Maoists sneak into Orissa border;Police alerted

Baripada, Nov 1 (UNI) Suspected Maoist activists from Ghodabundh police station in neighbouring Jharkhand have sneaked into the forested terrain of Orissa's Mayurbhanj district.

Mayurbhanj Superintendent of Police Ravi Kant, when contacted by newsmen, said the Maoists had entered into the Chadheipahada Gram Panchayat office, ransacked it and burnt a National Flag that was kept inside the almirah.

This was perhaps the first incident of the Maoists' attack on an elected institution in the tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district.

The incident took place on the eve of a 24 hour Bandh call given by the Maoists in Orissa-Bihar-Jharkhand and Chhatishgarh yesterday.

There was almost no response to the bandh call in Mayurbhanj, police said but beefed up the security and intensified the combing operations all along the Orissa-Jharkhand border after the incident.

Chadheipahada is located hardly three to four km away from Jharkhand's Maoist infested Ghodabundh police station area, the SP said.

Meanwhile, a team of the Special Operation Group trained in combating extremist activities was pressed into service when a report of a landmine having been planted in the area spread like wildfire among the villagers.

After an intensive search, nothing was traced and villagers were asked not to panic, the SP said.

The Maoists' posters written in santhali (''OL-Chiki'' script), Oriya, Bengali and Hindi were seen pasted for the first time, on tree trunks of the Chadheipahada areas.

The leaflets and posters demanded payment of fair prices for minor forest products, including Sal leaf collected by the local people, strict enforcement of minimum wages and proper distribution of essential commodities, especially kerosene to the villagers and action against corrupt officials.

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