The two empty cartridges of AK-47 rifles produced by the police to prove that Maoists used modern weapons to attack the security forces. Edakkara (Malappuram): In a bid to counter allegations from various quarters that the encounter in which two Maoists were killed inside Nilambur forests was staged, the Kerala police on Monday produced two empty cartridges of AK-47 rifles to prove that the Maoists used modern weapons to attack the security forces.
The police presented the fresh evidence to substantiate their claim that the two Maoist leaders – Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha - were killed in the retaliatory firing.
Reportedly, the cartridges were recovered from the encounter spot where Devaraj’s body was found, lying face down.
According to the police, the security forces resorted to firing after the wanted leader’s bodyguards shot at them with AK-47s and pump-action guns. When the police retaliated, the security guards and other members of the gang escaped into the dense forest, the officials said.
They added that the two empty cases were manufactured in 1981 and 2007, while the Kerala police currently use those cartridges that are manufactured after 2010.
Photos released by police of Maoists attending an arm-training session in Nilambur forests.The police have also released photos of Maoists attending an arm-training session and a flag-hoisting ceremony inside the Paduka forest range of Nilambur. The photographs were seized from a militant who was arrested from Bengaluru recently. The banner seen in one of the photos had been recovered by the police from one of the tents erected by the group inside the Karulai forest.
