Bhubaneswar: With the twin elections in Odisha around the corner, outlawed Maoists are active in some pockets of the state and making an effort to make their presence felt. Well aware of this development, security forces are on high alert and have intensified their anti-Maoist drive.
In the midst of this, the Left-Wing Extremists (LWE) are putting up posters and banners in several parts of Odisha’s Sundargarh district warning people to abstain from exercising their franchise. According to reports, Maoist posters and banners surfaced at Renjda, Bhalulata, and Balijore villages under K Balang police station limits in the interiors of Sundargarh district on Wednesday.
On being informed, police and security personnel rushed to these villages and removed the Maoist posters and banners on Wednesday. Most of the posters warned people of grave consequences if they exercised their electoral rights. The posters read ‘oppressors of farmers, labourers, and the working class should not be elected, but persecuted’.
Similar posters have also been found at Goilkera village in Jharkhand just across the border.
During a combing operation in and around the village, security personnel discovered three bunkers, each big enough to accommodate 20 people. They also seized 350 detonators from the three bunkers.
