High alert sounded along Odisha-Chhattisgarh border

Bhubaneswar, April 25 (IANS) Apprehending influx of Maoists from Chhattisgarh in the wake of the carnage the left-wing extremists have unleashed on the security forces, the Odisha Police on Tuesday sounded a high alert along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

"Our borders have been sealed. We would not allow anybody to intrude into our area," said Director General of Police (DGP) K.B. Singh.

"A joint combing operation has been launched by our anti-Maoist Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) in close coordination with the CRPF and BSF forces to flush out the red rebels," the DGP said.

Singh said there was a possibility of Maoists seeking to take shelter in Odisha as Maharashtra has already sealed its borders with Chhattisgarh.

"The spot of occurrence is far away from our border, close to Maharashtra's Gadchiroli. However, we are on high alert," Singh added.

At least 25 CRPF jawans were killed in a deadly Maoist ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Monday.

Malkangiri District Superintendent of Police (SP) Mitrabhanu Mohapatra said while they have sounded high alert in the border area, the whole district has been put on extra vigil and monitoring has been stepped up at all the entry and exit points in the bordering areas.

Besides, instructions have also been issued to the police officers and the combing police parties to coordinate with their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.