Maoists torched yet another mobile tower at Chipakur village under Boipariguda block of Koraput district in the late hours of Sunday night.
This is the third Airtel mobile tower that extremists burnt just within a span of 10 days in Koraput. Notably, just eight days before Maoists burnt a mobile tower in Kathapada village and another tower at Kalia Atal just a day before.
As per sources, this time also the same group of Maoists of approximately 20 armed cadres rushed into the village of Chipakur and conducted a public meeting in the village. The villagers were threatened and warned not to support the construction of mobile tower in those areas. Then some of the ultras went to the mobile tower and torch the tower BTS and DG set.
Chipakur sarpanch Srihari Pangi was beaten harshly by the extremists alleging of supporting the mobile companies. Maoists took the mobile phone of Pangi. Fearing the Maoists, Pangi is now living in Kolathjodi village.
Many Maoist posters and banners were found near the tower and village. In the posters, both State and Central Governments were blamed for non-development of the areas. Mobile companies are making huge profit but the people are not getting the same, alleged in the posters. Many criticisms and comments over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign tour and farmers’ suicides are also mentioned in the posters.
Police have filed a report on this incident and started investigation while security forces are doing combing and search operation in those interior areas.
“This incident purely is to break down the police network in the area so that it will paralyze the force movement. But as per another source, the Maoists have demanded huge money from Airtel company and having failed to get it, they have gone desperate and are burning the company’s towers in revenge,” said Jeypore SDPO Rajendra Kumar Senapati. Apart from this, the Maoists always have been against every development work, he added.