Maoists kill three policemen in Orissa (Second Lead)
By IANSWednesday, March 24, 2010
BHUBANESWAR - Maoist guerrillas ambushed a police patrol and killed three policemen and injured 10 in Orissa’s Gajapati district early Wednesday, police said.
The Maoists opened fire when about 30 policemen were on their way to raid a rebel camp in a forested area at Ambajhari near Parlakhemundi town, some 350 km from here, Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Marik told IANS.
“We lost two special operation group (SOG) personnel and a local policeman,” he said.
They were identified as Sanjit Tirkey, Balram Pradhan and Dipak Sambhoi.
Ten other policemen suffered bullet injuries. Four of them were in critical condition.
“It was a frontal attack when our party was going on foot,” District Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Arora said.
The critically injured have been shifted to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The others are being treated in Parlakhemundi.
In another incident in Gajapati district, Maoists damaged three mobile telephone towers at Birikot.
The guerrillas also attacked the Essar Steel company in Malkangiri district, damaging the pump house, control room and administrative block. They torched two vehicles in the campus.
“About 50-60 Maoists went on a rampage. They set furniture on fire and damaged machinery. They triggered blasts inside the office,” police officer Awinash Kumar told IANS.
