BHUBANESWAR/PHULBANI: In fresh Maoist violence in poll-bound Odisha, a 20-year-old youth was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by the Naxals at Kiamunda village in Kandhamal district on Wednesday. The incident comes four days after a journalist died in a similar fashion in Kalahandi district.
The deceased was identified as Priyaranjan Kanhar of Kiamunda village. At around 8 am, Kanhar was passing on the Sadinga-Kiamunda road within Phringia police limits when the blast took place, said Kandhamal SP Vinit Agrawal.
He accidentally stepped on the IED, suspected to be planted by Maoists, and was killed on the spot. The site was near the spot where two JCB machines of a construction company were reportedly torched by Maoists on Monday night. The next day, posters and banners threatening locals to boycott the ensuing panchayat elections had surfaced near Kiamunda.
A bomb detection and disposal squad had diffused two IEDs near Kiamunda on Tuesday and combing operation was halted in the evening. “Out of frustration, Maoists have now started targeting civilians too. To ensure smooth passage of panchayat polls, area domination exercises by local police, District Voluntary Force, Special Operations Group and Central Reserve Police Force personnel are continuing in all Naxal affected areas of the State including Swabhiman Anchal,” said a senior police officer.
On Wednesday too, posters and banners of Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division of the banned CPI Maoist were found in different areas of Balliguda town, triggering panic among locals.
On February 5, a journalist working with a vernacular daily was killed in an IED blast triggered by Maoists in Madanpur Rampur block of Kalahandi district.