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Journalism of Courage
Naxalites exploded three landmines near an under-construction jail in Maoist-infested Malkangiri district in the wee hours of Monday.
Three walls of a residential block of the jail situated in MV 79 village (Malkangiri Village number 79 as the villages are named here) were damaged, though there were no reports of loss of life or injuries.
The incident took place at around 1.05 am and appeared to be planned, despite heightened police preparedness for the Republic Day celebrations. The Malkangiri administration had sounded a red alert following the Maoists’ decision to observe R-Day as a ‘Black Day’ in the district. The Naxalites had put up banners and posters asking the people not to celebrate the day, though the R-Day celebrations were uneventful.
“We had specific intelligence inputs that the jail could be attacked and we had been carrying out combing operations in the area since the last two days. Naxals must have planted the mines in between the movement of the the CRPF men,” Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Satish Gajbhiye told The Indian Express over phone.
Gajbhiye, however, said that the damage to the walls and a staircase was minimal and the police is still on a high alert. Malkangiri, which borders the Naxalite-infested Dantewara district in Chhattisgarh, has been a hotbed of Naxalite activities for several years now, as it also borders infested districts like Srikakulam, Vishakaptnam and Khamam in Andhra Pradesh.
Incidentally, the Police had arrested three Maoists, including a hardcore cadre from Kotaguda forests, on January 21, even as they were preparing to disrupt the Republic Day celebrations.
