KOZHIKODE: Wayanad has a history of left extremism surge and brutal suppression by police through extreme torture and encounter killings which dates back to the 1960s.

In those days the popular terminology, used to refer to the left extremists, was ‘Naxalites’, usually oppressed adivasis and landless farmers, victims of extreme exploitation by the landlords.

The origin of the movement traces back to the armed rebellion at the Bengali village of Naxalbari (June 28, 1967) which was termed by Chinese radio as the ‘Spring Thunder’.

The idea of liberation and revolution attracted many young minds like K Ajitha and Comrade Varghese. Decades passed and many leaders who led the rebellion have slipped into history.

After the formation of the ‘Thunderbolt’ there were dozens of combing operations in the jungle regions of Wayanad.

It was in the Kannavam forest near Iritty in Kannur district in 2013 that the first spotting of armed gangs was reported. Later, reports started flowing in from Wayanad, Kannur and Malappuram districts. At Kongad near Kozhikode a JCB of a quarry was set ablaze by suspected Maoist elements who also distributed pamphlets.

At Karinkanni tribal village in Wayanad, an armed Maoist group distributed pamphlets. Maoists also set ablaze a policeman's bicycle under the Vellamunda station limits early this year.

The surprising part is that despite continuous raids neither any sympathisers nor cadres were nabbed by the Thunderbolt team so far.

“I suspect, the hue and cry is part of an attempt to grab huge sums of money from the central funds for anti-Maoist operations,” said Jose Seban, a social worker in Wayanad.

“There were reports that the Thunderbolt team was in trouble due to an acute fund crunch,” he pointed out.

“Most of the tribal villages are developed now and the landlords are a tale of the past,” said Sajju Janardhanan, a former sympathiser of Maoist activities.

“Now the tribal folk are well paid and the wages are as high as Rs 400 per day,” he pointed out. However, the subject is an unpleasant one for all top police cops.

An official told DC that though Maoist cadres were spotted in the border jungle zones, by the time the information reached the police, they had crossed into either the Karnataka or Tamil Nadu jungles.