A “dreaded” naxal was shot dead by Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) near Eedu village in Karkala taluk of this district, official sources said on Tuesday.

Naxal leader Vikram Gowda, wanted for two decades, was killed by the Anti-Naxal Force in Udupi's Kabbinale forest during a combing operation. According to the ANF, this is a first reported Maoist encounter in Udupi district.

Vikram Gowda, a notorious Naxalite leader wanted in over 80 cases in Karnataka and Kerala, was killed in an encounter with police in a remote village

Speaking on anti-naxal encounter, Udupi IG Roopa Divakar Moudgil on November 19 informed that Naxal leader Vikram Gowda was killed in an encounter. “One dreaded Naxal, Vikram Gowda, is dead. There were skirmishes and the police opened

In a significant development, the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) of the Karnataka Police neutralised Vikram Gowda, a fugitive Naxal leader, during a gunfight in the Kabbinale forest of Udupi district late Monday.

Udupi: Vikram Gowda, a prominent Maoist leader and head of the Netravati wing operating in Karnataka’s Western Ghats, was killed in an encounter with the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) late Monday

According to police sources, Vikram Gowda was among a group of eight remaining underground Naxals from Karnataka.

On November 17, 2003, Naxalites Parvati and Hajima were killed in an encounter in Balyoṭṭu, Eedu village of Karkala taluk. On October 21, 2004, naxalites fatally assaulted Chandrakanth, a farmer from Hemmige near Bukadibail, accusing him of being a police informer.

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.