Maoist camp destroyed in Sambalpur forests

SAMBALPUR: After a lull, Maoists staged a comeback in Sambalpur district by engaging the security forces in an hour-long fierce gunbattle at Gaigot-Kuleijharan hills near Gusriabahal village on Saturday. The confrontation erupted when the security forces raided a Maoist camp in a forested area in Jujumura. The security forces retaliated when the Maoists opened fire at them. The rebels are believed to have retreated into the woods.A team, comprising CRPF and elite anti-Naxal SOG personnel, destroyed the Maoist camp following combing operations in the forests near Kuleijharan, SP Nikhil Kanodia said.No security personnel was injured in the incident, police said, adding that casualties in the rank of the rebels was not known.Meanwhile, police personnel engaged in anti-Maoist operation have been mobilised in the area.The district had not seen major Maoist activity in the last four years.Police said nearby villagers had spotted a group of Maoists, including a few from Jharkhand, roaming around on Sambalpur-Deogarh border area to mobilise and regroup the cadres.In fact, reports of Maoists trying to regroup themselves along the Sambalpur-Deogarh border had been received as early as August. Hardcore Maoist leader Ashutosh alias Girish Bhokta, who led the banned outfit in the region from 2003 to 2007, has returned to the forest after escaping from Chaibasa jail in Jharkhand along with two other comrades. He is leading a group of 40 to 50 armed Maoists. They are moving in the forests between Jamankira in Sambalpur and Kansar in Deogarh. The CRPF, SOG and DVF have intensified their combing operation against this group.Girish led the organisation in Sambalpur and Deogarh districts till he was arrested by Jharkhand police.Girish had played a key role in bringing explosive expert James from Saranda forest in Jharkhand in 2003 and gave him the charge of the region as Zonal Military Commander in three districts.Maoist violence had first surfaced in the district in January 2003 after the killing of a sarpanch under Jujumura police station. So far, 11 civilians and police personnel and two Maoists have been killed in the district.