Director General of Police KB Singh on Wednesday termed the attack on the CRPF personnel by Maoists at Sukma in Chhattisgarh as ‘cowardly’ and said several steps are being taken to ensure that the Red rebels do not infiltrate into Odisha from the neighbouring States after the attack.
Singh said watch is being kept on the movement of the Maoists as they might try to sneak in after operations are intensified in the affected areas by security forces. All the entry points to Odisha are being sealed and additional forces are being deployed.
The police are trying to implement a new strategy to combat the Maoists, he said.
The DGP said that as the rebels are using the villagers in the affected areas as human shields during the faceoff with the security forces, the police would try to win over the locals and boost their confidence.
Sources said as the Maoists are against all kinds of developmental schemes, the construction of the Gurupriya bridge in Malkangiri district would be expedited so that it is completed by July 2017.
Sources said an important meeting of the insurgency-hit States would be held in New Delhi on May 8 to plan a new strategy to be adopted to crush the Maoists.
The DGPs of the affected States are scheduled to attend the meeting.