Udupi District News, (Aaj Samaj), Bengaluru: Anti-Naxal forces killed Naxal leader Vikram Gowda in Udupi district of Karnataka. According to officials, this success was achieved on Monday night. Hebri Police Sub-Inspector Mahesh TM confirmed the death of Vikram Gowda. According to him, notorious Naxalite leader Vikram Gowda was found in an operation carried out by anti-Naxalite forces on Monday night in Idu village of Karkala taluk of the district.
Vikram Gowda was a Naxalite for a decade and a half
SI Mahesh TM said that Vikram Gowda, a prominent south Indian extremist and leader of the Maoists’ military operations, was a Naxalite for the last decade and a half. He resided in Kabbinale village near Hebri and had fled during the encounter with Nilambur in 2016. According to the police, the encounter that took place on Monday in Idu village took place after a gap of 21 years. On November 17, 2003, two Naxalite women were killed in an encounter with police near Idu. Sumati (24), a resident of Koppa, and Usha (23), a resident of Shivamogga, were then killed.
Three other Naxalites escaped
According to sources, three other Naxalites escaped during the last encounter. Following this, search operations have been intensified in Western Ghats areas near Karkala and Hebri. Vikram Gowda’s team was in the neighboring DK district in March this year. According to police, on March 17, 2024, four armed suspects were seen at Koozhimale near Sampaje on the border of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts. While buying rice and other foodstuffs before going to the forest, the men introduced themselves to a trader as employees of the forest department. Subsequently, suspected Maoist members were sighted in Subramanya in DK district on March 23 and 27, 2024.
According to information from the villagers, the police had this suspicion.
Based on the description given by the villagers, the police suspected them to be Vikram Gowda, Vanajakshi, Latha and John. These four members of ‘Kabini Dalam’ were tasked with finding a new location in Karnataka to continue their campaign against the state. In the first week of this month, movements of suspected Maoists were reported in Idu and the anti-Naxal force had intensified search operations in the village and surrounding places in Karkala taluk of Udupi district.
Saket Rajan led the Naxalites since 2001
Let us tell you that Saket Rajan was leading the Naxalites in Karnataka since 2001 and on February 6, 2005, he was found by the police at a place called Menasinahadya near Koppa taluk of Chikamagaluru district. Later, Nelaguli Padmanabha took over the leadership. He lost a leg in a police shooting near Barkana. From 2006 to 2011, BG Krishnamurthy led the Naxalites in the state. When his wife, Naxalite Hosagade Prabhu, fell ill, his attention was focused on her treatment. Subsequently, Vikram Gowda took over the leadership of the state during 2011.
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