Raipur, June 1 (IANS) In view of a Maoists protest week from Friday, security forces in Chhattisgarh went on high alert fearing violence by the guerrillas.
The operation of passenger and goods trains at night has been suspended beyond Jagdalpur till June 7, an official said.
The government alerted paramilitary forces deployed in the sprawling Bastar region, where the Communist Party of India-Maoist is said to run a state within a state.
The party’s Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee has called for weeklong protests against Operation Green Hunt, the deployment of the army and allocation of iron ore mines to business houses.
Police have stepped up patrolling not only in rural but in suburban areas as well.
On national highways, vehicles are being searched at random, police sources said.
Said Bastar Inspector General of Police T.J. Langkumer: “Security forces deployed in Bastar division are on alert. We have made all possible arrangements to contain the kind of violence the rebels are indulging in of late.”
Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar had earlier told IANS that the government proposed to crack down on Maoists.
The Bastar region has been a stronghold of the Maoists for decades, with some of the cadres operating in the region immersed in Maoist politics for decades.
