Udupi, 19 Nov

A "dreaded" naxal was shot dead by Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) near Eedu village in Karkala taluk of Udupi district, official sources said on Tuesday.

Home Minister G Parameshwara said the ANF had been looking to apprehend Vikram Gowda for about 20 years. Describing him as a "dreaded naxal", the minister said he had escaped several times, including during "encounters" in the past.

According to official sources, a group of Naxalites was spotted by the ANF during an intensive combing operation on Monday evening.

On sighting the ANF party, the sources said, they opened fire. The ANF team retaliated, killing Gowda, while others escaped. "Vikram Gowda had been leading the Naxalite operations in south India for over two decades. He had taken shelter in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and had visited Kodagu (in Karnataka) many times," an official said.

Parameshwara told reporters: "All of a sudden they (Gowda and associates) have fired on the police. During the return fire by the police, he was killed. Two or three others who were with him have escaped, ANF police have continued the combing operation."

The minister said Gowda was active and was moving from state to state. The ANF was keeping a watch on his movements, but were unable to catch him. "Now based on information, the encounter has happened..." There was a feeling that Naxal activities in the state had ended, he said.

"Last week two people (naxals) - Raju and Latha - were sighted. As they had escaped, combing operations to nab them were on for about a week now. All of a sudden, officials got information about him (Gowda) and as they were looking for him, and he fired at them."

Asked whether an encounter was necessary and could he have not been brought to the mainstream, Parameshwara said: "He (Gowda) has fired at the police as soon as he saw them, so they had to retaliate. This is the first basic information that I have got."

Efforts are on to bring those involved in Naxal activities to the mainstream, Parameshwara, however, said.

He said several of them had laid down their fire arms from Pavgada and other places, and they were given necessary assistance by the government to lead a normal life. Those efforts would continue even now if anyone wants to surrender, he added. "But they (Naxals)...staying in forests, escaping and firing at police, then naturally such things (encounters) happen," he said.