ORISSA : No sign of Maoists, guns fall silent

BHUBANESWAR: Guns fell silent in the war zone as the flushout operation in the forests entered fourth day on Tuesday.

There was no exchange of fire but fatigued forces were bolstered by the arrival of four CRPF companies drawn from Nandigram and J-K. The security forces kept combing the dense jungles of Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Ganjam and Gajapati. A large unit of sniffer dogs was employed to trail movement of Naxalites who continued to give policemen the slip. IAF choppers also attempted to track down the radicals but no success came their way.

There, however, were wild rumours of security personnel retrieving as many as 35 bodies from the forests they are combing. While no police officer was willing to commit anything, sources said the forces merely spotted fatigues from a distance.

With neither radicals nor looted arms and ammunition coming their way, the securitymen pushed further into newer areas like Kerandimal hills, Tikabali, Gudari and Adaba. There were also apprehensions that some of them may have escaped to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh through Gajapati and Rayagada but a senior officer engaged in the operation said: ‘They are stuck here.’

Kerandimal hills seemed to have emerged as the new target for police today. Berhampur police deployed a combing party near Tamana Ghat which connects the Silk City to Kerandimal hills. Another party of Digapahandi was camping near Badadumula connecting the hill while Chikiti police was manning at Dhanaghar connecting Kerandimal.

On its part, Gajapati police continued manning Adaba, Aligonda and K Garadama connecting Chandrapur block in Rayagada district.