ADILABAD: Telangana police have sounded an alert following information that Maoists operating in Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, who have contracted Coronavirus, might sneak into the state for treatment.
The vigil is particularly intense along roads off rivers Pranahitha and Godavari, which the outlawed Maoists often use as part of their operations.
Police have set up a check post at Sironcha and checking vehicles, people, patients, and their attendants coming into Mancherial from Maharashtra.
The flow of people into Mancherial district from bordering Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh has increased with completion of interstate bridges connecting Telangana to the neighbouring states.
Ramagundam police commissioner V. Satyanarayana, SP Y. V. Sudheendra, DSP Acheshwar Rao, circle inspector Sudhakar and sub-inspector Ramesh visited the Wankidi check post on the border with Maharashtra on Monday.
It is a known fact that people from bordering villages of Yavatmal, Gadchiroli, and Chandrapur districts come to Karimnagar and other towns seeking treatment for Covid-19, or for dialysis and deliveries. Similarly, people from neighbouring districts also reach Mancherial and Peddapalli, where good medical facilities are available.
Police are keeping a close watch on people coming into Mancherial, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, and Bhoopalapalli districts, suspecting that Maoists infected with Coronavirus are most likely to enter Telangana for treatment.
Ramagundam commissioner Satyanarayana has even offered free medical treatment for Maoists on humanitarian grounds, provided they join the mainstream.
