With Maoists observing “martyrs’ week” starting Monday, personnel of the Special Operations Group aided by the Central Reserve Police Force and state Police have intensified combing operations, particularly in Malkangiri in the south and Sundargarh in the north.Senior police officials said adequate security measures have been taken to thwart any Maoist attack. “We are using two-wheelers for combing operations and trying to be tactical,” said a senior intelligence official. The last Maoist attack on July 16 killed 17 policemen in a powerful blast that ripped apart the Mine Protected Vehicle in Malkangiri.Combing has been intensified in Motu, Chitrakonda, Balimela, Kalimela, MV-79, MV-126, MV-99 and several other areas of Malkangiri. Police stations in districts bordering Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand too are on high alert.The Maoists, who are on a high after two back-to-back successful attacks against the security forces, are said to have distributed leaflets in Malkangiri alleging fake police encounter while highlighting contribution of their cadres killed by the securitymen. Meanwhile, the Orissa Government has decided to recruit 2,000 tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) to combat the prolonged insurgency. The SPOs, with a monthly remuneration of Rs 4,500, would assist security forces in South-Western (Sunabeda), Southern (Berhampur), Western (Rourkela), Northern (Sambalpur) and North-Central (Talcher) police ranges of Orissa. Though the local police are likely to train the youths, it is not decided whether they would be armed like their Chhatisgarh counterparts. A senior police official said that since the state forces often lacked knowledge of roads and villages in the area, the SPOs from the tribal villages would be big help in conducting combing operations.Around 1,500 retired defence service personnel and 5,000 constables, too, would be recruited to fill vacancies in the state police force.
