Maoists stake claim for attack on private resort in Kerala

CPI (Maoists) have claimed that they were behind the attack on a private resort at North Kerala’s hill district Wayanad. The resort named Agraharam, located at Thirunelli in Wayanad, was ransacked on November 18 by a four-member gang.

The resort is owned by Sebastian Joseph, a senior journalist with Kerala’s leading daily Malayala Manorama. The gang entered into the resort in the wee hours of November 18 and smashed the windows and furniture. The fled the scene after leaving pro-Maoist pamphlets and posters. The resort was closed for guests since the attack, sources at the property said.

On Saturday, media offices in Palakkad district recieved a press release believed to be from the Western Ghat Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist) saying that members of their guerrilla force has attacked the resort.

The release said the attack was a warning against unbridled encroachment of the real estate-tourism mafia into Wayanad district, which had been once a land of paddy fields. The real estate-tourism mafia had wrecked havoc across the social, economic and environmental areas of the district. The lopsided tourism development has privatized hillocks, leading to animals foraying into agricultural land.

The release narrates how Wayanad’s agrarian and tribal culture was lost to the predators of the Nature and Resort groups. It ended with a call for armed struggle against the ruling class to shape an alternative development scheme for the district.

Policed sources said they were looking into the attack case and could not confirm anything about the press release. In the recent months, there were several reported incidents of Maoists presence in tribal areas in the district, but police could not find any clue to confirm who have been moving around in the region. Massive combing operations by special forces lead to nothing.

Earlier this month, the CPI (Maoists) had claimed that they were behind the attack on the corporate office of Nitta Gelatin India Limited (NGIL) in Kochi. The office of the Japan-India venture was ransacked in broad daylight, after threatening the security guards. Days later, the Western Ghat Zonal Committee of The CPI (Maoist) claimed the responsibility for the attack, saying that their action was a warning against the alleged pollution of a river in Thrissur district, where the company has a manufacturing unit. So far, police could not attain any breakthrough in the probe into the attack on NGIL.

Source http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/maoists-stake-claim-for-attack-on-private-resort-in-kerala/