Maoists set 3 earthmovers on fire in Aurangabad

PATNA/AURANGABAD: A day after blowing up the ancestral house of former MLC Anuj Kumar Singh at Sherghati in Gaya, Maoists set at least three earthmovers and other equipment on fire in neighbouring Aurangabad district late Thursday night.
Police said around 50 armed members of banned outfit CPI(Maoist) carried pamphlets of election boycott and hurled bombs to terrorise the workers of private construction company Jagdambe Construction Private Ltd at Kanchanpur under the Madanpur police station area around midnight. They also thrashed the workers and asked for the contractor of the company, who was not present.

The construction company is working on an irrigation project — Raja Jagannath Dam — estimated to be worth Rs3.42 crore. Authoritative sources said the project will facilitate irrigation in around 2140 hectares of land. The construction work had started on October 14, 2017.

Officials at the district headquarters said the residents of Tetaria, Ajab Bigha, Eraura, Pathak Bigha, Bhandari, Pasia Bhandari, Yadupur, Mahadogar, Sarwat and Heera Bigha among other villages would be benefited from the project.

Local resident Brahmadeo Prasad said the work was going on in full swing, “but now it is likely to get delayed due to this incident.”

Aurangabad ASP (operations) Rajesh Kumar Singh said the company’s director-cum-owner Manish Kumar was earlier asked to shift the machines from the construction site to its camp office at Pararia. “The company officials did not bother to inform the local police about the construction equipment parked there,” he said.

Police have been tipped off about the possibility of planting landmines by Maoists to harm security forces during their movement in the region for the Lok Sabha election. Polling in Aurangabad is to be held on April 11.

The security forces have already launched combing operations in the villages considered to be hotbed of the Maoists.