Rajahmundry: Passengers on a RTC bus from Chhattisgarh to Telangana spent tense minutes when Maoists stopped their vehicle in Andhra Pradesh late on Tuesday night and snatched their cellphones.
The Agency area along the common border of AP, Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh was put on high alert after the incident.
Sources said a group of 20 to 25 Maoists and militia members from Chhattisgarh, carrying sophisticated weapons, stopped the bus carrying about 45 passengers from Kunta of Chhattisgarh towards Bhadrachalam at Sarivella of Chintur mandal in East Godavari. The spot is just 2.5 km from Kunta in Chhattisgarh.
They asked the passengers to get down from the bus, took their mobile phones and switched them off.
When some passengers tried to call their family members, the Maoists beat them with sticks. The Maoists allegedly beat the bus driver when he failed to follow their instructions.
They later set the bus on fire, causing minor damage to it. At about that time, a lorry carrying some equipment to Chennai from Kunta came by and the Maoists stopped it, damaged its battery and allegedly threatened the driver and cleaner.
The Maoists then returned the mobile phones to the passengers and fled towards Kunta 2.5 km away from Sarivella under the cover of darkness. The RTC driver reached Chintur and informed the police about the incident.
Based on the complaint, police booked a case under various sections on Maoists.
East Godavari SP Vishal Gunni and other senior police officers went to the spot reviewed the situation during their visit to Chintur on Wednesday.
Police special parties have started area domination, intense combing operations and frisking of vehicles and passengers coming in and out of Agency area.
The Maoists have been observing a week-long programme to protest the Centre launching ‘Samadhan’, a operation to tackle left-wing extremism in the aftermath of the killing of 25 CRPF personnel at Sukma, Chhattisgarh, in mid-2017.
Chintur DSP Dilip Kiran said, “We have intensified combing operations to nab the Maoists. We believe that they have escaped to Kunta as it is nearby. Police in the Agency area has been put on alert.”
