Kerala forests suspected to shelter Maoists: Police

Alappuzha (Kerala), May 2 (IANS) Police suspect the presence of Maoists in the forests across Kerala but is unsure of their activities, a top police officer said here Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose said that suspected Maoists from states such as Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, have been visiting the forests in Kerala, however any anti-national activity undertaken by them here needs to be further corroborated with evidence.

'We have found that people from these states are visiting various forests in the state, but at the moment we do not have any evidence that they are indulged in anti-national activities. However police have doubts. One reason for their presence in Kerala could be that they are hiding here to avoid arrests in their states,' said Punnoose.

According to police, people from the three states are frequenting the forested areas along the border with Tamil Nadu, especially in Idukki and Palakkad districts.

The forest cover of Kerala is 17,324 sq. km and constitutes 44.58 percent of the total geographical area of the state. Of this, 1,443 sq. km is covered by dense forests.