The Hindu : National : 4 CRPF companies join hunt for Maoists

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Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
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4 CRPF companies join hunt for Maoists

Special Correspondent

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa police continued their combing exercise to track down Maoists who looted a large cache of arms and ammunition last week, even as four companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) joined the operation on Tuesday.

Dog squads of the State police were pressed into service to track down the Maoists and the explosives that they might have been hidden inside the forests in Ganjam district.

The operation was going on in full swing in the districts of Nayagarh, Ganjam and Kandhamal, police said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the progress of the operation at the State Secretariat with the Director-General of Police and other top officials. The hunt would continue, the government said.

No extremist sighted

The police, however, had not sighted any extremist since Saturday, when around 20 Maoists and three policemen were killed during an encounter.

According to intelligence sources, there was little chance of the police tracking the Maoists now in the districts of Nayagarh, Ganjam and Kandhamal as they might have slipped into the neighbouring Gajapati and Rayagada districts in groups.

There was a rumour that over 30 bodies of the extremists were recovered from the Gosama forest where the encounter took place on Saturday. However, there was no official confirmation.

Issue rocks Assembly

The naxalite attack issue rocked the Assembly for the second day on Tuesday with the Opposition demanding a discussion on the problem.

The Opposition and ruling party members came to blows when the Treasury benches opposed a discussion at a time when the operation was in full swing.

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