Andhra Police on alert over shutdown call by Maoists

Visakhapatnam, Nov 2 : Security forces were put on alert in many areas on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border in view of a 24-hour shutdown called on Thursday in five states to protest against the killing of 30 Maoists last week.Communist Party of India-Maoist has called for the shutdown in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra against what it calls fake encounters .Police stepped up security in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vijayanagaram districts in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, bordering Odisha.Police in Andhra and Odisha, including the elite anti-Maoist Greyhounds of Andhra, continued their combing operations on the Andhra-Odisha border. Security personnel were seen checking vehicles in the region. The police also beefed up security in tribal areas of Visakhapatnam. Police sources said all precautionary measures had been taken to foil any possible attacks by CPI-Maoist, which has threatened to take revenge for the killings.People s representatives have been advised to take all precautions. They were also asked to inform police before visiting interior areas.Andhra Director General of Police N. Sambasiva Rao directed officials to beef up security. Police in Telangana increased security in districts bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to prevent violence during the shutdown.As many as 30 Maoists, including some top leaders, were killed in a series of alleged gun battles with police in Malkangiri district of Odisha near the Andhra-Odisha border.Alleging that the police killed their cadres in a covert operation, CPI (Maoist) has called for the shutdown.CPI (Maoist) central committee spokesman Pratap, in a statement last week, admitted that the killings were a huge setback but said the organisation will soon recover.