Maoists blast mobile tower

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2010/04/24/stories/2010042458700300.htm)
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Maoists blast mobile tower


Staff Reporter



They also ransack Indian Made Foreign Liquor shop



Naxals' week-long bandh begins todayPosters are left at Kudumulgumma in Malkangiri after the attack


BERHAMPUR: Maoists blasted a mobile communication tower and ransacked an Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shop at the block headquarters town of Kudumulgumma in Malkangiri district of south Orissa on Thursday midnight.
The attack came a day before the week-long bandh call given by Maoists from Saturday in the areas of south Orissa, bordering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. It is also seen as a challenge to the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel now posted in Malkangiri and Koraput districts for a proposed major joint operation against naxalites.
They left posters at Kudumulgumma after their attack. They called upon inhabitants to observe the bandh against the ‘operation green hunt'. They warned the government of facing dire consequence if the ‘operation green hunt' was taken up against them.
According to the police sources, around 50 armed Maoists reached Kudumulgumma town at around 11 p.m. First they targeted the IMFL shop. Some local sympathisers also accompanied them.
Later, their target was the mobile communication tower of Airtel. They threatened the watchman to leave the place and set afire the tower and the gadgets after attempts to trigger an explosion failed. The generator room and some equipment of the tower were damaged. Later, they escaped into the nearby jungle.
On January 20 night, Maoists destroyed an IMFL shop and targeted a mobile communication tower at Kudumulgumma. They used those violent means to publicise their economic blockade and bandh call on January 25 and 26. They again resorted to similar action before their week-long bandh call from Saturday.
Borders sealed
Meanwhile, the BSF personnel posted in Malkangiri and Koraput districts have started their anti-naxal operation. The remote villages are being searched for suspicious outsiders. Aerial survey is also being done over forests prior to launch of the proposed anti-Maoist operations in Koraput and Malkangiri districts which are adjacent to Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh where the naxalites massacred 76 CRPF personnel on April 6. Some of the Maoists involved in the gruesome ambush are suspected to have migrated to remote areas of Koraput and Malkangiri districts. The borders of these two districts with Andhra and Chhattisgarh have been sealed to check entry of ultras before the week-long bandh call.






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