‘Maoist’ killed in Tamil Nadu

On Saturday, the STF received a tip-off from villagers about some men hiding in the hills near Kodaikanal. The personnel surrounded Naveen and his aide inside the forest after a combing operation and asked them to surrender. When they refused, a gunbattle ensued. Naveen was killed in gunfire, but his aide, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, escaped into the forest, said the officials. Unconfirmed reports said about three to five persons had escaped.

Sources said Naveen was a hardcore Maoist, on the run after narrowly escaping from the police net during a raid last year. He had received training at a Naxalite camp in the state and was working towards setting up bases and recruiting tribals. The STF had been closely monitoring the movement of Maoist sympathisers in the area following intelligence reports that cadres from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra were shifting here.

The STF, led by additional DGP K Vijaykumar who was in charge of the operation to eliminate notorious brigand Veerappan, is continuing the operation to flush out the extremists from the forest.

The team had earlier arrested a five-member gang from the district. While the initial reports said they were inter-state car thieves, there was unofficial information that they were also Maoists.