Gadchiroli encounter: Cops on alert in erstwhile Adilabad

Vigil stepped up along State borders to prevent Naxals' re-entry into Telangana

Adilabad: Vigil has been stepped up on borders of Telangana in the wake of the encounter between the proscribed Maoist party and policemen in Gadchiroli district resulting in killing of 26 outlaws on Saturday. According to sources in the police department, Intelligence Bureaus of both Centre and State governments alerted the district Police mechanism about the re-entry of extremists who managed to escape from the spot of the encounter in Telangana. Accordingly, the authorities of the department gave directions to policemen working in the field to tackle the menace. Eight parties in addition to the existing companies have been assigned to trace the movement of the ultras.

Policemen of Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Adilabad have intensified combing operations in the forests of Dahegaon, Bejjur, Sirpur (T), Chintalamanepalli, Wakindi, Narnoor, Kerameri, Bela, Kotapalli and Chennur mandals to thwart efforts of the prohibited ultras to drift into Telangana, once a bastion of Maoists. They raised surveillance on ferry points along the coasts of Pranahita which forms border of Telangana and Maharashtra.

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RMPs under watch

Similarly, the police kept a tab on registered medical practitioners (RMP) belonging to bordering villages of Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Mancherial district as there is a scope for the injured Naxals entering Telangana for treatment. Incidentally, over 10 Naxals sustained serious injuries in the gun battle. They are presumed to seek medical service of RMPs, both private and government hospitals of the two districts to recover from the wounds.

Sources said that police officials were instructed to be alert and to prevent untoward incidents. They were asked to leave their headquarters only after being permitted by higher authorities. Security of police stations located in Maoist-affected areas has been increased. Public representatives have been requested not to tour remote villages. They were advised to share information of their tours with policemen.

As a precautionary measure, officials of both Naxal Information Bureau (NIB) and Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) are moving in plain clothes to assess the strategies of the Maoists who received a jolt in the form of the encounter. The policemen, however, are on tenterhooks following the incident termed as a historic from the perspective of police.