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| Maoists blow off panchayat office in Malkangiri. Picture by Ratnakar Dash |
Bhubaneswar, May 5: The Maoists today blew up a panchayat office in the Malkangiri district three days after they had set ablaze the son of a village head.
Sources said that around 40 rebels stormed Niliguda village under the Padia block in an early morning raid and destroyed the gram panchayat’s building by triggering a landmine blast.
Local officials, under condition of anonymity, said ceiling of the two-storied building had suffered extensive damage with its roof caving in. Incidentally, the same building had come under attack by the ultras while it was under construction last year.
“The Maoists might have destroyed the building to prevent the administration from using it to house the BSF jawans, engaged in anti-naxalite operation in the district, said an official. The rebels also blocked the Padia-Sikopali road by felling trees to obstruct the movement of security forces.
Sources said in an attack on Sunday night, the rebels assaulted Penta Majhi, son of a village head at Kurab under the Kalimela police station area and burnt him to death. The police came to know about the incident later as the family members of Penta had initially refrained from lodging a complaint.
Officials said the Maoists turned their ire on 24-year-old Majhi as he had refused to join their movement.
Significantly, both these attacks come in the wake of police gunning down a woman Maoist in the district signalling end of the uneasy truce between the rebels and the Orissa government.
The ceasefire had followed the abduction of former Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, who was released after nine days in Maoist captivity. The rebels and their supporters were now accusing the Orissa government of sabotaging peace that had followed the ceasefire by going back on its commitments.
Meanwhile, the tribal-dominated Daringbadi block in Kandhmal today observed a bandh protesting against the police lathicharge on a group of women, who had gheraoed the block office in the wake of an ambush by the Maoists in the Kalingbadi forests on Monday. The ambush had left a paratrooper dead while injuring a few other policemen. After the police had arrested 27 persons from the area on the suspicion of having helped the Maoists, the women gheraoed the block office demanding their release. At least 10 women sustained injuries in the subsequent lathicharge to disperse the protesters.
Bhubaneswar, May 5: Maoist terror has returned to haunt Malkangiri with rebels today blowing up a panchayat office in the district barely three days after they set ablaze the son of a village head.
Sources said that a 40-strong group of rebels stormed the Niliguda village under Padia block in an early morning raid and destroyed the gram panchayat building by triggering a land mine blast.
Local officials not willing to be quoted said that the ceiling of the two-storeyed building had suffered extensive damage with its roof caving in. Incidentally the same building had come under attack by ultras while it was under construction last year.
“ The Maoists might have destroyed the building to prevent the administration from using it to house BSF jawans who are engaged in anti-naxalite operation in the district, said an official. The rebels also blocked the Padia-Sikopali road by felling trees to obstruct the movement of security forces.
Sources said than in an attack on Sunday night, a group of rebels had assaulted Penta Majhi, son of a village head at Kurab under Kalimela police station area and burnt him to death. The police came to know about the incident later as the family members of Penta had initially refrained from lodging a complaint.
Officials said that Maoists turned their ire on 24-year-old Penta as he had refused to join their movement. Significantly, both these attacks come in the wake of police gunning down a woman Maoist in the district signalling the end of the uneasy truce between the rebels and the government.
The ceasefire had followed the abduction of former Malkangiri collector, R. Vineel Krishna who was released after nine days in Maoist captivity. The rebels and their supporters are now accusing the state government of sabotaging peace that had followed the ceasefire by going back on its commitments.
Meanwhile, the tribal-dominated Daringbadi block in Kandhmal district today observed a Bandh protesting against police lathicharge on a group of women who had gheraoed the block office in the wake of an ambush by the Maoists in the Kalingbadi forests on Monday. The ambush had left a paratrooper dead while injuring a few other policemen.
After the police arrested 27 persons from the area on the suspicion of having helped the Maoists, the women gheraoed the block office demanding their release. At least ten women sustained injuries in the subsequent lathicharge by the police to disperse the protesters.