Naxals set 16 vehicles afire in Gadchiroli

Nagpur: After lying low for a while, Naxals raised their heads again to set afire as many as 16 vehicles used for laying roads in the interior Gadchiroli district.

According to police sources, activists of the CPI (Maoist) set ablaze 16 vehicles engaged in road construction work at Etapalli taluka of Gadchiroli district Friday night. The losses have not been estimated yet.

The workers deployed, too, were taken hostage for the entire night, said sources. The incident was reported on Saturday morning.

Outlawed Maoists in the Dandakaranya area observe the People Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week every year from December 2 to December 8, and typically execute many violent attacks during that time to terrorise people.

This year, the rebels took the security forces gearing up for the PLGA week by surprise, carrying out massive arson a day before.

Sources said that the road construction work was underway on the Wattepalli-Gattepali road at a site close to the Halewra village in Etapalli taluka.

A large group of Naxals came to the site late Friday night and rounded up all the labourers camping there.

They then removed the diesel from the parked vehicles and set 10 JCB machines, five tractors and one pick-up van at the site on fire.

Sources said that the Naxals stayed on the spot till the vehicles were completely charred. The workers were held at gunpoint till the Naxals left.