks govt office in Wayanad

Wayanad: A suspected Maoist attack was reported at a government office in Wayanad district on Thursday. A gang of armed men barged into the office of Kerala Forest Department Corporation at Kambamala in Wayanad, damaged furniture and pasted posters on the wall.

The incident reportedly took place at 1 PM.

They seized the mobile phone of Divisional Officer Badusha Naushad and sent photos of the posters to mediapersons in the district. They then asked office staff to move out and began destroying furniture. Computers, printers and window panes were destroyed.

They reportedly shouted slogans and demanded distribution of land among tribal people. The posters in Malayalam and Tamil urging for armed revolution were pasted on the wall. One poster demanded proper housing at Kambamala tribal colony. The attackers went back to the forest area after demolishing government property.

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Police have began an investigation into the incident. Though police conducted an inspection, they could not find anyone from the area.
Kerala police had launched a special force – Thunderbolt – to counter Maoist operations in forest areas in the state. The commandos are currently deployed in dense forest areas where Maoist presence is suspected. Following the encounter of Maoists in 2020, their presence was not seen in Kerala forests for a while.