Maoists blow up panchayat office in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - Maoist guerrills Thursday triggered a landmine blast in Orissa’s Malkangiri district, blowing up a panchayat office, the second blast in the region this week, police said. No one was injured in the explosion.

“Around 30-40 rebels trigerred the explosion at the panchayat office at Materu village under Kalimela police station area, some 40 km from the district headquarters of Malkangiri,” police officer Dabashis Mishra told IANS.

“Nobody was inside the building when the blast took place. The building has been partially damaged,” he said.

The rebels blew up a block office building at Padia under the same police station area Sep 7.

Malkangiri district, about 620 km from Bhubaneswar, is considered a Maoist stronghold.

The rebels often target schools, panchayats and other government buildings in the region as they suspect these buildings may be used to house security forces during anti-Maoist operations.

– Indo-Asian News Service