IEDs, explosive materials seized from encounter site: Police

Improvised explosive devices (IED), materials used in making explosives were among the items recovered from the 'encounter' site where two Maoists were killed during an operation by police in Nilambur forests in Kerala, police said today.
In a related development, CPI, a key partner of the ruling LDF led by CPIM, came out against the police operation, saying there was no relevance for a Maoist hunt in the state.
Police identified the two Maoists, killed in the encounter in Nilambur forests in Mallapuram district yesterday, as Kuppuswamy Devaraj, a central committee member of the outlawed outfit, and Ajitha.
Besides the IEDs and explosive materials, solar panels, some battery chargers,a set of pen drives, a modem, an electronic tab, a pistol and 40 sacks of rice were also recovered from the hideout of the Maoists, police said.

After conducting an inquest in the presence of the RDO, the bodies of the two Maoists were taken to Kozhikode Medical College for post mortem, they said.
According to police, Maoists fired at a police party on a combing operation in Nilambur area and two of the ultras were killed in retaliatory firing.

The search operations were undertaken by a 60-member elite team of the Thunderbolt Force, based on a tip-off that Maoists were camping in the area.
CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran said Kerala should have taken a different stand in its fight against the Left radicals.
"There is no relevance for a Maoist hunt in Kerala," he said when asked about the encounter.

Making it clear that the party was not in favour of physically eliminating persons who raise "different opinions", he said there were many reports of instances of fake encounters across the country.
"There is no circumstances, as of now, in the state to make elaborate preparations to fight Maoists. The state should take a different stand on the issue at a time when several reports of fake encounters are being reported from different parts of the country including Kashmir and Chattisgarh," he told PTI.
Human rights activist GRO Vasu demanded a judicial probe into yesterday's encounter incident.