Suspected Maoists on Saturday set fire to machinery used in the construction of a road and a bridge across the Chandravaku stream, at Sarivela village under Chintoor police limits in East Godavari district.
According to East Godavari Superintendent of Police Adnan Nayeem Asmi, the suspected Maoists set fire on the machinery, including two tractors, two earthmovers, a lorry and a concrete miller, which were being used for the construction of the road and the bridge around 3 p.m.
“We decided not to rush to the spot as there is a likely threat for us (from the Maoists). However, we have received the information on the incident and are preparing to visit the site within two days to investigate it,” Mr. Nayeem said. Work on the road between two tribal villages was under the progress under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he added.
The spot where the Maoists set fire on the machinery is barely five km from the State’s border with Chhattisgarh.
“We are investigating as to who could have done it and from where they had come,” said Mr. Nayeem.
A senior official associated with the road and bridge works said the group of Maoists had asked the personnel at the worksite to leave before setting fire to the machinery. However, no casualty has been reported in the incident.
The ITDA-Chintoor authorities had prepared a plan to complete the road and bridge works in a few weeks, to provide road connectivity to the tribal people in the two villages from this monsoon.
