Naxals blast two police stations in AP

Naxalites of the banned People's War Group (PWG) bombed two police stations, a sub-treasury office and kidnapped four constables and a home guard in Visakhapatnam district late on Friday night.

In simultaneous, well planned attacks, militants blasted the Anakapalle and Chodavaram police stations, about 20 km apart, and a sub-treasury office adjoining the Chodavaram station, and fled with ammunition and cash, police in Visakhapatnam said.

Police said the ultra leftists, numbering 30 to 40, hijacked a private mini-bus at Pedderu reservoir and went to the Anakapalli police station, 50km from Visakhapatnam. They entered the station under the pretext of submitting a petition and asked the constables to come out of the station.

Later, the Naxals blasted the station, damaging the rooms of the sub-inspector and writer. They took away nine weapons from the station and abducted four constables and a home guard.
Well planned

They also set ablaze a jeep and a scooter parked in front of the Anakapalli police station.

Police said both operations were well planned by the PWG which used three separate groups, each comprising 30 armed men, to carry out the surprise attacks.

They said they were surprised at the choice of targets as the Naxalites were not known to operate in the areas around. The PWG is known to be active only in the tribal dominated areas of the district where they have carried out several raids in the past.

Special police search teams were sent to find the kidnapped constables. A senior police officer told Gulf News that the police on duty in Anakapalle did not offer any resistance to their kidnappers.

In a similar incident, the Naxals in police uniform blasted the police station and sub-treasury office at Chodavaram, damaging furniture and office records after asking the guards to vacate the premises.

A constable and two home guards tried to fight off their attackers but the militants succeeded in blasting the station, while another militant attack team simultaneously attacked the sub-treasury office before fleeing with some money they found there in a truck. They also took four weapons from the Chodavaram police station.

PTI adds: Meanwhile, the State Director General of Police P. Ramulu rushed to Visakhapat-nam to personally monitor the situation.

The whereabouts of the abducted constables and home guard were not yet known and an "intensive search" had been launched on the basis of "certain clues", police said.

The spurt in Naxal attacks comes in the backdrop of collapse of peace talks with the government last month.