Bhubaneswar, May 9: Armed Maoists stormed the house of a constable and looted his family belongings in the wee hours today at Gagrimetla village in Malkangiri district.

They razed the house to the ground before decamping with electronic gadgets and food grains. The group of 100 rebels, who raided the house of Sukra Madhi around 2am, even took away the cattle and the goats belonging to the family.

The Maoists, that included women, threatened the family with dire consequences if Madhi did not quit his job. They even beat up his wife and other family members when they protested. At that time, Madhi was not at home.

The Maoists in Malkangiri are in a retaliatory mood following the killing of a woman cadre by the police about a fortnight ago. The district has been the focus of government’s anti-Maoist operations since the release of former collector R. Vineel Krishna from the rebel captivity in February.

“The constable was their target as they had been looking for revenge against the police since their comrade had been gunned down about a fortnight ago,” said an official. Security in the area has been tightened following the incident, which follows two other violent attacks by the rebels in the district in the last one week.

In the last incident on Friday night, the rebels raided the house of a special police officer at Gompakonda and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not quit his job. In another incident, they blew up the panchayat office at Niliguda under Padia block, just three days after having killed the son of a village head in the same area. The young man had been set ablaze by the radicals after he had refused to join their ranks.

Official sources said the Maoists were deliberately targeting facilities such as panchayat buildings, as these could be used by the administration to house the paramilitary troops deployed in the district.

“Almost all the police stations in the district have BSF camps. The administration has stepped up drive against the rebels, which has made them desperate. They want revenge against police and the paramilitary forces,” said an official.

Battle lines have been drawn in Orissa’s Maoist belt with government resuming operation against the rebels in defiance of the 14-point agreement that had promised suspension of all coercive action against them. The Maoists have accused the government of deliberately violating the agreement that had paved the way for release of Krishna.