Protesting the recent anti-Maoist operation on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border, in which 30 Maoists were killed, the leftwing extremists on Saturday called for a bandh in five States, including Odisha, on November 3.
The CPI(Maoist) Central Committee has given the bandh call in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Notably, CPI(Maoist) East Division Committee secretary Kailash had on Friday released an audio tape holding the Chief Ministers of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh responsible for the encounter on the Odisha-AP border.
It may be recalled that 28 Maoists were killed in the gun battle with security forces which also left a Greyhounds commando dead in the cutoff areas of Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district on October 24.
Two more Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces at Panasput forest in Malkangiri on October 27.
