Mangaluru: Personnel of Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) began combing operations near Shiradi on Tuesday after the suspected Naxals made their presence in a nearby hamlet.

Three people including a woman were seen with arms at a settlement in a village under the Uppinangadi police station limits on Sunday.

Apart from ANF, Dakshina Kannada district police too have formed teams for investigation after the Naxal’s suspected visit. H Sudheer Kumar Reddy, SP, Dakshina Kannada, maintained that teams have been formed to search for suspected naxals while refusing to divulge more details about the seach operation citing security reasons.

Sources said that a group of 24 ANF personnels led by local police started combing operations in the forest near Shiradi around 2.30pm on Tuesday. On January 14, three suspected Naxals had visited the house of Leela and Suresh. They were aged between 30 to 35, according to witnesses.

The trio who visited the families in border areas of Shiradi on Sunday afternoon reportedly identified themselves as Naxals and asked the villagers to charge their phones and laptops. They also requested for food as they were hungry.

When Suresh told them that there was no electricity to charge their phones and loptops, the trio waited till the evening for power to come and left the house after having dinner.

Sources added that they also collected rice, sugar, vegetables and other items from the three nearby houses and paid for the same. While leaving, they told the villagers that there are other members with them and they all are staying in forest. They were conversing in Malayalam, Tamil and Tulu.

SP Reddy said, a case under the arms act and all relevant sections will be registered at the Uppinangadi police station.