The Anti Naxal Force personnel at Pittabail, near Hebri, in Udupi district where the alleged encounter of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda took place on Monday. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR

Vikram Gowda: Maoist leader wanted for 22 years with over 114 cases

Belonging to the Malekudiya tribal community, he hailed from a family of peasants and had dropped out of school after class 4

by · The Hindu
The Anti Naxal Force personnel at Pittabail, near Hebri, in Udupi district where the alleged encounter of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda took place on Monday. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR
Police inspecting the spot where the alleged encounter of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda took place at Pittabail, near Hebri, in Udupi, on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR

Vikram Gowda, killed in an alleged encounter with the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) commandos late on Monday night, was a class 4 dropout from the tribal Malekudiya community, who grew to be a prominent Maoist leader. He was wanted by the security agencies for 22 years and has over 114 cases pending against him in Karnataka and Kerala. 

The 44-year-old Vikram hailed from Nadpalu village in Hebri taluk of Udupi district, not very far from the Peetabailu village where he was gunned down by the ANF. He hailed from a family of peasants.

Initiation into movement

He reportedly came in contact with Maoists in the late 1990s when he participated in protests against the then proposed creation of Kudremukh National Park. Initially, he worked as a courier to them and was later recruited, sources said. He went underground in 2002. He has been on the “wanted” list of the Karnataka police since then.

Vikram had over 114 cases pending against him - 64 cases in Karnataka, including three murder cases, and 50 cases in Kerala. Of the 64 cases, three pertain to murder. Two cases pertain to murders of people - 42-year-old Venkatesh in Sringeri police station limits in 2007, and Sadashiva Gowda, a bamboo weaver killed in 2011, on suspicion of being police informants.

Another case pertains to the death of KSRP constable in an encounter with the police in Belthangady police station limits in 2011.

Rewards announced

The Karnataka police had announced a reward of ₹5 lakh on him, and the Kerala police had announced a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to his capture.

Vikram’s former wife Savitri, 38, also a tribal from the same area, has been active in the Maoist movement since 2004. She is presently lodged in a prison in Kerala, following her arrest by the Kerala police in November 2021, along with B.G. Krishnamurthy, also from Karnataka and a member of the Central Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist).

Published - November 19, 2024 08:57 pm IST