Miscreants open fire at govt bus in Maoist-hit Odisha’s Koraput district
Passengers safe, police launches search operation to apprehend culprits
By Surya Narayan Panda
Koraput, May 19: Passengers of a Odisha State Regional Transport Corporation (OSRTC) bus had a frightening experience when bullet shots were fired upon the vehicle late on Thursday night at Baipariguda in Koraput district.
According to reports, the bus coming from Malkangiri to Beherampur in Ganjam district was just passing Baipariguda town when some unidentified miscreants fired indiscriminately at the vehicle.
The incident happened just 100 metres away from the Baipariguda police station.
No passengers were harmed in the incident.
Following the attack, a first information report (FIR) was lodged and the bus was detained by the police.
While the miscreants are yet to be identified, the police launched a probe into the incident.
Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Nabarangpur districts in South Odisha have the presence of Maoist rebels and their sympathisers. The rebels, taking advantage of the innocence of the tribals, attempt to indoctrinate them with their own ideology.
Recently on May 10, three Maoists were gunned down by security forces in Taparanga Reserve Forest under Kalahandi’s Madan Rampur police limits.
In the exchange of fire, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) also sustained bullet injuries and was airlifted to Bhubaneswar for treatment.
Prior to that as many as 10 security personnel and a driver were killed in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast by the Maoists near Aranpur in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on April 27. The IED attack was carried out on a vehicle carrying DRG (District Reserve Guard) personnel.
