Kerala: Two tribal leaders arrested

Two tribal leaders of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, which organised the Muthanga adivasi agitation, were arrested on Saturday morning at Nambikkolli in Kerala's Wayanad district, police sources in Thiruvananthapuram said.

C K Janu and M Geethanandan, who led the one-and-a half month long adivasi agitation by putting up settlements in the
forest land at Muthanga, were in hiding after a police operation to clear the tribal encroachers on Wednesday.   

Tribals had encroached the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary to press their demand for distribution of land to adivasis.

A tribal and a policeman were killed in the ensuing clashes and several AGMS activists were taken into custody.

Reports said that local people overpowered the duo who was hiding in the Nambikkolli area and handed them over to
the Sultan Bathery police.

The reports said Geethanandan had been severely beaten up by the local people before he was handed over to police. A mobile phone was also recovered from his possession.