Cops acted in self-defence,says Ker CM on gunning down Maoists

Dismissing opposition allegations that it was a fake encounter, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday justified the police action which resulted in the death of four Maoists at Attapady in Palakkad district, saying the shootout was in self-defence.

Vijayan said no one will be killed just because they are Maoist and the government will examine whether there were any lapses in the matter.

He said maoists from other states were trying to infiltrate Kerala and expand their activities in the western ghats.

"The maoists who got trained from other states are trying to infiltrate Kerala and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere here.

The Thunderbolt (elite commando force) team were patrolling the area when the maoists fired at them and it resulted in this unfortunate incident," Vijayan told the Assembly.

He was replying to a notice for an adjournment motion moved by the opposition seeking an independent probe into the incident.

Police identified the four maoists who were gunned down as Karthi, Rema, Aravind and Manivasagan.

Kuppuswamy Devaraj, 65, and Ajitha, 45, were killed in an alleged encounter with police in Nilambur forests on November 24, 2016.In March this year, a maoist leader C P Jaleel was shot dead at a resort near Vythiri in Wayanad.

With the recent killings, the total maoists killed since 2016 has become seven.

Vijayan said "We are well aware that a government will not be able to destroy an idea through oppression.

But it is the responsibility of the government to enforce necessary law and order against those forces which does not have a base in the state but tries to disrupt the democratic fabric of Kerala," Vijayan said.

Dismissing the allegations of N Shamsudheen (IUML) who had moved the notice saying the government was shooting and killing maoists instead of capturing them or forcing them to surrender, Vijayan said "The opposition is giving them an image overhaul."