Staff Reporter
BERHAMPUR: Maoists damaged two more mobile communication towers in Malkangiri district in south Orissa on Wednesday night.
The targeted mobile towers were of the BSNL and the Airtel. They were located at Kudumulguma, a block headquarter in the naxal infested district. The Maoists also destroyed a licensed India Made Foreign Liquor Shop (IMFL) shop at Kudumulguma. The police personnel posted in the Kudumulguma police outpost under Balimela police station provided no opposition to the armed vagrants.
According to police sources, a group of around 50 armed Maoists along with around 100 supporters reached the village at around midnight. They threatened the villagers not to come out of their houses or oppose their activities.
They burnt down the control rooms of both mobile communication towers. Then they took up the liquor shop as their next target. This liquor shop is owned by a liquor trader from outside the district who owns a series of licensed liquor shops throughout KBK districts. All stocked liquor bottles were broken down on the road and the shop was totally ransacked. The two workers of the shop were locked up in a room.
Maoists used this violent means to publicise their economic blockade and bandh call on January 25 and 26 in the State . They left banners at Kudumulguma asking people to support the economic blockade on January 25 and the Statewide bandh call on the Republic Day. The main reason behind this bandh call is the recent arrest of Subhasree Das and some others on charges of being active Maoists. She happens to be the wife of Sabyasachi Panda, secretary of the Orissa committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) party. Through a joint press release the secretary of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zone of the Maoists, Bhaskar and Sunil alias Sabyasachi claimed that this bandh call on January 26 was in demand of release of Subhashree and others.
Maoists have increased their activity following the arrest of Subhashree. It may be noted that naxals had damaged a mobile communication tower of the Airtel at Kaliatola village under Baipariguda police station in Koraput district at wee hours on Wednesday.
On Sunday night they had killed a trader and attacked another in Malkangiri district.
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