Palakkad (Kerala), Nov 1 (TIWN) Expressing displeasure at the way four Maoists was gunned down in the forests near here this week by the Thunderbolt wing of the Kerala Police, the Communist Party of India (CPI) state leadership on Friday condemned the act as one that was "state sponsored" and sought a magisterial probe.

The incident caused an uproar and a Kerala court directed the police not to cremate the bodies of suspected ultras until November 4. The session court's direction came after relatives of Karthi and Manivasagan approached it to stop the bodies from being cremated until the post-mortem report was out. The court said it will take up the matter on November 2.  Meanwhile, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court directed authorities to allow Kala, widow of Manivasagan, and his relatives to see his body.  While the Congress-led Opposition and ruling LDF ally CPI had alleged that it was a fake encounter, police on Thursday released a video and photographs of the inquest team which came under the alleged attack by Maoists.  The video, released through TV channels, shows the inquest team lying down in the forest and sound of gunshots could be heard.  As the Congress-led UDF sought an independent probe into the matter, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan justified the police action, saying it was an act of self-defence.  Taking a serious view of the incident, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said: "We have doubts whether it was a fake encounter. The policy of the government eliminating political workers cannot be accepted."