Bhubaneswar/Sambalpur, Oct. 8: Breaking a lull of four years, security forces today destroyed a Maoist camp near Gaigut hills, which fall in Kisinda police limits, of Sambalpur district following a fierce gun battle with the rebels.
There were no casualties in the encounter but security forces seized three tiffin bombs, some other explosives, food, uniforms and medicines from the camp. Police said the exchange of fire that began early in the morning continued for half an hour.
The movement of Maoists was noticed in the area by a joint team of CRPF and Special Operations Group (SOG) jawans conducting a combing operation. Challenged, the rebels opened fire forcing the jawans to retaliate.
“We have had information about Maoist activity in the area for the past one-and-a-half months. The rebels are trying hard to revive their base in Sambalpur and Deogarh districts under the leadership of Guirish Mahto and Kunu Dehuri,” said Sambalpur SP Nikhil Kanodia.
Sources said that Maoists, who announced their arrival in the area with the murder of a former sarpanch of Tampargarh in 2003, were active till 2008 killing as many as 11 persons, including two policemen. During this period, police also arrested several Maoist leaders including Ganesh Mirdha, Nirmal Mirdha and Sulochana Garnayak.
However, there was hardly any Maoist activity in the area after 2008, which led many to believe that the rebels had shifted base. Today’s encounter has put paid to that belief forcing the security forces to intensify their operation not only in Kisinda and Jujumara police station areas but also in other parts of Sambalpur district.
Sources said the rebels were trying to exploit the poverty and underdevelopment of Sambalpur and Deogarh belt to rebuild their base. Significantly, this area boasts of dense forests, which serve as a safe haven for the radicals who continue to draw moral and material support from their counterparts in Jharkhand across the border.
Regaining control of Sambalpur has become key to the rebel strategy of establishing its hold over a huge contiguous belt stretching from Bargarh to Sundergarh. While Sundergarh, which shares a border with Sambalpur, continues to be a Maoist stronghold, the rebels have become active in Bargarh in the last few years.
Senior police officials said that if the rebels succeeded in their plan to wrest back control of Sambalpur and Deogarh they might try to push towards newer areas close to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh border, which could prove dangerous.
