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Maoists blew up a police station in Orissa's Nabarangpur district and felled trees and dug up roads in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday night. According to sources, about 30 heavily armed rebels stormed into Kundei falling under the Raighar block, and triggered off a powerful explosion to blow up the police station. The Naxals snapped electricity supply in the area before launching their attack. No casualties or injuries were reported in the attack. In Bijapur, the Maoist rebels dug up roads to protest against the alleged fake encounter killing of their leader, Cherukuri Rajkumar, alias Azad. The ultras left a red banner condemning the killing of Azad by the security forces. Road traffic was affected in the region as the main highway through the Bijapur was dug up at many places. Because of the obstruction, locals had to face many difficulties in commuting in the area. Students had to walk many kilometers to reach their schools. "I am going on foot to my institute. It is about 35 kilometers away from here but I will have to go on foot," said Kamal, a student. The rebels on July 13 called for a 48-hour shutdown in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Azad was killed in the Jogapur forest area of Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad District, while attempting to cross into Maharashtra. Maoist attacks have increased this year, especially after the Government launched a coordinated security offensive involving tens of thousands of police trying to flush out the rebels from their jungle hideouts in central and eastern India.

Maoists blow up police station in Orissa, damage roads in Chhattisgarh