A day after three people suspected to be Maoists were killed by Thunderbolt, the anti-insurgency force of the Kerala police, and with reports suggesting that one more has been killed in the same operation, the Opposition has hit out against the state government by terming the operation as a fake encounter.

Three people — two males and one female, were killed on Monday morning during the search operations by Thunderbolt in the forest near Agaly in Palakkad. The identity of the victims has not been revealed by the police as the bodies have not been identified yet. 

But reports suggest that the slain include Suresh, a native of Karnataka, and Rema and Karthi, who are natives of Tamil Nadu. Reports also suggest that one more person who was injured in Monday's shooting is also dead and he has been identified as Manivasakam.

While this is perhaps the single largest number of casualties inflicted on suspected Maoists in an operation conducted by a government in Kerala, the Opposition led by the Congress has claimed that the government has gunned down seven people. 

Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala slammed the Pinarayi Vijayan government calling the operation against suspected Maoists as a fake encounter. 

In a press meet in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennithala said that the act of killing people by labelling them as Maoists is not right and  Pinarayi would be answerable for this. 

The killing of three people on Monday as claimed by the police happened when the suspected Maoists attacked the Thunderbolt force while it was on patrolling in the area.  

"Maoists existed during the time of the previous governments too. It was at the time when I was the Home Minister that Maoist couple Rupesh and Shyni were caught. They were taken into custody as instructions had been given that guns shouldn't be used against them. But what is happening now is a fake encounter. Jaleel, killed by Thunderbolt in March this year, was also a fake encounter. Maoists should be opposed ideologically," Chennithala said.

He further claimed that what has been found from the killed people was food, rice and pamphlets. 

KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) President Mullappally Ramachandran called it a violation of human rights. "Seven people have been killed in six encounters after the LDF government assumed power which is not befitting a Communist government," he said. Mullappally even termed it as a return to the barbarian era.

"It was in November 2016, after the LDF came to power that Kappu Devaraj and Kaveri A Ajitha were killed in Karulayi forest in Malappuram district. CP Jaleel was killed in 2019 in Lakkidi. Now, four people have been killed  in the encounter in Agaly," Mullappally pointed out.