High alert along Orissa-Chhattisgarh border

BHUBANESWAR - Security forces intensified combing operations along the Orissa-Chhattisgarh border Wednesday, a day after the massacre of 76 paramilitary troopers by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, an official said.

“The area where Maoists launched their attack in Chhattisgarh Tuesday is located about 30-40 km from the border of Orissa’s Malkangiri district,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeeb Panda told IANS.

“In view of that, all the police stations and camps in the district have been asked to be on maximum alert,” he said.

“We are in regular touch with the police and paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh and the information sharing has been strengthened,” he said.

Maoists are active in more than half of Orissa. The districts of Malkangiri, bordering Chhattisgarh, is considered as their stronghold.

Seventy-six Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed Tuesday when hundreds of Maoists trapped them on a hilly stretch in Dantewada district. The guerrillas went on a killing spree using pressure bombs and automatic weapons.