By IANS,
Raipur : Normal life in the vast forested interiors of insurgency-hit Chhattisgarh was hit as vehicles went off the roads and people remained indoors in fear as the Maoist-called two-day shutdown began Sunday to protest the killing of their top leader Kishenji.
There is an uneasy calm in the state’s sprawling 40,000 sq km mineral-rich Bastar region besides certain jungle areas of Raipur, Mahasamund and Rajnandgaon districts where residents fear violence during the shutdown despite heightened security, a police officer told IANS.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has called for a two-day Bharat Bandh Dec 4-5 to protest the killing of its top leader Malojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji in West Bengal recently.
“It’s sure Maoists will strive for casualties during the shutdown period. We have further strengthened police presence in areas vulnerable to attacks besides government establishments in Bastar region,” said Additional Director General of Police Ram Niwas.
He said patrolling along rail tracks in Dantewada had been intensified as Maoists routinely target the tracks during strikes to halt iron ore supply by public sector major NMDC Ltd from its mining bases in Dantewada to Andhra Pradesh port city Visakhapatnam.
Reports say that East Coast Railway has cancelled goods train in Dantewada district in Bailadila sector as a precautionary measure.