Maoists shifting bases from Chhattisgarh to Orissa

RAIPUR: Maoists are shifting their bases from the forests of Chhattisgarh to neighbouring Orissa, officials said. "Due to heavy police build up in Chhattisgarh, Maoists who had been hiding in the Bastar region since early 1980s are relocating their bases to Orissa's Malkangiri forest," a police official said on condition of anonymity. Police officials posted in Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar region said latest intelligence reports indicated that many Maoist leaders had fled to Malkangiri. "The rebels' decision to look for a new forested haven seems to be to avoid surprise raids on their bases in the Abujhmad forest by security forces," an official said. Maoists have set up training centres, a research and development (R&D) unit, and several explosives manufacturing units in Abujhmad... [read full story]