Maoists on Friday said the blowing off of the Padia block office in Malkangiri district was in retaliation against the Silakota encounter in the district on September 15 in which 13 Maoists were killed by the police.
In an audio release to the media, senior Maoist leader Poonam Chand warned of more such retaliatory strikes if the security forces do not halt the anti-Maoist operations. Referring to the announcement made by the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Thursday that he has proposed deployment of 40,000 more personnel and a further intensification of anti-Maoist operations, Chand called a four-day bandh in Malkangiri and Koraput districts beginning from Saturday to protest the move.