Mangaluru, 28 March

Frequent sightings of strangers suspected to be Maoists in the Koojimalai forest area have prompted Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) jawans to take up combing in the forest area, and a contingent of ANF has been stationed in Koojimalai village, sources said on Thursday.

Another sighting of a suspected Naxalite had been reported from a heavily wooded forest area on Thursday, they said. According to the sources, a worker in the rubber plantation claimed that he had sighted a woman in the forest area who is not from the village. Efforts to locate the woman are ongoing, with ANF teams conducting thorough searches in both the Ainekidu and Koojimale estate areas.

Sources within the ANF have suggested that Naxalite groups, previously detected in these regions, may still be active on the fringes of the Pushpagiri forest sanctuary. ANF sources have confirmed that they have received complaints of strangers frequenting the area between Sampaje and Koojimalai.