Arrested Maoist leader warned of Orissa attack

The timing and the location seem to have been changed after Besra, a member of the Naxalites’ Central Military Commission, was arrested in September, official sources said.

“Maoists are setting up an Orissa organising committee to boost their presence in the state and the attack seems to be part of this exercise,” said a senior police officer.

Friday night’s attack on the armoury, police station and a police training school in Nayagarh and another police station nearby has sent out a chilling reminder — Maoist cadres are well-entrenched and are going through a continuous process of consolidation. The district is not part of the five worst affected in the state but with this attack, they have managed to demonstrate a presence beyond their traditional strongholds, state police sources said.

However, Ajai Sahni of the Institute for Conflict Management said it would be wrong to say that Naxalites were now getting active in new areas. “They have been deeply entrenched in Orissa for a long time as the response from security forces has not been too effective,” he maintained.

After the Friday attack, the Central Reserve Police Force has sent another six companies — about 600 personnel — to the state. The force is helping the police comb areas along Orissa’s border with other Naxal-affected states, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The borders have already been sealed to try and prevent the attackers from fleeing and Air Force helicopters are assisting the security forces. Personnel of Andhra Pradesh’s elite Greyhound force, that has managed to pin down Naxalites over the past years, have also been sent to Orissa.

Senior officers of the Union Home Ministry and Central paramilitary forces have left for Orissa to take stock of the situation.