Cops unearth booby traps laid by Maoists near Andhra-Chhattisgarh border

VISAKHAPATNAM: A special police team on Sunday unearthed at least seven booby traps allegedly laid by the Maoists in the forest area of Mallampeta village on the Andhra-Chhattisgarh border in Chinturu agency. They had taken up combing operations following a tip-off about the movements of Maoists in the forests.

According to sources, the booby traps were secretly planted in bamboo bushes by the Maoists with the intention to kill the security personnel. Police also seized revolutionary literature and pamphlets from the spot.

ASR district SP Tuhin Sinha said that a major tragedy has been averted with their detection. Maoists have been resorting to such dastardly acts from time to time to hinder the development of tribal people and to slow down the movement of security personnel in the forests, the SP said.

He said Maoists’ usage has notably increased in the forests and were planning to plant more booby traps with spikes and landmines to kill security forces who would be out on combing operations in the border areas of AP-Chhattisgarh during the General Elections.

The SP also said that the police officers were conducting regular meetings with the tribals of the ASR district and were creating awareness regarding the illegal activities. He said in order to encourage the tribal youth to lead them in the area of development, free training was provided through programmes like “Prerana” and “Spoorthi” to the tribal youth.