Bhubaneswar, March 23: Police will ensure the security of its informers in the Maoist-dominated areas as the rebels are increasingly targeting them.

"We have advised them (informers) to contact the nearest police stations and keep changing their locations," said director-general of police K.B. Singh following a meeting with additional DGP, CRPF, Kuldip Singh at his camp office here.

The two officers discussed crucial issues, including anti-Maoist operations, joint combing by state police and the central paramilitary forces, apart from the protection of life and property of the people staying in the Maoist-dominated areas. The issue of co-ordination with the security forces of neighbouring states also figured at the meeting, which was attended by other senior officers of the state police and the CRPF.

The Maoists have been targeting alleged police informers at an alarming frequency, the latest killing having taken place on Tuesday at Salpajla village in Muniguda police limits of Rayagada district.

The body of Mali Pusika was found at an isolated place on the outskirts of the village.

The rebels kidnapped Mali and Mandu Pusika, the former's neighbour from the same village, on March 19 on the suspicion of being police informers. While the Maoists released Mandu, Mali did not return home. Combing in Rayagada and its adjoining districts has been intensified following the incident.

Rayagada is part of undivided Koraput district, which also includes Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur, all known for rebel activities. Sources said combing by security forces had been intensified in the entire region to prevent the rebels from indulging in more violence. Malkangiri superintendent of police Mitrabhanu Mohapatra had, however, said recently that combing by the police and the BSF was a routine affair as security forces could not afford to let their guard down.

The strategy to intensify the operation against the rebels was recently chalked out following intelligence inputs about growing resentment among the tribal residents of Koraput and Malkangiri against the Maoists, who have been "terrorising the tribal population by indulging in killings on the pretext of eliminating police informers".

Malkangiri police had a major success against the Maoists when they gunned down 24 senior rebel leaders and cadres at Jantri close to the Andhra Pradesh border on October 24 last year. The Maoists killed in this encounter included Munna, son of CPI (Maoist) central committee member Ramakrishna, who managed to escape. Ever since, the security forces have stepped up the hunt for this rebel leader, who controls Maoist operations in large parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Rattled by the losses they suffered in the Jantri encounter, the Maoists hit back by triggering a landmine blast in the Sunki valley of the adjoining Koraput district in February killing eight personnel of Odisha police, who were on their way to Angul to attend a training programme.

This was the second landmine blast by the rebels in Sunki valley, the earlier one having killed four BSF jawans.