Following reports that a large group of Maoists were camping in the Baisipalli sanctuary in the Daspalla area of Nayagarh district, a joint combing operation is now underway in the area since Friday.
Sources said Nayagarh SP Bhagyadhara Behera visited Daspalla on Thursday night to take stock of the situation following intelligence inputs about the Maoist presence. On April 10, a section of newspapers had carried reports on the movements of a Maoist group in a forest near Badasilinga panchayat under the Gania police station.Following these reports, the police came to know about the existence of a Maoist camp in the area, but by the time the police operation began, the ultras had already shifted their camp to an unknown location deep inside the forest.
Suspecting that the Maoists might be hiding in the Baisipalli sanctuary, one platoon of Odisha Special Security Force (OSSF) personnel had been deployed at both Daspalla and Banigochha police stations as a precautionary measure.Reports have been received that more than 130 Maoists, including 16 women cadres, have entered the Baisipalli sanctuary via Ranisahi and Talagan panchayats in the neighbouring Boudh district three days ago.
Sources said that while one group of the Maoists has camped near Pokharigochha under the Banigochha police station, the other group is camping near Senpari, Bankajhari, Duisingh and Dhipasahi villages of Badasilinga panchayat under the Gania police station. According to eyewitness accounts, about eight Maoists were found moving along the Andharakot-Ghugudipada road under the Daspalla police station three days ago.