Tribals freed; land strike to continue
Posted on: 04 Aug 2012
Kannur: More than 500 tribals from Wayanad, including women, who were lodged in Kannur Central jail and the district jail, on charges of encroaching forestlands at Manathavadi, were released on Friday. CPM leaders said that they would return to the land they had encroached. As many as 530 tribals of Wayanad owing allegiance to different political parties, including AKS, a pro- CPI(M) organization, were lodged in these jails since July 19 on the charge of encroaching forest lands at Manathavadi
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, PK Sreemathi and KK Shailaja welcomed the tribals. Pinarayi said they would decide the next step after knowing the stand of the government. CPM leaders met the tribals when they were coming out of the jail after visiting P Jayarajan.
Police and forest officials arrested them after evicting them from the encroached lands in Periyar range in North Wayanad. They, however, were using the land, traditionally. About 283 tribal were released from Kannur central jail on July 8, as per the High Court direction.
