Karnataka Timeline 2012

Date

Incidents

The Karnataka DGP Shankar Bidari said that as many as 100 youth, mostly tribals, from Karkala, Sringeri, Tirthahalli and Beltangadi regions would be recruited into the Police to combat CPI-Maoist cadres in the Western Ghats.

The Karnataka Government offered INR 300,000 solatium to the family of Sadashiva Gowda, who was allegedly gunned down by the CPI-Maoist in Hebri forests on December 28.

The cadres of the CPI-Maoist engaged the ANF personnel in an exchange of fire in Barkana Falls region near Agumbe in Shimoga District. No casualties were reported from either side.

In a letter received by certain local dailies in Udupi District, a person who claimed himself to be Vishwa representing the CPI-Maoist, confirmed that they were involved in the killing of Sadashiva Gowda (50) near Kabbinale Tingalamatti in Karkala. The letter however, claims that they had not tortured Gowda as reported by the media.

At the Karnataka State Senior Police Officers' Annual Meeting, chaired by chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, DGP, Shankar M. Bidari said that only 30 cadres of the CPI-Maoist are operating in the State. "We will ensure that Karnataka is free of naxals by 2012-end," he said. He also added that the intelligence network in Maoist- affected areas had been strengthened and would show results soon.

Speaking at the Karnataka State Senior Police Officers' Annual Meeting held at the Police chief's office, Karnataka CM, D.V Sadanand Gowda observed that there was no co-ordination between the Anti-Maoist Force and the local Police. "If they work together, better results can be expected. We have plans to depute young and energetic staff to the ANF," he added. Home Minister, R. Ashok said that the Maoist activities in the State were curbed and there was information that supari killers from Tamil Nadu were operating with the CPI-Maoist.

A gang of CPI-Maoist cadres visited Nadpal village near Hebri in Udupi District and collected food- stuffs, grains etc from some houses there. The gang had nine members including two women.

The Karnataka Government decided to hire qualified locals on contract basis to fill vacancies in nine taluks, where there is "Naxal activity", as "fearful" Government servants transferred there have refused to join.

The CPI-Maoist cadres from Tamil Nadu have reportedly infiltrated Karnataka and are strengthening the hands of their comrades in Agumbe region of Udupi District, according to a recent intelligence report. According to Police sources, there has been no new recruitment of local people in the CPI-Maoist in Karnataka. "We have been keeping track of villagers in the Naxal-affected districts and no one in the last two years has gone missing or has been abducted by the Maoists," said an officer from Udupi. On January 6, in a fire exchange between the ANF and the Maoists in Barkana Falls region near Agumbe in Udupi District, the ANF for the first time found Maoist literature in Tamil from the site where the Maoist cadres were camping in the forest. Till then, the Police believed that a majority of the Maoist cadres in Karnataka were from the Malekudiya tribe from the Kudremukh National Park area.

Cadres of the CPI-Maoist should give up their guns as the State Government is ready to rehabilitate and provide employment to them, said State Home Minister R Ashok at a function in Mangalore. He remarked, "As guns will not yield anything, naxals should bid goodbye to arms. The government has been providing packages to the naxal-affected areas. Considering this, naxals should surrender." Compared to other states, Maoist activity is less in Karnataka. Only in some places such as Chikmagalur and Udupi Districts, are they in operation, he clarified, when reporters sought to know why the Union Government has not marked Karnataka as a Maoist affected State.

State Home Minister R Ashoka said that those CPI-Maoist cadres who want to surrender would be given a compensation of INR 100,000 and a loan of INR 100,000 from a co-operative society to ensure they are self-employed. If the Maoists surrender their weapons, the government will pay the worth of the weapons to them.

State Home Minister R Ashoka said that there are 15-20 cadres of CPI-Maoist in Karnataka and a survey had been taken up to identify their antecedents. The Home minister added that the State has a unit of 500 Police constables and 80 commandos to combat them. He added that another team of commandos was undergoing training. Further, he informed that the office of the head of ANF would be shifted to Karkala from Bangalore.

The Maoists from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and other States often use the Karnataka a hideout. Karnataka, which claimed to have ended the menace of CPI-Maoist, has a fresh problem on its hands. CPI-Maoist cadres from Tamil Nadu have reportedly infiltrated the jungles of the Western Ghats since January 2012. The ANF, during its routine combing operations, came across Maoist literature in Tamil Nadu at an abandoned Maoist camp in Udupi District recently. The Maoists were first spotted in the State in 1998 in Kudremukh National Park.

The second JMFC court, through a judgment delivered, absolved six youth, who had been arrested by Policemen of Doddapet Police Station in Shimoga District in 2009, on charges of being involved with the CPI-Maoist activities. Anita, Jagannath, Devendrappa, Asha, Gangamma, and Mallesh, had been arrested on the allegation of being suspected Maoists, and getting involved with illegal activities.

The Karnataka Rajya ABSS State convener, P Bharath demanded that journalism student Vittal Malekudiya and Linganna, who were recently arrested on the charges of abetting CPI-Maoist, should be released immediately as "the duo did not support Naxalism."

The ANF and DP reportedly exchanged fire with 20 to 25 CPI-Maoist cadres at Mittabagilu in Bolle forest in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada District during a combing operation. One Police constable Sadashiva Choudhary (25) of Jamkhandi taluk in Bagalkot District got injured in the exchange of fire. The ANF also found 10 separate camps set up by Maoists, spread over a large uneven patch of land. With the exception of one or two camps, one camp could not be sighted from the other. Each camp also contained ammunition and weapons, including 140 rounds of SLR ammunition, 30 grenades, a U.S. made auto pistol and a double-barrel rifle.

The ANF recovered literature in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. The recovered items also included training manuals, bags, clothes, rations such as rice and sugar, audio recorder, laptop bag, radio and clothes.

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda warned stringent action against CPI-Maoist cadres operating in the Malnad region of the State. Steps would also be taken to provide basic amenities to people in the Maoist affected areas, Gowda added.

The Police took into custody a person named Vijay Kadamane from Kolli village in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada District for questioning. They suspect that Vijay had extended support to CPI-Maoist cadres in holding programme at Malavantige village.

State Home Minister R. Ashok told the Karnataka Legislative Council that some Sri Lankans have joined the CPI-Maoist cadres operating in the five Districts of the State.

As a part of its carrot-and-stick policy in the fight against the CPI-Maoist cadres in Karnataka, DGP, A R Infant said the that the Maoist surrender package would be made more attractive to enable misguided youths rejoin social mainstream.

LWE is steadily increasing in the five Districts of Karnataka, Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said demanding support from the Centre in training and provision of infrastructure to tackle it.

The ANF and cadres of the CPI-Maoist exchanged fire in Panjalbetta of Kuthlur village in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada District during routine combing operations by the ANF. The Maoist group allegedly opened fire on the ANF team, who retaliated.

The Karnataka Minister for Social Welfare, Narayana Swamy, said that all efforts would be made by the State Government to declare Udupi and Dakshina Kannada as CPI-Maoist free Districts by 2013. Swamy said the Government would respond to the problems of Dalits in the Maoist affected areas. This would help the youth in these areas to shun Maoist influence and join the mainstream.

About 40 cadres of the CPI-Maoist are estimated to be active in the State, according to the Director General of Police (DGP) A. R. Infant. He said that there were reports of Maoists from other States [Tamil Nadu] operating in Karnataka.

The DGP handed over various documents extending benefits under the Maoist rehabilitation programme to Koranakote Krishna, who surrendered on May 16, 2011.

The Karnataka Government is set to roll out welfare initiatives to bring people in CPI-Maoist-affected areas to the mainstream, according to State Home Ministry sources. "Around 12 villages have been affected by Naxal activities and the people living in those villages need to be offered facilities-including connectivity, employment and security-that will help them relate to the mainstream. All government departments should earmark 10% of their budgets to the development of villages marked as Naxal-affected areas," Western range Inspector General of Police Pratap Reddy said.

State Home Ministry sources said that it was not possible to tackle a sensitive issue like Naxal influence on youth with law and order machinery and coercive methods. Instead, all Government departments, including sports and youth affairs, must reach out to the people in those areas and launch public contact programmes. Deputy commissioners of Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts will be given directions to not wait for the government packages but to use the available funding and manpower to take up welfare initiatives in Naxal-affected villages. Villages like Menasinahadya, Eedu, Navuru, Kuthluru and Naravi are likely to get immediate attention, the sources said.

The Karnataka High Court rejected the interim bail plea of Vittala Malekudiya, a student of Mass Communication of Mangalore University, who has been arrested for his alleged links with the CPI-Maoist.

Intelligence agencies have warned Karnataka that the CPI-Maoist cadres are attempting to regroup in Malnad area benefiting from Police's reluctance to initiate action against them and growing discontent among the villagers living close to the thick jungles of the Western Ghat over their land ownership. The Maoists are giving high priority to increasing their footfalls in the about 100-kilometre stretch of Malnad area - comprising seven Districts of Chikmagalur, Shimoga, parts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan and Kodagu - and have deputed central committee member Kuppu Swami to establish a base and recruit cadres.

Swami, who hails from Bangalore, has been tasked with supervising the expansion plan as he is familiar with the territory and knows the local dialect. Masquerading under assumed identities such as Kuppu Devaraj, Ramesh, Rayanna, Balaji, Jogesh and Yogesh, Kuppu Swami carries a reward of INR 700,000 and INR 1 million announced by Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh Governments respectively. Intelligence inputs with the SF suggest that the cadres from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Kerala are camping in the Western Ghats along with local Maoists belonging to groups led by Vikram Gowda, Latha, Mahesh and Sundari.

A team of suspected Maoists were spotted near Sisila in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada District.

Following the visit of some Maoists to a home at Sudegundi in Shishila village in the District, DIG, ANF, Alok Kumar and other officials visited the region. "Though the team tried to collect information on the Naxal movement, they drew a blank," sources said.

A poster seeking support for the CPI-Maoist was found pasted at a bus stop in a busy place in Karyatadka near Nidle village in Uppinangady Police Station limits of Dakshin Kannada District.

A team of Naxals were spotted in the villages of Shiradi region in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada District. A team of five cadres including four men and one woman visited a house in Addahole in Shiradi Ghat, requested for food and borrowed two kilograms of rice, sugar and onions from the house owner.

News of Naxals' visit to Honnakoppala and other villages in Kabbinale in Karkala taluk of Udupi District on June 16 came to light on July 19. Sources said, when the ANF and the District Police focused their combing operation in Belthangady taluk, the Naxals seem to have fled from the taluk and have moved to Karkala taluk.

Letters were addressed to media houses in Chikmagalur purportedly by one CPI-Maoist state committee secretary Gangadhar. The letters justified the Naxal team's visit to Shishila in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada District on July 10 and said that that they held discussions with the locals about politics and problems faced by the locals.

A CPI-Maoist camp was found by the Police at Talavanthakudige near Sringeri in Chikmagalur District of Karnataka. However, the Maoists managed to escape from the camp. At the camp site, prepared food, utensils, soup and vegetables were found. Also, a bag containing Maoist pamphlets were seized.

Police are yet to get any conclusive evidence about the reported sighting of CPI-Maoist cadres at Kulkunda near Kukke Subramanya in Dakshina Kannada District on August 31. A Gram Panchayat member informed the Police on August 31 that five people, who identified themselves as Maoists, visited a house in the village. However, when the Police visited the village, the residents said only some of their relatives had come over.

Anti-Naxal Police fired at a group of CPI-Maoist cadres at Palligadde in Dakshina Kannada District but they managed to escape. The Police team was maintaining vigil on an information that a group of Naxals visited some houses in the village on August 30 and August 31, a fact confirmed by locals. It was not known whether any Naxal was injured or whether they returned the fire.

A suspected cadre of the CPI-Maoist was killed in an encounter in the forests around Kulkunda, near Kukke Subramanya, in Dakshina Kannada District. The slain Maoist was yet to be identified.

After the brief encounter, the ANF intensified combing operations and unearthed a camp. Though only a country-made rifle was found at the camp - and a weapon seized from the slain person - the forces also found pamphlets about Maoist ideology in Tamil and Kannada.

An increase in the activities of the CPI-Maoist in Dakshina Kannada District indicated that the Left Wing Extremists were working towards their plan of creating a corridor along the Western Ghats from the northern tip to Wayanad in Kerala, a Police officer, who had served in the region, said.

The Police have identified the suspected Maoist, who was killed in an exchange of fire in Cheru Forest in the Dakshina Kannada-Hassan Border on September 4, as Yellappa alias Dinakar, an area committee member of the CPI-Maoist. Yellappa, a native of Raichur, had been associated with the Maoist organisation since 2004. Materials recovered from the place of encounter showed Yellappa had knowledge of making improved explosive devices. He might have come to the region in a capacity of trainer, he said.

ANF personnel and suspected cadres of the CPI- Maoist reportedly exchanged fire near Kinkeri-Balehalla in the Kaginahare forests in Sakaleshpur taluk in Hassan District. The ANF personnel recovered a 20-kg rice bag that was being carried by the suspected Maoists.

Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar announced a week-long ceasefire from September 17 in anti-Naxal operations to facilitate surrender of the CPI-Maoist cadres.

The State Cabinet approved a proposal to sanction INR 450 million for taking up development works in nine Naxalite-infested taluks- Pavagada, Tirthahalli, Hosanagara, Sringeri, Mudigere, Koppa, Karkala, Kundapura and Belthangady in Karnataka. Each taluk would get INR 50 million. INR 1790 million project for providing 514 houses to State government officers in the B and C groups and 171 houses for those in the D group at the NGEF Factory at Byappanahalli on Old Madras Road has been approved. Similarly, the Cabinet approved INR 180 million project to build six-storeyed quarters for providing 60 houses C and D employees at Kumara Krupa on Crescent Road.

Inaugurating a Police Station in Amasebailu in Udupi District, Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar said, "No more extension of the ceasefire, which has already expired. Naxals have failed to utilise the opportunity given by the government. The Government had announced a ceasefire of its anti- naxal operations from September 17 to 23 in the backdrop of reports that some naxals wanted to surrender. The Government would soon release funds for implementing the special package announced for Naxal-affected areas in parts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga.

Eluru Range DIG G. Suryaprakasa Rao during his visit to the District Police Office in the town said, there is no Naxalite activity in East and West Godavari Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The Anti-Naxal Force of Karnataka raided a CPI-Maoist camp at Charmadi-Somanakadu forest area in Mangalore District and arrested an extremist.

Dy. CM R Ashok, who also holds the Home portfolio, said the Naxal problem in the State is on the wane.