BHUBANESWAR: A Maoist diktat purportedly meant to muzzle potential police informers has put mobile phones on silent mode in several villages of Odisha’s Boudh district. Villagers of Nalikumda, Manamunda, Khatakhatia, Sundhipadar and Manupali have either stopped using their mobiles or go to extreme lengths to make sure nobody sees them making and receiving calls. The price of being caught using a mobile is apparently a trial in a Maoist kangaroo court.
Police came to know of the ban on using mobiles during a recent interaction with a group of villagers from Manamunda. An FIR was registered at Manamunda police station on Jan 21 against unidentified Maoist cadre, based on villagers’ accounts.
“We have been using mobile phones with utmost caution. Most of the time, our phones are on silent mode or switched off. Maoists have warned of dire consequences if anyone works as a police informer,” a villager told the cops. The administration has since assured villagers they have nothing to fear, saying combing operations against Maoist units active in the region are being intensified.
“We urged the villagers not to support or give shelter to Maoists. They are being sensitised to the mala fide intentions of Maoist outfits in the name of fighting for some cause,” a senior cop said.
The Maoist resurgence in Boudh is a recent occurrence. Police had declared the district, around 225km from Bhubaneswar, free of Maoist depredations in 2020.
Over the past few months, the rebels have started regrouping in the district and are trying to make their presence felt through violence and threats. At least four shootouts between Maoists and security personnel have been reported in Boudh district this month alone.
Odisha Police recently wrote to ministry of home affairs (MHA) to declare Boudh an “LWE-affected” – the abbreviation stands for “Left-Wing Extremism” – district.
At a recent meeting with senior officials of MHA, police urged the ministry to include Boudh in the Centre’s security-related expenditure scheme. Funding under the scheme is exclusively meant for capacity-building and infrastructure development in Maoist-affected regions of the country.
Police came to know of the ban on using mobiles during a recent interaction with a group of villagers from Manamunda. An FIR was registered at Manamunda police station on Jan 21 against unidentified Maoist cadre, based on villagers’ accounts.
“We have been using mobile phones with utmost caution. Most of the time, our phones are on silent mode or switched off. Maoists have warned of dire consequences if anyone works as a police informer,” a villager told the cops. The administration has since assured villagers they have nothing to fear, saying combing operations against Maoist units active in the region are being intensified.
“We urged the villagers not to support or give shelter to Maoists. They are being sensitised to the mala fide intentions of Maoist outfits in the name of fighting for some cause,” a senior cop said.
The Maoist resurgence in Boudh is a recent occurrence. Police had declared the district, around 225km from Bhubaneswar, free of Maoist depredations in 2020.
Over the past few months, the rebels have started regrouping in the district and are trying to make their presence felt through violence and threats. At least four shootouts between Maoists and security personnel have been reported in Boudh district this month alone.
Odisha Police recently wrote to ministry of home affairs (MHA) to declare Boudh an “LWE-affected” – the abbreviation stands for “Left-Wing Extremism” – district.
At a recent meeting with senior officials of MHA, police urged the ministry to include Boudh in the Centre’s security-related expenditure scheme. Funding under the scheme is exclusively meant for capacity-building and infrastructure development in Maoist-affected regions of the country.
