The National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeks alleged Maoist hideouts in southern states.

Since early Tuesday, October 12, 2021, special teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been conducting simultaneous searches throughout Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka for suspected Maoist training camps and hideouts.

The searches were sparked by particular inputs that indicated a training program aimed at indoctrinating young people in these states with Maoist philosophy. Investigators discovered some training films in addition to literature and propaganda, sources in the agency informed The Hindu on Tuesday.

The searches were carried out in 12 districts across Tamil Nadu, including Krishnagiri, Salem, Coimbatore, Theni, and Sivaganga, all of which had previously experienced Maoist activity. According to the sources, the NIA searched approximately a half-dozen locations in Karnataka and Kerala.

Investigators gathered information on the training program from a variety of sources to back up claims made by one of the suspected Maoist leaders arrested earlier this year that a well-organized training programme was in place to recruit cadres in the three states in order to establish a base in the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

The Maoists attempted to form the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee to continue their arms struggle in Southern India, but their efforts were thwarted by the arrest of a senior leader and combing operations carried out by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force in the forests of the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode, Dindigul, and Theni districts, according to police sources.