NUAPADA: In a severe jolt to the police and the district administration, Maoists blew up at least eight buildings of the Forest Department, including two Inspection Bungalows, at Sunabeda village in the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary late on Wednesday night.
Reports said about 200 armed Maoists, including about 70 female cadres, swooped down on the village and blew up two IBs, office-cum-residence of forest ranger and forester besides the quarters of forest guards using gelatin sticks.
All the buildings were spread over about seven acres of land. It is learnt that the ultras held a meeting at Gadbhata, a hamlet of Sunabeda village before moving towards the village, about 500 metres from the meeting spot, and launched the attacks.
The Sunabeda Sanctuary, barely 15 km from Chhattisgarh border, seems to have turned into a stronghold of the Maoists who are striking at will.
The campus was earlier being used by as many as 100 personnel from Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) who were camping there from September 16 last year to combat Maoists and were withdrawn on June 12 this year.
Nuapada DSP PK Patra said they were yet to receive any official report about the incident and there was no confirmation of it.