Kerala’s top Maoist leader, his wife arrested
A Coimbatore report, quoting police sources, said front-ranking Maoist leaders Roopesh and his wife Shina were arrested near Karumathampatti
Thiruvananthapuram/Coimbatore: A top Maoist leader, wanted in at least 20 cases in Kerala, his wife and three others were arrested on Monday night near Coimbatore in a “big breakthrough" for the police of four southern states.
Kerala home minister Ramesh Chennithala said the arrest of Roopesh and others was made by the Andhra Pradesh police following a joint operation undertaken by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police. He said this was a “big breakthrough" and could be achieved due to ‘co-ordinated’ efforts of the four state governments.
“At least five Maoists have been arrested. For the past two months, police of Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were undertaking joint operations to nab them," he said. “The Maoists are being questioned. Roopesh will be brought to Kerala," he said.
A Coimbatore report, quoting police sources, said front-ranking Maoist leaders Roopesh and his wife Shina were arrested near Karumathampatti, about 25km from Coimbatore. Besides the couple, others arrested were Anup from Kerala, Veeramani from Karnataka and Kannan from Tamil Nadu, the sources said, adding, all would be taken to Kerala for further questioning.
While Roopesh entered mainstream Maoist activities through Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) students wing, Shina was a clerk in a court, police said.
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