Posters seeking release of Kerala journalist held for Maoist links surface in Kasaragod; police launch probe
The posters were issued in the name of the 'People's Liberation Front Area Committee'.
The posters were issued in the name of the 'People's Liberation Front Area Committee'.
The posters were issued in the name of the 'People's Liberation Front Area Committee'.
Kasaragod: Kinanoor-Karinthalam, a hill panchayat in Kasaragod, saw fresh murmurs of Maoism after two posters appeared calling for the release of Kerala-based independent journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek, accused by Maharashtra Police of being a Maoist, and for an end to the alleged violence against Adivasis in North India.
The printed posters were pasted on the wall of a bus waiting shed at Plathadam in Kinanoor under the jurisdiction of the Vellarikundu Police Station. Residents noticed it on Friday morning and informed the police. Soon, the Station House Officer and a team, along with officers from the intelligence wing, arrived at the spot and conducted an inspection.
The posters were issued in the name of the 'People's Liberation Front Area Committee'.
The two posters read: 'Release Comrade Rejaz imprisoned in Nagpur Jail'; and 'Stop the mass killings of innocent Adivasis in North India'. Unlike earlier hand-written Maoist posters found in the district, these were computer-generated prints.
Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek, a 26-year-old independent journalist from Kerala, was arrested by Maharashtra police when he went to Nagpur to meet his female friend on May 7. He was initially arrested for criticising 'Operation Sindoor', the military strike on Pakistan after the Pahagam terror killings, and for his anti-Indian Army social media posts.
But later, the police invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against him, accusing him of having contacts with banned organisations such as the Communist Party of India (Maoist), Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Police alleged he also had links to the Pune-based cultural group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), an organisation run by Dalit and Bahujan youths, suspected by police of being a frontal organisation for Maoist groups.
The case was then transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad. Police said they found anti-Indian Army messages on his phone.
Kasaragod District Police Chief B V Vijaya Bharat Reddy said there are no Maoists in Kerala. He said the posters could have been put up by front organisations. Police officers said the posters could have been put up by those raising Rejaz's cause.