Anti-Naxal forces allegedly gunned down a Naxal leader Vikram Gowda in Karnataka Udupi district

Karnataka: According to sources, a Naxal commander named Vikram Gowda was shot dead by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) on Monday night in Karnataka’s Udupi district. The operations took place late at night in the deep woods of Thingalamakki Peete Bailu, which is situated in the Kabbinale region close to Hebri. Sub-Inspector (SI) Mahesh TM of the Hebri Police told media reprot that Gowda was slain after a confrontation.

Vikram Gowda, a highly sought-after Naxal from Kudlu village in Nadralu, Hebri taluk, was the dead. Hebri Police SI Mahesh TM informed media report that the ANF police squad targeted the Naxals in an armed operation that was initiated late Monday night in response to a report on their activity in the area.

In the meantime, Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Sudhir Saxena arrived here on Monday and met in private with senior officers at the police control room to discuss future tactics against the Naxals, one day after a jawan was hurt in a clash with the Naxals in Balaghat district.

A Hawk Force jawan was gravely wounded in a clash between Hawk Force jawans and Naxals that took place on Sunday in the forest close to Duglai hamlet, which is located in the vicinity of the Roopjhar police station in Balaghat. He was taken right away by the cops to a private hospital in Gondia, Maharashtra.

Following the meeting, DGP Saxena visited the Gondia hospital and asked about the Jawan’s health.

“Madhya Pradesh police and Balaghat police have achieved great success in the campaign against Naxals in the last few years in Balaghat district,” the DGP told the journalists during the meeting. Over the last five years, more Naxalites have been slain in confrontations than have been killed in the previous thirty years. It was around this time when AK-47s were seized and the Naxals’ divisional committee level (DVCM) members were shot dead for the first time. The war against the Naxal movement has seen a record level of success for the Balaghat police.