Maoists loot arms from forest range office in Nayagarh

Surjit Kumar Dhal,Nayagarh, April 24: A group of armed Maoists looted three service guns from the Forest Range Office at Banigochha in Daspalla area late on Tuesday.

          According to sources, seven armed Maoists barged into the office late in the night and threatened the forest guards on duty.

Later, they decamped with three service guns and took away seven mobile phones.

Before leaving the area, the Left-wing extremists ransacked the office.

The forest guards immediately informed the Nayagarh DFO about the incident, who lodged a complaint with the local police.

A team of Nayagarh Sadar police led by the SP rushed to the forest range office with armed policemen for an on-the-spot investigation.

A combing operation has been launched in Daspalla area, the sources said.

Notably on February 16, 2008, nearly 100 Maoists  with bombs and firearms had targeted a police training school, an armoury and a police station in Nayagarh and looted a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

As many as 13 policemen, including two women, and a civilian, were killed and nine people injured in the attack then.

The Maoists virtually had laid siege to the town for several hours.

The ultras later fled in a bus which they had hijacked and carried the ammunition in a truck.