Maoists target two schools in Jharkhand on Republic Day
Palamu/Latehar: The Maoists attacked two schools in Jharkhand's Palamu and Latehar districts on Republic Day on Wednesday. In Palamu, they damaged a classroom and the doors of a school using bombs and wrote anti-government slogans
on the walls. "We got information that there was a bomb blast in a school. When we
reached here, we saw that the iron gate was blasted and 'Maoists' was written on a
poster," said S. N. Sahu, the in-charge of the local police station. Sahu added that the
country had struggled for independence for many years, and they would not
compromise their freedom with ideologies and propaganda of the Maoists. In
Latehar, the Maoists hoisted a black flag on the terrace of a school and stuck a poster
with anti-government slogans and threats. The school children did not hoist the
national flag following the Maoist threat. "We had come all ready to hoist the national
flag and as soon as we reached the school, we saw that there was a black flag hoisted
and a poster was stuck on the school wall. So how do we hoist the national flag
then?" said Phool Kumari, a student. Teachers also said that they did not want to take
the risk by hoisting the national flag. The police on Thursday displayed arms seized
from Maoists over the last one year, and rewarded officials for their contribution.
Palamu Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Lakshman Prasad Singh told reporters that
it was because of the efforts of the police personnel that such an achievement was
possible. "140 weapons have been seized by the police, and it is probably the biggest
achievement reported from a district. And this is only possible due to team work," he
said. Singh later rewarded the police officers for their sincere efforts in the seizure of
arms and ammunition from Maoist hideouts. Meanwhile, in Jhargram, in West Bengal,
a highly decomposed body of a villager, allegedly killed by Maoists, was recovered
by locals from a deep pit. The victim was identified as Mohammad Ali, a local worker
of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), who went missing last week.
Family members of Ali asserted that he was killed due to the simmering ideological
rivalry between the Maoists and the CPI-M leadership. Villagers said the body was
detected by chance after a dog began to violently sniff around the spot, which later
turned out to be a grave. "The bodies were detected after a dog sat here and started
sniffing near the crime scene. The spot where he was sniffing turned out to be a grave,
where were found a head. There might be two bodies in the area, though we have been able to recover only one," said Sobarat Ali.
