One more Maoist held in Kovai near TN-Kerala border

The arrested man identified as Magali alias ‘Nondi Magali’ was operating from the villages of Dharmapuri district recruiting youngsters for the movement.

Acting on the leads given by three women Maoists, who were nabbed from Karur last week, that Magali was hiding in Kerala, Q branch personnel were keeping a watch on border villages in Coimbatore. On Sunday night he was arrested from a village close to Kerala border.

Sources said that Magali shifted to Kerala after a case under Arms Act was registered by Varusanadu police in Theni district and a massive hunt was launched for him. After arresting him in Coimbatore, ‘Q’ branch personnel handed over Magali to Dindigul police. 

Meanwhile, cops have arrested another activist identified as Mahalingam from Theni district, who jumped bail in 2011, four years after he was arrested in 2007. 

Apart from this, as per the information given by the three women, cops have prepared a list of 21 Maoist suspects and have launched a state-wide combing operation to nab all of them.

The Q branch personnel have also sent an alert message with photographs of the 21 suspects to all the police stations across the State as part of their operation to arrest them. 

In a similar drive, a night-long hunt was conducted throughout Salem district to arrest three activists identified as Manivasagam, Kannan and Palanivel. 

As the cops could not get any information about the trio, the operation has now besen moved to villages and forest areas near Hogenekkal, Perungadu and Boodhipatti in neighbouring Dharmpuri district.

It may be recalled that five Maoists suspects, including a couple from Kerala, Rupesh and Shaina, were arrested last year. They had been leading the Maoist movement in Kerala. Shaina was a clerk at High Court. 

Among them Shaina and Anup were brought to Sivakasi on Monday to be produced in a local court in connection with a case registered by Sivakasi police.