Five naxalites gunned down in Karnataka

Five naxalites were killed in an encounter with the police at Menasinahadya village in Karnataka’s Chikmagalur district early on Tuesday.

Disclosing this to reporters in Bangalore, Karnataka’s Director General of Police K R Srinivasan said an exchange of fire took place between the police force and naxalites holed up inside a house in the village. Two policemen were also injured in the shoot-out, he said.

A group of naxalites led by Gautham, who belongs to the outlawed CPI (Maoist), had gathered at the house of one Rame Gowda on Monday night for a meeting. As soon as the police received a tip-off, the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) and the local police swiftly surrounded the house, where the naxals were holed up.

Even as the ANF and police personnel were keeping a watch outside the house, the Maoists sensed trouble and came out opening fire, Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A M Prasad said.

When the police fired in retaliation, five naxalites including a woman were killed. Two more naxalites are believed to have escaped into the surrounding forests under the cover of darkness. The police recovered a sten gun from the spot.

The dead naxalites have been identified as Gautham, Paramesh, Kaveri, Rame Gowda and Subramanya.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy convened a meeting of senior police officials in Bangalore on Tuesday to review the security in the State in the wake of not only the increased naxal activity, but also the Bangalore link to the foiled terror plot at Glasgow airport.

Additional forces drawn from neighbouring Shimoga and Udupi districts have been deployed in the region for intensification of combing operations, police said.

The gun battle between police and naxals at Menasinahadya village in the wee hours of Tuesday comes close on the heels of the setting to fire of a bus belonging to state-owned Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) by armed naxals near Agumbe. A couple of weeks ago, naxals had shot dead a “police informer” near Sringeri in the area.