Watch: Death blow to Maoist movement?

On the night of November 18, Karnataka’s most wanted Maoist leader 44-year-old Vikram Gowda, was killed in an alleged exchange of fire with the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) at a village in Udupi district. This incident marked the first gunfight in the region in close to 13 years, since 2012. In the aftermath of the killing, where does the Maoist movement and armed resistance in Karnataka stand? What is the action plan of security agencies like the Anti-Naxal Force? What are some of the criticisms around the implementation of the State’s surrender and rehabilitation policy?

The operation that led to the death by encounter of 44-year-old Vikram Gowda was part of an ongoing campaign against growing Maoist activity in the Western Ghats region.

In Karnataka, Left wing extremism gained momentum in 1990s during the Kudremukh National Park agitation. However, the 2005 encounter of Saketh Rajan, one of the most celebrated Maoist activists in the state, dealt a massive blow to the outlawed movement.

In 2010, the State was removed from the list of Naxal-infested states in the country though sightings of suspected Maoists continued to be reported in coastal and Malnad regions, a hotbed for Maoist activities.

Recently, after a decade of being off the grid, Maoists were spotted in at least five instances since March which led to combing operation being amped up in parts of Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Kodagu.

Even as search continues for the handful of underground workers who remain, activists and former Maoist leaders have demanded an independent probe into Gowda’s death, which they claim is a “fake encounter” and an act of crime committed by the State.

Fingers have also been raised at the implementation of the rehabilitation policy. Lapsed Left wing extremists say while on one hand, the State encourages activists to give up arms and assimilate with the mainstream, on the other it keeps them wrapped up legal battles for years on end.

To discuss the multiple facets of this movement and the State’s response, we are joined by Senior Assistant Editor Satish G.T. and Deputy City Editor, Aditya Bharadwaj.