'Maoists' attack panchayat office in Odisha's Malkangiri district

KORAPUT: Suspected Maoists attacked an office of the Temrupalli panchayat, under Mathili block of Malkangiri district , on Friday. Police said the attack was in retaliation against heightened anti-Maoist operations in the district.


Police said the office, which contained several important documents, was heavily damaged but there was no report of any injury or casualty.

“The office was unguarded. There is no report of any assault on any villager,” said SP (Malkangiri) Jagmohan Meena.

Sources said a group of around 30 armed rebels, accompanied by hundreds of supporters, swooped down on the office around midnight on Friday. The office is situated at a distance of around 80 kilometres from the district headquarters town and borders Chhattisgarh .

The rebels damaged the building’s walls using sharp-edged weapons, ransacked the office and set ablaze the documents inside it. Before leaving the crime spot, they scattered scores of posters in which they opposed the anti-Maoist operations in the area and urged the tribal populace against letting go of their rights over land, forest and water.

Police said the Dharba division of the proscribed CPI ( Maoist ) was behind the crime and efforts were on to track the attackers. The incident coincides with the 24-hour bandh call given by the outfit in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district in protest against the alleged fake encounters of May 18.

“We have launched a search operation in the area and intensified counter-insurgency operations along the interstate border,” the SP said.

This is the latest in a series of alleged Maoist offensives in this southern Odisha district. On May 11, at least two SOG jawans were critically injured in a landmine blast triggered by the rebels near Dugapadar under Mathili police limit. This was followed by an IED blast in the Govindpally ghat area on May 13, in which a BSF jawan was injured.