Swiss national in Kerala held for suspected Maoist link

Thrissur, Kerala: A 24-year-old Swiss national has been arrested after he allegedly attended a function organised in memory of a Maoist activist at nearby Valappad.

Police said Jonathan Bold, who arrived in Kerala on a tourist visa, attended a meeting organised in memory of Sinoj, a Maoist activist from Kerala who was killed while making country bombs in Andhra-Karnataka border last month.

The meeting was organised by a group having Maoists and Naxalite sympathies. Sinoj belonged to Valappad in Kerala.

Jonathan has been charged under the Foreigners Act, Section 14(b), which pertains to violation of visa conditions. Police said some Maoist literature had been recovered from him. Jonathan arrived in Kerala on July 10 with a woman companion and had visited Kannur and other parts of the state before arriving here yesterday.

Since he speaks French, the help of an interpreter conversant in French would be sought for detailed interrogation, police said.