Forest employees kidnapped by maoists, later set free

Three forest department employees who had been kidnapped allegedly by Maoists from near Nilambur in the district were set free after a few hours, a senior forest department official said today.
District Forest Officer, Nilambur, Shaji, said 10 Maoists, including women, entered T K Colony around 9.00 PM yesterday, ransacked the outpost put up by the department and set on fire seven bags of rice and other materials.
Later they pasted some posters supporting Maoists and ordered the trio at gunpoint to follow them, he said.
They were taken to Silent Valley side about a km away from the area, where the gang removed the SIM cards from their mobile phones and released them after an hour, he said.

The Maoists let them free with a warning that if anyone ventures into the forest wearing a khaki uniform they would be shot, Shaji said.