Stop constructing roads, bridges: Naxal banners in Gadchiroli

Mumbai: A day after 16 persons, including 15 policemen, were killed in an IED blast in Gadchiroli, Naxal banners were found at several places in the district which warned the contractors against constructing roads and bridges.

A police official said the North Gadchiroli divisional committee of the Maoists put up banners at various locations in the area. "The banners said that the development work in this area is not for the locals, but for the benefit of a handful of rich people. They warned contractors to stop construction of roads and bridges in the area," the official said.

In some other banners, they remembered 37 Maoists, who were killed in an encounter with police at Kasansur in Gadchiroli district last year. In the banners, the Naxals also urged people to "destroy the dream of creating a Hindu Rashtra in the name of new India", the official said. "Police have removed all the banners put up in the area by the Maoists," he said. Early on Wednesday, a group of Maoists had torched at least 27 vehicles of a road contractor company at Dadapur in the district.

 A few hours later, 15 security personnel and a civilian, were killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Kurkheda area in the district. Meanwhile, the police have intensified operation against Maoists after Wednesday's incidents. Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who is in Gadchiroli, visited Kurkheda with other police officials.