PLGA Week: police on high alert, intensify search operations in Kothagudem

In view of the PLGA Week, the police in all the mandals in the district have taken up checking of vehicles.

Kothagudem: With CPI (Maoist) party leaders calling for celebrations in agency villages marking the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Week, security has been intensified across all mandals in Kothagudem district and police were on high alert.

The PLGA Week, which started on Friday and would be observed till December 8, is the last event the Maoists organise in a year. During the period, naxals come out with statements on their achievements, failures, strengthening of the organisation and other issues they came across during the year. They also resort to acts of violence to make their presence felt.

In view of the PLGA Week, the police in all the mandals in the district have taken up checking of vehicles. Though vehicle checking was a routine exercise, during the PLGA Week, the police intensified the searches looking for the movements of the Maoists and their sympathisers.

In Cherla mandal, CI B Ashok, SI Venkatappaiah and staff carried out vehicle checking at different areas in the mandal on Friday. The leaders of all political parties were directed not to visit interior areas without informing the police. The leaders who were targetted by the Maoists were told to move to safe places while TSRTC officials have stopped night bus services to Charla, Venkatapuram, Bhadrachalam, Gundala and other remote mandals in the district and to Chintoor in AP. Development works were also halted in the remote villages.

In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, security forces have been carrying out combing operations in the forests. In the last seven days, a total of three encounters have taken place in Sukma and Bijapur districts in which four Maoists were killed, one jawan died and three policemen were injured.

Maoist Central Committee leader Abhay recently issued a statement in which he said that from December, 2021 to November 2022, 132 naxals died across the country while about 31 policemen were killed, 154 jawans were injured and 69 civilians were killed by Maoists claiming them to be police informers, the statement said.