In a joint operation, three Maoists, including a woman, were apprehended by the Tiruvallur district police and the ‘Q’ Branch Wing of the State police on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border on Saturday.
Superintendent of Police M.R. Sibi Chakkaravarthi told The Hindu: “Following a specific intelligence input, our personnel mounted surveillance along the border. The trio was secured in Pullarambakkam village near Poondi. Our intelligence input said they were assigned by their organisations to recruit cadre and train them for an armed struggle.”
The Maoists have been identified as D. Dasarathan, a Maoist leader who has been in hiding since 2003, his wife Shenbagavalli, alias Kanimozhi, who went underground in 2008, and Dasarathan’s brother Vetriveerapandiyan. They were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for offences including criminal conspiracy and starting a war.
Earlier brush with police
Banned Maoist propaganda material including books and handbills were recovered from them besides laptops and mobile phones. They were well trained in handling sophisticated arms, the police said.
Shenbagavalli is suspected to be one of the eight persons who escaped when the Special Task Force had an encounter with Maoists in the forests near Vadakaunji, 40 km away from Kodaikanal in 2008. The Maoists had assembled there for a training camp. In the encounter, Naveen alias Prasad, a trained Maoist, was killed.
A native of Krishnagiri, Shenbagavalli was allegedly involved in organising secret camps and recruiting people for the movement in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. She has criminal cases pending against her in Chennai, Vellore, Dharmapuri and Tirupattur. Mr. Chakravarthi said, “With the arrest of the three, a major conspiracy has been foiled.”
