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Police comb Orissa forests for Maoists
Hundreds of policemen fanned out into Orissa forests yesterday after suspected Maoists simultaneously attacked five police establishments in Nayagarh district killing 14 people.
- IANS
- Published: 01:26 February 17, 2008
Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of policemen fanned out into Orissa forests on Saturday after suspected Maoists simultaneously attacked five police establishments in Nayagarh district killing 14 people.
"A combing operation is going on to nab the Maoists. We have deployed about 600 policemen in the affected areas," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.
Rajesh Kumar, the Nayagarh district police chief, said more than 500 armed Maoists simultaneously attacked three police stations, a government armoury, a police training centre and some police posts.
A group of rebels, including some women guerrillas, attacked the district police headquarters at Nayagarh, about 85km from here, as well as a nearby armoury and police training centre at about 10.30pm. Other groups of Maoists barged into police stations at nearby Daspalla and Nuagaon towns, attacked policemen and looted weapons, Kumar said.
While the Maoist virtually laid siege on Nayagarh town for more than three hours, they continued their attack in other places till early yesterday. They also attacked two police outposts and set them on fire, he said.
"They have looted a large quantity of arms and ammunition during their raids that continued for more than three hours," Kumar said.
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He added that at least 14 people, including 13 policemen, were killed during the shootout between policemen and Maoists. The 14th victim was a civilian caught in the crossfire. Four people were injured, two of them are said to be critical.
The rebels had also sealed all entry and exit points of the town to prevent the movement of vehicles during their operation. They even sealed the entry to the district police chief's residence. The chief minister visited the affected area on Saturday and met the families of those killed.
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