Secret Naxal meet to contest LS elections?

Saturday’s secret meeting by Naxals at a private school in Kundrathur that was busted by the Q Branch police was convened in the backdrop of a plan by the banned outfit to contest the 2014 Parliamentary elections, police sources said.

According to sources in the Q Branch, Duraisingvelu (51), the chief of People’s Democratic Republic Party, who was one among the 13 naxalites arrested during the Saturday night swoop, had organised the meeting along with his party’s office bearers Baskar and Palani alias Palanimanickam (49).

Police sources said there was a statewide hunt for Naxals and the Q Branch sleuths were on the look out for one Bharathi, the coordinator of the outfit involved in gathering members.

While they kept a close watch on her, on Saturday, they raided the private school at Thirunageshwaran Colony in Kundrathur where they nabbed a group of 13 Naxals, including Duraisingvelu’s wife Ragini, police sources said, adding that Bharathi was absconding.

Police said that it was through Ragini, whose son was studying in the school, that the group got permission to conduct the meeting claiming it to be for their political party. Members from across the State attended the meeting, police said.

According to police sources, an inquiry revealed that Duraisingvelu, who allegedly was earlier the chief of the banned People’s War, had launched the party and reportedly had plans to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. Police sources also claimed that the group was backing democratic protests in the state and had plans to expand their party’s base in the State.

Police sources claimed that Duraisingvelu, who lived in Kundrathur, was one of the many Naxals arrested in 2002 after police raided a camp where arms training was given to youth in the forests near Uthangarai.

When police stormed the camp, naxals allegedly hurled hand grenades and there was an exchange of fire. Following the incident, police began a combing operation in the surrounding forests and caught Duraisingvelu.

He was held under POTA and was in prison for nearly 10 years before being released on bail sometime ago, police sources said. He was stated to be involved in a bank robbery in Madurai in 1988. Q Branch sleuths planned to take custody of the arrested men, who had been lodged in Vellore Central Prison, for further interrogation.