Bhubaneswar, June 8: Anti-Maoist operations have been stepped up in the wake of Sunday's ambush, in which a Special Operations Group (SOG) jawan was killed and seven of his colleagues were injured near Khamankhol forest at Baliguda block in Kandhamal district.

Kandhamal superintendent of police Pinak Mishra said combing had been intensified in the sensitive areas of the district and there was heightened vigil against the rebels even in the adjoining districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada. While Kandhamal remains a sensitive district so far as Maoist activities are concerned, the rebels are also well entrenched in Rayagada. Sources said the rebels were trying hard to get a foothold in Kalahandi district.

Underscoring the need for an effective strategy against the rebels, Mishra also made a reference to the Gumudamaha encounter in Kandhamal district last year. The encounter had triggered a controversy following allegations of some innocent tribal people being killed in the crossfire between the police and the rebels.

Sources said the Khamankhol ambush was an indication of the growing strength of Maoists, who were now fearlessly targeting police convoys. The SOG constable, Laxmikant Jani, was killed and his colleagues suffered injuries when the rebels fired upon the last vehicle in a convoy of eight police vans returning to Phulbani town after a combing operation in Khamankhol forest.

The rebels have also stepped up violence in Malkangiri district, their best-known stronghold in the state. On May 1, they killed an alleged police informer at Tamaguda village of the district, the incident coming in the wake of two similar killings by them in April.

In March also, the rebels had killed an alleged police informer in Rayagada district. The body of Mali Pusika was found at a desolate spot near Salpajla village in Muniguda police limits of the district sending shockwaves through the area.

Police officials, who sought to remain anonymous, said the intention of the rebels was to spread terror, so that no one dared resist their activities.

In February, the Maoists triggered a landmine blast in Koraput's Sunki valley, killing eight police personnel who were on their way to attend a training programme in Angul.

The police, on the other hand, had their last big success against the rebels in October last year when they gunned down 24 of the rebels in an encounter in Malkangiri district close to the Chhattisgarh border.