Chhattisgarh Maoist attack; High alert sounded in 2 more districts in neighbouring Odisha
By Sukanta Kumar Mohanty
Bhubaneswar, May 2: The Odisha government on Tuesday sounded high alert in two more districts following the deadly IED blast by Maoists on Aranpur road in Chhattisgarh in which 10 District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and a civilian driver were killed on April 26.
Additional Director General of Police (Operations) Amitabh Thakur said that alert was sounded in Bargarh and Kalahandi districts.
Earlier, three districts- Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Nuapada – were put on high alert following the Chhattisgarh Maoist ambush.
“It has been observed that around 90 per cent of the Maoists come to Odisha from Chhattisgarh. Our focus has always been on ensuring that the ingress of Maoists is checked. Alert has been issued for the bordering districts of Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Nuapada, Bargarh and Kalahandi,” said Thakur.
Thakur said already the Odisha state director general of police Sunil Bansal had instructed concerned officials to intensify area dominance exercises which is currently underway.
On reports of sexual abuse and exploitation of women Maoist cadres, Thakur said that such stories of torture and exploitation are revealed by the surrendered ultras.
“We have heard that such kind of exploitation is rampant in the Maoist camp. However, our efforts are to bring back the red rebels to the mainstream as Odisha’s surrender and rehabilitation policy is the best,” Thakur added.
After committing crimes in Chhattisgarh, the Maoists cadres slip into the Odisha jungles situated in the border districts. They mostly take shelter in Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Bargarh districts where they have their fellow cadres and sympathisers.
