Maoists killed BJD leader in Orissa

Suspected Maoist guerillas have reportedly killed yet another political leader in Orissa on Friday. Jana Bidika, a leader of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Koraput district of Orissa shot dead the local activist, who was the president of Bandhugaon Block.

A group of armed rebels shot dead Jana Bidika, 38, at about 10 p.m. on Friday night in Sanasarpali village, as district police reported on Saturday.

As per the local report, Bidika was also a contractor and police relate to his murder to various construction works. This is the second such instance when armed Maoists killed any political activists in the state.

Earlier on May 15 armed Maoists killed Rajendra Sahu a contractor in Rayagada district followed by May 26, when naxal sympathiser shot dead Prabir Kumar Mohanty, who was an advocate in Malkangiri district. Both of them had considerable political back-up in their respective regions.

There are several such instances reported so far in Maoists' dominance districts such as Koraput, Rayagada and Malkangiri where Maoist activists come into direct confrontation with politicians. In the case of Prabir Mohanty, rebels first abducted the lawyer and then shot him dead.

These incidents have posed a serious challenge for the police to deal with as in a constant attempt the Maoist activists are trying to broaden their base from neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand to several western districts of Orissa bordering those states.

In one of the Maoist attack in the state and of the country earlier this year (February 16) at least 13 people most of policemen were killed and several others injured, when a faction of maoists numbering around 500 attacked three police stations in Nayagarh district and looted government armoury.

Though both State and Central administration has stepped up security along the border with red alert in all the tribal pockets of Western Orissa, but with less success and the local administration are ill equipped to tackle the solidification of rebel outfits in a large part of the state. This has posed a great challenge to the administration.