Armed Maoists raid houses near Madikeri
The red terror has spread to Kodagu with the police confirming that Maoists were involved in the raid on a few houses near Madikeri on Monday. The gun-toting Maoists entered the houses at Kalur village and forcibly took away food items. Karnataka Speaker K.G. Bopaiah belongs to Kalur village.
Reports said Kodagu Police superintendent Manjunath Annigeri had confirmed that Maoists were involved in the attack and two of the four extremists have been identified as Vikram Gowda and Sundari alias Geetha who carry Rs 5 lakh reward on their head. Both of them hail from the neighbouring Dakshina Kannada district.
The two Maoists who had identified themselves as janapara horatagararu (pro-people fighers), first went to the house of Kannikanda Poovamma, then to Kannikanda Palangappa’s house and last to the house of Ganesh.
Combing operations have been started around the jungles in Kalur village and the Pushpagiri forest area. Another team was combing the forests from the Dakshina Kannada side of the border.
EDITOR’S VIEW: The latest Maoist incident in Kodagu is a matter of grave concern because the extremists have targeted Speaker Bopaiah’s village. The forests of Dakshina Kannada and Kudremukha have been a haven for Maoists in the past. Now they have extended their territory to Kodagu.
It is a matter of worry that thousands of Bangladeshis have migrated to Kodagu in the recent years and taken up employment in the coffee estates. Their antecedents are not known. It is quite possible that these migrants could eventually come under the influence of Maoists and pose danger to the local planters.
The authorities should nip the menace in the bud, failing which Kodagu could become the bastion of the red brigade.
