Maoist bandh evokes little response in Orissa

Maoist bandh evokes little response in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Oct 15. (PTI): The bandh called by Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) to protest the arrest of three maoist leaders at Rourkela evoked little response in Orissa on Saturday, official sources said.

The bandh had little impact in the districts of Sundargarh and Keonjhar bordering Jharkhand where life was normal, the DIG of police (western range), Satyajit Mohanty said.

A high alert had been sounded in several districts in view of the 24-hour bandh by RDF in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. Security measures had been tightened in districts where Maoists are known to be active.

Reports said the bandh had little effect in the western districts of Sambalpur and Deogarh and southern districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Gajapati. Vehicular traffic in Motu and Kalimela areas of Malkangiri was thin as armed Maoists had gunned down a village head at MV-66 under Kalimela police station on Friday.

Police had arrested Sobha alias Budhuni Munda, a key maoist leader along with two others at Ramjodi near Lathikata in Sundargarh district on last Saturday.

Sobha is said to be a member of CPI(Maoist)'s 38-member central committee and the wife of Kishan, a top Maoist leader. The three had been remanded to police custody for seven days by a local court.

Security had also been tightened in the capital city of Bhubaneswar, where Vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is on a two-day visit.

Tags:

• MAOISTS

Source: Hindu