Maoists blow up Tahsildar office

Four of the five rooms in the building with asbestos roof were completely destroyed in the blast. Volumes of documents and records were also destroyed

Khammam: Armed Maoists blew up a Tahsildar office building at Padia in Odisha's Malkangiri district early on Wednesday using powerful explosives, police said.

A group of 50 armed ultras, including women, stormed into Padia, about 70km from here, in the early hours and entered the block office building after breaking the lock, Malkangiri superintendent of police Akhileswar Singh said.

The red rebels set the building on fire before triggering a powerful blast, causing extensive damage to the structure, he said, adding that no one was harmed in the attack.

Four of the five rooms in the building with asbestos roof were completely destroyed in the blast. Volumes of documents and important records were destroyed, gram panchayat officer Basant Behera said.

The SP said the attack was a desperate attempt by the Maoists to counter the stepped up anti-Naxalite operations mounted by the security forces in the region.

A poster found on the site stated that the attack was in protest against an encounter with security forces in September this year in which around 13 Maoists had been killed, police said, adding that the poster also sought a halt to anti-Naxalite operations and withdrawal of BSF from the region.

Maoists had blown up the new building of Padia block office in September, 2010, following which work was being carried out from the old building which was now got destroyed in the pre-dawn attack.