Bhubaneswar: The CPI (Maoist) has given a bandh call in five states including Odisha on April 15 to protest encounters and fake killings of their members by security forces across the country.
The ‘madhya region bureau, central committee’ of the banned organisation has urged people of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to extend support and observe the bandh on April 15.
The Maoists especially appealed to the people of these five states where the movement is strong, to show their solidarity.
The Maoist organisation in a release claimed that over 5000 ultras have been killed by security forces in the last two decades across the country. They further claimed that around 50 ultras have been killed since January 2024. Besides, as many as 22 Maoists have been killed in the last 15 days- 3 in Pujari Kanker, 6 in Chipurbatti and 13 in Korcheli.
It may be mentioned that Chhattisgarh and Telangana security forces in a joint operation on April 7 eliminated three Maoists in Bijapur district’s forests and seized weapons such as a light machine gun and an AK-47. This marks the third clash in the area, following a significant anti-Maoist operation that killed 13 insurgents in Gangaloor. The latest encounter was based on the intelligence of the Maoist movement near Telangana.