Bhubaneswar, Dec. 21: A group of armed Maoists last night set ablaze three vehicles including two tractors and one excavator at Pajibali village in Rayagada district.

Sources said the Maoists had attacked the camp of a contractor involved in building of a road connecting Panimunda with Burti-Khamar, a village near the Niyamgiri hill and set the vehicles on fire. The rebels had warned the contractor, Parsuram Sahu, not to build the road, as it would help vehicles to reach Vedanta Alumina’s refinery at Lanjigarh.

An eyewitness said around 20 rebels raided the camp late last night. “Though they threatened the workers, they did not hurt anyone and set the vehicles on fire. They even left some posters on the spot,” said an eyewitnesses.

The posters read that the labourers should be paid at least Rs 200 a day as wages. Following the incident, Muniguda police started a search operation and the district police along with the security forces have initiated a combing in the area.

In a related development, the Maoists have owned responsibility for the burning of a bus at Telerai Chhak in the Kalimela police limits of Malkangiri district on December 11. Poonam Chand, secretary of the Malkangiri divisional committee of CPI (Maoist), today issued an audiotape, saying that the Maoists made the move because the bus owners were helping the police.

On December 11, around 25 rebels burnt a Balimela-bound bus in the southern most district of the state. However, no one was killed or injured as the rebels had first forced the passengers out of the vehicle.