Hyderabad, Dec 17 (Inditop) Maoist guerrillas attacked a police station in Andhra Pradesh’s Nalgonda district in the early hours of Wednesday, injuring a constable, the police said.The police said 10 to 12 members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked Mellacheruvu police station and adjoining residential quarters of policemen in Kodad mandal of Nalgonda district, about 150 km here.
The policemen, however, repulsed the attack and forced the Maoists to run away, said Nalgonda superintendent of police Vijay Kumar.
Sheikh Kareem, a police constable, was injured in the exchange of fire which lasted about 40 minutes, he told reporters.
The attack came after a long lull in the Maoist activities in the state. The Maoist violence in the state came down drastically in the last couple of years, thanks to sustained anti-Maoist operations by the police.
The attack in Nalgonda, the home district of Home Minister K. Jana Reddy, came amid intelligence reports that Maoists were regrouping to launch surprise attacks before the elections, scheduled to be held in March-April next year.
The guerrillas have carried out some major attacks on police stations in the last one decade.
The last major attack on policemen took place in Orissa near the Andhra border when Maoists ambushed and sunk a police boat in a reservoir killing 38 personnel of Greyhounds, the elite anti-Maoist force of Andhra Pradesh. They were returning to the state after a joint operation in Orissa.
Maoist violence has claimed over 6,000 lives in Andhra Pradesh during the last 35 years.