KHAMMAM: With the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, the police department is deploying an additional two companies of paramilitary forces to Maoist-affected areas in Bhadrachalam agency. The move comes after intelligence reports said Maoists may resort to violence during the Parliament elections. Sources claim that each company consists of 90 to 120 police personnel. One of the companies has already reached Bhadrachalam.
The Greyhounds, Special Party and CoBRA forces have already intensified their combing operations in the Telangana-Chhattisgarh State border.
Maoist influence is strong in Bhadrachalam and Pinapaka Assembly constituencies because of their proximity to Chhattisgarh, a Maoist stronghold. Bhadrachalam, Pinapaka and Yellandu of Bhadradrikothagudem Assembly constituencies figure under the Mahabubabad Parliament constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
“Additional forces are being deployed to ensure that the Maoists do not enter Telangana,” said D Uday Kumar, officer on special duty, adding that the combing operations are being held within a 10 km radius of the border area. Stating that the people living in potential target areas have been asked to leave for safer places, he stressed that the political leaders and candidates have been instructed to inform local police before going to remote areas.