Raipur: Chhattisgarh was on high security alert on Tuesday when Maoists began a 48-hour strike after killing 40 people in Dantewada district.
Security was also high in Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, the other states where the rebels have called for a strike. The Centre has asked all the five states to tighten security and take maximum precautions during the shutdown.
The railways have also been advised to run trains in Naxal-affected areas at slow speed to avoid possible sabotage of tracks and bridges, according to Home Ministry officials.
The shutdown called by the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) began amid fears of fresh attacks and crippled life in Bastar region as well as parts of Rajnandgaon and the rural areas of Raipur and Dhamtari in Chhattisgarh, a senior police official said.
"Passenger buses are off the roads and people are staying indoors. In several Bastar localities, Maoists have blocked roads by putting heavy wooden logs on jungle roads," the official at the police headquarters here told IANS.
Maoist guerrillas killed at least 35 special police officers (SPOs) and civilians Monday in Dantewada district, some 450 km south of capital Raipur, when they detonated a powerful landmine blast targeting a passenger bus.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has said he would urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to re-examine the strategy to tackle the Naxals. The Home Ministry has called a meeting in Delhi to review the situation.
The Maoist strike in Bihar began amid tight security, police said Tuesday.
Additional Director General of Police P.K. Thakur said that no violence was reported in the state after Maoist guerrillas began their strike at midnight Monday.
"All the district superintendents of police have been directed to intensify patrolling and deploy additional security forces at vital installations, including railway stations," Thakur said.
"All police stations in Maoist affected districts would remain on high-alert," he added.
Traffic was hit in several parts of Orissa during the strike. Roads were deserted in the three southern districts of Gajapati, Malkangiri and Rayagada as authorities kept government buses off the road for safety, a senior state police official told IANS. Private operators also cancelled bus services in the interior areas of the districts.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
Comments
0 comment