Maoists strike ahead of Jairams visit

MALKANGIRI: A day before Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh’s visit to Malkangiri district, Maoists on Sunday exploded a claymore mine and fired on Special Operations Group (SOG) commandos in Gompakonda area, about 12 km from Kalimela police station, injuring one.The injured commando, Iswar Naik, was hit on the chest and hip and is undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital here, reports said.The exchange of fire took place in Kanaguda forest in Kalimela area when the jawans of the elite anti-Naxal SOG were returning after combing operations, police said.The ultras first exploded claymore mines when the jawans were returning, some of them on motor-cycles, and then fired on them.The security personnel also retaliated and in the exchange of fire that ensued, one SOG jawan was injured.When BSF jawans and district police personnel went to the site after the encounter, the Red rebels disappeared into dense forest.Maoists are observing a protest week since May 23 and have given a call for bandh on May 30 demanding halt to Operation Green Hunt by the security forces.Notwithstanding the Maoist threat and amidst tight security, Jairam would step into the Red fortress, Janbai, in the district during his visit to the State on Monday.  Accompanied by his Private Secretary Vineel Krishna, Jairam would visit the proposed Gurupriya bridge site here. The bridge over the Janbai river, which would facilitate road connectivity to more than 30,000 tribals across seven gram panchayats in the cut-off region, had been deferred with the ultras opposing the project.Jairam is expected to land at Sikhpalli, some 18 km from here, at around 9 am. The Minister would leave for the neighbouring Sukma district in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.